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A Cohesive Theology Of Christian Living: Principles From The Book Of Daniel, Jeremy Shaffer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The propensity to force preconceived ideologies and theological systems upon the interpretation of the book of Daniel is evident. The purpose of this project is to provide a proper interpretation of Daniel 1-6 so that proper applications can be made for preaching and teaching, trying to eliminate any preconceptions along the way that are forced upon the text. A six-part theology of Christian living is developed from the preaching outlines of each chapter, all connected to the book's theme of sovereignty and thereby forming a cohesive unit. Ultimately, a greater appreciation for the value of the Old Testament in Christian …

Biblical Preaching, Ovidiu Ionel Dragan

ATS Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to help young pastors improve their preaching. The literature review examined the theological foundation of becoming more biblically accurate in preaching. This study emphasized the importance and usefulness of the Word of God for change and transformation of the lives of those who hear preaching. Biblical preaching is detailed by images and metaphors that help any minister to understand the call, message, authority, and practice of biblical preaching. The findings suggest that during the study a shift occurred within a group of young pastors from Baptist Community in Arad, Romania. Among the findings was …

Luke 18:9-14: An Expositional And Literary Discussion On The Parable On The Pharisee And Tax Collector, Nathan A. Schwenk

Senior Honors Theses

In the third Gospel of the New Testament, Luke consistently writes about the Pharisees and their piety pronouncing woes and judgments upon them. Representing the religious leaders of that day, they exalted themselves above everyone else and most of all, tax collectors, who are the epitome of sinners. However, the principle of the great reversal is a prominent theme in Luke’s Gospel, in which the exalted are humbled and the humble are exalted. Multiple times Jesus uses this principle to completely transform peoples’ mindset on who is greatest in the world.

This thesis will offer an extensive exposition on the …

Discovering And Understanding “Sabbath Rest” In Hebrews 3:7-4:11, Peter Battaglia

Senior Honors Theses

The book of Hebrews is a complex and intricate book full of Old Testament references.  Intertextuality, or the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament, plays an important role in Hebrews, specifically in the context of 3:7-4:11.  In this passage there occurs a phrase unique to the whole Bible, “Sabbath rest” (4:9).  While this phrase seems to point to some sort of eschatological reality, there are numerous factors which play a role in determining what this “Sabbath rest” actually is.  In order to come to a proper understanding of the meaning and significance of this phrase, an analysis of the …

Luke And Work, Theology Of Work Project, Aaron Kuecker

Theology of Work Project

1. Introduction to Luke
2. The Kingdom of God Shows Up at Work (Luke 1-5)
   • God at Work (Luke 1, 2 and 4)
   • Jesus Calls People at Work (Luke 5:1-11; 27-32)
   • John the Baptist Teaches Workplace Ethics (Luke 3:8-14)
   • Jesus is Tempted to Abandon Serving God (Luke 4:1-13)
3. Healing in Luke
4. Sabbath and Work (Luke 6:1-11; 13:10-17)
5. The Ethics of Conflict (Luke 6:27-36; 17:3-4)
6. God's Provision (Luke 9:10-17; 12:4-7; 12:22-31)
   • The Shrewd Manager and the Prodigal Son (Luke 16:1-13; 15:11-32)
7. Wealth in Luke
   • Concern for the Wealthy (Luke 6:25; 12:13-21; 18:18-30)
   • Concern for the Poor (Luke 6:17-26; 16:19-31)
   • Generosity: The Secret to …

The Authorship Of The Johannine Epistles, Thaddaeus S. Taylor

Senior Honors Theses

The first century church believed Jesus’ return would be immediate and as a result, compiling the writings of the apostles was not an immediate priority. In the few hundred years that followed, authentic letters from apostles as well as pseudepigraphical works had begun to circulate. Therefore, a process began of acceptance and rejection for the writings. The book of 1 John was immediately accepted into the Canon along with the Gospel of John. However, 2 John and 3 John were at first disputed and then later included in the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. This thesis will examine the …

A Global Approach For The Local Church As Mission Agent And Agency, Jonathan Edward Stairs

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to reclaim the local church's mandate to mobilize disciples to complete the Great Commission. It appears that the evangelical church has abdicated its responsibility of reproducing disciples to other ministries and needs to re-establish disciple-making as its primary focus. Therefore, the project will outline how one church, Calvary Baptist Church in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, intends to realign itself with the New Testament paradigm of the church as both a mission agent and agency. The potential value will be the development of a clear and effective discipleship pathway leading churches toward a Biblically-balanced "commissional" movement.

Gardner-Webb Professor Addresses Biblical Perspectives On Natural Disasters, Office Of University Communications, Matt Leonard

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

Devastating natural disasters like the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan or last year’s earthquake in Haiti raise important and sometimes troubling questions about faith and belief. In an upcoming lecture, Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity’s Dr. Cal Robertson will examine ancient Israel’s beliefs about the spiritual significance of such disasters. As part of Gardner-Webb’s Joyce Compton Brown Lecture Series, Robertson’s lecture is free and open to the public, and will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27 in Ritch Banquet Hall.

