Digital Commons Network^™

The Perfectly Imperfect God, Grace Van Hooydonk

Consensus

Moving beyond traditional, masculine, and flawless depictions of the divine, this reflection integrates visual art and theology to present a "perfectly imperfect" God. Exploring symbols of disability, communal response to suffering, brokenness, feminine divinity, and ongoing learning, the analysis affirms a fluid, inclusive divine presence.

Mixed Messages, Moms, Nuns, And Missionaries: Women In Christian Higher Education In Canada, Ellen Duffield

Consensus

Addressing institutional gender disparities in theological education, this study employs Participatory Action Research at a Canadian seminary to foster culture-shaping change. Anchored in a relational Trinitarian theology, the paper presents a model for institutional transformation focused on Kenotic Community, Connected Learning, and Collaborative Leadership to create environments where women and men thrive.

The Fiftieth Anniversary Of The Ordination Of Women In Canadian Lutheranism, Kyle K. Schiefelbein-Guerrero

Consensus

Commemorating fifty years of women’s ordination in Canadian Lutheranism, this editorial grounds the evolution of female church leadership in Confessional Lutheran theology and the ELCIC’s *Reimagining Our Church*. By framing ministry as functional and Christocentric, the author addresses persistent systemic challenges facing female clergy while introducing a collection of female-authored perspectives on adaptive, Spirit-led leadership for the future.

A Brief History Of Canadian Pentecostal Women: How Did They Overcome The Obstacles?, Carmen Ramirez

Consensus

The rise of Canadian Pentecostalism created unique opportunities for women to navigate structural patriarchy and achieve leadership. Tracing historical developments from early twentieth-century origins to an ethnographic study of a female-led Latina congregation in Toronto, the analysis demonstrates how Holy Spirit empowerment, pneumatological authority, and practical theological adaptations enable women, particularly marginalized Latinas, to overcome institutional obstacles.

How Christians Get "Calling" Wrong, David J. Mulder

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"How can you faithfully follow Jesus, using what God has given you to joyfully work towards addressing... broken places?"

Posting about Christian vocation from In All Things, a blog which highlights the shared faithful and orthodox Reformed Christian perspective of our writers, exploring how to fearlessly engage with every aspect of modern life—until all is made new.

How Christians Get "Calling" Wrong

Contributors

Jewish Folklore and Ethnology

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Does Reporting Of Israeli Organ Harvesting Constitute Blood Libelous Folklore, And Why Does It Matter?, Simon J. Bronner

Jewish Folklore and Ethnology

Global news reporting of “organ harvesting” by Israeli soldiers for medical institutions in the twenty-first century is analyzed as “newslore,” defined by folklorist- journalist Russell Frank as “folklore that comments on, and is therefore indecipherable without knowledge of, current events.” Built on hearsay, the reports, especially in the Arab press during the Israel-Hamas War, begun in 2023, have connections to a complex of antisemitic “blood libel” narratives in Europe about Jews violating the bodies of Christian children. The accusations of organ harvesting invoked a number of antisemitic tropes that were visually conveyed globally through memes and posts on the internet, …

Jewish Women’S Folk Memory Of Argentine Schooldays, 1900–1955, Jacqueline Laznow

Jewish Folklore and Ethnology

This essay explores the folkloric formation of Jewish-Argentine female identity through schoolyard experiences and domestic resistance in the first half of the twentieth century. Drawing on interviews with women who later made aliyah, the study analyzes these accounts as personal experience narratives, arguing that painful memories of antisemitism and “otherness” are cognitively restructured through folk processes into a symbolic frame for communal interpretation. These narratives function as “legend discourse,” sparking commentary and intergenerational transmission, and serve as mechanisms for reconstructing daily life within a dominant Christian culture. They reveal a “hyphenated” Jewish-Argentine identity reimagined from the perspective of the narrators’ …

Folk Narratives Of “The Wandering Jew” (Atu 777) In Latvian Folklore, Svetlana Pogodina

