Digital Commons Network^™

The Phenomenon Of Rome: On Roads, Refugees, And Teilhard De Chardin, Jon Radwan

CHDCM Publications

Teilhard de Chardin’s understanding of creation as an evolutionary process is used as a lens for studying Roman roads and refugees. A shorter version of this essay was published in Seton Hall University 2018 Core Trip, pages 28-33. This draft has been submitted for potential publication in Writing Rome: A Spiritual Journey, Kelly Shea ed.

Narrative-Based Visual Theology For Oral Learning Pastor Training, Raymond Neu

Doctor of Ministry

In the realms of popular education, literates hold the day, yet they are not the majority. Even in our highly-advanced world, non-literates or oral communicators, still comprise the largest class of potential learners awaiting an education. The problems they face are complicated and challenging. Physical and financial access to education stop most oral communicators before they even start. If they had access to a local educational institution, more massive hurdles await, including literacy itself followed closely by lack of attention to the learning styles of oral learners. Yet there is hope. When educators determine to address the unique needs and …

Developing A Theologically Self-Reflexive Critique With Comparative Theologians And The Sociological Analysis Of Pierre Bourdieu, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this article I attempt to locate productive foundations for a critical theological methodology through engaging with both the inherently critical nature of comparative theology alongside the sociological, self-reflexive analysis of Pierre Bourdieu. I turn, first, to comparative theology because it is a field with a heightened sensibility for how self-reflexive critique functions within a theological context, as it assumes that both sides in any conversation maintain the possibility of re-examining their own premises and foundations. I turn, second, to the work of the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu because it is his analysis of symbolic power that provides an examination of …

Language Politics And The Constitution Of Racialized Subjects In The Corinthian Church, Ekaputra Tupamahu

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

This study examines the phenomenon of speaking in tongue(s) in the Corinthian church from the point of view of the politics of language. Instead of seeing tongue(s) as a problem of unintelligible-ecstatic speech, it reconsiders this phenomenon as a linguistic struggle. Tongue(s), in this sense, is a multilingual social dynamic that Paul perceives as chaotic. Special attention is given to the role of language as one of the crucial markers of the ancient Greeks’ collective identity. The barbarians are their imaginative and discursive ‘others’ who do not share their language. It is within this sociopolitical context that the employment of …

The Power In Multiplying: Growth In New Religious Movements, Nicole Wrobel

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Starting in November of 2016, a documentary series aired on the original network A&E where it continues to capture the attention of thousands of viewers in America. Scientology: The Aftermath, starring the well-known King of Queens and Dancing with the Stars actress Leah Remini and former senior executive of the church of Scientology International and Sea Organization Mike Rinder, aim to reveal the "truth" that hides behind the church of Scientology. The show interviews ex-practitioners who claim their lives have been deeply impacted by the church and who want to assist in revealing the shocking stories of abuse and harassment …

A Strategy To Increase Cross-Cultural Preaching Ministry Among Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors In Southern Alabama, Dejuan Knight

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Southern Alabama's Seventh-day Adventist churches are mostly segregated across ethnic lines. Furthermore, most of the church pastors are of the same ethnic group as their members. One of the main reasons for the continued fears among laity, pastors, and conference administrators towards pastoral leadership from other cultures stems from the widespread idea that cross-cultural pastors cannot present their sermons in the cultural preaching style and with the content desired by the congregation.

Method

A project was designed and instituted in Dothan, AL between the two Seventh-day Adventist churches in the city. The Dothan First Seventh-day Adventist Church is a …

A Semiotic Approach To Conflict Transformation: Can Signs And Symbols Help Make Peace?, Samuel Kefas Sarpiya

Doctor of Ministry

Religion has always had the ability to play a major role in peacemaking and conflict transformation. But over the years, the power of religion to engender peace and to have an active voice in community issues has been lost on many secular theorists who see religion as one of the major reasons for lack of peace in the world. So, reclaiming the voice of religion in a pluralistic world is needed. Religious voices could have a positive impact in transforming conflict and bringing peace. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic religions that are also the Abrahamic faiths. This is a …

