Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Restless Hungary, András Máté-Tóth

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"Nowadays, many people ask what is happening in Hungary. Especially people who came to know and appreciate our country as the happiest barrack in the Eastern bloc and who knew from their own experience that it was an island in the great communist Red Sea, the Archipelago Goulash (alluding to the Archipelago Gulag in the Soviet Union). After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Hungary was for a while still a pioneer in the transformation to the market economy, to democracy, in short–in the direction of freedom. And now the economic data shows that Hungary is no longer …

The Performance Of The Christian Faith Under A Populist President: The Case Of The Philippine Church Under Duterte, Ruben C. Mendoza

Theology Department Faculty Publications

President Rodrigo Duterte has been consistent in his attacks against the Catholic Church. True to his campaign promise, he has unleashed his brutal "war on drugs" which has resulted to the deaths of thousands of suspected drug dependents and pushers. In response to his criticisms and the excesses of his anti-illegal drugs program, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines has issued various pastoral statements in faithfulness to its mission.Nevertheless, the majority of Filipinos continue to support Duterte and his anti-illegal drugs stance. In this context, the call of Pope Francis for the church to become a "field hospital" becomes …

‘Remember The Deeds Of The Lord:’ Collective Memory’S Role In A Reasonable Faith, Baily Ray Mcdaniel

Masters Theses

Faith has long been regarded by secular scholars as unreasonable and unjustified. One of the largest issues that Christians face today is working against the notion that faith is blind. Best-selling author Richard Dawkins states, “religious faith is an especially potent silencer of rational calculation, which usually seems to trump all others.” The irrationality of faith is echoed consistently by other scholars including Bertrand Russell. As Kelly James Clark points out, “Bertrand Russell was once asked, if he were to come before God, what he would say to God. Russell replied, ‘Not enough evidence God, not enough evidence.’” The claim …

Talk This Way: A Look At The Historical Conversation Between Hip-Hop And Christianity, Joshua Swanson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Christianity and Hip-Hop culture are often said to be at odds with one another. One is said to promote a lifestyle of righteousness and love, while the other is said to promote drugs, violence, and pride. As a result, the public has portrayed these two institutions as conflicting with no willingness to resolve their perceived differences. This paper will argue that there has always been a healthy conversation between Hip-Hop and Christianity since Hip-Hop’s inception. Using sources like Hip-Hop lyrics, theologians, historians, autobiographies, sermons, and articles that range from Ma$e to Tipper Gore, this paper will look at the conversation …

Religion In Latvia After The Fall Of The Soviet System: Fragmentation And Postsecularism, Valdis Tēraudkalns

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"The purpose of this article is to analyze changes that religions in Latvia have experienced since the collapse of the USSR. This is too broad of a topic, therefore I will concentrate on only two aspects, fragmentation of religious groups and postsecularism."

Religious Aspects Of Bilingualism In Azerbaijan, Malahat Veliyeva

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"The religious aspect of bilingualism in Azerbaijan during the period of the Soviet Union is quite an important issue revealing social, political, linguistic, and religious pressures of the Soviet imperialists on the Azerbaijanis as well as other nationalities with a Muslim background. Its purpose was to maintain their authority, keep nations oppressed, and inhibit the development of theological science and Islamic studies in Azerbaijan."

Book Review: Isolde Thyrȇt, Saint-Making In Early Modern Russia: Religious Tradition And Innovation In The Cult Of Nil Stolobenskii, Paul Crego

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

On Both Sides Of The Wall, Christoph Schmauch

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"Since the emphasis of this paper is to be on the Cold War and its aftermath, I will only mention that the first ten years of my life I lived in Silesia, Germany, on the outskirts of Breslau/Wroclaw during the Nazi period of World War II. I will begin with the end of WWII, 1945, my experience for two years in the mountains of Silesia under Polish administration, and from 1947 to 1950 in the Soviet zone of occupation in Germany in Görlitz, and beginning in 1950 in Ost-Berlin, the capital of the German Democratic Republic."

