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Full-Text Articles in Religion

With Love, ; An Interdisciplinary And Intersectional Look At Why Creativity Is Essential, Theo Starr Gardner May 2024

With Love, ; An Interdisciplinary And Intersectional Look At Why Creativity Is Essential, Theo Starr Gardner

Whittier Scholars Program

My Whittier Scholars Program self-designed major, Teaching Creativity, is a mixture of Art, Literature, and Education classes. My research and praxis classes have been focused on the ‘how?’s and 'why?’s of creativity, so it felt only right that my project should be a constructivist, generative project. The project I have been working on throughout my time at Whittier, and that has just fully come to fruition on April 11th, 2024, was a solo art gallery/open mic event entitled ‘With Love,’. With Love, was conceptually inspired by the research I’ve conducted on creativity and creative arts education over the past few …


Mussar And Esotericism In Revolutionary Russia, Martin Zwick May 2024

Mussar And Esotericism In Revolutionary Russia, Martin Zwick

Systems Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper is an introductory comparative look at teachings of two spiritual figures in pre-revolutionary and revolutionary Russia: Rav Yoseph Yozel (Horowitz) and George Gurdjieff. Yozel founded the Novarodok school of Mussar; Gurdjieff founded the spiritual tradition known as “the Work” or “Fourth Way.” There are of course great differences between the Jewish tradition of Mussar, whose literature dates back to the Mishnah but which as a social movement was launched by Rabbi Israel Salantar in the late 19th century, and the Work, with its affinities to Eastern Christianity, Buddhism, and Sufism but with no apparent connection to Judaism. …


The Insufficiency Of The Causal Mechanisms Of Scientific Naturalism, Aaron R. Crosby Apr 2024

The Insufficiency Of The Causal Mechanisms Of Scientific Naturalism, Aaron R. Crosby

Masters Theses

Chance and physical necessity, serving as the two accepted causal mechanisms of scientific naturalism, are incapable of explaining the origins of gravity, the gravitational constant, and other fine-tuning parameters associated with Big Bang Cosmology. This thesis explores the origins of Scientific Naturalism, the discovery of fine-tuning parameters associated with Big Bang Cosmology, and several theories proposed under the paradigm of scientific naturalism that attempt to explain, through either chance or physical necessity, how the universe originated.


A Contemporary Pauline Apologetic Toolkit, Jayne Bertovich Apr 2024

A Contemporary Pauline Apologetic Toolkit, Jayne Bertovich

Masters Theses

This thesis recounts that societal history is repeating itself in modern times whereby there is a pattern of similarity with the Millennials and Generation Z and ancient audiences of the Apostle Paul in terms of paganism and humanism at the forefront of hearts and minds pushing back on Christianity (albeit today’s exposure to post-modernism and digital influences do not present in the ancient world of the Apostle Paul). Similarly, the ancient world was interested in the advances of its day of science and philosophy. The Millennials and Generation Z population, a majority of the population globally, are ripe for the …


Providing Biblical Knowledge To Women Ages 25–70 To Place Women In Ministry And Leadership Positions In The Church, Evelyn Diane Scott Apr 2024

Providing Biblical Knowledge To Women Ages 25–70 To Place Women In Ministry And Leadership Positions In The Church, Evelyn Diane Scott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to provide biblical knowledge to equip women to assume scriptural roles in church ministry and leadership. The project was conducted at The Word Ministry Church in rural Dallas County, Alabama. The writer reviewed women’s challenges and issues in the Christian community dominated by patriarchal theories. This project provides an overview of the study group and the training criteria for preparing women for ministry and leadership. The goal was to educate women not serving in leadership or ministry positions to obtain biblical knowledge to give them the confidence and support to accept their gift of …


Reinventing Holistic Healthcare: Pastoral Perspectives Of Biblical Insights For The American Healthcare System, Leanne Michelle Bergey Apr 2024

Reinventing Holistic Healthcare: Pastoral Perspectives Of Biblical Insights For The American Healthcare System, Leanne Michelle Bergey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to examine pastoral perspectives of Biblical healthcare. These perspectives are essential to consider due to the long history of the connection between spirituality and healthcare and the church’s successful intervention worldwide for increasing healthcare outcomes. Since the church has been successful worldwide at creating faith-based organizations that meet community needs, it is vital that research focus on how churches might continue this success within the United States. This study used semi-structured interviews to examine the research questions of 1) What is the Biblical responsibility of healthcare? 2) How does culture influence the role …


