Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Is "Divine Hiddenness" Evidence For Atheism? A Response To J. L. Schellenberg, Jim Beilby

Day of Scholarship

The problem of divine hiddenness is an objection to Christianity that claims that a perfectly loving God would make his existence more obvious than it, in fact, is. The philosopher, J. L. Schellenberg has argued extensively there are some people who fall into the category of "non-resistant nonbelievers," people who desire to believe in and be in relationship with God, but who cannot due to the lack of evidence for God's existence. Schellenberg argues that the existence of non-resistant nonbelievers is incompatible with God's being perfectly loving and all-powerful. In response, I argue that even if there are nonresistant nonbelievers, …

The Problem Of Religious Peer Disagreement: A Response To Harold Netland, Jim Beilby

Day of Scholarship

The problem of religious peer disagreement is this: suppose there are people that are your "epistemic peers" - they are just as intelligent, informed, and sincere as you - but they reject your religious beliefs. Does the existence of skeptical epistemic peers force Christians to withhold or evidentially support their religious beliefs? In this paper, I critique Harold Netland's work on religious peer disagreement on three fronts: (1) his identification of epistemic peers, (2) his understanding of the epistemic implications of religious peer disagreement, and (3) the viability of his demand for additional evidence as a response to instances of …

Japan, Anime, And Theology, Kaz Hayashi

Day of Scholarship

This poster presents two publications related to Japan, anime, and theology. While each publication is different, they both ask “How do Japanese anime and popular culture reflect the beliefs of the people, and how can we view these beliefs from a biblical theological lens?” The book Anime, Philosophy, and Religion explores the diversity of anime themes and content by an international group of scholars. The article “Holograms and Idols: The Image of God and Artificial Transcendence in the Cultural Phenomenon of the Japanese Vocaloid Hatsune Miku” argues how the popularity of hologram concerts reflects the universal human desire for a …

There Be Dragons: History And Meaning Of Dragon Imagery In Art (And Religion), Jim Lewis, Kenneth Steinbach, Josh Vana

Biblical and Theological Studies Faculty Works

Dr. Jim (James) Lewis joins Bethel University art student Josh Vana as he presents research on the historical roots of dragon imagery and symbolism in Asian and European art and how that informed the development of his displayed sculpture in the University Library. A conversation with Professors Kenneth Steinbach and Jim Lewis follows the presentation. Dr. Lewis explains the significance of the dragon motif as it finds it origins and meaning in Chinese culture in the 22:00 to 35:00 portion of the video. The panel discussion with all three presenters concludes the video starting at 48:09. The video is …

Ambition And Leading Teams Effectively, Nicholas R. Ruport

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem that this project addressed was the impact of ambition and ambitious leaders in relation to team effectiveness. In response to this problem the researcher explored the biblical foundations of ambition and ambitious leadership, with special interest in one’s ambition being aimed at knowing God more fully, fulfilling God’s mission, and glorifying God. He reviewed literature related to CliftonStrengths, team leadership, and the practice of the first-among-equals in teams with attention to the CliftonStrength of Competition and its connection to ambition. He conducted two case studies by way of interviews with four pastors who had Competition as a top …

Faith-Driven Impact Investing: Renewing A Belief That An Investment In Entrepreneurialism And Commerce Is Central To God's Plan Of Redemption And Human Flourishing, Jonathan Mark Halverson

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project addressed the need for a renewed belief among faith-driven investors that investments in redemptive businesses is central to God’s plan of redemption and biblical human flourishing. The explosive growth of values-aligned investing, such as Socially Responsible Investing and impact investing, has opened the door to introducing values into investment decision-making. There are significant opportunities for Christ followers to align their biblical values with their investment strategies, and to “put to work” (Matt. 25:16) resources apportioned to them by God; however, they have been slow to embrace the opportunities. Research was conducted to understand the underlying biblical-theological beliefs of …

Best Practices For Transformational Discipleship In North Dakota Assembly Of God Churches, Jack Donald Jones Iii

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The researcher constructed this project to discover best practices for transformational discipleship in the local church. The researcher provided the theological and biblical framework for transformational discipleship from Romans 12, exploring current literature on discipleship models and discipleship practices in the Assemblies of God denomination. The researcher created the project instrument from two sources: literature identifying recommendations of best practices for transformational discipleship in the local church and participants’ views regarding discipleship. The researcher then traveled to the North Dakota Network District Sectional meeting. Questionnaires were distributed and face-to-face interviews were conducted. The data was then analyzed and coded for …

