Religion Commons^™

Almsgiving In Early Christian Catechesis, Ben Vanderhyde

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

To say simply that almsgiving was a part of early Christian catechesis would not say much that is new to the Lutheran church today. Our own catechism includes this idea in its explanation of the 5th commandment: “We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.” It is not so much significant that the Apostolic Fathers taught almsgiving but how they did so. Almsgiving played such a central role in the life of the early church that it came to be …

Learning The Liturgy With Mr. Miyagi: The Case For Liturgical Catechesis, Benjamin Leeper

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

Using the narrative of The Karate Kid as a guide, I will demonstrate that Christian formation is a matter of recontextualizing liturgical practices in the daily life of the believer, so that she knows when, where, and how to use the precogni¬tive spiritual habits formed by Word and Sacrament in Christian worship. This understanding challenges prevalent liturgical theology, which tends to assume an automatic connection—or worse, no connection at all— between worship and daily life, by highlighting the necessity of locating for believers the telos of the church’s rites and ceremonies in discipleship. Finally, I will provide concrete examples of …

Seat At The Table: An Inclusive Ministry To Families And Individuals With Disabilities At Plainfield Christian Church, Lindy Ruth Rader

Christian Ministries Senior Capstone

Churches are called to be a place of welcoming and belonging, but it is common for individuals and families with disabilities to not feel like they have a place in the Church. Seat At The Table is a ministry designed to address this problem and help families feel integrated into the local church. This ministry is a part of Plainfield Christian Church, located in Plainfield, Indiana. Seat At The Table desires to create a space for individuals and families to encounter Jesus and to form a deep and lasting relationship with Him. Along with this, they want participants in the …

Culturally Induced Male Dominance: Addressing Breakdown Of Harmony In Asian Indian Christian Marriages, Benjamin Mulaparthi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Marriage is an institution designed by God to fulfill the creation mandate and represent Christ and his bride in this world. Marriage is a universal social construct fulfilled in diverse ways across cultures and societies. In Asian Indian culture, marriages are mostly arranged where parents customarily choose a spouse based on the caste/ethnicity, religion, social and economic standing of prospective spouses and their families. Many Christians in India and those of Indian origin living in the United States adopt the cultural norm of arranged marriage. This DMIN action research project will explore the breakdown of harmony in Christian arranged marriages …

Treatise On Ethics Launches Eastern Christian Texts Series

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The Institute is pleased to announce the publication of the first volume in the Eastern Christian Texts series, part of the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative. The Reformation of Morals was written by Yahyå ibn ‘Ad• (893–974 C.E.), one of the most important Christian authors to have written in Arabic. Although devoutly Syrian Orthodox, Yahyå ibn ‘Ad• studied in Baghdad under the Muslim philosopher al-Fåråb• and counted Muslims and Christians of all sects among his own disciples. He was a leading figure in the 10th-century translation movement in Baghdad and the author of numerous works of philosophy and theology.

The Wise Professor: The Skillful Art Of Living In God's Mission, Aaron Badenhop

Doctor of Ministry

Today’s Christian professor in the secular university setting is likely an expert in their academic field. Likewise, many Christian faculty are sincere in their faith and devout in their practice. The Christian professor’s expert knowledge is impressive and their heart for God is admirable. Yet, today’s Christian professor is simultaneously likely to be ill-equipped and disconnected from having a missional impact in their secular university context. In my work with Cru at The Ohio State University, this challenge is complex; there are no easy answers. Christian faculty are typically educated and trained in environments that assume the irrelevance of God …

Airplane Hangars And Triple Hills: Renovation, Demolition, And The Architectural Politics Of Local Belonging At The Our Lady Of Csíksomlyó Hungarian National Shrine, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

In 2019, Pope Francis, leader of the global Catholic Church, celebrated an outdoor Mass at the Our Lady of Csíksomlyó Hungarian national shrine in Romania. When the Franciscan Order that runs the shrine published renovation plans for the altar where the pope would appear, the Facebook post received over 800 outraged comments, including one man who asked, “How can such a beautiful Hungarian symbol, so perfectly integrated into the landscape, be humiliated like this?” By situating these expressions of outrage in the history of Eastern European material politics, I argue that the aesthetic value the commentators were defending – a …

Problems Confronting Children's Ministry : The Diocese Of Lagos Anglican Communion, Church Of Nigeria, Akinwande Godwin Odubena

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Contrasting Beliefs With Reality : The Epistemology Of Branding And Brand Image In The Small Church, James Pernell Sr.

