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History Of Lutheranism In Liberia: The Current State Of Lutheran Churches In Liberia As A Result Of Their History And Development, Edward Momoh Kollie

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Kollie, Edward M. “History of Lutheranism in Liberia.” Master of Arts Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2020. 68pp.

This thesis presents a study of the society within which the church exists, how it was initiated by missionaries, including a historical analysis of the impact the mission status had on the Lutheran churches in Liberia. This thesis, in line with other scholars, points out ways mission churches established in Liberia were wholly dependent on their mission partners for support, propagation, and governing. The conclusions drawn lead to suggestions for ways the church may be able to graduate from the dependent status to viewing …

Shaped By Love: Family Catechesis And The Crisis Of Disaffiliation In The Catholic Church, Jessica Adrians

Master of Theological Studies Honors Theses

There is currently a crisis of disaffiliation within the Catholic Church, particularly among youth and young adults. One of the proposed solutions for the crisis of disaffiliation is implementing the family catechesis model at the parish level as a means of effectively transmitting the Catholic faith. This paper examines the data of two studies: Going, Going, Gone: The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics conducted by St. Mary’s Press and Ask Your Father and He Will Tell You: A Report on American Cahotlic Religious Parenting produced by the McGrath Institute in order to discern if the conditions that lead to …

Nature And The Spirit: Tri Hita Karana, Sacred Artistic Practices, And Musical Ecology In Bali, Hao Huang, Joti Rockwell

EnviroLab Asia

Bali is notable for the degree to which music, dance, and visual art permeate everyday life--a result of historically rooted and continuously evolving religious philosophies and rituals. With this context in mind, we wondered what role the arts play, and can play, in addressing environmental concerns.

Discovering The Role Of Desire In Ignatian Spirituality For Discernment Of Vocation In The Jesuit Candidate House Of Vietnam, Pham Dinh Cu

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

Many candidates in the Jesuit Candidate House of Vietnam have shared that their vocation began with desires. We do not judge whether they are good or bad desires, but we can sure that those desires were influenced by various factors: culture, society, traditions, family background, and so on. This study is the discovering that in Ignatian spirituality, desire can direct people to God, giving them a foundation and criterion for discerning their vocation. Desire can also transform their spiritual life.

First, it presents an overview of the Vietnamese context, including the Catholic Church, religious vocations, and Jesuit vocations and presents …

The Contribution Of The Catholic Church To Post-Civil War Conflict Resolution In Chad, Rimasbé Dionbo Jean Claude

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

I argue that if Chadian society continues to feel the effects of the 1979 civil war, then it is because solutions or an adequate method of approaching the conflict have not been applied. On the one hand, there is a lack of clear political will in the management of the battle, and on the other hand, civil society, including the Church, has not been sufficiently involved in the process of conflict resolution. For there to be social harmony, the Chadian people need a consequent reconciliation. Because of the influential presence of the Catholic Church in Chadian society, we consider it …

Re-Imagining An African Family Ecclesiology In Dialogue With Ratzinger’S Christo-Pneuma Communion Ecclesiology, Tegha Afuhwi Nji

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

This thesis seeks to elaborate an African ecclesiology that brings into conversation African notions of family and Ratzinger’s theological reflection on koinōnia. The model of Church-as-family was popularized by the 1994 Synod of African Bishops, and since then it has been espoused by numerous African theologians, who view it as the African response to the communion ecclesiology elaborated by the Second Vatican Council.

This thesis, however, seeks to present a unique perspective of Church-as-family. In the first place, while the prevalent African family ecclesiologies tend to present the aspect of communion or fellowship in ways that undermine the institutional …

Towards A Pastoral, Apologetic Approach To La Santa Muerte Devotion, Henrry Christopher Mendez Fajardo

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

Death is and will continue to be a most intriguing reflection topic. It is interesting to note how the topic of death extends its reach to different areas of study which range from the most biological and material to the most philosophical and spiritual. Undoubtedly, death does not cease to be an event rooted in all aspects of our material reality, since life only makes sense in relation to death.

