Feed My Sheep : An Anglican Defense of Lay Presidency
The Diocese of Alaska is the largest diocese in The Episcopal Church (TEC) by geographical size. The 6,072 members of its 48 constituent congregations are spread out over an area larger than the total combined size of California, Texas, Montana, and Oregon. It also exemplifies the theological and practical incongruities of the modern priesthood and a reason to re-examine what makes a priest a priest and the priesthood the priesthood.
Lees, Adam S.
2022
Copyright, Adam S. Lees.
PDF
Project Thesis
Joy Cometh in the Morning : Ritual, Art, and Crisis
This Capstone Project is designed to celebrate the triumph of The Episcopal
Church as it moved through the crisis of HIV/AIDS in North America in the last third of the twentieth century. My objective is to tell a story about how the Episcopal Church is capable of implementing the miracles of God for the people. What follows are two essays and an original play that make up the Capstone Project. One essay focuses on the realities of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980’s, and the reaction of The Episcopal Church. This first essay looks into the relationship that Christianity has with pandemics, what sets The Episcopal Church apart, and how The Episcopal Church was able to lead in that time. The second essay follows the, often overlapping, twin histories of Christian ritual and theatrical performance. This work is witness to the broad similarities, and crucial differences, between theatre and church services. Both essays bolster, reinforce, and illuminate the third piece of The Capstone project; an original one-act play entitled Joy Cometh in the Morning. Together these three elements display the ability of The Episcopal Church to face and overcome crises.
Halsey, H. Schuyler
2022
Copyright, H. Schuyler Halsey
PDF
Project Thesis
A Formula for the Application of Trauma-Informed Care in the African American Church
How can the church minister in a more effective way to individuals who have suffered some form of trauma? One of the solutions is to become trauma-informed . This Capstone will offer a deeper understanding of the impact of childhood trauma, and discuss the impact of trauma and the need for ministries to become trauma-informed.
Sweeting, Donna K.
2022
Copyright, Donna K. Sweeting.
PDF
Project Thesis
Paradox Unpacked : Jesus as God in the Gospel of John
The Prologue of the Gospel of John previews the theological framework which guides readers through the book. This thesis identifies in the Prologue three paradoxes pertaining to Jesus’ identity, mission, and purpose and traces them through the remainder of GJohn, showing that each paradox is fundamental to Johannine theology. The paradox of identity shows the relationship between Jesus Christ the Word of God and God the Father. The paradox of mission shows how the Word made flesh brings grace and truth in conjunction with the Spirit of truth. The paradox of purpose shows how the Word offers life to the world through his death. In the Book of Signs and the Farewell Discourse, Jesus’ words and actions develop each paradox further, both heightening and lessening the inherent tensions. By the Passion Narrative, the characters in GJohn and the readers themselves are asked to respond with belief to the paradoxical reality of Jesus Christ, through which belief they gain eternal life in him. Through careful exegesis of each relevant passage, this thesis shows how the author of GJohn uses paradox as a tool to present difficult concepts which are not easily explained but are foundational to an understanding of Johannine theology. This lays a foundation for further examination of GJohn through the lens of paradox.
Layton, Molly Jane
2022
Copyright, Molly Jane Layton
PDF
Project Thesis
Infinite Sanctum
A site-specific immersive exhibition allowing guests to explore their (a)theism in community while engaging all five senses at different exhibits, in an amazing historical building on the campus of Virginia Theological Seminary. Guests can expect to experience sitting in total darkness in one exhibit, look inside of themselves in another, and ponder death in another. It's a work in progress still, but here is a peek at some of the materials you can expect to see!
