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In Search Of A Contextual Pastoral Theology For Dalits In India, Johnson Petta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Current approaches to the ministry of pastoral care and counseling in the South Indian context lack a serious grasp of the critical needs of survival, liberation and cultural identity of the Dalit Christian communities. Prevailing models of care that are individualistic and based on clerical hierarchy have failed to give adequate attention to the systemic, cultural and psychological dimensions of the contextual needs of the Dalit Christians and foster a shared understanding of their problems. The theological and cultural sources that inform the pastoral care practices are not indigenous to their context and therefore fail to provide a critical and …

Daniel Brewer: The Enlightenment Past: Reconstructing Eighteenth, Century French Thought: Book Review, Charles T. Wolfe, Veronica Ganora

Religion in the Age of Enlightenment

Daniel Brewer's study of the French Enlightenment-its construction, its self-fashioning, and its subsequent reconstruction in a series of national memorial performancesis heavily overladen with a kind of "poetics of ruins:' Ruins and monuments are everywhere here, in an almost dialectical relation: ''Alas, more beautiful is the debris of a beautiful palace;' exclaims Victor Hugo (quoted p. 186), and Chapter 9, which is explicitly devoted to the theme of ruins, refers to some of the classical Enlightenment narratives of progress, from Condorcet to Turgot, as self-consciously focused on the problem of "building on ruins:' The reference to the past in the …

Hijas Rebeldes: Chicana Spirituality And The Re(Claiming) Of The Indigenous, Daisy Vargas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though the Chicano nationalist movement of the 1960s and 1970s helped Chicanas/os embrace an indigenous identity traced back to the Aztecs of Mexico, it nevertheless proved alienating to Chicanas. In response to patriarchal structures of control within the Chicano movement and Western culture, Chicanas developed a mestiza consciousness. The grounding of this new epistemic tradition in ancient indigenous practices creates a Chicana spirituality and a method for identifying with the cosmology and goddess mythology of the Aztecs. Though critics of Chicana spirituality question the authenticity of Chicana claims to indigenous traditions, Chicanas employ their spirituality as tool to transform them …

Exploring Sacred Objects And Their Meanings In Catholic Mexicano Households: Domestic Religious Practices In San Antonio, Mary E. Durocher

Wayne State University Dissertations

Anthropological literature in the study of material culture argues that person/object interactions are important to the construction and maintenance of social relations and personal identity both in the present and through time. It is through relationships and interactions with things that people come to "know who they are" (Tilley (2007). This line of thinking has led some Latino studies scholars to propose that the retention of traditional aspects of culture, such as religious practices, often serves as a way of negotiating personal or cultural identity in an ever changing social milieu (Sandoval 2006, Aponte and De La Torre 2006). This …

Authoring Authority: The Apostle Paul And The Prophet Joseph Smith--A Critical Comparison Of Texts And Power In The Generation Of Religious Community, Alonzo Huntsman

CGU Theses & Dissertations

. . . believe in God, believe also in me . . . --John 14.1

"Authoring Authority" analyzes the ways texts function to generate social cohesion while at the same time advancing the power interests of their authors. The study is a comparative, critical, and interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary excavation of the religion-making efforts of the first-century Christian Apostle Paul and the nineteenth-century Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith.

This comparison defamiliarizes and recharacterizes the heroes and origin-stories of the dominant (and my own) tradition to force important questions about scholarly perspectives, interests and deferences (protection, exceptionalization), self-reflexivity, and politics. The project's critical orientation deploys …

Christianity And Hinduism: An Annotated Bibliography, Chad M. Bauman, Arun Jones, Brian Pennington, Joseph Prabhakar Dayam, Michelie Voss Roberts

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

No abstract available

Public Theology For Global Development: A Case Study Dealing With "Health" In Africa, Gregg A. Okesson

The Asbury Journal

This article makes a simple assertion. The problems faced by global societies require a multi-disciplinary approach, in which theology actively engages other disciplines, such as politics, health, economics, science, and cultural studies, for the purposes of helping the Church of Jesus Christ accurately represent "the fullness of him who fills everything in every way" (Eph 1:23). This reflects the writings of John Wesley and involves a process of reinterpreting the Asburian heritage of "the whole Bible for the whole World" for relating the Gospel to such issues as poverty, disease, famine, ecological disaster, and other facets of development crisis. In …

