Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

The Israel Of God: A Literary-Historical And Sociological Examination Of Paul's Use Of Israel, Thomas Joshua Whitley

MA in Religion Theses

This paper attempts to test the hypothesis that the meaning of the term "Israel" actually was open to debate and that Paul was not the only one who defined "Israel" in such a way as to endorse a particular understanding of the term. This paper further examines whether there was literary precedence for Paul's use of Israel. These claims are examined how the use of "Israel" expanded during the relatively short period of time between the appearance of post-exilic Israelite literature and Paul's writings. This is accomplished by citing various examples of Jewish and Christian literature during this time period.

A Saint Of One’S Own: Emmanuel Levinas, Eliezer Ben Hyrcanus, And Eulalia Of Mérida, Virginia Burrus

Religion - All Scholarship

Shame and sanctity are intimately related in ancient "lives" of Jewish sages and Christian ascetics. Infinitely other, saints (from Eliezer to Eulalia) are also infinitely seductive in the audacity of their willful abjection. Drawing desire beyond law, hagiography evokes "not ethics alone," but "le saint, la sainteté du saint" (Levinas).

Introduction To America's Four Gods: What We Say About God And What That Says About Us, Paul Froese, Christoper Bader

Sociology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Despite all the hype surrounding the "New Atheism," the United States remains one of the most religious nations on Earth. In fact, 95% of Americans believe in God--a level of agreement rarely seen in American life. The greatest divisions in America are not between atheists and believers, or even between people of different faiths. What divides us, this groundbreaking book shows, is how we conceive of God and the role He plays in our daily lives.

America's Four Gods draws on the most wide-ranging, comprehensive, and illuminating survey of American's religious beliefs ever conducted to offer a systematic exploration of …

The Desert Of The Real: Christianity, Buddhism & Baudrillard In The Matrix Films And Popular Culture, James F. Mcgrath

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The movie The Matrix and its sequels draw explicitly on imagery from a number of sources, including in particular Buddhism, Christianity, and the writings of Jean Baudrillard. A perspective is offered on the perennial philosophical question ‘What is real?’, using language and symbols drawn from three seemingly incompatible world views. In doing so, these movies provide us with an insight into the way popular culture makes eclectic use of various streams of thought to fashion a new reality that is not unrelated to, and yet is nonetheless distinct from, its religious and philosophical undercurrents and underpinnings.

Priming God-Related Concepts Increases Anxiety And Task Persistence, Tina M. Toburen, Brian P. Meier

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research on the relationship between religiosity and anxiety has been mixed, with some studies revealing a positive relation and other studies revealing a negative relation. The current research used an experimental design, perhaps for the first time, to examine anxiety and task persistence during a stressful situation. Christians and Atheists/Agnostics/Others were primed with God-related or neutral (non-God related) concepts before completing an unsolvable anagram task described as a measure of verbal intelligence. The results revealed that the God-related primes increased both task persistence and anxiousness, which suggests that experimentally induced God-related thoughts caused participants to persist longer on a stressful …

Unlocking Catholic Social Doctrine: Narrative Is Key, William J. Wagner

Scholarly Articles

The argument of the present essay is that the pragmatic pressures of contemporary circumstances that lead to Catholic social doctrine – as set out in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church, for example, – to being strongly emphasized in Catholic law schools should not be permitted to create a doctrinal hegemony severing doctrine from the contextualization from which it draws its meaning. Catholic social doctrine depends, for its coherence and truth, as do all of the doctrinal formulations within Catholicism, on its relation to both philosophical and theological understanding and, for the purposes of my present …

Cosmic Conflict As A Hermeneutical Framework For Mission Theology In The Old Testament, Cristian Dumitrescu

Dissertations

This research aims to rediscover mission as taught by the Old Testament and to show how that mission is consistent with God's loving and just character as reflected in the whole Bible. Toward this end, the research surveys assumptions that influence Old Testament mission theology and evaluates ways in which current theologies of mission and theological currents relate to the unity and continuity of the Bible. With this background, the study then proposes a comprehensive theological framework that preserves the unity of God's character and his mission.