Venue:
Bicentennial Hall
Virginia Theological Seminary
3737 Seminary Road
Alexandria, VA 22304
Dates:
12 April 12-2pm ( Launch Day, especially for the VTS Community)
16 April 3-5 PM ( open to all, with garden party reception )
18 April 5-7 PM (( open to all, with garden party reception )
20 April 6:30 to 8PM( with Washington Theological consortium )
24 April 7-8:30 PM ( With All Souls Unitarian)
30 April 3-5 PM ( with the Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington)
8 May 7-9PM CLOSING SHOW
Hansen, Annmarie Dinan
2023
Copyright Annmarie Dinan Hansen
Exhibition website: <a href="https://annmariedinanhanse.wixsite.com/infinitesanctum" target="_blank" title="Infinite Sanctum" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://annmariedinanhanse.wixsite.com/infinitesanctum</a><br /><br />Washington Theological Consortium Post: <a href="https://washtheocon.org/wtc_events/infinite-sanctum-art-exhibition-at-vts-april-20/" target="_blank" title="Washington Theological Consortium Post" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://washtheocon.org/wtc_events/infinite-sanctum-art-exhibition-at-vts-april-20/</a>
Project Thesis
Sin and Salvation : An Inter-Cultural Re-Reading
Is it possible to have only one conception of sin? Of salvation? Derek Nelson in Sin: A Guide for the Perplexed observes that with a variety of approaches, we are able to “see, in relief and detail, features of sin that might be otherwise obscured.” One might say the same of salvation. We can thus gain a richer view of sin and salvation when we put old and new,
traditional and post-colonial theologians in conversation. Looking through the lenses of an early church father, St. Augustine, born and bred in Northern Africa, but a citizen of the Roman Empire, Wonhee Anne Joh, a feminist theologian born in Korea but largely raised in the United States, and Randy Woodley, a Native American theologian also born and raised in the United States but with deep Cherokee roots, we see commonalities and differences. A common sense of something inherent about being human that often leads us to hurt ourselves, others, and creation. The salvation of Christ’s life, death and resurrection is the window into God’s love that desired to heal us so much that God joined humanity in the world and ultimately suffered for us. Yet it also shows us the power of the life lived in love (Augustine)/jeong (Joh) /shalom (Woodley) that God calls us to which is able to heal that buried wound. Through this window, Christ’s life, death and resurrection, then, provides us with the power, grace and freedom to also pursue that life. There are differences in the theologies of these three, of course, coming from different contexts. When we open our ears to the Spirit, however, and the possibilities that cultures beyond our own have something to teach us, we may actually be reminded of what we already knew. Even as we gain greater understanding.
Fischer, Jennifer Anne
2023
Copyright, Jennifer Anne Fischer
PDF
Project Thesis
Servant Leaders Seeking Justice : An Ethnographic Sketch of Trinity United Methodist Church (1774-2023)
On November 20, 1774, a young, itinerant Methodist minister, William Duke, rode into Alexandria, Virginia, and preached to a small group of local people. He recorded in his diary that he had “formed them into a new society.” No pomp and circumstance, no grand gestures or even a modest celebration ushered in this new Methodist society.2 Church archives yield sparse documentation of its organization. Few names are associated with those early days when the Methodist movement was planted in Alexandria, Virginia. Yet, if it is evidence one seeks, look no further than 2911 Cameron Mills Road, home of the third “meeting house” of that society, Trinity United Methodist Church, which later became a congregation in an emerging Protestant denomination.
Buchholz, Mary Beth
2023
Copyright, Mary Beth Buchholz
PDF
Project Thesis
Intentional Mentorship Lesson Plan for Training Lay and Clergy Leaders : a tool for Children's Ministry in the Diocese of Bondo, Kenya
Bondo Diocese is one of the Anglican dioceses that has made history in the life of the Anglican Province of Kenya through its progressive support of the quest for the ministry of women’s liberation. This diocese was the first to ordain and consecrate a female priest and a woman as a bishop in the entire Anglican Church in East Africa which includes countries like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi. Just as Bondo led the way with its support of women’s ministry, the diocese seeks to lead with its ministry for children. Bondo is a diocese with an established commitment to children’s ministry, but it can be stronger.
Adhola, Carolyne Adhiambo
2023
Copyright, Carolyne Adhiambo Adhola
PDF
Project Thesis
The Apostle Andrew in Scripture and Tradition
Andrew, Apostle, Saint.