Volume 108, Number 23 - Tuesday, April 5, 2011, Saint Mary's College Of California

The Collegian

No abstract provided.

What Are They Saying About The Jonah Psalm? An Analysis Of The Current Trends In Its Interpretation, Daniel A. Neal

Theology Graduate Theses

The aim of this thesis is to examine the current state of the question of the Jonah psalm, particularly its peculiar placement within the prose of the book of Jonah. Its date of composition, rhetorical features, and overall purpose are of specific interest, and are inspected as such. Definitive answers prove elusive in regards to the psalm’s date of composition, as it can be placed, with varying degrees of conviction, between the 8^th and 2^nd centuries BC. Rhetorical analysis proves more enlightening, as comparing the psalm to the surrounding prose underscores the linguistic and rhetorical synergy between the …

Putting John On Trial: Teaching Christology By Using The Classroom As A Courtroom, George Faithful

Collected Faculty Scholarship

My purpose today is to share the results of an experiment I conducted and to suggest ways it could be improved and reproduced. In a 200-level course called “Christian Beliefs” at a Saint Louis University, a Catholic institution, I staged a mock trial. All students in the class were assigned to read the Gospel of John with an eye for how its author portrayed Christ’s nature. From among the thirty students, I asked for four volunteers, two each for two competing teams, the defense and prosecution. The defense was charged with summarizing John’s Christology and with making the case that …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 46 No 1 - April 2011), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: A Break with Anti-Judaic Exegesis: John Calvin and the Unity of the Testaments by G. Sujin Pak - 7 / Metaphysics and Justification in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Reformed Theology by John V. Fesko - 29 / A Brief History of Heaven in the Writings of Jonathan Edwards by Robert Caldwell - 48 / The Glory of Spiders and Politics by John Bolt - 72 / Experience, Expression, Understanding: Gerardus van der Leeuw's Phenomenological Method by Richard J. Plantinga - 81 / The Seven Days of Creation by James W. Skillen - 111 / Lost Keys: The Absolution in …

Lex Orandi, Lex Legendi: A Correlation Of The Roman Canon And The Fourfold Sense Of Scripture, Matthew Thomas Gerlach

Dissertations (1934 -)

While the correlation between the liturgy and the Bible was vital in the patristic-medieval period, a dichotomy grew up between them in modern times. Starting with the assumption that a fuller retrieval of the correlation today requires forms of engaging texts which are not exclusively linear or historico-critical, the dissertation argues that the dichotomy between liturgy and Bible is overcome within a correlation of the Eucharist and spiritual exegesis that retrieves a typological reading of Scripture and that attends to the liturgical relationships memorial, presence, and anticipation. The structure of reading the Bible parallels the structure of praying within the …

Living In The Tensions: Camus, Qohelet, And The Confrontation With The Absurd, Justin Keith Morgan

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the spiritual dimensions of Albert Camus's "cycle of the absurd"--The Myth of Sisyphus, The Stranger, and Caligula--by paralleling Camus's absurd vision of life to the various themes of the ancient text of Hebrew-wisdom literature, Ecclesiastes. Both Camus and Qohelet (the main speaker of Ecclesiastes) describe the absurdity of human existence that arises from the limitations of human reason, the futility of human action, and the certainty of death. Although Camus (an atheist) and Qohelet (a theist) begin with different assumptions regarding the existence of God--the very Being who potentially gives meaning and clarity to his creation--their similar …

The Beauty Of The Ethical: An Everyday Ethics That Brings Grace To Life, Ross W. Mccullough

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Excerpt: "Malcolm Muggeridge entitled his reflection on Mother Teresa Something Beautiful for God. Perhaps the force of that expression does not immediately strike us, but consider how curious a statement it is: that here was something—an act, a project, a life—beautiful for God. By far the most curious aspect, and the hardest to see afresh and not as mere formula, is that it was for God; but I leave that to a subsequent essay, with only the saints, here Teresa and Irenaeus, to point toward my sequel. For now note instead that it was something beautiful."

A Fresh Look At Two Genesis Creation Accounts: Contradictions?, Jiri Moskala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Crafting A Congregational Narrative For The College Church Of Christ In Fresno, California, Jason W. Locke

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes a ministry project in the College Church of Christ in Fresno, California. In this project I led the congregation through a narrative crafting process in order to clarify the church’s identity and increase its capacity for mission. In recent decades, the College Church moved away from some of its founding characteristics yet failed to clarify a new sense of identity. It subsequently had difficulty acting with a unified sense of purpose and instead moved increasingly toward fragmentation.

Data for crafting the new narrative came from three weeks of group interviews. My research team conducted these interviews in …

The Sacrifice Of The Life-Giving Death: The Atonement And Its Theological Presuppositions In Eastern Orthodox Soteriology, Daniel L. Marchant

Senior Honors Theses

Whereas much Western theology tends to portray the sacrifice of Christ as an act of penal substitution, the patristic tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church emphasizes an understanding of Christ's atoning work that is participatory rather than substitutionary, ontological rather than juridical, and cosmic rather than individual. These differences in emphasis arise from different understandings of such foundational doctrines as man's original created nature, the fall, and the Old Testament sacrificial system.

