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Below are downloads (PDF format) of the M.A. (Religion) theses of some of our graduates to date.

Note: Certain requirements for current thesis students have changed since earlier theses were completed.

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Master of Theology Theses

Theses/dissertations from 2021 2021.

Poverty Alleviation in the Rural Areas of Kunene Region in Namibia: The Role of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) , Jeremia Ekandjo

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Missional Discipleship Within the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria , Innocent Webinumen Anthony

Empowering Laity to Engage in Pastoral Care Ministry: A Proposal for Capacity Building and Supervision for Larger Congregation with Special Reference to Kohima Ao Baptist Church, Nagaland, India. , Tsuwainla Jamir

The Social Role of Worship: A Reading of Micah 6:1-8 , Khin Win Kyi

Murmuring Met with Mercy and Grace: An Examination of the Pre-Sinai Wilderness Wanderings Traditions , Anna Rask

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

A Reinterpretation of Chin Christian Spirituality Beyond One Century in the Light Of Martin Luther's Freedom Of a Christian , Bawi Dua

New Every Morning: Epectasy as a Theology for Innovation , Joel Hinck

The Church’s Call to Minister to Refugees: A Case Study on Liberian Refugees in Minnesota , Rufus Kudee

Apostolicam Ecclesiam: Socio-Liturgical Interpretation of the Mission of the Church in the Perspective of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Antichrist" , Sebastian Ryszard Madejski

Developing Adaptive Leaders: An Initial Intervention for Transforming a Church Culture , Molly Schroeder

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

The Need for Older Adults’ Ministry in the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) , Bitrus Habu Bamai

Luther's Understanding of Grace and Its Implications for Administration of the Lord's Supper in the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN) , Yelerubi Birgamus

Living the American Dream: Faith Formation and the Missio Dei Dilemma among Seventh Day Adventist African American Immigrant Families , Enock Ariga Marindi

Lakota Cultural Fusion and Revitalization of Native Christian Identity , Kelly Sherman-Conroy

The Word-of-God Conflict in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in the 20th Century , Donn Wilson

The Rupture That Remains: A Trauma-Informed Pastoral Theology , Eric Worringer

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

The Challenge of Being in the Minority: Palestinian Christian Theology in Light of Christian Zionism Post-1948 , Medhat S. Yoakiem

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Towards Beloved Community: Racial Reconciliation through Multiracial Missional Churches , Gray Amos Kawamba

Sanctification in Adolescence: How Karl Barth’s Two-Fold Critique of the Church Could Influence Youth Ministry Practices Today , Joel Vander Wal

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

The Absolving Word : Luther's Reformational Turn , Matthew W. McCormick

The Defiled Imago Dei and Forgiveness: The Tensions Between Ethnicity and Humanity in the Image of God in the Context of the Ethiopian Churches , Wondimu Legesse Sonessa

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

Widowhood Care and Empowerment in 1 Timothy 1:3-16: A Case Study of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Christ as a Paradigm for African Instituted Churches , Millicent Yeboah Asuamah

Theses/Dissertations from 2008 2008

Understanding the Nature and Impact of Alcoholism : Implications for Ministry in Kenya , Margaret Kemunto Obaga

Theses/Dissertations from 1963 1963

An Approach to the Interpretation of the Self-Designation of Jesus: The Son of Man , Marlin Eugene Ingebretson

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Open Access Dissertations and Theses

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The Open Access Dissertations and Theses Collection consists of electronic versions of dissertations and theses produced by students of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The Boyce Digital Library search box searches the full text of these dissertations.

The dissertations within this collection are available to all researchers, however some of the dissertations are only available after the expiration of an embargo period.

Recent Submissions

Devil’s devices: william perkins and the integration of spiritual warfare and pastoral counseling , augustine’s understanding of the human soul: origin, life, and end , a powerful word: on defining and responding justly to abuse , application for the sake of transformation: a study of thomas manton’s categorical approach to sermon application , a mixed methods multiple case study of church-based multiethnic leadership development programs , there is a light that never goes out: the shining face of moses in exodus 34:29−35 , the role of female biblical counselors in complementarian churches , put on the new man: embodied sanctification in ephesians 4:22-24 , the black church as context for the formation of black institutions of higher education: a case study of simmons college , salvation as victory: a study on divine grace and human responsibility in salvation in the book of revelation through the lens of the conquering motif , from this day forward: new covenant inauguration in hebrews , utilizing a reformed sanctification framework to assess and evaluate c. peter wagner’s doctrine of sanctification , how should we then respond a christian philosophical and theological response to transgender ideology , paul’s gospel approach to the athenians: a missional implication for contemporary nepalese hindu contexts , the serpent and the sainte-chapelle: the genesis and iterative development of a writing pedagogy for christian colleges and seminaries , "their peculiar redeemer": robert sandeman and the doctrine of the atonement , “the steady obedience of his church”: the ecclesial spirituality of joseph kinghorn and the communion controversy, 1814–1827 , covenant and identity formation in the second century , the impact of open theism on c. peter wagner's philosophy of discipleship , jefferson's baptists: evangelical partisanship in the early american republic, 1800-1830 .

Home > Academic Departments > School of Theology and Seminary > Graduate Papers/Theses

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

Submissions from 2022 2022.

(Graduate Paper) The Role and Characteristic of Love in 1 Corinthians 13 , Ninh Van Nguyen

(Master's Thesis) Synodality as the Listening Church: Pope Francis Continues and Expands Vatican II's Teaching on Collegiality , Toan Van Phan O.Cist

Submissions from 2021 2021

(Graduate Paper) Pauline Theology: The Interdependently Called Body of Christ , Katryna Bertucci

(Master's Thesis) The Glory of the Lord Whose Likeness is as the Appearance of a Human Being/Adam: A Study of Ezekiel’s Son of Man/Adam Anthropology , Timothy R. Schmeling

(Graduate Paper) The Power, (Problem), and Potential of Prayer , Meghan E. Stretar

Submissions from 2020 2020

(Graduate Paper) How Can Catholic Youth Programs Improve the Youth’s Connection To the Mass? , Elizabeth Cook

(Graduate Paper) Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall: A Glimpse Into the Theme of Righteousness Through the Anthropology, Theology, and Spirituality of the Psalms , Elizabeth Cook

(Graduate Paper) Introducing Queer Theology , Cole Epping

(Graduate Paper) Taking Care of the Forgotten: A Pastoral Response to the Hospice Care Professional , Constance Friebohle

(Graduate Paper) A Global Church in the Local Parish: Fostering Intercultural Competency for Indonesian Catholic Ministry in the United States , Janice Kristanti

(Graduate Paper) The Indispensability of Inculturation For Effective Evangelization: Revisiting The Evangelization of Sub-Saharan Africa , Mark Obeten

(Graduate Paper) Seeking a New Paradigm for Youth Ministry of Waegwan Abbey, South Korea , Cyprian Ji-Eung Ryu

(Graduate Paper) The Catholic Church and the Turn of the 20th Century: An Anthropology of Human Flourishing and a Church for Peace , Maria Siebels

(Graduate Paper) The Wounded Body of Christ: Social Trauma in Pastoral Care , Kelsi Watters

Submissions from 2019 2019

(Graduate Paper) A Non-Dualistic Reading of Body and Soul in the Gospel of Matthew: Focusing on Matthew 10:39 in the Context of Discipleship , Alexander Blechle

Submissions from 2018 2018

(Graduate Paper) Catholic Social Teaching and the Christian Responsibility to the Poor , Rose Aspholm

(Master's Thesis) Not Quite Calvinist: Cyril Lucaris a Reconsideration of His Life and Beliefs , Stephanie Falkowski

(Graduate Paper) Life or Death and Other False Dichotomies: A Theology of Hospice , Kayla Stock

Submissions from 2017 2017

(Master's Thesis) On Dionysian Theological Methodology , Joseph Arrendale

(Graduate Paper) The Transcendence of the Apprehension of Beauty , Mary Abigail Coleman

(Graduate Paper) The Paradox of Remarkable/Unremarkable Julian of Norwich , John P. Fitzgibbons

(Book Chapter) Agape Unbound in Silence and Deep River , Elizabeth Cameron Galbraith

(Graduate Paper) Formed for Diverse Communion: Toward Developing An Ecumenical Formation Process for New Members of Holy Wisdom Monastery’s Sunday Assembly , Rosy Kandathil OSB

(Graduate Paper) A Garden Enclosed, A Fountain Sealed Up: Paradoxical and Generative Metaphors of Enclosure in Medieval Female Anchoritism , Cody Maynus Obl.S.B.