Raça, Jinshu, Race: Whiteness, Japanese-Ness, And Resistance In Sūkyō Mahikari In The Brazilian Amazon, Moana Luri De Almeida

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presented an analysis of how leaders and adherents of a Japanese religion called Sūkyō Mahikari understand and interpret jinshu (race) and hito(person) in a particular way, and how this ideology is practiced in the city of Belém, in the Brazilian Amazon. The teachings of Sūkyō Mahikari classify humanity into five races (yellow, white, red, blue/green, black/purple) and five religions (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism). In this classification, the original humans - hito, the kingly race ōbito, and the God-given supra-religion sūkyō - deteriorated into ningen (people), the other races, and shūkyō (religions) along an …

Purifying The Sacred: How Hindu Nationalism Reshapes Environmentalism In Contemporary India, Owen Dunton Ellerkamp

Honors Papers

The transposition of the cultural, religious, and sacred onto physical geographies is practiced by humans everywhere as landscapes are canvases for meaning making and integral placeholders of histories. In the Indian context, this practice is distinct for several reasons. Scholars of Hindu traditions recognize that the place-oriented disposition and centrality of land to Hindu traditions and cultures is unprecedented and integral to identity formation in modern India. As India faces increasing environmental degradation, the preservation of “sacred geographies” is especially crucial to the identity of Hindu traditions. The rise of Hindu nationalist (Hindutva) political parties (e.g., the Bharatiya Janata Party …

An Exegetical Study Of The Annunciation Of Luke 1:26-38 Through Text And Art, Kellie Costello

Theses

In the Gospel of Luke, Mary of Nazareth’s encounter with the angel Gabriel has captured the attention and the imagination of theologians, scholars and artists for millennia, for in it the evangelist, communicates the announcement of the Incarnation of the long-promised Messiah. This exegetical study of the Annunciation through text and art examines how this good news was communicated to the first readers. Then following on from this acquired knowledge, this research seeks to discover if the understanding of the Annunciation has evolved over time by examining four artworks: two from sixteenth-century Europe and two from twentieth-century Australia. Each artwork …

A Generative Model Of The Mutual Escalation Of Anxiety Between Religious Groups, F. Leron Shults, Ross Gore, Wesley J. Wildman, Christopher J. Lynch, Justin E. Lane, Monica D. Toft

VMASC Publications

We propose a generative agent-based model of the emergence and escalation of xenophobic anxiety in which individuals from two different religious groups encounter various hazards within an artificial society. The architecture of the model is informed by several empirically validated theories about the role of religion in intergroup conflict. Our results identify some of the conditions and mechanisms that engender the intensification of anxiety within and between religious groups. We define mutually escalating xenophobic anxiety as the increase of the average level of anxiety of the agents in both groups overtime. Trace validation techniques show that the most common conditions …

Learning To Pray The Lord’S Prayer For Spiritual Transformation At Tachikawa Church Of Christ, Naoyoshi Fukushima

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This thesis describes a project to lead the members of Tachikawa Church of Christ to learn and experience the power and blessings of praying the Lord’s Prayer for spiritual edification and maturity. The program consisted of eight weeks of learning the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer and doing spiritual exercises. To provide a theological foundation for this project, I delivered eight sermons on the Lord’s Prayer with strong emphasis on the relational nature of the prayer.

Those who engaged in the spiritual exercises were given opportunities to experience joy, peace, and correction as they tried to live in harmony …

Strengthening Black‐Brown Solidarity: Latino/A Race, Unauthorized Blacks, And The Roots Of Anti‐Brown Violence, Jeremy V. Cruz

Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium

This essay analyzes intersecting experiences of racism and U.S. state violence, black-brown tensions, and future possibilities for anti-racist solidarity. Its race analysis and moral evaluation proceed from a Chicano perspective and through the theoretical lens of transnationalism, thinking about anti-black racism as a global imperial project. The author argues that sustained analysis of Latino/a racialization (and racism), of the precariousness of black citizenship, and of the genesis of anti-brown racist practices within and alongside antiblackness can all function to strengthen black-brown solidarity.