Healthy Parenting In The Family System, Brian Malvig

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the New Testament, there are several passages that illustrate the way in which Christians are to interact with each other. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, Romans 12:3-5, and Ephesians 4:4-5 the apostle Paul describes the connection Christians have with one another as being like a body. Through Jesus Christ, Christians are all connected in this body, the body of Christ. The apostle Paul writes, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (1 Cor. 12:26). Between 1950 and 1960, Murray Bowen began to develop an integrative theory of the …

Investigating And Increasing The Efficiency And Effectiveness Of The Children’S Ministry At Victory Church Of Melbourne, Florida, Stanley R. Patton

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the children’s ministry at Victory Church of Melbourne, Florida, a growing multicultural and multigenerational church. Conversations with the children’s ministry team, parents, child participants, and the senior pastor of Victory indicated that changes needed to be implemented in order to grow the ministry. This project used a case study methodology, focusing on a church with similar demographics as Victory, to discover the underlying factors needed to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of Victory’s children’s ministry. To test the working theory that an increase in resources, team leadership, …

To Be Churched Or Unchurched: The Millennial's Dilemma, Robert Phillips

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project will address the decline of the millennial generation’s church attendance within the 08033 zip code during the past decade. The statistical data was gathered by the author of this thesis through several one-on-one discussions with the clergy of the five surveyed churches and with several millennial residents of the town of Haddonfield, New Jersey. Examples in the ministry of the apostle Paul were gathered from the MacDonald Believer’s Bible Commentary by William MacDonald and A Theology of the New Testament by George E. Ladd.

Recovering A Biblical Form Of Spiritual Formation In Contemporary Pentecostal Churches, Ernest Ronald Krantz

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The project addressed the problem of an inadequate theology of spiritual formation within the discipleship doctrine of a specific expression of North American Pentecostalism. The problem manifests most acutely at the local church level where ministry leaders are struggling with divorce, mental illness, moral relativism, and poverty. Pentecostalism is failing to measure up to its potential where the human experience intersects with religious life.This project took a multilateral approach to the problem. The first approach used a theological method to survey the biblical description of spiritual formation and the existential need for it with special emphasis on The Book of …

Happiness Groups As A Strategy For Transforming A Chinese Church From Attractional To Missional, Mingsheng Qin

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project established that the love of God is the foundation of mission and evangelism. God loves people and calls Christians to participate in His redemptive mission. God calls Christians to bless them and make them a blessing to others. The church is believers who are gathered to bring nonbelievers to God. The nature of the church is missional. A missional church engages every believer to participate in the Great Commission. The incarnation of God demonstrates God’s love and reveals the model of mission and evangelism. The incarnational approach is entering other people’s worlds as Jesus Christ entered the world …

Deaf Pastor Cohort: Self-Care For Deaf Pastors, Karen R. Bregman

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Researcher observed posts on social media from deaf pastors sharing their experiences of personal and professional struggles with suicide, depression, and mental health challenges with their close circle of pastors, colleagues, and congregation. These are tremendous burdens for both Deaf and hearing pastors. The scriptures cited for this research were 1 Kings 19, Psalm 23, and Mark 7:31-37; these Scriptures provide the theological basis that God provides self-care. The recipients became healthier emotionally, mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually. The recipients were able to recover and minister to their respective congregations and communities. The Researcher conducted a qualitative case study …

Liturgical Drama In The Church: An Application Of Daily Scriptural Living, Alma Lee Langley-Ward

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this research was to study the validity of using liturgical drama as a vital tool of expression in helping to make Scripture come alive for the application and transformation of lives, first of those of the researcher’s local congregation and eventually of other churches. The researcher wrote and directed a play using members of the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church as actors and crew. The entire church was a participant of this research as the play was done during a Sunday morning worship service as part of the liturgy. The mixed-method approach presented the most viable …

Faith Integration Essay: Biblical And Theological Studies, Victor I. Ezigbo

Faith Learning Integration Papers

This essay discusses two major themes, "Faith, Theology, and Guiding Principles for Theological Reflection" and "Christian Gospel and the Public Sphere".

