Religion Commons^™

Reading Ceremonies In The Hebrew Bible: Ideologies Of Textual Authority In Joshua 8, 2 Kings 22-23, And Nehemiah 8, Lisa Joann Cleath

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

The covenant reading ceremonies in Joshua 8:30-35, 2 Kings 22-23, and Nehemiah 7:72b-8:18 betray a developing interplay between the people of Israel and the book of the law. These narratives are unique in the Hebrew Bible in presenting the oralization of a covenant document to a specific audience. Previous scholarship on these narratives has focused on reconstructing the source-critical history of each account and the historicity of the reported events. For the following study, Joshua 8:30-35 and 2 Kings 22-23 represent earlier pre-exilic and exilic traditions, while 2 Chronicles 34-35 and Nehemiah 8 illustrate later post-exilic perspectives. However, supplementing source-critical …

Empowering Congregations To Move From Simple Hospitality To Celebration Of Ethnic Diversity Within Their Church, Stephen R. Gibson

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses the question of how a large church can best pursue ethnic diversity. Using qualitative research methods the researcher demonstrated that the best practices found among secular organizations in pursing diversity are effective when implemented in a large predominately white church. The researcher identified that there are common themes running through such organizations as Coca Cola, IBM and American Express in regards to their individual diversity initiatives. The researcher demonstrates that the four best practices of 1) getting the leadership to be champions for the cause, 2) casting the vision across the organization, 3) motivating the organization’s employees …

Conceptualizing And Engaging With Pastoral Authority, Scott R. Maurer

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Church conflict harms those in the church, obscures God’s glory, and hurts the church’s witness to a watching world. Some church conflict is related to congregants’ limited ability to conceptualize and engage with pastoral authority. While secular academia has begun to explore the discipline of followership, there is a lack of research and writing in the Christian world that provides direction to congregants on this topic. That which does exist often creates confusion rather than clarity. In response to this problem, sixteen congregants and six pastors from six churches in the Washington, DC metropolitan area were interviewed about how they …

Demonic Actions On Christian Leaders And Followers: The Reality Of Demons' Existence And Their Wicked Spirit World Of Abode And Kingdoms, Matthew Folorunso Olaniyi

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem this project addressed is in the reality of the existence of demons’ in their wicked spirit world of abode and kingdoms coupled with the challenges that wicked activities of demons pose to the lives and ministries of Christian leaders and followers. In response to this problem, researcher surveyed the wicked activities of demons in the lives and ministries of some biblical leaders and followers in the Old and New Testaments. The researcher further reviewed the relevant literature and showed that many voices, especially in the Western academia, argue for the non-existence of demons. But, in spite of this …

Helping Young Adults Discern Christian Self-Actualization Through The Wisdom Of Those Who Have Gone Before, Jeff M. Chapman

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem this thesis project addressed was the belief by many Christian young adults that the life wisdom advice of older Christian adults can be invalid. This assumption can make Christian young adults suffer unnecessarily because it can prevent them from benefiting from the experiences of older Christian adults who have successfully achieved Christian self-actualization in spiritual, relational and work-related challenges. To address this problem, the researcher (a) investigated Scripture as well as theological and biblical commentaries related to these themes; (b) reviewed relevant ancient and contemporary literature; (c) conducted qualitative and quantitative research that demonstrated the validity of advice …

Integrating Biblical Teaching And Organizational Wisdom In The Work Of Pastor-Church Relations, Christian Reformed Church North America, Cecil Vanniejenhuis

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project addressed the lack of integration of biblical teaching in the consultation work of Pastor-Church Relations in the Christian Reformed Church of North America. The goal of this project was to demonstrate and encourage a thorough integration so that organizational wisdom might be informed, anchored and enriched by scriptural teaching. This goal was achieved by program development. A first step involved identifying hospitality as a core biblical theme. The theme of hospitality was traced from creation, through the fall into sin, through redemption in Jesus Christ and ultimately the consummation of all things. Special attention was given to the …

Clergy Leadership Development: Exploring Factors In The Leadership Development Process Of United Methodist Clergywomen, Mary Bendall Henley

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project was designed to discover factors associated with the leadership development of effective United Methodist clergywomen. The researcher chose a collective case study approach incorporating principles from grounded theory in the data analysis. After framing the research problem, the researcher conducted a biblical review highlighting female prophets from the Bible. In particular, the women from the Old Testament provided important insight. The researcher conducted a literature review confirming the lack of scholarly work in the area of leadership development and clergywomen. The researcher identified four areas to frame the research, each representing an area of identity work. The four …

Working Papers Of The American Society Of Missiology; Vol. 2 Third Wave Missions/Migration, Robert A. Danielson, William L. Selvidge

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

Act Of Consecration (Advent "A"), Stanley J. Zubek S.M.