(Graduate Paper) The Gospel of Mark , Nancy McCabe

(Master's Thesis) A Theological Retrieval of Communal Parenting as a Moral Response to Baby Stealing and Childlessness in Nigeria , Henry U. Omeike

(Graduate Paper) Do This, in Memory of Me! , Joseph Qiu-Lin Zhang

Submissions from 2016 2016

(Master's Thesis) A Church Built on Charity: Augustine's Ecclesiology , Michael J. Clinger Jr

(Graduate Paper) A Story of Identity in the Christian East , Manya Gustafson

(Graduate Paper) Jude's Enochian Apocalypse , Lucian López OSB

(Graduate Paper) Matthew's Least Brothers and It's Application in the Catholic Church , Runbao Zhang

Submissions from 2015 2015

(Electronic Book) Illuminating Christ , Jessie Bazan

(Master's Thesis) Gifting Freedom to the Samaritan: Considerations on access to both the sacramental event and salvation for those who, for whatever reason, find themselves outside the Church, and the consequences of identity for the Church in gifting such access , C. A. Chase

(Graduate Paper) My Brother's a Jerk and Dad's Gonna Spank Him: Roles and Relations in Obadiah , Aletta Stumo

Submissions from 2014 2014

(Graduate Paper) Christology, Theology, & Evolution in Celia Deane-Drummond's Christ and Evolution , Trevor Beach SJ

(Graduate Paper) Joy as Illumination: Participation in God's Life-giving Trinitarian Love , Trevor Beach SJ

(Graduate Paper) Consideration of the Church's Identity and Mission, Predicated on the Church Be-ing 'Ligamen' (Bond) , C. A. Chase

(Graduate Paper) Observations on the Performative Force of the Qyama and the Ihidaye, and its Pertinancy Today , C. A. Chase

(Graduate Paper) Christ, the Meeting Point of Sacramental and Trinitarian Theology , Nathan Peter Chase

(Graduate Paper) The Christological Remnants within Eucharistic Prayers , Nathan Peter Chase

(Master's Thesis) With Eyes That See: The Role of Spiritual Vision in the Ascent of Nyssen Noetic Theology , Benjamin Rush

(Master's Thesis) St. John of the Cross and the Denudation of the Soul , Wesley Sutermeister

Submissions from 2013 2013

(Graduate Paper) A History and Analysis of the Missel Romain pour les Diocese du Zaire , Nathan Peter Chase

(Graduate Paper) The Development of the Epiclesis: Alexandrian or Syrian? , Nathan Peter Chase

Submissions from 2011 2011

(Graduate Paper) Short-Term Solution, Long-Term Problem: The Rite of Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest and its Use in the United States of America , Christopher Angel

(Graduate Paper) Welcome (Back): The Use of Initiatory Elements in the Reconciliation of Heretics to the Early Church , Christopher Angel

(Graduate Paper) The Gospel of Matthew: The Temple Cleansing in 21:12-17 , Kasey Devine

(Graduate Paper) The "Ladder" of the Lord's Plagues , Kasey DeVine

Submissions from 2010 2010

(Graduate Paper) St. John Chrysostom and His Message of Social Justice Today , Joel Cassady

(Graduate Paper) Trinitarian Christology: The Grammar of The Christian Faith and the Foundation for a Theology of Religious Pluralism , Eric Christensen

(Graduate Paper) Entering into the Profound Mystery: Yves Congar’s Via Media on the Salvation of People of Non-Christian Religions , Elizabeth M. Cunneen

Submissions from 2009 2009

(Graduate Paper) Ego Eimi Formula and a Sense of Continuity in John’s Gospel Chapter Sixth (Jn 6: v.20, vss.35-58) , John Changjin Bai

(Graduate Paper) Jesus the Christ as a Jun-Zi in Confucian Perspectives , John Changjin Bai

(Graduate Paper) An Exegesis of 1 Corinthians 12:31 - 13:1-3 , Gregory Congote OSB

(Graduate Paper) Gregory Palamas and Hesychasm , Gregory Congote OSB

(Graduate Paper) Modern Usury: The Moral Challenge of Credit Cards in Light of Catholic Teaching and Practice in the Past and the Present , David R. Smoker

Submissions from 2008 2008

(Graduate Paper) Community in the Theology of Søren Aabye Kierkegaard , Nicholas Coffman

(Graduate Paper) Jean-Luc Marion’s Theology of Eucharistic Presence , Nicholas Coffman

(Graduate Paper) Proclaiming the Truth of Beauty , Larry Fraher

(Graduate Paper) Augustine of Hippo and Elizabeth de la Trinite: A Conversation across the Centuries , Vernon W. Goodin

(Graduate Paper) "Who Do You Say That I Am?" The Role of Story in Christology , Vernon W. Goodin

(Graduate Paper) Sufficere, “It Is Enough”: Avarice vs. Simplicity and Detachment in the Rule of Saint Benedict , Arlen M. Hanson

(Graduate Paper) Stories in Stained Glass: An Analysis of the Stained-Glass Windows at Saint Norbert Abbey in De Pere, Wisconsin , Timothy A. Johnston

(Master's Thesis) Wittgenstein and Worship: Investigations of Liturgical Language-Games and Their Formative Role in Christian Identity , Michelle Kathleen Weber

Submissions from 2007 2007

(Graduate Paper) Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Prophet & Martyr , Fr. Michael Calhoun OSB

(Graduate Paper) Saint Basil: Monastic Reformer , Fr. Michael Calhoun OSB

(Graduate Paper) Looking at Conflict Diamonds Through the Lens of Catholic Social Teaching , Heather Cherpelis

(Graduate Paper) “Allegorical Typologies” of the Eucharist: An Analysis of Some Eastern Liturgical Commentaries , Nathaniel G. Costa

(Graduate Paper) “For All the Saints”: A Feast for All People and All Time , Nathaniel G. Costa

(Graduate Paper) Eternal Hope: The Story of Sr. Mary Luke Tobin and Other Women who Participated in Vatican Council II , Megan S. Enninga

(Graduate Paper) Vulgar and Ascetic Christians: the Myth of a Higher Spirituality The rhetoric of monastic profession as a second baptism , August L. Gothman

(Graduate Paper) Active Participation and the Song of the Assembly , William Griffiths

(Graduate Paper) Transforming both the gifts and the people: Eucharistic presence , William Griffiths

(Graduate Paper) “You Can Become All Flame”: Do the Desert Fathers Have Anything to Say to Us Today? , Arlen M. Hanson

(Graduate Paper) Toward a Domestic Ecclesiology: The "Domestic Church" Finds Articulation in Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body" , Craig James St. Clair

(Graduate Paper) Celebrating the Communion Rite , Jay Stimac

(Graduate Paper) Karl Rahner: On Grace and Salvation , Nicole Streit

(Graduate Paper) One Body, One Spirit, One Priesthood; Many Members, Many Charisms, Many Ministries: Reflections Anglican and Catholic , Cody C. Unterseher

(Graduate Paper) Arianism, Athanasius, and the Effect on Trinitarian Thought , Andy Witchger

(Graduate Paper) How the Parish and School of St. Agnes Creates Vocations , Andy Witchger

Submissions from 2006 2006

(Graduate Paper) How Paul and the Jerusalem Council Might Speak to Division in the Twenty-First Century Church , Mary Birmingham

(Master's Thesis) Becoming One Spirit: Origen and Evagrius Ponticus on Prayer , Hilary Case OSB

(Graduate Paper) Syncletica: Urban Ascetic and Desert Mother , Susan Dreyer OSB

(Graduate Paper) The Education of Heloise in Twelfth-Century France , Susan Dreyer OSB

(Graduate Paper) A Woman of the Reformation , Megan S. Enninga

(Graduate Paper) A Key and Classic Text: Ephesians 5:21-33 , Katinka Nadine Ellen Evers

(Graduate Paper) Concealing to Reveal: Modesty in Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body , Katinka Nadine Ellen Evers

(Graduate Paper) Sex in the City of God , Diana Macalintal

(Graduate Paper) The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ecclesial Discipleship and Redemption , Diane Draxler Pederson

(Graduate Paper) The Spiritual Potential of Poetry , Carl Schlueter

(Graduate Paper) Complicating the Poor Widow’s Gift: Exegesis on Mk. 12:41-44 , Timothy Traynor

(Graduate Paper) "We Should Glory in the Cross:" The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross and its Contemporary Liturgical Significance , Cody C. Unterseher

Submissions from 2005 2005

(Graduate Paper) Hermeneutics and Liturgical Space: Interpreting the Domus Ecclesiae - Domus Dei , Gregory Reed Beath

(Graduate Paper) Eros: Human and Divine , Denae M. Fielder

(Graduate Paper) And the Question Became Flesh: Jesus the Catechist in the Gospel of John , Diana Macalintal

(Graduate Paper) Hesychast Prayer: Attending the Cosmic Banquet of the Heart , Tamara Ann Moore

(Graduate Paper) A Study in Spiritual Lineage: The "Influence and Noninfluence" of Pseudo-Dionysius on The Cloud of Unknowing , David M. Odorisio

(Graduate Paper) The Cistercian Spirit in Stone , David M. Odorisio

(Graduate Paper) Architectural Reforms of Eucharistic Reservation , Diane Draxler Pederson

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Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary

Home > Concordia Seminary Scholarship > Doctor of Theology

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

Theses/dissertations from 1998 1998.

