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Can God Know Tomorrow?, Jacob Kristian Bergman

Honors Program Theses

This paper examines the compatibility of God's foreknowledge and human free will. To narrow the focus of this question, this paper will focus on a branch of this debate by analyzing the arguments of Open Theism. By analyzing the claims made within Open Theism, with respect to its proposal that God can be omniscient while granting free will, it will be possible to determine if this claim is a valid argument as to how humanity can have free will without limiting the scope of God. This paper will focus on an Open Theist critique of the traditional understanding of God’s …

Foreword To Putting God On The Map, Robert Masson

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

An overview of African Catholicism. Part Two: Retrospect and Prospect, third issue of the Journal of Global Catholicism. A summary of the work of Bradford Hinze, Mary Gloria Njoku, Matthias Scharer, Mary Sylvia Nwachukwu, and Bernhard Udelhoven. Among the topics considered: African ecclesiology, African wellness and quality of life in Africa, interreligious dialogue in Africa, African Biblical scholarship, witchcraft and the Catholic Church.

Changing Changelessness: On The Genesis And Development Of The Doctrine Of Divine Immutability In The Ancient And Hellenic Period, Milton Wilcox

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project will track and explain the development of the Doctrine of Divine Immutability from early mythological and scriptural source material that seems to indicate that divine entities are changeable into metaphysical systems that demand a perfectly consistent deity. The Doctrine of Divine Immutability is a philosophical and theological postulate that has long been a staple of systematic metaphysics and theology, but its function in robust and fully formed systems is different than its function when it is first generated in Ancient Greece and Judah. Methodologically mostly primary sources are studied and compared with interpretive help from relevant secondary sources. …

Contemporary Catholic Conversations 2017-2018, Curtis Center

Mission & Culture Publications

The Curtis Center at Sacred Heart University is a new initiative within the Office of Mission and Catholic Identity. The goal of the Curtis Center is engage SHU and the wider community in topics of interest and concern in today’s world.

The Center will host the annual inaugural series “Contemporary Catholic Conversations” during the 2017-18 academic year, a lecture series that will feature expert presenters and meaningful discussions.

Bishop Walter W. Curtis was on the cutting edge in 1963 when founding this university. He was energized by the Second Vatican Council to face the issues of his day, which led …

The New Testament And The Future Of The Cosmos, Ryan P. Juza

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Teaching Students About Finding Their Religious Justice Roots, Dean Johnson

Philosophy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Colombian Readings Of Paradise Lost: Gabriel García Márquez’S Literary Conversation With John Milton, Daniela M. Maestre, Angelica Duran

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Englishman John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost has twenty European Spanish translations. Despite the high number of translations, three Latin American writers, one Mexican and two Colombians published three more versions. Our project seeks to discover what motivated the Colombian translators to publish more versions of Paradise Lost, as part of the influence of Milton’s works in Colombian literature in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. There is little information about Colombian readings of this epic poem: we do not yet know how Colombians read the epic poem and why. To get a better sense of Colombian reception of Paradise Lost, …

Communicating The Justice And Peace Of God In Africa Today, Walter Ihejirika

Journal of Global Catholicism

Engaging with the work and theories of Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner, the article charts out a spirituality of communication within Nigerian Catholicism. Discussing the intersection between various forms of media and community, the article argues for the utilization of media in the pursuit of social justice and the dismantling of inequalities.

Editor's Introduction, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction to African Catholicism: Contemporary Issues: Volume: 1, Issue 2 of the Journal of Global Catholicism

Black Lives, Sacred Humanity, And The Racialization Of Nature, Or Why America Needs Religious Naturalism Today, Carol W. White

Faculty Journal Articles

Embedded in persistent representations of people of African descent as inferior beings or subpar humans are problematic notions of animality, race, and nature in the U.S., or a lethal combination of intimately conjoined white supremacy and species supremacy. Confronting these processes is a model of African American religious naturalism, which presupposes human animals’ deep, inextricable homology with each other and with other natural processes. Building on the ideas of Anna J. Cooper, W. E. B. du Bois, and James Baldwin, this model of religious naturalism emphasizes humans as sacred centers of value and distinct movements of nature itself where deep …

Thine Is The Kingdom: The Political Thought Of 21st Century Evangelicalism, Joanna Tice Jen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Despite renewed attention to religion and ethics in political theory, there is a notable absence of inquiry into evangelicalism. Social scientists have studied Christian right policy in the late 20th century, but how has the movement shifted in the new millennium and what are the theoretical beliefs that undergird those shifts? By reading popular devotional writings as political texts, this dissertation distills a three-part evangelical political thought: 1) a theory of time in which teleological eternity complements retroactive re-birth; 2) a theory of being wherein evangelicals learn to strive after their godly potential through a process of emotional self-regulation; and …

Immanent Frames: Meiji New Buddhism And The 'Religious Secular', James Mark Shields