Critical Thinking And Worldview Formation In Ministry, David W. Belles Apr 2024

Critical Thinking And Worldview Formation In Ministry, David W. Belles

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action research thesis project engaged eleven ministers in the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies with a multi-session training designed to help them identify potential areas of cultural accommodation detrimental to Christian life and witness. The project utilized a multi-week training program where participants viewed training videos and attended online discussion sessions. The participants recorded their impressions throughout the four-week training period. Six weeks after the training concluded, small group sessions were scheduled to determine whether the participants could utilize the training material in their ministry. Data were collected through journaling, entrance and exit questionnaires, and small group interviews. The …


Digital Technology Use And Influence On The Mission And Ministry Of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Church Community In The United States Resulting From The Covid -19 Pandemic: A Quantitative Study, Phillip Steven Woodruff Apr 2024

Digital Technology Use And Influence On The Mission And Ministry Of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Church Community In The United States Resulting From The Covid -19 Pandemic: A Quantitative Study, Phillip Steven Woodruff

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Digital technology use within the church has received mixed responses from both the church leadership and members of the congregation. Some believe that using digital technology, such as social media, is a way of expanding the church’s mission and ministry. Other people believe that using these methods are costly, secular, or evil, and have no place in church ministry. The COVID-19 pandemic caused churches to rethink how they connected to their members since in-person worship services were canceled. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the relationship between the use of digital technology among the smaller churches within …


Leveraging Ministry And Community Partnerships To Address Community Needs, Chaunceia Renee Mayfield Apr 2024

Leveraging Ministry And Community Partnerships To Address Community Needs, Chaunceia Renee Mayfield

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative DMIN project aims to expand the outreach impact of Strengthen Thy Sister Ministry by continuing to leverage ministry and community organization partnerships to address a specific community need. Strengthen Thy Sister, an ecumenical women’s ministry in St. Louis, Missouri, partnered with Jennings School District Hope Houses to provide tangible support to the organization during the COVID-19 pandemic. The partnership helped to address food insecurity among homeless students and families in a crisis. This partnership granted Strengthen Thy Sister an opportunity to partner with certified and experienced educational practitioners with the infrastructure to serve the students at Jennings School …


Living A Better Story: The Lived Narrative Apologetic In The Book Of Acts, Cedric Lemar Thomas Apr 2024

Living A Better Story: The Lived Narrative Apologetic In The Book Of Acts, Cedric Lemar Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Is it possible to articulate an apologetic practice from the account of Luke-Acts, which is not among the current popular Christian apologetic practices within contemporary apologetic scholarship? Can one consider the narratives in this history of Acts as a description of apologetic methodology, a sort of a first Christian apologetic practice demonstrated by Jesus and then replicated by His disciples? The answer is yes. The historical work of Luke offers an early apologetic practice in which the story of Scripture, the narrative of God, witnessed incarnationally through the life of Jesus and continued by the early church. Like Scripture, the …


Early Forgiveness Intervention In Substance Abuse Recovery, Susan Janos Apr 2024

Early Forgiveness Intervention In Substance Abuse Recovery, Susan Janos

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Recent statistics have shown significant increases in substance abuse in the United Sates indicated by rising overdose deaths and hospital stays nationwide. This study was conducted to determine if early forgiveness intervention by chaplains and clergy affects the decisions of individuals struggling with substance abuse in considering forgiveness as a pathway to recovery. Based on the success of the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step recovery program and recent studies, this research addressed forgiveness as a pathway to recovery for those struggling with substance abuse. Forgiveness was considered in one or more of five areas: forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others, forgiveness from …


Family Discipleship: Forming A Biblical Worldview For Godly Decisions, Eric Spencer Mccrickard Apr 2024

Family Discipleship: Forming A Biblical Worldview For Godly Decisions, Eric Spencer Mccrickard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action research project focuses on equipping parents to disciple their children in home-based worship, Bible study, and developing a biblical worldview. The problem at The Mission Church is poor decision-making from teens in the student group. The students make decisions from a malformed biblical worldview, resulting in decisions contrary to God’s Word. Further analysis of this problem revealed the need for home-based discipleship. Contemporary literature demonstrates the need for family ministry, specifically family-based discipleship. Thus, this research is critical to developing parents to teach their families God’s precepts (Deut 6:7-9). This thesis intervention seeks to instruct the parents about …


