Arts and Humanities Commons^™

For Such A Time As This : Ecclesiastical Response To Human Sexual Trafficking In North America, Dawn A. Beamish

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Exploring Intercessory Prayer As It Relates To Spiritual Warfare Preaching At Mount Zion Christian Church, Vernon Langley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The focus of this thesis is exploring the influence of intercessory prayer; from the standpoint of spiritual warfare preaching. Present day homiletics concentrates on the method of sermons by applying information within the message to a great story and powerful scriptural passages which is imperative to make the sermon thought provoking and applicable to contemporary congregations. However, there is another element to preaching the gospel, which has gotten considerably less attention in modern day study. How the evaluations of Divine powers of intercessory prayer operate behind the discourse, and spiritual powers of darkness that endeavor to obstruct the reception of …

Developing A Model For Church-Based Disaster Relief, Brady Rose

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to provide a manual for the local church to implement in preparation for and during times of disaster. The author will specifically focus on the region of Amherst County, Virginia for this project. The author will approach this project by first defining what a disaster is and the role the church should play during times of great need. Attention will be given specifically to how the church should respond during times of disaster in foreign nations, in the United States, in nearby counties, and in the community of the church’s backyard. This project will …

How To Impact A Nation: Leadership Lessons Learned From Jerry Falwell And The Moral Majority, George Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This project seeks to enhance the leadership development of the next generation by considering the perceived strengths and lessons to be learned from Jerry Falwell and the leadership of the Moral Majority (MM). The commands of Christ call the Christian to engage the culture (Matthew 5:13-16). The trend in church leadership today is too often looking forward without having looked back. Wise church leaders do both and stand on the shoulders of great leaders who have gone before, thus accomplishing “greater things” (John 14:12) for the kingdom of God. Through a survey of current church leaders, and a sampling of …

A Causal Comparative Analysis Of Biblical Worldview Among Graduate Students Based On Christian School Attendance, David Baniszewski

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

One of the primary objectives of the Christian school (K-12) is the development of a biblical worldview in its students. This study examined the impact that these Christian schools had on their students’ biblical worldview development by administering a biblical worldview assessment to graduate students at a private, Christian university (Liberty University). Christian, graduate students in the School of Education at Liberty completed a demographic survey and a biblical worldview assessment. The survey collected information on age, gender, type of K-12 schools attended, profession to the Christian faith, and denominational background. The results of the survey and assessment were analyzed …

Developing A Curriculum Ministry For Widows In The Local Church, Gail Nanez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

An examination of widows in the local church reveals a growing percentage of widows in many churches today, signifying a significant ministry need for widows in the church. An abundance of widows sitting in churches, are not only suffering the grief, and loneliness from their loss, some have lost their only income and sometimes feel neglected or a burden to others. As a biblical mandate, it is imperative that the church, pastors, and counselors take heed to the biblical command of ministering to the comfortlessness and insecurity many widows are facing. This will entail revitalization of the care of widows, …

Table Of Contents

Leaven

No abstract provided.

It Doesn't Feel Like Church To Me, Laura Callarman

Leaven

No abstract provided.

It Doesn't Look Like Church To Me!, Kent Smith

Leaven

No abstract provided.

The Great Communion Service Of October 4, 2009, David Baird

Leaven

No abstract provided.

Opium Eaters: Buddhism As Revolutionary Politics, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

There is no one, single answer to the question: What is or are ‘Buddhist politics’? Rather than seek general historical trends or broad tendencies, in this chapter I explore the meaning and implications of the modern, Western conception of ‘politics’ as understood in relation to key features of Buddhist doctrine. In particular, I pose the question of whether we might fruitfully conceive at least certain interpretations of Buddhism—or perhaps, of Dharma—as politics, rather than ‘religion’ or ‘philosophy.’ I argue that twentieth century progressive Buddhists Seno’o Girō (1889–1961) and B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956) were not so much in conflict with …

Musical Contextualization In The Local Church: A Pragmatic Exploration Concerning The Philosophy And Methodology Of Assimilating Sacred Music Into The Worship Vocabulary Of A Congregation, Kaleb Gooden

Senior Honors Theses

God’s mandate for all worship pastors is that they minister to their local body of believers in an effective way. This directive necessitates the use of scripturally and culturally appropriate music that clearly communicates the Gospel to the church congregation. This creative thesis further investigates musical contextualization in the local church.

Five philosophical pillars represent the most basic structure on which the entire process of local church contextualization stands. The minister must be rooted in scripture, led by the Spirit, present-minded, future-driven, and committed to service. After evaluating these philosophical concepts, this thesis will then explore the methodological contextualization process …

Getting Involved With The Digital Humanities In Theology, Biblical Studies, And Religious Studies, Kent Gerber

Librarian Publications and Presentations

Digital humanities are growing and thriving in higher education, and, in the spirit of the pioneering work of Father Busa, it is important for theological and religious studies libraries and librarians to consider our roles and involvement in the current milieu of challenge and opportunity. The library and digital humanities communities possess many shared values and goals, including providing wide access to cultural information, enhancing teaching and learning, making a public impact, and benefiting from the invigorating, though not salvific, effect of technology to their efforts.