Faculty Journal Articles

The secularization thesis, rooted in the idea that “modernity” brings with it the destruction—or, at least, the ruthless privatization—of religion, is clearly grounded in specific, often oversimplified, interpretations of Western historical developments since the eighteenth century. In this article, I use the case of the New Buddhist Fellowship (Shin Bukkyō Dōshikai 新仏教同志会) of the Meiji period (1868–1911) to query the category of the secular in the context of Japanese modernity. I argue that the New Buddhists, drawing on elements of classical and East Asian Buddhism as well as modern Western thought, promoted a resolutely social and this-worldly Buddhism that …

Christus Satisfactor: An Anselmian Approach To The Doctrine Of Atonement, David M. Mahfood

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I develop and defend a revised satisfaction account of the Christian doctrine of atonement based primarily on the thought of St. Anselm of Canterbury. The project thus has both a historical and a normative dimension, since I offer an interpretation of Anselm, and then derive from it an account of the atonement as a candidate for how Christians ought to think about and understand what God has accomplished in Christ on our behalf.

I begin, in Chapter 2, by examining the most common way of framing the doctrine of atonement today, which I call the “atonement theory …

Opaque Redemption: Whiteness, Theology, And The Politics Of The Human, Timothy Mcgee

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

Who can save us from redemption? Some of the earliest accounts of the African slave trade claimed that slavery saved those marked by the “perdition” of soul, mind, and body (G. E. de Zurara). Postcolonial critics argue that colonization (F. Fanon), orientalism (E. Said), and even liberal democracy (T. Asad) have operated as violent projects of redemption. At the center of these modern politics of redemption, or of modernity as a project of redemption, is a racial figure of the human, what Sylvia Wynter calls Man. This dissertation, Opaque Redemption: Whiteness, Theology, and the Politics of the Human, …

Theological Function As The Key To Israelite Religious Distinctiveness In The Ancient Near East : The Holy Place As A Case Study, Samuel C. Long

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Arminianism And Molinism On Divine Foreknowledge, Nathan S. Justice

Senior Honors Theses

Evidence is examined concerning the coherence of divine foreknowledge as defined by Arminianism and Molinism. Arminianism argues that God has complete and infallible knowledge of the future, and attempts to simultaneously maintain a strong view of libertarian freedom. Molinism agrees with the Arminian stance on foreknowledge and human freedom, but argues that middle knowledge must also be posited for God to have strong providential control over His creation. It is argued that Molinism better accounts for the biblical data and provides a more coherent theological and philosophical position, since Arminianism cannot provide a strong theory of providential control. Subsequently, a …

“To See My Home Before I Die”: The Trip To Bountiful, Memento Mori, And The Experience Of Death, Margaret Sullivan

Journal of Religion & Film

This article analyzes the portrayal of death in Peter Masterson’s 1985 film The Trip to Bountiful. My claim is that the experience of death, in the film, functions as a tool both for the elderly main character’s increased self-understanding and for her conscious, ethical action. I enter this discussion through an examination of late deconstruction’s ethical turn and the argument that aporetic unknowing, if experienced and endured, leads to the chance for real, authentic action. I then demonstrate how the film depicts such an aporetic encounter with death, and do so, in large part, by focusing on the film’s final …

Teaching About The Politics Of Religion And Social Change, Dean Johnson

Philosophy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Al-Ghazali On Causation, Omnipotence, And Human Freedom, Christopher P. Garber

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

In his work entitled "On Power," famous Muslim philosopher al-Ghazali lays out his particular brand of occasionalism. Al-Ghazali views god as the ultimate cause for everything that is logically possible, including the acts of man. In this paper, al-Ghazali's occasionalism is fully fleshed out to reveal what appear to be his true views on both God and man's power (or lack thereof) and the implications of such views.

Difficulties Of Simplicity, Cody M. Bradley

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

This paper attempts to show that the doctrine of divine simplicity suffers from difficulties which undermine its plausibility. The main difficulties explored are Plantinga’s problem of double identification, Pruss’ multiple attributes problem, and Schmitt’s co-specificity problem. In more recent years, defenders of the doctrine have offered a way out of these problems by interpreting it in light of a truthmaker account of predication. This paper analyzes this recent defense, among others, and attempts to show that this new interpretation of divine simplicity still has problems which undermine the plausibility of the doctrine.

"Revolution In Religious Language": The Relevance Of Julia Kristeva's Theory Of 'Signifiance' For Theology, Timothy O. Inman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation applies Julia Kristeva's theory of revolution in the practice of signifiance to religious discourse. In particular, it argues that the salient features of signifiance are present and active in religious speech as well as poetic language, the subject of Kristeva's doctoral thesis Revolution in Poetic Language. Signifiance describes the process in which meaning is produced in linguistic utterance, and its intentional practice is subversive not only in terms of language but culture in general.

