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The Silent Witness, November-December 2010

Silent Witness, The

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Washington, D.C.

The Silent Witness Finding Aid

Catholic Diaspora In The Russian Media: "Marginalization" From Outside And "Self-Silencing" From Inside, Victor Khroul

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Leisure In The Life Of The 21st Century Black Church: Re-Thinking The Gift, Steven N. Waller Ph.D.

Movement and Being: The Journal of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sports Studies

Scholarship devoted to examining the role that leisure plays in the life of the Black Church is lacking. Leisure is an important facet of congregational life in African American churches and permeates congregational dynamics on multiple levels. The purpose of this essay is to examine leisure in the life of the Black Church and posit how a healthy, theologically accurate understanding of the value of leisure can help with health and wellness promotion, community-economic development and church growth. The Black Church is defined as the eight historically Black denominations: African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal, Church …

A Thing Called Race, Clanton W. Dawson

Conference on Philosophy and Theology

Keynote Speaker

Making A Cantonese-Christian Family: Quotidian Habits Of Language And Background In A Transnational Hongkonger Church, Justin K. H. Tse

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Studies of the Hong Kong‐Vancouver transnational migration network seldom pay close attention to religion in the everyday lives of Hongkonger migrants. Based on 9 months of ethnographic fieldwork at St. Matthew's Church, a Hong Kong church in Metro Vancouver, this paper examines the tacit assumptions and taken‐for‐granted quotidian practices through which a Hongkonger church is made. I argue that St. Matthew's Church has been constructed as a Hong Kong Cantonese‐Christian family space through the everyday use of language and invocations of a common educational background. This argument extends the literature on Hongkonger migration to Metro Vancouver by grounding it in …

Seeking Truth On The Other Side Of The Wall: Greenleaf’S Evangelists Meet The Federal Rules, Naturalism, And Judas, Nancy J. Kippenhan

Faculty Publications and Presentations

An inquiry that seeks truth by accepting only natural answers excludes the possibility of the sacred or supernatural, building a wall that forecloses a complete exploration for the truth it seeks. Without analysis, critics dismiss sources presenting supernatural explanations, and those who believe sacred works have no factual foundation accept without investigation any popular theory that appears attractive. The rules of evidence expressly seek truth, wherever it lies. Noted legal scholar Simon Greenleaf used evidentiary principles to demonstrate the factual credibility of the Gospels in his Testimony of the Evangelists. This Article examines Greenleaf’s analysis, applying current rules of evidence …

Dante, Existential Hero, Joseph L. Nagy

Presidential Seminar on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition

So much has been written about Dante's Comedy in the seven centuries since its creation that it is hard to imagine that there is something new to add. But like all great art, it harbors a mystery. By what magic did Dante create this wonder? Where in the labyrinth of the human soul did he find the inspiration to synthesize classical Greek and Roman philosophy and literature with scholastic theology to create a work that has often been described as the equivalent of a medieval cathedral?

Visionary Ascents Of Moses In Pseudo-Philo's Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum: Apocalyptic Motifs And The Growth Of Visionary Moses Tradition, Kristine Johnson Ruffatto

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation explores the development of visionary Moses tradition from its origins in the Hebrew Bible through pro-Mosaic Second Temple literature and rabbinic texts. It demonstrates that throughout this variegated literature, there is a developing tendency to portray Moses as an apocalyptic seer. In the non-biblical Mosaic texts that were analyzed, Moses' revelation on Sinai and Nebo is increasingly invested with esoteric content, and Moses' ascents are often depicted as heavenly journeys. These revelatory developments have conceptual roots in alternative visionary traditions, notably Enochic lore. The texts investigated contain a discernible thread of dialogue with Enochic revelatory claims; Moses' ascents …

Into Africa, Christopher Duncan

Spiritan Horizons

No abstract provided.

