Digital Commons Network^™

“They Will Be Like Angels.” Paradise Without Marriage?, Rene Gehring

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

"This article deals with Jesus’ statement that “in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Matt 22:30; Mark 12:25; cf. Luke 20:34-36) and a possible biblical rationale for the abolishment of this originally Edenic institution in the new paradise."

Driven By God: Active Justification And Definitive Sanctification In The Soteriology Of Bavinck, Comrie, Witsius, And Kuyper., Jae-Eun Park

CTS PhD Doctoral Dissertations

For more than two millennia believers have struggled with the antinomy of God’s absolute sovereignty over and man’s ultimate responsibility in justification and sanctification. For at least the past several hundred years theologians have used some version of the terms “active justification” and “definitive sanctification” in an attempt to illuminate this mystery. However, in the past decade scho lars have begun to criticize these concepts, saying that they are unsupported in Scripture, lead to theological confusion, and are of no practical benefit to believers. Through the work of theologians from the broader Dutch Reformed tradition, especially Herman Bavinck (1854-1921), Alexander …

A Biblical Investigation Of Matriarchal Structures In Ancient Semitic Life, Margaret English De Alminana

Selected Faculty Publications

This paper shall demonstrate that a gender-stratified template for the leadership of family and government believed to be modeled after ancient Semitic patriarchal structures according to a pattern found in Old Testament biblical texts is erroneous. It shall demonstrate that strong elements of matriarchalism existed alongside of patriarchalism, and that Old Testament texts offer no accurate template for gender-based governance.

Full Issue

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

You More Than Owe Me This Benefit: Onomastic Rhetoric In Philemon, Matthew L. Bowen

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Wordplay and punning involving the names Philemon (Φιλήμων, “affectionate one”) and Onesimus (Ὀνήσιμος, “useful”) and their meanings, with concomitant paronomasia involving the name-title Χριστός (Christos) and various homonymic terms, constitutes a key element in Paul’s polite, diplomatic, and carefully-worded letter to Philemon, the Christian owner of a converted slave named Onesimus. Paul artfully uses Philemon’s own name to play on the latter’s affections and to remind him that despite whatever Onesimus may owe (ὀφείλει, opheilei) Philemon, Philemon more than owes (προσοφείλεις, prosopheileis) his very self — i.e., his life as a Christian and thus his eternal wellbeing — to Paul. …

Book Reviews, David Bundy, Moe Moe Nyunt, Brian Shockey, Michael Tavey, Zachariah S. Motts, Ryan K. Giffin, Bejamin D. Espinoza, Kevin Burr, Benson Gob, Shivraj K. Mahendra, Timothy J. Christian, Jeremy B. Griffin, Samuel Sidjabat, Rachel L. Coleman, Isaiah Allen, Babatunde Oladimeji

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

What Is Mortal Shall Be Swallowed Up By Life (2 Cor 5:4): A Critical And Constructive Engagement With John Hick's Theology Of Death In Death And Eternal Life (1976), Hongmei Zhao

Dissertations

The springboard for my investigation is John Hick’s theology of death or “par-eschatology” in Death and Eternal Life (1976), a postmortem soteriology rooted in Irenaeus’ teleological framework of person-making. I organize my project around the two constitutive aspects of human existence: time and space, or temporality and embodiment.

Regarding postmortem temporality, I present: 1) new scholarships in the New Testament, early Christianity, and Reformation studies, and 2) recent developments in ecumenical dialogues and the Justification-Sanctification Debate. Through this, I demonstrate a widely emerging emphasis–the centrality of sanctification in the Christian understanding of salvation. I argue that this crystalizing consensus lends …

Death Being Swallowed Up In Netzach In The Bible And The Book Of Mormon, David Larsen

BYU Studies

One way to read the Book of Mormon is to be attentive to ways in which it comes across as a translated text. Being mindful of this is wise, because all translations—even inspired translations—lose something of the primary language, particularly as meanings shift when words are rendered into the vocabulary or idioms of the target language.

Genesis 3 As A Model For Understanding The Nature Of Sin And Salvation, Jiri Moskala Thd, Phd

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

"In order to perceive the nature of sin clearly, it is necessary to freshly investigate what is sin and its consequences according to God’s revelation. This biblical-theological study is principally limited to Genesis chap. 3."

A Power Or Person: The Nature Of The Holy Spirit, Jo Ann Davidson

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

"This paper surveys and reviews the broad Biblical testimony of one member of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit."

