Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Methodical-Pentecostal Theology Of Discipleship: Retrieving Wesley’S Method Of Discipleship For The 21st Century American Pentecostal Church, Rachel K. Sledge

Masters of Theological Studies

As the Pentecostal church continues to develop its unique theology separate from a mere charismatic Christianity, a theology of discipleship and practical application will prove necessary to maintain the original spirit of early Pentecostalism and sustain the continued growth of the church. Examining the Wesleyan theological roots of Pentecostalism provides a crucial understanding of the practices and discipleship methods leading to the Latter Rain outpouring. Understanding the educational, immersive, and experiential component of discipleship during Jesus’ time helps to frame the importance of prescribing certain practices and disciplines as means of cultivating holiness of heart. Retrieving some of the principles …

The Confederate Army And God, David Crum

Selected Faculty Publications

The United States Civil War produced some very dark days in American history. Ideas and values separated the North and the South. The whole world watched as America was at war with itself. Having been established as a nation that viewed God as an integral part of everyday life, nineteenth-century America was no different and revolved strongly around religion. Much attention is given to the Union soldiers and their fight for freedom, equality, and the overall abolition of slavery. Some may even correlate the acts of the North as righteous, as their fight for freedom and the deliverance of people …

An Exegetical And Phenomenological Study Of 1–3 John As A Model For Developing Biblical Community Through Spiritual Leadership Practices, Joseph Pastori

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Pastors and church leaders have been trusted with the New Testament responsibility of building biblical community characterized by koinonia. For contemporary pastors, this means developing this community while addressing internal conflicts and an increasing level of opposition from a post-Christian societal culture. The leadership approach of the Apostle John and the biblical principles in the epistles of 1–3 John serve as a model for building and maintaining biblical community while addressing internal and external challenges. Spiritual leadership theory (Fry, 2003) and organizational culture (Cameron & Quinn, 2011; Schein, 1986, 1990) provide valid theoretical constructs that are compatible with the Scriptural …

An Exploration Of The Role Of Vulnerability In Ministerial Leadership: A Qualitative Examination Of John 13 As Lived Experience In Contemporary Ministry, Lance L. May

PhD in Organizational Leadership

When leaders experience personal failures, it often causes negative repercussions across an entire organization, and Burns (1978) noted that devastating leadership failures had become increasingly common at the close of the 20th century. Leadership failures have continued to be a prominent problem, and the failures of ministry leaders are just as prevalent and devastating (Shaw, 2006). Brown (2015) concluded that vulnerability is a powerful tool for maintaining trust and integrity for leaders, followers, and entire organizational cultures. This study centered on both the role of vulnerability exemplified by Jesus in John 13 and the lived experiences of Christian ministry leaders. …

Macedonian Orthodox Church-Archbishopric Of Ohrid And Its Arduous Road To Autocephaly, Gjoko Gjorgjevski, Ruzhica Cacanoska, Ivan Blazhevski, Aneta Jovkovska

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The aim of this paper is to examine the recent developments related to the Macedonian Orthodox Church–Archbishopric of Ohrid, the acceptance of the canonical status by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the conferring of status to autocephaly by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 2022. From the ecclesiological and the liturgical aspect, the MOC-OA is no longer in isolation and is part of the family of Orthodox churches through the restoration of Eucharistic communion. The final step, the granting of a Tomos by the Ecumenical Patriarchate is expected, which would make the MOC-OA the first by all recognized and accepted autocephalous church …

Repressive Policy Of The Occupiers During Hybrid War Against Religious Communities Of Ukraine, 2014-2022, Oksana Vysoven, Yuriy Figurnyi, Valentyna Molotkina, Nina Brehunets

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the repressive policy of the occupiers during the undeclared Russian-Ukrainian hybrid war against the religious communities of Ukraine in 2014–2022. It has been established that the “russian world'' is a neo-imperial, geopolitical, ideological doctrine aimed at the theoretical substantiation and practical restoration of the "great historical Russia" within the borders of the Russian Empire at the peak of its power in 1914. By way of the "russian world," an important "soft power" of the Kremlin, Russia first planned to capture the mental space of Ukraine and the brains of its citizens; then, if necessary, they would deploy …

