Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 30 of 106

Full-Text Articles in Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Theology Of The Laity: The Lutheran Way, Brian M. Mosemann May 2022

Theology Of The Laity: The Lutheran Way, Brian M. Mosemann

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The distinction between the laity and clergy has been a contributing cause of disunity within the church because the clergy and laity are often pitted against one another with one or the other being elevated to the detriment of the other. This problem has plagued the church from the middle ages until the present day. Since the definition of the term “laity” is vacuous, the laity are generally defined relative to the clergy, specifically in reference to their authority and duties. This results in a negative definition when the laity are defined as the opposite of the clergy. The laity …


We Are All Eve: Rescuing The Mother Of All Things From Patriarchal Interpretation And Its Implications For Modern Christian Women, Maeve Pioli Apr 2022

We Are All Eve: Rescuing The Mother Of All Things From Patriarchal Interpretation And Its Implications For Modern Christian Women, Maeve Pioli

Senior Theses

For centuries, the traditional Christian understanding of the Genesis narrative has relied heavily on the patriarchal biases of historic church figures to enforce a gendered hierarchy where women are deprived of authority, voice, and agency. My thesis deconstructs these misogynistic interpretations to provide liberating, alternative readings for the Garden of Eden as well as New Testament verses that utilize Eve’s transgression to justify women’s secondary status. As a former Christian, I have witnessed the persistence of this oppressive theology, often repackaged as a “complementary” relationship between sexes where women must dutifully submit to the headship of men. Therefore, by building …


Catholicism In Context: Religious Practice In Latin America, Gustavo Morello Sj Dec 2021

Catholicism In Context: Religious Practice In Latin America, Gustavo Morello Sj

Journal of Global Catholicism

A critical problem to study Catholicism in the context of Latin American modernity, is that the conceptual tools we use to study religion were designed to understand the transformations that modernity provoked in European religiosity. Studies on the religion of Latin Americans have largely explored the religiosity of the population through surveys that measure attendance, adherence and affiliation. While some anthropologists have explored religious practices among particular groups, we do not know how ordinary, urban Latin Americans practice religion. To fill this gap, a group of researchers from Boston College, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Catholic University of Córdoba, and …


Emerging Dimensions Of Mission In A Global Body : Tracking And Evaluating Partnerships Between American Congregations And Their Global Counterparts, Daniel Richard Hunter Jan 2021

Emerging Dimensions Of Mission In A Global Body : Tracking And Evaluating Partnerships Between American Congregations And Their Global Counterparts, Daniel Richard Hunter

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Kandhamal Riot 2008 : Its Impact On Current And Future Christian Community, Lalit Kumar Nayak Jan 2021

Kandhamal Riot 2008 : Its Impact On Current And Future Christian Community, Lalit Kumar Nayak

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Evaluation Of The Perpetual Leadership Model In The Pentecostal Churches Of The Apostolic Faith International In Liberia, Isaac J. Mehn Sr. May 2019

Evaluation Of The Perpetual Leadership Model In The Pentecostal Churches Of The Apostolic Faith International In Liberia, Isaac J. Mehn Sr.

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Jesus For Jews : Comparing C&Ma Perspectives, Harry B. Stephenson May 2018

Jesus For Jews : Comparing C&Ma Perspectives, Harry B. Stephenson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Orthodoxy And The Great Commission In The South Georgia Conference Of The United Methodist Church, Lee Edward Pettis May 2018

Orthodoxy And The Great Commission In The South Georgia Conference Of The United Methodist Church, Lee Edward Pettis

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Stewardship In The Church : The Theology And Practice Of Tithing, Offerings, And Stewardship In Evangelical Churches Of Russia, Sergey Chervonenko May 2017

Stewardship In The Church : The Theology And Practice Of Tithing, Offerings, And Stewardship In Evangelical Churches Of Russia, Sergey Chervonenko

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Christian Identity Development Of Adolescents In A Hindu Religio-Cultural Dominant Context, Yeonjeong Kim May 2015

Christian Identity Development Of Adolescents In A Hindu Religio-Cultural Dominant Context, Yeonjeong Kim