The introduction begins as follows, "The term ‘faith’ is notoriously slippery. Theologians as well as Christians who do not have any formal theological education use the term ‘faith’ sometimes in competing ways. For example, some use ‘faith’ as a shield for protecting themselves from people who ask questions about God’s existence and actions in the world. For such people, faith opposes reason. They see ‘faith’ as “an antithesis of reason” and also construe “reason as an intellectual virus that …

Cultivating Relational, Developmental And Missional Discipleship Within A Lutheran Mega-Church, Richard Michael Webb

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the last two decades, many Lutheran mega-churches have become stagnant or have begun to decline in worship attendance. Some have even closed their doors, not surviving past their founding leadership. Furthermore, few of these mega-churches offer any kind of intentional growth pathway for their members. What is called discipleship often appears instead to be a classroom-driven assimilation process. This project addressed the problem Lutheran mega-churches have in making disciples by exploring the relational, developmental and missional aspects of discipleship and how they might be integrated into an effective discipleship strategy for use in these mega-churches. This project began with …

Remembering Eden: A Study Of Garden Imagery In Judeo-Christian Worship Spaces, Luc Berard

Honors Student Works

Vases of flowers, a mural of wildlife, and poetic references to a garden, these artistic elements are all commonplace in Judeo-Christian worship spaces; but why? While all of these are certainly aesthetically pleasing, there is likely much more going on than mere interior decoration. This paper will begin by examining the source of garden imagery in the poetry of the Judeo-Christian tradition, demonstrating the significance and prevalence of Eden in the memory of the Judeo-Christian memory. Following this, the paper will then furnish and analyze several examples of Edenic imagery in the worship spaces, highlighting several important artistic elements shared …

The Loss Of Baptist Identity: How The Loss Of The Baptist Name Impacts Theological Identity, Josiah O. Hoagland

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the United States, many Baptist churches have been following a recent trend of dropping “Baptist” from the church title. Research has shown that with the rise of post-denominationalism, there is a loss of identity in Baptist churches. This study explores the effects of dropping the name Baptist from a church’s title and its perceived impact on the theological identity of the church. This study includes a literature review analyzing the current body of literature on Baptist identity. Six Converge North Central Baptist churches were studied, three with a Baptist name and three without, using church surveys and interviews with …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Church Leadership Conflicts In Evangelical Churches In Northern Nigeria With A View To Building A Better Transformational Leadership Model, Timothy Danladi Nwan

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The project addresses leadership conflicts among church leaders in evangelical churches in Nigeria with the view toward building a better transformational leadership model. To address these conflicts the project centered upon transformational leadership phenomena, showing that a leadership development training program model for the future leaders must be seen as a priority in all the evangelical churches in Northern Nigeria. Such a model would be based on the researcher’s qualitative research study, which used thirty-six participants from evangelical church denominations as a case study. The study included both interviews and fieldwork-based research, in which the case studies of church leaders …

Discovering Counseling Methods That Military Chaplains Can Use To Increase Spiritual Resilience, Philip E. Ridley

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research conducted in this project revealed most military chaplains possess innate skills that are valuable to counseling. Combining these skills with proven counseling methods increase service members’ spiritual resilience. Military chaplains’ empathy and the ability to actively listen to care-seekers is one such innate skill. Empathetic listening builds rapport and creates a safe client-focused environment. Within this safe environment, military chaplains can encourage service members with spiritual or practical wisdom. Additionally, military chaplains can provide assurance and peace through prayer, reading of sacred documents, or administering religious rites. These religious activities connect the care-seeker to their source of faith. …

The Impact Of Presence And Touch On Church Growth, William Charles Berg

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project addresses the problem of discovering whether, when churches move to be physically present in their communities and engage in appropriate touch through serving, there is a corresponding impact in confession of faith and church growth. To answer this problem, the researcher began with the incarnation and trinity as a model of presence and touch. The researcher reviewed the Gospels to identify Jesus’ use of physical presence and touch in His ministry. The researcher also looked at the impact of presence and touch on the early church in the Book of Acts. He reviewed literature that focused on the …

A Multiple Case Study: Participative Decision-Making In Four Black Indiana Churches, Michael S. Johnson

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study looked at factors in participative decision-making that would balance congregational polity and pastoral authority. A multiple-case study was conducted with four Black Baptist churches in central Indiana. Fifteen participants were interviewed across cases and organizational documents were analyzed. Four themes emerged. They included effectiveness, unified involvement, decision parameters, and trusted leadership. Effectiveness related to support for a decision. Unified Involvement was about members’ sense of belonging. Parameters involved areas where certain groups had discretion in decision-making. Lastly, trusted leadership pertained to the calling of a pastor and the confidence members placed in that calling.

