Religion Commons^™

Assessing The Personal Needs And Professional Issues That Hinder Credentialed Women In The Ohio Ministry Network: Egalitarianism And The Image Of God, Deedra Ann Shilliday

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The purpose of this study was to discover if some local Assemblies of God (A/G) church practices differed from the denominational egalitarian theology. Credentialed women from the Ohio Ministry Network (OMN), a district of the General Council of the Assemblies of God, were surveyed. According to the survey results, time management, representation at OMN events, ministry connections, and exclusion from the leadership pipeline are the greatest challenges for credentialed women. The goal of promoting awareness of the personal needs and professional issues of credentialed women was actualized by integrating the literature review of imago Dei theology with an Ohio School …

A Theology And Practice Of Foster Care Ministry: An Investigation Into The Effectiveness Of A Church-Based Wraparound Program For Foster Parents, Robert Wesley Griffith

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new foster parent wraparound program at Journey Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The need for this program was found to be in alignment with the mission of God as seen in Isaiah 1:17, Acts 6, Romans 8, and James 1:27. The New Testament Church has a history of leading the way with innovative solutions to rescue orphans, and today, the church once again has the opportunity to lead the way in foster care solutions.

When Kenosha County leaders in the judicial, legal, and social services sector were recently asked …

Lifters And Gifters: Keeping Millennials And Boomers Together To Build The Church, Richard Wilkerson

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

One of the great needs of the church at this moment is to keep the primary funders, “Gifters,” and the primary workers, “Lifters,” of the church together in order to grow healthy, thriving, life-giving, Spirit-inspired churches. Inspired by the experiences of declining and plateauing church the author has witnessed and experienced, this dissertation will examine how to keep the church family together generationally, while at the same time planting new churches with the generations still intact. The research within this project, comprised of a theological study of biblical principles, a study of current literature, and surveys and interviews from pastors, …

Technological Discipleship: How Modern Platforms Can Improve Devotional Habits In Core Church, Greg D. Phelps

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

In a society immersed and fascinated with technological devices and tools, the researcher explored the extent to which online platforms can provide a productive means to implement discipleship programs in a church plant through the use of internet video devotional materials. The relatively low practice of regular devotional habits in today’s Church has become an increasing problem. The purpose of this project was to examine the possibility of spiritual formation within the congregants of Core Church through the use of online video devotions. The project consisted of sixteen online video devotions that were created from four sermons delivered at Core …

Urban Church Planting: Three Functional Shifts From The New Testament, Anthony Wagenersmith

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Indeed, the very pulse of Adventist ministry beats strongest through apostolic mission. A basic consideration of the practical and exegetical link between the second advent of Christ and the apostolic witness for Christ must generate significant shifts in thinking and practice. Describing these as functional shifts rather than paradigm shifts—to emphasize the connection between theology and practice—what better framework to reflect upon urban church planting than that of the New Testament Church. Looking through a disciple-making and church planting lens, one can be challenged by three functional shifts for urban mission today: from places to people, from performers to equippers, …

"The Present Evil Age": The Origin And Persistence Of Evil In Galatians, Tyler Allen Stewart

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation investigates the origin and persistence of evil in Galatians within the context of Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity. The focus of investigation is narrative explanation(s) for evil. What story and/or stories were told to explain the original cause of evil and why it persists in the present? The study begins with a history of research that separates current scholarly accounts of Paul’s view of evil into two broad categories, Adamic template and Christological novum. According to the Adamic template, evil originates in Adam’s sin and persists in human rebellion in the likeness of the Protoplast. According to …

The New Day Of Atonement: A Matthean Typology, Hans Moscicke

Dissertations (1934 -)

Ancient Christians often interpreted the death of Jesus through the lens of Leviticus 16, conceiving Jesus as both the immolated “goat for Yahweh,” whose blood the high priest brought into the Holy of Holies once a year to purge Israel’s sins, and the “goat for Azazel,” which bore Israel’s iniquity into the wilderness far away from God’s presence. Such an understanding of Jesus’s death did not strike theologians such as the author of the Epistle of Barnabas, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Origen, Jerome, Cyril of Alexandria, and the earliest Markan commentator as strange. What is strange is how seldom modern …

Confessing Characters: Coming To Faith In The Gospel Of John, Dominic Zappia

Dissertations (1934 -)

There are at least seventy-two characters in the Fourth Gospel. Given its statement of purpose in 20:30-31, which suggests that it is for the sake of narrating miracles to produce faith, this observation is of interest. According to traditional counting there are seven miracles in John. Nonetheless, much of the Gospel is the retelling not of miracles but of conversations and other encounters between Jesus and a wide variety of characters, many of whom are not directly tied to these miracles. Given the number and variety of characters in John, questions arise: What function do characters as characters serve in …

