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A Phenomenological Study Of Discipleship Experiences In Hartsville, Sc, Baptist Churches, Robert W. Stuckey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Catchy quotes could describe an identified problem, but none were used here. Eternity is what is at stake. The American church is in trouble. Discipleship has been ineffective inside and outside the church for growth in the kingdom of God. This phenomenological qualitative study was performed to understand the discipleship experiences of pastors and mature Christians. The setting of this study was Hartsville, South Carolina, area Baptist churches. This study utilized semi-structured interviews to obtain data. The population was twelve mature Christians, comprised of a lead pastor and two mature Christians from four selected churches. The instrument utilized was two …

Isaiah 53: Grammatical, Structural And Exegetical Observations, Felipe Braz Federson

Masters Theses

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is a famous passage from the Tanakh that contains important grammatical constructions in Hebrew which, if translated incorrectly, can lead to erroneous exegetical and theological conclusions. Among these problems, the Servant’s relationship with the other characters in the passage is addressed. Through an analysis of the literary context and the structure of the text, not only are several exegetical possibilities substantiated, but two prototype translations are also provided, one based on the Leningrad Codex and another based on the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa).

Evangelism Development In A Multigenerational Rural Church, John E. Baldwin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Berea Baptist Church in Rockville, VA lacks a multigenerational means of evangelism.

Modern Critiques Of The Kalam Cosmological Argument, Colby D. Crawford

Masters Theses

The Kalam Cosmological Argument (KCA), like all other arguments for the existence of God, is constantly under a microscope. Individuals are continuously struggling to undermine its validity, and until recently they have generally failed in demonstrating that the KCA is irrelevant. Since William Lane Craig revitalized the Kalam in 1979, scientists and philosophers have offered objections against it from all perspectives. However, due to the KCA’s modesty and simplicity it has stood the test of time against its critics. That is, it has until now.

Ego Eimi And The Surpassing Greatness Of Jesus Christ In The Gospel Of John, Keith Kekoa Pang

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

When it comes to the "ἐγὼ εἰμι" statements (translated as "I am" in English), in the Gospel of John, there has been a heavy emphasis from scholarship on the seven declarations which contain a metaphor. These are the ἐγὼ εἰμι statements such as “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, English Standard Version) or “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). However, there are seven other ἐγὼ εἰμι statements in John’s Gospel which do not contain a metaphor, such as, “I who speak to you am he” (John 4:26, emphasis mine). Consequently, scholars have tended to separate …

An Exegetical Analysis On Zechariah 11, Jian Wu

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The prophetic book of Zechariah, the longest one of the Twelve Prophets, contains many interpretive challenges. This dissertation focuses on Zechariah 11 while acknowledging textual issues and heavy influence from the Major Prophets and offers a harmonized holistic interpretation of the two sign-acts, the shepherds and staffs, and other relevant issues such as the thirty pieces of silver through applying five research methodologies. This dissertation argues that Zechariah 11 provides a retrospective of what Israel experienced to raise an alarm for them to obey God’s command. This partly explains the abrupt shift in tone from hope and promise in Zechariah …

Expanding The Apostolic Mission: A Biblical-Theological Analysis Of Peter's Epistles As Evidence Of His Universal Apostleship Beyond The Jewish Context, Peter J. Ireland

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Paul’s designation of Peter as the apostle to the Jews suggests that Peter’s mission was restricted and impacts the interpretation of his Epistles. Scholarly neglect of Peter and critical scholarship’s rejection of the Petrine Epistles’ authenticity result in the underutilization of the context of Peter’s complete life in the analysis of the Petrine Epistles. However, categorizing Peter as always being the apostle to the Jews does not fit the rest of the biblical evidence. Using a biblical-theological approach to the biblical texts supplemented by extrabiblical evidence to understand the biblical authors’ contexts while considering the passage of time, this dissertation …

Catholic Studies Newsletter 2024, Sacred Heart University

Catholic Studies Newsletter

Highlights: CS Minor Attends Summer Seminar on Integral Ecology -- Faculty Profile: Anna Ramirez -- The Center for Catholic Studies: Spring Speaker Series and Bergoglio Lectures -- Center for Catholic Studies Awarded $30K Grant for Social Justice Seminar.

