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Synecdoche: A Gospel Story, Levi A. Larson

Masters of Theological Studies

PreFace

My wife and I recently took a trip to Disney World, and while we marveled at the attractions I began to hear languages that I was not used to hearing. It was the sound of diversity.

Disney World has a magic that attracts people from a diversity of places, religions, ages, genders, and sexual orientation. So, the question is: What makes so many different kinds of people stand in line to meet a man in a mouse costume in Florida? I believe, the answer is story.

Stories bring us together, bridging social gaps and allowing us to not only …

Healing Through Humility: An Examination Of Augustine's Confessions, Catherine Maurer

All NMU Master's Theses

The concepts outlined by St. Augustine show how confessional writing leads to breaking the bonds that trap people in negativity, self-doubt, hurt, depression, grief, despair, and shame. His writing journeys through breaking the barriers pride placed on him while working to show how those barriers came into place. This thesis analyzes Augustine’s confessions through the lens of humility to show how Augustine’s revelations do more than bridge the gap between saint and sinner. They speak to the capacity of humility to define the individual in honest and practical ways. Augustine, along with many other saints and scholars of humility, holds …

Uzbekistan: Religious Freedom Survey, 2017, Http://Www.Forum18.Org/Archive.Php?Article_Id=2314 Forum 18

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Freedom of religion or belief, along with intrinsically linked freedoms such as those of expression, association, and assembly, is seriously restricted in Uzbekistan. Officials frequently violate freedom of thought, conscience and belief and other interlinked human rights, violating the government's legally-binding international human rights commitments. These restrictions on human rights are part of the regime's intentional systemic policy to control every aspect of society. This is why followers of all religions and beliefs—with no exceptions—face freedom of religion or belief violations.

People Or Profit: A Comparison Of Health Care In Brazil And The United States, Alexandre A. Martins

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

This essay offers a reflection about the increasing influence of profit in Catholic health care. Based on Jesus' teaching that shows that the need of the wounded person on the street comes first (Luke 10: 25-37), Catholic health care ministry has the challenge to create services where people, not profit, come first.

Messages To European Muslims, Mustafa Cerić

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"I have never felt so shocked nor so ashamed as I felt while listening to the world media about the bloody London Bridge attack claiming to be carried out "in the name of Allah." I cannot accept it because this is not my faith. This is not the Allah I believe in. My Allah is not a hater! My Allah is not violent! My faith is not the knife! After the civil attack in London and Manchester, Dr. Mustafa Cerić, Grand Mufti Emeritus of Bosnia-Herzegovina, sent "An Appeal to the European Muslims: Let Us Have a Common Word with Our …

Holistic Discipleship : Impact On Spiritual And Emotional Health, Lynette Shakunthala Sathiasingam

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Bulugo Vine Story: Redemptive Analogy Case Study, John Holbrook

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Shaw indicates that rather than contextualizing the missionary’s perception of Christianity to make it understandable within the local people’s culture, the missionary should facilitate the people themselves discovering God from within their own cultural context ... In my own mission experience, I have found this approach to be valid and preferable, once there are local believers, and as God begins to develop leaders from among them. At times, cultural dynamics or God’s preparation of an unreached people group allow them to discover God without a great deal of intervention on the missionary’s part. However, in the beginning stages, it is …

Reaching Thai Buddhists And Those With A Background In Thai Buddhist Beliefs, Warren A. Shipton, Jared Wright, Tonya Wright, Nilubon Srisai

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"One of the greatest challenges for those working across cultures is to understand the unique features of the host culture and the dominant religious beliefs and practices found in the society represented. If this is to be done acceptably, the written and spoken language must be mastered and personal friendships formed with community members. Much damage has been done by Western missionaries arriving with preconceived ideas on evangelism taken from their home country and with an attitude of being holders of superior knowledge in many areas of thought beyond that held by the host culture. Catholic missionary activity has been …

Christian Versus Heathen Ways Of Praying: A Look From The Age Of Postmodernity, Yuri N. Drumi

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"In many respects, postmodernity resembles paganism, but certainly it does not totally overlap with it. People around us are searching, but they do not search for answers and explanations as much as they are searching for people who are living answers. If prayer is a metanarrative, then my life must be a metanarrative too. In this context, I find helpful the analogy drawn by Crossan between Paul’s metaphor of spiritual maturation and that of an individual Christian growing in prayer. Paul says, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as …

Cultural Based Discipling According To The Strategies Of Jesus, Jonathan Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Many newly planted and existing churches in America have difficulty developing a discipleship culture. They focus on weekly worship gatherings and Bible Study classes. Gathering for worship and Bible Study is needed and right, but when this is the only activity, discipleship and a holistic healthy church culture is not occurring. Unfortunately, many churches engage in a consumer-driven culture with people unwilling to be in a sacrificial discipleship process for the Gospel’s sake. Jesus had four primary strategies for developing disciples. They are the gathered strategy, the small group strategy, the mentoring strategy and the sending strategy. Each is part …