The Mission and Ministry to German-Speaking Lutherans in Western Canada 1879 - 1914 , Richard Kraemer

Theses/Dissertations from 1997 1997

Postliberal Approaches to the Theology of Religions: Presentation, Assessment, and Critical Appropriation , Joel Okamoto

Orality as the Key to Understanding Apostolic Proclamation in the Epistles , Thomas Winger

Theses/Dissertations from 1996 1996

Isaiah's Damascus Oracle: Responding to International Threats , Harald Schoubye

Genre and Outline: The Key to the Literary Structure of Hebrews , Harald Tomesch

Theses/Dissertations from 1995 1995

The Lord's Prayer-Its Interpretation and a Reassessment of an Eschatological Orientation, Favoring the Prayer's Primary Application as Being for the Present Gospel Age , David Fielding

Law and Gospel in Luther's Antinomian Disputations, with Special Reference to Faith's Use of the Law , Jeffrey Silcock

Theses/Dissertations from 1994 1994

Marriage and the Image of God as it is Reflected in Paul's Understanding of Women and the Ministry in Four Passages: 1 Cor. 11:2-16; 14:33b-36; Eph. 5:22-33; 1 Tim. 2:11-15 , Lane Burgland

Integrity and Integration in Ecclesiastical Historiography: The Perspective of Mosheim and Neander , Paulo Buss

When God Becomes Your Enemy- The Theology of the Complaint Psalms , Ingvar Floysvik

The Missiological Significance of the Doctrine of Justification in the Lutheran Confessions , Klaus Schulz

Theses/Dissertations from 1993 1993

Reading 2 Corinthians 3:4-18: An Exercise in Exegesis , Vilson Scholz

A Proposed Prolegomenon for Normative Theological Ethics with a Special Emphasis on the Usus Didacticus of God's Law , John Tape

Theses/Dissertations from 1992 1992

The Arminian Libertarian Doctrines of Freedom and Responsibility Evaluated According to Biblical-Reformed Doctrine of Sin , Carlos Heber de Campos

Theology of the Pain of God: An Analysis and Evaluation of Kazoh Kitamori's (1916- ) Work in Japanese Protestantism , Akio Hashimoto

The Bestowal of the Benefits of the Real Presence the Early Eucharistic Works of Martin Chemnitz as a Contribution Toward the Formula of Concord Article VII , Brynjulf Hoaas

Jesus and the Gentiles in the Gospel of Matthew: A Historical Study of the Redemption Motif , Young Jin Kim

Propter Absolutionem: Holy Absolution in the Theology of Martin Luther and Philipp Jacob Spener A Comparative Study , Gerald Krispin

The Theology of Spiritual Gifts in Luther and Calvin: A Comparison , Robert Wetmore

Theses/Dissertations from 1991 1991

Mystical Aspects of Pentecostal-Charismatic Soteriology , James Breckenridge

The Home Mission Work of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference: A Description and Evaluation , George Gude

The ΛΟΓΟΣ-Christology in the Prologue of the Gospel of John as a Bridge Concept Between the Old Testament Shekinah Events and Johannine Christology , Chul Hae Kim

Theological Nuance in the Synoptic Nature Miracles , Mark Schuler

Theses/Dissertations from 1990 1990

Presbyterian Missions to Indians in Western Canada , James Codling

The Theology of Israel's Sea Crossing , Rodger Dalman

Gadara of the Decapolis , Lee Maxwell

The "I" in the Storm: Paul's Use of the First Person Singular in Romans 7 , Michael Middendorf

Theses/Dissertations from 1989 1989

The Nature and Function of the Lutheran Confessions in Twentieth Century American Lutheranism , Charles Arand

Current Models in Roman, Lutheran, and Reformed Prolegomena: Exposition, Analysis, and Programmatic Assessment , David Lumpp

Theses/Dissertations from 1988 1988

The Apostolic Tradition- A Study of the Texts and Origins, and its Eucharistic Teachings with a Special Exploration of the Ethiopic Version , Eshetu Abate

A Theological Assessment of Minjung Theology, Systematically and Biblically , Yong Wha Na

Theses/Dissertations from 1987 1987

Biblical Authority in the Westminster Confession and its Twentieth Century Contextualization in the Reformed Presbyterian Testimony Of 1980 , John Delivuk

An Historical Analysis of the Doctrine of the Ministry in the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod Until 1962 , John Wohlrabe

Theses/Dissertations from 1986 1986

An Examination and Evaluation of A. H. Strong's Doctrine of Holy Scripture , Myron Houghton

Jesus' Teaching on "Entering the Kingdom Of Heaven" in the Gospel According to Matthew (Interpretation of Selected Matthean Texts and Parables) , Caleb Huang

Millennialism in American Lutheranism in Light of Augsburg Confession, Article XVII , Francis Monseth

Watchman Nee and the Priesthood of all Believers , Wai Man Ng

Imputatio Iustitiae Christi, Liberum Arbitrium in Renatis, and Tertius Usus Legis in Melanchthon's Later Loci , Richard Osslund

A Scriptural Stance Toward Undocumented Hispanics and Selected Methodologies for Reaching them with the Gospel , Fred Pankow

The Hermeneutics of Liberation Theology: A Lutheran Confessional Response to the Theological Methodology of Leonardo Boff , Jacob Preus

Theses/Dissertations from 1985 1985

The Hermeneutical Principles of Theodore Laetsch with a Focus on the Relationship Between the Old and the New Testaments , James Bollhagen

An Investigation of Contemporary Feminist Arguments on Paul's Teaching on the Role of Women in the Church , Hershel House Wayne

The Nature and Significance of Christ's Death as Reflected in Selected General and Pauline Epistles , Masao Shimodate

Theses/Dissertations from 1984 1984

The Last Testaments of Jacob and Moses , Joel Heck

The Theological Argument of Hebrews 11 in Light of its Literary Form , Merland Miller

Dr. H. C. J. Leupold, The Man and his Work --Especially His Exegesis , David Schreiber

Theses/Dissertations from 1983 1983

Judgment and Grace in the Wilderness Narratives , Martin Buerger

The Preaching of Clovis G Chappell- A Study of the Published Sermons in Light of the Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel as Articulated by C. F. W. Walther , William Carpenter

The Conflict of Krishna and Yahweh as Warrior: A Comparison of the Conflicts of Krishna in the Puranas and of Yahweh as Warrior in the Old Testament, with Special Emphasis on the Themes of History, and Salvation, and their Relevance to Human Life , Arockiam Rajaian

A Search for the Archetype of the Greek Gospel Lectionary , Karl Rutz

Theses/Dissertations from 1982 1982

The Historical-Critical Method- Dividing Wall Between Moderates and Conservatives in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Controversy , Jose Fuliga

Uemura Masahisa (1857-1925) First Generation Pastor, Christian Leader and Instinctive Proponent of Indigenized Christianity in Japan , Addison Soltau

Theses/Dissertations from 1981 1981

Predestination: A Comparative Analysis of the Theology of A. W. Pink in Relation to the Westminster Confession of Faith , Richard Belcher

Was Jesus the Priestly Messiah A Study of the New Testament's Teaching of Jesus' Priestly Office Against the Background of Jewish Hopes for a Priestly Messiah , Jonathan Grothe

The Cosmic Christ of Colossians , Victor Raj

Theses/Dissertations from 1980 1980

The Preservation and Restoration of Creation with a Special Reference to Romans 8:18-23 , Robert Neff

Theses/Dissertations from 1979 1979

Covenant and Kingdom as Fulfilled in the Synoptics , Marvin Middendorf

A Critical and Exegetical Analysis of Exodus Twenty-Four with Special Attention to Covenant Ratification , Peter Talia

The Role of Psalm 89:6-19 in Israel's Cult , Ronald Vahl

Theses/Dissertations from 1978 1978

The Doctrine of God in African Traditional Religion , Tokunboh Adeyemo

The Doctrine of the Church in the Writings of Dr. C. F. W. Walther , John Martin Drickamer

Theses/Dissertations from 1975 1975

The Passion Predictions in the Light of Hebrews 2:5-9 , E Clark Copeland

Theses/Dissertations from 1973 1973

A History of the Research of Exodus 18:1-12 with a Critical Evaluation and Suggestions for Further Progress , Andrew Chiu

The Theology of Justus Menius , Alvin H. Horst

The Return-to-Origins Motif in Pauline Theology and its Significance for a Theological Interpretation of Messianic and Millenarian Movements in Melanesia , John Gerhard Strelan

Public Doctrine in the Lutheran Church --Missouri Synod , Waldemar Wehmeier

Theses/Dissertations from 1972 1972

The History of the Attitudes within the Missouri Synod Toward Life Insurance , James W. Albers

A Study of Some Lucan Parables in the Light of Oriental Life and Poetic Style , Kenneth Ewing Bailey

The Theology of Divine Anger in the Psalms of Lament , Thomas Dixon Hanks

An Analysis of the Structure and Traditions of Zechariah 7 and 8 , John Henry Miller

The Relation of the Servant Songs to Their Contexts in Isaiah 40 to 55 , Gyoji Nabetani

Theses/Dissertations from 1971 1971

The Significance of 1 Chronicles 22, 28, 29 for the Structure and Theology of the Work of the Chronicler , Roddy L. Braun

The Pauline Understanding of "The Law of Christ" , Keith Arnold Gerberding

A Case Study in Exegetical Methodology George Stoeckhardt and Johann Philip Koehler on Ephesians , William John Hassold

