Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

More Sick, More Broadly Spiritual: A Comparison Of The Spirituality Of Adolescents With And Without Chronic Illness, Carrie A. Ives

Religious & Theological Studies Student Work

Purpose: This project sought to explore any difference in spirituality between adolescents with and without chronic illness. Assessment tools were reviewed for appropriateness for this population.

Methods: A literature review was conducted, followed by novel research. 10 adolescents were interviewed, using a mixed-methods approach. The quantitative results were analyzed using T-test and MANOVA. The qualitative results were analyzed to find themes and patterns.

Findings: Those with chronic illness and/or mental illness were more likely to have a broader, non-traditional view of religion than their healthy peers. Otherwise, no differences were found between the spirituality of adolescents with and without chronic …

The Holy Imagination Of God: An Invitation To Dissent: Fostering Inclusive Theology For Holistic Understanding, Justice, And Liberation, Daron George

Doctor of Leadership

The Western American Evangelical theological tradition has been marred by expressions of homophobia, misogyny, racism, and a problematic alignment with political power. This prevailing theological stance, lacking in inclusivity and imagination, has hindered a holistic understanding of faith and justice, precipitating a crisis within many evangelical churches. This project proposes a novel pathway for those disillusioned with or departed from the evangelical church, commonly referred to as ex-evangelicals.

Central to this project is the exploratory question: “What was in God’s imagination in the beginning?” While not claiming to discern God's intentions definitively, this inquiry has yielded insights valuable to the …

Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 66, No. 1

Restoration Quarterly

PDF of the cover of Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 66, No. 1.

This repository hosts selected Restoration Quarterly articles in downloadable PDF format. For the benefit of users who would like to browse the contents of RQ, we have included all issue covers even when full-text articles from that issue are unavailable. All Restoration Quarterly articles are available in full text in the ATLA Religion Database, available through most university and theological libraries or through your local library’s inter-library loan service.

Odd Fellows: The Intersection Of Arminianism And Calvinism In The Writings Of Desmond Ford And F.F. Bruce, Samuel Pagán De Jesus

Dissertations

The Topic

In the 1970s, the Seventh-day Adventist church’s theological struggles over righteousness by faith and perfectionism revealed that Adventists were confused about their Protestant identity and what it meant to have the assurance of salvation. That struggle is exemplified in Desmond Ford’s writings. His doctoral studies under evangelical scholar F. F. Bruce prompted the Historic Adventists to wonder whether Ford had abandoned the Arminian synergistic soteriology for Calvinism’s monergism.

The Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore to what extent Frederick F. Bruce’s Reformed views, theological assumptions, and commitments were shared by and reflected in Desmond Ford’s …

Symposium: From Coming Out To Coming In: Roundtable Conversation Among Southeast Asian Queer Theologians, Michael Sepidoza Campos, Jayeel Cornelio, Erich Von Marthin Elraphoma, Joseph N. Goh, Jerlo M. Jaropillo, Joshua Marasigan, Kristine C. Meneses, Irene Nainggolan, Kakay Pamarán, Lizette Tapia, Amadeo Devin Udampoh, Wan Wei-Hsien

Development Studies Faculty Publications

Through a roundtable conversation via Zoom, teachers, pastors, and graduate students discussed the place of gender, citizenship, and faith in their identity formation and social accountability to articulate a hermeneutical lens specific to Southeast Asian contexts that shape and critique queer identities. These participants—primarily ministers, theological students, and seminary formators—engaged in organic, fluid, and multifocal turns to capture experiences that undergird the realities of women and LGBTQIQ+ people of faith in the region.

Regarding The Centrality Of The Covenant Motif In Heinrich Bullinger’S Theological Thought, Isaias D'Oleo Ochoa

CTS Student Publications and Creative Works

This article offers some statistics from Heinrich Bullinger’s The Decades with a brief analysis as evidence that Bullinger must be understood as the forerunner, not the father, of federal theology, since his discussion of the covenant doctrine is limited, inconsistent, exploratory, and slightly integrated with the rest of his theological thought.

