Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Update - October 1986, Loma Linda University Center For Christian Bioethics

Update

In this issue:

-- Center presents faith and peace conference
-- Senator Gore addresses transplant ethics at LLU November 17
-- AAW features "Women of Courage" November 28-30
-- Is God "Dead" in Biomedical Ethics? (Critique)

[ Why Does God Let Us Suffer? ]
-- The Mystery of Suffering
-- Will Suffering Ever Really End?
-- Religion and Suffering Among My Patients
-- God and Suffering: A Discussion

A New Measure Of Mature Religiosity, James A. Croxton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this study, a new measure of mature religiosity was created. One hundred and fifty students were administered an 80 item scale based upon a consensus meaning of mature religiosity. The results of this administration were factor analyzed. Seven First Order Factors and two Second Order Factors emerged which could be adequately assessed by 50 of the 80 item. The revised 50 item scale was administered to 130 students. During the same administration, the students also responded to measures of personal maturity (Dogmatism Scale, Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, Social Desirability Scale) and other measures of mature religiosity (Intrinsic-Extrinsic Religious …

A Burkean Logological Analysis Of Doctrine And Covenants Section 88, Joann Farias

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis applies Kenneth Burke's method of logology as exemplified in The Rhetoric of Religion to analyze the Mormon text Doctrine and Covenants Section 88. This method of logology is based on the assumption that what is said about God in theology reveals a religion's use of language to influence human motives. The logological method uses six analogies to discover the motives implicit in religious terminologies. These six analogies are as follows: words-Word, Matter-Spirit, the Negative, the Titular, Time-Eternity, and the Formal.

This study revealed that the terminology contained in Doctrine and Covenants uses motives far diferent from the motives …

The Gospel And Feminism: A Proposal For Lutheran Dogmatics, Lois E. Malcolm

Faculty Publications

The aim of this essay is to identify the theological, and deeply Christian, point of resonance between Lutheran and feminist theologies. It begins with a brief overview of themes in Christian feminist theologies; it then offers rationale and recommendations for why and how Lutheran dogmatics should critically engage feminist perspectives so that it can better serve the task of assisting Christians in their proclamation of the promise in Jesus’ gospel.

Level Of Marital Adjustment And Spiritual Well-Being Among Latter-Day Saints, Robert W. Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

This research will focus specifically on SWB [spiritual well being] among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). By virtue of his membership in this denomination, the researcher is more familiar with the theology, religious life and traditions of the LDS than those of any other denomination. Latter-day Saint theology has been well defined, and because of a fundamental belief in the prophetic ability of a single leader of the church, the doctrine and practices of the Latter-day Saints are consistent throughout the United States and the world.

The Judeo-Christian Tradition And The Human/Animal Bond, James A. Rimbach

Human and Animal Bonding Collection

This paper surveys the role of animal imagery in the literature of the Old Testament and in post-biblical Jewish literature, discusses biblical materials that speak to the relation of humankind to animals, and assesses the subsequent use of these traditions to support or negate specific attitudes toward the natural environment.

Reformed Theological Ethics Of Speech Communication, Charles Veenstra

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This project develops and applies a Biblically-based Reformed theological system of ethics for speech communication.

The dissertation includes a review of literature on ethics in speech communication and indicates that: 1) ethics is a significant concern in the field of speech communication, 2) no single normative ethical theory dominates, 3} each normative ethical theory currently advocated faces significant problems, 4) critical pieces applying normative standards are few, 5) little attention is given to ethics of religious speakers or broadcasters, and 6) the normative ethical theory based in Reformed theology, which is the subject of this dissertation, is undeveloped in the …

Ua77/1 Western Alumnus, Vol. 49, No. 4, Wku Alumni Association

WKU Administration Documents

Alumni magazine published by WKU. This issue has the following articles:

• Kerrick, Sara-Lois. Western's First Lady – Harriet Downing
• Bennett, Jo. Oral History, History on Tape
• Snodgrass, Jim. A Freshman Dabbles with Ethylene Gas and Has a Surprising Result – Steve Estok
• Bennett, Jo. Mark Twain Slept Here – Gene Rich
• Given, Ed. It's a Long Time to December – Gene Keady
• Gross, Jan. Shakertown, More Than a Memory
• Conway, Sheila. WKU Fine Arts Festival
• Armstrong, Don. Free Enterprise and Free People
• Highland, Jim. Joseph Cangemi in Venezuela, Latin American Connection
• Jack Corn Photographer
• Julian Carroll Addresses Graduates
• Regents Appoint …

An Examination Of Commitment To Scholarly Openness & Religious Belief Among Academicians, Jim Alsdurf

