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The Clarity And Obscurity Of Inspired Writings: A Historical Survey From Late Antiquity To Early Nineteenth- Century America, Denis Kaiser

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Throughout Christian history, pastors, scholars, and church leaders have discussed whether, or to what extent, Scripture is clear or obscure. This article surveys the views on the clarity and obscurity of Scripture as advocated by Christian writers in five eras from late antiquity to early nineteenth-century America. Writers in the Protestant tradition have generally objected to the common notions among Roman Catholics that Scripture is obscure, consists of a four-fold sense, and that normative teaching authority is in the hands of the magisterium. Lutheran, Reformed, and Pietist scholars have generally emphasized the importance of having an educated clergy that understands …

Academic Reasearch On Saint Sava Of Serbia In Greece, Ioannis Kaminis

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The paper examines Greek Academic studies dedicated to Saint Sava, the first archbishop of the Serbs. It focuses on St. Sava's activities, the historical relations between Greeks and Serbs during the Middle Ages and beyond, and the most significant research on the Serbian saint. The analysis primarily addresses books concerning the Orthodox Church in Serbia, featuring prominent researchers such as Antonios-Emilios Tachiaos, Ioannis Tarnanidis, Athanasios Angelopoulos, Dimitrios V. Gonis, and Georgios-Nectarios Loes, along with one postgraduate thesis and one dissertation. The study concludes with a critical assessment of the current state of research and proposes potential future avenues for studying …

Oral Roberts University’S Judaic-Christian Studies Program: A Reflection On Its History And Significance, Pamela L. Idriss

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Oral Roberts University’s (ORU) Graduate School of Theology and Missions offered the Judaic-Christian Studies Concentration (JCSC) of Master of Theology in Biblical Literature between the fall of 2007 and the spring of 2020. Under the supervision of Brad H. Young, the program flourished with academic excellence and distinct practical applications. Students learned to comprehend the teachings of Jesus in their Second-Temple Jewish context and to recognize the Jewish roots of Christianity. The program employed the comparative/associative methodology for exegetical work and utilized the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and primary Jewish sources, such as the Rabbinic literature and the Dead …

Platonism’S Influence On The Hermeneutic Of Augustine: Exploring The Philosophical Roots Of Augustine’S Interpretive Approach, Kent T. Maitland

Liberty Theological Review

This paper contends that Augustine was a significant contributor to the “Spiritual Vision Model” of the Christian conception of heaven described by Craig Blaising. This model is premised on the Platonic understanding of perfection in which the soul unites with the Good, and heaven is primarily a cognitive state in which the individual possesses perfect spiritual knowledge. This model also provides a rational basis for favoring a figurative or spiritualized interpretation of Scripture over its literal meaning. Augustine’s early life and conversion reflects a commitment to the SVM’s Platonic ideals, as demonstrated in his deference to Cicero, his journey into …

Between Choice And Compulsion: An Examination And Critique Of The Evolution Of 'Original Sin', Matthew James Wynn

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

“Why are we the way that we are?” is one of the hardest questions to answer because it requires grasping the origin of human beings. This has left philosophers and theologians in century-long debates on forming a “cosmogony of ontology” (i.e., how the origin of the universe informs the human condition). The concept, “original sin” was developed by a North African theologian named Augustine (354 – 430 CE). Augustine’s reading of Genesis 3, and inaccurate translation of Romans 5:12, taught that a person is born morally culpable for a fault antecedent to their existence. This way of thinking about the …

The "Write" Stuff: The Plausible Capability Of Jesus’ Followers To Author The Gospels, Charles D. T. Miller

Liberty Theological Review

It is common for critics of the New Testament to cite William Harris’ 10% literacy rate for first-century Greco-Romans as evidence for the implausibility of Jesus’ followers to write, publish, and circulate the New Testament. This “evidence” is often used to dismiss the entire New Testament as a second-century fabrication that cannot accurately represent the true teachings of Jesus. Is this an accurate portrayal of Galilee during the time of Jesus? The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that Jesus’ followers possessed the “‘Write’ Stuff”—the ability to read, write, and memorize, as well as, access to the technology needed …

"The Oxford Hand Book Of The Book Of Revelation"[Review]/Koester, Craig R., Ed, Flavio Prestes Iii

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a book review by Flavio Prestes III.

"The Antichrist Tradition In Antiquity: Antimessianism In Second Temple And Early Christian Literature" [Review]/Kusio, Mateusz, Rodrigo Galiza

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a book review by Rodrigo Galiza.