Justice, Cult, And Salvation In Isaiah 56-59: A Literary-Theological Study, Hudyard Y. Muskita

Dissertations

The main focus of this dissertation is the interconnection among the themes of justice, cult, and salvation in Isaiah 56-59. The investigation will analyze and explore the theological importance of these themes, which include questions such as, What are the descriptions of these themes in these chapters? How are they related to each other? As divine salvation is portrayed as moving back and forth from immanence to distance several times throughout this particular section of the book of Isaiah, what factors are responsible for this dynamic? What is the role of cult and social justice in this salvation? In what …

Spiritual Formation: Beyond Cognitive Belief - An Ethnographic Study Of Adult Sunday School In Baptistic Churches In Massachusetts, Laura J. Cassidy-Moffatt

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project was designed to examine adult Sunday School in seven baptistic churches in Massachusetts. In interviewing pastors and surveying attendees, an ethnographic study was conducted to discern common practices and to highlight opportunities for growth in the midst of church decline. The researcher examined the biblical concepts of teaching and knowing. The researcher then conducted a literature review in the fields of the history of Sunday school, pedagogical best practices, and advances in cognitive neuroscience of learning. Through field research, the researcher identified five themes common to these Sunday school programs that have impacted the observed results of …

Conceptualizing And Engaging With Pastoral Authority, Scott R. Maurer

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Church conflict harms those in the church, obscures God’s glory, and hurts the church’s witness to a watching world. Some church conflict is related to congregants’ limited ability to conceptualize and engage with pastoral authority. While secular academia has begun to explore the discipline of followership, there is a lack of research and writing in the Christian world that provides direction to congregants on this topic. That which does exist often creates confusion rather than clarity. In response to this problem, sixteen congregants and six pastors from six churches in the Washington, DC metropolitan area were interviewed about how they …

Clergy Leadership Development: Exploring Factors In The Leadership Development Process Of United Methodist Clergywomen, Mary Bendall Henley

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project was designed to discover factors associated with the leadership development of effective United Methodist clergywomen. The researcher chose a collective case study approach incorporating principles from grounded theory in the data analysis. After framing the research problem, the researcher conducted a biblical review highlighting female prophets from the Bible. In particular, the women from the Old Testament provided important insight. The researcher conducted a literature review confirming the lack of scholarly work in the area of leadership development and clergywomen. The researcher identified four areas to frame the research, each representing an area of identity work. The four …

Engaging Leadership At Marshfield Christian Church, Nicholas Alexander Ruth

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project addresses the dwindling number of people active in leadership roles at Marshfield Christian Church. Research focused on four aspects of church leadership: barriers and incentives to assuming a leadership role, characteristics of leaders, models for structuring leadership, and equipping the congregation to participate in leadership. The researcher conducts a biblical and theological research on leadership in the New Testament, membership in the New Testament and the implications of relational theology on church leadership. A literature review on collaborative leadership, employee engagement, and changes in volunteering adds to the research. The field research for this project comprises surveys and …

Cooperative Catechesis: A Model For Equipping Lutheran Parents And Pastors To Catechize Children In The Christian Faith, Phillip E. Booe

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parents have a God-given duty to bring up their children in the faith. God calls pastors to shepherd flocks, point them to the Gospel, proclaim sound doctrine, and teach the people about the will and ways of God. The problem this project addressed was the decline of parental involvement in and responsibility for the Christian catechesis of their children in the context of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Parents have all but abdicated their responsibility to catechize their children to the church, and pastors have been complicit in allowing it. The purpose of this research was to identify the attitudes pastors …

The Interplay Between Forms Of Revelation: Implications For Theological Method, Andrew Tompkins

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

The Case For Prioritism: Part 1, Christopher R. Little

Great Commission Research Journal

The global evangelical missions movement has embraced holism or integral mission as a framework for engaging the nations. Many astute observers maintain that this development indicates that present-day evangelicals are following in the footsteps of ecumenicals and repeating the mistakes of the past. The matter of the relationship between proclamation and social action in the mission of the church must therefore be revisited for the sake of the world. The first installment of this article seeks to highlight why the debate is still necessary, clarify the fundamental differences between prioritism and holism, recount the road to evangelical holism, and address …

Seventh-Day Quaker: A Spiritual Memoir, Kim L. Ranger

Books

In an intimate spiritual memoir, Ranger shares her reflections on a journey of self-discovery. Through a narrative written in diary format, she compares and contrasts the Religious Society of Friends and the Seventh-day Adventists and calls for better understanding of and bridges between liberal and conservative Christians. Seventh-day Quaker examines the role and practice of sabbath, silence, prayer, rites and rituals, evangelicalism, the Bible, Creationism, God's existence, and the call to ministry.

Church Authority And Biblical Interpretation: Forms Of Authoritative Hermeneutics In Irenaeus And Tertullian, Adriani M. Rodrigues

Andrews University Seminary Student Journal

In order to protect the church from the misuse of scripture promoted by heretical movements, early church fathers advanced hermeneutical mechanisms of control to guide biblical interpretation, which included forms of authoritative hermeneutics. The present investigation describes and briefly analyzes occurrences of these forms in Irenaeus and Tertullian, focusing on the concepts of the rule of truth/faith and church authority. The conclusion of the article highlights inadequacies of authoritative hermeneutics.