Musical Compositions about the Marianist Charism

Consecration for the Advent season

“Line Upon Line”: Joseph Smith’S Growing Understanding Of The Eternal Family, R. Devan Jensen, Michael A. Goodman, Barbara Morgan Gardener

Faculty Publications

“The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” So begins L . P. Hartley’s novel The Go-Between. This statement reminds religious educators to study history as it unfolded and to avoid presentism, or “an attitude toward the past dominated by present-day attitudes and experiences.”1 Latter-day Saint doctrines did not spring up fully formed as we have them today. The historical record shows that Joseph Smith did not begin with a full understanding of the doctrines of eternal families and sealing ordinances as we teach them today. In fact, the Prophet Joseph Smith dictated a revelation on 6 …

Causes And Consequences Of The Protestant Reformation, Sascha O. Becker, Steven Pfaff, Jared Rubin

ESI Working Papers

The Protestant Reformation is one of the defining events of the last millennium. Nearly 500 years after the Reformation, its causes and consequences have seen a renewed interest in the social sciences. Research in economics, sociology, and political science increasingly uses detailed individual-level, city-level, and regional-level data to identify drivers of the adoption of the Reformation, its diffusion pattern, and its socioeconomic consequences. This survey takes stock of the research so far, tries to point out what we know and what we do not know, and which are the most promising areas for future research.

“We Rang The Bell”: Olonzod. Merrill’S Mission To Tonga (1892-1895)

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

No abstract provided.

Salman, Salman, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Salman and his family are from Afghanistan, where he worked as a doctor. He worked for fifteen years for a mining institute, and before that he worked in various hospitals with Americans and Germans for another combined 15 years. The family ran into problems with the Taliban, who threatened violence if he didn’t close his drugstore. During that same time, his son witnessed a suicide bombing at his school. Their daughter was forced to abandon her education when the Taliban poisoned the water at her school. They fled in attempts to live a normal life again and escape the threats …

Emal, Emal, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Emal was a gate security guard in the Afghan army and a supplier for American forces at the airport. Before leaving Afghanistan, Emal was kidnapped by Daesh, beaten, thrown into a pile of bodies, and left for dead. He woke up weeks later in hospital with adent in his skull, brain damage, and mental/emotional problems. When he was able, Emal fled with his wife and six kids, but they travelled with smugglers in separate cars and got separated. Iran police deported his wife and children back to Afghanistan. Emal continued on and eventually made his way to Oinofyta refugee camp …

"A Kind Of Painful Progress": Contesting And Collaborating On The Mormon Image In America, Cristine Hutchison-Jones

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Wrestling With Language: Exploring The Impact Of Mormon Metaphysics On Theological Pedagogy, Michelle Chaplin Sanchez

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

The Online Journal Of George Q. Cannon, Richard Dilworth Rust

BYU Studies

A long-anticipated project is coming to completion. Much of the journal of George Q. Cannon, covering the last half of the nineteenth century, is now freely available online at www.churchhistorianspress.org/george-q-cannon/, and the remainder of the journal will soon be available. As with other Church Historian’s Press publications, meticulous attention has been paid to produce an accurate and reliable transcript. It has been prepared largely according to the editorial procedures developed by the Joseph Smith Papers Project.

Heron Song, Elizabeth Garcia

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Minutes Of The Afternoon Meeting Of The Council Of Fifty, April 11, 1844, Matthew J. Grow, Ronald K. Esplin, Mark Ashurst-Mcgee, Gerrit J. Dirkmaaat, Jeffrey D. Mahas

BYU Studies

In his essay “Understanding the Council of Fifty and Its Minutes,” on the previous pages in this issue, Ronald K. Esplin overviews the history of the Council of Fifty and the three books in which William Clayton recorded its minutes. He tells what these minutes add to our understanding of Church leaders’ concerns about outreach to American Indians, Joseph Smith’s presidential campaign, and the desire to claim religious liberty. The text presented and annotated below is excerpted from The Joseph Smith Papers, Administrative Records: Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844–January 1846.

