Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Leisure Studies And Christian Scholarship: Two Solitudes?, Paul Heintzman

Movement and Being: The Journal of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sports Studies

This paper examines the interrelationships between scholarly Christian writings on leisure and leisure studies literature. As an academic field of study leisure studies is a fairly recent development, however throughout Christian history leisure has been considered by Christians such as Augustine, Aquinas, Luther and Calvin. A number of observations can be made from a review of these two bodies of literature. First, although numerous books have been written in recent decades by Christian scholars on the subject of leisure, very few of these scholars have been leisure studies scholars, and in most cases, these Christian writings have not made reference …

Thinking Nature, "Pierre Maupertuis And The Charge Of Error Against Fermat And Leibniz", Richard Samuel Lamborn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to defend Pierre Fermat and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz against the charge of error made against them by Pierre Maupertuis that they errantly applied final causes to physics. This charge came in Maupertuis’ 1744 speech to the Paris Academy of Sciences, later published in different versions, entitled Accord Between Different Laws Which at First Seemed Incompatible. It is in this speech that Maupertuis lays claim to one of the most important discoveries in the history of physics and science, The Principle of Least Action. From the date of this speech up until the end …

Covenant, Kingship, Grace, Sacrifice, And Prophetism In The Old Testament, Rickie S. Scott

The Kabod

This essay examines the major themes of covenant, kingship, grace, sacrifice, and prophetism that reoccur throughout the Old Testament and contribute to a proper understanding of the ancient biblical text. Through covenant, God reveals his divine nature and relates to his people. Through kingship, God reveals his plan for Israel. Through grace, God loves his chosen people and shows them mercy, and through sacrifice, God cleanses and sanctifies the Israelites. Finally, through prophetism, God discloses his divine calling for the Israelites. Each of these themes exposes God’s self-revelation and contributes to an enhanced understanding of the Old Testament.

Evaluating The Authenticity Of The Gospels, James O'Brien

Spring 2015, Faith and Science

Today, moderns, as well as biblical scholars, have a hard time accepting the possibility that the Gospels are authentic. The idea that a document composed two thousand years ago could be trusted is dismissed as absurd. However, this assumes that there is no evidence suggesting the contrary. Richard Bauckham, in his book, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, rejects this “gratuitous doubt” and provides a novel contribution to our knowledge of the historical Jesus. This book has awakened scholars to the possibility that the skepticism of form criticism is not only uncritical but also unwarranted. Contra to popular opinion in the …

Berkeley And The Mind Of God, Craig Berchet Knepley

Theses and Dissertations

I tackle a troubling question of interpretation: Does Berkeley's God feel pain? Berkeley's anti-skepticism seems to bar him from saying that God does not feel pain, for this would mean there is something to reality 'beyond' the perceptible. Yet Berkeley's concerns for common sense and orthodoxy bar him from saying that God does have an idea of pain. For Berkeley to have an idea of pain just is to suffer it, and an immutable God cannot suffer. Thus solving the pain problem requires answers to further questions: What are God's perceptions, for Berkeley? What are God's acts of will? How …

Occupy Judaism: Religion, Digital Media, And The Public Sphere, Ayala Fader, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

This article provides an analysis of Occupy Judaism, an explicitly religious expression of Jewish protest, which occurred simultaneously with Occupy Wall Street, the direct-democracy movement of 2011. Occupy Judaism, like Occupy Wall Street, took place both in physical spaces of protest in New York City and digitally, through mobilizing and circulating debate. The article focuses on the words and actions of Daniel Sieradski, the public face and one of the key founders of Occupy Judaism, supplemented by the experiences of others in Occupy Judaism, Occupy Wall Street, and Occupy Faith (a Protestant clergy-led initiative). We investigate what qualified as religion …

A Teleological Exploration Of The Plausibility Of Moral Knowledge, Kevin Lebel King Jr.