Chapter 1 shows how the traditional understanding of centrifugal and centripetal mission is …

Identity Formation For Conciliatory Existence: How We Perceive The Other, Chris Kiesling, Lalsangkima Pachuau

The Asbury Journal

In this article we interface mission, theology and psychology in an exploration of what hinders and what enables conciliatory existence. Whereas common approaches to reconciliation focus on redressing past wrongs, we propose identity formation that would prevent such wrongs. We consider how people integrate elements of their social context into a social identity that influences how they perceive "the other."

Understanding this to be divine action that transforms psychological processes, we draw from all three disciplines to understand the dynamics of how we come to see the other.

Biblical theology provides penetrating narratives into the nature of fallen humanity and …

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 …

Glimpses Of Heaven Among Friends: The Utilization Of Film To Draw Interest In Small Group Studies At The First Baptist Church Of Albemarle, Roger William Thomas

Doctor of Ministry Projects

A small group study about heaven in scripture and contemporary film was developed in order to create interests in small groups. Believing small groups, discussions of the after life, and the power of storytelling are affirmed throughout scripture, individuals were recruited and led through the study. Surveys measured opinions on heaven and small groups among the entire congregation and the small group participants. Following the study, the participants were surveyed one final time on both subjects. Ultimately the study did not always change minds with concern to the afterlife, but the overall opinions of small group experiences seemed to be …

Konflik Di Antara Kaum Muda Dan Kaum Tua Di Kelantan : Rujukan Kepada Kitab Tazkiah Al-Anzar Dan Al-Qawl Al-Mufid., Md Ashih Yaakub

Student Works (2010-2019)

This dissertation is an analysis of controversial issues of fiqh among Kaum Tua and Kaum Muda in Kelantan based on kitab Tazkiyat al-Anzar of Tengku Mahmud Zuhdi Bin Tengku Abdul Rahman al-Fatani and al-Qawl al-Mufid of Hj. Mohammad Bin Idris al-Kalantani. The study tries to analyze and investigate the fiqhiyyah’s issues which had been debated by them since the era of Mufti Hj. Wan Musa until nowadays. It also to introduce both books to the Muslim community. In getting the data, documentation’s method had been used in reviewing relevant documents like books, articles, and journals especially kitab Tazkiyat al-Anzar and …

[Introduction To] When Souls Had Wings: Pre-Mortal Existence In Western Thought, Terryl Givens

Bookshelf

The idea of the pre-existence of the soul has been extremely important, widespread, and persistent throughout Western history--from even before the philosophy of Plato to the poetry of Robert Frost. When Souls Had Wings offers the first systematic history of this little explored feature of Western culture.

Terryl Givens describes the tradition of pre-existence as "pre-heaven"--the place where unborn souls wait until they descend to earth to be born. And typically it is seen as a descent--a falling away from a happier and untroubled state into the turbulent and sinful world we know. The title of the book refers to …

Finding Only Leaves, Timothy C. Tennent

ATS Chapel Services

No abstract provided.

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

Lectureship and Summit Programs

No abstract provided.

Singular Christianity: Marriage And Singleness As Discipleship, Jana Marguerite Bennett

Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

If only Paul had not written chapter seven of his first letter to the Corinthians. Christians can fairly easily avoid questions about whether to be married or single when they stick to the Gospels, for Jesus does nothing clear-cut with respect to states of life. He is present at the wedding at Cana in John; in Matthew, he issues a prohibition against divorce; he speaks about being eunuchs for the Kingdom of God, and reconfigures family in his exhortation that the ones who are his disciples are his mother and brothers. Because Jesus does not appear to have much of …

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 …

Canon As An Act Of Creation: Giorgio Agamben And The Extended Logic Of The Messianic, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The ‘messianic’ is one of philosophy’s most appropriated religious terms, yet one apparently now bereft of its historical religious particularity. This essay thus explores a genealogical approach to the ‘messianic’ which might prove helpful in uncovering the reasons for this transformation from the theological to the philosophical, and what role, if any, theology still has in determining the meaning and usage of this term. Accordingly, this essay traces the term through the work of Walter Benjamin, Jacques Derrida and Giorgio Agamben. This development is made against the backdrop of another religious term which indirectly pervades the work of all three …

