Digital Commons Network^™

An Investigation On Food Restriction In The Medieval British Church, Cope Makechnie-Hardy

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

When Seaxburh, Queen of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent, retired to her sister’s newly established religious house at Ely in 665 she was a physically broken woman, with “wan cheeks from fasting” and a body frail from years of food restriction.1 Already throughout her life Seaxburh had used her body as an integral part of her devotion to Christ, and after arriving at Ely “signed her stomach with the mark of Christ so that she might not burden it with food.”2 Nearly six hundred years later, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary would engage in a similar practice, referred to by historians …

Blood In The Snow The Mormon-Timpanogos Conflict At Battle Creek, Nathan Hale

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On March 5th, 1849, a group of 36 Mormon men surrounded the Native American camp of a small band of Timpanogos at Battle Creek, which is present-day Pleasant Grove, Utah. The Mormon militia suspected this band of cattle rustling, and a conflict ensued that resulted in the shooting and killing of four Timpanogos men. During the battle, the women and children of the native camp took cover and endured exposure to the cold elements and frigid water of Battle Creek. Six days later, these same women and children arrived in Salt Lake City. Among the group of Native American survivors …

“To Inherit God Himself?” The Metaphysical Transformation Of Man As Theorized In Cotton Mather’S Biblia Americana, Michael Green

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The tumult of the Enlightenment was enormous, not least in its impact on theologians of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Biblical exegesis (explanation of a scriptural text based on its own historical and cultural circumstances) of the Reformation that idealized interpretations grounded in unerring prophetic figures were suddenly and forcefully subjected to the tide of historical literalism propagated by major intellectual figures such as Hugo Grotius and Baruch Spinoza. They and their cohort believed that the Bible should be treated as a historical source and its merits scrutinized based on its literal accuracy

The Incomplete Conquest Of Spanish Guinea 1471-1910, Pual Guajardo

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Mary Henrietta Kingsley, the famous early female explorer of Africa, once remarked that an appointment to the Equatoguinean island of Fernando Po was “equivalent to execution, only more uncomfortable.”1 Similarly, historian Randall Fegley remarked that Port Clarence, which became the capital of Equatorial Guinea, was known as “death’s waiting room.”2 When we think of the Spanish Empire, we usually envision the empire that decimated the Aztecs and the Incas, not a regime that failed to conquer and colonize an island one-fifth the size of Hawaii. Yet, for more than 400 years, the small indigenous community of Fernando Po quietly defied …

Whistleblowers: A Maya Narration On The Participation Of The Dead In The Cycle Of Life And Death, Emma Belnap

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

There is a common saying in modern American culture inspired by opera and the drudgery with which people view it. As the maxim goes, “It is not over until the fat lady sings.” If the Maya were to have their own variation on that saying, it may perhaps go, “Life is not over until the whistle is in the grave.” At burial sites on Jaina Island, an island near Campeche, Mexico rich with Maya history, hundreds of sculpted whistles have been found in graves, depicting various gods, animals, and humans.1 These objects give invaluable insight into the beliefs and practices …

"Kol Mekadesh Shevi'i": A Liturgical Melody Sung At Home, Naomi Cohn Zentner

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

This article draws upon the unusual characteristics, origins and prevalence of the melody to the poem "Kol mekadesh shevii" [He who sanctifies the Seventh day] and discusses how it came to be recognized in the past seventy years as a signifier of Ashkenazi pre-Holocaust musical and religious culture and in particular as a sonic marker of liturgical sound, although it was sung at home. The Kol mekadesh melody came over time to represent two vastly different symbolic positions. As a melody adopted from non-Jewish sources bringing new, sometimes controversial sounds into the synagogue, and as a typical synagogal …

A Labor Of Love: Wall-E'S Redemption, Rosamund M. Gammie

Journal of Religion & Film

Inaugurated into the Criterion Collection in 2022 this paper re-examines some of the initial responses to the 2008 Disney-Pixar animated film, WALL-E. The movie received a mixed reception, largely celebrated (but occasionally viewed as “too leftist” by others) for its environmental, anti-capitalist message by many public critics, yet disparaged or dismissed as being superficially empty, shallow, and hollow in academic circles. Labor has been the focus of some academic criticism of the film, particularly as it relates to commoditisation, but this paper recontextualises labor not with capitalism, but with love. By viewing the film through the dynamic of labor and …

A Hidden Life On The Way Of The Cross: Terrence Malick And The Cultivation Of Character, William S. Skiles

Journal of Religion & Film

Terrence Malick’s film A Hidden Life depicts the resistance of the Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter against the Nazi regime and its demands that he serve Nazi war aims and swear an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler. Unlike other resistance films set in Nazi Germany or the Greater German Reich, which depict resistors conspiring to overthrow the regime or actively working toward its downfall, A Hidden Life presents a man’s simple and emphatic “No” to the Nazi regime and its ideology. The film does not simply show how Jägerstätter said “No,” but reveals how he was able to say “No” …

The Shrouds, Elijah Siegler

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of The Shrouds (2024), directed by David Cronenberg.