Lao Buddhist Women: Quietly Negotiating Religious Authority, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Throughout years of war and political upheaval, Buddhist women in Laos have devotedly upheld traditional values and maintained the practice of offering alms and other necessities to monks as an act of merit. In a religious landscape overwhelmingly dominated by bhikkhus (fully ordained monks), a small number have renounced household life and become maekhaos, celibate women who live as nuns and pursue contemplative practices on the periphery of the religious mainstream. Patriarchal ecclesiastical structures and the absence of a lineage of full ordination for women have combined to render the religious roles of Buddhist nuns and laywomen virtually invisible throughout …

Walking Atm’S: A Criminological Examination Of Hispanic Robbery Victimization Pre And Post Hurricane Katrina In Metropolitan New Orleans, Dennis Thornton

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina sparked the largest influx of Hispanic laborers in the metropolitan New Orleans area ever recorded in Louisiana’s history. Inhabiting impoverished neighborhoods with minimal resources, unable to speak the language and illegal in status, may prime this migrant class as vulnerable targets of robbery. Hence, robberies against Hispanics have increased in Jefferson Parish, which is the basis for the present study. The intention of this research is to ascertain whether such robbery victims sustain greater secondary violence during the commission of the crime than that of Non-Hispanics and also if geographic confinement is contributory factor to …

Using An Ancient Saint For Contemporary Political Purposes: The Case Of Irenaeus Of Sirmium In Sremska Mitrovica Today, Marijana Vukoviæ

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

What Difference Does It Make?: E-Learning And Faith Community, Mary E. Hess

Faculty Publications

By adopting a relational model of teaching and learning we can better align our programs of Christian education with our fundamental understandings of the faith. Digital technologies can help us do this more fully and more effectively.

Social Networking And Church Systems, Dwight J. Zscheile

Faculty Publications

Most existing church systems were shaped by bureaucratic organizational paradigms of a previous century that are coming under increasing stress today. The shift to a network society brings both profound challenges and great opportunities to the church in our culture.

Halldor Laxness And The Latter-Day Saints: The Story Behind The Novel Paradisarheimt, Fred E. Woods

BYU Studies

On the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Halldor Laxness's Mormon-themed novel Paradisarheimt (Paradise Reclaimed), BYU professor Fred E. Woods tells the story of how the Nobel-prize winning author became interested in the topic of Mormon Icelandic immigration to Utah. Woods shares correspondence between Laxness and Latter-day Saints, thus portraying the friendships that developed as Laxness visited Utah for book research and continued to write to his friends for more information. Woods compares stories of real Icelandic Mormon immigrants with the fictional characters in Laxness's novel. At the time of the book's publication, some Mormon readers felt that …

Rethinking Missiology In The Context For The 21st Century: Global Demographic Trends And Diaspora Missiology, Enoch Wan

Great Commission Research Journal

New orientations are required of practitioners/researchers in formulating mission strategy and conducting missiological research in the context of the 21st Century due to the global demographic trends of internal migration to the city and international immigration to countries of the Northwest region. In addition, the center of Christianity has shifted from the Northern hemisphere towards the south and from the post-Christian west to elsewhere; thus new approaches are required. Diaspora missiology will be presented as an alternative to the traditional orientations of farming analogy (e.g. church planting and church growth), territorialization (e.g. home vs. foreign missions, sending vs. receiving) and …

C.S. Lewis, Platonism, And Aslan's Country: Symbols Of Heaven In The Chronicles Of Narnia, H. Dennis Fisher

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

C.S. Lewis held the conviction that all humans have meaningful images embedded in their minds that are often expressed in myths and legends. The richness of the Narnia Chronicles is often traceable to mythic patterns and philosophic thought employed by Lewis.

In The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis envisions heaven through the symbolic presentation of “Aslan’s Country.” Every other world is linked to it as a peninsula is connected to a mighty continent. It can be reached only through magic or more often “the door of noble death.” Its boundaries expand according to the exploration quests of its inhabitants. Hence, …

So Old And So New: Memory And Expectation In The Fantastic Works Of C.S. Lewis And J.R.R. Tolkien, Megan J. Robinson

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

For both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, the realms and stories of Faërie and the fantastic, in addition to being entertaining were revelatory: insights about the very nature of Reality come through the images and narratives of these secondary worlds, in which the perception of time often plays a major role. Examining such issues as time and ultimate reality in Lewis’s and Tolkien’s works must take into account each author’s devout and profound Christian faith, oriented around the eucatastrophe of the Gospel message radiating backwards and forwards throughout human history. This faith thus shaped how they understood the past, present, …

Mitt Romney’S Religion: A Five Factor Model For Analysis Of Media Representation Of Mormon Identity, Sherry Baker, Joel Campbell

Faculty Publications

Mitt Romney’s religion accounted for 50% of all religion-related presidential primary campaign stories in 2007, and 30% of Romney’s total media coverage focused on his Mormon faith. This article reviews that coverage and considers it within the larger historical context of the complex relationship between media and Mormonism throughout the 180-year history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A factorial model (the first in the area of Mormon Media Studies) is proposed by which to document and analyze the wider societal influences that are reflected in media representation of Mormon identity. The model’s 5 factors include the …