Mythos And Meaning: Medieval Appropriations Of Mythological Types In The Consolation Of Philosophy And Later Western Literatures, Francis J. Hunter

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Often referred to as the last Roman and first medieval, Boethius, author of The Consolation of Philosophy, has been widely received as an unoriginal philosopher who sought to preserve Platonic thought as the Western Roman Empire fell. However, this essay features an investigation into the literary originality of Boethius who initiates a line of Christian and Platonic literatures to follow in the medieval European tradition. Boethius demonstrates himself to be a poet who makes great use of philosophy rather than as a philosopher writing poetry. Boethius’ poetic influence is felt most strongly in major aspects of Dante’s Divine Comedy and …

The Crucible Of War: The Personal History Of A Social Democrat In Nazi Germany, Michael Tetto

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On Christmas Day 1943, Somewhere in Russia, Siegfried Sinz enjoyed a jovial moment with his unit of the German Army. It was a refreshing break from the trials of war, for he had been on the eastern front since June of 1941. Cautiousness, endemic of their proximity to the battle front, attended the preparations for the event. All windows needed to be sealed to prevent light from escaping into the night lest any Russians on patrol ascertain their location and attack. Unfortunately, someone did not seal one of the windows completely; a ray of light escaped to illuminate the darkened …

Voices Of Resiliency And Persistence: Native Americans In Southern New England In The Seventeenth Century, Debra Taylor

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

During the early seventeenth century, the Algonquian Indians of Southern New England demonstrated courage and resilience as their societies survived a "massive depopulation" from diseases introduced through European colonization (See Fig. 1). It is a credit to the strength of their core values that Native Americans successfully combined remaining clan members and reconstructed stable communities. However, these communities became threatened as increased numbers of English colonists arrived believing that the devastation of Indian numbers was the divine hand of God paving the way for colonial settlement and supremacy. As contact increased between two vastly different worlds, colonists minimized Indians and …

Elizabeth As Constantine: John Foxe And Holy Women, Courtney Jensen Peacock

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

One of the most frequently discussed issues in Renaissance feminist scholarship is the degree of authority and influence women held in their respective societies. During the sixteenth century, the most obvious indication of female power was the dramatic appearance of powerful female regents and monarchs. This was especially apparent in England, with Jane Gray, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth Tudor each succeeding to the throne and initiating a succession of female domination for almost fifty years. Whereas women had been traditionally excluded from civil and religious authority, the advent of these female ru lers initiated a new discussion concerning the rights …

Dr. John Snow And The Nineteenthcentury British Cholera Crisis, Betsy A. Maughan

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

During the nineteenth century, Britain underwent attacks from a silent, determined killer. Invisible to the naked eye, this sinister enemy invaded towns, villages and homes with unforgiving stealth and cruelty. Lives were changed forever as panic, terror, and death overtook human habitats. The sneaky menace was Asiatic cholera. Although the first devastating British attack occurred during 1831-1832, London was fortunate enough to stay out of its destructive path. Luck ran out, however, as the second assault occurred during 1848-1849, consuming a good part of the city. Dr. John Snow, English physician, anesthetist and epidemiologist, dedicated most of his life to …

God Will Be All In All: The Visio Dei In The Theology Of Gerhard In The Early Church, Zach Eshelman

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

The beatific vision is a curious doctrine in Lutheran circles. Luther, Pieper and modern commentators all affirm the teaching that “eternal life consists in seeing God.” Nonetheless, the doctrine enjoys only passing reference when it is discussed. Potential reasons for such silence could be a study within itself, but it is worth taking time to look at what is likely the most robust articulation of the doctrine from a prominent Lutheran theologian.

