Religion Commons^™

Migration Of The Communicants From Anglicanism To Pentecostalism In Nigeria, Samuel Ayotola Odubena

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Reframing And [Re]Presenting Evangelism In Oral Cultures : A Case Study Of The Harare West (Mumc) Vabvuwi Choir In Zimbabwe, Irene M. Kabete

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Witchcraft Accusations: A Challenge For Families, Communities, And Churches In Africa, Boubakar Sanou

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

“He Denieth None That Come Unto Him” The Mormon-Jewish Relationship During The Holocaust And World War Ii, Erica Lauren Shaw

Online Theses and Dissertations

The Church of Latter-day Saints of Jesus Christ stumbled into fruition and global recognition after decades of oppression and resistance from its contemporaries. Despite its rocky beginnings, the Church’s membership remained largely friendly to anyone who expressed interest in their gospel. Among those whom they shared a positive relationship with were the Jewish people. The research presented here explored the history of that relationship from its doctrinal significance to its greatest test: the Holocaust and World War II.

Hear Me Roar, Abigail R. Seethoff

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Hear Me Roar, a compilation of personal essays interspersed with short forms, grapples with the nuances of compliance versus autonomy in the context of the male gaze, beauty standards, and pop culture. The collection also explores what it means to treasure something—another person, an object—and how to express and deepen that affection.

Religious Freedom And The Churches: Contemporary Challenges In The United States Today, Richard W. Garnett

Journal Articles

A crucial, but often overlooked, dimension of the human and constitutional right to religious freedom is the autonomy of religious institutions, associations and societies with respect to matters of governance, doctrine, formation and membership. Although the Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed this autonomy in the context of American constitutional law, it is vulnerable, and even under threat, for a variety of reasons, including a general decline in the health of civil society and mediating associations and a crisis of confidence and authority caused by clerical sexual abuse and churches’ failure to respond to it.

The Communitarian Work And Vision(S) Of Robert Cochran (And Thomas Shaffer), Richard W. Garnett

Journal Articles

Professor Robert Cochran's work and thought were powerfully shaped by those of his friend, mentor, and teacher, the late Professor Thomas Shaffer, a towering figure in the religious lawyering movement. A leading theme in Shaffer's writing, one that has continued through and been developed in Cochran's, is "community." This Essay explores and unpacks this theme and highlights several ways that the idea of "community" functions in their vision of the lawyer 's role and vocation.

Celebrating The Work Of Professor Bob Cochran: An Introduction, Derek T. Muller

Journal Articles

The broad and deep scope of Professor Bob Cochran's work has influenced many legal scholars over the last several decades, and it will continue to shape how we think about law, ethics, and religion for decades to come. Indeed, his co-edited volume Christian Perspectives on Legal Thought stands as the first among many efforts to do just that. This special issue of the Pepperdine Law Review celebrates that extensive and impressive body of work. And the articles here, too, emphasize that this scholarship extends beyond the concerns of this life and into concerns of the life to come.

Recognizing The Everlasting Covenant In The Scriptures, Kerry Muhlestein

Faculty Publications

The Abrahamic, or new and everlasting, covenant is an important element of the Old Testament. In fact, the main way the Old Testament frames human relationships with God is whether people make and keep a covenant with him. Yet we often do not notice how much that theme is woven throughout all scripture. For example, the Book of Mormon title page specifically references the knowledge of the covenant as part of the purpose of writing and preserving the book, and the covenant is a major theme for many of its authors. The New Testament and the Doctrine and Covenants are …

Holy Spirit, Trevor O'Reggio

Faculty Publications

The Radical Reformers were not a unified entity, but consisted of many disparate voices, so their theology reflected these differences. The purpose of this paper is to explore their views concerning the Holy Spirit. But even among the differences on this subject, they did shared more things in common than differences. They all agreed on the basic teaching of the nature, personality and role of the Holy Spirit, and the indispensable role of the Spirit in all areas of the Christian life. Their differences perhaps lie in the degree to which believers must be reliant on the Spirit.

