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Creative Disobedience: Dorothee Sölle's Political Theology And Ethics For U.S. Christian Contexts, Dannis Matteson

Dissertations

This dissertation adapts Dorothee Sölle’s concept of creative disobedience to account for those histories of obedience to structures of domination and to foster moral agency that disrupts and dismantles structures of domination. The first two chapters contextualize and summarize Dorothee Sölle’s critique of obedience and her warning against the way in which the obedient social character yields a “Christofascist” society. Chapter II considers the extent to which Christofascism already exists in US society today through Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry’s study of the political and cultural prevalence of Christian nationalism. Chapter III contextualizes Dorothee Sölle’s theoretical critique of …

"It's Good To Doubt Saints, Vladim.": Medieval Constructions Of Sainthood, Their Histories, And Their Cults In Leigh Bardugo's Shadow And Bone, Kacie Barrett

Master's Theses

The Grishaverse is the fictional world created by author Leigh Bardugo that encompasses three separate series and ten different books. First published in 2012, the Shadow and Bone trilogy introduces readers to the world of Ravka, its Grisha, and its saints. The story follows Alina as she moves from orphan and soldier to saint and martyr. Sankta Alina becomes a character of its own – a version of Alina communicated to the people of Ravka as a banner to rally behind. She is made into living saint. The questions raised by Leigh Bardugo are echoed in church history. Sainthood is …

"To This You Were Called": Discipleship, Suffering, And Social Identity In First Peter, Shane Patrick Gormley

Dissertations

At the center of First Peter’s rhetoric stands an exhortation to “follow” in Christ’s footsteps (2:21). Several scholars have suggested (sometimes off-handedly or in a singular footnote) that this specific exhortation utilizes the technical language of “discipleship,” but only to support a particular piece of the letter’s paraenesis (2:18–25). I contend that such a suggestion, while a helpful place to start, does not go far enough. With this study, I propose that we may read First Peter comprehensively as a summons to discipleship in accord with ancient understandings of education, exemplified in the multifaceted system of Hellenistic paideia. I argue …

“But You Don't Look Sick…:” Shedding Light On The Socially Constructed Problems Of Invisible Chronic Illness And The Benefits Of Shifting To A Dynamic Illness Framework, Samantha Susan Ropski

Master's Theses

Invisible chronic illness is a common, complex phenomenon that applies to any illness, disease, or collection of symptoms that is not always or ever outwardly apparent or discernable to onlookers, even in biomedical contexts. Interestingly, despite 96% of those with chronic illness fitting under the “invisible” umbrella, patients are frequently misdiagnosed, invalidated, dismissed and marginalized because they do not “look sick” enough within the context of the disease-focused medical model. This thesis aims to argue that many of the most significant and damaging problems associated with chronic illness are not due to the actual illnesses themselves but rather, are socially …

The Impact Of Preaching The Image Of God As Disability-Inclusive, Laurie E. Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

According to Howard (2010), the North American Mission Board (NAMB) considers the disabled community in America to be unreached by the church. Hardwick (2021) also writes, “The disability community is the most unique community, the largest minority group in the world” (p. 12). This quantitative descriptive research study explored the frequency of preaching the biblical principle imago Dei, found in Genesis 1:27, in a way that includes the disabled, and how this preaching may impact disability-inclusivity in the church. The Word of God states, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them” …

Paul And Economics: A Theology Of The Gospel And Economics, Brent Allen Myers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

An often overlooked biblical theology that the Apostle Paul addresses is economics. Economics impacts every area of an individual's life and even more so in the ancient world. Paul's chief concern is with the gospel of Jesus and one of the chief components of a believer's new life in Christ is how they handle their own economic situation. This work seeks to analyze the writings of Paul and explore his comments on the economic realities of individuals based on God's authority.