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The relations between faculty religiosity, changes in reliaious beliefs, and commitment to scholarly openness were examined through a survey of 257 faculty at three universities. A new measure of scholarly openness was developed for this study because of ambiguities in previous indirect and attitudinal measures. Patterns of faculty religiosity as a function of education, graduate school prestige, academic discipline, and educational period of religious change are generally compatible with previous studies, but patterns for scholarly openness are not. Faculty religiosity and scholarly openness were negatively correlated for those Faculty who had never experienced sinnificant reliaious change and for those who …

A Counselor's Integration Of Thomism With The Philosophies Of B.F. Skinner & Albert Ellis, Leonard Alvey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Religious counselors tend to neglect theorists who oppose religion. B. F. Skinner and Albert Ellis implicitly and explicitly criticize religion in their published writings. These criticisms are connected with their atheistic philosophies. Thomism is a theistic philosophy endorsed by the Catholic Church. Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan have integrated Thomism with contemporary thought. Their works serve as models for this research project--a counselor's integration of Thomism with the philosophies of B. F. Skinner and Albert Ellis.

A counselor can disconnect Skinnerian and Ellisian criticisms of religion from their atheistic philosophies. Viewing the same criticisms in the context of a theistic …

A History Of The Growth And Development Of The Primary Association Of The Lds Church From 1878 To 1928, Conrad A. Harward

Theses and Dissertations

The Primary Association of the LDS Church is an organization assigned to direct week-day religious training of children four to twelve years of age. The object of this study was to determine what factors led to the birth of the movement, how the early program developed, what its main features were, what some of the major problems were and how they were solved, who some of the prominent people were in the movement, and what were some of its major accomplishments.

Results of the study have shown that the Primary became a great influence in the lives of many young …

A Study Of The Speech Philosophy Of Alexander Campbell And The Application Of That Philosophy, Rudy L. Morrow

Dissertations and Theses

A great religious Awakening was taking place in 1805 until the end of the Civil War. Religious debates became the order of the day, and were at least equal in importance to the political debates. Alexander Campbell was one of the leading debators of the period. He was born September 12, 1787, in Ireland, but moved to America in 1809, settling in western Virginia. In 1812, Alexander and his father, Thomas Campbell, launched what they called "The Restoration Movement", in which they were seeking for the unity of all Christians on the basis of the Bible.

Libertinism: An Alternative To Traditional Religion, Jerome E. Johnson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In recent years there has been a considerable increase in the amount of empirical research done in the area of the sociology of religion. Most of this type of research has been a gradual attempt of working toward the possibility of establishing a casual relationship between religious beliefs and human social behavior.

An Evaluation Of The Adequacy Of Selected Formal Church Programs In Preparing Male Members To Enter The United States Air Force, James R. Palmer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Church programs in preparing young Latter-day Saint servicemen to accept and live the gospel of Jesus Christ as determined from the opinions of servicemen and bishops. The teaching programs, counseling, continual Church activity, Church publications, and the preservice and inservice Church orientations were evaluated for their effectiveness in teaching the five objectives: Testimony building; commandment living; continual activity, missionary work, and patriotism.

One hundred eighteen servicemen, who had completed basic training and were attending technical training schools, along with seventy-seven bishops provided the information used in this study. …

A Survey Of The Snake-Handling Cult Of West Virginia, Kenneth Paul Ambrose

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

For over half a century the snake-handling cult has been active in the United States, especially in the Appalachian area. There has been little scientific information published about this cult. The two major works were mainly confined to a single church in Durham, North Carolina, and a single church in Scrabble Creek, West Virginia. This investigator studied four churches in West Virginia, and one in Durham, North Carolina, for two and a half years to gain a deeper understanding of these people and their religious behavior.

Religious And Secular Correlates Of The Lds Family Home Evening Program, Gordon E. Mauss

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe and explore three phenomenon of the L.D.S. Family Home Evening Program: (1) the nature of religious commitment in an L.D.S. sample, (2) the degree of participation, (3) the relation of certain religious and secular variables.
The data for the study were made available to the researcher by A. L. Mauss, as part of a larger study designed to measure the impact of Urbanism upon Mormonism. The instrument, modeled after the Glock and Stark studies, was adapted to a random sample of 958 members of the L.D.S. Church in Utah.
The nature of …

A Study Of Religious Experiences As Related To Church Orthodoxy, Joel Lane Tapley

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis: (1) a religious experience typology was constructed and used to discover whether or not a sequential order existed of religious experiences from the least to most intimate type, (2) the relationship between religious experiences and church orthodoxy was examined, and (3) several background variables were investigated to clarify the above relationship.