The name of Andrew the Apostle appears thirteen times in the Gospels and Acts, and he is the generative character in four crucial episodes of Jesus’s ministry. But his role as an apostle is muted in the New Testament, in the Church, and in institutions named for him. The important Andrew episodes in scripture are very familiar. He was the first person to recognize and proclaim Jesus as Messiah (John 1:41); he introduced Jesus to his brother Simon, upon whom Jesus built His Church (John 1:42); he identified a lad with bread and fish, which Jesus multiplied to feed five thousand followers (John 6:8-9); he brought to Jesus a group of inquiring Greeks, which initiated the glorification of our Lord (John 12:20-22).
The Synoptic Gospels are silent on Andrew’s role in Jesus’s ministry except for being called by Jesus and included in lists of apostles. In the Synoptics, Andrew is not included in the innermost circle of Jesus’s disciples, and he is never mentioned in the Epistles. Nevertheless, legends and traditions about Andrew abounded in early Christianity. He is often portrayed in Christian art with an X-shaped cross, and his Feast Day is observed throughout the world. He is a central figure in the Eastern Church.
Contemporary theologians have often dismissed Andrew. De Boer concluded that in scripture Andrew is a “one-dimensional ‘type.’” Peterson wrote that “Andrew as disciple….was historically a person of no importance whatsoever.” The Anchor Bible Dictionary entry for Andrew reads: “The NT shows little interest in Andrew….Andrew is little more than Peter’s shadow and Jesus’ occasional interlocutor.” This essay is a close review of Andrew’s narratives in scripture and tradition, and an illumination of his contribution to our faith. The objective of the paper is to provide worthwhile insights for persons assigned to preach about Andrew and to offer a resource for institutions who bear Andrew’s name so they may meaningfully celebrate their connection with him and his witness to Christ. With God’s grace, perhaps an enlarged appreciation for Andrew will enhance our vision of God’s revelation in the world.
Keithley, Carter
<a href="https://librarycatalog.vts.edu/record=b2038712~S1"></a>
Virginia Theological Seminary
2022
©Copyright, Carter Keithley
PDF
Thesis (MA)
Face to Face : The Kenosis of God Before Christ
Immanence of God.
Incarnation.
Thesis (MA)--Virginia Theological Seminary, 2021.\"Prepared in fulfillment of the Master of Divinity program at Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Virginia."
Advisor: Stephen L. Cook. Readers: Katherine Sonderegger, Victor H. Matthews.
Wiksell, Ryan.
<a href="https://librarycatalog.vts.edu/record=b1987648~S1">See library catalog record</a>
Virginia Theological Seminary
2021
©Copyright, Ryan Wiksell, 2021.
PDF
Thesis (MA)
The Post-Colonial Imperative of Interreligious Dialogue : Translating the missio Dei through Nicholas Black Elk’s Multireligious Participation
By Hubbard, Joe. (2021) -- "This conversation around the nature of “mission,” the church’s role in it –as well as the role of the “missionary” and the role of the “missionized” –emerges from the complicated context of my own journey. It emerges from a conviction that our Indigenous communities are not the object of our charity, or even our mission. They are our teachers and partners in God’s life of transformation and reconciliation. This conversation is rooted in a sense that mission is not something the church does. Mission is something the church is. As Darrell Guder describes, “it has taken us decades to realize that mission is not just a program of the church. It defines the church as God’s sent people.” Ultimately, then, “mission is the result of God’s initiative, rooted in God’s purpose to restore and heal creation. ‘Mission’ means ‘sending’ and it is the central biblical theme describing the purpose of God’s action in human history.” This is a conversation grounded in the recognition that, if my tradition, the Episcopal Church,is serious about reimagining itself in light of the mission of Christ – to more fully embody the missio Dei – we must learn what it means to be a community grounded in and sent by God’s outpouring life of contestation and restoration from the very peoples we once sought to evangelize. We must listen and learn how to engage the missio Dei through the mode of interreligious dialogue." -- Introduction pp.3-4.
