History of Christianity Commons^™

Protestants Protesting Protestantism: 20th Century Experiments In Monasticism, George Faithful

Collected Faculty Scholarship

Contrary to popular belief, there have often been monastic sisterhoods and brotherhoods in Protestantism. In Germany, Möllenbeck, Loccum, and Marienberg all contained cloisters that embraced the Lutheran Reformation but retained much of their monastic practice. That such groups are relatively unknown may reflect the ambivalence of those in positions of power toward potential holdovers from Catholicism. Protestant monasticism has never been normative; therefore, its occurrence might best be understood as an implicit critique of the mainstream confessions. For the purposes of this paper I will not define monasticism as a vague and flexible lifestyle of contemplation and asceticism, as have …

Dis-Manteling More, Peter Iver Kaufman

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, winner of the prestigious 2009 Booker-Man award for fiction, re-presents the 1520s and early 1530s from Thomas Cromwell's perspective. Mantel mistakenly underscores Cromwell's confessional neutrality and imagines his kindness as well as Thomas More's alleged cruelty. The book recycles old and threadbare accusations that More himself answered. "Dis-Manteling" collects evidence for the accuracy of More's answers and supplies alternative explanations for events and for More's attitudes that Mantel packs into her accusations. Wolf Hall is admirably readable, although prejudicial. Perhaps it is fair for fiction to distort so ascertainably, yet I should think that historians will …

The Evangelical Sisterhood Of Mary: Profile Of A Protestant Monastic Order, George Faithful

Collected Faculty Scholarship

It is not self-evident that there should be Protestant nuns. Yet the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary has existed in Germany for over sixty years. Why? How did the Sisterhood come to be? And what are the Sisters’ distinctive practices and beliefs? To answer these questions, I will provide a brief historical overview of the sisters’ founding, followed by a survey of the teachings of Mother Basilea, their preeminent founder, which I will augment with an analysis of the architecture of the sisters’ communities.

~Presentation excerpt~

The Council Of Nicaea: Constantine's Sword Or Shield?, Pamela T. Gaskill

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

This paper examines events from the late third century to the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E. The scope of this study is not to debate the differences in translation of ancient texts but rather to examine how the Council of Nicaea changed the path of orthodox Christianity and was used to fuel Constantine's ambition. Constantine called the Council of Nicaea to maintain the integrity of his empire. He recognized the potential hidden in Christian communities. His success in calling the Council of Nicaea should not be measured by the doctrine that emerged, but rather by the decline of theological …

The Shepherd Goes To War: Santo Domingo Revisited, Martha Daas

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications

The thirteenth century was witness to a revolution in personal piety and the Camino de Santiago represented this new age. Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages became not only a symbol of devotion, but also a powerful method of active participation in one’s own salvation.¹ The importance of this burgeoning individualism is reflected by the miracle tales of a saint who is connected both spiritually and geographically to Santiago and his trail. Like the miracles attributed to the patron saint, the miracles of Santo Domingo de Silos, as they are interpreted by Gonzalo de Berceo, reflect this revolution in personal …

Nicholaas H. Gootjes, The Belgic Confession: Its History And Sources, John B. Roney

History Faculty Publications

Book review by John Roney.

Gootjes, Nicholaas H. The Belgic Confession: Its History and Sources. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007.

ISBN 9780801032356

Vengeance And The Crusades, Susanna A. Throop

History Faculty Publications

This article demonstrates that the popularity of the idea of crusading as vengeance was not limited to the laity, and, instead of fading away after 1099, the ideology grew more widespread as the twelfth century progressed. The primary aim here is to present the evidence alongside preliminary analysis, reserving further, more detailed interpretation for future publications.

John Wesley And Slavery: Myth And Reality, Irv Brendlinger

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

1. Was Wesley opposed to the institution of slavery? Or is that merely myth, because he only opposed the horrors of the slave trade? The reason for this question is that many eighteenth-century persons were greatly opposed to the slave trade, but had no moral difficulty with the institution of slavery.

2. If he opposed slavery, was it the abuses that troubled him, or did he reject the philosophical underpinnings of the institution itself?

3. What is truth and what is myth about Wesley's contemporaries, such as his friend John Newton, author of Amazing Grace, and known as the "converted …

The Making Of The French Episcopate, 1589–1661 (Book Review), John B. Roney

History Faculty Publications

Reviews the book by Joseph Bergin.

