Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

"You Shall Bear Witness To Me": Thinking With Luther About Christ And The Scriptures, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

To get Scripture right, we must start with the right questions, as Martin Luther did: What is Scripture for? What is the relation between Christ and Scripture? Between law and gospel? How does the gospel function as promise?

Creating Religious Identity, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

The author, a Buddhist monastic and scholar, explores the varieties of religious identity, their sources, and their effects on society. She discusses the fluidity of religious identities in the modern world and, in particular, the various challenges to women in confronting the stubborn persistence of gender-based exclusionary practices in religious traditions.

Shifting Focus: Redefining The Goals Of Sea Turtle Consumption And Protection In Bali, Audrey Jensen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Many would say that the environment and human culture consists of an evolutionary process, complete with necessary adaptations to current situations and the availability of resources. However, religion is usually thought to be a constant, an entity that grounds the individual believer in a “truth” that transcends time. Ultimately, the boundary between culture and religion is especially hard to decipher, particularly in the daily rituals of the Balinese. While religious beliefs are often rooted in history, they too transform through inevitable reinterpretation. The following paper describes the tremendous environmental and cultural impact of the controversial turtle trade in Bali, specifically …

Rising Buddhism In Vietnam, H. Rebecca Lockwood

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The religion in Vietnam has come to a turning point. Buddhism has been revived and the people of this country are taking interest in this renewed Buddhism. I visited several of the revitalized Truc Lam Zen monasteries and discussed with monks their current practices. I also read an article that addresses this new phenomenon in Vietnam and criticizes its origination. I interviewed two laity about their experiences and opinions about the rising Buddhism in Vietnam today. I found that there are several factors contributing to this new attraction, particularly in the younger generation. I concluded with agreeing with my last …

Churning The Ocean Of Milk: The Role Of Vocal Composition In Tibetan Buddhist Ritual Music, Gabriel Gordon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ritual music is a significant but often misunderstood aspect of Tibetan Buddhism. Specifically, vocal music serves a variety of purposes that distinguish the genre from Western music. In order to understand and appreciate ritual vocal music from a Western perspective, there must be firm understanding of the importance of melody and the source of its value. The author has studied with members of the Tibetan Buddhist monastic community, focusing on ritual vocal music and the process of composition. Through an examination of the vocal music composition and of concepts of inspiration and creativity, this paper will shed light on the …

Chinese Painting: Philosophy, Theory, And The Pursuit Of Cultivation Through The Dao, Elizabeth Reynolds

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Chinese painting and painting theory have roots within China’s major philosophies significantly including Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Chinese painting while not exclusively adherent to the beliefs and practices of a single belief system instead reveals to overlap these beliefs in the thought process and execution of painting. There is a strong precedent of Chinese painters and their styles embodying Daoist philosophy in not only the appearance and practice of painting but in painting theory as well. Searching for the truth, or the Dao, was a key goal of many artists who through cultivation of one’s intellect or artistic skill could …

Spirits & Sacred Sites: A Study Of Beliefs On Unguja Island, Julie Bardenwerper

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The spiritual beliefs and mizimu, or sacred sites, of villagers were studied in Mangapwani, Makunduchi, and Muungoni on Unguja Island. Through semi-formal interviews, a better understanding of the prevalence and tenets of spiritual beliefs and mizimu use in present Swahili culture was gained. It was found that belief in the existence of spirits is very widespread still today, although these beliefs include many variances. Mizimu are generally being kept in tact for traditional purposes, but the spiritual belief behind them is fading. It was recommended that further study of this topic is done, particularly on mizimu, as it is an …

Peopled By The Book, Allen Jorgenson

Luther Faculty Publications

Christians, along with other religious groups, are sometimes called “people of the book.” Despite its laudable intentions, this phrase sometimes fosters the tendency to set up readers of the book as masters of this object in their possession. I seek here to unsettle this prejudice with the suggestion that the Triune God uses the Christian Scriptures to master us by transforming us into the people of God. We are, in fact, peopled by the book. I will unpack this thesis in three steps: by exploring the notion of authorship of Scripture, by discussing the question of scriptural authority, and by …

Enlightenment And Ecumenism, Ulrich Lehner

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

The contribution of monasticism to Christian theology's framework in almost all periods is undisputed. However, the eighteenth century as a period of monastic theology is still—unjustly—overlooked. That was precisely the time when monks, mostly Benedictines, challenged the traditional ways of theologizing and, along with a number of dedicated individuals, initiated what came to be called the Catholic Enlightenment.1 This movement worked not only for a renewal of ecclesiastical practice and thought, but also for a peaceful dialogue between the Christian churches and even toward an ecumenical theology. One of the most intriguing figures of this enlightened theology is the Swabian …

The Pteromorphic Angelology Of The Apocalypse Of Abraham, Andrei Orlov

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

The purpose of this article is to explore the anti-anthropomorphic features of the angelological developments in the Apocalypse of Abraham.

Guided By Your Secret Life, Homer Massey

Homer Massey

The soul may be thought of as that part of the personality that processes an individual’s highest values. Humanly this may also be thought of as the conscience, an integral part of the soul. This short essay suggests that a Christian has a wonderful secret life within him that must be managed to help him through the day-to-day challenges of life.

