Digital Commons Network^™

Teachers' Perceptions Of School Climate In High Performing Schools And Low Performing Schools, Briget Ethier

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, causal comparative research study was to determine if there was a significant difference in teachers’ perceptions of school climate between high performing schools and low performing schools. The study investigated teachers’ perceptions of overall school climate, collaboration, decision-making, instructional innovation, student relations, and school resources. Data was collected from 75 teachers in three high performing schools and 75 teachers in three low performing schools from one school district. The Revised School Level Environment Questionnaire (Revised SLEQ) was the instrument utilized in the study to measure teachers’ perceptions of overall school climate in addition to the …

Islam In Saudi Arabia: The Homogeneous Portrayal And Heterogeneous Reality, John Rogeberg

Masters Theses

The objective of this thesis is to apply commonly held statistics in the world of missiology regarding folk Islamic practices to the least likely country for such practices to be found, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is believed by most to be the birth-site of an austere, strict, orthodox form of Islam, responsible for the nature and nurture (education, promotion, and financing) of Islamic extremism. Conversely, I posit that through tracing the development of Wahhabism and its current global influence on Islam, its literalist interpretation becomes a profitable tool for the student of anthropology, missiology, and cross-cultural studies to gain a …

Reaching Transcendental Meditation Followers For Jesus: Christian Meditation And Cultural Contextualization, Ashley Boyles

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to build on to research pertaining to Christian meditation, the Transcendental Meditation movement, and theological contextualization for possible evangelism strategy to reach adherents of TM. The first chapter begins with the purpose of the thesis as well as its limitations and research methods to be involved, with a layout of the rest of the thesis. In the second chapter, the literature review examines material from several different perspectives: Christianity, TM, the TM turned Christian, and the nonreligious field of science. The third chapter includes historical background on Transcendental Meditation, its interaction with Western culture, …

Is Jesus Of Nazareth The Predicted Messiah? A Historical-Evidential Approach To Specific Old Testament Messianic Prophecies And Their New Testament Fulfillments, Douglas Scott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to establish if critically acceptable historical-evidential reasons exist for believing that Jesus Christ is the direct fulfillment of the specific OT messianic texts included in the study. The study presupposes many of the conclusions of historical-critical scholarship and employs historical-evidential criteria to evaluate the evidence and attempt to establish the historical warrant for affirming such belief. Secondarily, this study seeks to find minimal facts related to these specific OT prophetic texts. To qualify as a minimal fact, two conditions must be met: (1) there must be more than adequate scholarly evidences usually consisting …

The “Minimal Facts Of The Resurrection” Argument Applied To Islam, Jacob Kounter

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis explores the “minimal facts” argument, an argument established by Dr. Gary Habermas concerning the minimal historical facts surrounding the death of Jesus of Nazareth that a majority of scholars, both Christian and non-Christian, attest to. It will specifically address mainstream Islamic arguments against the historicity of the resurrection. The Islamic view maintains that Jesus of Nazareth was either not crucified or that he survived his crucifixion, while Christianity posits that Jesus was crucified and resurrected. The essay examines scholarship from Muslims, Christians, and secular Atheist/Agnostics, and concludes that the biblical view of the resurrection is backed by historical …

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 …

Yahweh And Allah -- The Essential Differences: Why Christians And Muslims Do Not Worship The Same God And Why It Matters, Sarah D. Stewart

Senior Honors Theses

The question of whether or not Muslims and Christians worship the same deity has become a heated debate in many theological circles. This debate, in particular, is a growing question for Christians in the West, as large numbers of Muslims are entering the population, and the answer given helps to determine interactions with them.

This study was made by a review of various literature materials. Primary sources included translations of the Qur’an and the Bible. Secondary sources included books written by prominent Christian apologists. An important book used was by Yale theologian, Miroslav Volf, which took the opposing side of …

The Power Of Words: James 3:1-12, Seth Peterson

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Textual or Investigative

Creative Writing In Ministry Preparation: Narrativizing Formational Reflection, Benjamin Forrest, Marybeth Davis Baggett

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper is part proposal and part example. Our proposal, in essence, is a challenge to faculty to consider the value of incorporating various forms of creative writing into the ministry classroom. Incorporating creative writing can serve as a means for equipping students in their own spiritual transformation through the practice of narrativizing formational reflection. Our theoretical framework for using creative writing as a pedagogical tool is built on metacognition as classroom practice, which challenges students toward reflection and internalization. Following our proposal, we provide two tangible examples of how this proposal has been implemented in a seminary-level classroom. The …

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.

Christ And Culture Valued: Test Cases On Fairness, John Carson Iii

Senior Honors Theses

This research engages H. Richard Niebuhr’s work, Christ and Culture. Niebuhr’s book is a seminal work on the historical trends of Christian cultural engagement. This research applies several tests to the paradigm demonstrated in Niebuhr’s work. These tests demonstrate that Christ and Culture presents a paradigm that lacks fairness and does not adequately meet the goals of an explanatory paradigm. Niebuhr’s paradigm has shaped the discussion of Christian cultural engagement for over fifty years, and this research was done to demonstrate the need for new conversation-shaping paradigms in the field of Christian cultural engagement.