Grapho 2025, Kyle Moellenhoff

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

The theme for this year’s journal, “With Eyes of Faith,” was selected to fit with the Seminary’s theme for the academic year, “Let us Fix our Eyes on Jesus.” As I pondered this theme it was the word “eyes” that stood out most. The Lutheran tradition, with its rich theology of the proclaimed Word, tends to focus heavily on the ears. After all, Paul says that “faith comes from hearing” (Rom 10:17). But with all this salutary emphasis on hearing, we should not neglect the role that the eyes play in the life of faith.

The Eye Of The Beholder, Nathaniel Pekari

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

The Eye of the Beholder

Initiated Reading: Occult Hermeneutics In Helena Blavatsky's Isis Unveiled, Diana Brown

Dissertations - ALL

In this dissertation, I argue that Theosophical Society co-founder Helena Petrovna Blavatsky’s first major work, Isis Unveiled (1877), describes an occult hermeneutic of myth based on the privileging of intuition, theorized especially in Neoplatonic terms, and premised on a tripartite spirit-soul-body constitution of the human being. Her hermeneutic also privileges initiation, construed as experiential gnosis often produced by ritual, and she opposes both intuition and initiation to reason and empiricism. Theorizing global myths as allegories revealing elements of a universal religion, or secret doctrine, traceable to India, she brings together an esotericism premised on a combination of Indian religion and …

Reconstructing Hope And Resilience Among Kenyan Adolescent Immigrants, Julius Mwangi

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

The study "Reconstructing Hope and Resilience Among Kenyan Adolescent Immigrants" explores Kenyan immigrant families' challenges in the United States and their impact on their adolescent children. It proposes a community-led mentoring program incorporating emotional intelligence competencies and faith to support adolescents' success. Additionally, the study advocates for a new immigrant parent-mentoring program to help them navigate the complex legal process to accelerate their immigration and successful acculturalization. The research contains selected Bible narratives that identify parental responsibilities towards their children and discourses on their successful utility or lack thereof. The study argues that parents and the community have a responsibility …

Between Visits: Hindu Domestic Religiosity, Home Shrines, And Thirdspace In The Diaspora, Aarti Patel

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation analyzes the importance of the domestic sphere as a site for the transmission and development of an individual devotional disposition for Swaminarayan Hindus living in the United States and Canada. Focusing on Hindus in the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) community living in Canada and the United States, this dissertation presents a new direction for existing scholarship of Hinduism in the public sphere by arguing for a more holistic study of how Hindus living outside of India develop and maintain a religious identity in their daily lives in the domestic sphere, both collectively as a family and …

A Hegelian Theory Of Divine Revelation, Jason D. Barton

Philosophy ETDs

Through an intensive examination of the second volume of G.W.F. Hegel’s oft-neglected Berlin Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion, I demarcate and elucidate a Hegelian theory of divine revelation. The second volume of these Lectures advances a series of configurations for religious consciousness through which absolute spirit passes in order to gain awareness of itself in the register of representation. While Hegel identifies divinity with absolute spirit in its moments and movements indicative of an odyssey, Hegel also ventures to painstaking lengths for the sake of authentically capturing how world-historical religions respectively portray(ed) the divine. Such a distinction between …

Frozen Ii And Girls’ Spiritual Formation: How The Music Of An Animated Musical Resonates With Girls And Women, Cristen Mitchell

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

Frozen II (2019) is a popular Disney animated movie for children and depicts striking spiritual elements while weaving in feminist practices such as justice and equity, and feminist theology through representations of female spirits and connection to the earth. Through this movie, its themes, and the historical exclusion of women in the church, this thesis seeks to show that representation of women in the divine is an important, and necessary part of the spiritual and psychological development of girls and women. The methods of this thesis include exploring the following synchronicities:

1. Parallels between feminist issues in the church and Walt …

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Plenty Good Room: Using Negro Spirituals To Bridge The Racial Divide, Darnell Allen St. Romain

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

In 2020, the United States experienced a global pandemic and the murder of Mr. George Floyd. With the murder of Floyd, many churches were confronted with the racial divide in the United States. This thesis is a response of one community, the Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Plano, Texas. Using the folk song of Black Americans, namely the Negro Spirituals, as the foundation of an ethical-theological framework, this thesis poses one way for addressing the anti-Black structure prevalent in the Catholic Church in the United States of America. This work progresses from despair to hope, addressing the link between …