"Steven Charleston, an Episcopal Bishop and member of the Choctaw Nation, joins Taylor in recognizing that God was present and active amongst God’s peoples long before Christian missionaries arrived, but for Charleston the Indigenous peoples of North America have “their own original covenant relationship with the Creator and their own original understanding of God prior to the birth of Christ.” Comparing Indigenous nations to the tribes of Israel, he observes, “God was here, on this continent among this people, in covenant, in relationship, in life.” Indeed the “Old Testament of Native America,” as Charleston calls it, “tells of the active, living, revealing presence of God in relation to Native People through generations of Native life and experience ... It is the living memory, the living tradition of a people’s special encounter with the Creator of life.” This divine encounter and revelation among Indigenous peoples of North America does not discount the encounters and revelations of God among any other peoples but enriches them. The encounters and revelations in these lived traditions, or other “testaments,” according to Charleston, enrich one another as they are in conversation with other traditions and testaments, discerning where and how God is present and at work in and through God’s peoples, “broaden[ing] our dialogue about the connections between old testaments” and even broadening our appreciation of the reach of the life and work of God." -- pp. 10-11.
Hubbard, Joe
Virginia Theological Seminary
May 13, 2021
Copyright © 2021 by Joseph L. Hubbard, Jr. All rights reserved
PDF
An Honor’s Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Department of Christian History, Witness, and Theology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master’s in Divinity.
Listening for the Monastic Imagination
By Walker, Demarius J. (2021) -- "My project starts with Jesus’ questions to his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” The question is as pertinent today as it was over 2000 years ago. The question invites us into the prophetic imagination. One way the Christian community has sought to live out this imagination is found in the intentional ways of life that arise cyclical in the church, broadly named monasticism. Over the course of 10 interviews I speak with scholars, traditional monastics, and individuals engaged with “the new monasticism” seeking to hear how their lives shed light on this question for the contemporary church. My goal in producing this project in the form of a podcast series is to make this wisdom more accessible to spiritual seekers who are not likely to read an academic paper or even attend a church service yet who are still compelled to listen for the voice of Jesus."
Walker, Demarius J.
BlogTalkRadio.com. The Thurman Forum
May 2021
<a href="https://www.blogtalkradio.com/thurmanforum">https://www.blogtalkradio.com/thurmanforum</a>
Online resource
Podcast
The Significance of Inculturation for Evangelism : A case study of The Anglican Church in the Diocese of Masasi, Tanzania.
Church of the Province of Tanzania. Diocese of Masasi.<br />Intercultural communication -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.<br />Evangelistic work -- Tanzania.<br />Christianity and culture -- Tanzania.<br />Missions -- Tanzania.
Mhema, Oraph Joseph (2021) -- "This thesis presents the process of inculturation as an effective means to render the Christian faith more meaningful and practical to people in their local cultures. The historical survey of the evangelization process among the Makua people and many Tanzanian cultures indicates that their religious and cultural worldviews are not given due recognition during the evangelization process. Christian converts are obliged to forsake their cultural identity. However, since the first Anglican missionaries in Masasi could not dissociate themselves completely from their religious and cultural beliefs, they tended to blend the Christian faith with Makua traditional religious beliefs, even if in some areas like witchcraft contradicts the Christian faith. This thesis argues that, it is the demand of inculturation to root the Christian faith into cultures so that Christ becomes the principle that guides decisions and transforms the lives of people. When the Christian faith is integrated into Makua cultures it purifies them, and the wholesome elements found in them are incorporated into the life of the Church. This gives uniqueness to the Church of Masasi and also enrichment to the church in Tanzania at large. As such, effective inculturation would create a church in Masasi that is truly Christian and truly African. However, this thesis does not intend to equate the Makua religious and cultural beliefs to Christian faith. While inculturation is only effective through the collaboration of all agents of the local Church, the theologians and Christian anthropologists have an urgent task to carefully study and recommend those cultural elements which could possibly be incorporated into the Christian faith but without obliterating the essential elements of the Christian faith" -- Abstract
Mhema, Oraph Joseph.
