Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Luke 18:9-14: An Expositional And Literary Discussion On The Parable On The Pharisee And Tax Collector, Nathan A. Schwenk

Senior Honors Theses

In the third Gospel of the New Testament, Luke consistently writes about the Pharisees and their piety pronouncing woes and judgments upon them. Representing the religious leaders of that day, they exalted themselves above everyone else and most of all, tax collectors, who are the epitome of sinners. However, the principle of the great reversal is a prominent theme in Luke’s Gospel, in which the exalted are humbled and the humble are exalted. Multiple times Jesus uses this principle to completely transform peoples’ mindset on who is greatest in the world.

This thesis will offer an extensive exposition on the …

Towards An Indian Constructive Theology: Towards Making Indian Christians Genuinely Indians And Authentically Christians, Dominic K. Arputham

LMU Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

How I Would Like To Spend The Last Years Of My Life..., Landon Brady Saunders

Landon Saunders Documents

A list of projects Landon Saunders wants to work on and what he wants to happen with Heartbeat when he can no longer work on it.

Intelligent Design And Its Place In The Classroom, Victor Trinh, Mekdelawit Mezgebu

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Creationism, is the dominant belief held by the public. Evolution, on the other hand, is the competing theory of the mechanisms of creation. The recent dispute among the scientific and political field that has furthermore complicated the question of intelligent design being integrated into the curriculum of public schools is addressed here. We attempt to give both sides of the argument, along with analyzing the components of each theory. Intelligent design advocates are for the idea of accommodating what they have coined “intelligent design” into the classrooms of American schools. The opponents of intelligent design (evolution supporters); however, claim that …

Should Intelligent Design Be Taught Alongside Evolution In Public Schools?, Chelsea Opdendyk, Christina James

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Evolution being the creation of life through a scientific method and ID being the creation of life through a religious point of view. The overall proposing question to be discussed throughout this project is whether or not ID should be taught in schools alongside Evolution within science classes. The first phase of this project involves research of the positive teachings of ID within the school system and how it can be beneficial to students. The second part of this project involves the negative aspects of educating students the proposed theory of ID. The final phase revolves around the favored conclusion …

Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Michael Phan, Jeniene Hassan

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Embryonic stem cell research has the potential to regenerate malfunctioning tissues and replace harmful cancer cells. Although it holds the potential to alleviate malicious disabilities and diseases, it raises ethical concerns due to the destruction of a fertilized human embryo. In certain religions (Catholics and Christians), embryonic stem cell research is detested due to the destruction of a human at its early stages of life (embryo). On the other hand, scientists believe that embryonic stem cells can “someday…used to treat human diseases.” (Hansen 879) This analysis on embryonic stem cell research will consider both the supporting and opposing side of …

An Exposition Of Augustine's Theodicy: From Its Influences To Its Modern Application, Kevin J. Gray

Philosophy Student Scholarship

This paper delineates the thrust of Augustine's theodicy against the broader background of his Christian Neoplatonic outlook. We examine Augustine's initial Manichean influences and see how these beliefs carry over to his mature thought, which is evident in the seventh book of the Confessions. After Augustine's time with the Manicheans, we look at how he was so influenced by the books of the Platonists (libri platonicorum). Although Augustine's position regarding the problem of evil shifts, his idea of the primacy of the soul is still evident in his thought process. To wit, Augustine posits that evil must …

The Substance And Style Of Len Dong: Healing, Transformation, And Aesthetic In Spirit Possession Rituals Of Hue, Lauren Cardenas

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Len Dong is a spirit possession ritual practiced in the mother goddess religion of Tu Phu. Tu Phu roughly translates to “Four Palaces” or the sacred homes of the four spirits of the earth, heaven, water, and mountain or woods[1]. As there is no formal organization of the religion, there is much freedom in its expression among practitioners. For example, the styles, designs, and intricacy of the costumes may vary, or perhaps the size of the accompanying ritual orchestra. Yet there remains one very important element of spirit possession ritual: loc or lucky gifts from the spirits …

Solitude And Journey: Two Central Themes In The Spirituality Of John Henry Newman, Ono Ekeh

