Sociology of Religion Commons^™

A Recuperative Theology Of The Body: Nakedness In Genesis 3 And 9.20-27, Emily Toler

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay examines the two creation stories in the Hebrew Bible, and reinterprets the nakedness present in those stories. While nakedness is frequently seen as a shameful condition of humanity, Toler reminds the reader that it is part of the creation that God declared to be "good." Though nudity is associated with tumultuous moments in the relationship between humanity and God, Toler argues that it is fear of God, not fear or shame of nakedness that motivates the uncomfortable moments like the one when Adam and Eve hid from God behind a bush. Today, nakedness is so often associated with …

Re-Imaging Modern Jewish Theology: A Closer Look At Post-Holocaust Theology, Rebecca Grimm

Denison Journal of Religion

Grimm argues for a more accessible theology and metaphor for God. She looks to Melissa Raphael's post-Holocaust theology as a beginning to this new trend. Raphael, who started her theological study in the thealogy movement (known for its feminization of God,) brings this knowledge to her study of the Holocaust. The traditional Jewish theological explanation of the Holocaust asserts that God was absent during the Holocaust so as not to interfere with free will. However, this ignores the experience of half of the victims of the Holocaust: women. God appeared absent to some, she says, because they were looking for …

Cardinal Bernardin: A Framework For Consistency, Katie St. Clair

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay illuminates the tension that exists for many religious people as they consider the appropriate amount of overlap between their personal convictions and public, often political, decisions. Bernardin was the former Archbishop of Chicago and a member of the Second Vatican Council. He made recognizable efforts to enact the doctrines of Guadium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. This document is famous for its declaration that the Church's aim is to "read the signs of the times and interpret them in light of the Gospel." Bernardin exemplified this notion by writing extensively on …

Saving God's Body From Empire: An Analysis Of American Empire According To A Metaphorical Theology By Sallie Mcfague, Megan Pike

Denison Journal of Religion

In this article, Pike uses the theology of Sallie McFague to criticize imperialism, particularly its ecological consequences, and to argue for an ecologically minded economy. Under the current empire of free market capitalism, God is a patriarchal figure who legitimates the ruling order. This bestows a false sense of approval on individuals, corporations, and nations that exploit the lowly in order to increase their own profit margin. Sallie McFague believes that the metaphors used for God profoundly influence how people conceive of their relationship with God and the world around them. The current metaphor for God reveals a divinity that …

'You Shall Worship God On This Mountain': A Theological Reading Of Discrimination & Dehumanization At Denison, Emily Toler

Denison Journal of Religion

This article examines protests against prejudice on Denison's campus in 2007 through the theological perspectives of M. Douglas Meeks and Jurgen Moltmann. The author argues that these two theologians offer pieces of a theology that can categorize the experiences at Denison during that time. First, Meeks thinks of communities as "households" that are asked to work as loving and supportive families. Meeks also asks Christians to remember the triune God and to use the example of that relationship"three persons in one, all working in community for the love of others"to serve as a model for their own relationships. Moltmann's theology …

What Does Scripture Say About Homosexuality?: Ethical Questions For Christian Communities, Emily Toler

Denison Journal of Religion

This article seeks to articulate a close reading of the treatment of homosexuality in the bible in order to help Christians discern an appropriate reaction to homosexuality and homosexuals on a community level. First delving into the traditional verses used to condemn homosexuality like the story of the Sodomite, the Holiness Code in Leviticus, and Paul's letter to the Romans, the author finds that these passages frequently have competing interpretations. For example, the story of the Sodomites is often told as a condemnation of rape, violence, and inhospitableness, not homosexuality. The Holiness Code could be interpreted not only as a …

Literature, Christianity, And Empire, Laura Perrings

Denison Journal of Religion

Empires use all the weapons in their arsenal as it attempts to justify its actions. Literature has often been made a tool, but it also has a history of criticizing empire. In this essay, Perrings uses the example of the novella Oroonoko by Aphra Behn. This woman author of the 17th century uses a tale about an African prince sold into slavery in South America as a critique British Empire's dehumanization of native peoples, slaves, and women. The language that Behn uses over the course of work resonates with Christian metaphors. While religion was often used to legitimate empire, Behn …