See record for print version in <a href="http://librarycatalog.vts.edu/record=b1965917~S1">VTS Library Catalog</a>
Virginia Theological Seminary
May 5, 2021.
Copyright © 2021 by Oraph Joseph Mhema. All rights reserved.
PDF
Summative Capstone project.
The influence of American Missionaries on the culture, education, and medicine of Tamil people in Jaffna, Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
Missionaries, American -- Sri Lanka -- Jaffna -- History.
Missions -- Sri Lanka -- Jaffna -- History.
Sri Lanka -- Church history.
Education -- Sri Lanka -- Jaffna -- History.
Medical care -- Sri Lanka -- Jaffna -- History.
Culture -- Sri Lanka -- Jaffna -- History.
By Vijayathasan, Daniel Jeyaruban (2021) -- In the 19thCentury, as a result of the American Presbyterian and Congregationalist Missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission, the river of God’s love flowed into Jaffna, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from Massachusetts in America. American Presbyterian and Congregationalist Missionaries propagated the Christian faith in my region, Jaffna, and were deeply involved in the community by providing educational, medical, and other social service needs. They also provided a printing press, dictionaries, published The Morning Starnewspaper,and translatedwestern books into Tamil and other social services.<br />The American missionaries left their comfort zone, their family members, relatives and friends, and property, and came to our land to share their gifts and talents with our Tamil community. They lived within our community, they wore our dress and learned our Tamil language, encouraged our culture, and translated many English books to Tamil and Tamil books to English. American missionaries were like salt and lightto our community. They lived with us, labored for our community, educated our men and women, died, and were buried in our land. They responded with their lives to Jesus’s command to sell everything, to give up everything (Luke 18:22).<br />The American missionaries were quite different from the British Methodist and Anglican Missionaries who served in Jaffna. The interesting fact is that the American Missionaries were not colonizers in the same sense as those from the Methodist Mission and Church of England. There is often criticism made against missionaries globally, but these Americans were missionaries who sacrificed their entire life for others.
Vijayathasan, Daniel Jeyaruban
See record for print version in <a href="http://librarycatalog.vts.edu/record=b1965915~S1">VTS Library Catalog</a>
Virginia Theological Seminary
May 13, 2021
Copyright © 2021 by Daniel Jeyaruban Vijayathasan
PDF
Thesis
Church in the Forefront:Addressing Violence Against Women in the Anglican Diocese of Bondo, Kenya.
Anglican Communion. Diocese of Bondo, Kenya. Women -- Crimes against -- Religious aspects -- Christianity. <br />Women -- Social conditions -- Kenya -- Bondo. <br />Women -- Violence against -- Kenya -- Bondo. <br />Church and social problems. <br />Women -- Violence against -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.
Gender-based violence is recognized as a pressing social issue because of its psychological and physical consequences to the victimized.1 This study will elaborate on how the presence of gender-based violence causes a ripple effect in the lives of the victimized, and also the dependents of these victimized women. Women who are susceptible to violence undertake the significant role of caring for the whole family which is a basic unit of the community. There should be cohesion within the social fabric of the community on issues of addressing violence against women. There should be systemic changes in unjust social structures in the community that perpetuates gender- based violence. The norms, ethics, the values, the morals and the culture of the society are constructed in such a way that they enhance exploitation of women which practically are the basis upon which societal practices are derived. The social institutions have been structured in such a way that they subordinate women. For instance, according to cultural practice, women’s roles are enshrined within the sphere of domestic chores. They are rarely involved in economic activities that can empower them to meet their basic needs. This makes their situation susceptible to gender-based violence. Likewise, women’s capacity becomes limited in their endeavor to implement their own fundamental rights. This results in women’s minimal ability to participate in institutional and public leadership.
Adega, Ambrose Odiwuour
See record for print version in <a href="http://librarycatalog.vts.edu/record=b1965918~S1">VTS Library Catalog</a>
Virginia Theological Seminary
May 13, 2021
Copyright ©2021 by Ambrose Odiwuor Adega
Thesis
The Significance of Inculturation for Evangelism: A case study of The Anglican Church in the Diocese of Masasi, Tanzania.