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

John Henry Newman is widely known for his ideas on doctrinal development, education, conscience, and his reflections on faith and reason. However, it is important to remember that, among the many hats Newman wore, he was mostly a preacher and spiritual director. So in his role as a preacher, pastor, and spiritual leader, did he have a distinct spirituality? If so, what features or ideas would define Newman's spirituality? This paper will explore two prominent and pervasive themes in his spirituality looking primarily at his Parochial and Plain Sermons from his Anglican period and also at some of his Catholic …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 46 No 1 - April 2011), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: A Break with Anti-Judaic Exegesis: John Calvin and the Unity of the Testaments by G. Sujin Pak - 7 / Metaphysics and Justification in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Reformed Theology by John V. Fesko - 29 / A Brief History of Heaven in the Writings of Jonathan Edwards by Robert Caldwell - 48 / The Glory of Spiders and Politics by John Bolt - 72 / Experience, Expression, Understanding: Gerardus van der Leeuw's Phenomenological Method by Richard J. Plantinga - 81 / The Seven Days of Creation by James W. Skillen - 111 / Lost Keys: The Absolution in …

Crafting A Congregational Narrative For The College Church Of Christ In Fresno, California, Jason W. Locke

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes a ministry project in the College Church of Christ in Fresno, California. In this project I led the congregation through a narrative crafting process in order to clarify the church’s identity and increase its capacity for mission. In recent decades, the College Church moved away from some of its founding characteristics yet failed to clarify a new sense of identity. It subsequently had difficulty acting with a unified sense of purpose and instead moved increasingly toward fragmentation.

Data for crafting the new narrative came from three weeks of group interviews. My research team conducted these interviews in …

Sabbath And Sanctification, Roy Gane

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

By The Pricking Of My Thumbs, Something Wicked This Way Comes: Omani Perceptions Of The Supernatural, Jennifer L. Borger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As a student who came to Oman knowing very little about the Arab world or Islam, I can safely say that my knowledge has increased tenfold. Upon entrance to the country in January 2011, I had no idea what my independent research study would end up addressing. Upon first hearing of the concept of the evil eye and all it relates to, my interest peaked. I began to think that this topic was interesting enough to command a month’s attention from me. This all changed during a weekend trip to Salalah, in the south of Oman, which included a lecture …

The Sacrifice Of The Life-Giving Death: The Atonement And Its Theological Presuppositions In Eastern Orthodox Soteriology, Daniel L. Marchant

Senior Honors Theses

Whereas much Western theology tends to portray the sacrifice of Christ as an act of penal substitution, the patristic tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church emphasizes an understanding of Christ's atoning work that is participatory rather than substitutionary, ontological rather than juridical, and cosmic rather than individual. These differences in emphasis arise from different understandings of such foundational doctrines as man's original created nature, the fall, and the Old Testament sacrificial system.

Since man was created in a dynamic condition in the image of God, called to attain to the likeness through deification in the energies of God, and as …

Discerning A Vocational Theology Of Marriage For The Smyrna Church Of Christ, Daniel F. Camp

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project was to discern a vocational theology of marriage for the Smyrna Church of Christ in Smyrna, Tennessee. Through a group discernment process, the participants studied Genesis 1-3 and 2 Corinthians 5 as a basis for understanding God’s design for marriage at creation, the effects of sin on the vocational aspect of the marriage relationship, and the call of Christ for husbands and wives to participate in the resurrection life through the ministry of reconciliation. At the end of the discernment process, the participants articulated a theology statement for the church that examined our current context …

Framing God: Toward A Cognitive Account Of Religious Rhetoric, Adam Lewis

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

The thesis develops a theory of religion based on social cognition and rhetoric.

The Assumption Of All Humanity In Saint Hilary Of Poitiers' Tractatus Super Psalmos, Ellen Scully

Dissertations (1934 -)

In this dissertation, I focus on the soteriological understanding of the fourth-century theologian Hilary of Poitiers as manifested in his underappreciated Tractatus super Psalmos. Hilary offers an understanding of salvation in which Christ saves humanity by assuming every single person into his body in the incarnation. My dissertation contributes to scholarship on Hilary in two ways.

