Biblical Studies Commons^™

An Examination Of Children’S Ministry Volunteer Development From Pastors And Laity In The Local Church, Kenneth Warren

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Developing children’s ministry volunteers in the local church is crucial to the sustenance of the body of Christ. Children’s ministry volunteers should be viewed as capable partners with both parents and church leaders in fulfilling the Great Commission. All volunteer ministries of the church matter, but those serving in children’s ministry have the unique opportunity to shape the lives of individuals who could serve the kingdom for a lifetime. Children’s ministry volunteer development is valuable because kingdom advancement hinges on lay ministry development as described in Ephesians 4:11–16. For this project, the researcher surveyed children’s ministry volunteers and pastors in …

Nurturing Church As A Biblical Strategy To Recover A Healthy Church Within South Korean Churches, Jinwook Kang

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There are many churches in South Korea, but not too many healthy churches. A healthy church should have a proof of early church from the Acts. It is impossible to be a healthy church only with a number of people, buildings, programs, and new church planting. The goal of this thesis is to suggest healthy biblical church using early church as a model and propose strategy. This study will first take a look at what is a healthy biblical church. A healthy biblical church is a nurturing church. Conventional church has a lot of nurturing programs, but this thesis compares …

An Introduction To The Free System Corollary: A Theistic Response To The Abductive Problem Of Evil, Peter Morgan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Two important theistic defenses, the Free Will Defense and the Expanded Free Will Defense, provide valuable thought in defense of theism but are insufficient for addressing specific cases of intense evil, as the non-theistic evidential/abductive arguments from the problem of evil are want to do. However, theodical suggestions from systems of regularity, as a necessary part of living out a free will existence, provide a theistic defense that correlates with free will defenses and more fully accounts for the existence of good and intense evil. This Free System Corollary is derived from a starting point of two basic goods in …

Volume 3 Editorial, Daniel Brannan

Dialogue & Nexus

No abstract provided.

Reaching Transcendental Meditation Followers For Jesus: Christian Meditation And Cultural Contextualization, Ashley Boyles

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to build on to research pertaining to Christian meditation, the Transcendental Meditation movement, and theological contextualization for possible evangelism strategy to reach adherents of TM. The first chapter begins with the purpose of the thesis as well as its limitations and research methods to be involved, with a layout of the rest of the thesis. In the second chapter, the literature review examines material from several different perspectives: Christianity, TM, the TM turned Christian, and the nonreligious field of science. The third chapter includes historical background on Transcendental Meditation, its interaction with Western culture, …

Rubin's "The Complete Jewish Study Bible: Insights For Jews & Christians" (Book Review), Jill Botticelli

The Christian Librarian

Rubin, B. (Ed.). (2016). The complete Jewish study Bible: Insights for Jews & Christians. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers. 1990 pp. $49.95. ISBN 9781619708679

A Study On The Effect Of Church Revival And Growth Throught A Bible Academy: The Case Of Jeju Together Church In Korea, Soo Yoo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to emphasize the need for and importance of an intensive Bible study ministry in church and to suggest specific alternatives by studying the effect of church planting and revival through a Bible Academy in a Korean church. Church growth in South Korea has long since accompanied Bible study ministry. Sadly, Korean churches in the 21st century have been experiencing a slowdown and downturn in growth. Though there may be a variety of causes, the absence of a systematic and ongoing Bible study is one of them. This study is focused on providing a Bible …

Humanity's Capacity To Apprehend Aesthetic Value As An Argument For God's Existence, Walter Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This work presents a theistic argument for the existence of God based on man’s ability to apprehend, aesthetic value. The argument is called the Aesthetic Theistic Argument. Man’s ability to appreciate aesthetic value is unique among biological life forms and is common to every human culture. Explaining the origins of this ability implies a creator/designer who also apprehends aesthetic value. The study both affirms the argument for theism and critiques the philosophical and scientific foundations of Darwinian naturalism. The result of this study affirms the cause for man’s capacity to apprehend aesthetic value is best explained by the existence of …

New Testament Holiness, Thomas Cook

Heritage Material

No abstract provided.

