Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Architectural Evangelism: Examination Of Place Constructs Held By Churched And Unchurched Individuals, Matthew Niermann

Great Commission Research Journal

In recent decades, the exterior design of Protestant churches has undergone radical reformulation under the influence of the church growth architectural design theory known as architectural evangelism. Presupposing that churched and unchurched individuals hold differing place constructs, architectural evangelism seeks to attract unchurched individuals to the church by changing the exterior design from church typologies to secular typologies. In doing so, as the theory proposes, when an unchurched individual is exposed to a typology they are more familiar with, a different place construct formulation occurs—a place construct rooted in conceptions of comfort and the perception of community-based activities. Noting the …

The Life Of Donald Mcgavran: Turning To North America, Gary L. Mcintosh

Great Commission Research Journal

The event that put Church Growth on the worldwide map was the Lausanne Congress on Evangelism held on July 14-28, 1974. Then, as the Church Growth Movement took hold around the world, the focus of some faculty at Fuller’s School of World Mission gradually turned toward North America. This article describes the actions and processes that propelled the movement into world prominence.

Book Review: Reclaiming Glory: Revitalizing Dying Churches By Mark Clifton, Chris Messerer

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Turn-Around Churches: How To Overcome Barriers To Growth And Bring New Life To An Established Church By George Barna, Harvey Mitchell Jr.

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

To Dust You Shall Return: A Theological Argument For The Human Compost Movement, Sydney N. Ederer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research paper analyzes Catholic, Daoist, and Jewish beliefs on death, the body, the soul, afterlife, and after death rituals in order to build a connection between these beliefs and human composting practices. It uses these three religious traditions to find support for and recognize potential opposition against the human compost movement. These conclusions are in turn used to make a claim for human composting. Thorough research and a careful analysis of religious beliefs and traditions surrounding death and the body provides theological support for human composting as a recommended method for body disposal after death. Therefore, this research is …

Faith In Creation: Martin Luther's Sermons On Genesis 1, Mickey L. Mattox

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Apostasy Through Scripture: A Biblical Theological Approach, Marissa Fast

Senior Honors Theses

Apostasy is a subject that has been an intriguing question for many biblical scholars. This thesis examines apostasy from a biblical theological approach, meaning the Bible, and not Systematic Theology, has priority. First, the subject of apostasy within the covenantal context of the Old Testament is examined. Examples are given and discussed while the themes that can be gathered from this discussion are also be touched upon. Then texts addressing this issue within the New Testaments are examined and expanded upon. Finally, a conclusion of what the Bible has to say on the subject of apostasy is made.

Review Of Philo Of Alexandria: An Intellectual Biography By Maren R. Niehoff, Michael B. Cover

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

2018 Denominational Survey Results, Calvin University

CRCNA Denominational Survey Results

As part of the denominational ministry plan, Our Journey 2020, the CRCNA has contracted with Calvin College’s Social Research Center to administer a denominational survey every year. The results from the 2018 survey have now been compiled.

All CRC-affiliated adults and older youth are welcome to respond to this survey every year as they are led. In order to ensure a healthy number of responses to the survey every year, however, CRC leaders have randomly assigned every CRC church to one of five “cohorts”. Each cohort includes about 20 per cent of all active congregations, and each congregation will …

Snc Day: A September Tradition

St. Norbert Times

• News
  • SNC Day: A September Tradition
  • Economic Study’s Promising Results for Allouez
  • The CVC Goes Green
  • Religion Meets Art: The St. John’s Bible
  • SNC Moves Up in National Ranks
• Opinion
  • The Importance of Arguments
  • What the Future Might Hold
  • Living Simply: A Reflection
  • Just Do It
• Features
  • Ruth’s Marketplace Remodeled
  • SNC Annual Involvement Fair
• Entertainment
  • Student Spotlight
  • Sudoku
  • Trivia
  • Where is Hip-Hop Going?
  • Winners and Loser of Summer 2018
  • Music Opinion
  • Junk Drawer: Reboots We Want to See
• Sports
  • Men’s Soccer Defeats Lakeland, 14-0
  • “QB: 1 Beyond the Lights” Review
  • Diving Into New Tradition
  • Friday Wrap Up: Volleyball, XC

Imagining Enlightenment: Icons And Ideology In Vajrayāna Buddhist Practice, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Iconography has been used to represent the experience of awakening in the Buddhist traditions for millennia. The Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions are especially renowned for their rich pantheons of buddhas and bodhisattvas who illuminate and inspire practitioners. In addition, the Vajrayāna branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism presents a host of meditational deities (yidam) who serve as catalysts of awakening. These awakened beings are regarded as objects of refuge for practitioners, both female and male, who visualize themselves in detail as embodiments of specific enlightened figures, female or male, with all their enlightened qualities. These meditational deities, which are mentally constructed …