The Faithful Vassal: The Suzerain-Vassal Covenant Relationship As A Biblical-Theological Theme Connecting The Old And New Testament Narratives, Tyler Matthew Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Much has been written within the scholarly literature regarding the nature of the Mosaic Law as being one which reflects a suzerain-vassal covenant between Yahweh and the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, and particularly in the book of Deuteronomy. Likewise, it has been well established by scholars that this covenant relationship serves as a key biblical-theological theme within the narrative of the former prophets, the so-called “Deuteronomistic history.” At the same time, however, there have been relatively few attempts to examine the ways in which this critical theme features throughout the remainder of the biblical narratives, from the …

The Inability Of Negative Higher Criticism To Undermine The Biblical Portrait Of Jesus Christ, Brett Arthur Seybold

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Paul Tillich described, the attempt of historical criticism to find the empirical truth about Jesus of Nazareth as a failure. John Dominic Crossan described this lack of consensus among critical scholars regarding the person of Jesus as “a bad joke.” This lack of consensus by skeptics, as well as their shared reluctancy to abandon the task of attempting to make sense of who Jesus Christ truly was historically serves as the backbone of this dissertation where I argue that Jesus transcends negative higher criticism in particular and the post-Christian mindset in general. I argue that He constitutes a suis generis …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Lack Of Baptist Church Participation In Seminole County, Florida, Ismael Melendez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study explores the reasons for a lack of participation in in-person Baptist churches and the rise of participation in online Baptist churches in Seminole County, Florida. The theory guiding this study was Martin Heidegger’s hermeneutical framework which focuses on the commonality of experiences. Heidegger believed that to arrive at the essence of a phenomenon a researcher must go through the revisionary process of what Heidegger termed the Hermeneutic Circle. The principal research question in this study explored existing relationship(s) between in-person and online Baptist church leaders and how such relationship(s) contributed to a lack of church participation. The …

A Research Into The Influence Of Jewish Priests, Scribes, And Canonical And Non-Canonical Jewish Apocalyptic Literature On M Materials, Rajesh Sebastian

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

M materials refer to any content in Matthew that is not found in Mark and Luke and hence considered to be not part of the hypothetical Q. Questions are raised regarding the source and historical reliability of M materials. Many scholars consider M narratives to be fictional. Research work has been lacking among Matthean scholars to identify a source for M narratives. The primary goal of this research is to identify the Jewish priests as a plausible source of some M narratives. The research also attempts to unravel the reason for the Jewish apocalyptic influence on M materials and argues …

Archaeology And Hauntology: An Ongoing, Stalled Conversation, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

It is certainly possible that we might learn to better acknowledge the spirits of our ancestors who came before us, as well as to recognize them in such ways that we also learn to embrace the ‘woven density’ of our own lives, our histories and our communities. By doing so, we might begin to discover that the spirits we had thought were removed from our modern, secularized world never fully left us, just as the irrationality of our humanity cannot be fully tamed via a reductive, rational and scientific outlook on life. There are, as Bruno Latour had frequently argued, …

The New Boy, Sherry Coman

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of The New Boy (2023), directed by Warwick Thornton.

Capers Chapel History, Capers Chapel United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Capers Chapel Membership Records, Capers Chapel United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Carlisle History, Carlisle United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Carlisle Membership, Carlisle United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Catawba Membership Records, Catawba Unwtd Mthodwbt Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Carlisle - Gilliams Chapel Membership, Carlisle United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Cades Charge Conference 2022, Cades United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Cades Membership Records, Cades United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Cameron Charge Conference 2022, Cameron United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Cameron Membership Records, Cameron United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Campobello Cemetery Records, Campobello United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Campobello Church Council Records, Campobello United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Campobello Property Records, Campobello United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Japanese-English Translation: Nishida Kitarō––“Self-Determination Of The Eternal Now” 「永遠の今の自己限定」、西田幾多郎著（昭和六年七月） (July 1931) §1 Of 4; Complete Draft (Supersedes Draft Of 2 Jan 19); Translated By Christopher Southward; Revision And Expansion Underway, Christopher Southward

Comparative Literature Faculty and Student Scholarship

Japanese-English Translation: Nishida Kitarō––“Self-Determination of the Eternal Now” (July 1931) 「永遠の今の自己限定」、西田幾多郎著（昭和六年七月）

§1 of 4; Complete Draft (Supersedes Draft of 2 Jan 2019)

Translated from the Japanese by Christopher Southward; Revision and Expansion Underway, October 2023

Irena's Vow, Sherry Coman

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Irena's Vow (2023), directed by Louise Archambault.

Muslim Heroes On Screen, Ahmad Nuril Huda

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Daniel O'Brien, Muslim Heroes on Screen (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).

Representing Religion In Film, Joseph P. Laycock

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Tenzan Eaghll and Rebekka King, eds., Representing Religion in Film (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022).

The T&T Clark Handbook Of Jesus And Film, Joel Mayward

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Richard Walsh, ed. The T&T Clark Handbook of Jesus and Film (London: T&T Clark, 2021).