Centralization And Its Discontents: Exploring The Relationship Between Measures Of Moral Development, Happiness And Technology Driven, Centralized Ways Of Being, Kirsti Svendsen

Ph.D. Dissertations (Open Access)

This interdisciplinary, qualitative dissertation offers an exploration into possible intimate relationships between recently expanding, technology driven forms of centralization of our social institutions and a supposed decline in moral development and happiness among Americans today.

According to Jacques Ellul, technology in itself is not the problem. Instead, he believes the tragedy is that the new idea or spirit of technique , technical efficiency and economic progress, which may have started with the Industrial revolution, and has become the western world s new "religion", the new salvation for humanity. Ellul and other thinkers suggest that the single-minded focus on material progress …

Police, Technique, And Ellulian Critique: Evaluating Just Policing, Andy R. Alexis-Baker

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A chapter by Andy Alexis Baker called "Police, technique, and Ellulian critique : evaluating just policing" from the book Jacques Ellul on Violence, Resistance, and War edited by Jeffrey M. Shaw and Timothy J. Demy.

Divine Temporality: Bonhoeffer's Theological Appropriation Of Heidegger's Existential Analytic Of Dasein, Nicholas Byle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation’s guiding question is: What was the impact of Martin Heidegger’s early philosophy on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s theology? I argue that Heidegger’s analysis of Dasein, his technical term for human existence, provides Bonhoeffer with important conceptual tools for developing his Christology, from which the rest of his theology follows.

Part of recognizing Heidegger’s importance to Bonhoeffer involves understanding the latter’s critiques of previous notable philosophers such as Kant, Hegel, Husserl, and Scheler. As Bonhoeffer evaluates these philosophers, they lead to theologically unacceptable positions. Heidegger, in contrast, has come to a theologically profitable understanding of human existence and epistemology. Though there …

Suffering And Soul-Making In Disney/Pixar’S Inside Out, Bertha A. Manninen Ph.D.

Journal of Religion & Film

John Hick (1922-2012) was an extremely influential philosopher of religion who wrote ground-breaking essays in the areas of religious epistemology, religious pluralism, and the problem of evil. With specific reference to the latter, in his book Evil and the God of Love(1966), Hick devised what has come to be known as the “soul-making theodicy” – in essence, Hick argues that one of the reasons God allows so much apparently pointless suffering in the world is because it is an essential aspect of advancing our moral and spiritual education.

Although perhaps an unlikely venue, I will argue that Disney/Pixar’s 2015 …

The Eyes Have It: Film, Editing, And Postmodern Theological Hermeneutics, James M. Hansen Mr.

Journal of Religion & Film

This article attempts to show the fruitful dialogue which exists when one cross-pollinates hermeneutics and the task of film editing. Though seemingly unrelated, their engagement is a rich collaboration that brings a deeper appreciation for the cinematic process as well as an alternative way of looking at the interpretive process as it relates to Scripture. This article traces the history of and approaches to cinematic editing in hopes that it might provide a significant interlocutor to the burgeoning field of hermeneutical studies.

An Image Of Luther For Today: The Catechetical Luther, Mary Jane Haemig

Faculty Publications

Lutherans and other Protestants live with Martin Luther as a part of their heritage. Images of him are unavoidable. The image of Luther as catechist offers example and spur. His tireless efforts to teach the Christian faith to all people, not just the academic and learned, should guide us today. The message embodied in his catechisms offers to us purpose, reconciliation, consolation, and hope.

Religion As A Chinese Cultural Component: Culture In The Chinese Taoist Association And Confucius Institute, John D. Abercrombie

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis examines the role of the cultural discourse on the indigenous religious traditions of China and their place within an officially sanctioned construction of Chinese culture. It starts by examining the concept of culture as it developed in the modern era, its place within the construction of national identities, and the marginalizing effects this has on certain members of national populations. Next it turns to the development of the cultural discourse within China from the mid-1800s to the Cultural Revolution, highlighting the social and legal transformations as they restricted and reframed the practice and articulation of religious traditions in …

No Sympathy For The Devil: The Significance Of Demons In John Chrysostom's Soteriology, Samantha Lynn Miller

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation is a study of John Chrysostom’s demonology as it relates to his theological anthropology and soteriology. Demons run rampant in Chrysostom's thought, though few scholars have taken note of this. Studies of Chrysostom often focus on his exegetical practices, his asceticism, or his social vision and morality. Indeed, many scholars dismiss Chrysostom as unsophisticated and therefore of little value in the landscape of fourth-century theology. In analyzing Chrysostom’s demonology, we see that Chrysostom’s thought is complex and worth further consideration. One cannot treat demons in Chrysostom’s work without treating other theological topics as well. When Chrysostom discusses demons …

Marquette's Gender Regime, Mickey Mattox

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Creating The Provençal Village, Michele Devitt

Marian Library Staff Publications

The pictures of the University of Dayton's Marian Library Provençal Village in the recent issue of Creche Herald tell part of the story. However, the best part of the story is unseen; it is about the volunteers who collectively spent hundreds of hours bringing the village to life. Sixteen dedicated volunteers under master engineer Mike Foley created various parts of the scene.

