Religion Commons^™

Case Study: Religion, Socialism And Secularization In Modern Japan: The New Buddhist Fellowship, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

I'M A Philosopher. We Can't Think Our Way Out Of This Mess. (The Intelligence Of Love), James K.A. Smith

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Selections From Divinatio Diver, Sculptural Antipathia In Atonement Transcendo, And Mechanika Momento: Creatio Forecaster, Antonie Frankie Aquino

Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

It is fated inspiration which penetrates the heart, satisfies the collective soul, and offers its spirit to the vastness of ceremonial vision. Vision becomes sound and sound forms a poetic voice displaced— this displacement radiates a mythologized poetic voice serving as a lyrical object, theogonic lyre, and the genealogical muse. Selected poems from Divinatio Diver, Sculptural Antipathia: In Atonement Transcendo and Mechanika Momento: Creatio Forerunner, the collected poems orchestrate a tryptic voice that dismantles the outward magnitude of the self by subverting the antithetical self through spiritual and organic sensualness.This mythopoeic tripartism simultaneously interconnects with religion, theology, and metaphysics which …

A Study Of A Systematic Evangelistic Discipleship Process At The Lighthouse Free Methodist Church, Thomas Michael Doherty

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Lighthouse Free Methodist Church in Barryton, Michigan, lacks a systematic discipleship program that produces disciple-makers. This Doctor of Ministry project purposes to integrate a systematic discipleship program into the Lighthouse Free Methodist Church. The research methodology includes pre-and post-surveys and interviews. Pre- and post-survey data were collected to compare the number of disciplers, salvations, worship attenders, and the number of new systematic evangelistic discipleship groups. Six People participated in the training provided. The Lighthouse FMC is located near a small community of three-hundred people and is in the middle of a ten-mile circumference with thirty thousand. Thirteen people started …

Purging The New Age: A Theological Analysis Of The Use Of New Age Practices By The Church, Christopher Michael Berg

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation sets out to demonstrate that Yoga and the Enneagram are not compatible with orthodox Christianity. Additionally, this dissertation will show that all possible attempts at Christianizing these practices ultimately fail due to incompatible underlying philosophies and theologies. In order to accomplish this task, assessment criteria will be developed through a comparison of a subset of evangelical Christian theological topics with their New Age counterparts. These criteria will be used to assess the level of syncretization in each practice as presented by the most popular and prolific Christian practitioners. After assessment, a recommendation will be given concerning each practice’s …

Fratelli Tutti: An Interpretation Of Dialogue And Friendship In Society: An Islamic Perspective, Mustafa Genc

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Íconos E Imágenes Sagrados, Gerardo Cruces Pérez

Artículos educación teológica

Íconos e imágenes sagrados

A Case For Basic Belief In The Christian Scriptures: An Augmented Aquinas/Calvin Model In Favor Of Including Scripture Beliefs Among The Great Things Of The Gospel, Peter William Van Kleeck Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

By what means does the Christian come to believe and know the Christian Scriptures are the word of God? The more popular opinion relies on a discursive scientific evaluation of historical artifacts (i.e. manuscripts). While this methodology can be extremely helpful in several respects it is highly improbable that it can serve as the ground and fountain of the belief and knowledge that the Christian Scriptures are/probably are the word of God. With this improbability in mind, I offer an alternative by way of Alvin Plantinga’s Reformed Epistemology and his treatment of the great things of the Gospel [i.e. GTG]. …

Sons Of Nehemiah: Raising The Level Of Leadership In Ten Pastor Revitalizers Of The Montgomery Baptist Association, Donald Neal Hughes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There are churches in America seeking vitality through the restorative and refreshing power of the Holy Spirit. The present term of renewal is called “church revitalization.” Each struggling congregation has or is securing a pastor revitalizer. The question many will ask is, “Are these holy shepherds high capacity leaders? Will they lead the church with a compelling vision, a devoted work ethic, a contagious passion, and a kingdom focus based on a community context?” The thesis project researches ten pastor revitalizers from Montgomery, Alabama. The researcher gives them the name Sons of Nehemiah to build rapport and accentuate Nehemiah’s biblical …

How It Ends, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of How It Ends (2021), directed by Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones.

Introduction, Miguel H. Diaz

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This inaugural volume of the new Orbis series “Disruptive Cartographers,” The Word Became Culture includes original essays by leading scholars who lay out the issues and parameters of God-talk latinamente. In addition to the series editors, contributors include Nestor Medina, Jean-Pierre Ruiz, and María Teresa (MT) Dávila.

Quaerens Deum Table Of Contents (Volume 6, Issue 1), Corey M. Walton

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

No abstract provided.