An Analysis Of Causes And Impacts Of Depression In Pastors, Derienzia Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Depression is becoming more common in pastors because of the stress and strains of ministry, as well as other personal issues. Therefore, this analysis looks into how different mechanisms such as social support and traditional religious values tend to function across different groups of the religious community. The purpose of this study is to understand the issues that would cause a pastor to become depressed and also to devise a plan of action that will provide alternatives to dealing with depression in a positive and healthy manner. This analysis will expand on existing literature and reports that argue on both …

Understanding African American Preaching: The Style, Culture, And Rationale For The Worship Experience And The Value For Education, Harry Zimmerman Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Preaching is an oratorical method for sharing the biblical text, which God uses to affect the lives of people for His glory. In the context of the African-American culture, preaching highlights differences between the rationales of the practical approaches of African-American and other styles of preaching. This project will examine fundamentals of African-American preaching as well as its dynamics while focusing on African-American traditions in a critical and creative manner. It will provide insights for training associate ministers at Faith United Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee. The research utilizes a single method research approach, utilizing surveys of pastors and …

Experiential Knowledge Without Experience: A Response To Cray, Mary L. Bobbitt

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

This paper responds to Wesley Cray’s article “Omniscience and Worthiness of Worship.” According to Cray, “an omniscient being is one that instantiates all propositional and experiential knowledge,” and no person can have that entire body knowledge. Contrary to Cray, this paper indicates that God’s omniscience implies full propositional knowledge, but only experiential knowledge that is great-making and non-composite. The central argument this paper proposes is that experiential knowledge does not imply that one has had that experience; for God, experiential knowledge may come from a variety of avenues. This article concludes with alternative arguments against Cray’s formulation of God.

Omnipotence, Omnibenevolence, And Evil, Emily Mccarty

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

This paper attempts to defend the attributes of omnipotence and omnibenevolence in light of evil. Possible worlds can be used to show that God perhaps has reasons for permiting evil, and these reasons can reconcile God's attributes with the existence of evil. Using Plantinga's Freewill Defense, free will is seen to be a conduit for moral good, but because of transworld depravity, some evil is present along with this good. Flemming objects to this account and seeks something stronger. Through evil's presence, we learn to identify it and learn to show benevolence to one another in light of its presence. …

Jesus And Tiberius: An Examination Of Source Reliability, Timothy B. Chrisman

Liberty Theological Review

Since the introduction to the critical method of studying the Old and New Testament in the nineteenth century, doubt has been thrown on the historical reliability of the biblical narrative accounts, especially the four Gospels. Yet, far less scrutiny and denigration have been applied to historical sources written during the time of the Roman Empire. A comparison, then, is proposed. It would be beneficial to compare the sources that detailed the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, namely, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and the four sources which chronicled the life of Tiberius, emperor of the Roman Empire during …

The Predestination Debate: A Harmony Of Corporate Election And Individual Election, Bradley Smith

Senior Honors Theses

The topic of predestination has been discussed throughout church history in the work of men like Augustine, Pelagius, Calvin, Arminius, and Barth. Corporate election seeks to reconcile some problematic areas of Calvinistic and Arminian theology by arguing that in the same way that God chose the nation of Israel through His election of Abraham, so He also chose the Church through His election of Jesus Christ. Despite this view’s seemingly convincing evidence, Scripture points far beyond its main tenets. God’s unconditional election of individuals ought to be foundational to the understanding of corporate election. This study will discuss and interact …

Not By The Hair Of My Chinny Chin Chin: Ohio's Attempt To Combat The Big Bad Wolf Of Blight, Justin M. Lugar

Liberty University Law Review

No abstract provided.

In Defense Of Law: The Common-Sense Jurisprudence Of Aquinas, Sean B. Cunningham

Liberty University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Moderating Effects Of Religious Commitment On The Link Between Pornography Use And Negative Outcomes., Timothy R. King Dr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Pornography use is widespread and may be associated with maladaptive outcomes, such as unhealthy attitudes toward women and unhealthy attitudes about sex. The links between pornography use and maladaptive outcomes may be particularly strong among individuals who adopt an identity that is opposed to the viewing of pornography, such as a faith-based identity. Couched in the context of cascade development theory, the present study examined associations between the age of onset of adolescent pornography use and maladaptive outcomes. Participants included males between the ages of 18 and 25 years recruited through Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk interface. Participants completed a battery …