A Phenomenological Study Of Female Master Of Divinity Graduates' Experiences And Role Incongruity At Texas Baptist Seminaries, Michele Lee Taylor Apr 2024

A Phenomenological Study Of Female Master Of Divinity Graduates' Experiences And Role Incongruity At Texas Baptist Seminaries, Michele Lee Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Women pursue Christian education, obeying God’s call to prepare for ministry leadership. This qualitative hermeneutical phenomenological research study aimed to examine the perspectives of women graduates from Master of Divinity (MDiv) programs at Baptist Seminaries in Texas and to discover if their treatment could be linked to traditionally held beliefs about gender. The lived experiences of the study participants were defined as their first-hand accounts and perceptions of interactions with their male classmates and professors. The theory that guided this study was the Role-Congruity Theory, defined by Eagly and Diekman (2005) as aligning a group’s characteristics with their typical social …


Identifying Faculty Development Strategies: A Phenomenological Study On Affective And Behavioral Dimensions Of Worldview Development In Biblical Higher Education, Zane Thomas Darland Apr 2024

Identifying Faculty Development Strategies: A Phenomenological Study On Affective And Behavioral Dimensions Of Worldview Development In Biblical Higher Education, Zane Thomas Darland

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study is to identify effective faculty development strategies used by academic leaders in biblical higher education to enable their faculty members to foster affective and behavioral dimensions of worldview development in their students. The theories guiding this study are the channeling model of religious socialization and Nkana’s conversionism educational theory as they relate to worldview development in young adults. The hermeneutical phenomenological study focuses on the lived experiences of academic leaders in biblical higher education, exploring their perspectives and practices related to worldview development. The sample included 10 academic leaders from biblical higher education …


Ministry After A Leadership Failure: Principles For Transitional Worship Leader, Eric R. Medford Apr 2024

Ministry After A Leadership Failure: Principles For Transitional Worship Leader, Eric R. Medford

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite much information and attention given to senior leadership transitions after a moral failure in leadership, there is little information regarding supporting pastoral staff moral failures and how to lead a ministry department to a place of healing and restoration. This thesis examined the distinct challenges of transitional leaders assuming the role of guiding a worship ministry department through a previous leader's moral failure. This study analyzes commonalities and themes to demonstrate the unique challenges the worship ministry faces apart from the church. Literature and research on leadership transitions due to moral failures tend to focus on senior pastoral leadership. …


The Role Of The Law In The Sanctification Of The Believer Today: A Brief Introduction To Pronomianism, Benjamin John Stepan Szumskyj Apr 2024

The Role Of The Law In The Sanctification Of The Believer Today: A Brief Introduction To Pronomianism, Benjamin John Stepan Szumskyj

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In recent years the theological term “pronomianism” has emerged within lay scholarship and academia. While still evolving as a concept, it is the doctrine that affirms the ongoing and universal nature of all God’s commandments, to be practised literally and non-literally (by way of principlism and paradigm), as opposed to a theological framework that designates only the “moral” as operative and those that are “civil and ceremonial”, as redundant. This dissertation contends that pronomianism is an accurate and credible doctrine of interpretation in which the Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus Christ are to abide by all the commandments of …


How To Create Things With Words: Identifying The Performative Speech Acts Of God’S Spoken Words In The Genesis 1 Creation Account, Ivan C. Yu Apr 2024

How To Create Things With Words: Identifying The Performative Speech Acts Of God’S Spoken Words In The Genesis 1 Creation Account, Ivan C. Yu

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Speech Act Theory is a branch of linguistics that explores not only how language is used to convey meaning, but also how it is used to perform actions or functions. In recent decades, it has been applied as a viable hermeneutical tool to aid biblical interpretation and defend the inerrancy of Scripture. Identifying the speech acts of the biblical author or speakers in the biblical narratives can be useful to understand the meaning and intention of the utterances, phrases, and words spoken. In the Genesis 1 creation narrative, God spoke words to create the universe. While adopting a canonical approach …


Equipping Local Pastors To Develop A Comprehensive Chaplaincy Ministry For The Cullman County Sheriff's Office, Matthew W. Smith Apr 2024