Bergin, Joseph. The Making of the French Episcopate, 1589-1661. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996. ISBN 9780300067514

Calvin’S Jewish Interlocutor: Christian Hebraism And Anti-Jewish Polemics During The Reformation, Stephen G. Burnett

Department of Classics and Religious Studies: Faculty Publications

The nature of Calvin’s tractate Reponse to questions and objections of a certain Jew (Ad quaestiones et obiecta Judaei cuiusdam responsio) has long been a matter of some dispute among Calvin scholars. The nineteenth-century editors of Calvin’s works considered the book to be “meager and weak,” no doubt assuming that Calvin was responsible for composing both the questions and answers. In the twentieth century, scholars have been more inclined to see some evidence of an actual dispute between a Jew and a Christian in the book. Most notably Salo Baron suggested that the work reflects an exchange that Josel of …

Johannes Buxtorf I And The Circumcision Incident Of 1619, Stephen G. Burnett

Department of Classics and Religious Studies: Faculty Publications

Johannes Buxtorf I has frequently been portrayed in the scholarly literature as a vigorous proponent of missions to the Jews and an implacable foe of their religion. The circumcision incident of 1619 casts a slightly different light upon Buxtorf and his relations with the Jews. While Buxtorf made his religious objections to Jewish circumcision clear, his opinion of the event and the city council's reaction to it differed markedly. Differing views of what constituted "appropriate" behavior for Christians toward Jews lie at the heart of this unhappy incident.

A Short History Of The Anabaptists Of High And Low Germany: A Diplomatic Edition With Introduction And Notes, E. Hugh K. Hill

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

No abstract provided.

The Puritans' Use Of Scripture In The Development Of An Apocalyptic Hermeneutic, Edward Hindson

Faculty Dissertations

The study of the apocalyptical phenomenon in biblical prophecy is an area of current investigation in biblical studies. The present dissertation utilizes the sociology of knowledge to investigate the socio-economic-religio-political milieu of the English Puritans in their development of an apocalyptical hermeneutic.

Medieval and Reformation backgrounds to the Puritan apocalyptic are traced from Wycliffe through Luther, Calvin, Knox, Bale, Bullinger and Foxe. The historic Protestant apocalyptic tradition was then adopted by the Marian exiles at Geneva and popularized through the extensive annotations of the various editions of the Geneva Bible. To these were added the speculations of such scholars as …

History Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In Ireland Since 1840, Brent A. Barlow

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis pertains to the efforts of the Mormons in establishing their Church among the Irish and is arranged to give a chronological account of activities there. A brief background of the establishment of Christianity in Ireland and a knowledge of numerous conflicts between Catholics and Protestants helps to understand the complex religious interaction occurring at the time Mormonism was introduced in that country. The difficulties encountered by the first Mormon missionaries in Ireland suggest reasons why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not expand as rapidly as it did elsewhere in Britain and other European countries. …

3. Bonaventura And Medieval Mysticism, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold A. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section IV: The Medieval Ferment

Throughout the whole history of religious experience there have been two supplementary emphases, the rational and the non-rational, which have vied with each other for men's allegiance. The Thomistic synthesis, with its stress on reason and how reason could prove the existence of God, was thought by many, including St. Bonaventura (1221-1274), to press too far the rational side of religion and thus to detract from the other side, which emphasizes the free g~it of faith, intuitive insight, and mystical experience. This rational emphasis, thought Bonaventura, could lead to intellectual pride and arrogance. It could also lead to a minimizing …

The Authenticity Of Benson's Historical Novels, Estelle T. Bell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the historical accuracy of Robert Hugh Benson's historical novels "The King's Achievement," "Come Rack! Come Rope!," and "By What Authority," arguing that despite their fictional romantic elements, these novels authentically portray the historical relationship between the English and Catholic Churches during the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Bell opens by distinguishing the aims of the historian from those of the novelist, then situates Benson biographically as a convert from Anglicanism to Catholicism whose religious sensibility shaped his literary work.

Drawing on the "Lingard-Belloc History of England" as an authoritative historical source, the thesis traces the …

Murfreesboro Addresses, G. Dallas Smith, H. S. Lipscomb, T. B. Clark, W. S. Long, J. D. Floyd, J. Paul Slayden, S. H. Hall, Louis R. Patmont, S. P. Pittman, C. G. Vincent, H. L. Olmstead, E. H. Hoover, F. L. Rowe, F. W. Smith, J. S. Batey, G. C. Brewer, H. Leo Boles, G. Dallas Smith

Stone-Campbell Books

No abstract provided.

Dominican Martyrs Of Great Britain, Fr. Raymond Devas, O.P.

Historical Catholic and Dominican Documents

Fr. Devas provides the reader with a short history of three English Dominican priests, Fr. John Black, the Venerable Robert Nutter, and Fr. David Joseph Kemeys, who were martyred for their Catholic faith in the 16^th and 17^th centuries during the Protestant Reformation. In addition, the text includes very brief accounts of two Irish Dominican priests who were also martyred as a result of the Reformation.

A Declaration Of The Sad And Great Persecution And Martyrdom Of The People Of God, Called Quakers, In New-England, For The Worshipping Of God, Edward Burroughs

Zea E-Books in American Studies

From 1656 through 1661, the Massachusetts Bay Colony experienced an “invasion” of Quaker missionaries, who were not deterred by the increasingly severe punishments enacted and inflicted by the colonial authorities. In October 1659, two (William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson) were hanged at Boston; in June 1660, Mary Dyar (or Dyer) became the third; in March 1661, William Leddra became the fourth (and last) to suffer capital punishment or “mar-tyrdom” for their Quaker beliefs.While members of the Society of Friends rushed to Massachu-setts to test the harsh sentences under the newly enacted laws, other Friends in England simultaneously petitioned Parliament and …