In recent decades in some Latin American contexts, devotion to the personification of death has increased significantly. In a special way, this devotion has gained greater strength and relevance in …

Latin American Biblical Hermeneutics & Popular And Community Reading Of The Bible: Some Inputs From Race And Ethnicity Criticism Within The Hellenistic And Jewish Culture Of The First Century, Diego Salazar Galvis

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

After the Second Vatican Council, scholars have used new lenses to approach the Bible as a way to respond to the cultural and socio-political realities of multiple and diverse contexts. Based on my background and Latino essence, I advocate for biblical reading and interpretation that comes from a Latin American setting, in which popular education and liberation theology come together in most of the communities. In this research, I will present a form of mutual collaboration between race-ethnicity biblical criticism and the Popular & Community Reading of the Bible (PCRB) perspective.

So far, biblical scholarship has not yet integrated elements …

The Oracle Against Israel (Amos 2:6-8): In The Context Of The Oracles Against The Nation (Amos 1:3--2:8), Alfred Emeka Amos

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

Amos 2:6-8, commonly referred to as the Oracle Against Israel constitutes the focus of this study. The oracle deals primarily with domestic crimes committed against right relationship among members within the Israelite community (as enshrined in the covenant). However, this oracle against Israel is conspicuously situated within a cycle of oracles, characteristically known as the Oracles Against the Nations. This study argues that this placement of the Oracle Against Israel (Amos 2:6-8) is not accidental. Rather it serves as the culmination of the Oracles Against the Nations (Amos l :3-2:8) disclosing that when injustice reigns within a nation, it reaps …

Commodification Of Black Bodies, Emmanuel Yeboah

Womanist Ethics

No abstract provided.

A Cord Of Three: A Phenomenological Study Of Linkages In Interdenominational Interactions In Northwest Wyoming As Informed Through Network And Social Exchange Theories, Timothy N. Gray

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

This study explores pastors’ interactions in a rural regional network through Network and Social Exchange Theories. With the increasing need to understand the life experiences of network actors, a qualitative based approach is utilized. The results provide in-depth and contextually sensitive results that traditional quantitative-based techniques cannot. Open-ended interviewing allowed the participants to share their lived experiences, identifying the rhythms of boundary spanning behaviors. This offers hope for those seeking to understand the intricacies that orchestrate groups of people coming together in synergistic relationships. From a biblical understanding, a Cord of Three is not easily broken, and this study reveals …

A Quasi-Experimental Study Of Socio-Economic Effects Of Social Enterprise Vocational And Education Training Programs In Myanmar, Trisha Bailey

Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable economic development is a challenge in bottom of pyramid (BOP) communities, such as those in Myanmar, where people live in subsistence conditions. Contributing factors are the lack of vocational training and education available for BOP community members. The UN and the OECD are rallying the organizations around the world, including social enterprises, to address the challenge of increasing sustainable economic development. Social enterprises are businesses that address social and environmental challenges while creating economic profit. Some social enterprises offer vocational and education training (VET) in the BOP communities in which they operate. The problem addressed by this study is …

A Fearful Warning: J.B. Metz’S Memoria Passionis In Response To Western Culture’S Discomfort With Dying, Death And Grief, David R. Ford

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

This study examines Johannes Baptist Metz’s theological focus of the “awakening of memory,” and specifically the connection of such awakening to the memoria passionis, mortis et resurrectionis Jesu Christi, as well as the opening to a new narrative, leading to a freedom for praxis and mission and finally, leading to transformation. This awakening can be a path that confronts the dysfunction of a death denying and avoidant culture, as well as one that challenges us to confront suffering of so many kinds, especially that of the poor and marginalized. Such a theological focus, in fact, has the potential to …

Silent Holy Spirit, May 2020

Silent Holy Spirit

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in St. Louis, MO

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Is It So Bad To Be Yourself?, Andrew S. Russell

Graduate Theses

Homosexuality has been a topic of recent controversial religious discourse, not only in America, but also world-wide. This begs the question: when did homosexuality become such a divisive issue in religious circles? The purpose of this thesis is to examine how ancient western cultures perceived homosexuality and treated homosexuals. Starting with the pagan civilizations of Greece and Rome, and then looking at how homosexuality was perceived in the ancient Judaic world and into the early Christian community, it seems that homosexuality only gradually became stigmatized as early Christians sought to distinguish themselves as unique in the ancient world.

