History of Christianity Commons^™

On Making “Universal Human Rights” Universal: The Intelligibility Of Human Rights In Jacques Maritain’S Natural Law Theory, Jeremy M. Wallace

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This article examines the thought and influence of Jacques Maritain, specifically his application of Traditional Natural Law (TNL) theory to the vexing challenge of what makes universal human rights universal. The author shows how TNL satisfies the preconditions for the “universality factor” needed for making human rights truly universal where rival theories such as legal positivism, New Natural Law, and Empirical Natural Law fall short.

Then Peter Stood Up: A Dialogical Narrative Analysis Of Peter’S Preparation For Spokesperson At Pentecost, Rebekah Bled

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Dialogical Narrative Analysis (DNA) asks, in brief, what work a story does in the context in which it is told and on the teller of the story itself. In applying DNA to Peter, this article assumes the premise that Peter’s meaning-making, or construction of the dialogical self in dynamic relationship with Jesus, positioned him to be the spokesperson who narrated the events of Pentecost. Therefore, this article seeks to understand how Jesus’ naming and accompanying statement to Peter that “on this rock I will build my church” and the unfolding narrative of Peter’s discipleship uniquely prepare Peter for this role. …

What Does “Spiritual Anointing” Have To Do With Ministry To The Poor?, William L. Lyons

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

The Bible employs various tactics to draw readers’ attention to its message. When something new is about to happen, the clearest, direct track is sometimes preferable: “I [the LORD] am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?” (Isa 43:19; emphasis mine). Similarly, in Jeremiah: “The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (Jer 31:31; emphasis mine). Another method employed by biblical writers repeats carefully chosen words to garner attention: “‘The LORD has done great things …

Editorial: Arrive And Revive?, Jeffrey S. Lamp

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Spiritus 8.1 (2023), [email protected]

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

Full Issue Spiritus 8.1 (2023), [email protected]

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

Gregory Of Nyssa And Apocatastasis, Weston Fields

Beets Paper Contest

Religion 243: Ancient and Medieval Christian Theology

Thesis: Gregory of Nyssa's arguments in favor of apocatastasis are very compelling.

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 58 No 1 - April 2023), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

From the Editor: Karin Maag - 1 / Articles: “Going Abroad” in the German Academy: Abraham Kuyper as Continental Philosopher by Dylan Pahman - 3 / Old Princeton’s Midwestern Allies: An Aspect of Reformed Recovery Since 1930 by Kenneth J. Stewart - 29 / Catholic, Evangelical, and Reformed: The Theological Vision of I. John Hesselink by David Komline - 53 / Short Studies Low-Level Church Workers in the Spread of Reformed Protestantism in the Seventeenth-Century Dutch East Indies by Yudha Thianto - 89 / Review Essay: A New Wave of Scholarship on Karl Barth by Ronald J. Feenstra - …

Finding The Historical Church: A Pursuit In Futility, Tyler Skywalker

Senior Honors Theses

Many Protestants today have been disenchanted with Protestantism due to the great degree of denominationalism which is rife within the tradition. This disenchantment has led some Protestants to explore the Catholic and Orthodox churches, because of their apparent historicity. Within modern Christianity, a claim to be the historical church can be a powerful apologetic for several denominations. However, because of the influence of various factors, political and otherwise, no modern church can accurately claim to be the historical church. Consequently, Christians ought to look to Scripture as the sole authoritative source of doctrine and use church structures similar to the …

Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 65, No. 2

Restoration Quarterly

PDF of the cover of Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 65, No. 2.

This repository hosts selected Restoration Quarterly articles in downloadable PDF format. For the benefit of users who would like to browse the contents of RQ, we have included all issue covers even when full-text articles from that issue are unavailable. All Restoration Quarterly articles are available in full text in the ATLA Religion Database, available through most university and theological libraries or through your local library’s inter-library loan service.

Res Historica, Volume 2, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2023 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg. Johnathan Sorce, and Helen Smith. Cover art for this volume by Helen Smith.