Community Organizing For Democratic Renewal: The Significance Of Jacques Maritain’S Support For Saul Alinsky And His Methods, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Jacques Maritain’s ideas about democratic renewal remain as important and inspirational as ever. A less well-known element of Maritain’s political thinking is his support for grassroots community organizing. This support, peppered throughout his writings, comes into stark relief when examining his longtime friendship and correspondence with Saul Alinsky, the dean of community organizing in the US. This article argues, first, that we must understand Maritain and Alinsky’s friendship to properly appreciate the legacy of Maritain’s political thought and, second, that understanding the complementarity of their approaches allows us to see that together these two friends present a powerful strategy for …

Analysis Of Public Media Discourses Of The Main Actors Of The Church Crisis In Ukraine, Hennadii Khrystokin, Vasyl Lozovytskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

By analysing the main public statements of the actors of the church crisis in Ukraine, we managed to identify their basic narratives, main discursive logics, power positions, hidden motives and interests that influence social processes. To do this, we used the techniques of narrative analysis of public discourses. The main actors (players, participants) in the church crisis are representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (next - UOC) and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (next - OCU), the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church (next - ROC), government agencies, popular media, international and Ukrainian experts. Theological, political, state, and mass-media …

Pauline Echoes In The Preaching And Activism Of Francis James Grimké (1850–1937): Confronting Ethnic Prejudice Through An Evangelical Emancipatory Homiletic (Eeh), Eric J. Freeman

Dissertations

Pauline Echoes in the Preaching and Activism of Francis James Grimké (1850–1937): Confronting Ethnic Prejudice through an Evangelical Emancipatory Homiletic examines how Grimké’s sermons and public discourse, rooted in the proclaimed and embodied gospel of Jesus Christ and resonant with the Apostle Paul’s hermeneutic and pastoral heart, addressed social injustices—particularly ethnic prejudice—through a distinct, socially conscious homiletic. This research defines Grimké’s unique homiletic as an Evangelical Emancipatory Homiletic (EEH), a term coined here to convey the gospel-embodied, contextually aware nature of his ministry. Framed within the practical theology of homiletics, this study illustrates how Grimké’s EEH incorporated textual and thematic …

Journal In Entirety

The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Peace In Romans : Postcolonial Intertextuality And The Double-Voiced Discourse Of Scripture And Roman Imperialism, Dain Alexander Smith

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Ethics Of The Other Through Theodicy: A Study Of Emmanuel Levinas, Sunghun Choi

Master's Theses

The Problem

Drawing upon Emmanuel Levinas’s Judaic, philosophical, and experiential influences, Levinas formulates an “ethics of the Other” as a response to the quandary of suffering and evil, presenting it as an alternative to theodicy.

The Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore Levinas’s philosophy by examining his response to the criticisms levied against theodicy, while also investigating the potential coexistence of his philosophy with theodicy and the warrant for such a critique, as well as the claim that an “ethics of the Other” can function as a legitimate replacement for theodicy.

Conclusions

This thesis argues that while …

Pardoned And Perfect: A Comparative Study Of The Soteriology Of John Wesley And Ellen White, Esther Louw

Master's Theses

Problem

Since the 1970s, there has been an ongoing discussion about the extent to which Ellen White’s soteriology reflected or was influenced by John Wesley’s soteriology. The result has been a general lack of consensus. This study attempted to clearly delineate Wesley’s and White’s soteriological systems and distinguish them from various theological phenomena within American Methodism.

Method

The research for this thesis was predominantly drawn from primary source material which was organized chronologically in order to allow for the natural development of thought and ideas over time. The theological contexts of Wesley and White were explored and connected by an …

“I Know What Nothing Means”: Nostalgia, Hope, And The Postmodern Search For The Sublime, Kathryn L. Donati

Theses and Dissertations

Amid simultaneous crises of self, nation, digital citizenship, global health, climate change, and socio-political polarization, to name but a few of the catastrophes that seem to define life in the global West in the twenty-first century, where do we find hope? Do we find it at all? Is there any hope to be found? These are the questions that serve as the genesis for this undertaking in which I locate the origin of these crises far before the events of the 2016 and 2020 elections, far before even the panic of Y2K. I begin my examination of hope in contemporary …

Odd Fellows: The Intersection Of Arminianism And Calvinism In The Writings Of Desmond Ford And F.F. Bruce, Samuel Pagán De Jesus

Dissertations

The Topic

In the 1970s, the Seventh-day Adventist church’s theological struggles over righteousness by faith and perfectionism revealed that Adventists were confused about their Protestant identity and what it meant to have the assurance of salvation. That struggle is exemplified in Desmond Ford’s writings. His doctoral studies under evangelical scholar F. F. Bruce prompted the Historic Adventists to wonder whether Ford had abandoned the Arminian synergistic soteriology for Calvinism’s monergism.

The Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore to what extent Frederick F. Bruce’s Reformed views, theological assumptions, and commitments were shared by and reflected in Desmond Ford’s …

Feminized Servanthood, Gendered Scapegoating, And The Disappearance Of Gen-X/Millennial Protestant Clergy Women, Lynn Horan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In today’s mainline Protestant churches, young women clergy navigate a precarious leadership space. While women’s ordination is well-established in American Protestantism (Burnett, 2017), Gen-X/Millennial clergy women find themselves at the crosshairs of conflicting gender narratives and unsustainable expectations of what it means to be both a woman and an ordained pastoral leader. Through the use of feminist constructivist grounded theory methodology, this study explored the lived experiences of Gen-X/Millennial clergy women who have left active ministry or a specific pastoral position due to concerns over their own interpersonal boundaries and psychological safety. Through dimensional analysis of in-depth interviews with 20 …

Evil, Ontology, And Scripture: A Diachronic Analysis Of Augustine Of Hippo's Privatio Boni Concept, Jamie G. Boucher

Dissertations

Augustine of Hippo’s Privatio Boni concept—the idea that evil is not a substance, but the privation of good in a substance—is the most influential early systematic theodical attempt within Christianity to exculpate a good God from responsibility for evil. By approaching Privatio Boni as the intricate interplay of Augustine’s views on evil, ontology, and Scripture, this dissertation aims to clarify misunderstandings surrounding the concept and determine if there is biblical warrant for it. Chapter 1 addresses issues of background, problem, purpose, and justification before introducing a delimited three-staged methodology of establishing context, engaging in diachronic analysis, and conducting a comparative …

17th Century Ecumenical Activities Between Ecumenical Patriarchate And The Early Protestant Churches, Svetoslav Ribolov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The ecumenical activities and contacts between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Protestant churches in the 17th century were largely shaped by two remarkable figures of the Orthodox Church–the Patriarch of Constantinople Cyril Lucaris and Metrophanes Kritopoulos, who later became the Patriarch of Alexandria. Their sincere desire for contact with Protestant theologians, along with their commitment to open dialogue and cooperation was the most important factor in Orthodox-Protestant relations in that era. However, while the political climate in Europe initially allowed for some rapprochement between Christians in the Ottoman Empire and those who had embraced the Reformation, things eventually changed after …

Switching The Narrative: Pastors’ Beliefs And Reasonings, Dejaune K. Thompson, Sheriyse M. Williams, Shuntay Tarver, Portia C. Stokes

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although many African Americans experience mental health/addiction (MH/A), only 39% of the population seek professional treatment. Several significant barriers contribute to their ability to seek treatment, and as such, many African Americans feel more comfortable relying on the Black Church and pastors for support. However, many pastors are not prepared to support the MH/A needs of their parishioners thus leaving those who seek help without the proper MH/A care they need. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the perceptions held by African American pastors on preparedness based on experience and theological beliefs to address MH/A issues within …

Ethereal Plan, Ramsceair Jacques Flemmings

Writing Beyond the Prison Living Archive

Poem on Religion; Prophecy

Bandit Of Truth, Ramsceair Jacques Flemmings

Writing Beyond the Prison Living Archive

Poem on Religion; Violence; Divine retribution

The Dynamic Interplay Of Opposites In Zoroastrianism, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

This exploration addresses some aspects of Zoroastrianism, examining how the ancient Persian belief system aligns with the dynamic and indeterminate principles of Fuzzy, Neutrosophic, and MultiAlist systems. Zoroastrianism, rooted in the eternal struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, exhibits parallels with Neutrosophy's acknowledgment of indeterminacy, incompleteness, and the dynamic interplay of opposites. The prophet Zarathustra's vision of a neutrosophic God challenges conventional notions of divine attributes, emphasizing a dynamic and evolving universe. Before investigating these vague areas, the concept of unclear conceptual borders is explored, emphasizing the indeterminacy and imprecision inherent in defining opposites or partially opposite concepts. …

The Issue Of War In The Basic Social Concepts Of The Russian Orthodox Church And In The Compendium Of The Social Doctrine Of The Catholic Church: A Comparative Analysis, Olga Nedavnya