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Competencies For Effective Leadership : A Case Study Of National Evangelical Associations In Africa, Aiah Dorkuh Foday-Khabenje May 2015

Competencies For Effective Leadership : A Case Study Of National Evangelical Associations In Africa, Aiah Dorkuh Foday-Khabenje

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Growing Places : An Exploratory Study Of Lay Leadership Development In The Local Church, Craig Taylor Jan 2014

Growing Places : An Exploratory Study Of Lay Leadership Development In The Local Church, Craig Taylor

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Practice Of Rule Of Life As A Tool For Spiritual Formation In View Of Ministry In Union With Christ, Ethiege Upul Nishantha Silva Jan 2014

Practice Of Rule Of Life As A Tool For Spiritual Formation In View Of Ministry In Union With Christ, Ethiege Upul Nishantha Silva

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


The Importance Of Integrity In Christian Leadership : Giftedness + Integrity(3) = Productivity, Jasmin O. Brown Jan 2014

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

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


The Importance Of Integrity In Christian Leadership : Giftedness + Integrity(3) = Productivity, Jasmin O. Brown Jan 2014

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,"


Strategies For Developing Young Leaders Through Effective Mentoring Relationships Within The Bethel Church Of Liberia, Jacob Meiporkoyah Jan 2014

Strategies For Developing Young Leaders Through Effective Mentoring Relationships Within The Bethel Church Of Liberia, Jacob Meiporkoyah

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Transformational And Strategic Leadership : Its Impact On The Capacity For Organizational Effectiveness, Barbara Angela Dobson Jan 2014

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

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Enduring Endeavor : How Francis E. Clark Utilized Written Communication, Global Travel And Organization To Re-Shape The Global Protestant Church's Ministry To Young People Through The Christian Endeavor Society, Brian C. Hull Jan 2014

Enduring Endeavor : How Francis E. Clark Utilized Written Communication, Global Travel And Organization To Re-Shape The Global Protestant Church's Ministry To Young People Through The Christian Endeavor Society, Brian C. Hull

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Cultivating Missional Leadership Characteristics Through A Small Group Spiritual Formation Program For Pastors, David John Cooke Jan 2013

Cultivating Missional Leadership Characteristics Through A Small Group Spiritual Formation Program For Pastors, David John Cooke

ATS Dissertations

Pastoral ministry is rife with leadership pressures and challenges. Pastors face what seems to be a monumental leadership challenge of trying to lead struggling congregations that are focused inwardly to become missional in focus. Engaging in spiritual formation practices and small group opportunities can help pastors become spiritually vibrant and effective leaders.

Christians throughout the centuries have met in small groups to build community and strengthen one another as disciples of Jesus Christ. Pastors benefit from meeting in small groups where their love for God can be cultivated and their ability to serve as missional leaders can be developed. In …


Understanding Christian Perfection And Its Struggle With Antinomianism, Victoria L. Campbell Jan 2013

Understanding Christian Perfection And Its Struggle With Antinomianism, Victoria L. Campbell

The Asbury Journal

Every so often, a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary will notice a current student with exceptional promise. The Asbury Journal wants to help highlight the work of rising academics by publishing works from such students. This paper is an example of such a work, brought to the attention of the editor by Dr. Larry Wood.

Much of the confusion regarding John Wesley’s phrase, Christian perfection, comes from the western tendency to define “perfection” as a state of infallibility (from the Latin perfectio) rather than a process of spiritual maturing based upon the Greek word for perfection, teleios (Matthew …


Developing Pastors' Understanding And Practice On Biblical Financial Stewardship: The Key To Impacting The Growth Of The Bible Christian Fellowship Church Of Indonesia, Tandi Frederik Randa Jan 2012

Developing Pastors' Understanding And Practice On Biblical Financial Stewardship: The Key To Impacting The Growth Of The Bible Christian Fellowship Church Of Indonesia, Tandi Frederik Randa

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Sustaining Effective Spiritual Leadership Through Spiritual Formation Practice And Self-Care Among United Methodist Ordinands In The Rocky Mountain Conference, Jane Youtz Riecke Jan 2012