Masters Theses

Natural selection seems to offer a compelling case for the development of evaluative judgments independent of evaluative facts. If such a case can be made, then how do moral judgments correlate to moral facts? It seems that there would be no tight connection from judgments to truth and moral judgments would be unwarranted. Gilbert Harman realized the implications of a probable non-moral genealogy. Richard Joyce goes on to provide a probable non-moral genealogy that would epistemically undermine moral judgments as Harman thought. Joyce argues that in a naturalistic world natural selection can account for moral judgments, but that the truth …

Against A Process View Of Divine Patience, Luke Asher

Global Tides

When one chooses to tolerate suffering, waiting calmly without reacting emotively or physically, he is demonstrating the virtue of patience. Process theology claims that the patience of God is more or less identical to the experience of human patience. That is, when we sin and rebel against God, He refrains from smiting us, that we might repent and return to Him. In other words, God demonstrates patience when he restrains Himself temporally from interfering with or punishing mankind, waiting for their repentance. Such an explanation of divine patience may seem intuitive, but the patience of God is much greater, much …

Finding A Resolution : Religion's Role In Resolving Man's Internal Dyad., Marianna Michael

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

A Basis Of The Civil War: The Theological Views Of Nineteenth Century Christians On The Justification Of Slavery, Shaniqua Janeè Wells

Honors Theses

Views on the morality of slavery have produced a paradox within the Christian community. Historically, the issue of slavery has been analyzed tremendously by means of economic and cultural factors. The religious analysis of the institution of slavery has been overshadowed by secular motives. This paradox on the morality of slavery causes disunity within the Christian faith. Christianity, as a monotheistic religion, emphasizes the purpose that one God has for His people. Therefore, the multiplicity of views on God’s intentions for the treatment of human beings cannot be allowed in the Christian community. The abolitionists’ and activist’s views must be …

Atonement: Pope Francis And Ecological Sin, Michael Murphy

Michael Murphy

Explaining Consciousness: An Argument Against Physicalism And An Argument For Theism, Benjamin Dobler

Honors Projects

Consciousness, the mental phenomenon of our subjective experience of the world, has long been the subject of philosophical debate. The world we experience is full of sights, sounds, taste, smells, and feelings--phenomenal experiences. As the vehicle of phenomenal experience, consciousness is one of the most familiar and readily accessible features of our world, and perhaps the hardest to deny. Yet science tells us that our world is entirely composed of matter and energy, and physical phenomena can be explained as just that. In Part I, I argue that consciousness stands wholly at odds with this scientistic worldview, providing evidence against …

Establishing A Solid Foundation Through An Identity In Christ, Matthew S. Pedersen

Senior Honors Theses

An identity in Christ is the only solid foundation on which adolescents or adults can build their life. Identity is a major building block in a person’s life. Individuals with an unhealthy identity as a result of the culture will need to make many changes to this foundation in order to keep an accurate view of their lives. The definition of identity can show examples of negative consequences of an unhealthy identity. An identity based on the views of culture can show areas of weakness. Examining what the Bible says about man before and after a relationship with Christ will …

The Gospel In Singapore - The Impact Of Civil Religion And Civil Law, Mark Madson

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Madson, Mark, J. “The Gospel in Singapore: The Impact of Civil Religion and Civil Law.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2015. 240 pp.

The author explores the development of civil religion in the Republic of Singapore, paying special attention to its sources in English common law, Confucianism, and the Peoples’ Action Party (PAP) ideology of economic pragmatism. Colonial and modern civil religious law, including the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act of 1990, serve as the basis for analyzing the interaction of the state and traditional religious traditions. The Singapore Story, as told by Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP, provides a …

Investigating The Reliability Of Eyewitness Testimony In The Case Of The Resurrection, Stephen Rogers

Spring 2015, Faith and Science

No abstract provided.

Why Is Boko Haram Succeeding?, Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Psalms 69 And 117, Michael Murphy

Michael Murphy

“Secularization, Objectivity, And Enlightenment Scholarship: The Theological And Political Origins Of Modern Biblical Studies.”, Jeffrey Morrow

Jeffrey L. Morrow, Ph.D.

No abstract provided.