Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Salvation Through Community And Protest, Hannah K. Griggs

Audre Lorde Prize

This essay examines the theodicies of Nancy Pineda-Madrid, Kelly Brown Douglas, and Dorothee Soelle to strategize ways for Christians to combat rising threats to marginalized communities. Synthesizing the arguments of these three feminist Christians, I argue that only a theodicy of protest succeeds in accounting for structural injustice caused by kyriarchal relationships. As Christians come to terms with America’s current political situation, I call for a reimagining of Anselm’s salvation narrative. My protest theodicy theorizes a new Christian narrative that strives to alleviate this-worldly suffering in order to produce salvation through radical community, by “signifyin’” to disrupt power, and using …

Reproducing The Capitalist Patriarchy In The Evangelical Christian Sexual Purity Movement: A Feminist Christian’S Concern And Hope, Hannah K. Griggs

Audre Lorde Prize

Through a feminist lens, this essay will explore modern expressions of the conservative evangelical Christian purity movement, including Christian sex manuals, abstinence-only education programs, and purity balls. To begin, I will explain the most important facets of my own feminist theory, which draws from existentialist, socialist, and postmodern feminisms. Using this unique combination of theories, I will attempt to reconcile my deeply held Christian and feminist beliefs about sex. Finally, I will propose a solution that honors both of these important parts of my identity. I assert that the Christian purity movement Others women reinforcing a gender binary, bending to …

Innovation And The Local Congregation: Unleashing The Creative Power Of Communities Of Faith, Dan S. Poffenberger

Doctor of Ministry

Pastors search for ways to help their communities of faith live into their ministry with more impact, creativity and joy. Many are frustrated by the root bound nature of most congregations tightly organized in a hierarchy that limits the ability to be nimble and contextual. At the same time, culture is becoming more participatory, collaborative and creative. Thriving organizations have tapped into this culture by designing their structure to foster innovation. This work offers an examination of such organizations, their leaders and the tools they use.

Chapter One discusses the cultural shifts of connectedness and participation. These shifts have happened …

The Amoy China Mission Of The Reformed Church In America, 1937-1951, Jame E. Bell

Grand Valley Journal of History

This article analyzes how successful the Reformed missionaries operating in Amoy and the surrounding region were in accomplishing their objectives of evangelism and the establishment of an indigenous Chinese Church from 1937 to 1951. Through a combination of evangelism, education, and medical work the missionaries sought to spread their faith to the lay population of Fujian province. The missionaries’ work became much more difficult in the late 1930s with the Japanese invasion, World War II, and the eventual Communist takeover. In spite of this, their efforts, in conjunction with other missions, built a dedicated Chinese Christian community that proved hardy …

Lead Us Not Into Temptation, Deliver Us From Evil (Chapter In The Lord's Prayer, Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary), Nijay K. Gupta

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

I recall, as a young child, having a number of superstitious assumptions. I remember being afraid of the dark, and at night, as I stood in my doorway, I believed that when I turned off the light switch I had to jump to my bed (for some reason thinking that I would be gobbled up by evil if my feet touched the ground in the darkness). Over time, though, I became less concerned about the dark and also about "evil." Even today, as an adult, I do not think much about evil powers or spirits. I may make a one-off …

Foreword To The Itinerary Of The Prophet-King, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Among modern analyses of the origin and development of John’s Christology, the socio-religious analysis of Wayne A. Meeks advances one of the most compelling and suggestive theses in recent years, addressing the riddles pertaining to the puzzling presentation of Jesus as a prophet-king like Moses in John 6:14-15. Whereas the Logos motif of the Johannine Prologue and the Father-Son relationship in the Johannine narrative convey high-christological thrusts, his receptions as a rabbi, teacher, and prophet elsewhere in John’s story of Jesus are far more mundane and earth bound. While he is rejected in Judea for failing to live up to …

Anti-Semitism And Religious Violence As Flawed Interpretations Of The Gospel Of John, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

While it is a tragic fact that the Gospel of John has contributed to anti-Semitism and religious violence during some chapters of Christian history, John is not anti-Semitic. It was written by a Jewish writer, about a Jewish messianic figure, targeted first toward convincing Jewish audiences that Jesus was indeed the Jewish Messiah. Salvation is “of the Jews,” according to the Johannine Jesus, and each of the “I-am” sayings embodies a classic representation of Israel. John is no more “anti-Semitic” than the Essene community or the prophetic work of John the Baptist. On the other hand, “the Jews” sometimes typify …

