Religion Commons^™

A Prophet, A Candidate, And A Just Cause, Derek R. Sainsbury

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

Spencer McBride’s book is the deepest look yet into Joseph Smith’s 1844 campaign for president of the United States. In smooth-paced and readable detail, McBride’s work expertly demonstrates the unique Latter- day Saint genesis for the campaign and how it fit into the wider American social-political environment. Its message regarding religious liberty is as applicable today as it was nearly two centuries ago.

“Being Of That Lineage”: Generational Curses And Inheritance In The Book Of Abraham, John S. Thompson

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

The seeming appearance of a lineal or generational curse in the Book of Abraham has been used erroneously to marginalize people and justify racist ideas in Latter-day Saint history. To avoid any further misinterpretation of scripture in ways that are hurtful to others, the following attempts to elucidate the meaning of lineal curses within the Book of Abraham’s claimed ancient provenance. “Cursed” often reflected a simple legalistic concept, applicable to any person regardless of race, that meant one was currently in a state of disinheritance. An individual might be in a state of disinheritance if they violated any requirement necessary …

“I Will Come To You”: An Investigation Of Early Christian Beliefs About Post-Ascension Visitations Of The Risen Jesus, Timothy Gervais

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

While later Creedal Christians have come to view “the Ascension” recorded in the first chapter of Acts as a conclusive corporeal appearance of the Resurrected Lord, earliest Christians do not appear to have conceived of this appearance as “final” in any temporal or experiential sense. A careful investigation of canonical resurrection literature displays a widespread Christian belief in continued and varied interaction with the risen Lord relatively late into the movements’ development. Stringent readings of Luke’s account of the Ascension in Acts suggesting that Christ will not return until his second coming fail to consider the theological rhetoric with which …

“We Don’T Know, So We Might As Well”: A Flimsy Philosophy For Same-Sex Sealings, Matthew Watkins

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

Nate Oman claims to demonstrate a theological path that allows for same-sex sealings within existing Latter-day Saint doctrine. In fact, he claims that such an adjustment would be not only compatible with most Church doctrine but more scripturally sound than current teachings and policies regarding same-sex relationships. However, he falls short of his declared objective. His essay sets up an exaggerated pattern of dramatic theological overhauls in Latter-day Saint theology, downplays existing revelation on the subject of sealings and exaltation, and proposes a new theology to justify his policy conclusions. In the end, his essay completely ignores the root cause …

Doctrine And Covenants 21: Metanarrative Of The Restoration, Steve L. Olsen

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

Joseph Smith dictated Doctrine and Covenants 21 at the inaugural meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ on April 6, 1830. The present study examines the literary craftsmanship of the revelation to plumb the depths of its role in the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The analysis explores the meaning of patterns of usage in the text from the most specific (diction, syntax, figures of speech) to the most general (tone, rhetoric, and structural logic). The hypothesis of this study is that Doctrine and Covenants 21 provides a metanarrative of the Restoration — that is, a set of …

Internal Family Systems (Ifs) Therapy: Non-Pathologizing Healing For Inner Peace, Sylvia Hill

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is a new approach to healing of the wounds and burdens caused by trauma, neglect and other relational injuries. The history of the development of IFS is outlined. The basic assumptions of IFS are shared. The roles parts take on in response to trauma are explained. The process of working with parts to bring about healing are described. Research on IFS is listed followed by a brief discussion of how IFS can fit within a Christian framework. Two case studies are provided to illustrate IFS being used in conjunction with Christian beliefs.

Verbal Punctuation In The Book Of Mormon Ii — Nevertheless, John Gee

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

One example of verbal punctuation that has a very clear pattern of usage in the Book of Mormon is the term nevertheless. It is used to draw a marked contrast between what the previous text would lead one to expect and what follows it. It is not clear what the ancient antecedent to the term might be and the English term and usage might be an artefact of the translation process. The frequency and usage of nevertheless in the Book of Mormon contrasts with the way that Joseph Smith’s writings use it.

The Decline In Black Men's Church Attendance: The Role Of Male Presence In Church And The Family, Gregory James Tate

Doctor of Ministry

The Black Church in the United States has historically played a significant role in the community providing a sense of belonging and purpose. However, there has been a significant decline in the attendance of Black men in the church. Despite being the largest ethnic group to attend a place of worship, 70-80% of Black men do not attend church services, either in-person or online. This trend is concerning, especially since over 80% of those who do not attend consider themselves religious and believe in a higher power. This paper explores the reasons for this trend and its effects. Chapter 1 …

A Biographical Sketch-Book Of Nineteenth-Century Methodist Ministers, Preachers, Missionaries And Exhorters At Work In Great Britain, The Americas, And Other Parts Of The World, Samuel J. Rogal

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

From The Editor, Robert Danielson

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Interviews In Support Of For The Whole World : A Century Of Mission At Asbury Theological Seminary, John Steven O'Malley

Seminary History Documents

No abstract provided.