An Investigation Of Public Leadership Formation In Select Zimbabwe Churches, Kurai Chitima

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Barriers In Conversion (Missional And Indigenous Barriers) : Identifying The Potential Barriers Contributing To The Stagnant Progress Of Evangelistic Work Among The Burman Buddhists, Zam Sian Khai

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Components To Effect Spiritual And Numerical Growth In The Good News Churches Of Palakonda Division, Srikakulam District, A. P. India, Victor John Ratnam Palla

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Model For Preaching In The Missional Church : Common Characteristics Of Preaching Found In Effective Missional Churches Within The Pacific Northwest District Of The Christian And Missionary Alliance, Paul William Smith

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Twenty-Somethings In The Church: The Impact Of A Biblical Worldview Study, Debbie Norris Lanier

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Harmony Way: Integrating Indigenous Values Within Native North American Theology And Mission, Randy Stephen Woodley

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Women As Leaders In Buddhism, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

For Buddhists, the epitome of enlightened leadership is the Buddha himself. The Buddha, the “awakened one,” led by teaching a path to awakening that is open to all. The path to awakening – a process of purifying the mind of afflictions, such as greed, hatred, and ignorance – can be followed by women and men alike. Traditionally, however, the fact that the Buddha, the model of human perfection, was male seemed to imply to future generations that men were more somehow more capable of awakening than women. This impression was bolstered by the eight special rules attributed to the Buddha …

Gender Equity And Human Rights, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

The religious traditions that help shape society’s attitudes toward women and also women’s attitudes toward themselves often send mixed messages. The world’s major religions—Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—assert that women and men have equal potential, whether for liberation or in the sight of a higher being, but social realities reveal a stark contradiction between rhetoric and reality. Women continue to lack equal representation in social, political, and religious institutions. For many, the failure of the world’s religions to live up to their professed ideals not only exposes their lack of social responsiveness to the needs of human society but …

Justice For The Displaced: The Challenge Of Christian Understanding, Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

An Aboriginal Missiology Of Identity Reclamation: Towards Revitalization For Canada's Indigenous Peoples Through Healing Of Identity, Wendy Peterson

The Asbury Journal

This essay concerns the failure by Canada's Indigenous people to fully apprehend and embrace the Christian doctrine of imago Dei. The concern is founded upon the negative self-perception and perceived inferiority of Aboriginal peoples as less-than the Caucasian majority. Is this a failure of transmission on the part of missionaries, or is it a failure of reception on the part of Aboriginals? The premise is that both the theology of mission and the practice of mission with Aboriginal people must take into account the issue of self-perception and the problem of identity formation. The question is asked, Is there a …

Entering Into The Profound Mystery: Yves Congar’S Via Media On The Salvation Of People Of Non-Christian Religions, Elizabeth M. Cunneen

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

The twenty-first century Catholic Church is in the process of understanding its relation to the Second Vatican Council. Yves Congar, one of the most influential theologians at the council, had a theological career spanning over fifty years, and his theological insights remain pertinent to contemporary historical and cultural concerns. This paper describes Yves Congar’s particular ecclesiological, pneumatological and Christological insights in response to the question of the salvation of people of non-Christian religions. Congar seeks to find a via media, or middle way, which denies two extreme perspectives, one of which holds that explicit non-Christians are not saved, and …

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.

Shulchan Arukh, Amy Milligan

Women's & Gender Studies Faculty Publications

[First Paragraph] The Shulchan Arukh, literally translated as "The Set Table," is a compilation of Jewish legal codes. Written in the sixteenth century, it represents the first codification of Jewish law that is universally accepted by religiously observant Jews. It encompasses laws observed by both Ashkenazic Jews, those with German and eastern European roots, and Sephardic Jews, those with Spanish and Middle Eastern roots. Rabbi Yosef Karo composed the work in an effort to provide an authoritative legal text that would help to guide Jews in properly observing religious obligations. Although he composed the text before subdivisions of Judaism existed, …