"Get On The Cart!" Wesleyan Discipleship In An Age Of Endemic (Chapter 15 Of Thinking Theologically About Mass Incarceration), Benjamin Hartley, Glen Alton Messer Ii, Kirsten Sonkyo Oh

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Excerpt: "Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said that the so,ul of society "can be measured by its prisons."1 If that is true, then the soul of society in the United States is sick. The statistics on mass incarceration provided elsewhere in this volume illustrate the endemic nature of the problem much like epidemiological data shows the occurrence of a disease, but the stories from prisoners and their families-which the three of us have heard and told-show even more poignantly the depth of the wounds caused by the tragedy of incarceration that defies Christian virtues in this country. We pray this chapter will …

Book Review: The God Ezekiel Creates, Brian R. Doak

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Review of Paul M. Joyce and Dalit Rom-Shiloni (eds.), The God Ezekiel Creates (LHBOTS 607; London: Bloomsbury T & T Clark, 2015). Pp. xiv + 217 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0567658593

This deftly edited volume is a collection often essays on Ezekiel’s unique presentation of God. Indeed, as Joyce and Rom-Shiloni write in the preface, “[F]ew, if any, books of the Bible . . . have a more distinctive presentation of the deity than the book of Ezekiel, or are more dominated by the central place taken by the divine figure” (p. xiii). This core focus on Ezekiel’s God organizes …

Identity And Congruence: The Ethics Of Integrity In The Johannine Epistles (Chapter In Biblical Ethics And Application), Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

If the Johannine eagle soared above the earth, it did so with talons bared for the fight; and the last writings that were left show the eaglets tearing at each other for the possession of the nest. There are moments of tranquil contemplation and inspiring penetration in the Johannine writings, but they also reflect a deep involvement in Christian history. Like Jesus, the word transmitted to the Johannine community lived in the flesh.

The Aquinas Code: Was Thomism The Fundamental Reason Why C.S. Lewis Never Became Catholic? (Review Of Stewart Goetz, A Philosophical Walking Tour With C.S. Lewis: Why It Did Not Include Rome), Jason Lepojärvi

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Review of Stewart Goetz, A Philosophical Walking Tour with C. S. Lewis: Why It Did Not Include Rome (Bloomsbury, 2015) ,ISBN-13 ‏: ‎978-1628923179

Perspectives On The Missiological Legacy Of Martin Luther And The Protestant Reformation, Richard L. Starcher, Philip C. Huber, J. Nelson Jennings, Benjamin Hartley, Stan Nussbaum, William R. Burrows

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Upon the occasion of the 500th anniversary Martin Luther’s publication of his 95 theses, this composite article brings together five perspectives on the missiological legacy of the reformer and the subsequent Protestant Reformation. The blend of voices makes clear that Luther and the subsequent Protestant Reformation do not have a simple missiological legacy but rather various legacies: theological, ecclesiological, political, and practical; some of which co-exist, and even collide, in the same ecclesiastical community. The scandalous legacy of a splintered and splintering church remains. Yet, demonstrations of mutual recognition, reciprocal respect, and genuine fellowship can be found in certain missiological …

The Battle Is Real: Spiritual Warfare, Discipleship, And The Christian “Soldier”, Frank Hain

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of current literature demonstrates a plethora of material focused on various deliverance techniques, yet very little material is available to assist pastors with developing a spiritual warfare “basic training” plan. The purpose of this project is to illuminate a ministry’s desperate need to adopt a spiritual warfare worldview, to present the basic elements essential to a spiritual warfare basic training plan, and to create an effective strategy for implementing such a plan. Based on surveys and questionnaires sent to pastors and other ministry leaders, the project reveals the need for a spiritual warfare basic training plan for any …

Working Papers Of The American Society Of Missiology; Vol. 3 Public Theology, Robert A. Danielson, William L. Selvidge

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Of Law And Grace In The Hermeneutics Of New Covenant Theology, Carlos J. Cruz Pacheco

Master's Theses

Problem

This thesis evaluates the offer by New Covenant Theology of an interpretation of salvation history that stands in criticism of interpretations offered by Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism. Does New Covenant Theology demonstrate a distinctive view of the law-grace relationship that brings new perspectives on important theological and hermeneutical issues such as the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, and the Sabbath. Are New Covenant theologians correct in their claim that their system presents the best interpretation of salvation history, and of the law-grace relationship?