Elijah Baker 1742-1798, Homer Massey

Homer Massey

A Baptist preacher is imprisoned and his case eventually dismissed. But rather than gaining his freedom he was put on a ship with orders to take him anywhere but America. He was literally "shanghaied" for the Lord.

What's Good About Feeling Bad Handout For Aacc World Conference 2009, John C. Thomas

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Based upon the book "What's good about feeling bad: Finding purpose and a path through pain" by Drs. John C. Thomas and Gary Habermas. The presentation covers the benefits that God can bring from suffering

What's Good About Feeling Bad Handout For Aacc World Conference 2009, John C. Thomas

John C. Thomas

Based upon the book "What's good about feeling bad: Finding purpose and a path through pain" by Drs. John C. Thomas and Gary Habermas. The presentation covers the benefits that God can bring from suffering

Nº60: Sabidurías Compartidas, Colectivo Con-Spirando

Con-spirando

Translation: Shared Wisdoms

Protestant Observers Of Vatican Ii: A Bibliography, Peter Gavin Ferriby

Presidential Seminar on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition

This bibliography is a working draft, insofar as no authoritative bibliography of observers (whether as formal periti or informally invited scholars) exists at this time.

An additional difficulty is conclusively to identify particular writers as Protestant Christians. For example, newspaper and other media reporters might have been formally Protestant (whether closely affiliated or distantly related), but did not identify their writings or observations as relevant to or influenced by any Protestant point of view. As a result, this bibliography lists entries whose authors in some sense identified themselves as Protestants, or representing the viewpoints of Protestant churches and organizations.

The …

Noticing The Duck: The Art Of Asking Spiritual Questions, Marykate Morse

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

No abstract provided.

Law, Economics, And Religion, Vikas Kumar

Vikas Kumar

No abstract provided.

Unknow Thyself: Apophaticism, Deconstuction, And The Theology After Onthotheology, Mary-Jane Rubenstein

Mary-Jane Rubenstein

No abstract provided.

The Doctrine Of Christian Perfection For Today: Reading Wesley's Theology Through The Lens Of Process Thought, Jung Sup Ahn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis is: A process-theological reading of Wesley's doctrine of perfection, by constructing an adequate concept of God in process, gives renewed importance and vitality to Wesley's doctrine of perfection, a doctrine that has been confused and virtually ignored even by Methodists themselves, despite the central importance Wesley himself assigns it. Why, then, has Wesley's doctrine of perfection been so often misunderstood, confused or even ignored from his time until today? The clue to the answer lies in the failure clearly to heed the distinction between the two senses of divine perfection: perfected perfection (a static state of perfection) and …

Self-Actualization In The Lives Of Medieval Female Mystics: An Ethnohistorical Approach, Cherel Jane Ellsworth Olive

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation explores the cultural and psychological factors that permitted six medieval female mystics to assume positions of leadership and innovation in a world marked by extreme gender inequality. Women religious have often been charged with being neurotics, hysterics, narcissists, and nymphomaniacs whereas males with similar experiences are rarely subject to the same degree of criticism. It is argued here that the women may well have been seeking to achieve the form of self-actualization described by humanist psychologist, Abraham Maslow, as a result of the "conversion" experience analyzed by William James. Furthermore, applying modern categories of mental illness to these …

A Faith In Ends: Sam Harris And The Gospel Of Neo-Atheism, Mary-Jane Rubenstein

Mary-Jane Rubenstein

No abstract provided.

A Certain Disavowal: The Pathos And Politics Of Wonder, Mary-Jane Rubenstein

Mary-Jane Rubenstein

No abstract provided.

Dionysius, Derrida, And The Critique Of Ontotheology, Mary-Jane Rubenstein

Mary-Jane Rubenstein

No abstract provided.

Unknow Thyself: Apophaticism, Deconstuction, And The Theology After Onthotheology, Mary-Jane Rubenstein

Mary-Jane Rubenstein

No abstract provided.

An Anglican Crisis Of Comparison: Intersections Of Race, Gender, And Religious Authority With Particular Reference To The Church Of Nigeria, Mary-Jane Rubenstein

Mary-Jane Rubenstein

No abstract provided.

God's Activity In Today's World: A Review Essay On Kingdom Triangle, Gary R. Habermas

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary (1973-2015)

In this review essay, I consider J. P. Moreland's Kingdom Triangle as a recent example that takes seriously the incursion of God's Kingdom into the human realm. Among other things, Moreland's book helpfully provides some needed leadership and modeling for Christian philosophers as we reflect upon what it means to know and indeed experience first-hand the supernatural in-breaking of God's power. Moreland's approach locates the experience of God's miraculous activity within the panoply of the Christian knowledge tradition and alongside what it means for Christ to be formed in our interior. I conclude with some of my own research examples …

Volume 25, Number 1, Department Of Church Relations

Pacific Church News

Edited by Jerry Rushford

Summer 2009

Eight Keys To Overcoming Apathy Towards Church Growth, Danny R. Van Kanel

Great Commission Research Journal

Nothing zaps ministry efforts towards growth more than apathy among church members. Nothing energizes those efforts more than genuine interest and enthusiasm in growing the church. How can we turn apathy into enthusiasm? The answer is not as difficult as we might think.

Book Review: You Don’T Have To Cross The Ocean To Reach The World:The Power Of Local Cross-Cultural Ministry By David Boyd, Jeff K. Walters

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.