Digital Commons Network^™

Answering The Call: The Story Of Community Service And Volunteerism At Sacred Heart University, Ralph L. Corrigan

Sacred Heart University Press Books

This volume chronicles the history of service and volunteer efforts through personal recollections, newspaper accounts, personal letters, documents and 26 pages of photos that capture Sacred Heart University's commitment to community service. Answering the Call includes chapters on the early years, the El Salvador connection, the 30,000 Hours project, the start of service-learning programs, and current service initiatives in Bridgeport. The book illustrates the University's preferential treatment for the poor and captures its passionate commitment to community service

All That Glitters Is Not Gold: Bad Forgiveness In Counseling And Preaching, John M. Berecz

Faculty Publications

A 3 R's of Forgiveness model is presented in which forgiveness is seen as a complex therapeutic process involving both situational and personal variables. Forgivers are seen to utilize the cognitive processes of dialectical reasoning and reframing, modulated by the emotional experiences of empathy, guilt, and shame. Personality style and self-esteem significantly influence the process as well. Distinctions are maintained among various kinds of forgiveness. Divine forgiveness, seen as a partial component of a spiritual encounter with one's God, may be a valid experience for people of faith, but is not something that psychologists are equipped to experimentally analyze. Interpersonal …

Religious Fundamentalism And Gender Differences, Herbert W. Helm, John M. Berecz, Emily A. Nelson

Faculty Publications

The role of religious fundamentalism and its relationship to shame and guilt was evaluated in 107 students who attend a church-sponsored university. A number of personality measures were given and gender differences were analyzed. The role of externalization was similar for males in this sample to that of earlier studies. However, it was found that females showed positive correlations between externalization and both shame and guilt. For females, more fundamentalistic religious training may help to contribute to an external orientation at the expense of identifying with a personal religion, and appropriate guilt. © 2001 Human Sciences Press, Inc.

Ancient Near Eastern Parallels To The Bible And The Question Of Revelation And Inspiration, Angel Manuel Rodriguez

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

The "Hard Sayings" Of Jesus And Divorce: Not Commandments But Goals, Ed Christian

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

Religiosity And Delinquency: A Test Of The Religious Ecology Hypothesis, S. Cory Harmon

Theses and Dissertations

Research testing the relationship between adolescent religiosity and delinquent behavior is inconclusive. Some studies show a significant negative relationship while others indicate no relationship. Stark (1996) asserts that the relationship between religiosity and delinquency is a function of community religiosity as opposed to personal religiosity. Thus, in areas of high religiosity, there will be a strong relationship, while areas of low religiosity will show no relationship. This study looks at the relationship between religiosity and delinquency of LDS youth in four different religious ecologies: Utah County (high religious ecology), the East coast (moderate religious ecology), the Pacific Northwest (low religious …

Religious Faith And Mental Health Outcomes, Thomas G. Plante, Naveen K. Sharma

Psychology

In this chapter we review recent research regarding the relationship between religious faith/spirituality and mental health outcomes, as well as provide directions for future research and discussion. The specific aspects of mental health and illness that we focus on include well-being, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and schizophrenia. We also briefly discuss research pertaining to religious faith and personality disorders, eating disorders, somatoform disorders, and bipolar disorder.

Beating The Odds: Successfully Following A Long-Term Pastor, Richard A. Danielson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Without A Parallel: Reasons For The Expansion Of Early American Methodism (1767 Through 1812), William Price Payne

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Book Review: "The South Asian Religious Diaspora In Britain, Canada, And The United States", Anantanand Rambachan

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of The South Asian Religious Diaspora in Britain, Canada, and the United States edited by Harold Coward, John R. Hinnels, and Raymond Brady Williams.

Alma O. Taylor's Fact-Finding Mission To China, Reid L. Neilson

BYU Studies

In 1909, after serving as a mission president in Japan for eight years, native Utah Mormon Alma O. Taylor visited China as directed by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to determine if Mormon missionaries should be sent there. Taylor did not speak Chinese, so he drew his conclusions by speaking to native English speakers living in China, often Protestant missionaries. Excerpts of Taylor's original report are published here, revealing some of the prejudices and perspectives Westerners had regarding China in the early 1900s. The author also supplies historical information about Mormon missionary work in Japan …

Retrospective: The Birthing Of A Discipline, William Cenkner

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

It is not clear whether Hindu-Christian study is a new enterprise or something that has been in progress for some years. My four decade experience has confronted a set of problems clouding any self-identity. First is the problem of naming. My own preference has always been the written text and my training, likewise, has been textual. In fact every course in graduate school was the study of a particular Indian text, whether Hindu or Buddhist. That's what Indology was about in those years. We were wary of comparative religions done in Europe and further saw religionswisenchaft as generalist and even …

