Religion Commons^™

Rooted In The Heart Of Relationships A Personal Theology Of Ministry And Discipleship, Meghan Stretar

Obsculta

How is one expected to engage in ministry without having spent time reflecting on what ministry and discipleship are? This piece represents just one potential theology of ministry and discipleship, crafted after three years of studying theology and doing ministry here at St. John's.

On Revelation, Faith, And Justice, Joseph Penny

Obsculta

Defined as the relational self-disclosure of Godself, divine revelation has the potential to propel us ever deeper into the mystery of the crucified God. In a faith-filled response to the Paschal Mystery's salvific and liberating promise, we can traverse the ontological gap between humanity and divinity, but how does this embodied revelation influence the trajectory of social justice? This paper embarks on a methodological endeavor to articulate the purpose of divine revelation.

According To Which Paradigm Do Reformed Scientists Work? A Response To Zwart's Response To Walicord And Hayes, Jurgen-Burkhard Klautke

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Fidelity In Institutional Structure: Divine Family Formation And The Variance Of Church Amid Dysfunctional Behavior, Terrence Lyne Toliver

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There has been a rift in the providential establishment of our Lord. Humanity is indulgent unto sin and the family is suffering. Disobedience and selfishness have blinded humankind into a false sense of reality. The fallacy has taken the place of divine order in the chosen avenues into humanism depicted as science, technology, philosophy, cultism, and any other route devoid of Christ. Therefore, this in-depth study seeks to dispel or to bring to light a revelation of where humanity rests in the grand scheme of contemporary life. Two notions of preponderance present themselves, to forgo selfishness and to embrace righteousness. …

A Comparative Study On Church Health Between Churches Led By Bi-Vocational Pastors And Those Led By Full-Time Pastors In Faith Ministries Church In Zimbabwe, Christopher Chisale

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

New Believers: Committing To Faith To Sustain The Life Of The Christian Church, Allen Scott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis's objective was to implement a more robust integrated program that would result in fewer people joining Cedar Crest Church and then leaving. Jesus mandates in Matthew 28:18-20 that man is given the authority to make disciples throughout the world by baptizing in the name of the Trinity, teaching them to observe everything that he had commanded while believing that he would be with them at all times. One way of validating this mandate's fulfillment is found in Hebrews 10:25 by not abandoning the opportunity to assemble with other believers through encouragement until the day of Jesus' return. To …

Discerning Doubt: A Review Of After Doubt, Justin Bailey

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Doubters must reframe the way they think of the church, and churches must reframe the way they make space for doubt."

Posting about the book After Doubt 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/discerning-doubt-a-review-of-after-doubt/

"Coming For To Carry Me Home": Lessons For White Christians On The Integral Role Of Christian Faith In The Fight For Racial Justice In America From Slavery To #Blacklivesmatter, Mary J. Greenfield

Undergraduate Theses

In July 2020, the New York Times reported an increase of 15-26 million people across the United States engaging in #BlackLivesMatter protests. Blackout Tuesday, a social media movement aimed at showcasing solidarity with the movement for racial justice in America, amassed a total of 24 million posts on Instagram, making it easily one of the top hashtags of 2020. There is no doubt that 2020 was the year the Black Lives Matter movement witnessed the most engagement of white Americans since its inception in 2013. Despite this fact, there remains an inability for many white Christians to engage in the …

I Can't Breathe: But The Holy Spirit Can, As I Advocate For African American Boys And Men, Gwendolyn C. Webb

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

n/a

Is Our World Less Religious Than Ever?, Justin Bailey

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

No abstract provided.

And The Government Will Be Upon His Shoulder, Mark Steiner

Other Student Publications

This chancel drama represents meditation on Isaiah 9:6, particularly the phrase: “and the government will be upon his shoulder.” Rome, the most powerful government in the Rome, exercised a monopoly on the use of force through crucifixion. The cross struck terror in the hearts of the people. Our Savior carried a cross and was nailed to it.

Various medical experts have provided graphic accounts of the physiological effects of crucifixion and pain endured by our Savior. It should also be noted that our Savior endured scourging prior to crucifixion. One of the scourging instruments was a whip with leather tails. …

Faithfully Reading Scripture With Kids, Rebekah Earnshaw

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Children have a knack for reflecting our actions and attitudes, so cultivating our own love and reading of Scripture is vital."

