Religion Commons^™

Cultures Of Intentional Connection : Effective Ministry Practices Of Congregations With Their Daycares And Schools, Mark C. Caldwell

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Short Term Missions As Discipleship : Best Practices For Real Life Impact, Mark A. Byrom

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Integration Of Faith And Health Transformation To Wholeness And Restoration To The Imago Dei, Deborah K. Huckaby

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Christward Movement Among Urban Dwellers In North India : A Study On Delhi, Jaison George P. V.

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Revive Us Again : Intergenerational Ministry As A Strategy For The Revitalization Of Bongshin Church In Seoul, Korea, Jung Jun Kim

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Open Itineraries : Engaging Charles Taylor In The Evangelical Church, Zachariah Scott Motts

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Entrepreneurial Church Planting (Ecp) As A Model Of Fresh Expressions In The South Korean Context : Case Studies Exploring Relationships Between Church Planting And Social Capital, Sang Rak Joo

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

From The Father’S Heart To Our Hands: Christian Responsibility In The U.S. Foster System, Amelia Tam

Selected Honors Theses

Nearly half a million children are currently served by the child welfare system in the United States. This overwhelming strain on state departments and non-profit placement agencies is compounded by the fact that there are not enough available homes. There appears to be a shortage of capable and resilient foster and adoptive parents. Thousands of children who are ready to be adopted do not have anyone to take them in, and thousands more float in the system until new families agree to foster. This seeming shortage of homes is absurd considering the wealth of compassion and capability within the American …

Altruism: Biological Rationale Vs. Christian Love Command, Chris Porter, Landry Guin

Dialogue & Nexus

The idea of altruism and self-sacrifice appears counter to a simple view of evolution. While a “survival of the fittest” mindset occurs in some Darwinian views, there are counter-examples of animals and humans with cooperative, pro-social, and even self-sacrificial behavior. Social animals such as bees and ants work for the community and provide for the queen due to a haploid-diploid system of genetic relatedness. Some humans sacrifice their lives and money to promote the well-being of others even without genetic relatedness and, rarely, without reciprocity. We will explore why human animals often help people who are less fortunate by giving …

Silence, Caesar A. Montevecchio

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Silence (2016), directed by Martin Scorsese.

Five Practical Steps For Increasing Church Membership: A Case Study Of First Baptist Church Of Venice, Florida, Christopher Cornette

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Bible implores Christians to commit themselves to one another for spiritual growth and personal accountability. This valuable mandate is best recognized in the New Testament as the local church. Many church leaders do not aggressively seize the opportunity to engage church attenders in making the church membership commitment. This thesis project will analyze and investigate the church membership growth processes of ten churches in three different denominations. This author will interview in depth the senior staff members as it relates to their effectiveness in moving attenders to church members compared with First Baptist Church of Venice. This church has …

Christian Leadership And The Challenge Of Peaceful Coexistence Among Christians And Muslims In Kafanchan Kaduna State, Madugu Dogo Markus

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Missional Virtues In Leadership : Assessing The Role Of Character Strengths Of Christian Social Entrepreneurs In Creating Missional Organizations, William Eric Manuel

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Study On The Reputation Of Religion And Its Influence On South Korean Christianity, Shin-Ho Choi

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Letters To Mei Lanfang, Alexandra Dare Norman

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

As a male actor of female Dan characters, Mei Lanfang (1894-1961) is known throughout the world as the most representative performer of Chinese opera – particularly for his performance of Concubine Yu in the Peking opera Farewell My Concubine. A feminist analysis of his work in this opera reveals a series of assumptions about the definition of “Woman” in both theatre and life. This project is solo performance piece formatted in a series of open letters to Mei Lanfang, interspersed with personal stories investigating what it truly means to be a Woman – as an actor, a Christian, a feminist, …

From Liberation To Salvation: Revolutionary Critical Pedagogy Meets Liberation Theology, Peter Mclaren, Petar Jandrić