The Emerging Church - Part 4: Levels Of Change, Fernando Canale

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

Mary And Women In Late Imperial Russian Orthodoxy, Vera Shevzov

Religion: Faculty Books

Russian women of the nineteenth century are often thought of in their literary incarnations as the heroines of novels such as Anna Karenina and War and Peace. But their real-life counterparts are now becoming better understood as active contributors to Russia's varied cultural landscape. This collection of essays examines the lives of women across Russia - from wealthy noblewomen in St Petersburg to desperately poor peasants in Siberia - discussing their interaction with the Church and the law, and their rich contribution to music, art, literature and theatre. It shows how women struggled for greater autonomy and, both individually and …

Facing The Challenges In Christian-Muslim Dialogue, Yelena V. Muzykina

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Covenant Nation: The Politics Of Grace In Early American Literature, Justin M. Scott-Coe

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The argument of this dissertation is that a critical reading of the concept of "covenant" in early American writings is instrumental to understanding the paradoxes in the American political concepts of freedom and equality. Following Slavoj Zizek's theoretical approach to theology, I trace the covenant concept in early American literature from the theological expressions and disputes in Puritan Massachusetts through Jonathan Edwards's Freedom of Will and the essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson, showing how the covenant theology of colonial New England dispersed into more "secular" forms of what may be called an American political theology. The first chapter provides an …

Is The Reincarnation Hypothesis Advanced By Stevenson For Spontaneous Past-Life Experiences Relevant For The Understanding Of The Ontology Of Past-Life Phenomena?, Sergei Slavoutski

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

A significant volume of scientific evidence, uncovered by reincarnation research in the last

50 years, supports the reincarnation hypothesis advanced by Ian Stevenson for spontaneous

past-life experiences (PLEs). However, at this time this evidence cannot provide an

unquestionable proof of the existence of past-life phenomena, nor can it assert that

reincarnation is not possible. This paper suggests that the reincarnation hypothesis, being

reasonably parsimonious and relatively exhaustive, may provide a plausible explanation for

spontaneous PLEs. Also, based on the probability of the same ontology of spontaneous and

hypnotic PLEs, it may be argued that this hypothesis might also be relevant …

The Wal-Martization Of African American Religion: T.D. Jakes And Woman Thou Art Loosed, Paula L. Mcgee

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is an ideological critique of the New Black Church model of ministry, with T.D. Jakes and Woman Thou Art Loosed (WTAL) as a case study. T.D. Jakes is an African American televangelist who pastors The Potter’s House, a supermegachurch in Dallas, Texas. He is the quintessential example of a New Black Church pastor—a religious entrepreneur with several successful faith brands. WTAL is by far his most successful brand. Unashamed of his capitalist success, with an empire estimated to be worth $100 million dollars, Jakes says that it is occupational discrimination for him not to reap the benefits of …

Cross-Cultural Servant-Leadership For The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Papua New Guinea, Loren Kekes Poli

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Providing leadership for a diverse Papua New Guinea (PNG) remains a challenge for the Seventh-day Adventist church. There are more than 750 languages in current use and yet very little is being done to provide representation or give consideration to the cultural differences.

Method

A mixed-method research, both qualitative and quantitative, that included a review of literature, interviews, case studies, and a survey designed for use in PNG was used to conduct this research designed to explore and identify the knowledge of leadership from the context of PNG and how that understanding influences the support, perceptions, and practices of …

The Stone-Campbell Movement In Latin America And The Caribbean, Carmelo Alvarez

Leaven

No abstract provided.

A Reading Resource On Micah For Ministers And Teachers, John T. Willis

Leaven

No abstract provided.

Bagamoyo And The Spiritans, Florentine Mallya C.S.Sp.

Spiritan Horizons

No abstract provided.

Review Of "Caribbean Religious History: An Introduction" By E.B. Edmonds And M.A. Gonzalez, Yvonne Patricia Chireau

Religion Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Shamanic Knowledge: The Challenge To Information Science, Jay H. Bernstein

Publications and Research

Shamanism, a form of healing involving soul travel and trance found in many traditional societies the world over, has been studied by anthropologists and scholars of religious studies. Shamanic traditions are characterized by specialized, restricted, and esoteric knowledge domains that are encoded and communicated through condensed and mystified symbols and reproduced in ceremonies. Shamanic knowledge is acquired through direct experience of the numinous, usually in the process of overcoming personal affliction. Information science so far has been silent on shamanic knowledge. This is understandable given the latter discipline's focus on formal documentary information systems and advanced information technologies. But in …