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Best Practices For Supporting Churches And Their Leadership Of New Church Starts, Cj Tillinghast

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Mentoring Spiritual Leaders : Discerning Effective Practices, Michael B. Miller

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Leadership Integrity In Kenya : The Best Leadership Practices That Promote Leadership Integrity Among Leaders In Christian Institutions Of Higher Learning In Kenya, Mike Mulwa Mutua

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Non-Christian, Japanese College Students’ Perspectives Of Engaging With God Through The Participatory Components Of Christian Worship, Jacqueline Leigh Bencke

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study seeks to examine the extent to which non-Christian college students in Japan perceive their engagement with the biblical God while participating in daily chapel services at Kyūshū Lutheran College. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, analyzing survey and focus group data to explore whether a relationship exists between students’ participation in chapel committee activities and their perceived spiritual engagement. Responses to Lynn Underwood’s Daily Spiritual Experience Survey, the Centrality of Religiosity Scale, and the Centrality of Buddhist Religiosity Scale are combined to create a general spiritual profile of respondents. Worship leaders and missionaries who are in positions of …

A Phenomenological Study On Church Leaders' Perspective Of Internet Church As A Biblical Community, Jason Lavon Rankin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Current events and relatively recent technological developments have caused and significantly increased the use of digital technology in most aspects of life. The digital revolution, as some have termed it, has permeated all organizations, from businesses to institutions of higher learning, including religious institutions. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine Christian church leaders’ perspectives on whether the internet church fulfills the biblical and theological definitions of the church or biblical community. At this stage in the research internet church, also known as online church, e-church, virtual church, etc., is defined as a group of people with shared …

A Correlational Study Evaluating The Connection Between Servant Leadership Behavior And Authentic Happiness In A Parachurch Ministry, Brian Thomas Guinther

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to understand if a relationship exists, either positively or negatively, between servant leadership behaviors and authentic happiness in chaplains who serve in a para church chaplain ministry. Servant leadership is frequently thought to be related to a decrease in the leader's happiness and enjoyment of their professional as well as personal life because leading as a servant involves giving up power and privileges that the role of leader typically includes. This study's sample was comprised of individuals currently engaged in a Christian chaplain ministry who serve public safety departments, industry, healthcare, the …

Farms Scholars At Sperry Symposium

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

2004In any given year, FARMS-affiliated scholars present their research at a number of scholarly conferences at home and abroad. Brigham Young University’s Sidney B. Sperry Symposium in Octo-ber 2004, entitled “Prelude to the Restoration: From Apostasy to the Restored Church,” was one such venue on the home front. Selected highlights follow.

Enfolding Immigrants: A Review Of Beyond Welcome, Chris L. Goedhart

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"We cannot fail to see that our response to the least of these is our response to Christ himself."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book Beyond Welcomefrom In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/enfolding-immigrants-a-review-of-beyond-welcome/

New Research Pushes Christian Apostasy Earlier In Time

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

A much­-anticipated book exploring the root causes of the early Christian apostasy is now off the press: Early Christians in Disarray: Contemporary LDS Perspectives on the Christian Apostasy, edited by Noel B. Reynolds and published by FARMS and BYU Press.

New Book Features Work Of Poet, Theologian, Daniel C. Peterson

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The Maxwell Institute’s Middle Eastern Texts Initiative has released the newest book in its Eastern Christian Texts series, a bilingual Syriac/English edition of Select Poems of Ephrem the Syrian. From the second to the eighth century ad, when Arabic supplanted it, Syriac was a major literary language across the Middle East; it is essentially a Christian form of Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus, the original apostles, and the first Jewish Christians.