The Role Of Transformational Leadership In Preparing Youth As Future Church Leaders, Michael K. Paul

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The membership of St. Peter's Episcopal Church has been on the decline. The most affected members of the church congregants are the youth. In return, this threatens the future of the ministry. The issue is mainly attributed to the failure of former and current church leaders to prepare youth as future ministry leaders. The biblical and theological foundation of the study was based on various passages, such as Gen. 17:4-5, Exod. 3:11, Luke 10:1-16, John 20: 11-18, and 1 Corinthians 11:1, among others. The researcher depended on the above listed biblical passages since they offered insights into Abraham, Moses, Jesus, …

The Unity Process And Its Effectiveness In Decreasing Cross-Cultural Divisions In Society Due To Racism, Pamela Y. Fields

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper dealt with determining the usefulness of The Unity Process as a tool in combatting the racial divisions in the Dallas metropolitan area. The case study qualitative method was utilized for this assessment. The research identified the background information and the context of the divisions and then the framework for the research. Research tools included pre- and post-surveys and interviews with the participants. The entire nine-session process was observed and then the researcher compared the results of the research with the materials from The Unity Process and then presented the findings. The analysis presented followed the order of the …

Video Church: The Effects Of The Video Church Model On Christian Hospitality, Assad Mohammed Saif

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hospitality is fundamental to human spiritual growth. Jesus knew this. Therefore, Jesus spent much time seeking to encounter people in the spaces they naturally congregated in. God sent Jesus to come from heaven to earth to show people the incarnate God and his desire to welcome them into his family. More specifically, God sent Jesus to a specific culture in the world where he believed the message of God’s love could be viewed through the lens of hospitality. By using a grounded theory approach, the researcher set out to discover the methods by which hospitality is impacted within the video …

Discerning Best Practices For Multiethnic Church Of Christ Mergers, Jordan T. Tatum

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project was aimed at discovering best practices for multiethnic Church of Christ mergers. Three churches were discovered that had formed by the merger of a White Church of Christ with a Black Church of Christ. A study of the multiethnic dynamics of the early church provided the biblical and theological foundation for this project. Special attention was given to Galatians, Romans, and Ephesians, as well as the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15. The researcher discovered that the Church was multiethnic from its inception. The researcher then researched the literature concerning multiethnic churches in America, Churches of Christ, and church …

Leadership Development In Grace Church: Adding Replication Culture Elements To Its Family Culture, Timothy N. Thomassian

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project addressed the problem of the lack of a systemic approach to developing potential leaders at Grace Church as it seeks to add replication-culture elements to its existing family culture. The problem was addressed in four steps: (1) exploring biblical leadership development principles using the examples of Moses and Joshua, Jesus and Peter, and Paul’s instruction to the church leaders to “equip the saints for the work of ministry,” (Eph. 4:11-12), (2) reviewing relevant books, articles, and other sources to discover leadership development principles as they relate to replication culture, (3) conducting face-to-face interviews with three leadership development pastors …

Creator God, Humans, And Artificial Intelligence: Framework To Address Theological And Relational Issues, Tinku Thompson

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Technological advancements are happening at an accelerated phase. Five decades ago, no one even owned a personal computer. A decade ago, smartphones did not exist. Today there are 2.71 billion smartphone users in the world, which is more than thirty-five percent of the world’s population. Many developments have happened in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, and Mixed Reality. AI is the term used to describe a machine’s ability to simulate human intelligence. Characteristics once considered unique to humans like learning, logic, reasoning, perception, and creativity are now being replicated by technology and used in every industry. The problem …

Christ-Centered Leadership: The Formation Of Millennials, Sean K. Wood

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem this project addressed is the perceived lack of Christocentric leadership development among millennials of Canadian churches with over one thousand people in attendance. In response to this problem the researcher explored Christ-centered leadership formation and discipleship in the New Testament and early church. The literature reviewed related to the uniqueness of millennials as it connects to leadership development. The researcher interviewed two Senior Pastors who are considered highly influential with the millennial cohort. These two leaders have both led effective church congregations in Canada during their respective twenty-plus year tenure serving the same churches. Millennial leaders who are …

Alvin Plantinga: Christian Philosophy As Apologetics, James K. Beilby

Biblical and Theological Studies Faculty Works

The History of Apologetics follows the great apologists in the history of the church to understand how they approached the task of apologetics in their own cultural and theological context. Each chapter looks at the life of a well-known apologist from history, unpacks their methodology, and details how they approached the task of defending the faith. By better understanding how apologetics has been done, readers will be better able to grasp the contextualized nature of apologetics and apply those insights to today's context. The History of Apologetics covers forty-four apologists including: Patristic apologists. Justin Martyr : prophetic revelation as the …