Beautiful Patience, Daniel C. Peterson

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

Believers in the God of Abraham — who include not only Jews and Christians but also Muslims — are exhorted to call upon him every day, as well as in times of need. We are promised that he will respond to petitionary prayers. Moreover, we are assured that, in the end, believers will prosper, that their faith or trust in him will prove justified. But we are not promised that rewards, compensation, or justice will come to us on our mortal timetable — and this raises sometimes burningly acute questions about Providence and even, for more than a few, about …

Twenty Years After “Paradigms Regained,” Part 1: The Ongoing, Plain, And Precious Significance Of Margaret Barker’S Scholarship For Latter-Day Saint Studies, Kevin Christensen

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

Twenty years ago, the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies published “Paradigms Regained: A Survey of Margaret Barker’s Scholarship and Its Significance for Mormon Studies” as its second FARMS Occasional Paper. The first part of this essay provides an overview of Doctor Barker’s scholarship and its wider reception through early 2022, and then includes a broad survey of Latter-day Saint interaction with her work to the present. Part 2 of this essay (forthcoming) will address specific criticisms and appreciations of Barker’s work.

The Dance Of Reader And Text: Salomé, The Daughter Of Jared, And The Regal Dance Of Death, Alan Goff

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

Modern readers too often and easily misread modern assumptions into ancient texts. One such notion is that when the reader encounters repeated stories in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Herodotus, or numerous other texts, the obvious explanation that requires no supporting argument is that one text is plagiarizing or copying from the other. Ancient readers and writers viewed such repetitions differently. In this article, I examine the narratives of a young woman or girl dancing for a king with the promise from the ruler that whatever the dancer wants, she can request and receive; the request often entails a …

“They Shall Be Scattered Again”: Some Notes On Jst Genesis 50:24–25, 33–35, Matthew L. Bowen

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

This article examines the extension of the etiological wordplay on the name Joseph (in terms of the Hebrew verbs ʾāsap and yāsap), recurrent in the canonical text of Genesis, into the JST Genesis 50 text, where Joseph learns about and prophesies of a future “Joseph” who would help gather Israel after they had been “scattered again” by the Lord. This article also analyzes the pairing of the prophetic and seeric roles of Moses and the latter-day “Joseph” at the beginning and ending of JST Genesis and explores the significance of this framing. The importance of Moses and Joseph Smith writing …

Review Of The Struggle Over Class: Socioeconomic Analysis Of Ancient Christian Texts, Thomas R. Blanton Iv

2023 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Using Parasite’S Scholar’S Stone (水石) In A Critical Race Decoding Of Racism And Class, James Bretzke S.J.

2023 Faculty Bibliography

The ‘Scholar’s Stone’ (Suseok수석 水石) which is used as an extensive and pervasive motif in Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 film reveals a good deal of what the concept of ‘intersectionality’ in Critical Race Theory (CRT) seeks to uncover. The Scholar’s Stone functions also as a prism to see refracted through the movie the various hues and colors of Confucian culture still present in contemporary Korea, and these in turn can be further analyzed using aspects of CRT. To ground this thesis, I employ the established cultural anthropology concepts of ‘fundamental values and root paradigms’ along with ‘excess of meaning’ and ‘fusion …

The Temple Symbols, Sermons & Settings, Stephen D. Ricks, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

Interpreter Foundation Books

Inside Jerusalem and Its Temple When they reached the fork in the road, Joseph and Mary trudged ahead up the ever steeper incline toward the top of the Mount of Olives.1 Their breathing grew more labored, as did that of their twelve-year-old son. But he was taking the climb easier than they were. Young, nimble legs. Their destination lay to the west, the city of Jerusalem with its spectacular temple. At the fork, the other road led southward toward the town of Bethany, where Jesus would raise from the dead a family friend named Lazarus more than twenty years later. …

Ancient Names In The Book Of Mormon, Matthew L. Bowen

Interpreter Foundation Books

Through many years of scholarly exploration, Matthew Bowen has unveiled new layers of meaning in many Book of Mormon passages in which the use of names appears to employ literary tools of ancient Hebrew writers, including a wide variety of wordplays. Every chapter here breaks substantial new ground in terms of revealing how Book of Mormon authors wove proper names and titles, along with their meanings, into their writings.

Tracking The Legacy Of "Inner-City" Catholic Schools: An Analysis Of U.S. Elementary Catholic School Organizational And Demographic Data, Andrew F. Miller, Annie Smith, Kierstin M. Giunco, Audrey A. Friedman, Myra Rosen-Reynoso, Charles T. Cownie Iii

Journal of Catholic Education Pre-Prints

Over the past twenty years, Catholic elementary schools that self-identify as “inner-city” have closed at a higher rate than Catholic schools in other locations. These schools have also long been associated with a legacy of effectively serving low-income students, students of color, and recent immigrant students, suggesting that the persistent closure of these schools may have a negative impact on these communities. In this paper, we set out to assess the extent to which there have been demographic or organizational changes over the past twenty years in these “inner-city” schools. We found that while these schools do still serve higher …

Stained Swords: A Psalm Of Redemption, Loren Blake Spendlove

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

The author proposes a novel ideal for understanding the stained swords of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies that involves repetition, parallelism, and metaphoric Hebrew wordplay.