Church of the Province of Tanzania. Diocese of Masasi.
Intercultural communication -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.
Evangelistic work -- Tanzania.
Christianity and culture -- Tanzania.
Missions -- Tanzania.
This thesis presents the process of inculturation as an effective means to render the Christian faith more meaningful and practical to people in their local cultures. The historical survey of the evangelization process among the Makua people and many Tanzanian cultures indicates that their religious and cultural worldviews are not given due recognition during the evangelization process. Christian converts are obliged to forsake their cultural identity. However, since the first Anglican missionaries in Masasi could not dissociate themselves completely from their religious and cultural beliefs, they tended to blend the Christian faith with Makua traditional religious beliefs, even if in some areas like witchcraft contradicts the Christian faith. This thesis argues that, it is the demand of inculturation to root the Christian faith into cultures so that Christ becomes the principle that guides decisions and transforms the lives of people. When the Christian faith is integrated into Makua cultures it purifies them, and the wholesome elements found in them are incorporated into the life of the Church. This gives uniqueness to the Church of Masasi and also enrichment to the church in Tanzaniaat large.As such, effective inculturation would create a church in Masasi that is truly Christian and truly African. However, this thesis does not intend to equate the Makua religious and cultural beliefs to Christian faith. While inculturation is only effective through the collaboration of all agents of the local Church, the theologians and Christian anthropologists have an urgent task to carefully study and recommend those cultural elements which could possibly be incorporated into the Christian faith but without obliterating the essential elements of the Christian faith.
Mhema, Oraph Joseph
See record for print version in <a href="http://librarycatalog.vts.edu/record=b1965917~S1">VTS Library Catalog</a>
Virginia Theological Seminary
May 5, 2021
Copyright © 2021 by Oraph Joseph Mhema
Thesis
Baptism to confirmation in the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia: Strategies for faith formation in children (ages 7-12).
Episcopal Diocese of Liberia.
Spiritual formation -- Liberia.
Children -- Religious life -- Liberia.
Christian education of children -- Liberia.
This capstone focuses on the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia. The faith formation of children has not been a priority in many churches within the diocese of over 30 years. Inadequate attention has been paid to the resources used or the modes of training teachers. Too many children and youth gravitate to other denominations because they do not experience meaningful and relevant teachings to their faith development in the Episcopal Church. Without updated strategies for renewed ministry to children, their faith foundation will be diminished, and the church's growth will continue to be hampered. The growing needs for adequate children's faith formation is crucial for the growth of the church. Identifying specific programs that cater to children's learning and development goals in the church requires planning, training, and implementation. This project seeks to further discuss the historical context of the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia in chapter one. In chapter two, the author will explore the biblical and theological foundation for faith formation, followed by proposing a contextually appropriate curriculum for children in the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia in chapter three.
Gaye, Allen Vahton
See record for print version in <a href="http://librarycatalog.vts.edu/record=b1965916~S1">VTS Library Catalog</a>
Virginia Theological Seminary
May 5, 2021
Copyright 2021, Allen Gaye
Thesis
Unhooked by Grace : My Inner Work With St. Paul on Recovering from Binge Eating
Eating disorders -- Religious aspects.
Eating disorders -- Patients -- Religious life.
A Capstone project submitted to the Faculty of the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Religion and Culture.
Nicholetti, Terry Rose
<a href="https://librarycatalog.vts.edu/record=b1965761~S1">See library catalog record</a>
Virginia Theological Seminary
April 11, 2020
©Copyright, Terry Rose Nicholetti, 2020.
