Digital Commons Network^™

Critical Thinking And Worldview Formation In Ministry, David W. Belles

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action research thesis project engaged eleven ministers in the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies with a multi-session training designed to help them identify potential areas of cultural accommodation detrimental to Christian life and witness. The project utilized a multi-week training program where participants viewed training videos and attended online discussion sessions. The participants recorded their impressions throughout the four-week training period. Six weeks after the training concluded, small group sessions were scheduled to determine whether the participants could utilize the training material in their ministry. Data were collected through journaling, entrance and exit questionnaires, and small group interviews. The …

Charge The Cockpit Or Die: An Anatomy Of Fear-Driven Political Rhetoric In American Conservatism, Daniel Hostetter

Senior Honors Theses

Subthreshold negative emotions have superseded conscious reason as the initial and strongest motivators of political behavior. Political neuroscience uses the concepts of negativity bias and terror management theory to explore why fear-driven rhetoric plays such an outsized role in determining human political actions. These mechanisms of human anthropology are explored by competing explanations from biblical and evolutionary scholars who attempt to understand their contribution to human vulnerabilities to fear. When these mechanisms are observed in fear-driven political rhetoric, three common characteristics emerge: exaggerated threat, tribal combat, and religious apocalypse, which provide a new framework for explaining how modern populist leaders …

"The End Is Near": Pop Culture Adaptations Of Premillennial Themes, Kelsey Samuelsen

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

March 1997: Thirty-nine people poison themselves, committing suicide in order to board an alien space ship allegedly trailing the Hale-Bopp Comet. December 2009: A fa iled cure for cancer sparks a pandemic which immediately kills most of the population and leaves the rest ravaged and cannibalistic. January 2000: The turn of the century threatens to crash the world's computers, wreaking havoc on civilized society. These scenarios, a mixture of fabricated and factual, represent the variety of apocalyptic myths in American culture. The popularity of end-of-the-world themes has risen in recent years. Numerous depictions of such events in well-known books, films, …

Pentecostal Hope In The Age Of Covid-19, Peter Althouse, Audrey E. Mccormick

Salubritas: International Journal of Spirit-Empowered Counseling

This research sought to identify how Pentecostals and charismatics responded to the Coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, what role did eschatology play in provoking hope, and how did theologies on healing influence responses? Data revealed that Pentecostals were generally not casting their responses to the pandemic as a millennial expectation of a better future but were grieving their losses and seeking to provoke hope amidst suffering. While minimal miraculous healings were reported, healing was cast primarily as the ongoing presence of defiant hope amidst trauma, grief and suffering. We propose that grief and grieving is an eschatological response to loss and death.

Islam, Education, And Freedom: An Uncommon Perspective On Leadership, Melanie C. Brooks, Miriam D. Ezzani

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Islam, Education and Freedom explores six key areas of freedom: identity, acceptance, pedagogy, conflict, trust, and love. Based on a qualitative case study of a progressive Islamic school in Southern California, North Star Academy, the book illustrates through the voices of the participants how each particular freedom was applied in the school. The authors show how the six freedoms were understood, taught, and practiced with the aim of developing courageous and confident American Muslims. It explores the ways the school leaders facilitate and impart each freedom and the influence this has on the development of American Muslim students’ identity. The …

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Bluegrass Grays: Confederate Sons And Unionist Fathers In Civil War Kentucky, Elise Petersen

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

After clinging for four months to a futile neutrality policy, the Commonwealth of Kentucky officially pledged loyalty to the Union in September 1861. Though Federal officials welcomed the state with enthusiasm, expecting her to provide significant aid to the Union army, state commanding officer William T. Sherman was soon frustrated by the astonishing one-quarter of Kentucky volunteers who flocked, instead, to the Confederacy. Hardly lonely in his disappointment, Sherman's woes were echoed by thousands of fathers across the Bluegrass State-for these Kentuckian Confederates were, overwhelmingly, young sons of men who passionately supported the Union.

Chasing Freedom Runaway Slaves And Soldiers During The War Of 1812, Lane Lisonbee

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On the morning of September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key made an indelible contribution to United States patriotism. Through the night he had witnessed the British bombardment of the American Fort McHenry while aboard the H.M.S. Tonnant, a British ship on which he had been detained after helping to negotiate the release of an American prisoner of war. He and his companion, Colonel John Stuart Skinner, had anxiously kept their eyes on the flag flying over the fore, and when in the early light of day they could see chat the stars and stripes stripes of che American banner …

Friction And Fog: The Chaotic Nature Of Defeat For The B.E.F. In The Fall Of France, Carson Teuscher

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Bursting from the thick Ardennes Forest on the morning of May 10, 1940, Hitler's Panzer armies pounded across the French countryside. Not only did his armies strike through what Marshal Petain had deemed the "Impenetrable Ardennes," in doing so German forces bypassed the Maginot Line, France's most formidable defenses. As they poured through the gap, other German armies simultaneously attacked Belgium, sweeping downward through the Low Countries to merge with the primary thrust towards Paris.