The Historical Superscriptions Of Davidic Psalms: An Exegetical, Intertextual, And Methodological Analysis, Jerome L. Skinner

Dissertations

The significance of the historical superscriptions (h/ss) that refer to David’s life (Pss 3, 7, 18, 34, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 142) has been a matter of interest over the past century of Psalm Studies. An investigation into the structural and theological role1 of the thirteen Davidic h/ss and their psalms in the Psalter, as well as the role of David expressed in them reveals the nature of their origin, authorship, structural function, and theological import. While their historicity forms a large part of the discussion, at its core is the question of meaning. The literary …

The Veneration Motif In The Temptation Narrative Of The Gospel Of Matthew: Lessons From The Enochic Tradition, Andrei Orlov

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploring Anthropological Monism For Pastoral Care Practice In A Local Church, Michael Robert Mcleod

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project explored the viability and benefits of anthropological monism for pastoral care practice in a local church. Monism, as it relates to human nature, refers to humanity consisting solely of materiality or physicality from which emerge all capacities and functions of the human individual⎯feeling, thinking, relating, acting, or experiencing God, self, others, or the world in general. Biblically and theologically, anthropological monism can point to integration for holism to overcome life disruption and fragmentation due to sin. It can also highlight embodiment and refocus the church towards human physicality and the prominence of resurrection for end-of-life outcomes rather …

The Faith At Work Movement At Westwood Community Church, Daniel Albert Bolt

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigated the faith at work (FAW) movement through the lens of philosophical hermeneutics. The work concepts of both Old and New Testaments were explored, along with theologian’s voices on the intersection of work and faith. The literature review demonstrated the one-dimensional emphasis of the FAW for the church and the working world. The church and world need the FAW as an ethos with an emphasis on the whole person. The research was a mixed method of case study utilizing qualitative and quantitative method. This mixed method helped underline the shallowness of current scholarship of the FAW as an …

2016 Faculty Summer Seminar - Meeting Paul Of Tarsus: Teacher Of Nations, Center For Catholic Studies, Seton Hall University

Center for Catholic Studies Faculty Seminars and Core Curriculum Seminars

No abstract provided.

Special Book Review Essay, Aaron Perry

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Isaiah’S Messiah: Adventist Identity For The Last Days, Stephane Beaulieu

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

This article proposes that Isaiah’s Messiah is the essence of Adventism and is what Adventists must proclaim in the eschaton. Portraits of the Messiah and His work for the people of God permeate the book of Isaiah. And while Isaiah’s Messiah was relevant for the people of the seventh century, the Messiah is portrayed as the One who will deliver and save His people now as well as then. In fact, Isaiah places his message of the Messiah in the realm of the last days.

Reviving Family Worship In The Rocky Mountain Indonesian Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Purasa Marpaung

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Seventh-day Adventist immigrants struggle to maintain Indonesian Adventist family worship practices in the process of assimilating to the United States culture. In particular, the family worship practices of the Rocky Mountain Indonesian Seventh-day Adventist Church have been adapted to fit the American environment and lifestyle. The practical family worship activities that were an essential component of the culture and identity of the people of Indonesian heritage are disappearing through exposure to new ideas and methods of worship. This lack of family worship in immigrant families must be addressed through cultural as well as theological perspectives.

Method

Couples, with at …

Making And Training Disciples Of Christ Using The Pursuit Of "Life... To The Full" As The Catalyst For Mission In High Springs Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Mark Swaisgood

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Task

In the Spring of 2012, the High Springs Seventh-day Adventist Church had about 29% of its membership "active in ministry," meaning these members were involved in "ministry activities outside of Sabbath morning" or they served in "leadership responsibilities during Sabbath school and worship time" (i.e. I did not consider mere attendance as "active in ministry"). Approximately 9% of the membership was "missionally engaged," meaning they were participating in activities through "service to others outside of our denominational affiliation" (I considered serving people within our church membership as "active in ministry" not "missionally engaged"). The goal of this project was …

Using Illustrations And Storytelling Via Incarnational Ministry To Reach Post-Christian Young Adults, David J. Resendes

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Post-Christian young adults are generally not interested in Christianity and therefore are unlikely to attend church or hear preaching. Therefore, a preaching strategy must be developed and implemented to reach post-Christian young adults in their setting.

Method

The subjects of the study were 24 young adult males from the community who attended the weekly open-gym basketball outreach. They ranged in age from 16 to 34 and were of various races and some of mixed race. All were born and raised in the United States and spoke English. Of these subjects only two were from the church I pastor. One …