President Samuelson Remembers Elder Maxwell In Institute Lecture

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Recalling how his longtime friend and mentor inspired others without preaching or condemning, President Cecil O. Samuelson shared memories of Elder Neal A. Maxwell at a lecture on March 23, 2007. The president of Brigham Young University and a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, President Samuelson spoke at the inaugural annual lecture of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship.

A Christian Perspective On Islam's Origins: Its Religion, Founder, And Practices, German Matos

Masters Theses

The many years of exposure to Islamic believers in the five boroughs of New York State, but more specifically, the Bronx, set a precedent for this thesis to comprehensively analyze the religion of Islam by investigating the Abrahamic monotheistic connection to its historical origins and religious practices. The methods used in this thesis to prove Islam’s legitimacy as an Abrahamic monotheistic heir consisted of sources like the Qur’an, hadith, and tafsir texts translated from Arabic into English. The simultaneous usage of Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and authoritative secular sources was used to scrutinize Islam’s theological and historical claims to formulate a …

A Beacon Of Hope In A Troubled Context: Sketches Of The Life Of Mons. Paride Taban, Shepherd And Bridge-Builder, Alberto Eisman Torres

The Journal of Social Encounters

Monsignor Paride Taban, Bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Torit in Southern Sudan, is a multifaceted figure. Apart from his role as pastor and religious leader, he is an outstanding peace builder and the co-founder of the New Sudan Council of Churches, one of the most significant civil society institutions during the second civil war (1983 – 2005). This institution spearheaded numerous ecumenical initiatives including development work, humanitarian relief, training of grass-roots leaders and last but not least peace mediation. He is a relentless fighter for peaceful coexistence and tolerance in an environment marked by violence, oppression and impunity and …

Introduction - Volume 6, Issue 2, Ronald Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Blossoming With Books: Syriac Manuscripts From The Egyptian Desert

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The birthplace and spiritual heart of Christian monasticism is the Nitrian Desert of Egypt and the long, shallow valley of Scetis (Wadi el-Natrun). It was to here, from the fourth century onwards, that Macarius the Great and other of the sainted desert fathers retreated from the world, devoting their lives to worship and prayer. While some monks chose to live in isolation as hermits, many others banded together to establish the first monasteries, building churches for worship and libraries for study.

Examining The Cross-Cultural Competence Of United States Christian Missionaries Engaged In Developing Indigenous Leaders: A Mixed Methods Study, Craig W. Goodman

Dissertations

For the past two millennia, missionaries have crossed from one culture to another to bring the Christian message to all cultures of the world. Questions about the effectiveness of these mission efforts have been asked and researched by many; however, one key question remains unanswered: what personal attributes help a person to be more competent at crossing cultures as they interact with people from other cultures? Although cross-cultural competence has been studied in a variety of fields over the past 50 years, the models and assessments used have never been applied to Christian missionaries.

To address this deficiency, this parallel …

Theology Of The Laity: The Lutheran Way, Brian M. Mosemann

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The distinction between the laity and clergy has been a contributing cause of disunity within the church because the clergy and laity are often pitted against one another with one or the other being elevated to the detriment of the other. This problem has plagued the church from the middle ages until the present day. Since the definition of the term “laity” is vacuous, the laity are generally defined relative to the clergy, specifically in reference to their authority and duties. This results in a negative definition when the laity are defined as the opposite of the clergy. The laity …

Syriac Manuscripts From The Egyptian Desert, Carl Griffin

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The birthplace and spiritual heart of Christian monasticism is the Nitrian Desert of Egypt and the long, shallow valley of Scetis (Wadi el-Natrun). It was to here, from the fourth century onwards, that Macarius the Great and others of the sainted desert fathers retreated from the world, devoting their lives to worship and prayer. While some monks chose to live in isolation as hermits, many others banded together to establish the first monasteries, building churches for worship and libraries for study.

Do Mass-Produced Apologetics Help Spiritual Conversations? Testing Mama Bear Apologetics With Millennial Mothers, Joshua S. Johnson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Christian Change Agents : Analyzing The Effectiveness Of A Christian Leadership Program Among Students In A Central Kentucky Restoration Church, James W. Bush

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Consulting For Church Health : A Look At The Effectiveness Of David Vaughn Consulting For Independent Christian Churches, Jason D. Lykins

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.