Personhood, Threshold And Equality, Benjamin Leon Williamson

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

Whether abortion and infanticide are permissible has been debated for a long time in philosophical literature and continues to this day. In this paper, I will assume without argument that one’s view about the moral status of the fetus and newborn will determine what side he/she comes down on in this debate. I am also proceeding with the assumption that personhood is not a conventional or linguistically effective device that has little or no connection to reality. Persons exist and personhood itself is real. With that being said, I will defend a more controversial claim that will undoubtedly stir a …

Augustine's Diverse Epistemology: Love, Reason, And Presupposition, Joseph Carson

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

In Saint Augustine’s works, especially in The City of God, The Confessions, and On Free Choice of the Will, he offers three features integral to his epistemology: love, reason, and presupposition. By love, Augustine argues that virtuous lovers of God will know the Truth more than those with disordered loves. By reason, Augustine held that reason must guide the journey to Truth. By presupposition, Augustine claimed that the search for Truth only starts from Christian doctrine. While modern philosophers might see a tension when simultaneously holding these three principles in his epistemology, Augustine claimed they were mutually …

Designating The Greatest Possible Being, Corey M. Walton

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

Anselm’s famous ontological argument has not been found wanting for critics who question its soundness or validity. In spite of the sustained contestation, the argument has managed to continue to persist even after thinkers have declared it defunct. In the spirit of the pursuit of novel ways to analyze and reconsider the argument, I have attempted to develop a way to defend the argument from contemporary critiques. In this article, I have proposed an account of the argument with an alternative interpretation of Anselm’s concept of graded existence as well as his conceivability thesis. I have also reduced the scope …

Morality Without God, Luke Hancock

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

This paper evaluates a moral system that does not rely on God. M.B. Wilkinson's morality is founded apart from God but can still be consistent with the existence of God. This paper explains and evaluates Wilkinson's attempts to solve the Euthyphro Dilemma and the is/ought gap by establishing a metaphysic and ontology upon which he bases his moral system.

The Freedom Of God, Scout Powell

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

This paper addresses the exceedingly complex nature of God's freedom through the defense of Friedrich Lohmann’s article, “God’s Freedom: Free to be Bound.” The role of God’s creation in his own freedom is explored as well as the idea of omnipotence, negative freedom, positive freedom, and gracious autonomy. This paper affirms the idea that God is simultaneously free and bound to his own creation; God’s own self-restriction leads to his eternal glory. God’s freedom to be bound is seen both in the Old Testament Scriptures as well as the New Testament. For example, God permanently tied himself to the world …

David Hume And Intelligent Design: A Counter Criticism, Benjamin Martin

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

David Hume, the celebrated Scottish philosopher of the 18th century, wrote a work entitled Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, in which he provides a detailed criticism of several theistic arguments. In the Dialogues there are found 3 interlocutors, each of whom approaches natural religion from a different philosophical standpoint. Cleanthes is the character upon whose argumentation we will mainly focus, as he is the defender of the a posteriori argument from Intelligent Design. Philo, another interlocutor, is a philosophical skeptic who opposes Cleanthes' arguments. Out of the three, many consider Philo's positions to be representative of those of Hume himself. The …

Getting To Know The God We Believe In: Some Lessons From Religious Life, William Reiser S.J.

Holy Cross Bookshelf

A collection of reflections and articles by a member of the Society of Jesus, with particular emphasis on the spirituality underlying religious life. Some chapters are commentaries or reflections on the annual messages from Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations in the spring.

The Peace Church And The Spirit Of Liberation: A Pneumatological Critique Of John Howard Yoder's Political Ethics, David A. Meade

Theses and Dissertations

John Howard Yoder’s Christocentric political ethics strongly maintain the church as the subject of a Christian peace witness to the world but, because of an underdeveloped pneumatology, is less effective at establishing the church as the ongoing recipient of revelation. A complementary pneumatological perspective that remains anchored in the work of God in Christ can maintain the distinctive witnessing role of the church while also allowing the discernment of the Holy Spirit’s activity in the world to call the church to a more faithful participation in the life of Jesus Christ. This pneumatology enables a synthesis with liberation theologies which …

Deification And Creation: A Comparative, Historical And Systematic View, Cole Desantis

Theology Graduate Theses

Deification - the belief that the souls of those in heaven are united to, and participate in, the Inner Life of God - is an important (though in Western Christian thought underappreciated) aspect of traditional Christian soteriology. In this thesis, I will argue that the traditional Christian views on deification presuppose the notion that grace does not contradict nature, but rather elevates it, and therefore one’s view on creation, anthropology and the metaphysical parameters of how a transcendent God relates to His creation delineate or determine the parameters of how one views the doctrine of deification. In demonstrating this point, …

Offering Our Lives: Liturgical Participation And The Reception Of Grace, Betty-Ann Medeiros Hickey

Theology Graduate Theses

No abstract provided.

