Religion Commons^™

Witnessing The Web: The Rhetoric Of American E-Vangelism And Persuasion Online, Amber M. Stamper

Theses and Dissertations--English

From the distribution of religious tracts at Ellis Island and Billy Sunday’s radio messages to televised recordings of the Billy Graham Crusade and Pat Robertson’s 700 Club, American evangelicals have long made a practice of utilizing mass media to spread the Gospel. Most recently, these Christian evangelists have gone online. As a contribution to scholarship in religious rhetoric and media studies, this dissertation offers evangelistic websites as a case study into the ways persuasion is carried out on the Internet. Through an analysis of digital texts—including several evangelical home pages, a chat room, discussion forums, and a virtual church—I investigate …

More Than An "Immoderate Superstition": Christian Identity In The First Three Centuries, Edward Mason

Theses and Dissertations--History

Only recently have scholars given particular attention to the development of the racial discourse present in early Christian apologetics. This study is aimed at understanding the Latin and Greek literary antecedents to the development of a Christian discourse on race and identity and examining in detail the apex of this discourse in the work of third century apologist Origen of Alexandria. Origen’s work represented the apex of an evolving discourse that, while continuing to use traditional vocabulary, became increasingly universalizing with the growth of the Roman Empire. By understanding how Christians in the first three centuries shaped their attitudes on …

'Abdolkarim Soroush, Sayeh Meisami

Philosophy Faculty Publications

‘Abdolkarim Soroush is the penname for Hossein Haj Faraj Dabbᾱgh (1945–). He is one of the most controversial figures in the religious and political polemics of postrevolutionary Iran. This is owing to his early adherence to the Islamic revolutionary values, his polemics against Marxism, later departure from the conservative Islam toward a reformist stand based on the philosophy of science and modern hermeneutics, and his current role as an uncompromising and outspoken opposition voice, as well as a fervent supporter of the Green Movement. Soroush’s ideas should be categorized under religious reformism in general, which goes beyond Iranian politics. Due …

Evangelicalism And Religious Pluralism In Contemporary America: Diversity Without, Diversity Within, And Maintaining The Borders, William Vance Trollinger

History Faculty Publications

Not that many people need convincing, but the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) provides confirming evidence that evangelicalism in America is alive and well. In this survey, which involved 54,461 telephone interviews, the 76% of respondents who identified themselves as Christians were asked a follow-up question: "Do you identify as a Born Again or Evangelical Christian?" Forty-five percent answered yes. This number obviously includes a fair number of folks within "mainline" denominations and within predominately African-American churches; more surprising, perhaps, 18.9% of American Catholics identified themselves as "born again" or "evangelical."

If one were to depend solely on the …

The Nationalization Of Religion: Cultural Performances And The Youth Of Soka Singapore, Jayeel Cornelio

Development Studies Faculty Publications

Soka is known in Singapore for its cultural performances in events such as the National Day Parade and Chingay. This is part of Soka’s attempts to present itself as a cultural organization working for peace and progress in Singapore. Participating in these performances is common among the youth of Soka. In this paper I focus on young people’s participation as a form of religious patriotism. For them, it is about sending a message that individual and collective struggles can be overcome and that peace and harmony can be fostered. I then analyze these nuances in terms of the nationalization of …

Salvation: An Exploration, Kelsey Rose Weber

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores how women in different religious communities relate to the concept of Salvation. Focusing on Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism, this short experimental film, and supplement paper, seek to provide an alternative point of view that translates this unique experience for women in religions that use heavily gendered language and that are rooted in traditional patriarchal cultures. By using the experimental film medium, viewers are able to perceive religion and film in a new way that pushes the viewer to give their own interpretation of the imagery on screen. It also allows viewers to give the imagery meaning …

Some Kind Of Monstrosity: What Youth Ministry Can Learn From Heavy Metal, Jason Lief

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This article brings Slovoj Zizek’s articulation of Pauline Christianity into conversation with Norwegian Black Metal (Gorgoroth) in order to demonstrate the subversive role of popular culture as it challenges the panoptic ideological power of the status quo. Through dialogue with elements of popular culture, like Black Metal, youth ministry is reminded of its prophetic function to challenge the powers of this age as it proclaims the monstrosity of the crucified and resurrected Christ.