Let My People Go: A Biblical Theology Of Liberation In The Exodus Motif, Lou Ann Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Liberation theologians view political liberation as the central theme of the historical Exodus event due to their interpretation of the text through the perspective of the oppressed and the oppressor. I reject the postmodern stance of liberation theologians, which overemphasizes political liberation and fails to consider the links between Yahweh’s supernatural actions on behalf of the Hebrews in light of Yahweh’s covenantal obligations to Abraham’s descendants. This study argues against the use of liberation theologies as the paradigm for interpreting the historical Exodus event and asserts that a biblical theology of the Exodus motif reveals “covenant” as the interpretive key …

Hooked On A Feeling: The Importance Of Fostering Emotional Intelligence In Adolescents, Annika Wirkkala

Classical Conversations

In the summer of 2023, CNN reported on a 14-year old girl who claimed to have several mental health issues. These included ADHD, depression, autism, and various phobias. After a specialist examined her, however, she was officially diagnosed not with her extensive list of illnesses but with severe anxiety. How did this 14-year old girl become so convinced that she suffered from all of these problems? Social media. Sadly, this girl is not the only victim of social media self-diagnosis. According to the CNN report, “A growing number of teens are turning to social platforms such as Instagram and TikTok …

Review Of Supracultural Gospel: Bridging East And West By Mary Lou Codman-Wilson And Alex Zhou, Mark D. Wood

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Considering The Historical Houri In Early Islamic History, Vivek K. Rallabandi

Student Publications

This paper examines the question of how the houri (heavenly maidens in Islamic theology) figure into the historical context of early Islam. While the houri have been the subject of much discussion in terms of contemporary affairs, it is worth exploring how the houri may have played a utilitarian role in the growth of Islam. This paper conducts that analysis.

Response To Repressions: Lithuanian Clergy In Dramatic Post-War Turmoil, Regina Laukaityte

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

For a long time after the war, Lithuanians were convinced that the United States of America and England would demand that Stalin withdraw his troops from the occupied European countries. Predictions of imminent political change, based on all sorts of reasoning rather than evidence, continued to circulate among the people. The hopes of liberation were directly linked with the phenomenon of hiding, a self-defense against assumed or imminent Stalinist repression. The aim of this article is to highlight the causes and prevalence of the phenomenon of hiding in Lithuania in the face of Soviet repressions, and the role of the …

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

The Smallpox Revolution, Sierra Marchand

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Samllpx was one of the most feared diseases in colonial North America during the eighteenth century. This fear was caused by "the suddenness and unpredictability of its attack, the grotesque torture of its victims, the brutality of its lethal or disfiguring outcome, and the terror that it inspired, which [made] Smallpox unique among human diseases." People who contracted the disease had a thirty to fifty percent chance of survival, and if they survived the painful illness, many victims lost their eyelashes, had permanent facial scaring and pitting, or even sometimes went blind. This made smallpox survivors the subjects of social …

Defending Megalopolis, Joshua Mackay

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE was a seminal moment in Greek history. The battle marked the end of the Spartan domination of Greece begun in 404 BCE at the end of the Peloponnesian War. At Leuctra, Sparta and her allies confronted Thebes and the Boeotian League and were decisively defeated. In the wake of this battle, Thebes enforced a synoikismos of the surrounding villages and small poleis and founded a unique polis, Megalopolis, whose purpose is heavily debated today. Because the lhebans constructed Megalopolis soon after the Battle of Leuctra in an attempt to contain Sparta within the …

Angles And Angels: Political Unity And Spiritual Identity In Anglo-Saxon England, Susannah Morrison

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The development of nationalism in Europe is a contested process, and most historians conclude that nationalist sentiments did not arise in the shattered remnants of the Western Roman Empire until the twelfth century. However, a national consciousness developed in England long before this date. Although it was a fundamentally abstract concept, largely limited to the intellectual domain of the highly educated elite, English national identity in the Anglo-Saxon period was a vibrant and powerful cultural force. Memorably articulated by the Venerable Bede in the eighth century, this proto-national sentiment identified the Angles-the Germanic tribes who had invaded and occupied Britain …

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Search And Destroy: The U.S. Military's Contribution To The Victory Of The North Vietnamese Army, Mike Baer

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On August 7, 1964 both houses of Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, placing congressional support behind the president in repelling "any armed attack against the forces of the United States." The president was also empowered to take, upon request from any nation in Southeast Asia, "all necessary steps, including the use of armed force, to assist {that nation} in the defense of its freedom." This allowed the U.S. to circumvent the Geneva Accords of 1954, which had severely limited the U.S. troop contingent in South Vietnam and prevented any offensive military campaigns. Less than a year after passage …

Crimea And The Civil War: The Medical Connection Between Great Britain And The Union Army, Adam Green