The Battle Is Real: Spiritual Warfare, Discipleship, And The Christian “Soldier”, Frank Hain

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of current literature demonstrates a plethora of material focused on various deliverance techniques, yet very little material is available to assist pastors with developing a spiritual warfare “basic training” plan. The purpose of this project is to illuminate a ministry’s desperate need to adopt a spiritual warfare worldview, to present the basic elements essential to a spiritual warfare basic training plan, and to create an effective strategy for implementing such a plan. Based on surveys and questionnaires sent to pastors and other ministry leaders, the project reveals the need for a spiritual warfare basic training plan for any …

Making Ritual Strange: The Temple Cult As The Foundation For Tannaitic Discourse On Idolatry, Avram R. Shannon

Faculty Publications

This article examines the Tannaitic conception of the worship of avodah zarah. The term is commonly translated as “idolatry,”but the definition of what constitutes worship of avodah zarah, in m. Sanh. 7:6, is based on a more nuanced notion than simply worship of foreign gods. For the Sages of the Mishnah, worship of avodah zarah involved misuse of objects and rituals associated with the Temple cult, which constituted a betrayal of covenantal loyalty. This means that although the rabbinic laws against the worship of avodah zarah were based on the biblical prohibitions against worshiping other gods, the actual …

Deconstructing Theodicy: A Fresher Reading Of The Book Of Job, Anthony Maynard

Masters Theses

The Book of Job displays well the reality of the human predicament. However, does the Book of Job provide an answer to the problem it so vividly displays: the existence of God and the reality of suffering? This paper is a quest for an answer, which, if correct, is no. The purpose of the book has less to do with an answer for why good people suffer and more to do with exactly what God has done, and continues to do, to rectify suffering, culminating in the Christ event. Stated simply, the Book of Job exists as a harbinger, to …

Spiritual Formation: A Model To Strengthen The Mission, Operation, And Commitment Of African American Churches, Anthony Bailey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Spiritual formation, the practice of intentional spiritual disciplines like fasting, silence, studying, and fellowship, should be the heart of growth in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina small churches. This practice assists congregants in developing closeness with God and relationships with others. Amidst a steady decline in national church attendance since 1992, few of today’s African-American Church ministries address the need for spiritual formation. This thesis explores this critical issue at the local level through interviews with pastors and church leaders, who describe their churches’ current efforts to foster spiritual formation in congregants. The findings are used to propose a model for local …

An Effectiveness Survey Study Of Theophostic Prayer Ministry, Brigitte Ritchey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study assessed the perceived level of effectiveness of Thoephostic Prayer Minister (TPM) as measured by recipients’ overall and specific ratings of TPM’s impact on their lives, and assessed the validity of concerns that TPM leads to unusually high rates of negative outcomes. Method: Using a cross-sectional design, recipients completed a self-administered survey following their weekly session during one week of data collection at three different geographic locations across the United States. Data was analyzed for frequencies using one-way ANOVA’s. Results: Findings revealed 94% of respondents indicated that their overall problems improved, with 35% indicating the highest rating of improvement. …

Developing A Strategy To Make Young Adult Disciples In Korean Churches: Focusing On God’S Word In A Discipleship Process, Hyun Park

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There are many discipleship programs in Korean churches; however, the programs have not had positive effects on young adult for the purpose of developing disciple makers. Discipleship for young adult requires many elements in the process including God’s word, fellowship, training in Christian habits, and spiritual maturity. The purpose of the thesis is to examine Jesus’ and the Apostles’ discipleship processes and to suggest a strategy for making young adult multiply in Korean churches, focusing on God’s words as a discipleship making process. This study will explore discipleship processes of the New Testament and discuss how God’s Word has an …

The Transitioning Of A Non-Functional Church Into A Functional Church: The Great Commission Commandment Mandate, Charlie Williams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

From conception, America has embraced the Christian church as its cornerstone. However, as noted by Barnes and Lowry, “Church attendance has decreased substantially in recent years in comparison to the 1950s and 60s. The majority of Americans do not attend church on a regular basis.” This thesis project will research churches with regards to their effectiveness and will both isolate and analyze the characteristics of churches that fit into operative categories. A survey using a quantitative research instrument, such as the Likert Measurement Scale, will examine the New Hope Missionary Baptist Association of North Carolina. The survey’s purpose will be …

Maimonides’ Yahweh: How His Via Negativa God Influenced Rabbinic Judaism And Its Subsequent Misunderstanding Of Incarnational Christian Theology, Amy Downey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The life of Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides) remains a mystery to many within evangelical Christianity while he is lauded as a “Second Moses” within Modern Judaism. In many ways, Maimonides is deserving of the title as his understanding of the nature of God being that of via Negativa created a rationale for rejecting the Messiahship claims of Jesus in Rabbinic Judaism. However, and one of the purposes of this dissertation, is to illustrate that Maimonides in his desire to create an anti-Christian apologetic regarding the Incarnation fashioned a Judaism that does not reflect the truths of the Tanakh (Old Testament) …