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 …

A Sweet Influence: St. Bonaventure’S Franciscan Reception Of Dionysian Hierarchy, Luke Vittorio Togni

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation examines the intersection of St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio’s use of the doctrine of hierarchy (transmitted in the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite) with his interpretation of St. Francis of Assisi as the model for the imitation of Jesus Christ. In particular, it argues that Bonaventure’s doctrine of hierarchy became increasingly informed by his devotion to Francis’ virtues and to Christ’ Crucified, so that, by the time he wrote the Legenda maior sancti Francisci (by 1263) hierarchy was Franciscanized by an explicit integration with the Cross, the spiritual senses of scripture, and the primacy of love in union to …

Poverty Blindness : A Case Study Of Christians Perceptions Of Hunger In Dayton, Ohio, Jyl Hall Smith

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Beauty Of Change Continues : Effective Practices Of A Blended Ecology Of Church, Mark Dunwoody

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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.

Integrating African Christian Refugees Into The American Churches As A Strategy For Mission, Grace Kathure Gichuru

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Coherence Of Justification In Luke 18:9-14 With Authentic Jesus Tradition, Peter D. Tan-Gatue

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Toward A Post-Religious Urban Theology: The Missionary Movement Ethos In Secularized Contexts, Marcelo E. C. Dias

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"An urban theology should be the center of conversation with the current post-religious context that takes into serious consideration people’s search for meaning and the new spirituality in this age. Perhaps popular culture can give clues about contemporary meaning-making as well (Shannahan 2014:207-217). On the one side, history assures that an urban setting does not need to feel like a threat to the Christian faith. “Early Christianity was primarily an urban movement. The original meaning of the word pagan (paganus) was ‘rural person,’ or more colloquially ‘country hick.’ It came to have religious meaning because after Christianity had triumphed in …

A Theological Framework For Adventist Urban Ministry, Kelvin Okey Onongha

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Early Adventism typically advocated the need to flee the cities for simple rural living because cities were regarded as Babylon (Jer 50:1-3; Rev 18:2-3). Consequently, in those regions of the world where the church’s presence has the longest history with sometimes larger congregations, many church properties are located in the countryside or rural areas. A major reason why the Adventist Church is only so lately coming to terms with the exigency of urban ministries is the deficiency of a theological framework for engagement in missions to the cities. Stone (2015) agrees that the failure to develop a theology for the …

Multicultural Urban Ministry In The Post-Apartheid Era:A Search For Identity And Unity In Diversity, Diói Cruz

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"This article explores the cultural-ethnic diversity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa and its development in urban centers since the end of Apartheid. It examines challenges and opportunities for the transition to multicultural churches, and concludes by arguing that the culture of racial prejudice and suspicion can only be eradicated with the weapons of trust, faith, hope, and love."

Missional Apologetics: Keys To The Hearts And Minds Of Urban Young Professionals?, Sven Östring

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"research study in Australia indicated that one of the top spiritual repellents for non-Christian people is a focus on philosophical discussions and debating ideas. In spite of this, a significant percentage of Australian young professionals are still willing to consider changing their worldview if presented with the right circumstances and evidence. This article explores how apologetic material can missionally connect with the hearts and minds of urban young professionals. The Greater Sydney Conference and the South Pacific Division Adventist Media Center developed this approach based on a preliminary qualitative research study of an evangelistic series."

Country Versus City Tension: Historical And Socio-Religious Context Of The Development Of Adventist Understanding Of Urban Mission, Allan Novaes, Wendel Lima

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"The Adventist engagement in the evangelization of cities has been timid and, for many decades, even discouraged by an anti-urban attitude. This mentality of criticism and resistance to the cities was largely sustained through an incomplete and/or misreading of Ellen White’s writings (Jones 2013:716). This article seeks to describe Adventist rural/urban tension, the historical and social context of its origin, and how it has been softened by a contrasting broader view of Adventist urban mission."

Discipleship In Urban Contexts, Boubakar Sanou

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"With the current state of discipleship, congregations can no longer afford to rely on their church-centered programs as their main means of growing disciples. Programs do not disciple people; people disciple people. Becoming authentic communities who create intentional spaces where believers of all ages and stages in their faith journey can effectively and meaningfully connect with one another and with God, grow spiritually, and reach out to the world around them is of vital importance in urban discipleship. With the imperative to share the gospel in the cities, urban congregations need to objectively do their own discipleship reality assessment in …

A Commodified Faith: Theodor Adorno’S Culture Industry And Evangelical Catholicism, Francis Boccuzzi

Masters Essays

No abstract provided.