Jewish Folklore and Ethnology

This essay reports field-collected texts of “The Wandering Jew” (ATU 777) recorded in the twentieth century in Latvia to determine if they are distinctive within the global tradition of the folk narrative. The Archives of Latvian Folklore (Latviešu folkloras krātuve) collection contains versions of the narrative recorded in the 1920s and 1930s. These texts have not previously been published in English translation. An interpretation is made that the narratives borrow elements from Jewish stereotypes that exist in a local folklore tradition. Comparing the Latvian material to the European and Slavic versions of the story of the Eternal Jew, a major …

Introduction: The Folklore And Ethnology Of Antisemitism, Simon J. Bronner

Jewish Folklore and Ethnology

A global rise in incidents and beliefs in the twenty-first century that monitoring and polling organizations label “antisemitic” raises several questions addressed by contributors to this special issue. A basic one is definitional regarding discourse about the shifting meaning of antisemitism in light of post-Holocaust events and digital age communication. A historical question is whether contemporary forms of antisemitism are connected to or a break from the term’s nineteenth-century roots. Related to that issue in modern discourse is whether antisemitism is an umbrella concept or separate from anti-Judaism, anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, and anti-Zionism movements. The materials of folklore—both as esoteric forms …

Cultural Humility, Reformation Of Power Structures, And Cultural Competence As Seeds And Fruits Of Interculturality, Doug Herbek

Obsculta

This piece examines how interculturality both promotes and is fostered by cultural humility, reformation of power structures, and development of cultural competence. As we pursue interculturality, we incarnate the Gospel. In the process, local church leadership becomes inclusive and integrative, worship becomes more heartfelt, and community and unity are fostered as we celebrate our differences.

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Student Awards

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Awards for Outstanding Papers Written in 2025

Dam Negotiations: Water, Diné Sovereignty, And The Navajo Dam, George Smith

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On July 30, 1958, contractors working for the Bureau of Reclamation broke ground on the Navajo Dam, located about 35 miles east of Farmington, New Mexico. Diné Tribal chairman Paul Jones had called the dam a “new hope for [his] people,” anticipating increased agricultural and industrial capacity from irrigation and flow management. Though officially approved in 1962, the contingent Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP) that was to provide those many of those benefits remained to be completed in 2024. By contrast, the San Juan Chama Project (SJCP), the other project contingent upon the dam, diverted water from the San Juan …

Marcion And The Crisis Of Second-Century Christianity, Samuel Petersen

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Almost a century after the death of Christ and his original apostles, the 2nd-century Judeo-Christian church found itself in a vicious struggle for survival catalyzed by an ongoing negotiation between the church’s traditional Jewish roots and establishing its own identity. The loose confederation of Jesus-believers fought to gather themselves into a functional body as they wrestled with questions surrounding the very nature of the Christian faith.

“No Hen Should Herald The Dawn Lest Misfortune Follow”: Gender, History, And Power Sima Guang’S Comprehensive Mirror, Zoe Ngan

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

It was not a particularly notable occasion when Emperor Gaozong 高宗 of the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907) established Wu Zetian 武則天 as a mid-ranked concubine in 654. Emperors, throughout Chinese history, were polygamous rulers who acquired no shortage of concubines per the Rites of Zhou 周禮, an ancient ritual text which proposed that rulers obtain 121 wives and consorts. Wu’s nomination signified the unpredictability of imperial favour and almost certainly did not turn heads when her appointment occurred.