First, I demonstrate that Hilary's teaching concerning Christ's assumption of all humanity is a unique development of Latin sources. Because of his understanding of Christ's assumption of all humanity, Hilary, along with several Greek fathers, has been accused of heterodoxy resulting from Greek Platonic …

Theology Of Confessionist Dialogue: A Theology Of Religions In The Religious Situation In Korea, Young Seok Song

ATS Dissertations

This dissertation constructs a new theology of religions, naming it a confessionist dialogue. By examining the traditional and contemporary religious atmosphere of Korea, I demonstrate how Korean Christians have often had an anti-relational attitude toward other religions, which caused religious conflicts and created anti-social expression in Korea. I also show that only a few religious pluralists have engaged in an active dialogue with other religions in Korea. By survey research, I found that the majority of Korean Christians have acknowledged the necessity of relationship with other religions, but they have a fear of religious pluralism, which makes them hesitant to …

"Poor Maggot-Sack That I Am": The Human Body In The Theology Of Martin Luther, Charles Lloyd Cortright

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation represents research into the writings of Martin Luther [1483-1546] reflecting his understanding of the human body in his theology. Chapter one reviews the history of the body in the theology of the western Christian church, 300- 1500. Chapters two through five examine Luther's thinking about various <“>body topics,<”> such as the body as the good creation of God; sexuality and procreation; and the body in illness, death, and resurrection. Chapter six presents conclusions.

Luther's thinking is examined on the basis of consultation of the Weimarer Ausgabe and the <“>American Edition<”> of Luther's works. Special attention is given to …

Interests, Rights And Standards Of Care In The Context Of Globalized Medicine, Hille Haker

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Historically speaking, medical ethics responded to the ideological misuse of scientific (or pseudo- scientific) research and gave priority to the individual patient’s right to be respected in any medical intervention. This right has been confirmed in several guidelines, from the Helsinki Declaration to the European Oviedo Convention of Human Rights in Biomedicine and many professional ethics codices.

For most works on medical ethics, the right of the patients is spelled out as respect for their interests, justified by freedom as basis of autonomy, moral agency, and a modern understanding of the individuals’ right to decide on questions of their (good) …

Dante’S Understanding Of The Two Ends Of Human Desire And The Relationship Between Philosophy And Theology, Jason Aleksander

Faculty Publications

I discuss Dante’s understanding that human existence is “ordered by two final goals” and how this understanding defines philosophy’s and theology’s respective scopes of authority in guiding human conduct. I show that, while Dante devalues the philosophical authority associated with the traditional Aristotelian emphasis on the significance of contemplative activity, he does so in order to highlight philosophy’s ethico-political authority to guide human conduct toward its “earthly beatitude.” Moreover, I argue that, although Dante subordinates earthly beatitude to spiritual beatitude, he nonetheless maintains that philosophy’s authority to reveal a path to spiritual beatitude requires its fundamental independence from theology.

Revisiting The Zahavi–Brough/Sokolowski Debate, Neal Deroo

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

In 1999, Dan Zahavi’s Self Awareness and Alterity: A Phenomenological Investigation initiated a critique of the standard interpretation of the distinction between the second and third levels of Husserl’s analysis of time-constituting consciousness. At stake was the possibility of a coherent account of self-awareness (Zahavi’s concern), but also the possibility of prereflectively distinguishing the acts of consciousness (Brough and Sokolowski’s rebuttal of Zahavi’s critique). Using insights gained from Husserl’s Analyses Concerning Passive Synthesis rather than the work on time-consciousness, this paper provides a new, more precise vocabulary in which to carry on the debate, in the hopes of bringing it …

Social Justice In Lactantius's Divine Institutes: An Exploration, Thomas Hughson

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Ethics Brewed In An African Pot, Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

Doing ethics in African Christianity raises the challenge of over-generalization in the midst of diversity and variety. This essay surveys the wide ethical landscape of Africa, explores key ethical issues on the continent within the context of the world church, and proposes priorities for action in view of a global ethical partnership.

The Ninth Functional Specialty, Robert Doran

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Miracles, Divine Action, And The Laws Of Nature, Martin Hanna

Memory, Meaning & Faith

No abstract provided.

Winfried Corduan On Miracles And The Laws Of Nature, Martin Hanna

Memory, Meaning & Faith

No abstract provided.

The Identity Of The Διψυχος In The Shepherd Of Hermas, Jeremiah Mutie

SOR Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Editorial For Theological Studies (March 2011), David G. Schultenover

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

"Be Holy For I Am Holy" - God's Call For Holiness, Teresa Reeve

Memory, Meaning & Faith

No abstract provided.