Religion Commons^™

Loving Thyself And Well-Being: What Does God Have To Do With It?, Derek De La Peña Ph.D.

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

The current study is both exploratory and conceptual in nature and considers the controversial topic of “self-love” from both Christian and positive psychology viewpoints. Adaptive and maladaptive concepts of self-love are considered with Christian participants (n = 467) who listed God as the most important factor to happiness (Type I, n = 133) and a second group (Type II, n = 334) who considered some other factor as more important. Statistical significance was evident between groups with Type I participants scoring higher for meaning in life, engagement, and life-satisfaction measures in addition to a number of biblically-based character qualities (e.g. …

The Journey Of A Spiritual Migrant: An Autoethnography On Leaving American Evangelicalism, Joel Mcreynolds

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

The support of Donald Trump by many evangelical Christian voters during the 2016 election was seen as a betrayal of core beliefs by the author, who grew up in a non-denominational evangelical church during the 1990s and 2000s. The cognitive dissonance experienced by the author after the 2016 election plunged him into a whirlwind reconsideration of his Christian upbringing. Using autoethnography, a research method that employs self-reflection and personal experience as a qualitative research tool, the author analyzes his own social media posts, journal entries, and creative writing to trace his exit from American Evangelicalism in this deeply personal account. …

Praising God Around The World: Christian Worship Music As An Individual And Collective Experience, Divya Putty

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The artists “Bethel” and “Hillsong” are frequently recognized by Christians living in America. But what about the names “Bridge Music India” or “Sinach”? These names would be most likely unknown in the states but celebrated in India and Nigeria. While each stems from vastly different cultural backgrounds, they all serve the purpose of creating a space for people to connect with God and each other through musical worship. Drawing on four different pieces of worship music and their use in live services, this article analyzes the effects of worship music, specifically their lyrical and musical content, on the individuals participating …

Art As A Pathway To God : A Historical-Theological Study Of The Jesuit Mission To China In The Late Ming And Early Qing Dynasties (1552-1773), Susangeline Y. Patrick

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Divine Double Voice: How Female Christian Rhetors Found Rhetorical Agency Through The Voice Of God, Cara Ryfun

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

This piece discusses the ways in which three specific Christian female rhetors--Teresa de Avila, Frances Willard, and Maria W. Stewart--utilized the voice of God through biblical scriptures and divine revelations in order to empower themselves. Through the voice of God, these women found agency for their own beliefs and messages, and utilized a variety of rhetorical maneuvers in order to share their messages and quietly subvert patriarchal constructs within the church. These women found agency for their feminist messages within their Christian patriarchal constructs, and they set precedents for Christian feminist rhetors to follow.

Significance And Features Of Thecharacters Of The Orthodo Xchurch, Islomiddin Haydarov

The Light of Islam

In the context of globalization, intolerance and intensification of conflicts in one region threaten all parts of the world. Indeed, in recent years there have been many trends in the world related to religious factors. These incidents, which often occur in complex and controversial, and sometimes bloody conflicts, show that the formation and strengthening of a culture of religious tolerance, relationships in the spirit of tolerance, respect, attention and cooperation between representatives of different faiths is an objective historical necessity At the same time, the role of religious knowledge in strengthening and preserving peace and stability, as well as the …

Stay Curious : How Questions And Doubts Can Save Your Faith, Stephanie Williams O'Brien

Faculty Books

Most of us are going through the motions when it comes to faith, either believing we've found all the relevant answers to life's questions or believing none can be found. We shy away from our deepest questions about God because we fear the uncertainty on the other side. But when we make certainty and correct belief the end goal of faith, we miss out on the chance to know God more deeply and to participate in God's work in the world. In "Stay Curious" Pastor Steph shows us how to lean into our questions and embrace a life of curiosity. …

Faith Lived Out In Love For Community: A Review Of In Search Of Common Good, Justin Bailey

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Meador’s book is about the possibility of common life amid contemporary fragmentation."

Posting about the book In Search of Common Good from 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/faith-lived-out-in-love-for-community-a-review-of-in-search-of-common-good/

Haiti’S Pact With The Devil?: Bwa Kayiman, Haitian Protestant Views Of Vodou, And The Future Of Haiti, Bertin M. Louis Jr.