A Longitudinal Study Of Seventh-Day Adventist Adolescents Through Young Adulthood Concerning Retention In Or Disaffiliation From The Church, Gyung Gu Kim

Dissertations

Problem. Why do some Seventh-day Adventist youth leave the church in North America? The proportion of the youth who disaffiliate themselves from the church is considered to be a problem of serious concern for parents, teachers, other religious educators, and the church itself. It was the purpose of this study to discover the relationships that may exist between youth retention in the church and other selected variables.

Method. The Ten-Year Youth Study of Youth Retention in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America furnished data for statistical analyses. Out of the 578 questions of the Ten-Year Youth Study, relevant items …

Y2k, The Apocalypse, And Evangelical Christianity: The Role Of Eschatological Belief In Church Responses, Lisa Graham Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

Apocalyptic beliefs in Christianity have endured for two thousand years and on occasion have motivated and justified radical and even revolutionary collective action (Boyer 1992). Why apocalyptic visions are part of some Christians' belief system is grounded in their beliefs about the end times, or eschatologies, that shape church cultures and subsequent behaviors. This paper considers cultural aspects of collective action, applying the concept of frames that give events meaning and inspire and legitimize collective behavior to Christian church responses to Y2K as a recent example of an anticipated apocalyptic event. Five interpretive frames linking eschatological ideation with specific collective …

Mental Health Needs And Resources In Christian Communities Of South Korea, Lisa Graham Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

In an effort to understand the mental health needs and resources of Korean Christians, we collected quantitative and qualitative data through surveys and interviews with Korean pastors and Christian educators. Several mental health concerns were identified: the high level of daily stress faced by many Koreans, marriage and family concerns, conflicts between Korean culture and the teachings of the church, and a tendency to keep emotional discomfort suppressed. Mental health resources include deep spiritual commitment to a life of prayer, high levels of commitment to family and community, cultural values of persistence and patience, and reliance on Christian communities for …

Church Renewal For Kentucky United Methodism?: Evaluating The Purpose-Driven Church® Network Pilot, James Cole Wofford

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Biblical Preaching And Church Growth : The Role Of Lectionary Preaching, David Theodore Grout

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Ablaze With Love: A Video Documentary To Sensitize The Church Of The Nazarene To Its Heritage Of Gender Mutuality In Ministry, Janine T. Metcalf

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Isaiah Passages In The Book Of Mormon: A Non-Aligned Text, Carol F. Ellertson

Theses and Dissertations

Since the advent of the Dead Sea Scrolls, four biblical textual scholars have emerged at the forefront of the dialogue concerning textual evolution. They are: Frank Moore Cross, Emanuel Tov, Shemaryahu Talmon and Eugene Ulrich. Though there is some overlap in their hypotheses, each scholar has put forth a framework of biblical textual development in light of these new discoveries.

If a new biblical text were discovered today, how would each scholar approach it? This thesis evaluates each scholars' views and concludes that Emanuel Tov's criteria for judging a newly discovered text is the most thorough and explanatory. Tov's views …

Fame And Latter-Day Saint Youth: Value Conflicts And The Interpretive Audience, Shellie M. Frey

Theses and Dissertations

Fame is a paradoxical issue: a phenomenon that is both embraced and shunned simultaneously in American culture and particularly within many religious institutions. Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), for instance, discourage its members (particularly the youth) from seeking out fame as well as famous individuals as role models. Yet they also incorporate positive rhetoric about fame as well in terms of famous LDS people, landmarks or groups. Furthermore, various aspects of the LDS Church (worldwide televised conferences, widely distributed books written by Church leaders, etc.) are highly mediated, thus, integrated with a public venue …

Addressing Mormon Female Communities: Working Towards A Woman's Capacity, Alyssa Snow Larson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis project explores the discourse in Mormon culture addressing Mormon female communities. The discussion is sociological rather than theological and examines the functional characteristics of discourse found in the tradition regarding women. It sets out to review a paradox in the discourse addressing Mormon women that has been documented over time. I examine how this paradox in Mormon discourse establishes and limits women's roles; to do so, I use personal examples and the experience provided by thirteen women whom I interviewed.