Report On The Visit Of Prof. And Mrs. Josef Hromádka To The U.S.A., 1966, John Heidbrink

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Professor Josef L. Hromádka (referred to as JLH in the report) was a theologian of the Church of the Czech Brethren who took refuge in the USA during the Nazi conquest of his native Czechoslovakia and taught at Princeton Theological Seminary. He made what for many seemed a surprising decision to return to Prague after the communist coup d’etat in 1948. Soon he became the best known Protestant theologian on the other side of the “Iron Curtain” as he interpreted communism as a wave of a promising future to which Christians need to adjust in order to assist in the …

The Economics Of Love, Débora Silva Viana

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I argue that the obligation to love based on the Christian tradition requires Christians to disperse their resources in a way that significantly evens out wealth distribution and increases social justice. Christians disagree on the terminology and some tenets of the goal of the Christian life (e.g., deification, beatific vision, communion with God, salvation). However, the requirement to practice love is common to all of these concepts, thus making love normative for Christians. I argue that when love takes such a prominent role in one’s life, then it naturally influences how one manages one’s resources. If love …

The Jewish Origins Of The Ordinances Of Christianity: Worship Within Baptism And The Lord's Supper, John Edward Ross

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The modern evangelical denominations have worship services that include many forms of worship and functions to bring the worshiper into communion with the living God as a disciple of Christ. These worship forms include the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Generations of denominational congregants have participated in these ordinances with little knowledge of the origin of these two rites. This qualitative historical study focuses on the roots of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper formed within Christianity during the early church years. Using research from Christian and Messianic Jewish scholars along with Jewish sources, this …

Considering Citizenship: Dare To Be A Daniel, Abby M. Foreman

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"In order to be good and attentive citizens, we should consider using our freedom to devote time and resources to the health of our local churches, civic organizations, and communities."

Posting about Daniel's example of service 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/considering-citizenship-dare-to-be-a-daniel/

Capitalism And Biblical Ethics, Sarah D. Stewart

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

There has been a growing trend in some expressions of Christianity to view Capitalism as fundamentally incompatible with the Christian faith. This article looked to a variety of sources to argue that Christianity and Capitalism are not fundamentally incompatible. Rather, Capitalism developed alongside developments in Christian theology during the Middle Ages. This traditional form of Capitalism is defined and argued for in this article. The article attempts to demonstrate that the elements that allow Capitalism to thrive are compatible with Christian ethics. The case is made by first examining the historical development of Capitalism and its relationship to Christianity. From …

De Libero Conscientia: Martin Luther’S Rediscovery Of Liberty Of Conscience And Its Synthesis Of The Ancients And The Influence Of The Moderns, Bessie S. Blackburn

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

One fateful day on March 26, 1521, a lowly Augustinian monk was cited to appear before the Diet of Worms.[1] His habit trailed behind him as he braced for the questioning. He was firm, yet troubled. He boldly proclaimed: “If I am not convinced by proofs from Scripture, or clear theological reasons, I remain convinced by the passages which I have quoted from Scripture, and my conscience is held captive by the Word of God. I cannot and will not retract, for it is neither prudent nor right to go against one’s conscience. So help me God, …

Keep The Hope Alive: A Review Of Imagining Theology, Justin Bailey

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Imagining is something that we tend to grasp intuitively, and yet it remains notoriously difficult to define."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book Imagining Theology 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/keep-the-hope-alive-a-review-of-imagining-theology/

Viral Blessings, John Visser

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"No thoughtful Christian—and especially Reformed Christian—can dismiss either God’s sovereignty or his propensity for allowing troubling events to both refine wayward thinking and action and bring blessing."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­effects of the coronavirus pandemic 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/viral-blessings/

An Ontology Of Human Flourishing: Economic Development And Epistemologies Of Faith, Hope, And Love, Jan Van Vliet

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This chapter demonstrates that the presence of poverty, and its associated pathologies, is of concern to all humankind whose innate desire is to seek the flourishing of fellow humanity. The traditional, often unsuccessful, methods of poverty alleviation have been challenged in creative, bold, and refreshing ways that are superior in both identifying poverty and moving agencies and pathways toward greater success. This involves a technical application of quantitative microeconomics which is paired with expertise and insights on human behavior gleaned from the behavioral sciences. It turns out that human behavior is often better explained by behavioral categories such as hope …

Healthy Family Systems: Bowen And Boundaries, Erin Olson

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"It is helpful to have close family relationships, but within certain family subsystems and between individual family members, it is still important to have boundaries."

Posting about Thomas Bowen's ­­­­­­­­Family Systems Therapy (FST) 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/healthy-family-systems-bowen-and-boundaries/

God's Best Plans, Joseph Khabbaz

The Main Thing Devotional

When we treasure God’s purposes, we can trust His plans.