Since man was created in a dynamic condition in the image of God, called to attain to the likeness through deification in the energies of God, and as …

Discerning A Vocational Theology Of Marriage For The Smyrna Church Of Christ, Daniel F. Camp

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project was to discern a vocational theology of marriage for the Smyrna Church of Christ in Smyrna, Tennessee. Through a group discernment process, the participants studied Genesis 1-3 and 2 Corinthians 5 as a basis for understanding God’s design for marriage at creation, the effects of sin on the vocational aspect of the marriage relationship, and the call of Christ for husbands and wives to participate in the resurrection life through the ministry of reconciliation. At the end of the discernment process, the participants articulated a theology statement for the church that examined our current context …

Embracing The Margins: Covenant Faithfulness Over Mainstream Favor, Nathaniel J. Mullen Iii

Doctor of Ministry

Since its origin as a pejorative label for members of the 2nd century church, the word "Christian" has been used to describe Saint, Priest, humanitarian, and martyr as well as murderer, bigot, inquisitionist, republican, and disruptor of peace. This truth is evidence of the ability to misrepresent the Christ of Christ-ian. Right now we are in the position of transforming what images come to mind when people hear the word Christian. In Matthew's gospel, Christ is given the name Immanuel, which means, "God with us."1 The person of Jesus Christ is spoken of as the embodiment of Immanuel in every …

The Relationship Of The Battles In Zechariah 12 Through 14, Joshua Andrew Haley

Masters Theses

The relationship of the battle sequences in Zechariah 12-14 has divided scholars for centuries. Jerusalem, besieged by the nations, will be the location of both battles. The nations will be defeated by a divine plague in both battles. Finally, the battles will both result in the establishment of Yahweh's kingdom. There are several important differences between the battle sequences. Zechariah 14 specifically identifies the day of the conflict as the "Day of the Lord." Chapters 12-13 do not. Chapter 14 describes the judgment of Jerusalem while chapters 12-13 do not. Finally, chapter 14 presents a thorough description of the battle …

Interpretation Of BereʼŠît In The Context Of Genesis 1:1-3, Jiri Moskala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sabbath And Sanctification, Roy Gane

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

It Is Well With My Soil: Ecocriticism Of Wendell Berry's Jayber Crow And Hannah Coulter & Marilynne Robinson's Gilead And Housekeeping, Lauren Hoessly

Masters Theses

Ecocriticism places nature as the central subject of life, but avoids analysis of human relationships as an integral part of man's relationship with nature. Wendell Berry's novels Jayber Crow and Hannah Coulter, and Marilynne Robinson's novels, Gilead and Housekeeping posit ecocritical claims about man and his work in nature without forsaking the union of the body and soul. Thus, Berry and Robinson connect relationships between people to this work in nature in order to reveal the relationship between man and God. They integrate principles of environmental recovery with Christian principles of redemption, and thereby offer new possibilities for ecocritical writing …

The Pastoral Epistles And Work, Theology Of Work Project, Alex Kirk

Theology of Work Project

1. Introduction to the Pastoral Epistles and Work
2. 1 Timothy - Working for Order in God's Household
   • True belief leads to a sound organization (1 Timothy 1:1-11, 18-20; 3:14-16)
   • Prayer, peace and order are needed at work as in church (1 Timothy 2:1-15)
   • Integrity and relational ability are key leadership qualities (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9)
   • God's Creation is Good (1 Timothy 4:1-5)
   • Good relationships arise from genuine respect (1 Timothy 5:1-6:2; Titus 2:1-10)
   • Godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:3-10, 17-19)
3. 2 Timothy - Encouragement for a Faithful Worker
4. Titus - Working for Good Deeds
5. Conclusions to the …

The Lost And Found World Of Genesis 1, Roy Gane

Memory, Meaning & Faith

No abstract provided.

John Walton On The Contextual Approach To Biblical And Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Roy Gane

Memory, Meaning & Faith

No abstract provided.

Death And Its Beyond In Early Judaism And Medieval Jewish Philosophy, Adem Irmak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Afterlife and the concept of soul in Judaism is one of the main subjects that are discussed in the academia. There are some misassumptions related to hereafter and the fate of the soul after departing the body in Judaism. Since the Hebrew Bible does not talk about the death and afterlife clearly, some average people and some scholars claim that there is nothing relevant to the hereafter. However, in this study I put the Hebrew Bible to conversation with ancient cult of the dead and Medieval Jewish philosophers Saadya Gaon and Yehuda Halevi to proof the existence of afterlife and …

The Identity Of The Διψυχος In The Shepherd Of Hermas, Jeremiah Mutie

SOR Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Ancient Israelite Sion Theology, Judeo-Christian Apocalypticism, And Biblical (Mis)Interpretation: Potential Implications For The Stability Of The Modern Middle East, Taylor Halverson

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.