Santo Toribio: The Rise Of A Saint, Thomas G. Evans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Santo Toribio (1900-28) was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church in 2000 as a martyr of Mexico's bloody Cristero Rebellion. He enjoyed a modest local following for decades after the Rebellion as many of the other Cristero martyr-saints did. However, around the time of his canonization, a new identity began to emerge different from that of martyr; he became the patron saint of immigration. For believers, Santo Toribio helps mitigate the criminal nature of this act by showing God's approval and blessing. He places the pain and social distortion of Border crossing in Roman Catholic contexts of holiness and divine …

2011 Icda Conference Program (Us)

International Catholic Deaf Association (ICDA) Conferences

Documents from the 6th Biennial ICDA-US Conference held in Shaumburg, IL in 2011

• Conference program
• Banquet program
• Schedule of activities

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Implementing A Discernment Phase For Those Nominated In The Shepherd Selection Process At The Cinco Ranch Church Of Christ, Aaron Walling

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the results of a project that implemented a discernment phase for those nominated in the shepherd selection process at the Cinco Ranch Church of Christ. Occurring in the fall of 2010, this project involved nominees in a series of six one-hour, thirty-minute sessions designed to establish the theological foundations for shepherding and to explore its practical expression at Cinco Ranch. For the theological component, this project primarily utilized Ephesians 4:11-16, and for the practical side, it incorporated group interactions with those serving as shepherds along with the review of guiding leadership documents. The project‟s …

Recreating Religion: The Response To Joseph Smith’S Innovations In The Second Prophetic Generation Of Mormonism, Christopher James Blythe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On June 27, 1844, Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, was assassinated. In the wake of his death, a number of would-be
successors emerged. Each of these leaders - part of what I call the second prophetic
generation - established a unique vision of Mormonism.

In 1844, Mormonism was in the middle of a major shift in its character. Joseph
Smith’s death left numerous theological and practical questions unresolved. This thesis argues that, rather than merely a succession struggle of competition and power, a principal function of the second prophetic generation in Mormonism …

Luke 18:9-14: An Expositional And Literary Discussion On The Parable On The Pharisee And Tax Collector, Nathan A. Schwenk

Senior Honors Theses

In the third Gospel of the New Testament, Luke consistently writes about the Pharisees and their piety pronouncing woes and judgments upon them. Representing the religious leaders of that day, they exalted themselves above everyone else and most of all, tax collectors, who are the epitome of sinners. However, the principle of the great reversal is a prominent theme in Luke’s Gospel, in which the exalted are humbled and the humble are exalted. Multiple times Jesus uses this principle to completely transform peoples’ mindset on who is greatest in the world.

This thesis will offer an extensive exposition on the …

Bible Translation And Anthropology: The Superiority Of A Dynamic Equivalence Method Of Translation, Kathryn Hedrick

Senior Honors Theses

Bible translation has taken many forms and employed many methods in the past centuries since it was compiled and formalized.  Methods of translation range from highly literal to unduly free, with several intervals between the two.  In order to come to an accurate translation that can be properly understood by people far removed from the time and culture of the Bible, translators must employ cultural anthropology to understood the culture they are trying to reach.  This use of anthropology, combined with a dynamic-equivalence method of translation, produces the most effective and universally understandable translation of the Christian Bible.

Crafting A Congregational Narrative For The College Church Of Christ In Fresno, California, Jason W. Locke

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes a ministry project in the College Church of Christ in Fresno, California. In this project I led the congregation through a narrative crafting process in order to clarify the church’s identity and increase its capacity for mission. In recent decades, the College Church moved away from some of its founding characteristics yet failed to clarify a new sense of identity. It subsequently had difficulty acting with a unified sense of purpose and instead moved increasingly toward fragmentation.

Data for crafting the new narrative came from three weeks of group interviews. My research team conducted these interviews in …

Discerning A Vocational Theology Of Marriage For The Smyrna Church Of Christ, Daniel F. Camp

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project was to discern a vocational theology of marriage for the Smyrna Church of Christ in Smyrna, Tennessee. Through a group discernment process, the participants studied Genesis 1-3 and 2 Corinthians 5 as a basis for understanding God’s design for marriage at creation, the effects of sin on the vocational aspect of the marriage relationship, and the call of Christ for husbands and wives to participate in the resurrection life through the ministry of reconciliation. At the end of the discernment process, the participants articulated a theology statement for the church that examined our current context …

Kurosawa, Akira (1910-1988), James Mark Shields

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Ozu, Yasujirō (1903–1963), James Mark Shields

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Miyazaki, Hayao (1941–), James Mark Shields

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.