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This conversation between Peter McLaren and Petar Jandric´ brings about some of the most recent and deepest of McLaren’s insights into the relationship between revolutionary critical pedagogy and liberation theology, and outlines the main directions of development of McLaren’s thought during and after Pedagogy of Insurrection. In the conversation, McLaren reveals his personal and theoretical path to liberation theology. He argues for the relevance of liberation theology for contemporary social struggles, links it with social sciences, and addresses some recent critiques of Pedagogy of Insurrection. McLaren identifies the idolatry of money as the central point of convergence between liberation …

The Intersection Of Politics And Theology: Reading Augustine In Light Of Augustine, Landon P. Wilcox

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Augustine’s The City of God is a foundational theological text for the development of Christian thought across time. Over the centuries, political scientists and theologians have been especially interested in this text in a variety of ways, but for the purposes of this discussion, the focus will be on Books I-V and Book XIX. Typically, theologians have been interested in Augustine’s rebuttal of pagan claims that are found in the first five books, while political scientists focus most of their attention on Book XIX for its discussion of the highest ends of the state through the means of politics in …

Vocational Apologetics An Argument For Using The Lutheran Understanding Of Vocation As A Form Of Enfleshed Apologetics For The Church To Engage A Cultural Setting Influenced By The Criticism Of The New Atheists, Kirk Clayton

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Clayton, Kirk M. “Vocational Apologetics: An Argument for Using the Lutheran Understanding of Vocation as a Form of Enfleshed Apologetics for the Church to Engage a Cultural Setting Influenced by the Criticisms of the New Atheists.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2017. 252 pp.

This dissertation examines criticisms against Christianity from the New Atheists (Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, Hitchens, and Stenger), considers problems with how the church has formulated its apologetic response, and concludes that Martin Luther’s understanding of vocation applied to the Christian life offers a significant contribution to shaping an apologetic response to the New Atheism.

Apologetics is best understood …

Divinity, Incarnation, And The Strange Body Of Jesus In Horror Films, Mike Kugler

Northwestern Review

Through an analysis of a number of horror films or films with horror-infused aspects, such as The Last Temptation Christ, Passion of the Christ, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, Jesus, and Fist of Jesus, the author uses theology to reflect not only on the horror genre but also on the doctrine of the Incarnation.

Christians’ Cut: Popular Religion And The Global Health Campaign For Medical Male Circumcision In Swaziland, Casey Golomski, Sonene Nyawo

Anthropology

Swaziland faces one of the worst HIV epidemics in the world and is a site for the current global health campaign in sub-Saharan Africa to medically circumcise the majority of the male population. Given that Swaziland is also majority Christian, how does the most popular religion influence acceptance, rejection or understandings of medical male circumcision? This article considers interpretive differences by Christians across the Kingdom’s three ecumenical organisations, showing how a diverse group people singly glossed as ‘Christian’ in most public health acceptability studies critically rejected the procedure in unity, but not uniformly. Participants saw medical male circumcision’s promotion and …

Tolstoy And Spirituality (Library Resources), Holy Cross Libraries

Library Resources for Campus Events

A bibliography of resources available through the Holy Cross Libraries which provide additional information related to “Tolstoy and Spirituality,” a conference held at the College of the Holy Cross April 21-22, 2017.

in this conference, an international slate of authors and scholars of Tolstoy's writings analyze his works of fiction and non-fiction to assess the viability and fruitfulness of his approach to Christianity.

Formation Of Leadership Among Evangelical Youth In Eurasia: Principles And Recommendations. Vol. 4 // Формирование Лидерства В Среде Евангельской Молодежи Евразии: Принципы И Рекомендации. Вып. 4, Alexander Negrov, Alexey Belov, Александр Негров, Алексей Белов

Russian Resources/Ресурсы на Русском

This book presents basic principles and recommendations for leadership formation among Evangelical youth based upon research project materials. Materials and recommendations are based upon the findings emerging from our study, as well as the recommendations provided by Evangelical Christians with significant experience in youth ministry. The material is presented in the sequence in which leadership formation should be conducted – from general conceptual matters to principles and practical recommendations. The book is designed for Evangelical youth ministers of Eurasia, as well as leaders of churches and Christian organizations, professors of Christian educational institutions, and ministers who are in contact with …