Changes In Sufism In The American Context, Patrick Hamilton

Denison Journal of Religion

This article considers the ways in which Sufism has altered since entering the American context. While in Islamic countries, Sufism's atypical rituals and interpretations of the Qur'an often made it a target of mainstream Islam. Once Sufism arrived in the United States, however, it rapidly began to change as practitioners no longer had to consider the pressures of a largely Islamic community. This does not mean, however, that there is no pluralism within Sufism in the United States. While early generations of immigrant Sufis remain more strongly tied to a traditional Islamic heritage, many of the Euro-American converts claim no …

Desmond Tutu: A Theological Model For Justice In The Context Of Apartheid, Tracy Riggle

Denison Journal of Religion

The power that religion can have over society today is undeniable. Riggle laments that our culture is plagued with strong memories of terrorist attacks, and fear of religious injustices based on gender and sexuality. Instead of giving up on religion's potential for positive influence, the author turns to an example of life-giving religion. Desmond Tutu, an Anglican Archbishop and South African political activist, demonstrates the continued existence of life-giving faith. Tutu, a man influenced by his Anglican religion, his African spirituality, and Apartheid, bases his theology on imago dei, the notion that humans are made in God's own image and …

The Tower Of Babel: The Dispersion Of God's People, Stephanie Dixon

Denison Journal of Religion

Dixon reimagines the story of the tower of Babel by making God's dispersion of the people a reward instead of a punishment. While this story is often read as a sign of humanity's hubris and disobedience and God's punishment, this essay choose to see the narrative as evidence of God's pride in his people and his confidence in them to populate the earth. While the vast majority of the Genesis stories show very specific interactions between particular men and women and God, this story depicts a broader narrative. Perhaps while the other stories attempt to demonstrate the relationships that exist …

The Tower Of Babel, Laura Perrings

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay refocuses the narrative of the tower of Babel to focus not on the division of languages or cultures, but rather on the relationship with god that this division reflected. Perrings notes that while the original unified language of humanity must have eased communication between people and can be seen, particularly in this day of cultural tension and violence, that this relationship was not pleasing to god. God is not only offended by the pride of the people, but is also concerned with their inattention to his rules and also their misunderstanding of their relationship with god. The focus …

Jean-Paul Sartre: The Bad Faith Of Empire, Megan Henricks

Denison Journal of Religion

Henricks shows Sartre's concept of "bad faith" as a considerable influence several theologians' criticism of empire. In order to explain "bad faith," Henricks first elucidates Sartre's concepts of "being-in-itself" and "being-for-itself." While "being-in-itself" implies on object that simply is what it is and cannot become more than its current identity, "being-for-itself" has the capacity to change and transcend its current identity. Humans, Henricks points out, are "beings-for-themselves" but they also contain qualities associated with "beings-in-themselves." This duality of humanity is of the utmost importance to respect. "Bad faith" is a lie to oneself that has destabilizing results. "Bad Faith" can …

A President's Jeremiad Of Terror (Excerpts From Honors Thesis, The Rhetoric Of The War On Terror: George W. Bush's Transformation Of The Jeremiad), Lauren Alissa Clark

Denison Journal of Religion

Clark examines George W. Bush's transformation of the Jeremiad as an internal critique to a self-promoting form that characterizes an "other" as the enemy, and not the self. The Jeremiad is a rhetorical form that is originally taken from the biblical prophet Jeremiah. The form consists of four primary steps: (1) painting a picture of the ideal of the community, (2) clarifying how things currently stand, (3) warning against what will happen if the community does not change, (4) offering hope for a future in which the community does change its behavior. In its original form, all of these steps …

Aids And Empire: Setting: The Conditions Of A Pandemic, Cora Walsh

Denison Journal of Religion

Walsh criticizes the imperialistic tendencies of the United States for not only helping to create an economic and social system that stratifies wealth, but also creates such deplorable conditions of the poor that their physical well-being is also jeopardized. This is seen most profoundly in sub-Saharan Africa where the AIDS pandemic has hit most violently. Furthermore, Walsh is disappointed in the United States for creating an atmosphere of inefficient humanitarian response. During the presidency of George W. Bush, the U.S. frequently gave government resources to conservative Christian groups that practice such things as abstinence only responses, making effective treatment to …