How To Live While Ministering To The Dying: A Guide For Hospice Chaplains, Wayne Bruner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Burnout, turnover, and attrition are common among hospice chaplains. A guidebook to hospice chaplaincy, prepared by a veteran hospice chaplain, would articulate the specific characteristics, habits, ministry mindsets, lifestyle interests, spiritual development, and support systems that have proven effective in the lives and ministries of long-tenured hospice chaplains. Such a practical and biblical guidebook would be a welcomed tool for individuals considering hospice ministry, for novice chaplains, and for hospice organizations since it would foster chaplains’ resiliency and quality of life by showing what it means to “live” while ministering to the dying. This guidebook will review best practices in …

Julie Hanlon Rubio, Hope For Common Ground: Mediating The Personal And The Political In A Divided Church. Reviewed By Travis Ryan Pickell., Travis Ryan Pickell

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Review of Julie Hanlon Rubio, Hope for Common Ground: Mediating the Personal and the Political in a Divided Church Moral Traditions series (Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2016). xxi + 242 pp. ISBN 978-1-62616-306-5

It is no secret that we live in a time of intense polarization, perhaps especially in the American political context. This situation may be explained in a number of ways. Some will point to increasing economic inequality or socioeconomic and racial ‘sorting’. Others may point to the concurrent rise of ‘identity politics’ and the ‘politics of resentment’. Others will highlight the effects of technology, including the …

Who Is Tom Bombadil?: Interpreting The Light In Frodo Baggins And Tom Bombadil's Role In The Healing Of Traumatic Memory In J.R.R. Tolkien's _Lord Of The Rings_, Jane Beal Phd

Journal of Tolkien Research

In Rivendell, after Frodo has been attacked by Ringwraiths and is healing from the removal of the splinter from a Morgul-blade that had been making its way toward his heart, Gandalf regards Frodo and contemplates a “clear light” that is visible through Frodo to “eyes to see that can.” Samwise Gamgee later sees this light in Frodo when Frodo is resting in Ithilien. The first half of this essay considers questions about this light: how does Frodo become transparent, and why, and what is the nature of the light that fills him? As recourse to Tolkien’s letters shows, the light …

Won't You Be My Neighbor?, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018), directed by Morgan Neville.

First Reformed, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of First Reformed (2018), directed by Paul Schrader.

St. Francis Borgia Deaf Center Church Bulletin, June 24, 2018

Saint Francis Borgia Deaf Center Church Bulletin

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Chicago, IL

Saint Francis Brogia Deaf Center Church Bulletin Finding Aid

The Book Of Job And Our Human Suffering, James C. Schaap

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"In this world, people suffer. It comes with the territory. You can wish that fact not true, but you cannot wish it away. People suffer."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the universal experience of grief and pain from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/the-book-of-job-and-our-human-suffering/

Work And Rest: Cultural Lessons From A Semester Abroad, Sam Roskamp

Staff Work

"I sometimes wonder what the cost of the U.S. work culture has been. Have we become so fueled by work, success, busy schedules, and growth that we even created the phrase, 'time is money'?"

Posting about learning from other cultures from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/be-still/

Disintegrating Worldviews And The Future Of Catholic Education: Addressing The Deep Roots Of Catholic Disaffiliation, Patrick R. Manning

Journal of Catholic Education

Catholic schools in this country continue to struggle with declining enrollment just as the wider American Church continues to struggle with rampant disaffiliation. While some Catholic educators have generated creative solutions to keep their schools afloat, the long-term viability of U.S. Catholic education will require understanding the deep roots of current disaffiliation trends in the gradual fading of the Christian worldview from Westerners’ imaginations. This article addresses this issue by interpreting sociological data about the faith lives of Catholics and Americans in general through the lens of contemporary research on secularization. Working from these interpretive insights, the author suggests concrete …

The Fortnite Phenomenon: Should Christians Be Wary? (Part Ii), Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Video games should be viewed as providing teachable moments rather than dangerous temptations."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­parental responsibility in managing children's leisure activities from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/the-fortnite-phenomenon-should-christians-be-wary-part-ii/

St. Francis Borgia Deaf Center Church Bulletin, June 10, 2018

Saint Francis Borgia Deaf Center Church Bulletin

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Chicago, IL

Saint Francis Brogia Deaf Center Church Bulletin Finding Aid

El Sujeto Sexual En Las TeologíAs Queer: ¿Implicaciones Para Una TeologíA Queer Latinoamericana De La LiberacióN?, Beatriz Febus PéRez

Conexión Queer: Revista Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Teologías Queer

The subject of human sexuality has always been the subject of various discourses that have generated different debates throughout human history and Christianity. Today more than in the past arises the discussion from the sexual marginality and it is queer theory that tries to give voice to these margins, and identities questioning the heteropatriarcal gender and the sexuality. In this way, the present article discusses the various aspects that queer theory brings with its beginning and then how this sexual subject produces queer theologies. Finally, some implications of queer theologies with Latin American Liberation Theology are discussed.