PDF
Text
God Thinks Otherwise: Jesus Demonstrates that God is not Against the War Victims in Sri Lanka
By Shanthakumar, Sureshkumar (2020) - Abstract During Sri Lanka’s long civil war, religion was an important part of the collective identity and social narrative of many participants. Though the war was not strictly a religious conflict, understanding the identity rupture between the Tamil (Hindu/Christian) and the Sinhalese (Buddhist/Christian) is central to understanding the chasm between the identity of the Tamil and that of the Sinhalese. The close link between religion and ethnic identity made religious targets particularly appealing for symbolic violence, not only against faith per se, but also against symbols representing the opposing side: worshippers, clerics, and houses of worship.a A classic question in theology asks this: how can a loving, yet Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent God permit evil and suffering in the world? An argument in response goes as follows: A God that allows suffering to continue is either a) not all-powerful (not omnipotent) and is thus unable to prevent the suffering; b) not loving because this God has the power to prevent suffering but is unwilling to do so; and/or c) not all-knowing (not Omniscient) because God is aware of the suffering only after it has already occurred and then it is too late to prevent it. This problem of evil and God and God’s inability or unwillingness to do anything about it raises the question of God’s justice or righteousness, which is known in theology as theodicy.b Religious organizations must be able to answer people’s questions about faith amid tragic moments. Religious leaders are expected to mediate between victims of war and God who is in control over everything.
Shanthakumar, Sureshkumar
Virginia Theological Seminary
2020
@ Copyright 2020 The Rev. Sureshkumar Shanthakumar
PDF
Breaking the Silence: Towards an Understanding of Human Disability for Family Life in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika
By Tumaini Sarakikya, 2020. Abstract This thesis examines unexpressed suffering of mothers of children with disabilities in family life in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika in Tanzania. While the needs of the people with disabilities are given great consideration in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika, the understanding of disability and its possible effects are given little attention. This thesis will bring to the fore suffering generated by cultural understanding of disability to the mothers of children born with disabling conditions in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika. Under the influence of traditional views, mothers of children with disabilities are accused of inappropriate sexual relationships, triggering ancestor’s anger by breaking the taboos and for not maintaining good relationships with people during pregnancy. Personal narratives will assist in highlighting the effects of cultural understanding of disability that has victimizes women. A Christian understanding of disability which is rooted in Scripture will be explored. Careful attention will be given to the contradictory tones of Scripture in the whole issue of disability. However, Jesus boldly affirms that mothers are not responsible for the disabilities of their children (John 9:3). The church in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika is called to assist its members to cross the barriers. Just as Jesus crossed different cultural barriers in order to liberate people from understandings that were building hostility among themselves, so must the church today for the purpose of eliminating the sufferings of the mothers of children with disabilities.
Sarakikya, Tumaini A.
Virginia Theological Seminary
2020
@ Copyright 2020 by Tumaini Sarakikya
PDF
Power and Piety: <em>discretio spirituum</em> in the paratexts of early modern English women translators
By Amanda Bourne, 2020 -- The use of modesty topoi by early modern women writers has frequently been studied, but very rarely have these literary devices been explicated in light of the theological traditions which dictated their use. This study argues that the ways of addressing and appealing to religiopolitical authorities in the English Reformation remained largely continuous with the preReformation tradition of discretio spirituum as a source of spiritual and literary authorization, even as evangelicalism and humanism differentiated the theologies and educations of these women from their visionary predecessors. By looking at the paratexts of Anne Cooke Bacon, Elizabeth I, Anne Locke, and Mary Sidney Herbert, this study examines the continuities of discretio spirituum in the work of evangelical translators during the Tudor Reformations. Recognizing discretio spirituum as an ongoing source of religious and political legitimation in early modern England complicates the study of female discourse, and allows for a more complete picture of the self-fashioning of women writers across the Reformation
Bourne, Amanda Patrice
Virginia Theological Seminary
2020
@ 2020 Amanda Patrice Bourne
PDF
Towards an Understanding of Congregational Health: How Do We Nurture the Growth of God's Kingdom?
By Diana Moreland, 2020 -- What is a healthy congregation in the Episcopal Church? In April 2001, a research report on New Church Development commissioned by the Episcopal Church classified health or success as a “new church reaching a large enough size to achieve self-support within seven years.”1 This report claims that health is related to size and income. If we limit our definition in that way, we limit our ability to see the Kingdom of God at work in small, under-resourced congregations that do not fit that economic definition. And even more, it prevents us from allocating resources to these congregations. We should look to new ways of understanding health because healthy, low-income, rural congregations are an essential part of the Kingdom of God.