Anthropology Faculty Publications

This essay uses ethnographic research conducted among Haitian Protestants in the Bahamas in 2005 and 2012 plus internet resources to document the belief among Haitian Protestants (Haitians who practice Protestant forms of Christianity) that Haiti supposedly made a pact with the Devil (Satan) as the result of Bwa Kayiman, a Vodou ceremony that launched the Haitian Revolution (1791–1803). Vodou is the syncretized religion indigenous to Haiti. I argue that this interpretation of Bwa Kayiman is an extension of the negative effects of the globalization of American Fundamentalist Christianity in Haiti and, by extension, peoples of African descent and the …

Program Evaluation Of Integration Training, Megan Anna Neff

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

This paper provides a brief historical overview of the integration of psychology and Christianity while highlighting some of the growing tensions within the movement. Integration of psychology and Christianity has been heavily influenced by training that occurs at APAaccredited programs which explicitly integrate psychology and Christianity as part of their training, making integrative training a salient component to evaluate when considering the future development of the integration movement. An overview of the current research on the effectiveness of learning integration among undergraduate and graduate populations is offered followed by exploratory questions addressing how these inputs may relate to students’ experiences …

Matriarchs And Martyrs: Women In Early Christian Apocrypha, Robert Wilf

Religious Studies Summer Fellows

"The Master Narrative of Christianity" as outlined by Karen King states that Jesus Christ passed down the one true gospel to his apostles who then spread it throughout the world among a sea of dissension. But exactly which texts contained the true gospel, and even who counted as an apostle, is far less cut and dried than the early church fathers would have you believe. In fact, many narratives involving powerful women preaching, baptizing, and facing down execution had been lost or purposely neglected from most canons. I looked at just a few of these works; The Gospel of Mary …

Biblical Archaeology As An Effective Apologetic, Cooper Wyatt

Masters Theses

This thesis seeks to demonstrate the relationship between biblical archaeology and Christian apologetics, where archaeology can be used as way to show that the Bible has accurately preserved the history it reports.

The Damned Neighbors Problem Rousseau’S Civil Religion Revisited, Micah Watson

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Near the conclusion of The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau starkly proclaims that no state has been founded without a religious basis, and thus if he is right, every political community must grapple with the tension between the conflicting claims of the divine and the mundane. Because Christianity cannot solve this tension, Rousseau calls for a new religion, a civil religion. Whereas most of the academic treatment of civil religion follows various paths beginning with Robert Bellah’s original 1967 article, this essay explores more deeply the contours of Rousseau’s original articulation of the problem to which civil religion is his proposed …

Evangelical Protestant Churches In The Republic Of Macedonia After World War Ii (1947-2017), Jovan Jonovski

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The first Evangelical Protestant church in the territory of the present-day Republic of Macedonia was established in Bitola (Monastir) in 1873, which became the Methodist Church in 1922. The second one is the Baptist Church established in 1928 in Skopje. After WWII, both Churches (denominations) faced difficulties from the socialist government, and the activities of the Church became restricted to the church building. The general situation changed at the end of the 1980s when, in 1987, a new wave arrived with the beginning of activities with two other churches: Christ’s Pentecostal (later Evangelical) Church and the Congregational Church. In the …

The Manuscript Copy Of Sfera In The Morgan Library, Dana Hart

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the literary origins of the fifteenth century text Sfera, a rhyming Italian treatise by Gregorio Dati, and considers the patronage, creation, and function of the manuscript copy in the Morgan Library and Museum, focusing on the illustrated maps and cities.

Leadership Development For Micro-Communities : Developing Leaders In United Methodist Micro-Communities, G. Anthony Mcphail Jr.

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Leaders That Finish Well : Characteristics And Practices Of Successful Ministry, Lucian-George Rotaru

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness Of An Expository Sermon Series On The Book Of Jonah To Produce Cognitive, Attitudinal, And Behavioral Change At Crossroads Umc In Washington, Illinois, Jason B. Woolever

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Spiritual Ancestors : A Discipleship Experiece For Sacred Travelers, Esther Robles

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Sickness And Healing : A Critical Analysis Of The Responses Of Christians Within The Methodist/Wesleyan Tradition In Cap-Haitian, Haiti, Guenson Charlot

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Planting Healthy Churches Through The Lens Of Missional Discipleship, Melvin R. Reddy

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Faith In The Marketplace : Measuring The Impact Of Church Based Entrepreneurial Approaches To Holistic Mission, Samuel Lee

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Engaging Sacred Space And Experiencing God In The Mountains: A Study Of The Non-Traditional Worship Environment Of Mountain Cathedrals, An Ecumenical Meetup Group Based In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Brendan Isaiah Nixon

Geography ETDs

This paper focuses on the non-traditional Christian worship site of Mountain Cathedrals in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I argue that affectual and emotional responses are elicited from the congregants of Mountain Cathedrals through the process of sacralization. It is shown that Christian worship in a non-traditional outdoor setting affects the ways in which the congregants engage with, participate in, and create sacred space. I survey current literatures of sacred space, the contemporary Christian church, and non-traditional worships spaces. Using the literature as a backdrop, I utilize Mountain Cathedrals as a case study for understanding the ways in which sacred space is …

Endangered Danger: Christianity, Affect, And Harmless Snakes In Samoa, Ariel Abonizio G. S.