Feeling Of / Feeling For
 Queer Community: The Social Activism Of The San Francisco Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence, Jason B. Crawford

Conexión Queer: Revista Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Teologías Queer

This interdisciplinary article explores the queer social activism of the San Francisco Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Based on over ten years of participant observation and archival research, I examine their rituals and public performances in order to illuminate the complex ways in which queer community is identified, felt, thought and lived out in response to social injustices rooted in religion. Using a theoretically informed lens, I alternate between academic and liturgical styles of writing to convey the feelings for, and feelings of, community that motivate and inspire the Sisters’ unique sacred clown aesthetic inspired by a desire to queer and …

Facultamiento Transgresivo: Queerificando Las Espiritualidades
 De Las Mak Nyahs De La FundacióN Pt
 En Kuala Lumpur, Malasia, Joseph N. Goh

Conexión Queer: Revista Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Teologías Queer

The article explores the transgressive empowerment of mak nyahs —male-to- female transsexuals— by queering their spiritualities to reveal the multiple, migratory movements of gender identities. The essay seeks to expose the heterosexist persecution of mak nyahs that assume monolithic forms of Islamic religiosity. In so doing, it argues that the interminable resistance and transgression of oppressive sexual and gender normativities form a migratory praxis of power shifts that generate empowerment for the mak nyahs. The objective of such an exploration is to reveal and name in a more articulate fashion the passion and alacrity with which mak nyahs live and …

Sigrid Undset's Sacramental Realism: The Body In Kristin Lavransdatter, Annesley Moore-Jumonville

Honors Projects

Though literary modernism has been historically characterized as atheistic and anti-traditional, new critical voices are emerging that argue for the presence of the sacred in modernist texts. This paper joins those voices by proposing, along with the reexamination of the sacred in nonreligious writers like Woolf and Joyce, a reexamination of specifically religious work and on its own terms. The modern Catholic novel, in particular, with its focus on the eternal significance of humanity, deserves this attention. The paper offers Sigrid Undset’s 1920, Nobel Prize wining, Catholic trilogy, Kristin Lavransdatter, as a significant (and unjustly overlooked) text of the period, …

Religious Imageries Of Pilgrims From Przeworsk: Making Pilgrimage To The Shrine Of Our Lady Of Consolation At Jodłówka, Magdalena Lubanska

Journal of Global Catholicism

My paper will provide an account of the religious imageries (T. Csordas) and practices of Catholic devotees from the Basilica of the Holy Spirit with whom I made pilgrimage on foot to the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation at Jodłówka in August 2017. My account positions those imaginaries and practices within a broader contextual spectrum in order to move beyond events or conversations which were directly connected with the pilgrimage. To gain a better understanding of the religious needs of the pilgrims I spent time with some of them afterwards. Among other things, I attended masses involving healing services …

Natura Sanat: On Ecological Aspects Of Healing Miracles In Kalwaria Pacławska, Poland, Kamila Baraniecka-Olszewska

Journal of Global Catholicism

The subject-matter of my article is a change affecting the discourse on miraculous healings in a Catholic Marian sanctuary – Kalwaria Pacławska – run by Franciscan friars in the South-Eastern Poland and a way in which those changes affect pilgrims’ bodies. In Kalwaria Pacławska there meet, intersect and compete various religious and secular discourses and they all influence emotions and bodily sensations accompanying pilgrimage to this sacred site. One of those discourses has been introduced to Kalwaria just recently. The central element of the sanctuary is the miraculous image of Virgin Mary which is the goal of numerous pilgrimages from …

Our Country: Northern Evangelicals And The Union During The Civil War Era [Bibliography], Grant Brodrecht

History

On March 4, 1865, the day Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address, Reverend Doctor George Peck put the finishing touches on a collection of his sermons that he intended to send to the president. Although the politically moderate Peck had long opposed slavery, he, along with many other northern evangelicals, was not an abolitionist. During the Civil War he had come to support emancipation, but, like Lincoln, the conflict remained first and foremost about preserving the Union. Believing their devotion to the Union was an act of faithfulness to God first and the Founding Fathers second, Our Country explores …

Exiters Of Religious Fundamentalism: Reconstruction Of Identity, Social Relationships And Support, And Meaning Related To Well-Being, Andreea Alexandra Nica

Dissertations and Theses

Over the past decade, researchers have documented the steady growth of religious "nones," those who do not affiliate with any organized religion. There is, however, limited research examining religious disaffiliation on health outcomes--that is, how the process of religious disaffiliation or exiting contributes to mental well-being. These trends and gap in the literature make it timely and it is important to consider the impact of leaving religion on the well-being of individuals experiencing this life transition. This qualitative study investigates a particularly understudied subgroup of exiters -- individuals who have exited Christian fundamentalist religious groups.

Drawing on 24 in-depth, individual …

Christianity Of Conscience: Religion Over Politics In The Williams-Cotton Debate, Sophie Farthing

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

This research project examines Roger Williams’s representation of the relationship between church and state as demonstrated in his controversy with the Massachusetts Bay Puritans, specifically in his pamphlet war with Boston minister John Cotton. Maintaining an emphasis on primary research, the essay explores Williams’s and Cotton’s writings on church-state relations and seeks to provide contextual analysis in light of religious, social, economic, and political influences. In addition, this essay briefly discusses well-known historiographical interpretations of Williams’ position and of his significance to American religious and political thought, seeking to establish a synthesis of the evidence surrounding the debate and a …