Making Old Things New Again: The Northridge Psalter, With Antiphons Based On Lessons From The Revised Common Lectionary, Bryan Scott Page

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

Responsive psalmody is one of the primary musical vehicles for presenting the Psalms in worship by choir and congregation. Existing responsive psalmody features congregational antiphons with texts derived directly from the psalms. Working with the Revised Common Lectionary, this thesis presents fifty newly written and composed antiphons with texts derived from the accompanying RCL lessons. The goal of this method is to emphasize prophetic connections between the Old Testament lesson and Gospel lesson via the antiphons. This thesis also features a history of lectionary development, a detailed account of the creative process, rubrics for presenting the responsive psalmody in worship, …

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The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Robbed In The Wilderness: The Western Odyssey Of John Hoback, Edward Robinson, And Jacob Reznor, Aaron Cobia

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Warned by John Reed that a band of Shoshones were on the war path, Marie Dorion gathered her two young children, got on her horse, and headed to where her husband, Pierre, was hunting. Delayed by darkness, cold, and fear of Indians, Marie finally reached the hut from which Pierre and the other men were hunting. As she approached the hut, she saw Giles Leclerc "staggering as if unwell." Wounded and faint from the loss of blood, Leclerc told Marie that La Chappelle, Reznor, and her husband had been "robbed and murdered that morning. " Marie put LeClerc and one …

Domestic And Foreign Opium Regulation In Victorian England: 1830-1900, Zachary Zundel

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

By the nineteenth century, the British Empire had extended its reach all the way around the globe. They did not come to this position easily. Extending their reach required the British to fight wars with many of the major European powers, such as France, both on the mainland and in colonies around the world. China proved to be one of the most difficult areas for the British to extend into. In China the people were resistant to diseases and possessed greater technology than the other areas of the globe. Europeans wanted access to Asia for products such as spices and …

Manchester And The Lit And Phil, Nik Vigil

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In writing his extensive History, Directory, and Gazetteer of the County Palatine of Lancaster, Edward Baines wrote, "When the increase of wealth and population lead to the establishment of societies for the improvement of the mind and the extension of science, they produce their legitimate influence; of this nature is the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society." The Lit and Phil, as it was most commonly known, was established in 1781 as a society intended for the discussion of topics as diverse as experimental chemistry and the commercial arts. The Lit and Phil was unique in that it was begun …

"Dish For An Epicure": Spanish Perceptions Of Indigenous Food In Mexico And Central America, 1517-1577, Timothy Boyer

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Upon Arrival in Veracruz, Mexico in 1520, the conquistadors were exposed to the sights, sounds, and tastes of the New World. In Cuba they had subsisted on a mostly European diet, but in Mexico they would have to learn to make do with indigenous foods. Their leader, Hernan Cortes, ordered the ships burned to prevent deserters, destroying any hope they had of receiving supplies of European foods during their conquest of what would later become known as Nueva Espana. This left them highly dependent on either their own ability to properly identify food sources or, as was usually the case, …

Dietrich Bonhoeffer And Benedict Of Nursia, Lelia Duncan, Hank Voss

Posters

Lelia Duncan explores the relationship between Benedict of Nursia's Rule, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together, and Taylor University's Life Together Covenant.

Cultural Diversity In The Body Of Christ: An African American Theological Reading Of The Book Of Revelation, Charles Gilmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study will attempt to facilitate a more helpful reading of the text of John’s Apocalypse by placing it in an appropriate literary and historical context, deploying an African American hermeneutic, informed by the work of African American commentators such as Brian Blount, Allen Dwight Callahan, Clarice Martin, and Shanell T. Smith to develop from the text of the Apocalypse its ecclesiological content for a contemporary audience. As the church writ large (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and indigenous expressions) wrestles with its increasing global presence and the cultural and linguistic diversity which that expanded presence creates, this study will attempt to …