When Politics Dominates Religion: A Theological Critique Of Televangelist Rod Parsley, Leigh Rogers

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay is a critique of the nationalism of the religious right, as it is personified by Rod Parsley, a televangelist based in Columbus, Ohio. Rogers claims that the election of George W. Bush, and the terrorist attacks of September 11th, have created an atmosphere in the United States that has bound religion to a partisan, nationalistic agenda. Rogers, fearing the impact of this mindset, offers a theological critique of Parsley and others with similar agendas. Rogers' critique is threefold, beginning with Parsley's polarized view of good and evil. By accepting American imperialism as an absolute good, anything that stands …

Coming To Terms With Death: Theodicy In Hindu Myth And Biblical Narrative, Gitanjali Bakshi

Denison Journal of Religion

This article examines the manner in which two major world religions explain death. Bakshi claims that both religions make peace with the end of life through an overwhelming respect for nature, theodicy, and a "masochistic attitude." Using the language and theories of Peter Berger, Bakshi examines the Hindu myth of Mahishasuramardini and the Biblical narrative of Job. The story of Mahisha, Bakshi explains, shows him as a half-brahmin, half-beast who desperately craves the immortality of the gods. All of his attempts fail under the overwhelming power of Durga, the creator and destroyer goddess. Right before Durga kills Mahisha, he surrenders …

Ritual And Religious Tradition: A Comparative Essay On The Use Of Ritual In Christian, Jewish And Hindu Practice, Joshua Clark

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay examines the link between existential despair and the use of religious ritual in several religions. Clark argues that ritual proves its significance when community members are suffering. Ritual does not offer much to those who are content within their current social frame, but it can rejuvenate those who use ritual to reconnect with divinity as they struggle through life despite their great despair. Clark first notes this process in black womanist theology. He uses the example of theologian Katie Cannon to show that the ritual of storytelling has not only provided black women with generations of stories of …

Letting Gandhi In, Joshua Clark, Emily Teitelbaum

Denison Journal of Religion

Clark and Teitelbaum contemplate the seemingly unending cycle of violence in human history and look to nonviolent resisters as an example of how to break this pattern. They build this hope for a future unburdened of war on Gandhi's belief that all people are essentially loving. That love, he argued, must just be freed of the superficial societal pressures that debilitate it.

Clark and Teitelbaum look not only toward Gandhi's successful use of non-violent resistance, but also to other examples such as the Mothers of the Plazo de Mayo who protested the disappearance of people during Argentina's Dirty War. These …

Finding Patterns In The Chaos: Woman As Chaos Agent In Creation Myths, Amanda Vajskop

Denison Journal of Religion

This article looks primarily at two creation myths to understand the subjugation women have experienced through the patriarchy that has defined western history.

The first, Enuman Elish, is a traditional Babylonian narrative that Vajskop argues may have indirectly influenced the Genesis writers and the creation myth featured there. Both of these myths, Vajskop points out, start with a male deity creating a male progeny. This first act deprives women of their reproductive creativity and their necessity for life. Instead, women are portrayed as destabilizing and potentially dangerous persons who jeopardize life as it is known. Vajskop argues that this is …

The Passion Of The Christ As The Passion Of The Condemnation, Aaron Bestic

Denison Journal of Religion

This review of Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ reveals its anti-Semitic tendencies. Bestic reveals what, he claims, is rampant anti-Semitism through the characters of Pilate, Caiaphas, and Satan. Pilate is revealed to be both obviously anti-Semitic (lamenting over the presence of the Jewish people in his district and insulting the intelligence of that population), and also a convert to the case of Christ whom he attempts to treat fairly.

His conversion legitimizes his anti-Semitism in the film"he takes the side of God against those who are trying to persecute Him. Pilate's distaste for the Jewish people is …