Purpose

The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate New Covenant Theology’s hermeneutics by …

The Impact Of The Imminence Of The Parousia On The Mission Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Bogdan Platon

Master's Theses

The imminence of the Parousia influenced the mission of Seventh-day Adventist church in all its history. The problem of this thesis is the extent to which the expectancy of the soon Parousia influences the concept about and the attitude towards mission in the Seventh-day Adventist church. Is Parousia the main motivation for the mission of the church or not? If Parousia determines the mission, what are the aspects associated with it that should drive the church mostly?

This thesis has a multidisciplinary approach: exegetical, historical and systematical. The study examines how the Bible history presents the impact of expectation upon …

(Re)Mediating The Spirit: Evangelical Christian Young Adult Media, Tamara Watkins

Theses and Dissertations

"We are in the world, but not of the world," a maxim frequently spoken in evangelical Christian culture, provides insight into how these individuals view their relationship with secular culture. They presume to share the same temporal plane with secular culture, but do not participate in it. In this dissertation, I explore whether the division between evangelical Christian culture and secular culture is as clear as this aphorism implies. To facilitate this investigation, I examine media Christian content creators created for an American evangelical Christian young adult audience in the early twenty-first century, specifically focusing on novel-length fiction, comics and …

Book Review: Dancing Bodies Of Devotion: Fluid Gestures In Bharata Natyam, Michelle Voss Roberts

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Book review of Dancing Bodies of Devotion: Fluid Gestures in Bharata Natyam. By Katherine C. Zubko. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2014, xvii + 251 pages.

"A Babe In The Woods?": Billy Graham, Anticommunism, And Vietnam, Daniel Alexander Hays

Masters Theses

This thesis focuses on famous evangelist Billy Graham's role in the Vietnam War, both as a public supporter and private advisor. It argues that, contrary to his self-depiction, he was no "babe in the woods," no mere neophyte or bystander. Rather, America's most famous preacher was an active participant in promoting and even planning the war. Graham's evangelical theology, with his premillennialist beliefs, led to his intensely anticommunist worldview, where communism was the Antichrist. His public support buttressed the presidents prior to and during the Vietnam War and, sometimes, Graham even delved into policy recommendations for the war.

Graham's role …

Editor's Introduction, Bradley Malkovsky

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

The main theme of this year’s issue, “Yoga and God: Hindu and Christian Perspectives,” continues a theme taken up five years ago by this journal, called “Yoga and Christianity.” The articles appearing in the present issue tend to give more explicit attention to the challenge of reconciling Christian theology and spirituality with various yoga systems than did the essays from 2012. Unlike the purely negative approach taken in recent years by many Christian groups to the question of integrating yoga practice and philosophy with Christian spirituality and teaching, the first three authors here affirm the value of yoga practice for …

‘I Am The Living Bread’: Ram Mohan Roy’S Critique Of The Doctrine Of The Atonement, Ankur Barua

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A striking aspect of Vedantic Hindu and Christian devotional universes is the theme of the humanity of God. Jesus and Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa, the transcendental source of worldly reality, are also intensely human figures – they live with and amidst human beings, and they (seem to) suffer and, most intriguingly, even (seem to) undergo death. However, as one plumbs the doctrinal depths of these universes, various theological divergences begin to emerge, relating to the nature of the divine, the relation of the divine to the world, and the soteriological dynamics of the spiritual transformation of human beings. From a Christian …

Cultural Interactions And Religious Iconography In 16th Century Kerala: The Mural Paintings Of St. Mary’S Church In Angamaly, Patrizia Granziera

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

St. Mary's Jacobite Syrian Church is an ancient church in Angamaly (Kerala). One account has Syrian Christians arriving in Angamaly in 384 CE and the church being established in 409 CE. Syrian Christians are the earliest Christian community of India, and they attribute their origin to the evangelical efforts of the apostle Saint Thomas who is believed to have travelled through the Malabar country in 52 CE evangelizing and building churches. It was when he moved east that he is supposed to have met his death and (martyrdom) at Mylapore near Madras.