Snc Opens Doors To Class Of ’22

St. Norbert Times

• News
  • SNC Opens Doors to Class of ’22
  • Get Involved with Student Orgs
  • The Art of Creation
  • New Freshmen Go Into the Streets
• Opinion
  • Remembering John McCain
  • The Value of Liberal Arts
  • Burnout: A Forgotten Affliction
  • The Morality of Hard Work
• Features
  • Campus Spotlight: What is PAW?
  • Burke: The Singles Life,
• Entertainment
  • Student Spotlight
  • Sudoku
  • Trivia
  • The Big Question: How to Make a Living in Music?
  • Oscars Adds ‘Popular Film’ Category
  • Book Review: Six Moon Summer
  • Junk Drawer: Summer Catch-Up
• Sports
  • SNC Football Preview
  • Cross Country Dominates at Tom Barry
  • New Look Knights Serve for Thirteen Straight
  • Usain Bolt: Trading …

C.S. Lewis And The True Myth: A Reconciliation Of Theology, Philosophy, And Mythology, Courage Lowrance

Masters Theses

C.S. Lewis was both a student of pagan philosophy and mythology and a Christian. He never was divided between these two pursuits in his life, though he gave the latter its proper priority. What allowed Lewis to keep this balance was his idea of the gospel as the True Myth, an idea that helped lead to his conversion and remained at the core of his thinking throughout his life. By this idea of True Myth, Lewis was able to not only unite the pagan myths to Christian truth, but also the rest of human thought as well. Thus, in order …

Redefining The Roles Of The Rural Levites In Deuteronomy, James Douglas Wilson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Laudato Si’: Integral Ecology And Preferential Option For The Poor, Alexandre A. Martins

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

This essay examines Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato si’ from a Latin American perspective and its reception in this part of the world, especially in Brazil. It focuses on two aspects of Laudato si’: its dialogical approach, and the connection it makes between ecological issues and poverty. These two aspects allow us to understand Francis’s proposal of integral ecology and how the preferential option for the poor becomes central to his perspective. In addition, this essay explains how Latin American theology and pastoral experience are present in Pope Francis’s thought.

Solidarity And Social Justice In Promoting Mental Health And Wellness Among Impoverished People: Looking From Mercy And Liberation, Alexandre A. Martins

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

This paper reflects on issues of justice and mental health from a theological approach that intends to show an ethics of social responsibility and caring ground on a new social Samaritan paradigm. It has the Brazilian context of public health as the starting point for its analysis and an example to support a theological perspective that stresses the crucial importance of a community-based approach able to integrate patient, family, ecclesial community, and society in order to shape public policies that respond to mental health demands and challenges. In addition, this paper suggests an ethics of personal, communal, and social responsibility …

The Psychology Of Self-Surrender: A Contemplative-Hermeneutic Study, Danny Sharara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the psycho-spiritual significance of self-surrender as a mode of being and experiencing. The author seeks to generate meaningful knowledge of self-surrender through a methodology that follows from the distinct nature of self-surrender as a psycho-spiritual/religious phenomenon that is grounded in direct experience. As such, this study draws on an integrative methodology that synthesizes elements of applied hermeneutics with autoethnography and contemplative practice. The author conducts an applied hermeneutic analysis of two psycho-spiritual texts; one that is rooted in the Zen Buddhist tradition and the other from the Sufi tradition. This is followed by a thematic analysis that …

Surveying The Landscape Of Theories And Frameworks Used In The Study Of Sport And Religion: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Zachary T. Smith, Steven N. Waller Ph.D.

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

Religion and sport is a bourgeoning and maturing interdisciplinary area of study. As the volume of research conducted about topics related to the interface of religion and sport, attention to sound research methods, including the use of relevant theories and theoretical/conceptual frameworks becomes essential. Scholars such as Stausberg and Engler (2014) have posited that the methods used in religious studies (including theory and frameworks) are not as rigorous as those utilized in social science related fields. The imperative then becomes to use theories and frameworks from social science related disciplines such as leisure studies, sports studies and sport psychology to …

The Lost & Found Game Series: Teaching Medieval Religious Law In Context, Owen Gottlieb, Ian Schreiber

Presentations and other scholarship

Lost & Found is a strategy card-to-mobile game series that teaches medieval religious legal systems with attention to period accuracy and cultural and historical context. The Lost & Found project seeks to expand the discourse around religious legal systems, to enrich public conversations in a variety of communities, and to promote greater understanding of the religious traditions that build the fabric of the United States. Comparative religious literacy can build bridges between and within communities and prepare learners to be responsible citizens in our pluralist democracy. The first game in the series is a strategy game called Lost & Found …

A Gifting Of Sweetgrass : The Reclamation Of Culture Movement And Naiits, An Indigenous Learning Community, Wendy L. Peterson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Review Of: J. Denny Weaver, God Without Violence: Following A Nonviolent God In A Violent World, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

In God Without Violence, Mennonite theologian J. Denny Weaver ‘proposes new motifs for Christology and atonement’ and ‘highlights new versions of Christian practice’ based in ‘the nonviolence of God who is revealed in the life and work of Jesus’ (pp. 197–98). Weaver wrote this book to be a popular version of his previous books on atonement theology, accessible to church study groups and college classes.