Epistemological Realism And Onto-Relations, Max Lewis Edward Andrews

Liberty Theological Review

The traditional concept of knowledge is a justified true belief. The bulk of contemporary epistemology has focused primarily on that task of justification. Truth seems to be a quite obvious criterion—does the belief in question correspond to reality? My contention is that the aspect of ontology is far too separated from epistemology. This onto-relationship of between reality and beliefs require the epistemic method of epistemological realism. This is not to diminish the task of justification. I will then discuss the role of inference from the onto-relationships of free invention and discovery and whether it is best suited for a foundationalist …

Vision Impaired: A Model To Make Vision A Reality For Church Plants, Dwayne Pedroza

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Although begun with good intentions, not every church planting effort stays on course or continues to success. Church planting is uniquely birthed and has many areas that can become pitfalls as well as demands that challenge a church planter while trying to implement the vision; therefore, this thesis project provides a biblical structure to help church plants successfully implement the vision for the church. This thesis project provides a staffing model for church plants to give life to the vision and to enhance the survival rate of the church plants. The staffing model in this thesis project project consists of …

The One Balm For All Earth’S Wounds: The Priority Of Gospel Proclamation In Charles Haddon Spurgeon’S Missiology, John Sypert

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation explores the relationship between gospel proclamation and mercy ministry in Charles Spurgeon’s ministry. The dissertation argues that Spurgeon’s Pastors College, Stockwell Orphanage, and his multitude of other ministries had one clear goal: the spreading of the gospel and the conversion of the lost. This dissertation uses Spurgeon’s approach to missions as an apologetic for a more biblically precise missiology, namely, one that prioritizes gospel proclamation without neglecting the physical needs of those who suffer. This approach could be called “benevolent prioritism” because it prioritizes the proclamation of the gospel while not neglecting works of love for those suffering.

The Influence Of Religiosity And Adult Attachment Style On Marital Satisfaction Among Korean Christian Couples Living In South Korea, Dae Woon Cho

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of religious commitment, spirituality and adult attachment style on marital satisfaction among South Korean Christian couples living in South Korea. Three hundred sixty nine South Korean Christian couples from nine Presbyterian churches in Seoul, Dejeon, Daegu, Gumi, and Busan participated in this research. The current study evaluated the psychometric utility of the Spiritual Assessment Scale (SAS) and investigated the relationships among religiosity (religious commitment and spirituality), attachment style (anxious and avoidant attachment) and marital satisfaction. For the psychometric evaluation of the SAS, Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted for the …

Biblical Hermeneutics For The Twenty-First Century African American Church: Introducing Seven Key Solutions Promoting Higher Education, Jacqueline Montague

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite the fact that education builds knowledge, higher learning through Seminary is preached from many African American pulpits as having little merit. The author's hope is to channel broader understanding on how the seminary experience can make a difference in accomplishing the assignment commissioned by Jesus to a postmodern society. To achieve this goal, the author divulges the importance and necessity of seminary studies from a semiotic approach. Research includes a study of the hermeneutic circle and its three parts: text, messenger, and listeners; collected data from culture analyses and statistical reports to comprise three pastoral interviews. The objective is …

Review Of Introducing The Old Testament: A Short Guide To Its History And Message, A. Boyd Luter

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary (1973-2015)

No abstract provided.

Historical Movements And The Theology Behind The Pluralism Project At Harvard University, Scott Macleod

Masters Theses

The focus of this paper is to address religious pluralism as a belief along with examining multiple factors that have been a catalyst for the Pluralism Project at Harvard University to become part of American culture. The theology behind and ideology of the Pluralism Project will be examined along with the writings of Diana Eck, founder of the Pluralism Project. Outwardly, The Pluralism Project and the works of Eck give the impression of an impartial attempt to educate people on the growing religious diversity found within America. However, it will be shown that the Pluralism Project and the efforts of …

Dando Um Jeito: An Integrated Theological, Historical, Cultural And Strategic Study Of Missio Dei To, In And Through Brazil, Joao Mordomo

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since it’s descobrimento on April 22nd, 1500, Brazil proved to be resistant to Protestant and Evangelical Christianity until the 20th century. However, by the end of the century, Brazil had, in many missiologists’ minds, transitioned from being a missionary field to a missionary force. There is one Brazilian trait in particular that serves well to describe both God as He has orchestrated the evangelization of Brazil, and Brazilians as they increasingly have fulfilled their role in God’s global mission to, in and through Brazil. This trait is summarized in the expression dar um jeito (pronounced “darh oon jhei’-to”). While a …

An Exploration Of The Impact That Postmodernism Has On Competition In Sport, Shara Crow

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact that postmodernism has on competition in sport. Previous studies compartmentalized social thought and competition in sport. This study appreciates that the two are connected, and it is through this connectedness that the impact emerges. By describing, finding, and analyzing relationships through text as well as notating text iteratively, it was found through a postmodernist critical awareness to meta-narratives that sport is expressed in two main themes: (a) identity (b) and hierarchy/authority. Moreover, both of these themes are interrelated to social interaction. These findings indicate that social interpretation impacts the complex …