Practical Theology Commons^™

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 47 No 1 - April 2012), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: Revisiting the Psalm of Jonah by Amanda W. Benckhuysen - 5 / Calvin's Theological Appropriation of His Philosophical Sources: A Note on Natural Law and Institutes 2.2.2 2-23 by Charles D. Raith II - 32 / Vos and Berkhof on Union with Christ and Justification by J. V. Fesko - 50 / Groen van Prinsterer: Godfather of Bavinck and Kuyper by Harry Van Dyke - 72 / It's About Time: Opening Reformational Thought to the Eschaton by Nicholas Ansell - 98 / Reforming Public Theology: Two Kingdoms, or Two Cities? by James K. A. Smith - 122 / …

Vincentian Pragmatism: Toward A Method For Systemic Change, Scott Kelley

Mission and Ministry Publications

When Pope John Paul II addressed the General Assembly of the Congregation of the Mission in 1986, he encouraged the Assembly to “search out more than ever, with boldness, humility and skill, the causes of poverty and encourage short and long term solutions; adaptable and effective concrete solutions.” Building from Vincentian heritage and the wisdom of the Vincentian family, this paper uses Pragmatic Inquiry to construct a method - Vincentian Pragmatism - that will foster the kinds of systemic change that Pope John Paul II envisioned.

Fruit Of Faith, Fruit Of The Spirit, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

As contemporary behavioral scientists living and working within an often secular, scientific, and empirically focused world as well as being affiliated with rigorous academic institutions and research programs, we wonder if the fruits of the spirit have any empirical and scientific basis. Does engagement with religion and spirituality make us better people or make us worse?

Goodness, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

And what does the Lord require of me? To love mercy, do justice, and walk humbly with God. -Micah 6:8

This quote from the Hebrew Bible has been one of my favorite quotes from sacred scripture in the Judea-Christian tradition for a very long time. It well summarizes how we should live. It well articulates how to live a good life. In this brief and simple statement in response to what God wants of us, it makes clear that there are three things that we should do throughout our lives if we want to follow the dictates of the God …

2012 - 106th Annual Summit, "Intimacy", Abilene Christian University, Abilene Christian University

Lectureship and Summit Programs

No abstract provided.

Papers Of Gilbert James Arc2006-001 - Finding Aid, Ats Special Collections And Archives

Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 46 No 2 - November 2011), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: "A Benefit No Mind Can Fully Comprehend": Bavinck's Doctrine of Justification by Dane C. Ortlund - 249 / I Will Pour Out My Spirit on All People: A Pastoral Reading of Joel 2:28-30 from Latin America by Norberto Saracco - 268 / Reading the Bible and Reading Life: Everyday Life Approaches to Wisdom Literature from Latin America by Leopoldo Cervantes-Ortiz - 278 / The Book of Revelation: A Latin American Interpretation by Juan Stam - 289 / The Redemptive-Historical Dynamics of the Salvation of "All Israel" (Rom. 11:26a) by P. H. R. (Rob) van Houwelingen - 301 / …

A New Paradigm: Brazilian Catholic Eco-Justice Activism In The Neoliberal Age, Lena R. Connor

Environmental Analysis Program Mellon Student Summer Research Reports

This paper analyzes how traditional liberation theology in Brazil has been adapted in the neoliberal age to encompass ecological goals and rhetoric. In this research report, I first examine the work of prominent Brazilian ecotheologians, Ivone Gebara and Leonardo Boff. I then look into the applications of such ecological liberation theology in Catholic activism in Brazil, focusing on the role of religious advocacy in dam controversies, land reform, and mining.

Implementing A Discernment Phase For Those Nominated In The Shepherd Selection Process At The Cinco Ranch Church Of Christ, Aaron Walling

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the results of a project that implemented a discernment phase for those nominated in the shepherd selection process at the Cinco Ranch Church of Christ. Occurring in the fall of 2010, this project involved nominees in a series of six one-hour, thirty-minute sessions designed to establish the theological foundations for shepherding and to explore its practical expression at Cinco Ranch. For the theological component, this project primarily utilized Ephesians 4:11-16, and for the practical side, it incorporated group interactions with those serving as shepherds along with the review of guiding leadership documents. The project‟s …

Episcopal Applicants To Ordained Ministry: Are They Psychological Healthy?, Thomas G. Plante, Christopher Apodaca