Weaver, J.D. (2016). God without violence: Following a nonviolent God in a violent world. Eugene, OR: Cascade.

The Transformational Power Of Forgiveness Within The Church, Mary Mckenzie

Masters Theses

This thesis seeks to explore and describe the concepts and effects of forgiveness within the church. It shows that the roots of violence, suffering, and pain are in the unhealed wounds of the past. It examines biblical, theological, and psychological materials on forgiveness, unforgiveness, and health benefits. Learning about forgiveness and how to use the skills can conceivably enhance mental and physical health through an optimistic and hopeful outlook on life. It highlights the differences of the definition and understanding of forgiveness and forgiveness from an intercultural perspective. Results from participants’ from five ethnic groups (African, African American, Asian, Caribbean, …

Impact Amid Absence: The Synod Of Dordt And The French Huguenots., Karin Maag

CTS Faculty Publications and Creative Activity

This contribution investigates the reasons behind the absence of delegates from the French Reformed (Huguenot) churches at the Synod of Dordt, setting the reasons for their absence in the broader political and religious context of the times. I argue that the connections between the French Reformed church and the Synod of Dordt were significant both before and after the synod met, but that the Huguenots had a rather different project in mind (religious reconciliation among Reformed Protestants and even possibly between Reformed and Lutheran Christians) when they considered the possibility of an international gathering of Reformed theologians. Although the Huguenot …

Sacred Time In The Work Of Makoto Shinkai, Kassandra I. Schreiber

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis looks at two works of anime director, writer, and producer Makoto Shinkai and examines how they create sacred experiences through the visual and narratological construction of time. Mircea Elaide’s concept of eternal return is joined with Gilles Deleuze’s film theory of Time-Images and time crystals to analyze the creation of sacred moments: moments of rejuvenation and reorientation. Not only are the two films, 5 Centimeters per Second and Your Name, read through the lens of these theories but these movies also illustrate how anime is unique art form that is well suited for the manipulation of time and …

Leonardo Boff’S Social-Environmental Ecology Exposition, Analysis, And Appropriation For Lutheran Theology, Alan Furst

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Furst, Alan Diego. “Leonardo Boff’s Social-Environmental Ecology: Exposition, Analysis, and Appropriation for Lutheran Theology.” MA Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 107pp.

Ecological issues throughout the world present an urgent need for a deepened theological approach to the doctrine of creation. In fact, recent studies have shown that such issues point to a more serious problem with the entire system at work shaping social relations today. This situation calls Christian theologians to rethink the doctrine of creation in light of ecological issues. This includes Lutheran theologians, who still need to address the current situation involving ecological issues and to offer reflections and …

Review Of "Excusing Sinners And Blaming God: A Calvinist Assessment Of Determinism, Moral Responsibility, And Divine Involvement In Evil" By Guillaume Bignon, Kevin Timpe

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Cosmic Common Good: Religious Grounds For Ecological Ethics By Daniel P. Scheid, Jame Schaefer

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Christianity And Gambling: An Introduction, Massimo Leone

Occasional Papers

Religions hold complex relations with games and, in particular, with gambling. The article focuses on Christianity. On the one hand, the history of this religion shows a tendency to condemn games as source of distraction from spiritual rectitude and to stigmatize gambling, above all, as opening to metaphysical randomness and, as a consequence, as challenge to the idea of divine omniscience. On the other hand, Christianity has also sought to reinterpret games, and even gambling, as possible occasion for moral improvement and as useful distraction from the hardship of monastic life. A theological perspective that reaches its peak in Thomas …

Book Review Of Maximus The Confessor. Jesus Christ And The Transfiguration Of The World, By Paul M. Blowers, Marcus Plested

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

People Or Profit: A Comparison Of Health Care In Brazil And The United States, Alexandre A. Martins

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

This essay offers a reflection about the increasing influence of profit in Catholic health care. Based on Jesus' teaching that shows that the need of the wounded person on the street comes first (Luke 10: 25-37), Catholic health care ministry has the challenge to create services where people, not profit, come first.