Ar Trebui Femeile Să Fie Hirotonite Ca Pastori? Considerații Asupra Vechiului Testament - Partea A I, Richard M. Davidson

Faculty Publications

In the modern discussion over whether women should be ordained as pastors, the foundational passage for both those who affirm and those who oppose women’s ordination is Gen 1–3. Those who affirm women’s ordination find in the Genesis creation accounts a statement of full equality without hierarchy of man and woman, set forth as the divinely ordained creation order. They see the rest of Scripture calling us back toward that creation ideal, and allowing for women to fill any position of authority to which God calls and gifts them. Those who oppose the ordination of women also go to Gen …

A Study Of The Utilization Of Brief And Biblically Integrated Child Parent Relationship Therapy With Mothers From Christian Families And Their 11-14 Year Old Children, Valerie Waruszewski

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Twenty-six mothers and their 11-14 year old children participated in the Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT). Although designed for elementary-aged children, CPRT was modified for pre-teens and biblically integrated worldview. An analysis of data obtained from the Parenting Relationship Questionnaire-CA (Kamphaus & Reynolds, 2009), Conflict Behavior Questionnaire-20 (Robin & Foster, 1989), and Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987) revealed meaningful trends in the decrease of frustration, levels of conflict, and negative communication within family systems. It is hoped that these findings will encourage additional research to help Christian mothers and therapists with an effective tool that …

Military Service Members: A Manual For Reintegration After Deployment, Carla Barry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Deployment to Afghanistan for Marines and Sailors stationed in Jacksonville, NC is continual. The transition back to home life can be both difficult and stressful. The purpose of this thesis is to increase awareness of the dynamics of reintegration of military members and their families after deployment. Based on questionnaires sent to local churches, military families, observations, and journaling the thesis project validated a need for support. The thesis project produced a resource guide teaching pastors stressors associated with reintegration. The summary and conclusion will address behavioral and social changes by group participants.

Cooperation: Churches Working Together Through The Local Baptist Association For Maximum Kingdom Ministry, John Frank

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Cooperation is a concept which many churches hold to as a basic belief, yet few incorporate into their ministry plan. With the exception of giving money toward a denominational budget, many churches operate totally independently of other churches. Believers in Jesus Christ can do more in a community as a unified body rather than as splintered groups with individual, and often self-serving, agendas. This thesis project draws together several years of observations and experiences of churches as they have joined together in unity and cooperation. A survey and interview process is used to gain insight and vision from churches and …

An Evaluation Of The Growing Healthy Churches Program As A Method For Producing Healthy, Growing, And Reproducing Southern Baptist Congregations, Donald Hardaway

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The current status of Southern Baptist churches in the United States necessitates the development of a strategy for renewal toward health and multiplication. The purpose of this project is to suggest a proven model for local church revitalization through the "Growing Healthy Churches" program developed by Dr. Paul Borden. Based on responses from churches participating in the Growing Healthy Churches program and pastors who have led their churches through the strategies presented by Borden, the project explains the revitalization process, reviews the results, and makes a recommended plan of action for local church renewal through association-led programming.

The Victorious Christian Life: Overcoming Alcohol Dependence Through The Phenomenon Of Christian Spirituality, Michael Byrne

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Interviews were conducted with graduates of a northeastern evangelical Christian-based treatment program to discover insights regarding the role that the phenomenon of Christian spirituality played in their recovery. Eight themes were extracted from three periods of time in the participants' lives as they related to the phenomenon of Christian spirituality: prior to treatment; during treatment; and after treatment. These themes revealed that the participants lacked resiliencies to overcome alcohol dependence themselves. All participants reported that critical aspects of Christian spirituality, such as regeneration and cultivation of a divine-human relationship through lifestyle exercise of Spiritual Disciplines and diligent application of the …

An Examination Of Reaching, Teaching, Feeding And Loving People For The Kingdom Of God, Gwendolyn Hill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the biblically prescribed methodologies and innovative tools for attaining the desirable results of more disciples instead of followers of Christ. It is incumbent on every believer to fulfill the mandate of the Great Commission, to go out into the world and preach the gospel to every ethnos. There are several contributing factors that are conducive to people globally starving holistically mainly due to a deviancy of knowledge imparted and less implementation of discipleship. The inclusion of this thesis is a partial account of interviews with some Christian leaders and selected Disciples of …

Rethinking Discipleship In The Area Of High School Ministry: Key Strategies For Transforming Urban Youth, Michael Rackley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

According to a Barna Research Group study titled "Third Millennium Teens" 60% of young people will leave the church permanently or for an extended period. Decreasing the number of urban youth ages 14-18 from defecting from the church and to increase retention of church dropouts using Twenty-First Century transformational strategies is the goal of this project. Having served as a youth pastor the writer will analyze key strategies that will benefit high school ministry by raising the bar on expectations and by building future leaders in the church.