“I, Too, Want To Be Free”: Women And The Birth Control Movement In Utah, 1914–1940, Evelyn Wilcox

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Like many other women, I too, want to be free,” explained a 33-year- old Utah woman in a 1925 letter to Margaret Sanger, a prominent leader in the birth control movement. This woman, whose name is unknown, was married to a 78-year- old man with whom, she thought, “in her ignorance,” that she would never have any children—she was proven wrong. With six children under the age of eight at the time and wanting to prevent having more, this woman’s predicament reflects Sanger’s mission to inform everyday women of birth control so they could make their own reproductive choices. After …

Christianity Behind The Iron Curtain: How Creative Arts Gave A Voice To The Voiceless, Riana Johnson Wills

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In 1988, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) held celebrations across the Soviet Union to mark the Millennium of Christianity in Russia, commemorating a thousand years since the baptism of Rus in 988. While this was a monumental day for Christians, many believers across the Soviet Union felt a sense of dissonance. For decades, religious freedom and worship had not been privileges they enjoyed. Thousands of Christians suffered for their belief. The communist regime began in 1922 with Vladimir Lenin. The USSR built upon Marxist ideology where atheism is a fundamental and they expected nationwide compliance to these ideologies. …

Rationed Victory: A Study Of American Civilian Rationing In World War Ii, Alex Moulder

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In any conflict or competition it is often said that the winner is “fueled to victory.” This could come as a result of training, diet, stamina, support from others, or sheer willpower. Even small variations in any of these elements can have significant consequences and affect outcomes. The same can be said about civilians during wartime, especially during the largest conflict of the twentieth century, World War II. The war cemented the United States as a global power, thanks in part to its massive economy, technologies, and industries, which helped to overcome the war of attrition against the Axis powers. …

“It Was The Women Who Kept It On”: The 1984–85 National Union Of Mineworkers Strike In Wales, Brett Bodily

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On March 3rd, 1984, more than 140,000 miners, all members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) walked out on strike in protest of proposed colliery, or “pit” closures. Years of disputes culminated in a major showdown between the largest labor union in the United Kingdom and a resurgent national conservatism led by Margaret Thatcher— leader of the Tory party. The communities built around coal mining recognized the Tory pit closure plan for what it was—an existential threat to their way of life. Women within these communities rose to the occasion and took on leadership and organizational responsibilities, many for …

Leasing Land, Losing Sovereignty: Us Military Land Leasing In Okinawa, Japan, Kathryn Blau

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Military land leasing in Okinawa has played a central role in limiting Okinawan political sovereignty since the end of World War II by fostering economic dependence on US military bases and enabling policies that override local opposition. Tracing the evolution of the leasing system under both American occupation and Japanese administration reveals how land expropriation, compensation policies, and increasingly generous financial incentives encouraged reliance on base-related income while discouraging advocacy for land reversion and base reduction. The analysis further demonstrates how the Japanese government's legal enforcement of mandatory lease renewals, particularly during the 1996 Okinawa land dispute, curtailed the rights …

Editor's Preface, Gabe Smock

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

This editor's preface explores the origins and enduring mission of The Thetean, BYU's undergraduate history journal. Through archival research in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, the journal's founding history is traced to its inaugural 1967 edition, revealing the origin, pronunciation, and meaning of its distinctive name as a reference to Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society. The preface highlights the journal's longstanding commitment to encouraging scholarly research, providing publication opportunities, and introducing students to the work of historians. By recovering the journal's own history, it underscores the broader value of historical inquiry: understanding the past to better …

Front Matter

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Beyond Self-Defense: A Critical Analysis Of The Biden Administration’S Application Of ‘Just War’ Theory In The Israel-Hamas War, Thomas Elias

Graduate Student Research Symposium

Abstract

The Israel-Hamas war has ignited critical questions regarding the justification for violence, particularly the right to self-defense. Harm to Palestinian noncombatants and the conflict’s prolonged duration has contributed to critiques and doubts about Israel’s military operations and the Biden administration’s substantial military aid post-October 7th. The war’s extensive destruction and dehumanization creates a stark tension with the Biden administration’s invocation of just war theory. This paper critically analyzes the Biden administration’s use of just war theory in supporting the Israel-Hamas war, investigating how Christian theological ethics on just war and self-defense have been utilized and misapplied since October 2023. …