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 51 No 1 - April 2016), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: Neo-Calvinism: A Theology for the Global Church in the Twenty-first Century by Richard J. Mouw - 7 / Casting out Hagar: Anti-Judaism in the Sermons of Augustine by Wendy Elgersma Helleman - 20 / The Discipline of Missiology in 2016: Concerning the Place and Meaning of Missiology in the Theological Curriculum by Stefan Paas - 37 / Reformed Orthodoxy and Gendered Authority: The Christian Reformed Church 1945–1984 by Tamara J. Van Dyken - 55 / The Threats of the Gospel: John Owen on What the Law/Gospel Distinction Is Not by Ryan M. McGraw - 79 / Hair Length …

The Image Of Leadership: Man’S View Of God As Reflected In His Leadership Style, Leslie Pope

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis project will demonstrate the connection between a pastor’s practical perceived theology of the inner workings of the Trinity and his desired leadership style. Because “God’s people are stamped with the tag of ‘gods’,”1 they will seek to rule in a similar manner. These perceived relationships will drive the pastor toward a desired style of leadership. In turn, examining horizontal styles of leadership will reveal true vertical beliefs. These levels of leadership interaction will be researched through literature and interviews with eight church leaders. As the leader defines the leadership structures and recognizes hidden similarities and disparities between practical …

The Mystical And Political Body: Christian Identity In The Theology Of Karl Rahner, Erin Kidd

Dissertations (1934 -)

Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner (1904-1984) is well known for initiating the turn to the subject in Catholic theology. The heart of Rahner’s theological reflection is the experience of God as encouraged by Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises. In questioning how the subject experiences God, Rahner develops a theological anthropology that attempts to elucidate the original unity of spirit and matter. As he argues, the human being is “spirit-in-world,”—the one who actualizes her transcendence in space and over time. While Rahner’s readers have been quick to draw out the implications of the subject as spirit, they have been less attentive to …

Kierkegaard In Light Of The East: A Critical Comparison Of The Philosophy Of Søren Kierkegaard With Orthodox Christian Philosophy And Thought, Agust Magnusson

Dissertations (1934 -)

This project presents a comparative philosophical approach to understanding key elements in the philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard by juxtaposing his works with the philosophy and theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church.. The primary aim of the project is to look at three key areas of Kierkegaard’s philosophy that have been either underrepresented or misunderstood in the literature. These three areas are: Kierkegaard’s views on sin and salvation, Kierkegaard’s epistemology, and Kierkegaard’s philosophy of personhood. The dissertation ends with an epilogue that briefly explores a further area where this comparative approach might provide fruitful results, namely Kierkegaard’s views on collective worship. …

From Modes Of Production To The Resurrection Of The Body: A Labor Theory Of Revolutionary Subjectivity & Religious Ideas, Benjamin Suriano

Dissertations (1934 -)

In this dissertation I attempt two needed tasks within historical materialism: first, to reestablish the standpoint of labor as the normative basis for critical theory beyond irrational bourgeois categories, and second, to show that labor’s own self-mediating rationalization, if it is to move beyond these contradictory categories, necessarily requires a certain religious-utopian consciousness. The dominant Weberian and Marxist paradigms for understanding labor and its relation to the religious variously perpetuated irrational bourgeois conceptions of labor as a bare efficient cause, with religion paternalistically positioned as an inherently idealist or mystifying external form. I argue, however, that the concrete rationality of …

Sanctification As Virtue And Mission: The Politics Of Holiness, Nathan Willowby

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation considers the political implications of the doctrine of holiness. I proceed by demonstrating the neglect of holiness in political theology, the viability of the holiness movement as an embodied witness of the political implications of the doctrine of holiness, and a biblical trajectory in Leviticus that extends into the New Testament. I describe this scriptural holiness as vocation for all of God’s people through personal formation and outward societal action to extend God’s holiness. With attention to the approaches of political theology and formation, I demonstrate that the holiness movement of the nineteenth century offers an example of …

Gary Dorrien, Stanley Hauerwas, Rowan Williams, And The Theological Transformation Of Sovereignties, David Wade Horstkoetter

Dissertations (1934 -)

Christianity’s political voice in US society is often situated within a simplistic binary of social justice versus faithfulness. Gary Dorrien and Stanley Hauerwas, respectively, represent the two sides of the binary in their work. Although the justice-faithfulness narrative is an important point of disagreement, it has also created a categorical impasse that does not reflect the full depth and complexity of either Dorrien’s or Hauerwas’s work. Their concerns for both justice and faithfulness differ only in part because of their different responses to liberalism and liberal theology. Under all those issues are rival accounts of relational truth that indicate divergent …