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The assessment by the Russian Orthodox Church of the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine as a holy war prompts to determine whether this position of this Church is determined by its theological recommendations on social life, recorded in the Basics of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church. The analysis of this current official document of the Russian Orthodox Church revealed that in the central part of its provisions, where the grounds for evaluating this or that war are given, there are references to the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. This fact led to the need …

No Orthopathy Without Orthoaesthesis: On The Necessity Of Negative Effort, Ryan G. Duns

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

Theologians have become increasingly attentive to the role emotion and experience must play in theological reflection. Several thinkers have recently done so by appropriating and developing Jon Sobrino’s understanding of orthopathy, or “right affect.” A close examination of these efforts, however, reveals inconsistencies in the way the category is understood and deployed. This article redresses these inconsistencies by complementing orthopathy with orthoaesthesis, or “right perception.” The article opens by considering various appeals to orthopathy before suggesting how William James’s theory of emotion might provide the category with clarifying content. The second stage engages Simone Weil and Iris Murdoch as practitioners …

Why I Say "Merry Christmas": A Dei Perspective, Essraa Nawar

Library Articles and Research

"A few weeks ago, Dr. Daniele Struppa, our Chapman University President approached me with a cultural protocol question regarding sending holiday cards to his international collaborators oversees. Dr. Struppa who currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the American University of Sharjah has become professionally and personally acquainted with some members of the Royal family of the United Arab Emirates, some Social Entrepreneurs, Businessmen, Professors, Scholars and others through this academic engagement. Dr. Struppa was wondering whether or not it is appropriate to send a Chapman University Christmas Card during the Holidays even though December is technically not a …

The Inevitability Of Sin, Kevin Timpe

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Part of the traditional Christian doctrine of sin is the claim that, due to the effects of original sin, acts of sin are inevitable. Of course, our reflection on sinful actions is shaped by how we think about human freedom and divine providence more broadly. Some have argued that libertarians have a difficult time accounting for the inevitability of sin. This paper uses David Lewis’s work on counterfactuals and possible worlds to give an account of how the inevitability of sin can be understood. It then shows how both theological determinism and Molinism can give an account of sin’s inevitability …

Toward An Analysis Of The Abductive Moral Argument For God’S Existence: Assessing The Evidential Quality Of Moral Phenomena And The Evidential Virtuosity Of Christian Theological Models, David Ochabski

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The moral argument for God’s existence is perhaps the oldest and most salient of the arguments from natural theology. In contemporary literature, there has been a focus on the abductive version of the moral argument. Although the mode of reasoning, abduction, has been articulated, there has not been a robust articulation of the individual components of the argument. Such an articulation would include the data quality of moral phenomena, the theoretical virtuosity of theological models that explain the moral phenomena, and how both contribute to the likelihood of moral arguments. The goal of this paper is to provide such an …

The Salvation Testimony Of African-American Converts In The Protestant Faith: A Phenomenological Study, Tenielle Jones Cook

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Humanity's frailty and mortal existence create the space for a spiritual conversion experience that resolves matters of life and death. However, spirituality is an abstract concept with an ambiguous definition, and activities surrounding the application of its concepts are interpreted differently from one religious group or community to the next. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the salvation testimony of African-American males and females in the Protestant faith. A semi-structured interview and Conversation analysis are used for data collection and analysis to identify emerging themes for the descriptive essence of the salvation testimony. At this stage in …

Retaining Students After Graduation With Biblical Servanthood, Carlos Henrique De Freitas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis addresses the inadequate understanding of the biblical concept of servanthood among high school students (grades 9-12) within the congregation of Macland Baptist Church in Powder Springs, Georgia. As a result of this problem, students gradually distance themselves from their faith, discontinue church attendance, and cease participating in church service activities. The thesis of this paper is that exposing these high school students to various dimensions of biblical servanthood will significantly impact their understanding of this concept. The underlying assumption posits that a profound understanding of biblical servanthood, coupled with knowledge and service opportunities, will cultivate Christlike character in …

Moral Injury: The Hidden Adversary Of War, Lashell Y. Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of United States Army combat veterans who have supported combat operations at least once over the past fourteen years in either Iraq or Afghanistan who self-identified as suffering from symptoms of moral injury. This study was designed to elucidate the impact of faith on resilience and coping mechanisms and broaden previous research on moral injury and whether Army leaders should identify and mitigate moral injury within the ranks. Phenomenology focuses on the interpretation and meaning of how individuals experience their world within a given context. Seven …