Bishops Of Peace, Daniel Philpott

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

The Autobiography Of An American Peace Bishop, Jens Mueller

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Cardinal Cahal Daly: A Vatican Ii Bishop Seeking The Kingdom Of God, Maria Power

The Journal of Social Encounters

Cardinal Cahal Daly (1917-2009) was the only member of the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland to hold office from the beginning of the conflict there in 1969 to the paramilitary ceasefires in 1996. He was well known for his pronouncements on the causes of the conflict and his use of Catholic social teaching to offer solutions. Political structures have played a key role in stabilising Northern Ireland since 1998 and Daly used Catholic concepts of democracy and statecraft to explore alternative possible futures for Northern Ireland in the years prior to their implementation. This article will show how much of his …

‘No Longer A European Export’: How The Church Became Truly Global, John T. Mcgreevy

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Bishops In The Catholic Peace Tradition, Ronald G. Musto

The Journal of Social Encounters

This brief survey takes a historical perspective on the role of Catholic bishops in global peacemaking. Building on my previous work 1 and more recent research, it focuses on the roles of bishop as teacher, ruler, and minister of the sacraments and on the interplay between prophetic protest and institutional authority. It covers the origins of the bishop’s office, the development o f prophetic protest and rule in episcopal peacemaking in the early church and Middle Ages, including the Peace and Truce of God. It then turns to early modern peacemaking and the influence of humanist thinkers on Latin American …

Classical Theism In John Wesley's Sermons, Francis Gayoba

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This article examines John Wesley’s sermons in order to assess whether his doctrine of God may best be classified in terms of strict classical theism or modified classical theism. His view of God’s nature is informed by his inherited Anglican theology, which is blended with his evangelical proclivities. Of relevance to the inquiry into Wesley’s theism are several key concepts: (1) the interrelated divine attributes of omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience; (2) divine eternity in relation to human time; and (3) divine love. Wesley’s sermons that discuss omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience appear to align closely with classical theism. However, in contrast …

Resolving The Confusion In Revelation 6:11, Edwin Reynolds

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

In most English versions, Revelation 6:11 includes an interpolation ("the number of") which changes the meaning of the verse. This article evaluates the evidence for changes in the reading and interpretation of the text and the grammatical problems introduced by the interpolation, looking closely at the Greek grammar and syntax of the passage, which does not allow for the interpolation. Then the literary-historical problems with the interpolation are considered, noting the assumptions behind the interpolation and their weaknesses. Finally, the theological problems created by the interpolation are observed. I conclude that the interpolation is unfounded and attempt to address the …

Sex In Church: The Christian Vocation Of Sexuality Within The Ecclesial Community, Sarah Talena Rusche

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Rusche, Sarah Talena. “Sex in Church: The Christian Vocation of Sexuality Within the Ecclesial Community.” Master’s thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2023. 71 pp.

Sex is characterized as an individualistic endeavor by both Christian and non-Christian thinkers. The culture of the world gives license to every individual to choose what kind of sexual experiences they would like to give and receive, while the culture of Christianity isolates individuals navigating the complexities of sexuality. In response to this individualism, this thesis argues that a faithful sexual ethic orders itself according to God’s will for His creation by considering the needs of the ecclesial …

The Dwell Bible Listening App As An Effective Tool To Habituate Daily Bible Engagement In The Local Congregation, Daniel Russell Prugh

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Prugh, Daniel R. “The Dwell Bible Listening App as an Effective Tool to Habituate Daily Bible Engagement in the Local Congregation.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2023. "115" pp.

Congregational members desire to engage the Bible daily. However, oftentimes there are barriers to this goal. One of the most important barriers is that people do not regularly read. This is problematic if the church desires for people to read the Bible daily. In addition, people encounter a tsunami of information every day, that makes it hard to prioritize regular engagement with the Bible. However, the church can …

I Was Looking For God: A Study Of Wehrmacht Personnel And Their Personal Relationships With Religion, Christopher Bishop

Master's Theses

The Wehrmacht was Germany’s fighting force in the field during World War II. Its brutality and discriminatory practices rivaled that of the Nazi paramilitary and police units dispatched alongside them in newly conquered areas during this conflict. Coming from a society that was not at all unfamiliar with Christianity, some within the Wehrmacht related to Christianity in some form and attempted to use it to either justify actions or make sense of the world around them.

