Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Following The Mission Leader: The Value Of Imitational Learning In The Training Of Apostolic Church Planting Teams At Memorial Lutheran Church In Katy, Texas, John F. Davis Jr

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Davis, Jr., John F. “Following the Mission Leader: The Value of Imitational Learning in the Training of Apostolic Church Planting Teams at Memorial Lutheran Church in Katy, TX.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2025. pp. 272

Reaching the unchurched and unbaptized in our communities with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a huge challenge for most of our churches. In The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, the number of adults being baptized in the churches (a measure of our effectiveness in carrying out the Missio Dei) is less than one per year. To reach people who have no …

Old Victims, New Oppressors? Considering Postcolonial Social Conservatism Without Christianity In Central And Eastern Europe, Michal Opatrný

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A significant part of societies in the states of Central and Eastern Europe openly reject the interconnection of Europe with the geopolitical, social and environmental problems of Africa, the Middle East, etc. Social conservativism without Christian belief is characteristic of this situation. Nevertheless, the churches and especially the representatives of the Catholic Church, often openly support these rejecting attitudes, i.e., by rejecting refugees, for example.

In the 20^th century, the Soviet Union and its internal supremacy of Russian nationalism heavily influenced this area. The postcolonial theory, together with the anti-oppressive theory, seems realistic to apply to this situation. In …

Carnival, Ritual, And Race-Thinking In The Bolivian Andes, Ximena Cordova, Adhemar Mercado

All Works

This paper explores the intersection of race, religion, and colonial legacies through the lens of the Oruro Carnival, examining its role in shaping Bolivian identity. Critical religion scholars argue that the entanglement of race and religion is a product of Western modernity and colonialism, which has influenced both historical and contemporary power relations. This framework is applied to analyse the Carnival, where religious practices and festive performances intersect, reflecting colonial efforts at religious conversion and racial categorisation. By focusing on the ethnography of Oruro’s embodied festive practices, this study investigates how the Carnival contributes to the construction of difference amid …

Ontological Overtones Of Participatory Soteriology In Romans 8:1-17, Derek E. Wilder

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The burgeoning scholarly interest in the concepts of deification and Paul’s “in Christ” participatory soteriology necessitates a deeper exploration of their interrelation with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Regardless of the increase in recent scholarship, the connection between participation in Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit remains underexplored. This study examines the relationship between deification, Pauline participatory soteriology, and pneumatology through an exegetical analysis of Romans 8:1–17. This exegetical framework posits that the believer’s union with Christ initiates a profound ontological metamorphosis, actualized through the Holy Spirit’s immanent indwelling and transcendent relational dynamic. The pneumatological dimension of …

Child Sexual Abuse And Mental Health: The Role Of Intrusive Thoughts And Spiritual Warfare, Sheriese S. Sanchez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A number of psychological issues are experienced by individuals who have experienced CSA, including depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, as well as intrusive thoughts contribute to the perpetuation of the mental health problem. Studies have shown that spiritual practices, such as prayer, meditation, reading the Bible, and reciting scripture affirmations, can improve mental health, improving one’s psychological well-being. Further, intrusive thoughts may be initiated by dark spiritual influences. Despite ongoing research, there is a lack of integration between disciplines of science and biblical truth concerning the impact of immaterial spiritual dimensions on psychological states. To understand intrusive thoughts, one must …

Discerning What Power Is For: The Spirit’S Dynamic Work In History Will Always Rhyme With What God Has Manifested In Jesus, James K.A. Smith

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

It was the 90s, as the kids say. The Pentecostal church where we worshipped in Stratford, Ontario, was swept up in the revival rippling from Airport Vineyard in nearby Toronto. News of strange and miraculous manifestations spread around the world. But the reports that struck me were testimonies about emotional healing — gut-level emotional restoration that overcame years of pain and trauma. I can still picture my friend, Michael, weeping as he bore witness to the work the Spirit had done in his heart and soul. Whatever one wanted to make of the laughing and barking(!) and trance-like states people …

Messianic Judaism And The Church, Robert C. Greer

Liberty Theological Review

One of the more curious phenomena within the Protestant Evangelical Church is Messianic Judaism. Its gospel is essentially the same as Protestant evangelicalism since Messianic Jews worship Jesus as Messiah, Savior and Lord. Yet many shun the label "Christian," preferring such titles as "fulfilled" or "completed Jews." Messianic Jews typically worship on Saturdays and observe a kosher diet. The symbol of the cross, which is ubiquitous in Protestant Evangelicalism and regarded as its most sacred symbol,, is problematic with many Messianic Jews. Messianic Judaism therefore maintains an arm's distance from Gentile Christianity. This paper is an exploration of that separation …