Managing The Wear Of Heavy Construction Equipment Steel Track Undercarriage By Soil Sand Content, Frederick Ashburn Rich

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Heavy construction equipment owners and managers have few predictive tools that can estimate wear rate of undercarriage track propulsion systems working in various soil types and changing operational conditions. Managing the timely maintenance of these track systems is critical for they represent over half of the non-fuel operating cost of the equipment fleet. Understanding the major influencing factors that impact undercarriage system wear rate can help determine the most economical time to stop a machine for track maintenance thus positively impacting the equipment’s return on investment (ROI). This research analyzed the population of track type dozers in the eastern half …

A Study Of Quality Requirement Conveyance For Assignments In Technology And Engineering Master’S Degree Programs, Heather J. Mccain

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Quality requirements are not easy to define. In higher education, defining quality requirements and communicating those requirements to students may be accomplished through a variety of mechanisms. Students still may not know what it takes to get a good grade on an assignment and may have to wait for an instructor to clarify the assignment. This study was conducted because students and instructors may have different opinions as to which forms of feedforward and what technology are best to convey assignment requirements. The purpose of this study was to determine effective feedforward mechanisms as well as the technology used to …

Metaphor As Dynamic Myth In Ricoeur, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Symbolism of Evil is the final book in Ricoeur’s early trilogy on the will. While Freedom and Nature sets aside normative questions altogether and Fallible Man examines the question of what makes the bad will possible, here Ricoeur takes up the question of evil in its actuality. What is the nature of the will that has succumbed to evil? The question of evil resists reflection and remains inscrutable, leading Ricoeur to proceed indirectly through a study of the abundant resources contained in symbols and myths. Symbols, as Ricoeur famously says, “give rise to thought” and thereby open up a …

Care For God’S Creation And A Vegan Diet, Teresa M. Kochaver

Master of Theological Studies Honors Theses

This paper will address the relationship between a vegan diet and the Catholic Social Teaching Principle of Caring for God’s Creation. These two topics will be examined to set forth how the actions and outcomes associated with a vegan diet support and encourage a key theme of Catholic Social Teaching, Care of and for God’s Creation.

This paper may also be a source of learning for anyone seeking a greater understanding of Catholic Social Teaching and information about a vegan diet.

In Controversy Oft: James David Bales And The Sharp Decline Of The Apocalyptic Worldview At Harding University, Cory Spruiell

Harding School of Theology Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

No Hope For Rousseau In Tomorrowland: Limits Of Civil Religion In E.L. Doctorow’S The Book Of Daniel: A Novel (1971), Gabrielle R. Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Current scholarly work on E.L. Doctorow’s (1931-2015) novel The Book of Daniel: A Novel (1971) often ignores the narrator Daniel Isaacson’s implicit critique of Rousseau’s civil religion. This paper will show the importance of civil religion within the novel despite its being overlooked by most scholars. In The Book of Daniel, Daniel frequently examines instances of American civil religion and even goes as far as to describe it as inevitable and intrusive on freedom. Daniel implies throughout the novel that the American government models their civil religion on Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s (1712-1778) conception as described in his treatise The Social …

The Unlimited Absorbs The Limits: Analyzing The Religious And Mystical Aspects Of Virginia Woolf's Work Through The Lens Of William James, Zachary J. Beck

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Commentators on the work of modernist author Virginia Woolf have frequently remarked upon the “religious” and “mystical” aspects that appear throughout Woolf’s oeuvre, but have found it difficult to reconcile these aspects of Woolf’s work with her self-expressed atheistic beliefs. For those who have sought to resolve the tension between the “religious” and “mystical” features of Woolf’s work and Woolf’s (lack of) personal religious beliefs, the work of American psychologist and philosopher William James has proven to be a starting point for investigations into selections of Woolf’s oeuvre that seem to exhibit “religious” and “mystical” characteristics. There continues to exist, …

Follow Me: Following Jesus With Your Head, Heart, Hands, And Feet, Vincent Dodge Frampton

Masters Theses

Following Jesus requires more than merely a mind exercise. It is more than giving money to the right causes or helping to build hospitals. Following Jesus requires the head, heart, hands, and feet--the whole self. The goal of this music and worship ministry project is to help people to follow Jesus with their whole selves.