Healthy Parenting In The Family System, Brian Malvig

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the New Testament, there are several passages that illustrate the way in which Christians are to interact with each other. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, Romans 12:3-5, and Ephesians 4:4-5 the apostle Paul describes the connection Christians have with one another as being like a body. Through Jesus Christ, Christians are all connected in this body, the body of Christ. The apostle Paul writes, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (1 Cor. 12:26). Between 1950 and 1960, Murray Bowen began to develop an integrative theory of the …

Righteous Remixes, Sacred Mashups: Rethinking Authority, Authenticity, And Originality In The Study Of Religion, Seth M. Walker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation sets out to place emergent theories of “remix” in conversation with scholarship exploring changes in the definitions and practices associated with the word “religion.” Through particular case studies, the dissertation analyzes the ways that certain contemporary creators, writers, and influencers have emerged as constructors of contemporary Buddhism. Specifically building upon the critiques of religion put forth by Jonathan Z. Smith, Russell T. McCutcheon, Brent Nongbri, Jane Iwamura, and others, I am concerned with how individuals who are not part of the religious studies scholarly community participate in the processes of constructing religion, and in this case, in constructing …

Happiness Groups As A Strategy For Transforming A Chinese Church From Attractional To Missional, Mingsheng Qin

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project established that the love of God is the foundation of mission and evangelism. God loves people and calls Christians to participate in His redemptive mission. God calls Christians to bless them and make them a blessing to others. The church is believers who are gathered to bring nonbelievers to God. The nature of the church is missional. A missional church engages every believer to participate in the Great Commission. The incarnation of God demonstrates God’s love and reveals the model of mission and evangelism. The incarnational approach is entering other people’s worlds as Jesus Christ entered the world …

A Reexamination Of Deborah As Prophet And Judge, Brandy Scritchfield

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

This study aims to set aside gender concerns related to Deborah and the interpretation of Judges 4–5 in order to determine if a clearer portrait emerges of Deborah as a prophet, a judge, or both without gender issues obscuring the picture. Chapter 1 provides a representative summary of Deborah’s interpretive history, which establishes how gender has been historically and incorrectly used as the primary interpretive key for understanding Deborah and other key parts of Judg 4–5. Chapter 2 discusses Deborah’s role as a judge and determines the text supports identifying her with this title, and chapter 3 does the same …

To Be Churched Or Unchurched: The Millennial's Dilemma, Robert Phillips

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project will address the decline of the millennial generation’s church attendance within the 08033 zip code during the past decade. The statistical data was gathered by the author of this thesis through several one-on-one discussions with the clergy of the five surveyed churches and with several millennial residents of the town of Haddonfield, New Jersey. Examples in the ministry of the apostle Paul were gathered from the MacDonald Believer’s Bible Commentary by William MacDonald and A Theology of the New Testament by George E. Ladd.

Criminalized Houseless Women, Jesus, And The Praxis Of Kinship: An Outsider’S Liberative Ethic, Sarah A. Neeley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Criminalization measures, such as Denver’s Urban Camping Ban, are an attempt to mask systemic causes of houselessness and assign blame to the personal failures of those living on the streets. Unaccompanied houseless women utilize street families to create community, survive houselessness, and fight criminalization measures. Since liberation and solidarity can become forces of oppression, this dissertation considers cultural evidence for the desire and means of liberation. Street families and the praxis of kinship form the basis of a liberative ethic that critiques systemic causes of houselessness and provides a model of relatedness that works toward social justice. The project is …

One In The Spirit: An Exploration Of And Movement Toward The Theology Behind Acceptance Of, Affirmation Of, And Advocacy For Transgender People In The Church, Jo Newton

Beets Paper Contest

No abstract provided.

The Martyr’S Desire: Levinas, Girard, And Infinite Responsibility, Joshua Alan Lawrence

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Perhaps the whole of human history could be summed up with one word: economy. The law of the home and the home of all law. Without fail, this situation results in a structured devotion that must decide what to do with desire. And the economic decision often follows a violent trajectory, most commonly described as sacrifice. Today, states will make efforts to conceal this underlying logic, but the insidious configurations of ‘real politik’ usually surface with a frightening intensity.

My project considers these problematic vestiges through Emmanuel Levinas’s reconfiguration of subjectivity. To address these bio-historical realities, my work highlights the …