Christian History As World History A Review Essay, Joel A. Carpenter

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

This review essay discusses the status of “World Christianity” as a field of study, then highlights the features of the book at hand. It is an exercise in world history more than church history, focusing on how Christianity in various parts of the world responded to the twentieth century’s greatest challenges. The book addresses the rise of millenarianism and fundamentalism, neo-orthodoxy, liberation theology, Pentecostalism, and ecumenism. But its more intent focus is on how Christianity addressed the century’s world wars, colonialism, nationalism, secularism, rise of radical Islam, human rights, migration, and the growing power of the state.

Review Of Anca Gheaus, Gideon Calder, And Jurgen De Wispelaere, Eds., "The Routledge Handbook Of The Philosophy Of Childhood And Children", Kevin Timpe

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Sharing The Gospel In A Postmodern World: Challenges And Opportunities, Felix H. Cortez

Faculty Publications

Humility is the prerequisite to a significant dialogue in a postmodern context. It has the ability to transform the dialogue from a debate between opposing parties into a party of fellow travelers in the search for meaning. The truths we find and share in that common endeavor will not be suspect as biased assertions to the benefit of power groups under the cloak of truth, but embraced as common solutions to the problems we face.

Nurturing The Seeds Of Zen: The Life And Legacy Of Shundo Aoyama Rōshi, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Aoyama Rōshi’s legacy and her place in the Buddhist world are unique. Situated within a notably patriarchal tradition, she has been a leader in the struggle for gender parity in contemporary Japan. Due to her unflagging efforts, nuns in the Sōtō Zen tradition have now achieved unprecedented visibility and independence. According to religious studies scholar Paula Arai, the leading contemporary scholar of Sōtō Zen laywomen and nuns, “the nuns now control their own religious training, enjoy educational and ceremonial rights, and have ... appropriate titles and religious robes” (Arai 1999, 74). Today, at Aichi Senmon Nisōdō, Aoyama Rōshi not only …

Claiming Notability For Women Activists In Religion, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Gender bias in the history of ideas is notorious. In religious terms, it can also be called heretical, blasphemous, and evil. The challenge to represent women’s lives, voices, and accomplishments in the broad and deep reaches of religion is even more difficult than in other fields. While history has its male actors and music its male composers, religions have their male gods who reign supreme even over male practitioners. These gods eclipse and erase goddesses, women scholars and ministers, and women’s ways of shaping spiritual consciousness. Women face formidable obstacles in religion, but women’s struggles are their success.

It is …

New And Everlasting: The Relationship Between Gospel Covenants In History, Kerry Muhlestein, Joshua M. Sears, Avram R. Shannon

Faculty Publications

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints speak of covenants in general, baptismal covenants, temple covenants, the new and everlasting covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, and the Mosaic or Sinai covenant. But what are these covenants, and how are they related to each other? Students in many settings experience confusion about these questions. Each book of scripture shares aspects of covenants that students may not understand as well as they could. Greater clarity will allow them to draw more power from scriptural and current prophetic teachings about the centrality of the covenant in every dispensation.

The Isaiah Map: An Approach To Teaching Isaiah, John Hilton Iii

Faculty Publications

I saiah is an extremely important prophet—his words were endorsed by the Savior himself (see 3 Nephi 23:1). Because Isaiah’s words can be difficult to comprehend, religious educators have a significant responsibility to help their students understand them. Perhaps the best opportunity to teach Isaiah in a Sunday School, seminary, or institute setting is during a course in the Old Testament. The next best opportunity is when teaching the Book of Mormon. “Nineteen of Isaiah’s sixty-six chapters are quoted in their entirety in the Book of Mormon and, except for two verses, two other chapters are completely quoted. Of the …

The Teachings Of Church Leaders Regarding The Crucifixion Of Jesus Christ: 1852–2018, John Hilton Iii, Emily K. Hyde, Mckenna Grace Trussel

