Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Keeping The Heart: Contemporizing The Parables Of Jesus, Hannah Tullos

Honors Theses

One of the main teaching techniques of Jesus was his usage of stories, also known as parables. Although the power of his words never fades, the impact of the details of his stories inevitably gets lost when the stories are read in a different cultural context. This thesis provides a method that brings Jesus’s parables into a modern context. In being able to completely transform parables into a modern context, the message of the parables can reach wider audiences on a more personal level. The goal is to revive the heart of storytelling within the parables of Jesus and communicate …

Applying Nehemiah's Leadership Characteristics In The Business World Today, Amanda Abbud

Honors Theses

As a Business major interested in Biblical studies, I studied leadership skills found in the biblical book of Nehemiah. My research involved identifying key leadership characteristics from Nehemiah's life, then comparing and contrasting these characteristics with books such as Hand Me Another Brick by Charles R. Swindoll and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John C. Maxwell. Also, I gathered information from New American Commentaries Ezra Nehemiah and Esther by Leslie Allen, and Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther by Mervin Breneman.

Exploring Paul As The Anti-Jonah In Acts, Collin Battaglia

Honors Theses

Biblical authors often employ literary techniques to communicate their messages with enhanced force. They were not, for example, interested in theology or historiography alone, but also in aesthetics. In other words, their focus was not directed solely on simply presenting information, but also on how the material was presented literarily. Authors would utilize many techniques in their writing such as repetition, chiasms, and typology to connect stories, to emphasize themes, and to flesh out nuanced truths. This paper will argue that Luke, in the Book of Acts, implements the aesthetic technique of allusion and typology to enrich his narrative. More …

The Exoneration Of Job: A Discussion Of The Joban And Yahwistic Speeches, Robert Edwin "Mack" Mcgehee Iii

Honors Theses

This study aims to determine whether Job, staunchly established as innocent in the prosaic introduction of the book, maintains his blamelessness throughout the lengthy poetic corpus. The speeches of the dominant characters, Job and Yahweh, will be examined in order to determine whether Job is in the end exonerated by Yahweh's poetic words despite the harsh statements made in the man's own speeches.

The Blessings Of Being God's People: Election In The Book Of Isaiah, Adam Jones

Honors Theses

Over the years, the doctrine of election, or God choosing a people, has been a highly debated topic. Two thousand years of church history can attest to that, and even today churches split over disagreements about the topic. To begin to gain a clearer understanding of this doctrine, one must set aside common presuppositions, expectations, and even the understanding in church history. Often, election is seen as a New Testament doctrine. However, it is important to remember that the Old Testament forms the background for the New Testament and is often quoted in New Testament passages. Isaiah is heavily relied …

Story-Based Spiritual Formation For College Students, Anna Sikes

Honors Theses

The typical way that spiritual formation of college students is approached tends to be therapeutic instead of centered around God's big story. I believe the current approaches to spiritual growth do not adequately meet the needs of today's emerging adults because they are self-centered and simplistic. College is a time when those who want to grow can if they are placed in intentional, story-based process that allows them to realize their part in God's grand story. This becomes a way for those who are on a search for deep, authentic faith to find out how to grow. As a college …

At The Crossroads Of Biblical Studies And Linguistics: An Exegesis Of Genesis 10:1-11 :9, Trevor Huxham

Honors Theses

In the book of Genesis, one of the longest genealogies in the Bible is followed by a narrative about a city and a tower called Babel located in southern Mesopotamia. In this account. God confuses the original common language of humankind at Babel, and from there. people spread throughout the world speaking their diverse languages, however, archaeologists and linguists have found that languages change gradually over time and that people began migrating across the world some 50,000 years ago from eastern Africa. At first glance, there seems to be a conflict here between the Bible and the sciences. But when …