The Wicker Man, Laurel Zwissler

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Steve A. Wiggins, The Wicker Man (Liverpool: Auteur, 2023)

Mythic Arcana - A Tarot And Mythology Guidebook, Kiya Whitaker

English Student Scholarship

Mythic Arcana is part of my senior thesis show and the culmination of my writing and design journey at the college. It is a creative spin on the Major Arcana tarot deck and features mythological characters from around the world. Tarot is used for spiritual guidance, and the Major Arcana cards represent the Soul’s journey from naivety and vast potential (starting with 0, the Fool) to success and fulfillment (ending with 21, the World).

Enjoy this celebration of our world's rich and diverse cultures. Immerse yourself in enchanting art and storytelling. Allow this work to bring you to the past, …

The Narcissistic Pastor: A Wolf In Shepherd’S Clothing, James M. Ennis

Master of Arts in Spirituality and Spiritual Direction

No abstract provided.

Examining The Effect Of Climate Change Denialism In American Christianity On International Climate Policy, Hope Mcbride

Selected Honors Theses

While 53% of Americans say anthropogenic climate change is happening, only 32% of American evangelical Protestants share that belief (Alper). Key reasons for this gap include the values and political affiliations held by religious Americans. Historically, there have been dissenting opinions on the role of Christianity in global warming, but ultimately data have demonstrated that the opinions of American Christians can influence major global political decisions, such as President Trump’s executive order pulling the United States out of the keystone Paris Agreement.

Wholely: A Youth Ministry Program To Develop Life Skills For Students, Brenda Antigua

Christian Ministries Senior Capstone

Churches usually focus primarily on people's spiritual lives. The mission of youth ministries is to foster a relationship with God among young people from an early age, but the church is called to do more because God cares holistically for his children. Wholely is a ministry that works with the academic, educational, and professional needs of students in Humboldt Park, Chicago, IL, providing them with monthly workshops that teach them life skills to prepare them for the future; mentorship from devoted leaders; inductive Bible study to learn what the Word says about them and what they are learning; a resource …

Otmar On Trial: Walahfrid Strabo’S Defensio Otmari, Albrecht Diem

History - All Scholarship

Diem, Albrecht.Otmar on Trial. Walahfrid Strabo’s Defensio Otmari." In Otmars Welten. St. Gallen und das europäische Mönchtum vom 7. bis zum 9. Jahrhundert, edited by Sebastian Scholz, Sabrina Vogt, and Gordon Blennemann, 145-173. Cologne: Böhlau, 2025. https://doi.org/10.7788/9783412532284.145. This chapter reevaluates Walahfrid Strabo’s Vita of Otmar (d. 759), the founder of the Monastery of St. Gallen, focusing on its description of the trial that led to Otmar’s deposition and imprisonment. It argues that Walahfrid’s aim was not primarily to produce a text that established the cult of a foundation saint but rather a “Defensio Otmari” that engaged with the accusations of …

Comic Book Superheroes Are No Modern Mythology, But They Are In A Vital Way Ancient Greek, Jeremy Barris

Humanities Faculty Research

Comic book superheroes have been widely discussed as modern mythology: in other words, as a modem version of what religious mythology was for cultures in which it was alive. I shall argue, first, that comic book superhero stories are not remotely an analogue to religious myths. As it happens, however, cultures for which religious mythology is alive do offer us other conceptual resources that we lack for fully understanding our own comic book superheroes. These resources belong to a different part of the general conceptual package which goes with cultural engineering of a living mythology. On the positive side, then, …

Belial: Sexual Violence And Its Legal Remediation In The Deuteronomistic History, Samantha Jo Scott

Dissertations (1934 -)

At first glance, the pericopes of Judges 19–20, 1 Samuel 2:12–36, and 1 Samuel 30 have little in common with one another. Yet, several peculiar threads are interwoven in each pericope that signal a common bond between these narratives. In each account, the characterization of the antagonists and their deeds are the same. In Judg 19–20, בני־בליעל, lit. “sons of belial,” are responsible for the rape of the Levite’s concubine. In 1 Sam 2:12–36, Eli’s sons are called בני־בליעל, lit. “sons of belial,” and accused of exploiting the so-called gathering women. In 1 Sam 30, a portion of David’s men …

Rise Kids: A Disabilities Ministry At Markle Church Of Christ, Sydnee Follett

Christian Ministries Senior Capstone

Churches are called to be a place of belonging and welcoming to all people who walk through their doors. However, it is common that individuals and families impacted by disability are left feeling marginalized and unwelcome in the church. This paper presents a philosophy for RISE Kids, a ministry at Markle Church of Christ in Markle, Indiana that exists to provide advocacy and support for these families to promote a true sense of belonging. The goal of this paper is to provide local churches with a ministry framework to intentionally minister to individuals and families with disabilities. This paper describes …