Faculty Publications

From the beginnings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (herein referred to as “the Church”), the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ has been at the heart of its theology. In numerous revelations received by Joseph Smith, the Savior is identified as having been “crucified for the sins of the world” (D&C 53:2; see also 21:9, 35:2, 46:13, 54:1, 76:41). President Brigham Young taught that salvation was only “through the name and ministry of Jesus Christ, and the atonement he made on Mount Calvary.”1 President John Taylor said that Christ “was crucified and put to death to atone for …

[Introduction To] On Agamben, Arendt, Christianity, And The Dark Arts Of Civilization, Peter I. Kaufman

Bookshelf

Many progressives have found passages in Augustine's work that suggest he entertained hopes for meaningful political melioration in his time. They also propose that his “political theology” could be an especially valuable resource for “an ethics of democratic citizenship” or for “hopeful citizenship” in our times. Peter Kaufman argues that Augustine's “political theology” offers a compelling, radical alternative to progressive politics. He chronicles Augustine's experiments with alternative polities, and pairs Augustine's criticisms of political culture with those of Giorgio Agamben and Hannah Arendt.

This book argues that the perspectives of pilgrims (Augustine), refugees (Agamben), and pariahs (Arendt) are better staging …

‘The Open Letter To The Evangelical Church’ And Its Discontents: The Online Politics Of Asian American Evangelicals, 2013-2016, Justin K. H. Tse

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Recent treatments of Asian American evangelicals tend to focus on a shift of attention from their identity-based attempts to found autonomous congregrations to online self-publications. I evaluate this new trend by considering two episodes in Asian American evangelical self-publication: the 'open letter to the evangelical church' in 2013 and the Killjoy Prophets initiative from 2014-2016 when their leader Suey Park disappeared from the Internet. I argue that while Asian American evangelical online self-publication is intended to reform evangelicalism, its discursive nature leads to debates among Asian American evangelicals about whether the cyber-discourse about them is adequately representational. This sobering analysis …

Persistence Of Jewish-Muslim Reconciliatory Activism In The Face Of Threats And “Terrorism” (Real And Perceived) From All Sides, Micah B.D.C. Naziri

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation concerns how Jewish-Muslim and Israel-Palestine grassroots activism can persist in the face of threats to the safety, freedom, lives, or even simply the income and employment of those engaged in acts of sustained resistance. At the heart of the study are the experiences of participants in the Hashlamah Project, an inter-religious collaboration project, involving Jews and Muslims. Across chapters and even nations, chapters of this organization faced similar threats and found universally-applicable solutions emerging for confronting those threats and persisting in the face of them. This raised the question of whether revolutionaries and activists in general can persevere …

Perspectives From The Pew: A Phenomenological Exploration Of Congregants' Experiences Of Change In Their Churches, Courtny Davis Olds

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Christian churches in the United States are notoriously resistant to change, whether in regard to leadership, worship style, church governance, positions on social issues, or myriad other aspects of congregational life. Yet the ability to navigate change successfully is vitally important to churches’ continued survival and renewed relevance. A particular body of literature, consisting of both scholarly and practitioner-oriented works, has attempted to address the necessity and the challenges of change in a church context. However, the literature is largely silent when it comes to the perspectives of those who are most impacted by congregational change: namely, the congregants themselves. …

A Hermeneutic For The Aqedah Test: A Way Beyond Jon Levenson's And Terence Fretheim's Models, Arlyn Sunshine Drew

Dissertations

Problem

The works of Jon Levenson and Terence Fretheim highlight the problem of determining which interpretations of the biblical worlds of meaning around the text are congruent with the text of the Aqedah (also known as the Sacrifice of Isaac, Genesis 22: 1-19) and which should be disclaimed. A hermeneutical model is needed for Abraham's test that provides a text-based paradigm for sound interpretation of the narrative world (in the text), the historical world (behind the text), the theistic world (above the text), the cosmological world (below the text), and the present world (in front of the text).