Book Review: Longing And Letting Go: Christian And Hindu Practices Of Passionate Non-Attachment, Tracy Sayuki Tiemeier

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Book review of Longing and Letting Go: Christian and Hindu Practices of Passionate Non-Attachment. By Holly Hillgardner. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017, 174 pages.

Book Review: Christian Ashrams, Hindu Caves And Sacred Rivers: Christian-Hindu Monastic Dialogue In India 1950-1993, Daniel Soars

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Book review of Christian Ashrams, Hindu Caves and Sacred Rivers: Christian-Hindu Monastic Dialogue in India 1950-1993. By Mario I. Aguilar. Jessica Kingsley Publishers: London and Philadelphia, 2016, 200 pages.

Book Review: The Continuing Quest: Carrying Forward The Contemplative And Prophetic Vision Of Bede Griffiths, Michael Mclaughlin

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Book review of The Continuing Quest: Carrying Forward the Contemplative and Prophetic Vision of Bede Griffiths. Edited by Thomas Matus and Joseph Wong. Editions of Sankt Ottilien, Germany, 2016, 304 pages.

A Review Of Early Quakers And Their Theological Thought, 1647-1723, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

Early Quakers and Their Theological Thought, 1647-1723, edited by Stephen Angell and Pink Dandelion features the foremost scholars of seventeenth century Quakerism in a concise, groundbreaking volume. Quaker Studies is something of a growth industry as new approaches are being tested and previously inaccessible sources mined in digitized collections.1 The dynamic duo of Angell and Dandelion have combined to plan and edit the Oxford Handbook of Quaker Studies, Early Quakers and their Theological Thought, and the forthcoming Cambridge Companion to Quakerism. These three volumes make the best of research on Quakerism accessible to wider audiences, and solidify a base of …

Early Quakers And Their Theological Thought, 1647-1723, Paul N. Anderson

Quaker Religious Thought

It is with great appreciation to the authors and editors of this important volume on the theological thought of early Friends— Stephen Angell and “Ben” Pink Dandelion—as it fills a gap in the history of Quaker research in much needed ways. While the social histories, political concerns, spiritual interests, and social-action contributions of early Friends have been explored extensively, and while the spiritual experience and the theological contributions of some standout leaders have been explored, the theological convictions and contributions of key Quaker leaders has not been amassed as a collection until now. That being the case, this book stands …

Review Of Early Quakers And Their Theological Thought, Madeleine Ward

Quaker Religious Thought

In Early Quakers and their Theological Thought, Stephen Angell and Pink Dandelion have provided students and scholars of early Quakerism with an invaluable tool, capturing not only the vibrancy of the early Quakers’ intellectual world, but also the vitality of Quaker studies in the present day. This review will especially consider Douglas Gwyn’s chapter on Quaker origins, and the final three chapters on William Penn, George Keith and George Whitehead respectively, before reflecting on the book as a whole.

Response By The Editors, Stephen W. Angell, Ben Pink Dandelion

Quaker Religious Thought

We would like to thank the Quaker Theological Discussion Group for organizing and hosting this panel. It is a privilege indeed to have one’s work given so much attention by such a distinguished set of colleagues. We are very grateful to Jon Kershner, Leah Payne, Paul Anderson, and Madeleine Ward for their perceptive and affirming reviews of Early Quakers and Their Theological Thought, 1647-1723. Their appreciation guides us toward a brief reply. Of course, some response seems in order to a few of the thoughtful observations that they made about our work.

A Tribute: Remembering Arthur O. Roberts, Paul N. Anderson

Quaker Religious Thought

Arthur O. Roberts made momentous contributions to the Quaker Theological Discussion Group and Quaker Religious Thought over the years, and his impact as one of the leading Quaker thinkers and ministers over the last century will continue to be felt for some time. He was among the founding generation of young Quaker scholars that launched QTDG in 1957 (including Wilmer Cooper, Tom Brown, Lewis Benson, Canby Jones and others), and he contributed ten substantive essays to QRT as well as over three-dozen editorials, responses, and tributes.2 He followed Dean Freiday as editor of QRT from 1989 to 2000, and he …