Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

God's Dynamic Presence In The Preaching Event, John T. Clark

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Wanted, Fidelity Not Tears : An Assessment Of Gaps In The U.S. "Orphan Care Movement", Kimberly R. Pope-Seiberling

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Defeating Naturalism: Defending And Reformulating Plantinga's Eaan, Tyler D. Mcnabb

Liberty Theological Review

Abstract: During the past two decades, Alvin Plantinga has formulated an argument against naturalism that focuses on naturalism’s acceptance of contemporary evolutionary theory. Plantinga argues that given naturalism and evolution, our cognitive faculties have been developed to produce beliefs that meet the Darwinian requirement of survival and reproduction. Plantinga argues that accepting this will lead a naturalist to have a defeater for all of their beliefs, including their belief in naturalism. In this paper, I survey and respond to two types of objections that have been given as a response to Plantinga’s argument. The first objection that I interact with …

Book Reviews

Liberty Theological Review

Review by Timothy N. Mitchell of Inside Roman Libraries: Book Collections and Their Management in Antiquity. By George W. Houston. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 2014, 327 pp., $59.95.

Review by Timothy N. Mitchell of Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christian Contexts: Reconsidering the Bauer Thesis. Edited by Paul A. Hartog. Eugene: Pickwick, 2015, 276 pp., $25.60.

Review by Nicholas Dodson of Oral Tradition and the New Testament: A Guide for the Perplexed. Rafael Rodriguez. New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015, 184 pp., $27.95.

Jesus And Tiberius: An Examination Of Source Reliability, Timothy B. Chrisman

Liberty Theological Review

Since the introduction to the critical method of studying the Old and New Testament in the nineteenth century, doubt has been thrown on the historical reliability of the biblical narrative accounts, especially the four Gospels. Yet, far less scrutiny and denigration have been applied to historical sources written during the time of the Roman Empire. A comparison, then, is proposed. It would be beneficial to compare the sources that detailed the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, namely, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and the four sources which chronicled the life of Tiberius, emperor of the Roman Empire during …

Redeeming Rhetoric: Augustine's Use Of Rhetoric In His Preaching Ministry, John A. Sypert

Liberty Theological Review

The art and practice of rhetoric occupied a fundamental place in the ancient Roman world. It is thus not surprising that Augustine (354-430 AD) was deeply committed to the art of speaking well. He spent his youth mastering the theory of rhetoric, putting into practice what he had learned during a preaching career of almost forty years. This essay examines elements of rhetoric in Augustine’s preaching, arguing that he purposely appropriated common rhetorical elements in his preaching for the purpose of making Scripture both plain and compelling to his audience. Augustine’s training in rhetoric is summarized, followed by an overview …

A Biblical Guide To Maximizing Great Commission Emphasis By Transforming Your Church Government, Marcus W. Bridges

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

After learning 3500-4000 churches close their doors each year, Ed Stetzer believes, "the church will not change until the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change." This project will compare Congregation-led churches to Elder or Board-led churches to explore the need for changing the practical operation of the church in attempts to fulfill the Great Commission. The thoughts presented will provide a guide for church leaders, pastors, and church planters to adopt the style of governing policies that best results in for Jesus Christ. There will be fifty pastors polled from Congregation and Elder-led churches …

Interview With Reverend Dr. Larry Greenfield, Lauren Kostiuk

Chicago 1968

Length: 76 minutes

Interview with Larry Greenfield by Lauren Kostiuk

Rev. Greenfield begins by describing organizations he’s been involved with, devoted to religious ethics and social justice, protecting the rights of women, gender and sexual minorities, economic justice, and other related causes. He recounts his early years in Sioux Falls with his parents and how his religious involvement prompted questions about equality and social justice. He then recounts his time at the University of Chicago, where he began his involvement in political activism and civil rights. He recalls in detail his experiences at the Democratic National Convention, serving as a …

Interview With Reverend Dr. Stan Davis, Dawn Butler

Chicago 1968

Length: 116 minutes

Interview with Reverend Stan Davis by Dawn Butler

Rev. Davis begins by sharing details about himself, his family, and his early years in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, and his religious community, the Church of the Brethren. He talks about growing up during World War II and how he first became aware of prejudice, witnessing the internment of the Japanese-American community. He recalls his studies at Juniata College and his decision to attend Bethany Theological. He describes moving to North Lawndale, a diverse immigrant community that underwent drastic demographic changes as a result of unscrupulous lending practices designed to move …