Moreland, Diana Sylvia
Virginia Theological Seminary
2020
@ 2020 Diana Moreland
PDF
Living the Gospel in Haiti with <em>Konbit</em>: The Intersection of the Gospel and Culture for a Responsive and Responsible Church
By Guimond Pierre-Louis, 2020. In Haiti, the relationship between Gospel and culture tends to disrupt relationships and even communities, portraying a church that is more French than Haitian. It is often argued on the account of the Bible that once becoming a Christian, everything old has passed away and everything has become new to the extent of rejecting Haitian culture. However, in Haitian culture there are elements which can bridge the gap between Gospel and culture, and consequently bring people together and strengthen communities. The term “konbit,” defined as an “event” where the community comes together to accomplish something to the benefit of one member of their community or the community at large, is a concept/event that can bring about this theological task. Therefore, I am writing on the topic of “Living the Gospel in Haiti with konbit,” because I want to find out how God is calling the church in Haiti to bear witness to the Gospel together with the culture and the local context. This research will be grounded in a Trinitarian understanding of God and will take into account the modern missionary movement’s theory that the church does not have a mission but rather God’s mission has a church. With that in mind, I argue that the church in Haiti needs to reimagine herself by not seeing the culture as an enemy but rather engaging with it in different ways that seek to witness to God’s love for all people. The same event of konbit that brings bread and wine for the Eucharist is able to help reimagine the work of the church in Haiti.
Louis, Guimond Pierre
Virginia Theological Seminary
2020
@ Copyright 2020, The Rev. Guimond Pierre Louis
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Word Upon Words: The Sacramentality of Scripture As Expressed in Augustine and Speech Act Theory
By Miller, Benjamin, 2020 -- "Is the language of Scripture abstract, compared to the presence of Christ in the eucharist? Does divine presence and self-disclosure become more abstract just because it occurs in the realm of language rather than in physical things? My thesis came about because I wanted to push back against the subtle notion I sense that the inspiration of Scripture is somehow less “real” and less divinely “present” than the eucharistic real presence. My way of criticizing this notion is to articulate the Bible’s inspiration, its capacity to bear the Word of God, sacramentally. To make such a claim, I am compelled to examine how language itself functions to articulate that the Bible, a kind of Christian language, functions sacramentally. My framework to discuss how language theologically functions in such a way that it can bear divine presence concretely is to use Augustine, who expressed the presence of God in Scripture and the sacraments with a rich theology of signs, and speech act theory, a philosophy used by some theologians stating that words can enact what they perform. Together with the heritage of modern Christian theologies of Scripture, I can argue that the language of Scripture bears the divine Word in a way that bears a real presence. God is present in Scripture the way God is present in baptism and the eucharist: as a living Word that joins to the human, creaturely elements of speech and text and genre, as breath makes bone join to sinew." -- Introduction, p. 1-2
Miller, Benjamin
Virginia Theological Seminary
5/9/2020
© Copyright Benjamin Miller, 2020.
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The Episcopal Church in Native American Boarding Schools (1862-1905): Varieties of Assimilation through Transfer Narratives
By Jean Cotting (2020) -- "Within the context of Native American boarding schools, the main objective of the founding Christian churches and later the government was assimilation of students. That is to say, unlike the conventional definition of assimilation which involves recent arrivals adopting the cultural norms of a new homeland, the assimilative process of education in the boarding schools was designed so that children, already situated in their own homeland, gave up their distinctive culture and adopted the cultural norms of white settler society. Within boarding schools such assimilation consisted of eliminating the language, dress, cultural practices, and a unifying ethos of nationhood for Native American children,. In this thesis I will identify these assimilative practices and streams of thought in the Episcopal Church from the mid nineteenth century through the early years of the twentieth century."
Cotting, Jean A.
Virginia Theological Seminary
2020
@Copyright 2020 by Jean A. Cotting
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