The Complicated Cases Of Soghomon Tehlirian And Sholem Schwartzbard And Their Influences On Raphaël Lemkin's Thinking About Genocide, Steven Leonard Jacobs

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The article is an examination of the persons and trials of Soghomon Tehlirian and Sholem Schwartzbard, their political assassinations as acts of vengeance for genocide and pogroms, their trials and subsequent acquittals. It is also an examination of the influences of these two events on the evolved thinking of Raphael Lemkin on his conceptualization of the needs for an international law contra genocide. Finally, it also elaborates on what information is now available on both men and their associations, and what was known and unknown to Lemkin and whether or not these two cases remained centrally important to his understandings.

Understanding The Devil: A Comparative Examination Of Dead Souls, The Master And Margarita, And Revelation 12-3, Thomas "Tj" Kennedy

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how the devil is depcicted and characterized in Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls, Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, and Revelation 12-13. By exploring their respective historical situations, I connect how all three depictions are linked to satire; however, I reflect upon the differences between the literary and religious, most notably the grotesque physical portrayals and allusory nature of Revelation. The three texts are given their own sections, each divided into three parts: historical situation, textual analysis, and literary commentary. From this analysis, it is shown that the devil carries with them a history of sins within great …

Enchantment: A Teleology, Nathanael S. Toth

Senior Honors Theses

Despite the highly developed nature of his fictional world, Middle-earth, Tolkien never formally laid out a tabulated magic system for his fantasy creation. Nevertheless, unlike many stories by others in the fantasy genre, the magic he does include is far from just a shallow, world-building mechanism. Instead, it encapsulates the core theme of his fiction and the purposes which Ilúvatar (the God of Middle-earth) has given to the story’s many characters.

This paper will examine the nature and function of this magic from many angles: the identification of good magic with art and evil magic with domination; the delineation between …

Pilgrimage To Palmyra, Reid L. Neilson, Carson V. Teuscher

BYU Studies

The arrival of autumn in 1923 brought more than a mature harvest to the quiet farming village of Palmyra, New York. On a late September weekend, a torrent of visitors flooded the township—a spectacle unlike anything the locals had ever seen. “Trudging along the roads leading into Palmyra today there came a small army of pilgrims,” the local Rochester Herald reported, “each with his pilgrim’s scrip and each wearing slung across his shoulders a banner with the cryptic word ‘Cumorah’ blazoned on it.” Befuddled residents witnessed the young male and female pilgrims arrive—two by two—until they eventually coalesced in large …

Disciples Of Jesus Christ— Defenders Of Marriage, Russell M. Nelson

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

Some of you will continue your education and achieve graduate degrees. Some of you will enter the workforce on a full-time basis. Many of you have married or will marry and begin your families. Family life will provide your most enduring rewards. As partners, you and your spouse will work together to achieve mutual goals and enjoy the fruits of your labors. By the way, brethren, you might bear this in mind: Behind every successful man is a surprised mother-in-law. I know mine was!

“They Must Suffer Even As I”: Misconceptions Concerning Personal Payment For Sin, Christopher J. Porter

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

Soon after I was called to serve as the elders quorum president of a young single adult ward many years ago, the stake president gave me the difficult challenge to visit each quorum member individually during the upcoming school year. To this day, I remember one such visit to a young man I’ll call Robert. It was evident when I arrived that something was troubling him; his gaze alternated nervously between the floor and his visitor but gave preference to the floor. At the outset of our conversation, he was reticent and guarded, but at my prodding he began to …

Bringing God Into Our Marriage, Debra Theobald Mcclendon, Richard J. Mcclendon

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

President Dallin H. Oaks observed that “a good marriage does not require a perfect man or perfect woman. It only requires a man and a woman committed to strive together toward perfection.” Marriage is a journey where spouses learn and grow together as they move toward the eternities. As couples, even though it takes a lot of work, we can create good marriages through our own consistent, diligent efforts to prioritize the relationship. We can work on our own to have a healthy and resilient approach to life and our spouse. We can work together as a couple to navigate …

Conversions, Arrests, And Friendships: A Story Of Two Icelandic Police Officers, Fred E. Woods, Kari Bjarnason

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

In 1881 in Reykjavík, Iceland, two Icelandic police officers, Þorsteinn (Thorsteinn) Jónsson and Jón Borgfirðingur, were sent to arrest Latter-day Saint missionaries. These missionaries had baptized the first three converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Reykjavík a year earlier, and one of those converts, Sigríður Jónsdóttir, happened to be the wife of one of the arresting officers. But a remarkable friendship, one that thrived irrespective of time, distance, and religious differences, developed due to the arrests and the events surrounding them. Although the story and historical context of the missionaries’ experience in Reykjavík have been …