Posting about shaping our children's spiritual growth 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/faithfully-reading-scripture-with-kids/

Challenging Faith And Gaining Power: Women In Film Who Reject And Subvert Religion, Annika Murrah

Religion and Film

This paper examines the ways that women seize power through rejection and subversion of religion by relating women in film to the real world. Rejection of faith is exemplified by characters in the films The Little Hours (2017) and The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018). Subversion of faith is understood through the films Whale Rider (2003), Jennifer’s Body (2009), and Transparent (2014). Narrative analysis of these films is contrasted with studies of orthodox religion as examined by Dr. Brenda E. Brasher and Dr. Mary Gerhart. The importance and effect of women’s newly-gained power is applied to social change as recorded …

The First Days And The Last Days, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

Interpreter Foundation Books

Like a perfectly formed pair of bookends, the Book of Moses and Joseph Smith’s inspired translation of Matthew 24 (JS—Matthew) bracket within their pages the essential survival guide for our times. In the “first days,” Adam and Eve looked forward to Christ’s coming; in the “last days,” we look backward to Christ’s mortal life and forward to His return in glory. In the beginning, Enoch learned the ordinances and covenants that would allow his people to dwell in the presence of God; to the end, we will treasure the same ordinances and covenants. Through faith in Jesus Christ and faithfulness …

Review: Jedediah S. Rogers And Matthew C. Godfrey, Eds. The Earth Will Appear As The Garden Of Eden: Essays On Mormon Environmental History. Salt Lake City: University Of Utah Press, 2019., Camden Burd

Mormon Studies Review

The Earth Will Appear as the Garden of Eden: Essays on Mormon Environmental History fits into an established trend in environmental history. Over the past decades, historians from Lynn White Jr. to Mark R. Stoll have established the religious roots of environmental change in human history.1 Like those scholars, the contributors to this collection seek to understand the complicated and interconnected relationship between theology, faith, and the natural world. Divided across three sections, The Earth Will Appear as the Garden of Eden provides a much-welcomed examination of the environmental aspects of Mormon theology, culture, and history.

William Of Auxerre And Thomas Aquinas On Simultaneous Faith And Knowledge, Jacob Joseph Andrews

Dissertations

In this dissertation I will consider how two 13th century theologians, William of Auxerre (1156-1231) and St. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274), explored the question, "Whether the same thing can be known (demonstratively) and (believed by faith)" (utrum idem sit scitum et creditum). Both denied that this was possible, but they differed in the relative epistemic priority of faith and knowledge. Aquinas thought that demonstrative knowledge has epistemic priority over faith: for example, if someone knows a proof for God's existence, then they know that God exists, and it is impossible for them to have faith that God exists. Aquinas is a …

For Our Good, Lindon J. Robison

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

“Know thou, my son, that all these [hard] things shall give thee experience and shall be for thy good.” (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7)[1] Our faith can sometimes falter when we face hard times that are difficult to reconcile with a God who loves all his children infinitely and completely, both everywhere and all the time. We may sometimes feel like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, who complained to God, “I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But [sometimes], can’t You choose someone else?”[2] How do we respond to Tevye and others who wonder why hard things happen— …

Examining The Relationship Between Acculturative Stress And Religion/Spirituality Among International Students, Ly'jerrick Ward

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between acculturative stress and religion/spirituality of international students. This study utilized Sandhu and Asrabadi’s (1994) Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS) as well as the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORF) created by Plante and Boccaccini (1997). Much research exists on how international students adapt and acculturate to a host country. This research will add to the body of literature that exists regarding how international students use their religion/spirituality to deal with acculturative stress. Students in this study were asked a number of questions from the ASSIS …

An Exploration Of The Perception Of Faith Development At A Midwestern Public Institution, Zachary Sandoval

Masters Theses

Despite research indicating benefits to religious or faith involvement, there is an increase in individuals that claim to have no religious affiliation. Additionally, most research that has investigated faith development of college students has been conducted at private religious institutions. This qualitative study utilized semi-structured interviews to examine students’ perceptions of various interactions on their faith development at a public, rural Midwestern institution. Moreover, this study investigated how the institution of interest can better support spirituality on campus and the role student affairs can have on spiritual development. Thematic material was developed through Parks’s (2000) theory of faith development. Results …

Help Thou My Unbelief: Exploring The Secular Sources Of Our Clients' Doubts, Edwin E. Gantt, Madeline R. Christensen, Jacob D. Tubbs

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

Issues of faith and doubt are often at the heart of religious clients’ psychological and emotional suffering. As such, they are a topic of genuine therapeutic interest. Latter-day Saint therapists have a unique responsibility to help our religious clients work through their psychological concerns, as well as help them address their religious doubts when relevant in the therapeutic setting. We argue that many of the concerns fueling client faith crises spring from taken-for-granted assumptions absorbed from our larger secular culture. Further, these assumptions are radically different from – indeed, typically antithetical to – the premises upon many of our fundamental …

A Sacred Trust, David T. Seamons

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

Being invited into the innermost intimate parts of a person’s life is a sacred trust. As such, it is one for which we must be personally prepared. Having an understanding that those in our care are sons and daughters of Heavenly Father must ground our approach to our clinical work, constantly guiding us as we assist them through the healing process.