A Study of the Hermeneutical Principles Involved in the Interpretation and Use of Psalm 22 in Biblical and Extra-Biblical Sources , Harvey Donald Lange

The Implications for Christology of the Idenity of the Poor Man in the Teaching of Jesus , Adrian Max Leske

A Systematic-Historical Study of the Policy of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod with Respect to Fraternal Organizations in the Past Fifty Years , George F. Lobien

Richard Taverner (1505?--1575) and the English Reformation , James Herbert Pragman

The Role of the Old Testament in High School Level Curricula of the American Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Church in America, and the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod 1964-1970 , Harold W. Rast

Theses/Dissertations from 1970 1970

The Diakonis Function of the Church in Hong Kong , Manfred Helmuth Berndt

The Doctrine of the Church in American Presbyterian Theology in the Mid-Nineteeth Century , David Clyde Jones

The Fear of God as Ethical Motivation in Pauline Theology , Walter A. Maier

Movements in the Church of England as Reflected in English Prose Fiction of the Eighteenth Century , William H. Traugott

Theses/Dissertations from 1969 1969

The Role of the Symbols in Australian Lutheranism , Elvin Janetzki

A Comparative Study of the Prolegomena in Karl Barth's Christliche Dogmatik of 1927 and the Kirchliche Dogmatik of 1932-1938 , Heino Olavi Kadai

Division and Reunion in the Presbyterian Church in Korea 1959-1968 , Bong Rin Ro

The Controversy Provoked by William Perkins Reformed Catholike- A Study in Protestant--Catholic Relations in the First Quarter of the Seventeenth Century in England , Robert E. Webber

Theses/Dissertations from 1968 1968

Relations Between the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia 1846-1965 , John Koch

The Origin and Meaning of the Axiom- Nothing has the Character of a Sacrament Outside of the Use, in Sixteenth-Century and Seventeenth-Century Lutheran Theology , Edward Peters

Jesus as the True Israel According to the Passion Narrative of Saint Mark , Roy Schroeder

Theses/Dissertations from 1967 1967

Paul's Source and Use of Tradition as Reflected in his Writings to the Corinthians , Paul Andrews

Psalms 2 and 110: A Comparison of Exegetical Methods , Herbert Hohenstein

A Study of Applications Used in the Sermons of the Concordia Pulpit of the Years 1955-1964 , Erwin Kolb

Characteristics of Southeast Asian Islam as Factors in A Theology of the Christian Mission to Philippine Muslims , Robert McAmis

Via Propria and Via Mystica in the Theology of Jean Le Charlier De Gerson , David Schmiel

Ezekiel 40-48 , Gerald White

Theses/Dissertations from 1966 1966

The Temptation of Jesus in Matthew , Paul Bretscher

The Voice in the Wilderness and the Coming One-- The Old Testament as the Link Between John the Baptist and Jesus Christ , Walter Rosin

Theses/Dissertations from 1965 1965

The Meaning of DIKAIOŌ , William Beck

Lutheran Theology in the Tranoscius with Special Attention to the Doctrine of the Church , Samuel Boda

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Home > SEM > THEOLOGY-CHRISTIAN-PHILOSOPHY > Master's Theses

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Master's Theses

Master's theses from 2016 2016.

The Relationship of the Old Covenant to the Everlasting Covenant , Kumar Ashwani

Master's Theses from 2015 2015

Rita Nakashima Brock, Rebecca Ann Parker, and Governmental Atonement Theology , Andrew John Blosser

Master's Theses from 2014 2014

The Ethical Viability of Church Support of Moral Legislation , Jason Alexander Hines

Master's Theses from 2013 2013

Toward a Biblical View of Collective Responsibility for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Twenty-first Century , Miroslav Danihel

Master's Theses from 2012 2012

Protology and Eschatology in the Writings of John C. Polkinghorne: a Study of Contrastive Roles of Scripture , H. Nicholas De Lima

Socially Constructing God: Gender, Culture, and a Stratified Trinity , Landon P. Schnabel

Master's Theses from 2009 2009

The Doctrine of Sin in the Thought of George R. Knight: Its Context and Implications , Jamie Kiley

Master's Theses from 2008 2008

Reason in Theology: a Comparison of Fernando Canale and Wolfhart Pannenberg , Sven Fockner

Master's Theses from 1993 1993

Quantum Reality: Some Implications for Christian Theology , Charles Chinyoung Choo

Master's Theses from 1990 1990

Inerrancy and Sovereignty: a Case Study on Carl F. H. Henry , Joseph Karanja

Master's Theses from 1989 1989

The Final Generation: a Descriptive Account of the Development of a Significant Aspect of M.l. Andreasen's Eschatology as Related to His Treatment of the Sanctuary Doctrine Between 1924-1937 , Dwight Eric Haynes

Master's Theses from 1958 1958

An Investigation of the Concept of Perfectionism as Target in the Writings of Ellen G. White , F. W. Bieber

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Home > USC Columbia > HONORS_COLLEGE > SENIOR_THESES > 330

Senior Theses

Unveiling god in counseling: the compatibility of christian theology and the modern therapeutic process.

Kelvin Jamaal Mack , University of South Carolina - Columbia Follow

Date of Award

Spring 2020

Degree Type

Director of thesis, first reader.

Cameron Rick

Second Reader

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the compatibility of Christian theology and a modern therapeutic process informed by secularism. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate that the conceptualization of an active God in the therapeutic process is essential for counselors and clients who adhere to the Christian faith. This conceptualization is either missing or altered by therapeutic processes that operate under the worldview assumptions of secularism. This is what is described as the veiling of God. To explore this issue, a four-tiered analytical approach has been invoked. First, a brief history of secularism and its major ethical and philosophical assumptions are examined in regard to their influence on secular psychology and psychotherapy. Next, the major theological presuppositions and understandings of human nature and human flourishing presented within Christianity are compared to those of secular psychotherapy. Then, the treatment of God within secular therapeutic frameworks is analyzed and reframed according to the underlying assumptions of those methods and techniques. Finally, attention is given to the developments and frameworks of pastoral counseling, biblical counseling, and integrationism in American Christianity. In conclusion, the analysis demonstrates that underlying assumptions and presuppositions are crucial to the formulation of therapeutic methods, techniques, and outcomes. Psychological and psychotherapeutic insights can be safely and usefully incorporated within appropriate theological frameworks as long as the secular worldview assumptions that underpin them are replaced by or subservient to those of the Christian worldview. This allows God’s activity and influence to be acknowledged and brought fully into the therapeutic encounter.

Recommended Citation

Mack, Kelvin Jamaal, "Unveiling God in Counseling: The Compatibility of Christian Theology and the Modern Therapeutic Process" (2020). Senior Theses . 330. https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/senior_theses/330

Since April 30, 2020

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Home > Divinity > Doctoral Dissertations

Doctoral Dissertations

Submissions from 2024 2024.

The Effect of Music on Spiritual Well Being Among Hospice Patients , Mathai Abraham

Equipping Equippers: Training Alaska Bible College Students for Equipping Ministry through Mentorship , Justin Glenn Archuletta

An Exegetical and Theological Exploration of Paul’s Self-Identity in Consideration of Modern Social Sciences , Chala Baker

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Online Education For Recruitment, Retention, and Sustainability of Religious Organizations , Gordon Vaill Barrows

Critical Thinking and Worldview Formation in Ministry , David W. Belles

Developing Health Ministries Beyond the Disparities in the Community , Tasha Renea Berry-Lewis

A Phenomenological Study of Church Polity and Its Impact on Pastoral Leadership and Congregational Health , Travis L. Biller

Do Not Neglect to Show Hospitality to Strangers: Developing and Implementing a Program of Home Hospitality at Furnace Creek Baptist Church , Philip D. Bramblet

Discipleship: A Biblical Approach and Alignment to the Spirit of the Ministry at Kingdom Collegiate Academies Early Childhood Program , Ella Louise Brown

Church and Community: Bridging the Gap to Create a Culture of Acceptance and Inclusiveness , Matthew L. Brown

A Mixed Methods Study to Evaluate the Nature of the Lead Pastor's Psychological Capital and the Impact on Leading Church Revitalization , Toney Allen Cox

Impact of Worldview Development on Spiritual Vitality in Evangelical Protestant Churches: A Phenomenological Study , Nicholas Jared Curtis

Some Aspects of the Theology of the City in ANE Literature and Biblical Protology and Eschatology: A Comparative Study , Vlatko Dir

Mentorship for African American Female Officers of Faith in the United States Air Force , Tanquer L. Dyer

Crisis Management and Peer Support , Kevin H. Eaton

Spiritual Care and the Art of Holistic Healing at Swedish Hospital in Chicago , Mary Pamela Eke

Preparing the Next Generation for Faith Ownership by Training Fathers in the Biblical Worldview , John D. Embrey

Digital Ministry in the Church: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities , Willie Charles Howard Garrett

The Influence of Transformational Leaders in Reconnecting the Millennial Generation to the Community of the Local Church , Brandi Lynn Ginty

Great Leader, Great Learner: Shepherd-Teachers, Self-Directed Learning, and the Preaching Moment in Small Southern Baptist Churches , Matthew Thomas Gowin

A Phenomenological Study of the Perception of Racial Unity in Evangelical Churches in Chicago , Amber L. Harvey