Sustaining Effective Spiritual Leadership Through Spiritual Formation Practice And Self-Care Among United Methodist Ordinands In The Rocky Mountain Conference, Jane Youtz Riecke

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Poetry As The Handmaid Of Piety: Hymns As A Catalyst For Human Development In Early Methodism, Brian Yeich Jan 2012

Poetry As The Handmaid Of Piety: Hymns As A Catalyst For Human Development In Early Methodism, Brian Yeich

The Asbury Journal

In the preface to the 1780 edition o f Hymns for the People Called Methodist, John Wesley stated, 'When Poetry thus keeps its place, as the handmaid of Piety, it shall attain, not a poor perishable 'Wreath, but a crown that fadeth not away."l While John Wesley may have never used the term ''human development," a student of Wesley would quickly observe that Wesley and the early Methodists were focused on the transformation of individual human lives as well as the society in which they lived. This paper explores the connection between the hynmody of early Methodism and …


The Journey To God: Union, Purgation And Transformation Within The Ascent Of Mount Carmel And A Plain Account Of Christian Perfection, Stephen L. Martyn Jan 2012

The Journey To God: Union, Purgation And Transformation Within The Ascent Of Mount Carmel And A Plain Account Of Christian Perfection, Stephen L. Martyn

The Asbury Journal

This article is both a call to Christian maturity and an appreciative recounting of how a Roman Catholic mystic, John of the Cross, helped me reclaim and love my own Wesleyan tradition of entire sanctification. In this article I hold up the theological doctrine of Union with God as the goal of the Christian life and review and contrast how Wesley and John of the Cross approached the issue. UThile these two spiritual masters outline differing views of the path to perfection in love, they both, nevertheless, continue to inspire and offer the light of Christ to Christians seeking full …


Christian Sensitivity In Interreligious Relation, Paul D. Numrich Jan 2012

Christian Sensitivity In Interreligious Relation, Paul D. Numrich

The Asbury Journal

This essay reflects on the implications of my mandate to guide seminary students "to think creatively and responsibly about how to proclaim the Christian gospel in multi-cultural contexts with a sensitivity to interfaith perspectives." I ask the question, What does it mean for Christian seminarians--and Christians generally--to engage adherents of other faiths with sensitivity to their perspectives? I offer a general definition of "sensitivity" and distinguish Christian sensitivity from other kinds, in that it is informed by the revelation of God in Jesus Christ and the continuing presence of the Holy Spirit in the living heritage of the Christian faith. …


Confirmation And Ministry Participation, Jeffrey S. Harper Jan 2011

Confirmation And Ministry Participation, Jeffrey S. Harper

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Spiritual And Strategic Leadership In Pastoral Ministry, Pedro P. Magalhães Jan 2011

Spiritual And Strategic Leadership In Pastoral Ministry, Pedro P. Magalhães

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Images Of The Missional Church : Leadership, Culture, And Practices In Context, Brian Vann Miller Jan 2011

Images Of The Missional Church : Leadership, Culture, And Practices In Context, Brian Vann Miller

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Current Knowledge, Practies, And Desired Goals Of Small Group Ministry For Training Implications In The Churches Of The Trinity Annual Conference Of The Methodist Church In Malaysia, Andrew Kok-Khoon Tan Jan 2011

Current Knowledge, Practies, And Desired Goals Of Small Group Ministry For Training Implications In The Churches Of The Trinity Annual Conference Of The Methodist Church In Malaysia, Andrew Kok-Khoon Tan

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Equipping The Laity Through Discipleship Training In A Korean Church, Yijoon Chang Jan 2011

Equipping The Laity Through Discipleship Training In A Korean Church, Yijoon Chang

ATS Dissertations

The purpose of the research was to evaluate how effective discipleship training enhanced the spiritual maturity of lay believers and transformed them into churchbuilding leaders. The particular context of this study is Korean Madisonville United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, Nashville Korean United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and Sarang Community Church in Anaheim, California. This was an evaluative study using questionnaires and personal interviews to assist in measuring the effectiveness of discipleship training to enhance the spiritual maturity of lay believers.

The review of selected literature focuses on what the church is, who the pastor is, who the laity …