Biblical Principles Of Small Group Ministry, Shawn Barr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Small group ministry models abound today, and so do the materials that provide the methodology for these models. However, there seems to be a dearth of resources that connect the methods with a theological foundation. This project will demonstrate the need for examining small groups from a theological aspect, and then examine the principles of biblical community as found in Scripture. These principles will then be measured through surveys of at least fifty participants in small group settings from several churches, including the churches where the author was the small group pastor for the last seven years and where he …

A Causal Comparative Analysis Of Biblical Worldview Among Graduate Students Based On Christian School Attendance, David Baniszewski

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

One of the primary objectives of the Christian school (K-12) is the development of a biblical worldview in its students. This study examined the impact that these Christian schools had on their students’ biblical worldview development by administering a biblical worldview assessment to graduate students at a private, Christian university (Liberty University). Christian, graduate students in the School of Education at Liberty completed a demographic survey and a biblical worldview assessment. The survey collected information on age, gender, type of K-12 schools attended, profession to the Christian faith, and denominational background. The results of the survey and assessment were analyzed …

A Case Study Examining Growth In Understanding Biblical Anointing At Faith Baptist Church, Steven Headrick

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Why do some Christians expect and experience the power of God (biblical anointing) in their daily living and other Christians rarely do? This project contends that a lack of understanding the principles of biblical anointing is a fundamental cause of this difference. The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of biblical anointing by the Christians attending Faith Baptist Church. Biblical principles related to understanding, living and maintaining the anointed life will be presented. This project will measure the increase in understanding biblical anointing from the responses given to pre-study and post-study surveys. The teaching will be in …

Righting America At The Creation Museum, Susan L. Trollinger, William Vance Trollinger

English Faculty Publications

On May 28, 2007, the Creation Museum opened in Petersburg, Kentucky. Aimed at scientifically demonstrating that the universe was created less than ten thousand years ago by a Judeo-Christian god, the museum is hugely popular, attracting millions of visitors over the past eight years. Surrounded by themed topiary gardens and a petting zoo with camel rides, the site conjures up images of a religious Disneyland. Inside, visitors are met by dinosaurs at every turn and by a replica of the Garden of Eden that features the Tree of Life, the serpent, and Adam and Eve.

In Righting America at the …

Old Testament Costume Resource Guide, Rory R. Scanlon

Faculty Publications

This report offers visual costume research support for artists working on Old Testament Bible projects, with an historical overview of Mesopotamia and how to understand its historical clothing pieces, an annotated listing of the best research sources, a list of garment and fabric terms for the 4000 BC to 0 AD period, and sample sketches from historical artifacts to suggest how to interpret the original research images the artist will encounter.

Beyond The Confines Of Tolerance In Rachid Buchareb’S London River: Theological Discussion And Educational Approach To An Open Ended Film, Panayiotis A. Thoma Pth

Journal of Religion & Film

The article discusses Rachid Buchareb's film London River both from a theological and an educational point of view. Therefore I argue that this film may be of great use in the lesson of Religious Education (or other subjects that concern multicultural and inter-religious affairs), for it raises some crucial existential issues, mainly: how do people of different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds truly connect to one another especially in cases in which these exact differences may be the cause of extreme suffering. This is actually the thematic concept of the film. Based on the teachings of the Bible and particularly, …

The Importance And Relevance Of Preaching Isaiah's Message Today, Bill Thompson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Verbal Valency In Biblical Hebrew : An Analysis Of The Valency Of `Br, James Douglas Wilson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Leadership Model For The Korean Immigrant Church, Woongtae Kim

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Theology Of Meta (With)-Evangelism: The Theological, Historical, Practical Cases For Robert Coleman's Principle Of Association In Discipleship Strategies Today, Namsik Kim

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Wesleyan Narrative Pastoral Conversations : Coauthoring The Parishioner's Story Through Wesleyan Theology, Narrative Therapy, And Pastoral Counseling, Christie Robbins

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Transformational And Strategic Leadership : Its Impact On The Capacity For Organizational Effectiveness, Barbara Angela Dobson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Integrity In Christian Leadership : Giftedness + Integrity(3) = Productivity, Jasmin O. Brown

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"One of the christian world’s greatest leadership challenges today is integrity. the church is facing an integrity crisis that will compromise its influence within society. this integrity crisis within the church serves as the impetus for exploring the importance of integrity among christian leaders. this study examines three dimensions of integrity: personal integrity, vocational integrity,"