Books Jesus Read: Learning From The Apocrypha, Robert F. Lay

Sacred Roots Spiritual Classics

In Books Jesus Read, Robert Lay takes his readers on a guided tour of the Apocrypha—Jewish history, stories, and wisdom written in the four hundred years between the Old and New Testaments. These are some of the writings Jesus and other first century Jews would have known. For anyone wanting to better understand Jesus and the New Testament, look no further than the books Jesus himself may have read.

This book provides a wonderful service in making the OT Apocrypha accessible to non-specialists. These ancient Jewish texts are rich devotionally, and they provide essential background for the proper interpretation …

In Search Of The Best Practices In Preaching On Christian Stewardship, Mitchel Schuessler

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Pastors are challenged to preach Christian stewardship within their parishes in a way that they not only overcome the personal and congregational biases against stewardship sermons, but will also assist their congregations to the grow in their knowledge of stewardship and help them to become better Christian stewards. This project sought to find pastors that have discovered ways to preach stewardship that increased the congregational stewardship life and assisted individual members to become better stewards. This study intends to help the parish pastor to learn how to address stewardship on a regular basis, be more confident in his preaching of …

Zwingli The Reformer: His Life And Work. By Oscar Farner. (Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books: 1968)., Matthew Zemanek

History in the Making

No abstract provided.

Incomparable? : Authenticating Criteria In Historical Jesus Scholarship And General Historical Methodology, Kevin B. Burr

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Four Nineteenth Century Disciples Of Christ Scholarly Quarterlies: An Index Of The Christian Quarterly (1869-1876), The Christian Quarterly Review (1882-1889), The New Christian Quarterly (1892-1896), And The Christian Quarterly (New Series) (1897-1899), Marvin D. Williams

Stone-Campbell Indexes

No abstract provided.

Reviews, Arden C. Autry Phd, Christopher G. Foster, Jennifer Greig-Berens, John Austin Helm, Thad R. Horner, Wonsuk Ma, Sandra Richardson, R. Samuel Thorpe, Jeffrey Voth, Ruth Whiteford

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

The Mystery Of The Incarnation: Towards A Reconciliation Of Cyril And Nestorius, Kyle Williams

Seminary Masters Theses

This thesis studies the fifth-century christological controversy surrounding Cyril of Alexandria (c. 378-444) and Nestorius of Constantinople (c. 381-451) and their debate around the person and nature of Jesus Christ, sparked by the theotokos dispute. At the First Council of Ephesus (431) the christologies of these two bishops and theologians were pitted against each other, and have since been studied in contrast to one another. The goal of this study is to examine the christologies of Cyril and Nestorius with the intention to seek reconciliation between the two. In the Introduction I first orient the reader to the problem and …

A Message From Antioch And Moravia To The West, Barry Hudspeth

Masters Theses

This qualitative thesis study, “A Message From Antioch and Moravia to the West,” explores the North American Church’s role in the global missions arena and seeks to develop a streamlined strategy for engaging in cross-cultural evangelism in the twenty-first century. A qualitative case study of the first-century Christian church and Moravian church of the eighteenth century provides data on actions conducted to spread Christianity from a central geographical location outward to the known world in their respective eras of Christian history. These two case study analyses looked at how the Gospel was spread during each point in history followed by …

Reformation Is Germane To African Women: An African Lutheran Woman’S Imagination, Faith Laguzia

Consensus

No abstract provided.

The Letter To Sardis And Eternal Security, Tory Arnesen

Masters Theses

Does the letter to Sardis threaten eternal security? The research concerning the context of the letter, word studies for overcome, Book of Life, and an exegetical analysis reveal that the letter is both a warning and a comfort. The warning is directed to the lost people in the church as well as those without assurance, and the comfort is for the genuine believers. Eternal security is not threatened, but an exhortation to ensure that one is in the faith is present in the letter.

The Lord’S Supper In The Early Church: Covenant Extension Or Eucharistic Presence?, Silvia Bacchiocchi

Andrews University Seminary Student Journal

This study seeks to show how the Lord’s Supper lost its relational and historical (past-present-future) covenant focus and instead became fixed on the Platonic now of mystical contemplation, displacing the eschatological hope of Christ’s physical return with the real presence of Christ in the eucharist. This resulted from the Hellenistic interpretation of reality in general and of Christian rituals in particular. The first section explores the nature of God and the Old Testament covenant, followed by the covenant’s continuity in the New Testament through the Lord’s Supper. The second portion analyzes the Didache’s Jewish-Christian perspective of the Lord’s Supper and …

Adoniram Judson And Early American Missions, Beth Mcfadden

History of Christianity II: TH 314

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Andrews University Seminary Student Journal

No abstract provided.