This project will include an anonymous survey of 125 participants aged 18-24 …

An Effective Leadership Strategy Model For Lakeland Korean Presbyterian Church, Jae Hwa Mun

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to find out the strategy of building leadership for church growth. This thesis is primarily concerned with understanding church leadership and leadership development for effective ministry. The fundamental reason churches go through crisis in growth is due to a lack of leadership and strategy for leadership development.
To establish effective leadership strategy model, this project examined the leadership qualities and the process of leadership development from the Biblical perspective, and researched effective leadership types for church growth through a survey. The survey was performed on eight churches to look at the need of leadership. …

Eight Key Principles To Transform Church Culture To Retain Ministry Leaders, Trent Lambert

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In today's culture, there is an ever-growing population of unchurched and dechurched within our local communities, not to mention dysfunctional leaders within the Church. This project attempts to create a healthy quality of life for ministry leaders that transcends into relevant evangelism and empowering discipleship. Based on scripture, segments of church history leadership styles, surveys of current ministry leaders, various books/articles, and personal perspectives this paper will delineate lessons to be learned and principles that are effective in the remodeling process. The principles within this project will show how church culture can transition from an antiquated paradigm of ministry to …

The Essential Leadership Elements For Transforming The Ethos Of A Local Church, Austin Rammell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the essential leadership elements involved in transforming the ethos of local church from a community organization for Christians into a movement to change the world. It is a case study of what took place at Hardin Baptist Church (now Venture). In addition to published scholarship, the findings from the case study will be compared with five other churches that have experienced a similar transformation. The reason for this project is to document the key elements of the transformation of Hardin in hopes that the changes will serve as a tool for other …

Constant Creation: (Pro)Creation In Palestinian Rabbinic Midrashim, Gwynn Kessler

Religion Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Creating A Culture For African American Young Adults In Seventh-Day Adventist Church Leadership In San Bernardino County, Delroy A. Brooks

Human Subject Research Archive

"The history of youth ministry in the African American church in the U.S. has always had young adults leading and taking action. In San Bernardino African American churches, that is not the case. Reasons such as fear, pressure, and lack of peer group have kept many young adults from wanting to be in leadership in their local church. The local church should be the place where emerging adults can be valued, supported and developed. By using the human resource frame and the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership, local churches can create a new paradigm for leadership transfer that includes and …

2013 Comparisons Section Of The Adventist Pastor - A Word Survey Project), Roger Dudley, Petr Cincala

Human Subject Research Archive

Presentations that have been developed along with the THE ADVENTIST PASTOR: A WORLD SURVEY project in 2013.

2013 Ecd Section Of The Adventist Pastor - A Word Survey Project, Petr Cincala

Human Subject Research Archive

Presentations that have been developed along with the THE ADVENTIST PASTOR: A WORLD SURVEY project in 2013.

2013 Esd Section Of The Adventist Pastor - A Word Survey Project, Petr Cincala

Human Subject Research Archive

Presentations that have been developed along with the THE ADVENTIST PASTOR: A WORLD SURVEY project in 2013.

2013 Iad Section Of The Adventist Pastor - A Word Survey Project, Petr Cincala

Human Subject Research Archive

Presentations that have been developed along with the THE ADVENTIST PASTOR: A WORLD SURVEY project in 2013.

2013 Nad Section Of The Adventist Pastor - A Word Survey Project, Petr Cincala

Human Subject Research Archive

Presentations that have been developed along with the THE ADVENTIST PASTOR: A WORLD SURVEY project in 2013.

2013 Sad Section Of The Adventist Pastor - A Word Survey Project, Petr Cincala

Human Subject Research Archive

Presentations that have been developed along with the THE ADVENTIST PASTOR: A WORLD SURVEY project in 2013.

2013 Sid Section Of The Adventist Pastor - A Word Survey Project, Petr Cincala

Human Subject Research Archive

Presentations that have been developed along with the THE ADVENTIST PASTOR: A WORLD SURVEY project in 2013.

2013 Spd Section Of The Adventist Pastor - A Word Survey Project, Petr Cincala

Human Subject Research Archive

Presentations that have been developed along with the THE ADVENTIST PASTOR: A WORLD SURVEY project in 2013.

2013 Sud Section Of The Adventist Pastor - A Word Survey Project, Petr Cincala

Human Subject Research Archive

Presentations that have been developed along with the THE ADVENTIST PASTOR: A WORLD SURVEY project in 2013.

2013 Ssd Section Of The Adventist Pastor - A Word Survey Project, Petr Cincala

Human Subject Research Archive

Presentations that have been developed along with the THE ADVENTIST PASTOR: A WORLD SURVEY project in 2013.