Paul’S Use Of Leviticus 19:18: A Comparative Analysis With Select Second Temple Jewish Texts, Corey D. Rugh

Masters Theses

Paul’s use of Leviticus 19:18 in Romans 13:8-10 and Galatians 5:13-15 begs the question of how a command that is not repeated in the Old Testament came to the position of prominence as the summarizing and fulfilling statement of the whole law. This study aims to analyze select Second Temple Jewish texts and Paul’s letters to the Romans and Galatians in order to trace the uses of or allusions to Leviticus 19:18 and determine how Paul’s use of Leviticus 19:18 compares and differs from the selected texts. The Second Temple Jewish texts that are analyzed include the Testaments of the …

Christian Worldview Compared To Deepak Chopra's Worldview, Allison Renee Beardsley

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is a comparative study of the biblical Christian worldview and the worldview of pop-culture guru Deepak Chopra. Both worldviews are compared using a standard four-question worldview rubric. Research was gathered from Chopra’s books and biblical Christian worldview books. Once a worldview rubric question is answered it is tested with the correspondence theory of truth to see how it reflects the reality and experience that humanity collectively perceives in the world. The biblical Christian worldview adequately answered all rubric questions in a coherent manner that corresponds with reality. The Christian worldview has cumulative strength as it …

Arguments From Evil And The Parenting Style(S) Of God, Kyle Dean Gazlay

Masters Theses

In scholarly debates there are two primary positions on whether a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent can coexist with the presence of evil in the world. Atheists claim that God and evil do not coexist, while theists proclaim that God and evil can and do coexist. Atheists have used arguments from evil as a chief weapon against the existence of God and evil. Within arguments from evil, atheists create arguments that take an evidential or probabilistic stance on the matter. These arguments are called evidential arguments from evil. The evidential arguments from evil will use parent analogies to …

Discipling Instrumentalists For Worship And Evangelism, Nicole Fasco

Masters Theses

The worship ministry has the ability to disciple and evangelize to people within the congregation and to members of the ensembles. This study focused on the instrumental ensembles of two congregations to analyze the impact they had on the members of these ensembles and the congregations in which they serve. Surveys were sent via email to the members of the instrumental ensembles and the members of the congregations. Seventy-six people participated in the survey with twenty-one of those participants being instrumentalists and fifty-five people being members of the congregation. Survey questions contained general questions about the instrumental ensembles and specific …

See, Judge, Act: Restorative Justice And Catholic Social Teaching’S Impact On American Incarceration, Maxim Caron

Montserrat Annual Writing Prize

No abstract provided.

“With Strong Hand And With Outstretched Arm” (Deuteronomy 4:34); “With Outstretched Hand And With Strong Arm” (Jeremiah 21:5): Chiasmus In Deuteronomy And Jeremiah, David Rolph Seely

BYU Studies

The title of this paper presents an example of a textual interplay between Deuteronomy and Jeremiah in which Jeremiah quotes a well-known formula from Deuteronomy “with strong hand and with outstretched arm” (Deut 4:34) in an inverted form “With outstretched hand and with strong arm” (Jer 21:5). Images of the “strong hand” and “outstretched arm” are found in various Egyptian and Mesopotamian textual traditions as well as iconography.1 These images appear separately in various biblical sources but appear as a combination first in Deuteronomy (4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 26:8) and then later in deuteronomistic literature (1 Kgs 8:42; Jer 32:21; …

Narrating Homicide Chiastically, John W. Welch

BYU Studies

The truth be known, murder is an ugly, awful subject. Even when packaged in beautifully crafted literature, first-degree homicide is to be universally assailed as vile, horrible, and most terrible. Murder is disruptive to the very fabric of human life. It instills in the community anxieties, horror, fear, chaos, vengeance, and blood feuds. It throws the normal boundaries of human powers in the world into personal turmoil, into metaphysical uncertainty, and into cosmic imbalance.