A Situation Of The Crimeans Diocese Of The Orthodox Church Of Ukraine In Russian Occupied Crimea (2014-2022), Andrii Ivanets, Iryna Krasnodemska

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article is devoted to the situation regarding the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine after the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. It should be noted that Orthodoxy and Islam are the most common religions on the peninsula. The Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is the largest and most prominent among the Crimean religious organizations. The authors highlight Russia's consistent discriminatory policy toward the Ukrainian Orthodox Church–Kyiv Patriarchate/the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on the temporarily occupied peninsula, which is aimed at their gradual but rigorous expulsion from Crimea. The methods of its implementation …

Focusing On Wounded Collective Identity: Toward A Regional Interpretation Of Religious Processes In Central And Eastern Europe, András Máté-Tóth

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Excerpt: "Defending the value system of Christian Europe, defending the nation with the help of God, and defending the nation against nationalism. Three recent statements from three different countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Such ideas and avowals lay the provocative groundwork to take a closer look to the points of connection between religion and security.

I have two theses to put forward, aiming to make them understandable and discussable. The first is that the region Central and Eastern Europe (hereafter CEE) can be appropriately interpreted in the theoretical framework of wounded collective identity. The primary marker of the region …

Between Oriental Orthodoxy And European Modernity: Georgian Orthodox Church, Market Economy, And Social Message, Leons Gabriels Taivans

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Excerpt: "This article aims to ask what the history of the Protestant ethic might contribute to our understanding of the contemporary relationship between Georgian Orthodoxy, economics, and capitalism. In doing so, we engage with a handful of retrospections that offer engagements with Weber regarding this interface. We begin with the key arguments advanced in The Protestant Ethic. Then we incorporate contemporary Pentecostalism into Weber's genealogical account of the rise of capitalist modernity. Thus, we hope to find parallels between twenty-first-century Pentecostalism and the seventeenth-century ascetic Protestantism as a sort of modernization paradigm.

The second part of the article is an …

Book Review: Ina Merdjanova, Ed. Women And Religiosity In Orthodox Christianity, Nadieszda Kizenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A review of Ina Merdjanova, ed. Women and Religiosity in Orthodox Christianity (New York: Fordham University Press, 2021), 287 + xix pp., $35, ISBN: 9780823298617.

Reading Igor Stravinsky's Poetics Of Music In Christian Higher Education, John Macinnis, Mark Peters

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This article presents the composer Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) as an historical educator in the context of the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures on Poetry at Harvard University (1939–1940), published as The Poetics of Music in the Form of Six Lessons. As music professors at North American institutions of Christian Higher Education, the authors each read Stravinsky’s Poetics with students in music classes. We describe here our different pedagogical methods and how we employ Stravinsky’s Poetics to form students with Christian approaches to culture-making.

Engineering Education In Developing Nations: Progress On The School Of Engineering At Northrise University In Ndola, Zambia, Jeff Gladstone, Gitogo Churu, John Tixier, Nolan Van Gaalen

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

The engineering and technology capabilities of developed nations continues to advance and to be a major driver of the economies of those nations. Developing nations recognize this reality, and they accordingly recognize the importance of nurturing the growth of their own countries’ STEM capabilities. Engineering education in developing nations is thus a critical need; but it is work that, for a variety of reasons, tends to be under-resourced by developing nations themselves as well as by potential participants from developed nations. As followers of Jesus, we sometimes find our hearts stirred on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ …

Discipleship On The Role And Responsibility Of A Youth Minister, Warren Douglas Choice

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The thesis project is designed to equip the congregation at Cary’s Baptist Church to understand the role and responsibility of a youth minister. Cary’s Baptist Church is an older congregation located in Yorktown, Virginia. The congregation was established in the 1800’s and has served the community by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and serving individuals who live in the Yorktown community. Throughout the years of serving the community, the congregation has been effective in evangelism and open for youth to be a part of the congregation. However, there has been a decline in youth attendance and involvement in the …