It was found 276 Mormons that religious experiences develop in a sequential order from the least to the most intimate type and that a moderate relationship exists between religious experiences and church orthodoxy. The findings support the theory which states that religious experiences and the relationship …

Factors In The Acceptance And Adoption Of Family Home Evening In The Lds Church: A Study Of Planned Change, Robert Ernest Larson

Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to cope with forces which would remove the home from its place of influence, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently inaugurated the Family Home Evening Program. Emerging out of a fifty year history of efforts to institute the home evening practice, it is one of the most systematic and comprehensive efforts to date to implement change within the structure of its member families.

Such a deliberate and predetermined effort toward improving the family system constitutes what applied social scientists call "planned change." Home evening, when adopted, has many of the elements of a behavior …

A Study Of The Department Of Religious Education Of The Reorganized Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Glen C. Wahlquist

Theses and Dissertations

There have been a few studies related to the religion education movement of the Reorganized Church, but little has been done to research the total program of the Department of Religious Education and its development.
The purpose of this study was to trace the historical development of the religious education program of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from 1860 to its present organization as the Department of Religious Education; to summarize the church's philosophy of education; and to determine the present status of the Department of Religious Education of the Reorganized Church.

The Relationship Of Orthodoxy And Prejudice Among Seminary Students Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Donald Sorensen

Theses and Dissertations

Research of the relationship between orthodoxy and prejudice is not clear. Some studies report those who acknowledge church membership to be less tolerant than those who do not. Other investigators find either slight differences or no differences among the attitudes of members of different religions. Still others find important differences in acceptance of orthodox religious beliefs and attitudes toward minority groups.

Can We Communicate Ultimate Reality?, David M. Newcomer

Honors Projects

This paper examines the function of communication, philosophy, and religion and moreover, their necessity to the awareness of being.

A Study Of The Attitudes Toward And Understandings Of Temple Marriage Of A Selected Group Of Seminary Students In The Alpine School District (Utah), Jerald Ray Johansen

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of most religious teachings and concepts is to change the student's attitude that desirable behavior may follow. The measurement of attitudes and the way people feel about certain religious concepts are, to an extent, determinative of their behavior. This realization has brought about a steady growth within the educational field of attitude and opinion measurement. It has also influenced religious educators to investigate this field in their efforts to get people to attain desirable religious goals.

The problem, investigated in the present research, was concerned with whether the youth of seminary age in the Church of Jesus Christ …

Religious Freedom, James M. Tolle

Stone-Campbell Books

No abstract provided.

A Roman Catholic President?, James M. Tolle

Stone-Campbell Books

No abstract provided.

Conflict Of Allegiance, Luther W. Martin

Stone-Campbell Books

No abstract provided.

Dogen And Bankei And A Study Of The Soto Zen, Kazumitsu W. Kato

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The reason I am writing this dissertation is to introduce another side of Zen, Soto, which is completely unknown in the Western world; and at the same time to bring Dogen's teaching to the attention of Western scholars, since it is famous in Japan as the most profound branch of the philosophy of Zen. Unfortunately, none of Dogen' s teaching has yet been translated into English except Masunaga's private publication given above. Therefore I am taking this opportunity to translate and to add a commentary of my own for the better understanding of Dogen as well as the historical survey …

The Concept Of Liberation In The Yoga Sutras Of Patañjali, Anna Rebecca Price

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The fundamental thesis of the analyst is that the ills or humanity are due to ignorance and more particularly to self-ignorance and that the way to self-healing is the way to self-knowledge.

The purpose of this thesis is to show how these Yoga sutras of Patanjali contain the methods for the regenerating and recreating factor in human life; and that these methods can be carried into present-day, practical living.

A Relationship Between Eastern Thought And Western Psychotherapy : An Application Of Taoism And Zen To Client-Centered Therapy, Lloyd Saxton

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This paper does not purport to be an examination of Zen or Taoism, but rather a view of certain aspects of Zen and Taoism, but rather a view of certain aspects of Zen and Taoism from the vantage point of contemporary psychology, to see if a metaphysic, a philosophical resting-place, might not be found for the admittedly pragmatic science of clinical psychology.

The questions the paper asks, then, and attempts to answer, are (1) can such a formulation be made, and (2) does psychotherapy conducted from this point of view move satisfactorily.

Insurance Against Communism, Fred Schwarz

Stone-Campbell Books

No abstract provided.

The Affects Of Plural Marriage Upon The Present Membership Of The Church, Louis O. Turley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis:
1. To indicate the variants between 160 descendant returned missionaries and two other groups consisting of eighty non-descendant, and 193 mixed returned missionaries and
2. To denote the implications and importance of the most significant variants introduced.