While considerable scholarship exists on the Nazi Party’s relationship to Christianity as a convenient propaganda tool for both soldier and civilian alike, the historiography …

Manufacturing A Protestant Consensus: Religion And Regime Entrenchment In The Eisenhower Era, John W. Compton

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

The party regime concept is central to the study of American political development. Yet many questions about the processes through which party regimes are created, maintained, and dismantled remain unanswered. This article argues that religious bodies have historically played an important role in these processes. Specifically, I demonstrate that “mainline” Protestant groups made three distinct contributions to the entrenchment of the post–New Deal Democratic regime. First, the National Council of Churches (NCC) credibly reframed Democratic policy commitments as embodying universal values (as opposed to the preferences of favored interest groups). Second, the NCC's economic policy arm, which included representatives from …

Competing Social Influence In Contested Diffusion: Luther, Erasmus And The Spread Of The Protestant Reformation, Sascha O. Becker, Steven Pfaff, Yuan Hsiao, Jared Rubin

ESI Working Papers

The spread of radical institutional change does not often result from one-sided pro-innovation influence; countervailing influence networks in support of the status quo can suppress adoption. We develop a model of multiple and competing network diffusion. To apply the contested-diffusion model to real data, we look at the contest between Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus, the two most influential intellectuals of early 16th-century Central Europe. Whereas Luther championed a radical reform of the Western Church that broke with Rome, Erasmus opposed him, stressing the unity of the Church. In the early phase of the Reformation, these two figures utilized influence …

No Lack Of Gain: A Biblical Theology Of Feminine Generosity, Jenny Zoë Huelsman

Master of Art Theology Thesis

This thesis traces a biblical theology of feminine generosity. The capable wife of Prov. 31:10–31 sets an Old Testament paradigm, which is inhabited and enlarged by women in the New Testament. The thesis considers the women who supported Jesus’ ministry (Luke 8:1–3); the widow and her mites (Luke 21:1–4); Mary’s anointing of Jesus (John 12:1–8); and Tabitha caring for the widows (Acts 9:36–42). Throughout these profiles, a picture emerges of women who make essential contributions to the mission and work of Christ as agents of generosity that is derivative, expressive, contextual, intemperate, and Christocentric, always flowing from and returning to …

Congregational Vertical File, Mcgarvey Ice

Center for Restoration Studies Vertical Files Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

"Understanding Transgender Identities: Four Views" [Review] / Beilby, James K. And Paul Rhodes Eddy, Eds. ., Ronald Rojas

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a book review

On God’S Side Of History: Time And Apocalyptic History In Paul’S Speech To The Areopagus, Keldie Paroschi

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This paper considers Paul’s speech to the Areopagus from the framework of Jewish apocalyptic historiography in order to determine the degree of overlap between Paul’s conceptual background on history and time and Stoic philosophy. The main facets of Jewish apocalyptic historiography include unique conceptions of God, time, and human existence with unique existential implications, all of which are found in Acts 17:22–31. The added element of the Christ event (vv. 30–31) heightens the urgency of Paul’s message of repentance. Despite some proximity between Paul and Stoicism, the Jewish apocalyptic worldview of Acts 17 differs significantly from the pantheistic and deterministic …

Discovering The Means To Provide Mentorship For Post-Seminary Pastoral Formation From Apprentice To Craftsman: A Pastoral Journey, Paul Hass

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This project seeks to produce a distinct process for the discerning of who might best serve as mentors to those newly ordained. The process aims to allow for people in ecclesiastical leadership roles to discern which of the numerous available pastoral mentors might best be suited for fostering a long-term mentoring relationship to a newly ordained pastor. This project uses the results of qualitative research, drawn from interviews, to provide a matrix for evaluating potential mentors through the lens of the Adaptive Leadership model. The resulting evaluation process was ‘tested’ in a truncated format through the Office of the President …

First Christian Voices: Practices Of The Apostolic Fathers, Michael T. Cooper

Sacred Roots Spiritual Classics

What were the most important practices in the early church? In this volume, Michael Cooper arranges the writings of the Apostolic Fathers into eight themes that provide deeper understanding about the subjects important to the disciples of the New Testament apostles.

First Christian Voices examines the written testimonies of the late first and second centuries to discover what animated the church in the face of internal and external struggles and growth as the gospel extended to the boundaries of the Roman Empire.

Interviews In Support Of For The Whole World : A Century Of Mission At Asbury Theological Seminary, John Steven O'Malley

Seminary History Documents

No abstract provided.