Something Old, Something New: In Search Of The New Monasticism, Julian Collette

Obsculta

Julian Collette is a student of monastic studies and pastoral ministry. He has lived in various intentional communities such as New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California, and an Ecovillage and Zen Buddhist Meditation Center in Massachusetts. In June 2011, as part of his academic program at Saint John’s Theology•Seminary, Julian will embark on a 14 month bicycle tour of the United Stated, visiting various intentional communities including those identified with the New Monasticism movement. Along the way he will conduct interviews which will be made available in a podcast. Julian’s journey can be followed by visiting: www.emerging-communities.com.

Matteo Ricci And His Process Of Evangelization, Joel Cassady

Obsculta

No abstract provided.

Beyond Settling Down, Jakob Rinderknecht

Obsculta

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Analysis Between A Preacher's Practice And Homiletic Theory, Curtis Castillow

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This qualitative research compared the practice of an expert preacher to core concepts in homiletic theory (the art and craft of preaching), searching for discrepancies between what theory suggested and what the preacher practiced. It also sought to validate that the preacher practiced what homiletic theorists prescribed and to inform homiletic theory by describing strategies he employed unlike those espoused in homiletic theory.

To discover whether the participant's practice was congruent with theory, I first identified seminal theories. They were classified into the following modified version of Broadus's categories of ideal preaching: (a) content, (b) arrangement, (c) introduction,transition, and conclusion, …

The Integration Of The Volga Germans Into American Lutheranism, Richard Allen Davenport

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This paper traces the incorporation of Lutheran Volga Germans arriving in this country between 1870 and 1910 into American Christianity and identifies factors in their affiliation with American church bodies. It analyzes whether Lutheran bodies identified the Volga Germans as a distinct ethnic group among German immigrants in America and recognized the specific challenges and adaptations necessary to work among them. Where Volga German congregations were established, the factors which decided joining one denomination over another are explored. Specific theological, ecclesiastical, and cultural issues that determined whether a group of Volga Germans aligned with one church body versus another are …

About The Struggle Between The "Lower" And "Upper", Viktor Yelenskyy

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Religion And Regionalism: Congregants, Culture And City-County Consolidation In Louisville, Kentucky, Joshua D. Ambrosius

Political Science Faculty Publications

Literature on religious involvement in public affairs typically examines the national scene, particularly public opinion and political behavior in presidential elections. Few scholars examine religious actors in urban politics and policymaking. Those who do study local politics emphasize morality policy and ignore issues of metropolitan governance and institutional design, central concerns of the urban politics field. This dissertation fills that gap by studying Louisville, Kentucky, site of the first large-scale city-county consolidation since 1969. I ask: does religion affect how people vote in a consolidation referendum and shape their opinions about merged government? I employ a survey instrument (N=807), collected …

The Local Churches And The Universal Church: Reflections On The Kasper/Ratzinger Debate, Adam Koester

Obsculta

No abstract provided.

An Effective Strategy For Leadership Development In The Cell Church, Dea Hee Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to understand the cell church and leadership development in the cell church, and invent an effective strategy for leadership development in the cell church through literature research and a case study of New Covenant Fellowship Church (NCFC). The case study will focus on the strategic process for leadership development at NCFC. This thesis will also analyze and evaluate the current situation of NCFC based on responses to a questionnaire survey from 140 leaders of NCFC, its historical documents, and its website. This thesis intends to develop healthy spiritual cell leaders who have characteristics that …

The Ascension Of Yahweh: The Origins And Development Of Israelite Monotheism From The Afrasan To Josiah, Andrew Halladay

Pomona Senior Theses

INTRODUCTION: THE SEARCH FOR THE GOD OF ABRAHAM TEXT AND HISTORY: THE FORMATION OF THE ABRAHAMIC DEITY Recent years have seen substantial changes in the study of ancient Israelite religion. These changes have created ample work for scholars of religious studies and related fields as virtually all disciplines have something to say about recent archaeological and scholarly developments concerning Yahwism and its early development. In this scholarly milieu, it is difficult to present anything that is wholly new, but certainly possible to enter a spirited discourse about ancient questions. To discuss the origins and evolution of the Abrahamic deity—as I …

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.