Public Theology And Political Polarization: Environmental Policy, Jean Golicz, Leonard S. Momeny

Liberty Theological Review

The purpose of this article is to explore the impact of public theology on potentially polarizing political views. Specifically, the historical and contemporary interpretations of the Lynn White Thesis (1966) are examined as well as the practical implications for developing environmental policies that align with a biblical worldview. The authors propose the application of multiple paradigms to the study of religiosity and environmental activism as a way of addressing the complexity and diversity of various viewpoints. Understanding the multiple ways Jesus operated in an equally contentious and polarized society creates a path forward for churches. By rejecting the supposition that …

Defending The Doctrine Of Hell, Jordan P. Ballard

Liberty Theological Review

The doctrine of hell, or the final state of the wicked, has become one of the most objectionable Christian doctrines because it depicts God as vengeful and wrathful, which is offensive to human sensibilities. As an extension of the problem of evil, where God is put on trial for allowing what may appear to be gratuitous pain and suffering in the world, many Christians and non-Christians alike wonder how a loving God could consign people to suffering in hell forever. After all, why didn’t God make a world where all would be saved if He is truly loving? Belief in …

The Decalogue As A Transitional Model For Fear, Pamela Jensen Ikasalo

Liberty Theological Review

God’s original intention for relationships was disrupted by the fall of man as recorded in Genesis 3. From that point, fear of man played an intricate role in both interpersonal relationships and decision-making. The purpose of the Decalogue was to moderate relationships among the people and with their God. However, there is an additional purpose as well. The Decalogue serves as a transitional model from fear of man to fear of the Lord. When God’s people live according to the precedents found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 their lifestyle no longer follows the pattern set by fallen humanity. Both …

Sündlos Vor Der Wiederkunft? Die Theologie Der Letzten Generation Aus Historischer Und Theologischer Sicht., Denis Kaiser

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Response To Michael Conway’S Review Of Maurice Blondel On The Supernatural In Human Action: Sacrament And Superstition (Boston & Leiden: Brill, 2017) By Cathal Doherty Sj., Cathal Doherty

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

This is a brief response (1000 words) to Michael A. Conway’s lengthy book review in Irish Theological Quarterly, Vol. 84, No. 2 (May 2019): 212–218.

Creating A Cultural Liturgy Of Intentional Prayer: Leading Grace Lutheran Church Into Greater Understanding And Engagement With The Surrounding Community, Keith Aschenbeck

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Aschenbeck, Keith D. “Creating a Cultural Liturgy of Intentional Prayer: Leading Grace Lutheran Church into Greater Understanding and Engagement with the Surrounding Community.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2025. pp. 166

Grace Lutheran Church, like many churches, has historically approached mission and ministry with the consumer-driven approach model of attraction. The result has often had them looking at how to shape and form how the world sees them so that they would be appealing as a place to worship. This way of approaching ministry has become a cultural liturgy that forms many decisions about what ministry programs …

Intellectual Virtues For Research - Integrating Faith And Scholarship, William Coberly

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Miscellaneous, Bruce R Johnson

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

No abstract provided.

Film Review Of Freud’S Last Session, G. Connor Salter

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A review of Freud’s Last Session, by Matthew Brown and Mark St. Germain, directed by Matthew Brown, starring Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode. Los Angeles: Sony Picture Classic, 2023. 1 hr., 48 min.

Donald Williams, Answers From Aslan: The Enduring Apologetics Of C. S. Lewis, Josiah Peterson

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A review of Donald Williams, Answers from Aslan: The Enduring Apologetics of C. S. Lewis, (Tampa, FL: DeWard, 2023), 208 pages, $14.99. ISBN: 9781947929289

Charlie W. Starr, King Lesserlight’S Crown, Judith Mcquoid

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A review of Charlie W. Starr, King Lesserlight’s Crown (Wilmore, KY: GlossaHouse, 2023). 103 pages. $9.99. ISBN 9781636630588.

K. Alan Snyder And Jamin Metcalf, Many Times And Many Places: C. S. Lewis And The Value Of History, Matthew Nash

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

K. Alan Snyder and Jamin Metcalf, Many Times and Many Places: C. S. Lewis and the Value of History (Hamden, CT: Winged Lion Press, 2023). 191 pages. $18.99. ISBN: 9781935688525.