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

One decade before the Civil War began, a modest and relatively obscure war was fought halfway around the world. The Crimean War was an eye-opener for the British as a whole. The inadequate supplies, wretched living conditions, and poor sanitation that the British army suffered resulted in tremendous losses during the war. The reports of these circumstances launched one of the most profound and widespread medical reform campaigns that the British army had experienced up to that point. The instigation of proper sanitary care, the introduction of Florence Nightingale onto the international stage, and the revamping of the British medical …

Women's Reproductive Health: A Critical Appraisal Of Reproductive Justice And Magisterial Contributions To Responsible Family Planning, Kelly Olson

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

History reveals the degrading and traumatizing experiences of marginalized women harmed by unethical reproductive healthcare practices. Progress has been made; however divisive barriers still prohibit dialogue from resulting in a dignified approach to legislation that serves the diverse population of women in diverse situations of lived reality. Enhancing the theological dialogue with updated awareness of women’s reproductive healthcare needs and a renewed conversation of the benefit of expressed human sexuality in heterosexual marriage allows opportunity for the Magisterium to enhance teaching that aligns with Catholic tradition and grows with human understanding, in the spirit of aggiornamento. Improved clarity and wider …

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Blackfeet And Long Knives: Hostilities Between Blackfeet And Americans, 1806-1840, Jay H. Buckley

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

More than twenty trappers had died within three months. The men had begun to cower in the fort, afraid to leave for fear of a Blackfoot attack. George Drouillard ventured out alone twice and brought back nearly twenty beaver pelts. He contended that he was too much Indian himself to be captured or killed. On the third day, he convinced two others to leave the fort as well-all three failed to return. Thomas James recorded that their search party found the first two bodies "pierced with lances, arrows, and bullets and lying near each other." One hundred and fifty yards …

Germany's War For World Conquest And The Extermination Of Jews, Gerhard L. Weinberg

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Fifty years ago the war between Germany and the Allies was coming to its final stage. In the East, the Red Army had broken through the German central front in Poland, had driven deeply into Germany itself, had taken much of the Silesian industrial area, had established a bridgehead over the Oder River, and was eliminating pockets of German resistance isolated by the winter offensive, even while preparations were beginning for the final assault on Berlin. In the South, all Soviet territory once occupied by the Germans had been freed almost a year earlier, and the Red Army occupied Romania, …

"Uncle Sam Meets John Bull':· American Fur Traders' Attitudes Toward The Hudson's Bay Company, 1821-1832, Andrea Gayle Radke

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The disgruntled British trapper cocked his rifle and shoved it into the chest of Mr. Lucien Fontenelle. Feeling that the American rivals had instigated the desertion of a fellow English trader, the gun-wielding Brit planned on taking out his frustrations on Fontenelle, the American Fur Company leader. Immediately, Fontenelle's men sprang from their horses with rifles ready, "prepared to give them Battle, should they presume to offer any further show of hostility." Cooler heads prevailed, however, and the companies parted without additional conflict.

Relational Leadership And Governing: Somali Clan Cultural Leadership, Farhia Abdi

The Journal of Social Encounters

This research is focused on exploring the distinction between theories of leadership and more contemporary visions of relational leading. In order to do so, the specific case of traditional clan structure seen in the Somali state will be examined, and parallels between the two will be drawn. This paper argues that the old Somali tradition shares much in common with current writing on relational leadership (Uhl-Bien, 2006) and, therefore, can expand our understanding and support for a form of leadership that transcends traditional, individualist, hierarchical leadership. This argument will be supported by a detailed investigation into clan politics, leadership, and …

Guns, Bombs, And Pollution: Unraveling The Nexus Between Warfare, Terrorism, And Ecological Devastation In Iraq, Hogr Tarkhani

The Journal of Social Encounters

Iraq's environment has experienced significant pollution and degradation, earning it the dubious distinction of being one of the most polluted and degraded regions globally, according to the Globe Pollution Review. The past three decades of armed conflict have exacted a heavy toll on the country, resulting in widespread human suffering, including countless fatalities, injuries, and a massive displacement of people. Amidst this death and destruction, the ecosystem has also endured severe damage, and its decline carries long-lasting implications.

The environmental crisis in Iraq has been worsened by the presence of extremist groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS) and various …

Gladstone And Kuyper: Ireland And Revolution, Africa And War, Keith C. Sewell

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Revisioning The Shawnee Prophet: Revitalization Movements, Religious Studies, And The Ontological Turn, Douglas L. Winiarski

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Historians invariably frame the early life of Laloeshiga, more commonly known as Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Prophet, as one of unmitigated chaos and disorder. He emerges in scholarly literature as a ne'er-do-well: failed hunter and warrior, adulterer and wife beater, penurious healer, and dissolute alcoholic. A near-death experience during the winter of 1805 triggered visions that led to his rapid rise to religious authority in the revitalization movement he led with his brother, the famed Shawnee leader Tecumseh. Newly discovered sources and systematic review of older ones reveal a vastly different origin story. None of the supposed facts of the Prophet's …