Equipping Local Pastors To Develop A Comprehensive Chaplaincy Ministry For The Cullman County Sheriff's Office, Matthew W. Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Law enforcement officers’ high incidence of suicides and career abandonment is often attributed to work stress and inadequate support. The unmet emotional, physical, and spiritual needs further compound this situation. The researcher addressed the problem of unmet needs by training local pastors to serve as chaplains. Seven deputies, including six males and one female, and ten ministers, including eight males and two females, participated in the program. The training sessions included the following topics: introduction to law enforcement chaplaincy, personal issues LEOs’ battle, ministry of presence, building relationships, the chaplain’s purpose and role, qualities desired in a chaplain, ride-alongs, death …


A Phenomenological Study Of The Perception Of Racial Unity In Evangelical Churches In Chicago, Amber L. Harvey Apr 2024

A Phenomenological Study Of The Perception Of Racial Unity In Evangelical Churches In Chicago, Amber L. Harvey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

“Racism in the United States is part of a much older and global phenomenon” that has effects that are seen “today in hearts, minds, and institutions” (Lovelace, 2021, p. 67). Regarding the African American population, housing discrimination continues to be an obstacle to families (Burke et al., 2018), racist systems have led to collateral damage in the health of adults (Bleich et al., 2019), and African American men constitute approximately 25% of police shooting victims (Schwartz, 2020). This study seeks to examine if racism has infiltrated into the local church. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore …


Do Not Neglect To Show Hospitality To Strangers: Developing And Implementing A Program Of Home Hospitality At Furnace Creek Baptist Church, Philip D. Bramblet Apr 2024

Do Not Neglect To Show Hospitality To Strangers: Developing And Implementing A Program Of Home Hospitality At Furnace Creek Baptist Church, Philip D. Bramblet

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The researcher identified the lack of intentional interaction for the sake of the gospel between members of Furnace Creek Baptist Church in Rocky Mount, VA and people in the local community as an issue that should be addressed. This problem was addressed by developing and implementing a program of home hospitality with members of FCBC. Hospitality in private homes was identified as an important and biblical method of increasing interaction between the church and the community that has been neglected in doctoral action research. Many hospitality projects have addressed the corporate hospitality dynamic, but few have dealt with Christian hospitality …


Scholars Day 2024 Program Of Events, Carl Goodson Honors Program Apr 2024

Scholars Day 2024 Program Of Events, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

This is the program of events for the 2023 Scholars Day Conference, where undergraduates across disciplines present their scholarly and creative works.


Biblically Responsible Investing: Should Christians Avoid Or Engage?, Logan Young Apr 2024

Biblically Responsible Investing: Should Christians Avoid Or Engage?, Logan Young

Senior Honors Theses

Christians over the last twenty to thirty years have started to discuss how to engage in investing. This has birthed the movement of Biblically Responsible Investing out of Socially Responsible Investing. There is a tension that exists within Biblically Responsible Investing between the two different ways Christians believe they should participate in investing: avoiding companies through screening and engaging with companies through shareholder engagement. Both of these can have a significant impact on the economy and specific companies. A Biblical worldview surrounding stewardship of resources and seeking to store up treasures in Heaven must be considered as Christian look at …


Church And Community: Bridging The Gap To Create A Culture Of Acceptance And Inclusiveness, Matthew L. Brown Apr 2024

Church And Community: Bridging The Gap To Create A Culture Of Acceptance And Inclusiveness, Matthew L. Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This DMIN project helped St. Paul High Street Baptist Church develop a community engagement team that helped them reestablish its long-lasting relationship with the community surrounding the church. Certain issues within and outside of the church were discussed that had led to a lack of community engagement within recent years. A community engagement team was put together to help bridge the gap between the church and its surrounding community. To help with this, several community engagement team events were held, and surveys were given to both church and community members. Through the successful completion of this project, St. Paul High …


An Examination Of The Parental Role In The Discipleship Of Children, Robert B. Jarman Apr 2024

An Examination Of The Parental Role In The Discipleship Of Children, Robert B. Jarman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parents have an enormous role in the lives of their children. They are responsible for all aspects of their children’s development to prepare them to manage adulthood successfully. Parents invest much of their time in many important areas of the home, yet regarding discipleship, they will often pass on that responsibility to others or neglect it altogether. The danger of a lack of discipleship in the home is that it can potentially contribute to the growing trend of young adults leaving the faith. This thesis project examines the Biblical mandate for parents discipling their children, the reasons for parents not …