Is Genuine Redemption Possible Through A Counterfeit Christ?, Tams M. Mullins

Masters Theses

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), commonly referred to as Mormons, consider themselves Christians without equivocation. Evangelical Christianity has, however, challenged this claim since the inception of the Latter-day Saints. The Latter-day Saints purport to be Christian in doctrine and practice and claim a Christian identity centered around their acceptance of the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. While the Latter-day Saints ascribe to a high Christology, confess Jesus as Lord, and regard Him as their Redeemer, the Jesus of the Latter-day Saints’ literature bears little resemblance to the Jesus of evangelical Christianity. …

Bridging The Generational Gap: Enhancing Unity And Engagement In The Church, Lesley H. Booker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The contemporary church is increasingly characterized by the presence of multiple generations worshiping and serving together, each bringing distinct values, communication styles, expectations, and approaches to faith. While this diversity presents significant opportunities for spiritual growth and community development, it can also create challenges that hinder unity, participation, and effective ministry. This study examines the generational gap within the church and explores strategies for enhancing unity and engagement among members from different age groups. Using a qualitative research approach, the study investigates the perceptions, experiences, and interactions of church members across generations. Data were collected through interviews, focus groups, and …

Exploring The Practice Of Mindfulness In Ministry Among Kansas Assemblies Of God Clergy, Angela K. Sartain

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Interest in integrating mindfulness into Christian counseling and pastoral practice increased; however, very little research has documented its experience among Assemblies of God clergy. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of Kansas Assemblies of God clergy who have engaged mindfulness within a ministry context. Based on acceptance and commitment therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, viewed through a Christian lens; the research examined understanding, adaptation, and practice regarding worship, leadership, and pastoral care. Data from in-depth interviews with Kansas Assemblies of God clergy were analyzed thematically and patterns of meaning and practice were discovered. The results revealed how Kansas Assemblies …

Ecclesiastes’ Framework For The New Testament Doctrine Of Personal Eschatological Judgment, Brent D. Denney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines the relationship between the assertions of divine judgment in the book of Ecclesiastes and the New Testament passages that depict the final judgment of humans. Chapter One introduces the topic and thesis by foregrounding modern scholarship's neglect of the conceptual relationship between Ecclesiastes’ assertions of divine judgment and the New Testament’s mature doctrine of personal eschatological judgment, which underpins this study. Chapter Two examines Qohelet’s deployment of the term הֶבֶל (heḇel) as a tensive symbol for the conditions stemming from the fall and its effects on humanity's pursuit of anything of lasting value (יִתְרוֹן, yiṯrôn). For Qohelet, …

Implementation Of The Clinician’S Guide To Spiritual Recovery From Fetal Loss, Donald K. Eckhardt Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Obstetricians and midwives care for a surprising number of patients experiencing perinatal loss each year, yet they lack formal training in grief support. Lack of training heightens their stress, anxiety, and burnout, especially when chaplain support is unavailable. Miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal death profoundly affect families, and healthcare providers share in their pain as they deliver the deceased baby and offer comfort, counseling, and hope. This project’s creator hypothesized that enhancing providers’ knowledge of grief support and biblical Scripture as well as highlighting how God’s grace and love can ease guilt, grief, anxiety, and depression would reduce provider burnout while …

A Virtual Coach Model For Christian Leaders: Addressing Burnout And Other Mental Health Challenges, Hillary Arlene Hinds

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The demands placed on pastoral leaders have increased immensely, and according to Eser (2025), this has caused emotional exhaustion, declining mental health, and feelings of isolation that threaten their well-being and ministry. Data on pastoral leadership burnout and the extent to which a coaching approach is used to assist them in addressing mental health challenges in Canada are limited. This research reported on the use of Whitmore’s (1980) GROW model contextualized within a biblical worldview to mitigate burnout with a group of pastoral leaders (N = 5) in Saskatchewan, Canada. Findings from this research, though from a small population, were …