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Candoia bibroni (Pacific Boa), is a non-venomous Samoan snake that recently become an endangered species, possibly due to human killing on sight. This interdisciplinary research investigates how Pacific Boa came to be perceived as dangerous animals that need to be killed. Following snake tracks through the history of Samoa and into the present, this research suggests that the relationship between Samoans and the Pacific Boa questions the simple binaries of real/imagined, material/semiotic, subjective/objective, and material/immaterial. Particularly with the introduction of Christianity by missionaries in the early-1800s, the Pacific Boa snake came to inhabit the liminal space between these apparent …

TawḥĪDic Allah, The Trinity, And The Eschaton: A Comparative Analysis Of The Qualitative Nature Of The Afterlife In Islam And Christianity, Kevin M. Richard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A theological doctrine of eternal life raises certain qualitative and existential questions. Considering the unfathomable duration, one may rightly ask, what will that experience be like and will it meet the experiential needs of human beings so that there are no intimations of boredom. Eternity, then, creates a potential existential problem for humanity. The problem is potential because eternity creates a certain need, a need which can concisely be stated in this way: quality must overcome quantity. Both Christianity and Islam teach human beings are intended to live forever so both religions must overcome this problem if eternal life within …

Infideles Et Philosophi: Assent, Untruth, And Natural Knowledge Of The Simple God, Jeffrey M. Walkey

Dissertations (1934 -)

Victor Preller’s “reformulation” of St. Thomas has impacted many contemporary theologians and philosophers, among them, George Lindbeck, Stanley Hauerwas, Bruce Marshall, D. Stephen Long, Fergus Kerr, to name only a few. According to Kerr, Preller is responsible for bringing to the fore St. Thomas’s denial that unbelievers can be truly said to believe “God exists.” In particular, Preller draws our attention to ST II-II, q. 2, a. 2, ad 3. Seemingly, in light of this passage, all non-believers have a defect in cognition with respect to the simple God. As such, they cannot be said to believe “God exists” at …

Gratitude As An Approach To Intercultural Egagement : Exploring The Introduction And Embodiment Of Gratitude As An Approach To Intercultural Engagement Between The Diaspora And Native Christian Leaders In London, Girma Bishaw

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Disjunctures Of Belonging And Belief: Christian Migrants And The Bordering Of Identity In Singapore, Lily Kong, Orlando Woods

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Migration results in people that are different from one another living in closer physicalproximity. Proximity increases the chances of encountering difference, and can lead to boththe formation of new communities, and the strengthening of old. As a religion that claims tointegrate people into a trans-ethnic, trans-territorial faith community, Christianity encouragessuch encounters, whilst Christian groups play an important role in mediating them.Disjunctures of belonging and belief are the outcomes that arise from encounters withdifference within spaces of Christianity. Drawing on 100 interviews conducted betweenAugust 2017 and February 2018, this paper unravels these disjunctures through a focus on theinterplay between migrant and …

Mother Of God, Mother Of Christianity: The Development Of The Marian Tradition In Early Modern Japan, Alaina Keller

Student Publications

The Christian figure of the Virgin Mary, first introduced as Jesus’ mother in the Bible, has since been repeatedly reinterpreted in various roles and imagery through her incorporation into different cultures. This project analyses the historical adoption and adaptation of Mary among Christian converts in Japan, from the arrival of Jesuit missionaries in 1549 to the end of the Tokugawa era in the nineteenth century. An examination of doctrinal prayers, the rosary, and Marian iconography within Japan illustrates Mary’s role as the Mother of God and compassionate intercessor for early Japanese Christians. Moreover, their affinity for Mary enabled Christianity to …

An Alcohol Questionnaire And Referral Tool For Baptist Churches, Rita D. Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Alcohol addiction is a pervasive ill within our society with detrimental bio-psycho-social outcomes. Unfortunately, the Baptist churches or more specifically those churches who are members of the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGVA) are not immune to seeing the devastation of this disease, including the spiritual impact. Pastors may find themselves in the role of “first responder” unprepared to fully address this issue. This study explored, through a web-based questionnaire, how those churches associated with the BGVA are currently addressing alcoholism and if pastors would find a referral tool helpful to connect members with professional therapists. It is widely accepted …