Exercising The Imagination: Why We Need Imaginative Apologetics, Justin Bailey

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

No abstract provided.

The Efficacy Of Using Scb Guidelines To Facilitate Conservation Science-Faith Collaboration: Experiences In The Field, Jame Schaefer, Kit Magellan, Robert Sluka, Shekhar Kolipaka, Oscar Gonzalez, Akmal Arif Mohd Razali, Gopalasamy Reuben Clements, Chantal Elkin

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

Recognizing the need to identify ways in which conservation researchers and practitioners can work constructively with faith leaders and communities to conserve biological diversity, the Religion and Conservation Biology Working Group of the Society for Conservation Biology formally launched the Best Practices Project in March 2016 for the purpose of collecting recommendations from SCB members throughout the world. A survey of members in 2016, a forum at the 2016 International Marine Conservation Congress in Newfoundland/Labrador, a symposium, workshop and poster session at the 2017 International Congress for Conservation Biology in Colombia, and an e-mail request to RCBWG members in October …

The Virtues Of Being Human: Faith, Hope, And Love In James Gray's The Immigrant (2013), The Lost City Of Z (2016), And Ad Astra (2019), John Adair

Journal of Religion & Film

James Gray’s three most recent features reflect on the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love, revealed and developed through encounters with others. The Immigrant (2013) reveals the way faith informs familial commitments, social bonds, and a life-giving response to suffering and injustice. The Lost City of Z (2016) portrays a dreamer, a man whose hopeful vision of another world animates every aspect of his being. And Gray’s most recent feature, Ad Astra (2019) traces a man’s turn toward relationship as he discovers what it means to love. In each case, as Gray’s characters display these virtues, the characters transcend …

When Words Are Weapons: Inside A Crisis Of Faith, Justin Bailey

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"I want words to open up the world, but these days words seem little more than weapons, heat seeking missiles which we can’t wait to aim at the enemy."

Posting about the power of words to bless or curse 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/when-words-are-weapons-inside-a-crisis-of-faith/

We Are Living Loved, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

How Can The Church Today Uplift The Family Without Worshipping It?, Aaron Baart

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Our children need to hear and see that it is precisely because we love them that we teach and model for them what truly matters most."

Posting about faith formation in the home 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/how-can-the-church-today-uplift-the-family-without-worshipping-it/

‘Remember The Deeds Of The Lord:’ Collective Memory’S Role In A Reasonable Faith, Baily Ray Mcdaniel

Masters Theses

Faith has long been regarded by secular scholars as unreasonable and unjustified. One of the largest issues that Christians face today is working against the notion that faith is blind. Best-selling author Richard Dawkins states, “religious faith is an especially potent silencer of rational calculation, which usually seems to trump all others.” The irrationality of faith is echoed consistently by other scholars including Bertrand Russell. As Kelly James Clark points out, “Bertrand Russell was once asked, if he were to come before God, what he would say to God. Russell replied, ‘Not enough evidence God, not enough evidence.’” The claim …

De Libero Conscientia: Martin Luther’S Rediscovery Of Liberty Of Conscience And Its Synthesis Of The Ancients And The Influence Of The Moderns, Bessie S. Blackburn

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

One fateful day on March 26, 1521, a lowly Augustinian monk was cited to appear before the Diet of Worms.[1] His habit trailed behind him as he braced for the questioning. He was firm, yet troubled. He boldly proclaimed: “If I am not convinced by proofs from Scripture, or clear theological reasons, I remain convinced by the passages which I have quoted from Scripture, and my conscience is held captive by the Word of God. I cannot and will not retract, for it is neither prudent nor right to go against one’s conscience. So help me God, …

The Nephite Prophets’ Understanding Of Faith And Faithfulness, Noel B. Reynolds

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

Readers of the Book of Mormon agree that faith in Jesus Christ is a basic principle of the gospel, or doctrine of Christ, taught therein. And they agree, at least superficially, on the meaning of the word faith to the extent that is allowed by their modern, westernized worldview and background in New Testament Christianity. However, as I engaged in an in-depth study of the gospel of Jesus Christ as the Nephites understood it, I realized that (1) our modern cultural understandings shield us from those of the Nephite prophets in many ways, (2) the Nephite concept of faith is …