A Short History Of Ordination (Part I), Darius Jankiewicz

Memory, Meaning & Faith

No abstract provided.

More Than An "Immoderate Superstition": Christian Identity In The First Three Centuries, Edward Mason

Theses and Dissertations--History

Only recently have scholars given particular attention to the development of the racial discourse present in early Christian apologetics. This study is aimed at understanding the Latin and Greek literary antecedents to the development of a Christian discourse on race and identity and examining in detail the apex of this discourse in the work of third century apologist Origen of Alexandria. Origen’s work represented the apex of an evolving discourse that, while continuing to use traditional vocabulary, became increasingly universalizing with the growth of the Roman Empire. By understanding how Christians in the first three centuries shaped their attitudes on …

The Problem Of Ordination: Lessons From Early Christian History, Darius Jankiewicz

Faculty Publications

Like most modern Christian denominations, Seventh-­‐day Adventists acknowledge the pastoral call through the rite of ordination. We have also adopted the three-­‐fold structure of ministry in the church— pastor, elder, and deacon—each initiated by a separate rite of laying-­‐on-­‐of-­‐hands and each referred to as ordination. The lack of unambiguous Scriptural data, however, has resulted in a decades-long intradenominational discussion on the meaning of and qualifications for ordination of pastors, elders, and deacons. It is indisputable, and Scripturally warranted, that Christian community needs its authoritative leaders in order to function and propagate its mission in the world, otherwise chaos would reign. …

Dismemberment And Devotion: Anatomical Votive Dedication In Italian Popular Religion, Lindsay R. Morehouse

Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Honors Projects

Anatomical votives are religious offerings that are made to look like body parts and are dedicated in exchange for healing. In many cases, they are dedicated to intermediary figures as a way to bridge the worlds of human and divine. There is evidence that Anatomical votives have been offered in Italy from the middle of the first millennia BCE to the present. This paper examines Etruscan, Greco-Roman, and Christian cults in order to explore continuity and change in this practice over time within Italy.

The Social Principles Of Jesus: A Critical Re-Examination Of Walter Rauschenbusch’S Social Gospel, James Mark Shields

Faculty Journal Articles

It has been nine decades since Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918) published a slim volume entitled The Social Principles of Jesus. Though today less well known than his other works Christianity and the Social Crisis (1907) and Theology for the Social Gospel (1917), it is Social Principles that most adeptly summarizes the theological ethics of Rauschenbusch’s “social gospel.” Taking the form of a pedagogical treatise, Social Principles reads as both a finely tuned analysis of the modern relevance of the teachings of Jesus, and an impassioned plea on the part of its author for an end to the folly of interpreting Christianity …

A History Of Seventh-Day Adventist Views On Biblical And Prophetic Inspiration (1844-2000), Alberto R. Timm

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

An Index To The Revised Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich Greek Lexicon, Second Edition, By F. Wilbur Gingrich & Frederick W. Danker [Review] / Edited By John R. Alsop., Sakae Kubo

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

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The Motive For The Christian Life According To The Epistle Of James, Paul H. Dorn

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This study of the epistle of James arose out of a pastoral concern that members of the Christian community live their Christian discipleship. James is marked by its vigorous concern for Christians living a godly life; at the same time it raises a problem. The problem is that there is no motive immediately evident with which James encourages its readers to godly living--certainly nothing as evident as "by the mercies of God" (Rom. 12:1) or "if God so loved us" (1 John 4:11). The purpose of this study is to discover what the epistle's motive for Christian living is.

A Study Of Matthew 3:13-17 -- The Baptism Of Jesus, Werner Boos

Bachelor of Divinity

The fact that Jesus came to John the Baptist in order to be baptized by him fascinates and puzzles many Christians. The event evokes many significant questions: What was the exact nature of the baptism administered by John the Baptist? Why did Jesus submit himself to such a baptism? What significance did the baptismal event hold for Jesus' subsequent ministry? What did it mean to the evangelists and to their original audiences? How did it influence the Christian sacrament of baptism? These and similar questions prompt the present study--a study which takes as its exegetical point of departure the most …