Religion Commons^™

Toward An Affective-Rhetorical Approach To Biblical Interpretation, Sophie R. Beal

Yale Divinity School Theses

No abstract provided.

“But Because We Are Christian”: The Exploration Of Communication Frames And Identity Negotiation Among African Immigrants And Black Americans In A Multicultural Church, Hawa Diakite

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This qualitative thesis examines identity negotiation and communication frames used among African immigrants and Black Americans who attend a multicultural church. Exploring the intersection of identity, race, and faith among African immigrants and Black Americans is valuable towards understanding the dynamics of their relationship in the context of Christian communities in the United States. As African Christian immigrants navigate the complexities of racial realities in the United States, their faith can serve as a safe place that shapes their sense of self and community belonging. Similarly, many Black Americans historically have drawn upon their Christian faith as a place of …

Effects Of Language Status, Community Advice, And Parent Beliefs On Heritage Language Maintenance In The U.S.: A Scoping Review, Isabelle Trujillo, Jasmine Loeung, Carolyn Quam

Student Research Symposium

This scoping review of qualitative research examines effects of language status, community advice to parents, and parents' beliefs on heritage language maintenance within a U.S. context. The review was guided by three research questions: 1. What is the nature of the relationship between a heritage language’s (HL) status in society and language maintenance across generations? 2. How does information parents receive from community members (e.g., health professionals, teachers, friends/family) influence their beliefs about the HL? 3. How do parents’ beliefs about the impact of a HL on academic/career success influence HL transmission? Thirty-four articles met inclusion criteria. Three themes were …

Preserving The Dignity Of The Irish In "Translations", Diana J. Schoder

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

Focusing on the Anglicization of town names in Brian Friel’s Translations, this article analyzes the significance of translation, beyond names as agents of linguistic imperialism and functions or symbols of identity. Using a Christian lens to demonstrate the intrinsic dignity signified in a name combined with a colonization case study in the Danish West Indies attesting to the injuries of denying a given name, the irreversible damage of translating names into a non-native language is clear. At the same time, imposing Anglicized names on the Irish community allows opportunities for resistance, such as continuing the private use of the …

Gangism: An 'Elementary Form Of Religious Life', Robert Northman

Student Research Symposium

This study is intended to examine the question: could gangs be a form of religion? The study will examine Steven Cureton's ethnographic case study of a street gang as found in his work titled Hoover Crips (2008), where I will then analyze the findings within the sociological framework of Emile Durkheim’s theory of religion as set forth in his classic book titled Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912).

This exploration faces challenges as the terms “gang” and “religion” are both hotly contested, and discussions on each have largely occurred independently, leaving a significant gap for this research to address. This …

Tragedy, Ownership, And Hospitality In Gerar: Lessons From Social Psychology, Moshe S. Rachmuth

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Can the story of Isaac be read with tragedy in mind or is the second patriarch the comedic relief of Genesis? Scholars mostly see Isaac as the book’s fool and thus laughable. Even more clearly so in Gen 26:7-11 which recounts how, during the hunger migration of Isaac and Rebekah to Philistine Gerar, Isaac presented Rebekah as his sister. Comparing Genesis 26 with similar stories about Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 12, 20), Isaac and Rebekah are in lesser danger than Isaac’s parents. This work takes three steps to argue that the story supports the national identity of displaced Israelites. First, …

Seeing Is Believing: Observing Trans Spirituality Through The Smith-Waite Tarot, Phoebe Santalla

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

In 1909 the Rider Company published the Smith-Waite Tarot deck which featured 78 illustrated cards by Pamela Colman Smith. With heavy use of appropriated and ambiguous symbology, the Smith-Waite deck became a meditation tool for realizing alternative realities. By observing the history of the deck, analyzing Smith’s approach to illustration, and retracing the counterculture occult explosion in the 1970s, this essay argues that the Smith-Waite deck is an object the reflects the queered body and self. The modern, trans-contentious, Western political climate creates an environment that obscures the fact that transgender people exist beyond the medicalization of their bodies. To …

What Does Ubuntu Tell Us About What It Means To Be Human? A Journey Towards Ubuntu’S Theology And Anthropology, Jean D'Amour Dusengmuremyi

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

This paper explores the intersection between Ubuntu, contextual social anthropology, and some major topics of systematic theology. In particular, it develops an African model of personhood, making relationship and interdependence the primary constituents of what is human. If developed as a model for the unity and diversity of the Trinity, Ubuntu can help one see how being drawn into the Trinitarian communion could help combat the harmful effects of the modern notion of individualistic personhood by showing that the beauty of unity in diversity leads to greater flourishing of individuals and their communities.