Method

Four …

The Function Of Military Language In The Feeding Of The Five Thousand Narrative (Mark 6:30-44): A Narrative-Cognitive Study, Oleg Kostyuk

Dissertations

Abstract Pending

A Re-Examination Of Pentateuchal Hamartiology And Atonement As A Hermeneutical Framework For Interpreting The Laying On Of Hands, Slavisa Milodar Jankovic

Dissertations

The ritual gesture of laying on of hands in Scripture has generated significant interest among theologians from rabbinic times until now. Still today, scholars assign various meanings to the ritual. In the second half of the 20th century, the fresh interest that put forward new meanings for this gesture came primarily through the introduction of the new sub-discipline of Ritualistics within Old Testament studies. This relatively new discipline is not founded upon premises found in biblical texts, but rather, upon those found in various secular social, philosophical sciences, and other disciplines such as sociology, philosophy, anthropology, literary criticism, and the …

A Study Of Nones In Brazil And The Usa In Light Of Secularization Theory With Missiological Implications, Jolive R. Chavez

Dissertations

The growth of those who declare themselves to be Nones, or religiously unaffiliated, in Brazil and the USA has been continuously higher than that of the general population. In Brazil, they are the third-largest group in the religious field, behind only Catholics, and Pentecostal evangelicals. In the USA, they are the second largest group, after Protestants as a whole. The Nones, in their diverse groups, are more represented among the youth in both cultures, and reflect the modern and postmodern influences of contemporary secularism, being a product of the process of changing human thought.

This work studies the Nones, in …

The Knowledge Of End-Time Prophetic Scriptures Prepares Believers At Northcliffe Baptist Church To Expect Religious Persecution, John C. Reddy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The lack of knowledge about the end-time prophetic Scriptures and its inferences to Islamic eschatology appears to be a problem at Northcliffe Baptist Church. The purpose of this study is to raise awareness about the end-time Scriptures and prepare the congregants to expect persecution as normative in the Christian life. Islam is projected to overtake Christianity in a few decades and is proliferating at a rapid pace. The anti-parallel structure between Christian eschatology and Islamic eschatology is disconcerting. Islam denies Jesus’s divinity and advocates persecuting Christians if they do not convert to Islam. Suffering and persecution for the Lord are …

Assessing The Health Of An Established Urban Church To Develop A Strategic Plan For Growth, Alfonse Javed

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The health of a church is solely dependent on the health of its leadership. The more the leadership becomes imitators of Christ (Ephesians 5:1-2), the more the church resembles the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). This work seeks to determine the kind of healthy church leadership, which generates a healthy church culture for multiplying disciples. The purpose of this study is to assess the health of an established urban church in midtown Manhattan, and to evaluate the perception that one large church is more effective than multiple churches in order to discover an evangelistic approach that may help this and …

Youth Decline In Church Growth And Attendance, Marion Diane Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Youth attendance in the church has declined in the recent past. The reason for their decline is that they no longer find a church to be socially and spiritually relevant to their lives. The paper seeks to provide a solution to the problem through spiritual formation and increasing the depth of youth programs so that they can remain socially relevant to the lives of the young people. This will be done by encouraging youth people to know who Jesus is and how to have a personal relationship with him through faith.

American God Story: Creating Shared Cultural Context With Popular Television, Timothy Joseph Rosenberger

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Believers increasingly encounter a stark divide between their cultural contexts and those of the people they seek to evangelize. This divide is particularly pronounced in popular culture where the television, movies, music, and books that appeal to Christians often are radically different than those that appeal to mainstream Americans. Without a shared cultural language, and a shared network of cultural touch points, it can be challenging to form meaningful connection between, and amongst, church members and unchurched community members. This study pioneers an intervention in which church members, and unchurched community members, come together to view popular television episodes and …