Internal Renewal And Dissent In The Early Christian World, Sheila E. Mcginn

2017 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Grace Interventions In Church Communities, Rodger K. Bufford, Mark R. Mcminn, Jeff A. Moody, Laura Geczy-Haskins

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Grace remains little studied though several recent studies have developed promising ways to measure grace. Here we report two studies involving grace interventions as part of an ongoing investigation of positive psychology in the context of Christian church communities, Study One used a crossover design in which two congregations were measured on grace and other variables at the outset, and again after phases one and two. One congregation received a grace intervention during phase one and the second during phase two. Results showed increased scores on grace but not an expected increase in marital satisfaction among married participants. Study Two …

“Man, Don’T Feel Like A Woman”: Christian Scriptural Interpretations, The Binary Gender System, And How They Can Lead To Misogyny And Homophobia, Alyssa Froehling

Audre Lorde Prize

This paper utilizes different analyses of scripture to argue that a binary gender system is not inherent in Christianity. Contemporary societal norms placed onto Christianity contribute to the oppression of women and those in LGBTQ+ communities.

Reproducing The Capitalist Patriarchy In The Evangelical Christian Sexual Purity Movement: A Feminist Christian’S Concern And Hope, Hannah K. Griggs

Audre Lorde Prize

Through a feminist lens, this essay will explore modern expressions of the conservative evangelical Christian purity movement, including Christian sex manuals, abstinence-only education programs, and purity balls. To begin, I will explain the most important facets of my own feminist theory, which draws from existentialist, socialist, and postmodern feminisms. Using this unique combination of theories, I will attempt to reconcile my deeply held Christian and feminist beliefs about sex. Finally, I will propose a solution that honors both of these important parts of my identity. I assert that the Christian purity movement Others women reinforcing a gender binary, bending to …

The Amoy China Mission Of The Reformed Church In America, 1937-1951, Jame E. Bell

Grand Valley Journal of History

This article analyzes how successful the Reformed missionaries operating in Amoy and the surrounding region were in accomplishing their objectives of evangelism and the establishment of an indigenous Chinese Church from 1937 to 1951. Through a combination of evangelism, education, and medical work the missionaries sought to spread their faith to the lay population of Fujian province. The missionaries’ work became much more difficult in the late 1930s with the Japanese invasion, World War II, and the eventual Communist takeover. In spite of this, their efforts, in conjunction with other missions, built a dedicated Chinese Christian community that proved hardy …

Associate Reformed Presbyterian Synod Minutes Collections - Accession 1557, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church

Manuscript Collection

The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Synod Minutes Collection consists of the minutes of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Synod. The minutes span October 1850 through June 2009. The minutes include reports from the treasurer, reports from the church presbyteries, and information pertaining to Erskine College. There is a copy of The Moral Bugle Call a sermon presented by Rev. George A. Gordon, as well as The Presbyterian Quarterly which was published January 1893.

Christ's Consequentialism In Light Of Abelard And Mill, John Witt

Masters Theses

An exegetical investigation of the ethical teachings of Christ seen throughout the Gospel accounts. Christ's consequentialist teachings are further clarified by investigating the works of Peter Abelard and John Stuart Mill. Brief reviews of modern consequentialists and utilitarians are given, and finally a cumulative formulation of a working Christian utilitarian ethic is formulated.

Existence As Economy And As Charity An Essay On The Essence Of Christianity (1916) By: Antonio Caso, Antonio Caso, Alexander V. Stehn, Jose G. Rodriguez Jr.

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Antonio Caso rejects the effort of biologists to reduce life to the organic world, a sphere of existence that is defined by economy and egoism, best summarized in the formula: Life = Minimum Effort x Maximum Gain. The problem is that this cannot explain what he calls “disinterested activity,” such as play, art, and self-sacrifice. His primary example of disinterested or selfless activity is the life of Jesus, which Caso also believes is the height of human dignity. In other words, Caso not only argues that there is more than one order of life or existence; he also argues …