7 Things Churches Can Do To Make Queer People Feel Welcome, Erin E. Duran, Christin N. Taylor

Center for Public Service Research

For as long as I can remember, the church, for me, has been a place characterized by shame and hurt. I remember Christian high school friends telling me that I would go to hell for being Queer. I remember hearing sermons from televangelists about the evils of homosexuality, and church leaders pressuring youth leaders to cast out their Queer members. I've heard more talk of "love the sinner, hate the sin," and "God didn't make gay," than anyone should, and I've even received personalized hate mail declaring that "God hates dykes." [excerpt]

Interview With Jack Wuest, Grace Fanning

Chicago 1968

Length: 63 minutes

Interview with Jack Wuest by Grace Fanning

Mr. Wuest begins by outlining the details of his childhood, family, and early education. He describes his role in the draft resistance during the Vietnam War, and describes the process the young men were subjected to as part of the draft. He recalls his time working with the Juvenile Protective Association which is what first brought him into contact with the Democratic National Convention protests. He recalls witnessing the police violence perpetrated against protesters. He remembers his reactions to the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. He …

Hotter Than Fire: The Deaths Of Migrants In The Mediterranean, Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Interview With James A. "Jim" Aull, Jeremiah Morales

Chicago 1968

Length: 120 minutes

Interview with James A. "Jim" Aull by Jeremiah Morales

Mr. Aull begins by describing his childhood in a rural community outside of Philadelphia, living with his parents, sister, and paternal grandmother. He describes his experiences in school, including the required church attendance and his first social service activities through the boarding school programs serving poor communities. While at Princeton, he says he became involved with the YCMA and Christian student organizations, leading to his involvement in civil rights. He recalls his travels through the Soviet Union and Turkey. He recalls his time at the Chicago Theological Seminary …

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 …

Interview With Father Dominic Grassi, Paul Brennan

Chicago 1968

Length: 105 minutes

Interview with Father Dominic Grassi by Paul Brennan

Fr. Dominic Grassi begins his interview by detailing his childhood, growing up the youngest of five to Italian immigrant parents on the North side of Chicago, He credits his high school work with the children at Cabrini Greens for introducing him to the community service aspect of religious life and recalls the significant role the priests played in his early years. He describes daily life at the college seminary and the formation of his religious vocation amidst “almost a tsunami” of worlds events: the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights …

Interview With Reverend Dr. B. Herbert Martin Sr., Matthew Kevin Robinson

Chicago 1968

Length: 84 minutes

Interview with Reverend B. Herbert Martin, Sr. by Matthew Kevin Robinson

Rev. Martin begins by describing his childhood in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, the oldest all-Black community in America, with his parents, grandparents, and nine siblings. He describes his strong religious upbringing and how he was called to ministry at the age of nine. He recounts being attacked and severely beaten by a group of “vigilante” white men for trying to register Black people to vote. He talks of his time at Philander Smith College, working for a wealthy retired counsel general, and the first churches he pastored …

Crucifixion Toward Relationality, Mason Davis

Student Work

The twentieth century has seen dramatic turns in theology, however few have been as profound as the development of the Trinitarian dialectic as expressed through Jurgen Moltmann and Karl Barth. Too often these theologians are rejected for the popularized theologies bound to modernity and the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement. This doctrine is bound to courtroom language, which for a postmodern culture, takes away any emphasis on the relational love expressed through the vulnerability of the Father. Once we see the vulnerability of God as the archetype of openness onto the other, we can begin to once again understand confessional …

Illness And God's Will, John Sherret

Senior Honors Theses

Originally, God never put sickness on people. After the fall, the early history of man as recorded in the Bible further demonstrates Him refraining to use sickness. However, once the law was instituted God began to use sickness as a punishment. In the Old Testament, sickness was always defined as a curse and never a blessing. It was used by God to curse people for disobeying the law. In the New Testament, God was seen healing the multitudes instead of cursing them. Through the atonement of Jesus, believers have been redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). Healing …

Jewish Games For Learning: Renewing Heritage Traditions In The Digital Age, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

Rather than a discontinuity from traditional modes of learning, new explorations of digital and strategic games in Jewish learning are markedly continuous with ancient practices. An explication of the close connections between traditional modes of Jewish learning, interpretive practice, and gaming culture can help to explain how Jews of the Digital Age can adopt and are adapting modern Games for Learning practices for contemporary purposes. The chapter opens by contextualizing a notion of Jewish Games and the field of Games for Learning. Next, the chapter explains the connections between game systems and Jewish traditions. It closes with a case study …