The Scatological Scriptures: A Biblical Theology of Dung , Zachary C. Hill

A Phenomenological Study of Pastors Who Were Mentored and the Perceived Value of the Mentor Relationship , Reginald L. Horner

Generational Poverty and Education: Breaking the Cycle of Ignorance , Leland Jackson

Early Forgiveness Intervention in Substance Abuse Recovery , Susan Janos

An Examination of the Parental Role in the Discipleship of Children , Robert B. Jarman

Church Systems: From Church Attenders to Committed Church Members , Loyd Johnson

Building High-Performance Ministry Teams: Pastors, Ministers, and Leaders of Selected Baptist Churches in Macon, Georgia , Michael Wendell Johnson

Emulating Paul’s Ministry Leadership in a Diverse and Changing Cultural Landscape , Mark J. Lee

Ripe For the Harvest: Developing Servants Through Spiritual Formation at Fairhaven Church of Rootstown , Vincent A. Maltempi

Leveraging Ministry and Community Partnerships to Address Community Needs , Chaunceia Renee Mayfield

Private Christian Education and Utilization of Evangelism Curriculum , Amy N. McBrayer

Family Discipleship: Forming a Biblical Worldview for Godly Decisions , Eric Spencer McCrickard

A Study on the Effects of Biblical Counseling Techniques on Teacher Relationships with Students with Autism , Matthew McNeill

Exploring How Church Leadership Strives for Effective Ministry by Developing a Viable Leadership Training Program at a Small Nondenominational Church in Scranton, South Carolina , Willa Dean Montgomery

Biblical Leadership Development: Essential Components in Servant Leadership , André T. Moore Sr.

A Phenomenological Study of Complexity Leadership Interactions of an International Protestant Convention during COVID-19 , Thomas S. Narofsky

Rest, Rhetoric, and Suffering in the Letter to the Hebrews: How the Author of Hebrews Uses Classical Rhetoric to Resolve Tension between Invitation to God's Rest and Present Suffering , Dickson Kûng’û Ngama

Coherent Chiastic Oeuvre in the Unity of Luke-Acts: Two Volumes Conjoined as a Single Book , John Matthew Powell

Burnout Prevention in Christian Public and Private Middle School Leaders: A Qualitative Study , Rhonda Grider Purchase

"A Friend of Tax Collectors and Sinners": An Intertextual Reading of Luke's Jesus According to Divine Identity and YHWH Shepherd Language , Dottie H. Rhoads

A Mixed-Method Approach Identifying Antecedents of Employee Engagement in a Nondenominational Church: Perspective from Volunteers and Employees , Gregory A. Rodriguez

Providing Biblical Knowledge to Women Ages 25–70 to Place Women in Ministry and Leadership Positions in the Church , Evelyn Diane Scott

Forgiving Childhood Hurt Biblically , Latisha Shearer

Indirect Prophecies Concerning the Death of Christ in Narrative , Lindsay A. Siemers

A Phenomenological Multi-Case Study of Perceptions of Older Adults’ Loneliness during COVID-19 Within Selected Online Churches , Bethney Wright Sikes

Let My People Go: A Biblical Theology of Liberation in the Exodus Motif , Lou Ann Smith

Equipping Local Pastors to Develop a Comprehensive Chaplaincy Ministry for the Cullman County Sheriff's Office , Matthew W. Smith

A Composition of Strategic Harmony: The Role of Hymnic Elements in the Compositional Strategy of Amos , Moegagogo S. Solomona

God’s Narrative of Redemption: Creation, Imago Dei, and Water Imagery , Dawn Lewis Sutherland

The Role of the Law in the Sanctification of the Believer Today: A Brief Introduction to Pronomianism , Benjamin John Stepan Szumskyj

A Phenomenological Study of Female Master of Divinity Graduates' Experiences and Role Incongruity at Texas Baptist Seminaries , Michele Lee Taylor

Living a Better Story: The Lived Narrative Apologetic in the Book of Acts , Cedric LeMar Thomas

Ministry and Diversity in the City , William Thomas

Others First: A Visual Roadmap 4 Transformation , Toby D. Wagoner

A Qualitative Descriptive Study: What South Carolina Church Leaders Believe About Congregational Active Shooter Preparation , Charles David Watts Jr.

Reconsidering the Apologetic Purpose of Luke-Acts , James C. Williams

Digital Technology Use and Influence on the Mission and Ministry of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Church Community in the United States Resulting from the Covid -19 Pandemic: A Quantitative Study , Phillip Steven Woodruff

How to Create Things with Words: Identifying the Performative Speech Acts of God’s Spoken Words in the Genesis 1 Creation Account , Ivan C. Yu

Submissions from 2023 2023

The Single Father in the Christian Church and Their Struggles , Kennedy Abbott

Metamorphosis of the Traditional Church: The Hybrid Church Model , Steven Edward Adams

The Decalogue of Justice: A Covenantal Application of Biblical Justice , Andrew Mark Adil

Biblical Memorization and Meditation as an Effective Means of Spiritual Warfare , Scott Ahern

Creating and Implementing a Mentorship Ministry for New Believers , Moses Aleman

The Necessity of Spiritual Preparation in Short-Term Missions as it Correlates to Ministry Effectiveness , Brent Edward Allen

Effectiveness of Training Jacksonville Church of God Seventh Day to Minister Biblical Truth to Seventh-day Adventists , Dirk E. Anderson

A Phenomenological Study of How Active Engagement in Black Greek Letter Sororities Influences Christian Members' Spiritual Growth , Lorraine Mary Aragon

Discouragement and Supportive Relationships in Latin Pastors Planting Churches in Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee , Jeannette Arroyo

Servant Leadership in African Christian Immigrants As An Organizational Strategy To Mitigate The Great Resignation , Kwabena A. Asenso-Okyere

The Warning Passages in Hebrews: Exhortations Written Using Deliberative Rhetoric to a Community of Faith , Edgardo Rafael Báez

Undercutting the Biblical Inspiration and Authority Debate: The Hermeneutic of 2 Timothy 3:16-17 in Postmodernism against Black Liberation Theology , Raleigh M. Bagley III

Organic Leadership Training: A Training and Assessment Program for Potential House Church Leaders , David Glenn Bailey

A Mixed-Methods Inquiry into Pastors' Knowledge and Responses to Human Trafficking in Their Congregations in the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware , Denise A. Beck

Cosmic Hamartiology: Using an Apocalyptic Paul Hermeneutic to Exposit Chaos Monster Passages , Peter Terrell Bingham Jr.

Perceptions of Vocation, Calling, and Work Among College Students From Union University: A Phenomenological Study , Matthew S. Bowman

Foster Care and the Church , Donald R. Brown

The Faithful Vassal: The Suzerain-Vassal Covenant Relationship as a Biblical-Theological Theme Connecting the Old and New Testament Narratives , Tyler Matthew Brown

African Influence in the Bible: A Sub-Saharan Response to the Gospel and the Divine Prerogative of African Incorporation in God’s Redemptive Plan , Robert Milton Bugg Jr.

Jailhouse Religion: A Study on the Perceived Effects of Religious Prison Rehabilitation That Affects Recidivism , William George Bumphus III

Discipling Elementary Children as a Father , Jeremiah Jabez Canfield

The Clapham Saints: A Correlational Study between a Christian's Level of Commitment to the Christian Faith and Their Engagement in Human Trafficking Political Matters , Charles L. Carpenter

John's Canonical Portrait of Christ: A Biblical-Theological Approach to the Depiction of the Glorified Christ in Revelation 1 , Christopher Matthew Carpenter

Analyzing the Relationship between Pastoral Leadership and Church Attendance in Baptist Congregations in Eastman, Georgia , Michael Carruthers

John’s Complementing of Mark’s Wicked Tenants Parable in his Metaphor of the True Vine , John F. Cespedes

Effective Decision-Making and Conflict Resolution for Church Leadership Teams and Governing Boards , Frederick Chambers

The Second Temple Period Jewish Diaspora; Preparing the Nations for the Coming of Christ in Accordance with Isaiah 43 , Jeffrey Albert Colburn

A Phenomenological Study of Church Growth Strategies Used by Pastors of Digital Churches during the COVID-19 Pandemic , Nicholas D. Cole

A Multiphase Iterative Mixed-Method Study Of Lay-Equipping Competencies Of Midwestern Adventist Pastors , Gary Sean Collins

Church Leadership Personalities: A Comparative Study of the Personality Components of Senior and Executive Pastors , Christopher Sean Conrad

The Salvation Testimony of African-American Converts in the Protestant Faith: A Phenomenological Study , Tenielle Jones Cook

Pressures of African American Christian Women Who Serve as Leaders in a Secular Environment , Tania Yvette Cooper

E Pluribum Una Ecclesia: Addressing Ideologically Driven Disunity Through a Multifaceted Approach , John M. Craft IV

An Exploration of Mentorship Among African American Male Youth Ministers Within the Nondenominational Church , Christina K. Crayton

A Multi-Case Study of Church-Based Business Leader Discipleship Programs and the Furtherance of the Gospel , Robert Cross

A Correlational Study of Transformational Learning Tactics and Transformational Leadership Practices in Evangelical Pastors , Nichelle L. Crozier

Improving Diversity And Inclusion Increasing Multiethnic Presence Within Religious Organizations , Marquita Nicole Davie

The Whole Child Initiative Model of Care For Those Aging Out of Residential Care , Ashley Nichole Davis

Moral Injury: The Hidden Adversary of War , LaShell Y. Davis

Church Personnel Perceptions of Disorderly Students: A Case Study of Misconduct in Child Ministry Programs , Regina M. Davis

Help for the Emotional Religious Doubter: Divine Revelation as an Epistemic Axiom and Its Significance Upon the Implementation of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) , Ronald Henry Davis Jr.