Authority And Meaning In A Brave New World: Postconservative Evangelical Theological Method After The Cultural-Linguistic Turn, Jeffrey Halsted

CTS PhD Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation fills a gap in the current scholarship by describing Stanley Grenz’s and Kevin Vanhoozer’s postconservative evangelical understandings of authority, meaning, and truth as they are related to Scripture and the community of faith. Acknowledging the postliberal influence of George Lindbeck, scholarship is further needed to describe whether theological authority ultimately rests in Scripture or the community of faith. Furthermore, scholarship needs to address the manner in which we seek, participate in, or determine meaning and truth within postconservative evangelical theological method. This dissertation provides this scholarship for Grenz’s and Vanhoozer’s thought while also providing a more extensive description …

Spirit Determinism In The Christian Anthropology Of Yorù̀Bá Indigenous Churches, Bernard T. Ayọ̀Ọlá

CTS PhD Doctoral Dissertations

There are people who think everything in life is an accident. Then, there are the Yorùbá of Southwestern Nigeria who believe that life outcomes are prearranged by the Supreme Being but may also be altered, for better or for worse, by the spirit beings in the universe. Yorùbá Christians, like their non-Christian kin, believe that many experiences in life are manifestations of the activities of the superhuman spirit beings in the community. While the good spirits (such as ancestors and angels) ordinarily have positive impacts on society, the evil spirits (such as witches, wizards, and demons) often work in collaboration …

The Stromata Vol. 59, No. 1, Calvin Theological Seminary

Stromata (1956-2020)

Inside This Issue

5- On How the Church Can Downplay the Scriptures by Isaias D’Oleo-Ochoa

10- Come, Let Us Reason Together: Avoiding the Intentional Fallacy by Nathaniel A. Schmidt

13- Netland, Harold A. Christianity & Religious Diversity: Clarifying Christian Commitments in a Globalizing Age by Fikre H. Norcha

17- Reading the Book of Doom: Why Do Christians Listen to the Old Testament Judgment? by Jeehyun Lee

28- Abraham’s Righteousness in Ben Sira 44:19-21 and Romans 4 by Yun Suk Kang

47- Messianic Unity in Zechariah: A Thematic Investigation by Daniel DeVries

84- Empress Eudocia: A Mole Enters the Theodosian Household …

The Stromata Vol. 58, No. 2, Calvin Theological Seminary

Stromata (1956-2020)

Inside This Issue

3- Green, Joel B., and Lee M. McDonald, The World of the New Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts by Yun Suk Kang

7- Hulst, Mary S., A Little Handbook for Preachers: Ten Practical Ways to a Better Sermon by Sunday by Chadd M. Huizenga

10- Kim, Koowo, Incubation as a Type-Scene in the ʾAqhatu, Kirta, and Hannah Stories: A Form-Critical and Narratological Study of KTU 1.14 I–1.15 III, 1.17 I–II, and 1 Samuel 1:1 2:11 by Caris Kim

13- The Gospel of Luke and the Calling of the Intellectual by David Tassell

19- Christian Unity from …

Learning While Teaching: Disability And Religion In The Classroom, Meghan Henning, Kirk Vangilder

Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

This article serves as an introduction to themes explored in the special issue of the Journal of Disability and Religion on disability and religion in the classroom. Dr. Kirk VanGilder (Gallaudet University) and Dr. Meghan Henning (University of Dayton) share their reflections from two academic workshops focusing on pedagogical strategies for teaching at the intersection of disability studies, religion, and theology. Rather than limiting the concept of classrooms only to higher education environments, the authors explore the variety of sites where teaching and learning about disability and religion occur. Challenges, resources, and future directions are mapped out for transdisciplinary teaching …

Book Review: Comparing Faithfully: Insights For Systematic Theological Reflection, Stephanie Corigliano

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Book review of Comparing Faithfully: Insights for Systematic Theological Reflection. Edited by Michelle Voss Roberts, Bronx, New York: Fordham University Press, 2016, 304 pages.

The Hermeneutical Frameworks Of Fernando Canale And Fritz Guy: Sola And Prima Scriptura And The Science-Theology Relationship, Ryan Nicholas Claude Brousson

Master's Theses

This thesis presents research on the hermeneutical frameworks of sola and prima Scriptura and how they affect the science-theology relationship. It specifically focuses on the writings of Fernando Canale and Fritz Guy who hold opposing views on both sola and prima Scriptura and the relationship between science and theology. Canale argues for a sola Scriptura framework with science governed by theology, whereas Guy argues for a prima Scriptura framework with science and theology working independently of each other.

This thesis begins with a brief historical overview of the issues and then moves into describing Canale’s and Guy’s views. It ends …

An Evaluation Of The Definition Of Exhaustive Foreknowledge In The Writings Of Richard Rice, Dennis E. Akawobsa

Master's Theses

Problem

This thesis addresses the conflict of interpretation between Richard Rice’s model of God’s exhaustive knowledge of the future as a realm of possibilities and the generally accepted traditional model of God’s exhaustive definite knowledge of the future. In harmony with the traditional perspective, Richard Rice has affirmed God’s exhaustive knowledge of the past and the present. However, in contrast to the traditional perspective, he has denied God’s exhaustive definite foreknowledge of future free choices. According to Rice, God can know everything there is to know. This implies that, on one hand, the future does not yet exist, so God …