Health And Mission: Cross-Cultural Perspectives, Katia G. Reinert

Post Doctoral Fellowship

No abstract

A Framework For A Flourishing Life Within The American Pentecostal Church Through The Lens Of Scripture And Research, Josh M. Mayo

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

This dissertation examines six Pentecostal churches across the United States, exploring the research question, “What best practices (strategies) and beliefs (theologies) within six Pentecostal churches act as breakthroughs or barriers in promoting spiritual flourishing among their attendees?” Drawing from Matt 5:2–12, the Beatitudes serve as a foundational text for understanding spiritual flourishing in God’s kingdom. A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies conducted at Cross Church in Cumming, Georgia, Real Life Church (Bowling Green, Kentucky), Vima Church (Wichita, Kansas), Harvest Time (Fort Smith, Arkansas), New Life Church (Peshtigo, Wisconsin), and Life Point Church, which serves …

Turning The Tide: Leadership, Vision, And Strategies For Church Revitalization In The Assemblies Of God., Albert M. Force Iii

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The words of Jesus, spoken over 2,000 years ago and recorded in Matt 16:18, serve a prophetic purpose regarding the power and endurance of the Church. Addressing one of His closest disciples, the Messiah emphatically declared, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” This statement shows that the Church—built by mortal men and women in service to the Divine—is God’s chosen instrument to reach lost humanity. With that in mind, this dissertation seeks to answer a critical question: “What are the …

Evelyn Waugh And The Problems Of Representing Conversion, Alec J. Miller

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Evelyn Waugh’s conversion to Catholicism in 1930 raised the question of how his writing would change. The satires he wrote before his conversion, Decline and Fall (1928) and Vile Bodies (1930), are hilarious but have no spiritual vision. Critics attacked his second novel after his conversion, A Handful of Dust (1934), for not being fitting for a Catholic writer to have made. Yet, Waugh makes a religious point in A Handful of Dust, exploring the wages of spiritual apathy without showing a path out. Later in Waugh’s career, he makes his finest attempt in the Sword of Honour trilogy …

The Book Of Amos In Its Israelian Context : A Contextual Rhetorical Analysis Of The Book Of Amos And Its Northern Provenance, Aaron R. Woods

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 36. Wallace, Evolution And Providence., Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

One of Alfred Russel Wallace’s most important contributions to thought was his identification of the key role provident behavior assumes in human evolution. In this essay I set out the way this idea influenced his thought process after 1864, and especially how it affected his appreciation of the possible role of spiritualism in evolution.

An Examination Of Karl Barth’S Critique Of Natural Theology: The Epistemological Shift Post-Salvation, Luke D. Pelkey

Selected Honors Theses

This thesis reexamines Karl Barth’s rejection of natural theology, specifically if his Christocentric framework allows for a limited, post-salvific engagement with natural revelation. While Barth is adamant in his denial of the source of knowledge of God being found solely through reason, logic, or nature, this thesis argues that Barth does not reject the possibility of natural revelation but rejects its accessibility. But, due to the effects of salvation on not just the soul but the whole of one’s being, the mind is also renewed, allowing for the noetic effects of sin to be overcome. Drawing from Church Dogmatics I/1, …

Review Of Peacebuilding And Catholic Social Teaching, Peter R. Gathje

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

The Delegation Discovering ‘Palestinianity’, Dianne Kirby

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Ecotones Of Faith, Tracy Paschke-Johannes

Intersections

No abstract provided.

Rehydrating The Church: The Lifegiving Role Of The Holy Spirit In Christian Formation, Ministry, Leadership, And Community, Rand Burden

Doctor of Ministry

NPO Statement

Many small rural Global Methodist Church (GMC) congregations have limited access to pastors and, as such, are in critical need of alternative forms of spiritual leadership.

Key Insights

Life in the Spirit must precede spiritual leadership. The church desperately needs members and leaders living lives led by, walking after, and informed by the Spirit. It is my conviction that with an increased awareness of the Spirit, a desire for intimacy will arise, a drawing to wade into the Water of Life, to be more open to desire and experience a deeper encounter with and understanding of the Holy …

Beloved Elder: The Spiritual Journey Of Aging, Elizabeth Nielsen

Doctor of Ministry

Aging has changed significantly in recent decades due to medical, economic, and social factors. The increasing length of American lives is both a blessing and a challenge for families and elders themselves, but our cultural and theological foundations are not sufficient to address this situation.

My NPO emerged from pastoral experience caring for elders: Aging Christians often struggle to know the presence and love of God finding their faith practices to be inadequate for the distinctive challenges of aging.

Key insights from my research include:

1. The most significant challenge of aging is surrender to childlikeness before God. In late life …