Holly Ordway, Tolkien’S Faith: A Spiritual Biography, Crystal Hurd

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A review of Holly Ordway, Tolkien’s Faith: A Spiritual Biography (Elk Grove Village, IL: Word on Fire Academic, 2023). 480 pages, including Appendices, Glossary, Endnotes, Bibliography, Biblical Index, and General Index. $34.95. ISBN: 9781685789916.

C. S. Lewis: On Writing (And Writers): A Miscellany Of Advice And Opinions, Ed. By David C. Downing., Crystal Hurd

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A review of C. S. Lewis: On Writing (and Writers): A Miscellany of Advice and Opinions, ed. by David C. Downing. (New York: HarperOne, 2022). 208 pages. $23.99. ISBN: 9780063276444.

Thomas P. Hillman, Pity, Power, And Tolkien’S Ring: To Rule The Fate Of Many, Sørina Higgins

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A review of Thomas P. Hillman, Pity, Power, and Tolkien’s Ring: To Rule the Fate of Many (Kent, OH: Kent State UP, 2023). 306 pages. $40.00. ISBN 9781606354711.

Daniel Gabelman And Amanda B. Vernon, Eds., Unsaying The Commonplace: George Macdonald And The Critique Of Victorian Convention, Carol Propst

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A review of Daniel Gabelman and Amanda B. Vernon, eds., Unsaying the Commonplace: George MacDonald and the Critique of Victorian Convention (Hamden, CT: Winged Lion Press, 2024). 283 pages. $20.00. ISBN 9781935688440.

Matthew Dickerson, Aslan’S Breath: Seeing The Holy Spirit In Narnia, Crystal Kirgiss

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A review of Matthew Dickerson, Aslan’s Breath: Seeing the Holy Spirit in Narnia (Baltimore: Square Halo Books, 2024). 144 pages. $19.99. ISBN 9781941106334.

Paths In The Snow: A Literary Journey Through The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Sarah R. A. Waters

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A review of Jem Bloomfield, Paths in the Snow: A Literary Journey Through The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 2023), 288 pages. £16.99. ISBN: 9781915412300.

The Last Romantic: C. S. Lewis, English Literature, And Modern Theology, Louis Markos

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A review of Jeffrey W. Barbeau, The Last Romantic: C. S. Lewis, English Literature, and Modern Theology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2025). 176 pages. $22.00. ISBN 9781514010518.

Deeper Magic: Theology Of The Body In C. S. Lewis And John Paul Ii, George French

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

C. S. Lewis tells us that science and magic are “twins.” “They were born,” he says “of the same impulse”3 of man to master the natural world. We think of them very differently because science has succeeded where magic has failed, but that should not make us blind to their “strong family likeness.”4 Science and magic are intertwined for much of their history, and it is in the Enlightenment that the two begin to separate. While magic died and science survived, Lewis thinks that modern applied science still retains much of the “family likeness.” Unfortunately, not all of the family …

N.I.C.E. Alchemy: The Quest For Immortality In That Hideous Strength, Joseph Weigel

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

In the third and final chapter of The Abolition of Man, C. S. Lewis makes what may be one of the most provocative statements in his entire corpus of writings: “The serious magical endeavour and the serious scientific endeavor are twins. . . . They were born of the same impulse.”1 This claim is jarring because science and magic are thought of as opposites. One seeks knowledge through observation, the other deals in spells, rites, and incantations. However, Lewis recognized something deeper that united the two disciplines. The impulse for “magic and applied science alike,” he continued in Abolition, “is …

One Dominant Age: The Technological Singularity In The Abolition Of Man, Christopher Tissell

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

I doubt whether we are sufficiently attentive to the importance of the third part of C. S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man. Much ink has been spilled analyzing Lewis’s thoughts on the dangers of subjectivism as outlined in the first two parts of the book, but less so on the endpoint to which Lewis thinks subjectivism leads when whole societies succumb to it. Yet Lewis himself, or at least his editor, thought the final part important enough to name the lecture series after it, and dramatize it in a novel afterward. If Lewis saw the train leaving the station over …

The Abolition Of Man, Eighty Years Later: An Engineer’S Perspective, Paul G. Lorenzini

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

I n 2021 Michael Ward published After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man. His purpose was to call attention to the continuing relevance and significance of Lewis’s book, originally published in 1943, now almost a century old. Among his many works, it is one of the least known, yet it was perhaps Lewis’s most highly acclaimed book among secular critics. Ranked seventh by the National Review in its list of 100 best non-fiction books in the 20th century, it is second on a similar list by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.1 While Abolition can be a difficult …