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Home > Affiliates > Huron University College > Theology > THEOLOGY-ETD

Theology Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2023 2023.

Islamic Ethical Considerations on Medical Decision-Making in Adolescence , Nuray Catic

Lighting the Way of the Learner: Towards a Social Virtue Epistemology in Aḥmad al-Ṣaghīr’s The Faqīh’s Lantern , Amani Khelifa

The Experiences of Transgender Anglicans in the Eucharistic Liturgy , Jordan D. Sandrock

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Christian Mass Movements in South India and Some of The Critical Factors that Changed the Face of Christianity in India , Philip Joseph Mathew

Exploring the Relational Center of the Individualist/Collectivist Spectrum: A Literature Survey of Direct and Indirect Perichoretic Works , Steven Latta

Women and Western Mission: A Case Study on the Christian Khasi and Garo Tribal Women , Rosemary Philip

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

The Notion of Evil in the Qur'an and Islamic Mystical Thought , Irfan Asghar

Personhood, Particularity, and Perichoresis: The Doctrine of the Trinity in Identity and Faith Formation , Tabitha Petrova Edgar

Monks Praise the Female Saints of Anglo-Saxon England: Hild of Whitby and Edith of Wilton , Lori Ferguson

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

ʿAbdulḥalīm Abū Shuqqa’s The Liberation of Women in the Age of Revelation: A Translation and Critical Commentary , Ibtehal Noorwali

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Atheist Controversy in the United Church of Canada: A Review of Gretta Vosper , Jacob A. Shaw

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Pragmatic Holiness in the Early Salvation Army: A Theology of Holiness as Action , Terence Hale

The Spirituality of Watchman Nee from a Neo-Confucian Perspective , Jin Meng

Two Paths to Illumination in Islamic Mysticism: Self-Annihilation versus Higher Self , Mahdieh Mirmohammadi

Sunday, Bloody Sunday: Martyrial Theology in the Eucharistic Liturgies of the Anglican Church of Canada , Andrew M. Rampton

Science and Theology in Religious Education and Faith Formation with Children and Youth: Towards a Post-Foundationalist Approach , Judy S. Steers

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

'Empire without end': John Finch, Orientalism, and Early Modern Empire, 1674-1681 , Remi Alie

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Christian Kitsch: A Preliminary Examination of Christian Materialism through Theological Aesthetics and Cultural Politics , Michael A. Bodkin

Rethinking Resurrection: Choosing Interdisciplinary Dialogue Over Dualism , Jesse Dymond

The Euthanasia Debate: International Experience and Canadian Policy Proposals , Lorna M. Fratschko

The German Christians’ Influence on Barth’s Hamartiology of Pride , Tom Linden

Irruption: Placing Theology at the Centre of the Discourse on Church Amalgamation , John MacKenzie

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

New Paradigm for South Sudan: The Christian Contribution to the South African TRC , Malith J. Kur

Spirituality and Autonomous Religion in Southern Ontario: A Sociological and Theological Study , Christopher J. Medland

The Anointing That Teaches: A Socio-Historical and Rhetorical Study of Chrisma in 1 John 2:20 and 27 , Jenny Meggison

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

The Promise and Problematic of the Virtual Eucharist Mass According To The Roman Catholic Church’s Position in “The Church and the Internet” , Andrew W. Labenek

Political Theology Versus Public Theology: Reclaiming the Heart of Christian Mission , Martin R. Levesque

Between Mercersburg and Oxford: The Ecclesiology of John Williamson Nevin , Kevin H. Steeper

The Christian as Witness in View of the True Witness , Emily Patricia Wilton

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Torah in the Diaspora: A Comparative Study of Philo and 4 Maccabees , Christopher J. Cornthwaite

The Religion of Success: The Religious and Theological Roots of the American Success Industry of Self-Help, Personal Growth, and Wealth , Sharon M. Lindenburger

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

Toward a Dialogical Hermeneutic of a Hindu-Christian: A Socio-scientific Study of Nepali Immigrants in Toronto , Surya Prasad Acharya

The Prevalence of the Magistrate in the Political Theology of Heinrich Bullinger , Brent J. Brodie

Rowan Williams and Mikhail Bakhtin: The Appeal of Polyphony , Antony N. Gremaud

The Sacramental Theology of John Owen and John Calvin , David van Eyk

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College of Arts & Sciences

PhD Dissertations

For more details, including abstracts and PDFs, please see our institutional repository, Digital Georgetown .

Mohamed Lamallam, Society, Religion and Political Power: The Theory of ulfa jāmi’a (Social Harmony) in the Socio-Political Works of al-Māwardī (d.450/1058). Advisor: Paul Heck.

Arunjana Das, A Hindu-Christian Approach Towards Peace-Making: How do Theological Discourse and Agency Emerge in Religious Systems? Advisor: Ariel Glucklich.

James Shelton Nalley, Towards a Holy Friendship: Reflecting on Interreligious Friendship with Thomas Aquinas and Ibn al-ʿArabī. Advisor: Stephen Fields.

Susan O’Neill Hayward, Enduring War and Enduring Peace: Religion, Resilience, and Resistance. Advisor: Jose Casanova.

Jordan Denari Duffner, Muḥammad’s Character as “Fruit of the Spirit”: Toward a Catholic Pneumatology of the Prophet of Islam. Advisor: Leo Lefebure.

Nan Kathy Lin, Religious Change as Seen Through Buddhist Environmentalism; 2023. Advisor: Francisca Cho.

Halla Attallah, Gender and (In)fertility in the Qur’ān’s Annunciation Type-Scenes ; 2023. Advisor: Julia Watts Belser.

Danielle Lynn Clausnitzer, The Roots of Rootwork: Addressing Contemporary Concerns of Hoodoo Practitioners ; 2023. Advisor: Joseph Murphy.

Kirsty Jones, Barren, Blind, Berserk: (Un)Assuming Disability and Madness in Judges 13-16 ; 2023. Advisor: Julia Watts Belser.

Nathan Chapman Lean, Journey to the One: Jazz as an Expression of Islam, 1940-1970 ; 2023. Advisor: Dan Madigan.

Ray Kim, Halal in Korea: The Social Constructions of a Contested Category in a Globalized World ; 2022. Advisor: Jose Casanova.

Teng Kuan Ng, Wisdom Cinema: Buddhism and Film in Contemporary China ; 2022. Advisor: Francisca Cho.

Theodore Dedon, Conciliarity, Nationalism, and the Roman Social Imaginary: A History of Political and Ecclesiastical Ideas on the Separation and Integration of Powers ; 2022. Advisor: Drew Christiansen.

Tasi B. Perkins, The Thirst, And The Sun, And The Bleeding”: Husayn As A Passible Liminal Figure in Pro-ʿAlid Hagiography ; 2022. Advisor: William Werpehowski.

Steven Matthew Gertz, Inter-Religious Relations in a Sectarian Milieu: Fatimid Rulers in Relationship to Their Melkite Christian Subjects in Palestine and Egypt ; 2020. Advisor: Dan Madigan.

Easten G. Law, Discerning a Lived Chinese Protestant Theology: Everyday Life and Encounters with the Other in Contemporary China ; 2020. Advisor: Peter Phan.

Joel David Daniels, Does the Wind Bend or Break the Grass? A Comparative Study of Pentecostal Spirituality and Chinese Religious Thought ; 2020. Advisor: Erin Cline.

Michael David Friedman, Our Problems and Our Future: Jews and America ; 2019. Advisor: Jonathan Ray.

Joshua Clark Mugler, A Martyr with Too Many Causes: Christopher of Antioch (d. 967) and Local Collective Memory ; 2019. Advisor: Paul Heck.

Peter Charles Herman, Overcoming Whiteness: A Critical Comparison of James Cone’s Black Liberation Theology and Shinran’s Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism ; 2019. Advisor: Peter Phan.

Stephanie Marie Wong, From Subjects to Citizens of the State and of God’s People: Frédéric-Vincent Lebbe (1877-1940) and the Project to Indigenize the Chinese Catholic Church in Republican China ; 2018. Advisor: Peter Phan.

Matthew Mitchell Anderson, Prohibited Speech and the Sacred: Critically and Constructively Engaging Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī’s (d.756/1355) al-Sayf al-maslūl ‘alā man sabba al-rasūl ; 2018. Advisor: Paul Heck.

Joshua Canzona, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Muhammad Iqbal on Human Consciousness and Sociality: A Critical Comparison ; 2018. Advisor: Leo Lefebure.