An Important New Study Of Freemasonry And The Latter-Day Saints: What's Good, What's Questionable, And What's Missing In Method Infinte, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

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

There is much to celebrate in this important new study of Freemasonry and the Latter-day Saints. To their credit, the authors have succeeded in creating a work that is richer than earlier studies of the subject, probing many previously unexplored hints of Masonic influence on Latter- day Saint life and thought from the beginning of the Restoration through the end of the nineteenth century. That said, the book’s dauntingly broad survey suffers from uneven quality on some of the many topics it ambitiously tackles. While recognizing the study’s considerable merits, its shortcomings must also be considered. For this reason, I’ve …

Nephi’S Eight Years In The “Wilderness”: Reconsidering Definitions And Details, Godfrey J. Ellis

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

A traditional reading of Nephi’s chronicle of the trek through Arabia relies heavily on two verses in 1 Nephi 17. In verse 4, Nephi states that they “did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness.” In verse 5, he reports that “we did come to the land which we called Bountiful.” The almost universal interpretation of these verses is that of sequential events: eight years traversing the arid desert of Western Arabia following which the Lehites entered the lush Bountiful for an unspecified time to build the ship. A question with the traditional …

Meta Social Technology And Religion: A Media Ritual Theory Critical Discourse, Maurice Emelu

2023 Faculty Bibliography

This paper explores the proposition that Meta social media and technology functions as a ritual platform and concludes affirmatively. It identifies and critically evaluates ritual elements on Meta’s platform. Employing media ritual theory in the context of religion, it analyzes the Meta for Faith homepage. Consequently, the investigation delves into Meta's role in enhancing or diminishing the sacred rituals integral to religion, one of society's oldest cultural institutions. The discussion expands by considering the implications of Meta for Faith offerings in religious rituals. Thus, this study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the increasing social technology mediatization in the rapidly …

Did Jewish Women Circumcise Male Infants In Antiquity? A Reassessment Of The Evidence, Thomas R. Blanton Iv

2023 Faculty Bibliography

Two diametrically opposed assumptions have influenced interpretations of circumcision rituals in ancient Judaism: either women performed the operation on their infant sons because children at birth and during infancy remained under the purview of the mother; or, conversely, men—specifically a ritual agent known as the mohel—performed circumcisions, because only they were typically granted authority to carry out the ritual. This study reassesses the pertinent texts, including Exodus 4 and passages from the books of Maccabees and the Babylonian Talmud (b. Šabb. 134a; b. Yebam. 64b; b. ʿAbod. Zar. 27a), to determine whether women in ancient Judaism may have circumcised their …

Frontmatter, Quaker Religious Thought, No. 137, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Welcome to Quaker Religious Thought! This issue contains papers that were delivered at the November 2020 Quaker Theological Discussion Group meeting. The general topic of the sessions was ministry and the second panel, featured in this issue, addressed the question: “What is a Quaker theology of vocational ministry, and how is it enfleshed/embodied in community?” The resulting conversation addressed the wide array of contexts in which ministry takes place, challenges of ministry in a Quaker context, and testimonies to the role of discernment in guiding and supporting ministry. A hearty thanks to our authors, Ben Brazil, Robin …

Frontmatter, Quaker Religious Thought, No. 140, Jeffrey Dudiak

Quaker Religious Thought

The theme of this issue of Quaker Religious Thought is “Quakers and Place.” The issue opens with an essay by Cherice Bock that explores a Quaker theology of place against the background of the climate crisis and colonialism. Grounding her analyses in Jewish and Christian theologies of place, Cherice then seeks to understand what constitutes the experience of a “sense of place,” before encouraging Quakers to undertake an intentional practice of place-making, and this for the sake of contributing to flourishing and resilient, local communities in this crucial historical moment. Rather than living “off” the land in an exploitative way, …

Contributors - Quaker Religious Thought, No. 137, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Unspoken Rules: Barriers To Quaker Worship For Disabled People, Greg Woods

Quaker Religious Thought

In this paper, I will examine how Quakers can be more supportive of disabled people in their congregations. First, I will start by stating a couple of premises, so that the reader and I are on the same page regarding what I mean by disability liberation theology and why I am using identity-first language throughout the paper. Second, I will provide some autobiographical information about my experiences as a disabled person within Quakerism. Third, I will talk about the expansive nature of the Inward Light of Christ. Fourth, I will explore the power dynamics within Quaker worship and how this …

#Choosetochallenge: Covid-19, Community Research, And The Canaanite Woman, Ma. Marilou S. Ibita, Maricel S. Ibita

Theology Department Faculty Publications

This study theologises on the Urban Poor Women and Children with Academics for Reaching and Delivering on UNSDGs in the Philippines (UPWARD-UP) Project research team’s collaboration with the Alliance of Peoples’ Organisation Along the Manggahan Floodway (Alliance), Philippines. We posit that the theological process of see-judge-act, enhanced with evaluate-celebrate/ritualise, using feminist biblical characterisation in interpreting Matthew 15:21-28, serves as a spiritual resource for Christians working for the urban poor realisation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The Canaanite woman challenged Jesus’ identity and mission impacting on Christology and ecclesiology. This characterisation makes her …