Forgiving Childhood Hurt Biblically, Latisha Shearer Apr 2024

Forgiving Childhood Hurt Biblically, Latisha Shearer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The profound impact of childhood experiences on an individual's mindset, emotional well-being, and transition into adulthood is a compelling problem addressed in this thesis paper titled “Forgiving Childhood Hurt Biblically.” This DMIN action research project is to implement biblical forgiveness as a transformative tool to address the physical, mental, and emotional wounds inflicted by childhood trauma. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), marked by early-life toxic stress, establish a foundation for the intergenerational transmission of trauma, significantly affecting the health and lives of adults. Given the vulnerability of childhood, addressing and forgiving the sources of trauma is crucial for effectively reprogramming and …


Ripe For The Harvest: Developing Servants Through Spiritual Formation At Fairhaven Church Of Rootstown, Vincent A. Maltempi Apr 2024

Ripe For The Harvest: Developing Servants Through Spiritual Formation At Fairhaven Church Of Rootstown, Vincent A. Maltempi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action research project addresses the need to develop committed Christian servants within a church ministry context by utilizing a spiritual formation initiative focused on service as a means towards and evidence of spiritual formation and development. Fairhaven Church of Rootstown had not been instructed on the fundamental need for members to serve together. Consequently, service within the church was not a necessary part of discipleship or its spiritual growth plan. The purpose of this intervention was to create and implement a three-fold spiritual development initiative focused on Christian service that includes a sermon series, a midweek study, and a …


Burnout Prevention In Christian Public And Private Middle School Leaders: A Qualitative Study, Rhonda Grider Purchase Apr 2024

Burnout Prevention In Christian Public And Private Middle School Leaders: A Qualitative Study, Rhonda Grider Purchase

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a momentous problem in academic settings today regarding stress and burnout among academic school leaders (Francis et al., 2017). The focus of this study was to examine the prevention of professional stress in the lives of middle school academic leaders. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of what the selected participants believed was the prevention of stress and burnout in middle school leaders in Newton County, Georgia. For this study, school leaders were defined as certified principals who hold a bachelor’s level or above degree and contribute to the academic environment …


The Scatological Scriptures: A Biblical Theology Of Dung, Zachary C. Hill Apr 2024

The Scatological Scriptures: A Biblical Theology Of Dung, Zachary C. Hill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Scriptures contain a theology of dung. When the semantic and conceptual cognates that pertain to dung are synthesized, the result is a scriptural scatology whereby dung is presented as a symbol for sin. To clarify, the biblical exhibition of dung presents excrement as a central symbol employed by Scripture to concretize the abstract nature of sin. When each semantic and conceptual cognate that pertains to dung is examined, in nearly every instance where dung is mentioned, sin is in close proximity. The recognition of the dung–sin symbol enlightens particular aspects related to the nature of sin, which mirrors the …


Exploring How Church Leadership Strives For Effective Ministry By Developing A Viable Leadership Training Program At A Small Nondenominational Church In Scranton, South Carolina, Willa Dean Montgomery Apr 2024

Exploring How Church Leadership Strives For Effective Ministry By Developing A Viable Leadership Training Program At A Small Nondenominational Church In Scranton, South Carolina, Willa Dean Montgomery

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The problem at Gospel of Grace Church in Scranton, South Carolina is the church lacks a viable leadership training program to develop competent leaders. The purpose of this DMIN action research project is to develop and implement a viable leadership training program. If a viable leadership training program is implemented, then leadership at Gospel of Grace Church would model servant-leadership characteristics found in Jesus’s Servant Leadership Model. This viable leadership training program aims to teach leaders how to apply biblical principles to their daily lives. They will learn to be a servant first, to serve the needs of others before …


Digital Ministry In The Church: Strengths, Weaknesses, And Opportunities, Willie Charles Howard Garrett Apr 2024

Digital Ministry In The Church: Strengths, Weaknesses, And Opportunities, Willie Charles Howard Garrett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative phenomenological study explores how churchgoers and senior pastors who are servant-leaders perceive the effectiveness, drawbacks, and opportunities of employing digital ministry in their churches as they attempt to develop healthy virtual relationships that maintain personal connections. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a change in churchgoers attending services in person. The government instituted social distancing and closures of businesses, schools, and churches. As a result, senior pastors engaged in creative ways using digital ministry to continue spreading the Word of God. While digital ministry existed pre-COVID-19, an increase occurred in response to the need to suspend in-person attendance. The theory …