Attitudes Of Major Religious Organizations In Ukraine To Abortion And Reproductive Medicine, Kateryna Karpenko, Alla Guzhva

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The attitude of the largest religions of Ukraine to reproductive medicine is determined by a variety of practical approaches, which are still in process of change between the rather strict negative official position of major religious organizations of Ukraine, on the one hand, and a rather liberal approach to reproductive medicine in secular legislation of Ukraine. The harsh negative official position of the main religious organizations of Ukraine to surrogacy and abortions is presented in a joint document adopted by the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations. While the diversity of practical approaches of these organizations is represented by …

Teacher Flexibility And The New Normal, Sheila Mulder

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"The pandemic revealed the strong need for caring for the whole person and implementing informed teaching practices and principles."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­adapting to change in education from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/teacher-flexibility-and-the-new-normal/

Sympathy For The Devil: Belief In Satan And Moral Beliefs, Scott A. Desmond, Tom Clark, Christoper D. Bader

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Previous research suggests that religious service attendance, biblical literalism, images of God, and other measures of religion are related to moral beliefs (i.e., that certain behaviors are wrong or deviant). Given previous theory and research on spiritual appraisals (particularly demonization and desecration), we argue that belief in Satan should also predict moral beliefs. Using the first four waves of the Baylor Religion Survey, we tested the association between belief in Satan and belief in the wrongfulness of twelve different behaviors related to abortion, family matters, sexuality, and substance use. Although religious service attendance and biblical literalism were consistently related to …

The Now And The Not Yet: A Review Of The Art Of New Creation, Justin Bailey

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"What does it mean to create art that reflects the reality of new creation, in a way that is attentive to the gritty particularities of our present moment?"

Posting about the book The Art of New Creation from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/the-now-and-the-not-yet-a-review-of-the-art-of-new-creation/

Secrets And Watchers: A Markan Demonology, Christopher W. Peters

Liberty Theological Review

Mark’s use of a secrecy motif is well known to commentators. This article explores the messianic secret by analyzing its most common violators, the demons of the Gospel of Mark. Mark’s various exorcism accounts function to provide a working demonology of the Evangelist, and this biblical theology is correlated with other extant Second Temple Period Jewish literature, primarily 1 Enoch and its Watchers tradition. Mark relies upon both Leviticus and the Book of Watchers to describe the function and identity of demons, explaining their own supernatural knowledge of the identity of Christ, knowledge which necessitates his commands to keep silent. …

An Examination Of Biblical Archaeology’S Impact On Exegetical And Theological Method With Attendant Case Study, Donald C. Mcintyre

Liberty Theological Review

The chief concern of this paper is to examine how one can integrate archaeological data into the exegetical and theological processes so that one might profitably learn how to understand and rightly apply the text. This paper will argue that archaeology informs the exegetical process through providing historical and literary context to the study of the Bible when properly understood, and that it can also be useful in the theological process as one seeks to rightly integrate illumination from other sources. After an analysis of how archaeology can be rightly integrated in the exegetical and theological processes the paper will …

The Reconciliation Of Future Israel In Romans 9–11, Kent T. Maitland

Liberty Theological Review

This paper contends that supersessionism does not adequately understand the soteriological concept of reconciliation as it applies specifically to Israel because it does not correctly understand the apostolic hermeneutic. Reconciliation refers to the ending of hostility between two parties, which encompasses the removal of the root cause of the enmity in order to effect a change in their relationship from “enemy” to “friend.” While reconciliation describes the work of salvation accomplished in Christ for all humanity, it takes on additional significance when applied to Israel. In Romans 9–11, Paul highlights Israel’s enmity with God, God’s provision for removing the enmity’s …

Three Reasons To Praise The Creator From Psalm 8: A Biblical Theology With Attention To Intertextuality, Donald Mcintyre