Cultural Immersion And Global Health: An Experience Among The Guaranis, Alexandre A. Martins

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Electronic Dance Music Events As Modern-Day Ritual, Audrey Redfield, Marie I. Thouin-Savard

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Electronic dance music (EDM) events may function as a ritual space for psycho-spiritual exploration and personal development, often linked to the occurrence of non-ordinary states of consciousness in participants. This paper reviews the literature addressing the spiritual, religious, and transpersonal facets of participants’ experiences at EDM events, with an emphasis on the subsequent integration of these experiences into daily life. Several empirical studies conducted in the past two decades, of which the most recent was conducted by the first author of the present paper (Redfield, 2017, this issue), provides grounds to argue that EDM events can be vectors for enhancing …

An Analysis Of The Experiences And Integration Of Transpersonal Phenomena Induced By Electronic Dance Music Events, Audrey Redfield

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Electronic dance music (EDM) events are attended by millions of people all over the world. While prior research uncovered the spiritual and religious elements as well as the transpersonal nature of EDM events, this preliminary study further explored the types of transpersonal phenomena that participants experience at EDM events and their subsequent integration of these experiences into daily life. A semi-structured, in-depth interview was used to explore this topic with 12 EDM participants. A thematic analysis was conducted on the data. Findings suggested that EDM events have the potential to foster interpersonal relationships with the numinous, spiritual beings, and human …

Keeping The Account Open: On Metaphysical Mistrust In Transpersonal Psychology (A Response To Hartelius, 2017), Steve Taylor

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

In response to Hartelius (2017), I suggest that the evidence for perennialism or essentialism can be tested, and is publicly accessible, through engagement with the spiritual practices that have given rise to cross-cultural mystical experiences with common characteristics. This suggests that essentialism could be included in transpersonal psychology (and psychology in general). I suggest that there is no reason why transpersonal psychology should exclude metaphysical claims, as long as they are inferred or implied by research and evidence, explicitly stated and viewed as secondary. It is impossible to avoid metaphysics, and it is important for transpersonal psychologists (and all psychologists …

Circular Reasoning Is Not The Uroboros: Rejecting Perennialism As A Psychological Theory, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Efforts to present valid evidence for perennialist models do not withstand critical scrutiny. One strategy common to most versions of perennialism points to perceived patterns in reports of spiritual experiences, whether from traditional, clinical, or phenomenological accounts as evidence for such an approach; the shortcoming is that these same patterns are the basis for perennialist premises. Offering one’s premises as evidence for their conclusions is circular reasoning, and does not constitute valid support for an idea. Pointing to similarities between reports of spiritual or other transformative experiences is what inspires perennialist models, but is not evidence for their validity. Careful …

Interpretations Of Jesus And The Virgin Mary In The Quran And The Bible: A Possible Contribution To Muslim-Christian Cooperation?, Jon Armajani

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay explores Muslim and Christian understandings of Jesus and his mother Mary, which may provide a basis for possible cooperation between the two religious communities. The similarities and differences in views are discussed, with an understanding that there are differences in views not only between but also within the two religious communities. The essay concludes with a discussion of seven types of interreligious dialogue as articulated by Sallie B. King, and how they apply to Muslim-Christian dialogue related to Jesus and Mary.

Muslim Work Ethics: Relationships With Religious Orientations And The “Perfect Man” (Ensan-E Kamel) In Managers And Staff In Iran, Nima Ghorbani, P. J. Watson, Maryam Karimpour, Zhuo Job Chen

Publications

Weber’s association of a work ethic with Protestantism has been extended to religions, including Islam, more generally. Managers and staff in a bank and department store in Tehran responded to Muslim religiousness measures along with the multidimensional work ethics profile (MWEP). The MWEP is a 7-factor instrument that records Weber’s interpretation of work ethics. Intrinsic, extrinsic personal, and extrinsic cultural religious orientations predicted a higher work ethic. Two extrinsic cultural religious orientation factors exhibited especially strong connections with MWEP factors. The morality/ethics MWEP factor most consistently predicted Muslim commitments. Integrative self-knowledge and self-control served as empirical markers of an Iranian …

"Red & Blue, Black & White", Kate Henreckson

The Voice

No abstract provided.