Psychology

The current investigation evaluated psychological and personality profiles of applicants to the diaconate and priesthood for several Episcopal dioceses. Applicants included both genders and their ages ranged from 29 to 67 years. A psychological testing battery including the MMPI-2, 16PF, and MCMI-III was administered to 42 applicants between 2008 and 2009 who subsequently entered the diaconate or priestly formation program in the Episcopal Church. Results indicate that these applicants were generally well-adjusted. Findings also suggest some tendency for defensiveness, repression, naïveté, and a strong need for affection, as well as for being emotionally stable, intelligent, trusting, and open to change. …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 46 No 1 - April 2011), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: A Break with Anti-Judaic Exegesis: John Calvin and the Unity of the Testaments by G. Sujin Pak - 7 / Metaphysics and Justification in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Reformed Theology by John V. Fesko - 29 / A Brief History of Heaven in the Writings of Jonathan Edwards by Robert Caldwell - 48 / The Glory of Spiders and Politics by John Bolt - 72 / Experience, Expression, Understanding: Gerardus van der Leeuw's Phenomenological Method by Richard J. Plantinga - 81 / The Seven Days of Creation by James W. Skillen - 111 / Lost Keys: The Absolution in …

Crafting A Congregational Narrative For The College Church Of Christ In Fresno, California, Jason W. Locke

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes a ministry project in the College Church of Christ in Fresno, California. In this project I led the congregation through a narrative crafting process in order to clarify the church’s identity and increase its capacity for mission. In recent decades, the College Church moved away from some of its founding characteristics yet failed to clarify a new sense of identity. It subsequently had difficulty acting with a unified sense of purpose and instead moved increasingly toward fragmentation.

Data for crafting the new narrative came from three weeks of group interviews. My research team conducted these interviews in …

Discerning A Vocational Theology Of Marriage For The Smyrna Church Of Christ, Daniel F. Camp

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project was to discern a vocational theology of marriage for the Smyrna Church of Christ in Smyrna, Tennessee. Through a group discernment process, the participants studied Genesis 1-3 and 2 Corinthians 5 as a basis for understanding God’s design for marriage at creation, the effects of sin on the vocational aspect of the marriage relationship, and the call of Christ for husbands and wives to participate in the resurrection life through the ministry of reconciliation. At the end of the discernment process, the participants articulated a theology statement for the church that examined our current context …

Virtue Ethics, Nikki Coffey Tousley, Brad Kallenberg

Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Virtue ethics emphasizes the development of moral excellence in terms of character qualities called virtues. Virtue are (1) habituated dispositions involving both an affective desire for the good and the skill to both discern and act accordingly; (2) learned through practice within a tradition (i.e., a historical community with a rich account of the "good"); and (3) directed toward this tradition's particular conception of the good (making virtues "teleological"). From a Christian perspective, virtue ethics is an ethics of discipleship, which emphasizes the development of the habits, practices, and wisdom necessary to pursue the "good" exemplified by Christ. Reading Scripture …

The Master Argument Of Macintyre's 'After Virtue', Brad Kallenberg

Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

In September of 1995 the Associated Press released a wire photo showing Russian lawmakers of both genders in a punching brawl during a session of the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament.' Is this behavior an ethnic idiosyncrasy? Do only government officials duke it out over matters of great importance? Or have fisticuffs suddenly become politically correct?

No, on all counts. Pick a topic, any topic -- abortion, euthanasia, welfare reform, military intervention in the Balkans -- and initiate discussion with a group of reasonable, well-educated people and observe the outcome. Chaos ensues. Of course the volume of the debate …

2011 - 105th Annual Summit, "Enough: Isaiah 1:11-17", Abilene Christian University, Abilene Christian University

Lectureship and Summit Programs

No abstract provided.

The Global Luther: A Theologian For Modern Times [Review] / Christine Helmer, Ed., Trevor O'Reggio

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

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Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 45 No 2 - November 2010), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: From Zurich or From Wittenberg? An Examination of Calvin's Early Eucharistic Thought by Richard A. Muller - 243 / The Exegetical Context of Calvin's Loci on the Christian Life by David S. Sytsma - 256 / Charles Finney and John Nevin on Selfhood and Sin: Reformed Anthropologies in Nineteenth-Century Religion by Derek R. Nelson - 280 / Preaching the Old Testament from a Christian Pulpit by S. D. (Fanie) Snyman - 304 / Reading Paul's kai outos pas Israel sothesetai (Rom. 11:26a) in the Context of Romans by Dongsu Kim - 317 / Facing Cancer: The Spiritual Dangers …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 45 No 1 - April 2010), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Editorial - 7 / Articles: Herman Bavinck, "Foreword" to the First Edition (Volume I) of the Gereformeerde Dogmatiek, translated by John Bolt - 9 / The Bavinck Recipe for Theological Cake by John Bolt - 11 / Herman Bavinck and Geerhardus Vos by George Harinck - 18 / Herman Bavinck and Benjamin B. Warfield on Apologetics and the Autopistia of Scripture by Henk van den Belt - 32 / Bavinck's Philosophy of Revelation by Gordon Graham - 44 / Bavinck's Organic Motif: Questions Seeking Answers by James Eglinton - 51 / Herman Bavinck and Karl Barth on Christian …