The thesis is divided into three main discussions: Community, Discursive Action and Cooperation. My methodology involves a theoretical …

Why People Don't Go To Church : A Study Of Factors Associated With Non-Participation And Participation In Church In Australia, John Bellamy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Church-based religion in the western world is considered by many sociologists to be in decline. The causes of this decline have been linked to secularising processes such as institutional differentiation, urbanisation, industrialisation, and the rise of scientific rationalism. The primary research aim of this study is to identify what contribution the religious beliefs of individuals, their demographic characteristics, their work and leisure patterns, their attitudes and experiences of churches and their experience of the urban environment, make towards understanding patterns of non-participation and participation in local churches. A secondary research aim is to identify to what extent theories of secularisation …

John Smith: A Charismatic And Transformational Religious Leader, Philip B. Muston

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

John Smith is best known as the charismatic leader and president of God's Squad Motorcycle Club, which seeks to proclaim and incarnate the Christian gospel in Australian outlaw motorcycle subculture. Smith is in fact an evangelist and public figure in his own right. As well he is a teacher and social commentator whose prophetic statements and interpretation of events had an impact in his own culture and abroad. He is also a media spokesman and unofficial 'priest' for thousands who feel themselves alienated from institutional expressions of Christianity, and the pioneering founder of alternative church congregations. This biographical and theoretical …

The Role Of Organized Religions In Changing Death Penalty Debates, Michael L. Radelet

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In his Article, Professor Michael L. Radelet describes a global decline in the use of the death penalty, the United Nation's progressively stronger stance against executions, and a growing opposition to capital punishment in the United States. This decrease is attributed to both empirical studies casting doubt on the death penalty's efficacy in promoting its stated underlying goals, and to the increasingly vocal stance of religious leaders morally opposed to capital punishment. Nevertheless, the decline in other justifications for capital punishment has been met with increasing reliance on retribution as the primary argument in its support. Professor Radelet argues that …

Religious Organizations And The Death Penalty, Robert F. Drinan

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Over the past several years, many questions have been raised concerning the application and effectiveness of the death penalty. Ironically, the Catholic Church, a long-time supporter of the death penalty, has become one of the most vocal critics of the death penalty. In this Essay, Father Robert F. Drinan documents the Church's new-found opposition to the death penalty, and discusses the influence the Church will have on the future of the death penalty.

Punishment At All Costs: On Religion, Convicting The Innocent, And Supporting The Death Penalty, Robert L. Young

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Paper explores the impact of the belief structure among white fundamentalist denominations on the support for the death penalty. Professor Robert L. Young observes that the tenets of fundamentalism, as well as the great extent that fundamentalists conform to the positions of their clergy, support this link between fundamentalism and a punitive orientation toward wrongdoers. Professor Young explains that members in white fundamentalist churches, to a greater extent than others, are inclined toward a negative view of human nature, which in turn leads to the belief that letting the guilty go free is a more serious mistake than convicting …

Mexican American Baptists' Dependency On Anglo Baptist Institutions In South Texas: A Case Study In Bee County, Richard Carrera

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In the early 1800s, Anglo-Americans entered the Southwest in great numbers, bringing religious institutions with them, Mexican American Baptist dependency on Anglo Baptist institutions occurred. Anglos in the Southwest brought in the doctrine of Manifest Destiny and strict racial codes. Mostly Southerners, they sought to submit so-called foreign cultured people, in this case Mexican Americans, to a predetermined role in the economic and sociopolitical life of the Southwest. Anglo Baptists were part of this culture and influenced by the practice of this ideology. Applying the theory of Dependency, this study will examine the manifestation of dependency and its legacy in …

Hard Data On Russian And Ukrainian Orthodox Churches, Nathaniel Davis

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Clark Memorandum: Fall 2000, J. Reuben Clark Law Society, J. Reuben Clark Law School

The Clark Memorandum

• Latter-day Saint Reflections on the Trial and Death of Jesus (John W. Welch)
• Basic Mediation Training (Jane Wise)
• Good Words for the Journey Ahead (Stephen H. Anderson)
• From the Orange County Register

Discerning The Body - An Exegetical Examination Of 1 Co. 11:17-34, Mark Surburg

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The following study will provide a detailed treatment of1Co. 11:17-34 with an emphasis on lexical meaning and structural analysis. It will examine Paul's treatment in five major sections: 1) Exegesis of 11:17-19 2) Exegesis of 11:20-22, 33-343) Analysis and Critique of scholarly reconstructions of the Corinthian Eucharistic setting 4) Exegesis of 11:23-26 5)Exegesis of 11:27-32. Within each section the study will focus on certain important issues.