Nicholas John Boylston, Writing the Kaleidoscope of Reality: The Significance of Diversity in the 6th/12th Century Persian Metaphysical Literature of Sanā’ī, ‘Ayn al-Quḍāt and ‘Aṭṭār ; 2017. Advisor: Paul Heck.

Rahel Fischbach, Politics of Scripture. Discussions of the Historical-Critical Approach to the Qur’an ; 2017. Advisor: Dan Madigan.

Matthew D. Taylor, Commonsense Scripturalism: The Textual Identities of Salafi Muslims and Evangelical Christians in America ; 2017. Advisor: Paul Heck.

Taraneh Rosanna Wilkinson, Dialectics Not Dualities: Contemporary Turkish Muslim Thought in Dialogue ; 2017. Advisor: Dan Madigan.

Jason Welle, Clarifying Companionship: Al-Sulamī’s (D. 412/1021) Kitāb Ādāb Al-Ṣuḥba ; 2016. Advisor: Paul Heck.

Pietro Lorenzo Maggioni, Comparative Theology: Toward a Semiotic Theological Foundation ; 2016. Advisor: Dan Madigan.

Gurbet Sayilgan, The Ur-Migrants: The Qur’anic Narratives of Adam and Eve and Their Contribution to a Constructive Islamic Theology of Migration ; 2015. Advisor: Dan Madigan.

Fuad S. Naeem, Interreligious Debates, Rational Theology, and the ʿUlamaʾ in the Public Sphere: Muḥammad Qāsim Nānautvī and the Making of Modern Islam in South Asia ; 2015. Advisor: Dan Madigan.

George Archer, A Place Between Two Places: The Qur’an’s Intermediate State and the Early History of the Barzakh ; 2015. Advisor: Dan Madigan.

Sara Singha, Dalit Christians and Caste Consciousness in Pakistan ; 2015. Advisor: Ariel Glucklich.

Jason M. VonWachenfeldt, Knowing the Known Unknown: Comparing the Religious Epistemologies of Edward Schillebeeckx and Gendun Chopel in Response to Modernity ; 2014. Advisor: Leo Lefebure.

Laura Tomes, Reforming Religion: Sabbath Schools and the Negotiation of Modern American Jewish Education, 1873-1923 ; 2014. Advisor: Jonathan Ray.

Melanie Elizabeth Trexler, Evangelizing Arabs: Baptists and Muslims in Lebanon, 1895-2011 ; 2014. Advisor: Yvonne Haddad.

Diego Sarrio Cucarella, The Mirror of the Other: Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi’s Splendid Replies ; 2013. Advisor: Paul Heck.

Peter Leo Manseau, Untying the Holy Tongue: the Transformation of Sacred Language in American Yiddish Literature ; 2013. Advisor: Tod Linafelt.

Jerusha Tanner Lamptey, Toward a Muslima Theology of Religious Pluralism: the Qur’an, Feminist Theology and Religious Diversity ; 2011. Advisor: Dan Madigan.

Erika B. Seamon, The Shifting Boundaries of Religious Pluralism in America Through the Lens of Interfaith Marriage ; 2011. Advisor: Chester Gillis.

Maureen L. Walsh, ‘Because they are no more’: Memorializing Pregnancy Loss in Japanese Buddhism and American Catholicism ; Advisor: Vincent J. Miller.

A Theology of Dissertation (and Thesis) Writing: Some Preliminary Thoughts

In a dissertation proposal defense a few years ago, one of my colleagues declared to the nervous student, “Your paper sounds like a good Ed.D. but not a good Ph.D. You’re getting a philosophy degree [in the ancient sense of the word], so you need to make a contribution to theory.” First, I thought, “Do I agree that should be the purpose of a Ph.D. dissertation?” and second I wondered, “Has a Christian offered a theological analysis of the purpose of dissertation writing or even dissertation writing as a whole?”

So, I set out to find if anyone had written a theology of dissertation writing. This quest was much harder than I anticipated. Of course, there are hundreds of different writings defending a liberal arts education, and Christians have joined this chorus in their own unique way (my own view is here ). However, Christians, unfortunately, have not always been leaders in American graduate education, so my expectations were low.

Typing this phrase into Google will return loads of web sites about how to write a theology dissertation, people or web sites offering to write your theology dissertation for you, and even some actual theology dissertations. Typing the phrase into Amazon will lead you to the same mish-mash of information with helpful titles such as Surviving Your Dissertation , The Dissertation Warrior, and more. A search of our library’s academic catalogue and Academic Search Complete produced nothing.

It is unclear if Christians have spent much time putting dissertation writing into a theological context for themselves or their students. As a Ph.D. student, I knew I needed to write a dissertation, but I did not engage in any theological reflection about the practice of dissertation writing itself. Not surprisingly, most books you will find about dissertations are “how to” books and not “why” books. Oddly, we do not reflect philosophically on writing a Ph.D.

Consequently, I realized I need to formulate my own theology statement about dissertation writing. I figured the first place to start would be to read about the history of dissertation writing (which surely someone has written). If I am to believe the Baylor University library, Amazon (and who doesn’t), as well as four professional history colleagues, there has been no history written about the history of the dissertation in English (Tal Howard from Valparaiso University found a resource in German ). Looking in history of higher education books also proved futile (Thelin’s well-known history of higher education does not even have a listing for dissertation in the index, nor do any other of the most well-known histories of graduate education).

What we do know is that theses, or doctoral dissertations as they were later called, transformed over time. As Willem Frijhoff helpfully summarizes the history, “Originally, an erudite exercise on a topic or a text supplied by the master, the thesis gradually became the proof of the personal erudition, before being transformed in the nineteenth century into a veritable original summa of research.” 1 In an e-mail, Tal Howard mentioned to me that many of these early theses were indeed erudite. One of the German scholars he has studied wrote a thesis of 13 pages in the late eighteenth century which he noted, “seems more of the norm.”

The Prussian universities of the nineteenth century took a different focus. They wanted greater specialization in order to refine theory (and theory alone). When writing in the 1860s about these German universities, the American James Morgan Hart simply stated, “It contents itself with the theoretical, and leaves to other institutions the practical and the technical.” 4 He identified the theoretical as “the principles of abstract truth.” Later Hart expanded:

To repeat, the university instruction of Germany does not attempt to train successful practical men, unless it be indirectly, by giving its students a profound insight into the principles of the science, and then turning them adrift to deduce the practice as well as they can from the carefully inculcated theory. (p. 577)

It was assumed that if students learned theory [“the principles of abstract truth”], they could then relate it easily to practical life. Anyone who has ever lived in a country governed by theory disconnected from practice knows the mess this approach creates.

Pragmatic American academics have made a place for practice-oriented doctoral degrees such as EdDs, DMins, etc. (especially since they are often paying customers). Nonetheless, the expectation that Ph.D.’s will wrestle with and produce theory remains. In certain ways, this persistence is odd. After all, belief that we can discover a system of “principles of abstract truth” no longer exists among many postmodernists. Yet, even radical social constructivists still produce Ph.D.’s and talk about theory as if something like critical race theory has the status of “the principles of abstract truth.”

For a Christian university, should we approach Ph.D. dissertation expectations differently? I would suggest that we need to build Christian theory and the broader wisdom associated with it but in a different way. The German approach started with and insists upon theory development in more Platonic ways. Yet, Christianity does not start with systematic theology and abstract ideals and move to practice. Instead, it starts with stories of a personal God, Christian belief and practice (individual and communal), parables, teachings of wisdom, prophetic utterances based on specific situations, sayings, and letters to specific churches. Christian academics, particularly in the Western Christian tradition, have then moved to system and wisdom building in theology and ethics.

Thus, I do wonder if we need to rethink the word “theory” or at least favor the word early Christian scholars preferred, “wisdom.” In Restoring the Soul of the University , I noted how Hugh of St. Victor saw wisdom as being found in the ultimate Perfect Good—the person of the Trinity. Consequently, Hugh spoke in relational terms about philosophy (i.e., wisdom), since it involved pursuing and getting to know a Being and not simply a system of abstract truths:

Philosophy, then, is the love and pursuit of Wisdom, and in a certain way, a friendship with it; not, however, of that ‘wisdom’ which is concerned with certain tools and with knowledge and skill in some craft, but of that Wisdom which, wanting in nothing, is a living Mind and the sole primordial Idea or Pattern of things. This love of Wisdom, moreover, is an illumination of the apprehending mind by that pure Wisdom and, in a certain way, a drawing and a calling back to itself of man’s mind, so that the pursuit of Wisdom appears like friendship with that Divinity… 5

In this respect, a wisdom based approach to dissertation writing recovers something of the older, broader Christian approach to education. I have been frustrated by what I see in many dissertations—the tendency to be so specialized that one only thinks within one disciplinary framework . Christians should create interdisciplinary versus periscope advanced thinkers . Are we producing anything different than periscope dissertations that are so focused they miss broader ways of knowing and broader relevance?

Unfortunately, we are paying the price now with advanced specialists who cannot think outside their discipline (much less theologically or morally). During Covid, we have continually seen how medical professionals do not know how to talk to the public or consider human nature or cost-benefit analysis when making proposals. Thus, it is economists who have performed some of the best cost-benefit analysis .