Nephi’S Use Of Inverted Parallels, Dennis Newton

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Did Nephi intentionally use chiasmus in his writings? An analysis of fifteen multi-level chiasm candidates in Nephi’s writings demonstrates a high statistical probability (99%+) that the poetic form was used intentionally by Nephi but only during two specific writing periods. This finding is buttressed by further analysis, which reveals a clear and unexpected literary pattern for which Nephi seems to have reserved his usage of chiasmus. The nature of obedience is a major theme in Nephi’s writings, and he regularly employed chiasms to explore the topic early in his writings. After a period during which he discontinued use of the …

The Faith To See: Burning In The Bosom And Translating The Book Of Mormon In Doctrine And Covenants 9, Stan Spencer

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Doctrine and Covenants 9:7–9 is conventionally interpreted as the Lord’s description of the method by which the Book of Mormon was translated. A close reading of the entire revelation, however, suggests that the Lord was not telling Oliver Cowdery how to translate but rather how to know whether it was right for him to translate and how to obtain the faith necessary to do so. Faith would have enabled Oliver Cowdery to overcome his fear and translate, just as it would have enabled Peter (in Matthew 14) to overcome his fear and walk on water.

Perhaps Close Can Count In More Than Horseshoes, Brant A. Gardner

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Schooling the Prophet provides a good survey of many early Latter-day Saint doctrines. It suggests that there is a causal link between the Book of Mormon and those doctrines. Sometimes it makes the case; many times it is close but doesn’t quite support the thesis of the book.

“O Ye Fair Ones” — Revisited, Matthew L. Bowen

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Turning To The Lord With The Whole Heart: The Doctrine Of Repentance In The Bible And The Book Of Mormon, Loren Spendlove, Tina Spendlove

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Repentance is considered one of the foundational principles of the gospel. As demonstrated in this article, there is a harmony in how repentance is portrayed in the Old Testament, New Testament, and Book of Mormon. In all three books the principle of repentance is shown to be a two-part process of turning away from sin and returning to the Lord through good works. Just as faith has been called “active belief,” repentance could be called “active remorse,” and must be accompanied by good works to be effective in our lives. The goal and end result of sincere repentance is a …

Vanquishing The Mormon Menace, Stephen O. Smoot

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Patrick Mason has offered a fascinating look at the history of nineteenth century anti-Mormonism in the American South with his 2011 volume The Mormon Menace: Violence and Anti-Mormonism in the Postbellum South. Situating nineteenth century Southern anti-Mormonism in its historical context, Mason narrates a vivid account of how Mormons at times faced violent opposition that stemmed from deep cultural, religious, and political differences with mainstream American Protestants. Mason’s volume is an excellent resource for those interested in Mormon history.

David G. Stewart Jr. And Matthew Martinich, Reaching The Nations: International Lds Church Growth Almanac, Carter Charles Et Al.

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Proselyting On The Rock Of Gibraltar, 1853-1855: The Letters Of Edward Stevenson To The Juvenile Instructor In 1885, Reid L. Neilson

BYU Studies

In January 1885, the Mormon Juvenile Instructor magazine ran a short cover story on the history of Gibraltar, known as “the Rock,” the British overseas territory located on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula bordering Spain. While the magazine aimed to educate Latter-day Saints about the cosmopolitan world generally, the Rock did have a noteworthy place in Mormon history. The editor, George Q. Cannon, wrote, “As in the mother country [Great Britain] all religious societies are said to enjoy perfect freedom. Still when Elders Edward Stevenson and N[athan] T. Porter arrived in Gibraltar in March, 1853, to preach ‘Mormonism,’ …

A Faithful Band: Moses Mahlangu And The First Soweto Saints, Richard E. Turley Jr., Jeffrey G. Cannon

BYU Studies

The faith of the African Saints is legendary, and the story of one man is often repeated to illustrate that faith. Moses Mahlangu waited many years from his introduction to the Book of Mormon sometime in the 1960s until his baptism in 1980. Two significant factors led to his long wait: (1) the laws and attitudes in South Africa affecting race relations and (2) a priesthood restriction of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regarding people of black1 African lineage. Through it all, Mahlangu and several others who had been converted through their reading of the Book of …

Almost A Psalm, About Inheritance, Benjamin Blackhurst

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

From Darkness Unto Light: Joseph Smith's Translation And Publication Of The Book Of Mormon, Steven L. Olsen

BYU Studies

Michael Hubbard MacKay and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat. From Darkness unto Light: Joseph Smith's Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon.

Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2015.