Communally Discerning A Covenant Of Hospitality For The Care Of Children At Westview Boys' Home, Ron Bruner

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project addressed the lack of a covenant defining the practice of hospitality towards children for team members of Westview Boys’ Home. The purpose of the project was to facilitate the creation of such a covenant. The Westview ministry team already claimed hospitality as a strength; the hope was that reframing the ministry around this strength would improve the quality of care for children and the quality of life for the community. Invited into a communal discernment process (the methodology), the ministry team invested weeks in the examination of biblical texts, theological tradition, personal and communal narratives, cultural trends, psychological …

Dynamical Similarity And The Problem Of Evil, Brad Kallenberg

Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Discussions of evil commonly fault God for not “doing something.” Defenders of God respond that God had good reasons for not “doing something.” Detractors observe that if a human being can snatch the toddler from the path of the oncoming bus, why does not God snatch the bus from the path of the oncoming toddler? The underlying assumption in such discussions is that God’s “doing something” is similar to humans’ “doing something.”

If human beings bear the image of their Creator as the Abrahamic faiths maintain, it is natural to suppose that divine action is similar to human action. But …

2010 - 104th Annual Summit, "Aliens & Light: Finding God In The Darkness", Abilene Christian University, Abilene Christian University

Lectureship and Summit Programs

No abstract provided.

The Gospel According To Moses And Elijah, Roy E. Gane

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Jesus’ gospel culminates the deliverance messages of Moses and Elijah and points to our role: If we love Christ a lot because he has forgiven us a lot (Luke 7:40-47), we will find no greater joy than reconciling precious people to one another and to him before the great day of his return.

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 44 No 2 - November 2009), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: A Tale of Two Wills? Calvin and Amyraut on Ezekiel 18:23 by Richard A. Muller - 211 / Calvin's Understanding of Adam's Relationship to His Posterity: Recent Assertions of the Reformer's "Federalism" Evaluated by Aaron Denlinger - 226 / "It Varies from Canton to Canton": Zurich, Basel, and the Swiss Reformation by Amy Nelson Burnett - 251 / Destined to Disobey? Isaiah 6:10 in John 12:37-41 by Donald E. Hartley - 263 / The Missional Approach: Reconsidering Elenctics (Part 2) by Cornelis J. Haak - 288 / "Greatest Strategic Significance": The Story of the CRC's Selection of China …

Forgetful But Not Forgotten: Parish Pastoral Care Of Dementia Sufferers, Annette Kestel Pbvm

Obsculta

No abstract provided.

Totally Devoted: Developing A Holistic Spiritual Formation Course For Western Christian College, Stanley N. Helton

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports research results from a learning community composed of faculty, support staff, ministry leaders, and students who collaborated in a professor’s development of a new course proposal in Christian spiritual formation at Western Christian College in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The professor used qualitative research methods in the analysis and evaluation of the data produced by the group. The outcome of the project was ethnographic data that informed the creation of the course proposal that included new course application, course syllabus with course schedule, planned activities, bibliography, initial classroom assignments, and initial assessment tools.

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 44 No 1 - April 2009), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Editor’s Notes - 7 / Articles / Religion in Biblical and Reformed Perspective by Paul J. Visser - 9 / The Missional Approach: Reconsidering Elenctics (Part 1) by Cornelis J. Haak - 37 / The Evangelistic Trialogue: Gospel Communication with the Holy Spirit by Brian A. De Vries - 49 / The Gospel in Word and Deed: Johan Herman Bavinck's Missiology and Its Application for Today by Pieter C. Tuit - 74 / Missiology: Some Reflections from Asian Contexts by Hidalgo B. Garcia - 94 / A Reformed Missional Perspective on Secularism and Pluralism in Africa: Their Impact on African …

Developing A Model For An Incarnational Ministry At The Webb Chapel Church Of Christ, L. Bert Alexander

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the results of a project to promote the development of an incarnational ministry at the Webb Chapel Church of Christ. This intervention employed a team of Webb Chapel opinion leaders representative of various subgroups of the congregation. In the fall of 2008, this group met for eight sessions to discuss the self-emptying practices of Jesus and the need for his followers to emulate those self-emptying practices in their individual lives. Through interaction in the eight sessions, the group developed a model by which self-emptying practices could be implemented at Webb Chapel. Evaluation of the …

2009 - 92nd Annual Summit, "On The Mountain With God: Exodus Expedition, Abilene Christian University

Lectureship and Summit Programs

No abstract provided.

Field G: Iron Age City Wall And Water Channel, Paul Z. Gregor

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

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