Liberty Theological Review

Psalm 8 serves as the first creation hymn of the Psalter, and as such is worthy of an exegetical and theological analysis. This analysis will begin with an exegesis of the text, since exegesis rightfully precedes theologizing.[1] The exegesis will include a translation, examination of the historical and literary contexts, the genre classification, structure, and discussion of the literary features with special attention given to parallelism and conclude with a brief exposition. After the requisite exegetical analysis has been completed, a theological synthesis will be commenced progressing from the psalms location in its microstructural setting to its use in …

Ancient Dying And Rising Gods: An Analysis Of Physicality, Similarity, And Causality

Liberty Theological Review

Cook, John Granger. Empty Tomb, Resurrection, Apotheosis (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018) xvi +717 pp. ISBN 978-3-16-156503-8, 164,00 €. (=WUNT 410)

The Volition Of Faith And Appreciation Of Pragmatism And Existential Contributions, Sterling Courtney

The Hilltop Review

Propositions of belief depend on some degree of factual basis. Philosophical arguments vary as to whether certainty is necessary to form beliefs which can lead to compelling faith. Furthermore, if faith is a criteria for salvation, the volition of faith would be fundamental in ones’ culpability for having faith. Idealism represents the antithetical position of pragmatism and involves factual accounts in which to base beliefs, however, this paper intends to provide various considerations for pragmatic and existential philosophies by examining concerns of William James, Blaise Pascal, Soren Kierkegaard, and others. I.e., “Pascal’s Wager” is a philosophical idea used to demonstrate …

A Christian Response To Pride Month: Pride And Sabbath, Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"We... confess that the world is broken in deep ways, and we don’t have to shy from the reality of the ways that people suffer and are marginalized in this world."

Posting about Sabbath as a Christian response to Pride Month from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/a-christian-response-to-pride-month-pride-and-sabbath/

A Christian Response To Pride Month: Is Pride Revolution Or Carnival?, Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Many aspects of the status quo seem rather persistent in the face of otherwise revolutionary pressures, a fact bemoaned by many who are advocating for change."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­processing the celebrations and symbols of Pride Month from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/a-christian-response-to-pride-month-is-pride-revolution-or-carnival/

Interviews In Global Catholic Studies: Kenneth Parker, Mathew N. Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

Mathew N. Schmalz, Professor of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Global Catholicism, interviews Kenneth Parker, Ryan Endowed Chair for Newman Studies, Professor of Catholic Studies and Historical Theology, and the inaugural Chair of the Department of Catholic Studies at Duquesne University.

Interviews In Global Catholic Studies: Paul D. Murray, Mathew N. Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

Mathew N. Schmalz, Professor of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Global Catholicism, interviews Paul D. Murray, Director of the Centre for Catholic Studies and Professor of Systematic Theology at Durham University, about his own intellectual journey and building a global Catholic studies program at Durham.

Field Notes: A Ministerial Community Of Care Responds To A Pandemic, Ron Bruner

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Abstract: These notes report the interaction of the ministerial team at Westview Boys’ Home with its theology and context during the COVID-19 crisis. This community developed specific practices to protect its staff and residents while continuing to move forward with its mission to care for youth from hard places.

Puritan Patriarchal Construction Of American Sexual Morality And Woman's Worth: A Daughter's Response, Savannah Mather

Honors Projects

While modern conceptions of Puritanism regard it as an artifact of American history, whose woman-killing theologies are long buried and forgotten, the bible in my father’s closet and the recently leaked Supreme Court draft to overturn Roe. Vs. Wade would argue otherwise. Cotton Mather’s favorite book Ornaments for the Daughters of Zion outlined both the ideals and detriments of the Anglo-American female identity. In this text, white women were taught to absolve themselves of the “nakedness” in dress Puritan settlers associated Indigenous people with. A woman’s ability to align herself to the ideals of chastity determined her own and her …

A Grim Reality, A Good Hope: A Review Of Fortune, Howard Schaap

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Harper’s family tree takes us into the very real and specific effects that racist laws have on individuals."

Posting about ­­­­­­­the book Fortune from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/a-grim-reality-a-good-hope-a-review-of-fortune/