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 Predestination Debate: A Harmony Of Corporate Election And Individual Election, Bradley Smith

Senior Honors Theses

The topic of predestination has been discussed throughout church history in the work of men like Augustine, Pelagius, Calvin, Arminius, and Barth. Corporate election seeks to reconcile some problematic areas of Calvinistic and Arminian theology by arguing that in the same way that God chose the nation of Israel through His election of Abraham, so He also chose the Church through His election of Jesus Christ. Despite this view’s seemingly convincing evidence, Scripture points far beyond its main tenets. God’s unconditional election of individuals ought to be foundational to the understanding of corporate election. This study will discuss and interact …

Je Suis Garissa – The Unheard Cry, Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Eucharistic Imagery In Film: Two Patterns Of Usage, Caesar A. Montevecchio

Journal of Religion & Film

In Christian tradition, the primary effects of the Eucharist are the formation of koinonia and the facilitating of metanoia. Metaphorically, these effects make the Eucharist a symbol of community building and personal transformation. However, the way that such symbolic meaning is emplotted in film can vary between two distinct approaches. Augmentative usage uses Eucharistic symbols to deepen and amplify narrative instances of community building, such as by family gathering or reconciliation between characters, or character growth. In ironic usage, Eucharistic symbols elicit standards of virtue and goodness that help critique actions or events that damage koinonia or prevent characters …

The Binding Of Abraham: Inverting The Akedah In Fail-Safe And Wargames, Hunter B. Dukes

Journal of Religion & Film

This article draws upon Søren Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling and Jacques Derrida's The Gift of Death to trace how two exemplars of atomic bomb cinema reinterpret the Binding of Isaac (Akedah). Released during the twin peaks of Cold War tension, Fail-Safe (1964) and WarGames (1983) invert the Akedah of Genesis 22. In both films, an act of sacrificial patricide accompanies or replaces the sacrifice of an Isaac-like son. When viewed in the context of Cold War cultural politics—events such as Norman Morrison’s Abrahamic self-immolation and Kent State’s rejection of George Segal’s sacrificial memorial— the inverted Akedah emerges as …

The Dual Textual History Of The Song Of Hana In The Ethiopic Manuscript Traditions, Brian Christopher Jeanseau

Seminary Masters Theses

In Ethiopia, the Song of Hana has been transmitted in two types of manuscripts—biblical manuscripts and Psalters. This thesis compares the textual histories of this song within both manuscript types and shows that these are actually two separate traditions, not one tradition as previously assumed. Chapter one starts with descriptions of what these two manuscript types are and what the Song of Hana is. In chapter two, we briefly discuss some background issues—the scholarly efforts that have taken place in the Ethiopic Old Testament so far and the history of the Judeo-­‐Christian religion in Ethiopia which has shaped these two …

Tunisia’S Young Islamists: Religious Or Revolutionary Zealots?, Sawyer French

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ennahda’s many compromises during Tunisia’s transition have prompted assessments that the party has alienated its base, especially by not taking more traditionally Islamist stances on issues like sharī‘a. This paper draws on interviews with young Tunisian Islamists and assesses how they have responded to Ennahda’s compromises. Although some young Islamists are disappointed that Ennahda did not pursue more hard-line Islamist stances, many actually share the leadership’s progressive position on certain religious issues. Interestingly, young Islamists were far more angered by Ennahda’s compromises on ‘revolutionary’ issues than they were by its compromises on ‘religious’ ones. This paper ultimately argues that …

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

Spring 2015, Faith and Science

No abstract provided.

Entrepreneurship As A Sign Of Common Grace, Bruce D. Baker

SPU Works

Entrepreneurship benefits society in many ways. It delivers obvious and tangible economic blessings. The spiritual blessings of entrepreneurship are harder to see, and yet these are essential in order to arrive at a more complete understanding of the role entrepreneurship plays within a virtuous society. This paper considers common grace as a helpful lens through which to view the spiritual reality of entrepreneurship and to discern the intangible contributions it provides to economic shalom. Viewed from the perspective of common grace, we can see that entrepreneurship bears witness to the beauty, creativity, power and the responsibility bestowed upon God’s image …

Book Review: Beyond Toleration: The Religious Origins Of American Pluralism By Chris Beneke, Laverne Smith

Eruditio Ardescens

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Has The Church Replaced Israel: A Theological Evaluation (Michael J. Vlach), Jeffrey L. Cockrell

Eruditio Ardescens

No abstract provided.