The Congregation In All Her Glory: How The History Of The Association Of Free Lutheran Congregations (Aflc) Can Be Used To Teach Free And Living Church Polity, Stephen Mark Mundfrom

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Among Lutheran denominations in America, the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations privileges the free activity of the congregation with a unique church polity. Because of its rarity, the AFLC is especially concerned that a correct understanding of its polity be taught at its schools and passed on effectively to future generations. One way to ensure that this occurs successfully is through a combination of theological and historical instruction. Historical education has been in decline for several hundred years due to developments in Western thought. Nevertheless, significant arguments can be made for the necessity of an historical and narrative understanding of …

Mental Health And Theologies Of Suffering, Sarah Skrove

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Theologies of suffering have been used by theologians, ministers, and faithful alike to try to understand why God allows innocent suffering. These ideas have been applied to wars, violence, starvation, grief, mental health challenges, and the list goes on. The primary focus of this project is the impact that theologies of suffering have had on the perception of mental health, the experience of those enduring the suffering, and the stigma surrounding treatment. While certain theological narratives are helpful for an individual to find meaning in their own pain, theologians must be careful of uninvited application of scholarship to another’s lived …

The Technical Code For Worship: Inquiry Of Technological Use In Corporate Musical Worship, Rayah Smith

Senior Honors Theses

There are many people who have researched and written on the topic of technology in corporate musical worship. The research reveals eight biblical principles for the use of technology in those contexts as follows: technology in corporate musical worship is meant to be practical; is meant to help the Church communicate; is meant to be driven by the Holy Spirit; is meant to be intentionally efficient; is meant to encourage a unified heart of worship to God; is meant to communicate the gospel; is meant to reflect and amplify God; and is meant to be done with hearts pleasing to …

Finding God In All Things: Contemplation And Action In Karl Rahner And Bernard Lonergan, Henry O. Widdicombe

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

This thesis aims to explore the Ignatian influence that Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan share as a way of comparing the two figures and, consequently, articulating a transcendental theological anthropology that expresses the insights of both and complements each with the other. What emerges from an investigation of the Ignatian roots of Rahner and Lonergan is an awareness of two distinct categories within human experience, an inward dimension wherein psychological and spiritual movements are discerned and an outward dimension where the terms of those movements are worked out—what the Christian tradition has often termed “contemplation” and “action.” For Ignatius, Rahner, …

Mussar And Esotericism In Revolutionary Russia, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper is an introductory comparative look at teachings of two spiritual figures in pre-revolutionary and revolutionary Russia: Rav Yoseph Yozel (Horowitz) and George Gurdjieff. Yozel founded the Novarodok school of Mussar; Gurdjieff founded the spiritual tradition known as “the Work” or “Fourth Way.” There are of course great differences between the Jewish tradition of Mussar, whose literature dates back to the Mishnah but which as a social movement was launched by Rabbi Israel Salantar in the late 19^th century, and the Work, with its affinities to Eastern Christianity, Buddhism, and Sufism but with no apparent connection to Judaism. …

Arrival Of Spring, Ryan Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Ryan Johnson’s plein air paintings address a season of personal longing by relying on the empathetic power of observational painting. His current series of oil on linen panels, painted on site, track the transition from winter to spring in and around New York City. In “Arrival of Spring”, he reflects on the decisions made on site, art historical influences, and the hope of anticipation.

Vision, Repetition And Redemption: Envisioning Universal Salvation In A Group Of Six Carolingian Ivory Book Covers, Valerie Thai

Theses and Dissertations

Six Carolingian ivory plaques share almost identical imagery. This thesis focuses on the figures of Synagoga and the rising dead repeated in the compositions. As the ivories are Gospel covers used in Mass, this study demonstrates how these motifs appeal to the congregation, conveying the Christian tenet of universal salvation.

Judaism, Conversion, And The Limits Of Christian Orthodoxy: The Jewish Identities Of Joseph Wolff And Michael Solomon Alexander As Detailed In Their Memoirs And Missions To Palestine, Michael Iodice

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the Jewish identities of the Anglican missionaries Joseph Wolff and Michael Solomon Alexander by examining their conversion memoirs and evangelical missions to Palestine. It argues that they used Protestant biblical exegesis to emphasize their Jewish heritage and its importance in Christian prophecy.

間, Lele Dai

Theses and Dissertations

LeLe Dai makes contingent participatory public interventions using sensory materials such as sound, flickering light, and water. This paper examines their works through the lens of Chinese character Jian (間), meaning “gap/slit/incision,” to investigate the concept of “in-betweenness.”

The Psalms And The Good Life Of God’S People, Rachel Mccloskey

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

We belong to Christ who speaks his word to us. As a creedal church body, we recognize that God’s word is not only a word to be received, but a word to be confessed back to him. As the Spirit works through the word, he forms and shapes us as God’s confessing people. It has a transformative effect. We belong to Christ and his word does not leave us unchanged.