The Thousand-Year Spiritual Tradition Of Lesnovo Monastery In Macedonia, Ilija Velev

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Through the rich Christian tradition in Macedonia from the early Christian, medieval and up to the modern period numerous churches and monasteries were built, where all forms of development of spiritual and cultural life took place. A historically remarkable location is Lesnovo Monastery, which has survived until today during almost one thousand years of spiritual and cultural tradition in Macedonia. The oldest indirect and legendary sources point to the conclusion that the original construction of the monastic church in Lesnovo should be moved to the period of the eleventh century, when from 1018 onwards, after the fall of Samuil's Slavic …

Research As Inquiry, Social Justice, And The Particularist Challenges Of Religious Traditions In An Age Of Terror And Hate, Desirae Zingarelli-Sweet

Librarian Publications & Presentations

No abstract provided.

Eros Created, Eros Contaminated, Eros Condemned, Taylor Klassman

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

La Evolución Espiritual De España: De La Religiosidad A La Posmodernidad A Través De Los Medios Artísticos, Larissa Swartz

Best Integrated Writing

Swartz meditates on the intersection of Spanish culture and religion. Her work emphasizes the ways in which both literature and The Bible shape the spirituality of Spanish culture.

Contemporary Buddhist Women: Contemplation, Cultural Exchange & Social Action: Sakyadhita 15th International Conference On Buddhist Women, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

The theme of the 15th Sakyadhita Conference in Hong Kong, “Contemporary Buddhist Women: Contemplation, Cultural Exchange & Social Action,” highlights our diversity and also the many choices that Buddhist women have today. Among us, there are many different ways that we may focus our energies, such as meditation practice, active social engagement, studies, teaching, parenting, artistic expression, and a range of other options. The beauty of Buddhist women is that we come from different countries and cultures, with different interests and diverse approaches to Buddhism, yet together we represent enormous power for good in the world. We are fortunate to …

The Cosmology Of Witchcraft In The African Context: Implications For Mission And Theology, Samuel D. Lumwe

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Spiritual Media Experiences, Trait Transcendence, And Enjoyment Of Popular Films, Sophie Janicke, Srividya Ramasubramanian

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Recent scholarship on media psychology acknowledges that media entertainment offers not only purely hedonistic enjoyment but also meaningful experiences. This study expands our understanding of media enjoyment by exploring the role of media entertainment in evoking spiritual emotions and beliefs, such as those related to connectedness, blessedness, and transcendence. Results from an online survey (N=220) indicate that media entertainment elicits meaningful as well as spiritual emotions and increases the saliency of spiritual beliefs as related to self-actualization and spiritual experiences in everyday life. Furthermore, trait transcendence and eudaimonic media motivations add to the explanation of audiences’ mediated spiritual experiences. Open-ended …

The Gospel Of Mark, Nancy Mccabe

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

No abstract provided.

Bodies As Living, Twirling Sacrifices: Performing Black Girlhood, Liturgical Dance, And The Black Church Tradition, Brianna Heath

Cultural Studies Capstone Papers

The purpose of this study is to investigate liturgical dance in the black church tradition as a gendered space. I argue that black girls perform their sexuality as ascribed to hetero-patriarchal ideology—as preached within the black church—through liturgical dance. This ideology akin to politics of respectability separates the sacred from the secular which causes a tension. This tension shows up in the hyper-ness of liturgical dancing. This study discusses this by contextualizing liturgical dance within a history of black concert dance and embodied practices of resistance. This study frames liturgical dance within the black dance tradition, black feminist studies, and …