The Year Of Jubilee Is At Hand: A Call For Social Justice, Jesse Pruett

Honors Theses

In recent months, the campaign "Kony 2012" has captured the focus of millions across the globe. Using social media and an immensely popular YouTube clip, the creators of this campaign are seeking to raise awareness about alleged social injustices committed by Joseph Kony in West Africa. The fact that this campaign, among numerous other campaigns that seek to raise awareness about or to fight some form of injustice, became popular in such a short period of time illustrates the growing interest of millions of people, specifically contemporary westerners, in matters of social injustice and oppression. This growing interest in the …

Function, Fulfillment, And Chaos In The Meta-Narrative Of Scripture: A Biblical Theology, Kimberly Carlton

Honors Theses

The Bible is a mosaic, one large meta-narrative made up of a plethora of smaller stories, instances, and encounters. Each of these smaller stories is integral to the larger story. Both minutiae and art ability to grasp the big picture are important when one comes to read the Bible. This paper attempts to address the small details of Scripture, and from those small details endeavors to gain an image of the mosaic in a way that may not be commonly considered.

The mosaic of the Bible has many common threads and themes. These threads run throughout the story, giving it …

A Study Of Factors Related To Becoming A Prophet As Set Forth In The New Testament, Clyde W. Coleman

OBU Graduate Theses

The New Testament reveals that the cause of Christ was served by many individuals during the first century A.D. The kind of work they did varied (Acts 6:1-4; I Corinthians 12:8-10, 28; Ephesians 4:11). Their personalities and abilities varied. They served in different localities and under different conditions. One kind of work . which many of them did that appeared to be more significant than the other kinds of work done was that of the prophet, the preacher or proclaimer. Christians who served in this capacity appeared to have been compelled or motivated to such service by a compelling influence …

A Critical Introduction To The Epistle Of James And An Exposition Of James 1:2-18, Roger Schoeniger

Honors Theses

This study discusses the Authorship, Date, Destination and Point of Origin, Purpose and Occasion, and Theme and Content of the book of James. It includes an outline for the Epistle of James. The Exposition includes a discussion of "Trials From Without" and "Trials From Within". James's view of trials and temptations are summed up at the end of the paper.

A Study Of Revelation, Ken Brown

Honors Theses

Through the centuries man has felt a deep, innate thirst for an intimate relationship with the Infinite. Whether expressed in the ancient Babylonian mysteries of Tummez or in present-day "flower children," the thirst has driven the human soul to reach out and to touch the ultimate, to know that which holds command of all things. And though the human soul has continually sought, it has sought blindly and, at best, has gained only limited spiritual insight.

Christianity, however, is quite different from the various cults which have arisen because it is the result of the Infinite's search for man and …

Israel: A Dividing Nation, James C. Mccommas Jr.

OBU Graduate Theses

The United Monarchy of Israel divided into two independent states, Israel and Judah, when Rehoboam was acclaimed king after Solomon's death (922). Widespread disagreement exists among Old Testament scholars about when the separation occurred and multifarious divergence of opinion also exists about why it happened.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors, major and minor, which led to the division of Israel. Such scholars as Bright, Orlinsky, and Rowley feel that the split occurred because Rehoboam (Solomon's son) was weak, refused to ease the burdens placed on the people by his rather and failed to accept advice …

A Study Of The Sin And Death Of Moses In Biblical Literature, Harry E. Woodall

OBU Graduate Theses

Recently Dr. Clyde T. Francisco, who is professor of Old Testament interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, suggested that one of the great mysteries of the Bible is contained in the sin and death of Moses. Inquiry into the subject has validated his statement, for the interpretation of Moses' sin and death has been subject to many theories and speculations. The following Biblical passages are concerned with the sin and death of Moses: Numbers 20:1-13; 22-29; 27:12-14; Deuteronomy 1:35-40; 3:23-29; 4:21-24; 32:48-52; 34:1-7. Other related Biblical passages include Psalm 106:32-33, ·Mark 9:2-13 and synoptic parallels including Matthew 17: 1-13 and …