Radna: The Holy Shrine Of The Multinational Banat Region (Romania), Erika Vass

Journal of Global Catholicism

Radna is the sacral heart of the Banat region in Romania. The shrine has united the Catholics for centuries in veneration of Virgin Mary regardless of their nationality and native language. Roman Catholic Bulgarians, Croatians (called Krashovani), Hungarians, Germans, Roma, Romanians, and Slovakians venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary together, but believers of the Orthodox and Greek Catholic Church also visit the sacred venue. Until the borders changed after the First World War, a great number of pilgrims had visited Radna every year from the region of the Great Hungarian Plain. The pilgrimage may be considered a rite of passage connecting …

Minor Letnica: (Re)Locating The Tradition Of Shared Worship In North Macedonia, Ksenia Trofimova

Journal of Global Catholicism

This paper addresses trajectories of historical and devotional continuity of the annual pilgrimage to a Marian shrine. It analyzes the ways in which traditional worship of the Catholic Church in Letnica (Kosovo)—a major regional sanctuary of the former Yugoslavia—is relocated and replicated in a small chapel of St. Joseph in Skopje (North Macedonia). Both sites have been for a long period of time institutionally connected and shared by followers of different religious traditions (Catholic and Orthodox devotees, and especially by Muslims). Drawing upon fieldwork carried out in Macedonia and Serbia between 2014-2019, I focus on the processes of social construction …

“Give Me Some Beautiful Holy Images That Are Colorful, Play Music, And Flash!” The Roma Pilgrimage To Csatka, Hungary, István Povedák

Journal of Global Catholicism

This study introduces the Csatka pilgrimage, which is one of the most significant festive events for Roma in Central and Eastern Europe. Csatka, a small and secluded village, became one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Roma since the mid-20th century. Tens of thousands of Roma, entire families from Hungary and the surrounding countries arrive to the feast on Nativity Day at the beginning of September. For them, however, the rite is not only about religious actions, but also about their powerful role in strengthening Roma ethnic identity. Through the analysis of the rite, we can gain a good …

Breaching Boundaries: Homogenizing The Dichotomy Between The Sacred And Profane In Csíksomlyó, Zsofia Lovei

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article examines how a Marian shrine in Csíksomlyó, Transylvania acts as a Foucauldian heterotopia for Magyar speaking individuals, residing in the Carpathian Basin, and beyond in the diaspora most especially during the annual Pentecost pilgrimage. Following introductory remarks on the site and my stance, I turn to methodology, and Hungarian scholarship on the topic. Afterwards, I provide a “thick description” of fieldwork I conducted on-site in May of 2015. I then turn to various theoretical ties, which I support with emic analysis. Lastly, I turn to ideas of heterotopias, and provide a brief formal analysis. My main incentive is …

Overview And Acknowledgments, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

Volume Xxxvi, No. 1, Cumulative Issue 70

The Communicator

The English Speaking Circary of the Order of Prémontré

Forging Our Future: A Review Of The Synthetic Age, Jeff Ploegstra

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Part of Preston’s argument is for a profound improvement in scientific fluency in the population, but it should also be for a stronger behavioral response as well."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book The Synthetic Age 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/forging-our-future-a-review-of-the-synthetic-age/

Coral Reefs, Climate Change, And Ecological Lament, Chloe Hansum

Student Work

"What can I do to enhance creation’s song? How can I better care for all creatures great and small?"

Posting about a Christian response to ecological degradation 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/coral-reefs-climate-change-and-ecological-lament/

Volume Xxxv, No. 1, Cumulative Issue 67

The Communicator

The English Speaking Circary of the Order of Prémontré

God Sees And God Rescues: The Motif Of Affliction In Genesis, Emily Christine Page

Masters Theses

The book of Genesis mainly centers on the fulfillment of God’s patriarchal promises. However, the book presents characters who first experience hardship before they receive blessings from God. Many of the hardships are described in Genesis as “afflictions” (√ענה), the same word used to describe Israel’s suffering in Egypt (Exod 3:7). Although the motif of affliction receives attention for its appearance in Exodus, few scholars note the significance of this motif in Genesis. The purpose of this thesis is to trace the motif of affliction in Genesis and to determine the pattern of its appearance. The motif serves the larger …

Chapter Two: Quaker Spirituality Of Protestant Spiritual Traditions, Volume 2, Cherice Bock

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

The debate over whether or not Quakers should be categorized as Protestant rages among scholars in Quaker studies as well, although the question is generally posed in the form of original influences on early Quaker leaders. Scholars differ about whether Quakerism grew out of Puritanism, or whether it appeared as a mystical tradition, springing up through spiritual inspiration rather than as a logical evolution of thinking from one group to the next. A third viewpoint sees Quakerism as prophetic, combining mystical personal experience of Jesus Christ and connection to the biblical call for justice through love. This third understanding combines …