Not My Church: Confessional Living In An All-Consuming World, Cody Macmillan

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

What I hope to offer in the following pages is a vision for the Church that is not our own in a world that is increasingly foreign to us. In a discussion of the Scriptures and the Sacraments, I would like to present three ways in which this Church is distinctly alien in nature. She presents alien standards, alien sentiment, and alien strength to which we are called to subscribe, submit, and surrender. In presenting the alien nature of this church, I offer points of contrast and comparison with the culture to which we are tempted to succumb. These comparisons …

Our Father Spoke, And It Was Good, Jason Kohm

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

A Wedding Hymn compsed by Jason Kohm.

The Beginnings Of Jewish Missions In The Lcms, Jaron Melin

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

Mission is the theological account of the relationship between the church and the world. Where are the Jews in this relationship? If the church and the Jews had a relationship status on Facebook, then it might say, “It’s complicated.” This may be true of any kind of missions, but this shows itself to be especially true in Lutheran history and in particular LCMS-history. I look at the histories as recorded by Meyer, Lieske, Cohen, Parviz, and others on the early history of Jewish Missions in the LCMS, and I reflect on the context and theology behind them using missiologists like …

The Holy Spirit As The Undiminished Giver In The Early Church, Kyle Weeks

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

At one time or another, virtually every churchgoing Christian is bound to hear the moniker of “Sanctifier” applied to the Holy Spirit. In this role, the Spirit is often described as dwelling within believers to make them holy, so that they might produce the “fruit of the spirit” as they lead good and godly lives.2 To that end, the Spirit is said to effect a complete “regeneration and renewal” of the individual, empowering them with the strength, grace, virtues, and other “spiritual gifts” requisite for Christian life.3 In denominations such as Lutheranism, faith itself is proclaimed to be impossible without …

Virtual Reality In And For Creation, Jaron Melin

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

Within the last few years, there has been growing excitement and concern in the rise of what is called the metaverse. How do various enthusiasts and observers characterize the metaverse? Bobrowsky on the Wall Street Journal reports the metaverse as “an extensive online world transcending individual tech platforms, where people exist in immersive, shared virtual spaces. Through avatars, people are able to try on items available in stores or attend concerts with friends, just as they would offline.”

Letter From The Chairman: Why We Are Not Our Own, Cody Macmillan

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

In his book, You Are Not Your Own, author and professor Alan Noble argues that the fundamental lie of modernity is the one which says we belong to ourselves.1 He is concerned with our society's increased emphasis on individualism, and he asserts that it requires serious and intentional effort to remember how we belong to Christ. This truth, Noble says, is not just a doctrine to which we must subscribe but a reality which touches every part of our lives.2 It runs contrary to the narratives of self-discovery and self-ownership that we are surrounded by today, and it is the …

Bitterness And Anger In Ephesians, Archetypes, & The Bi-Hemispheric Structure Of The Brain: Comparing Paul, Jordan Peterson, And Iain Mcgilchrist, Joshua Armstrong

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

Many people eager to confront falsehood and pursue justice or truth do so nourishing a vindictive, bitter, or resentful attitude. Nourishing anger, particularly resentment, is akin to stoking up the archetypal “Luciferian spirit,” according to clinical psychologist and author Jordan Peterson. This spirit presumes: “what I do is all there is to do, what I know is all there is to know.” It is symptomatic of attending to the world in a way overly reliant on a “left-hemisphere” approach, which leads to entrapment in a “self-reflexive virtual world” disconnected from real “other” things, and only really knowing itself, according to …

Christian Narrative Service: God’S Story Of Everything In Worship, Jaron Melin

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

Christian Narrative Service: God’s Story of Everything in Worship

Grapho 2024, Cody Macmillan

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

Grapho 2024

"Fearfully And Wonderfully Made": The Reconciliation Of The Lgbtqia+ Community To American Christianity, Madalyn Sailors '24

Senior Scholarly and Creative Symposium

I explore in this paper the ways in which churches in the United States treat LGBTQIA+ issues and members in their congregations. To do so, I will focus on several case studies, including the Metropolitan Community Church, the Episcopal Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the United Methodist Church. These examples range from socially affirming to conservative and from traditional to contemporary worship styles. I plan to research the social landscapes of these churches and propose possible solutions for how other faith spaces can create more inclusive membership. I also address my …

How Can Pastors Who Are Working With Youth In Tanzania Help Youth Resolve Christian-Muslim Tensions?, Ombeni Martin Ulime

Master of Theology Theses

No abstract provided.

Theological Foundations For Shobi's Table Extending Hospitality In Hunger Ministry, Esther Kristianti Sianipar

Master of Theology Theses

No abstract provided.