Of course, Christians should not shy away from the more contemporary idea that we should pursue original, specialized wisdom in light of the explosion of knowledge. However, this wisdom does not need to be a set of abstract principles or impersonal theory discovered within rigid disciplinary boundaries using only one disciplinary frame or method. Rather, we should seek the personal pattern of God’s mind and truth that stretches beyond disciplinary silos. Then, we can better contribute to human wisdom about creation, the identification of particular ways to identify the fall, and developing forms of redemption or reversal of the fall. In other words, our dissertations should better contribute to human flourishing.

Willem Frijhoff, “Graduation and Careers,” in A History of the University in Europe: Vol. II; Universities in Early Modern Europe, 1500-1800 , ed. Hilde De Ridder-Symoens (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996), 376.
See Steven Turner, “The Prussian Professoriate and the Research Imperative, 1790-1840,” in Epistemological and Social Problems of the Sciences in the Early Nineteenth Century , eds. H.N. Jahnke and M. Otte (Boston: D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1981), 109-21.
Hugh of St. Victor, The Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor: A Medieval Guide to the Arts , trans. Jerome Taylor (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991).
James Morgan, “” in American Higher Education: A Documentary History, eds. Richard Hofstadter and Wilson Smith, vol. 2 (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1961), 572.
The previous two paragraphs are taken from the first Perry L. Glanzer, Nathan F. Alleman, and Todd C. Ream, Restoring the Soul of the University: Unifying Christian Higher Education in a Fragmented Age (Downer’s Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 2017), 20-21.

Perry L. Glanzer

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Master of Theology

Build on your MDiv, MTS, or other approved theological degrees and engage deeply with your faith. The Master of Theology (ThM) is an advanced degree that gives you insights into a focused area of study and lays a strong foundation for future doctoral studies or a lifetime of spiritual learning and practice.

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At a glance.

January 15 – Final deadline – merit scholarship applicants, international applicants

April 15 – Final deadline – US citizens and residents

Is the Master of Theology for Me?

Already have an MDiv, MTS, or other theological graduate degree?
Want to immerse yourself in a focused area of study?
Feel called to prepare for advanced research and scholarship?

Building on the foundation of your previous theological graduate work, the ThM degree program deepens your intellectual engagement with your chosen area of interest and sharpens your research and scholarship skills. Whether you plan to pursue a career in research, ministry, or another field, you develop advanced competency to support a lifetime of learning and service.

What You’ll Study

As a ThM student, focus your coursework on one of five specializations, creating a program of study in consultation with your faculty advisor. A faculty advisor may approve you to take classes in other areas, but your primary focus is on your chosen specialization. In general, introductory-level courses do not count toward the ThM degree.

What You’ll Do

Choosing a specialization to match your specific career goals, you may dive into topics such as Biblical theology and history of religion to pastoral care and traditions of Christian worship. In addition to your coursework, you have the option of completing a thesis with the approval and support of an advisor.

Throughout your experience, you encounter a variety of theological voices and perspectives on campus and in the community. Coursework emphasizes the development of your own individual spiritual life and goals while preparing you with the leadership skills and academic preparation you need to thrive.

ThM Program Details

Specializations.

Choose an area of study from five specializations:

Biblical Studies
History and Ecumenics
Practical Theology*
Religion and Society

*To specialize in Practical Theology, you must have an MDiv degree.

Curriculum Components

The ThM degree program requires you to complete 24 credits of courses in your chosen specialization, although you may be able to take courses in other topics with your advisor’s approval. You may also fulfill three or six credits with an optional thesis.

Sample Courses

Reformed Theologies and Public Life
Pastoral Care and the Life Cycle
Holy Scripture and Modern Criticism
Philosophies of Practical Reason

Application Requirements

To qualify for admission, you need to have:

An undergraduate degree (typically a BA or BS) from a school accredited by one of the accrediting agencies recognized by our faculty
A Master of Divinity degree or first graduate theological degree providing equivalent theological background, such as the MTS from an approved institution, and evidence of aptitude for advanced theological study (the MDiv degree is required for admission to the specialization in Practical Theology)

To apply, please submit the following:

A completed admissions application
Unofficial transcripts from all postsecondary institutions previously attended
Three letters of recommendation: one pastoral endorsement, one academic, and one additional
Academic writing sample
Application fee of $50

Outcomes with a Master of Theology Degree

The Master of Theology degree program provides opportunities to specialize a professional pathway, shape advanced research skills, deepen spiritual practices, and engage the theological disciplines with uncommon depth through a rigorous curriculum. Complete the ThM program poised to pursue PhD studies or advance your career.

Many of our graduates go on to lead traditional congregations, while others lead new forms of ministry in the nonprofit sector, entrepreneurial space, and other vocations, such as education and government. Still others influence and inspire the next generation of church leaders by teaching and serving at institutions around the world.

In Their Own Words

Ben Immanuel

Take the next step beyond your first graduate theological degree and pursue advanced research in your chosen area of specialization. Request more information about the Master of Theology degree, schedule a visit, or apply today.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Christian theology'

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Muthoka, Peter Silleter. "Akamba theology compared to Christian theology." Berlin Viademica-Verl, 2006. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=2859185&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.

Elliott, Benjamin C. "Karl Popper and Christian theology." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2007. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=185763.

Inge, John. "A Christian theology of place." Thesis, Durham University, 2001. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1235/.

Gower, Margaret Marion. "The Heart of Peace: Christine de Pizan and Christian Theology." Thesis, Harvard University, 2015. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:23845469.

Hallonsten, Simon. "“The Post-Christian Christian Church” : Ecclesiological Implications ofMattias Martinson’s Post-Christian Theology." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Kyrkovetenskap, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-338539.

Crowder, Roy B. "Towards a theology of story : an experiment in contextual theology." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15875.

Uzukwu, Elochukwu Eugene Omenka Nicholas Ibeawuchi. "Editorial: CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND SOCIAL RELEVANCE." Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology, 2012. http://digital.library.duq.edu/u?/bet,995.

Savage, Helen. "Changing sex? : transsexuality and Christian theology." Thesis, Durham University, 2006. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3364/.

Perera, Luke Andrew. "Christian theology and Mahāyāna Buddhism : prospects and possibilities for comparative theology." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2016. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.715829.

Sakharov, Nicholas V. "The theology of Archimandrite Sophrony." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.312683.

Jones, Stephen David. "Evangelical Israelology towards a Shoah sensitized biblical theology of Israel /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1999. http://www.tren.com.

Durham, Kenneth Morgan. "The Abrahamic covenant and justification by faith a reciprocal relationship? /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1987. http://www.tren.com.

Perks, Catherine Charlotte. "Towards a realist theology of Christian community." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.401439.

Lindley, Richard. "Christian theism in Anglican theology, 1945-2014." Thesis, University of Winchester, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.698121.

Lai, Pak-Wah. "St. John Chrysostom's theology of Christian transformation." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 2007. http://www.tren.com/search.cfm?p048-0322.

Patston, Kirk Richard. "Job, Otherness and Christian Theology of Disability." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/14293.

Bozza, Mary Louise. "Dorothy Day: On Love for God, Neighbor, and Self." Thesis, Boston College, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/425.

Mallen, Peter Lindsay. "God's power manifest in jars of clay." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 2000. http://www.tren.com.

Velazco, Rafael. "Vocation and Christian witness a theology of ministry and mission for lay Christians /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 2002. http://www.tren.com.

Washevski, Michael A. "Becoming theologians together : a Christian way of thinking /." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 2003. http://www.tren.com.

Bai, Joseph Hongzhang. "Being Christian in Chinese context| New Junzi, new Christian." Thesis, St. Thomas University, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3560390.

Contemporary Chinese Christians seek a new way of becoming authentically Chinese Christians. Christians in Chinese Confucian cultural context have experienced a tension of being both authentically Chinese and Christian. Through the practical theological method by following theology of inculturation, this dissertation aims to find a new way of being authentically Chinese and Christian. Confucianism offers a way of being authentically Chinese person who is a Junzi. Becoming Junzi is the first crucial step for becoming authentically Chinese Christians. Contemporary Catholic theologian Catherine M. LaCugna’s Trinitarian theological insight delineates a model of becoming an authentically Christian who is a Trinitarian Christian. By valuing both Chinese Confucian traditional teachings about being Junzi and Christian teachings about being Trinitarian Christian, this dissertation helps contemporary Chinese Christians to bridge the tension of being both authentically Chinese and Christian, and to find a new way of becoming both authentically Chinese and authentic Christian. This new way of being a Chinese Christian is defined in this work as a Trinitarian Junzi.

Becoming a Trinitarian Junzi is a new way of being Chinese as well as being Christian in the Chinese context. The concept creates an understanding for Chinese people to participate in the life of the Triune God; it also reminds Christians to cherish the values of all of God’s people and creations. Becoming a Trinitarian Junzi opens the horizon and vision of being Chinese in the light of Christianity; it also offers inspiration and imagination about being Christian in a new way through dialoguing with every local culture and beyond.

Kohns, Jonathan Wesley. "An integrative theological framework in a post-Christian era." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1995. http://www.tren.com.

Ngong, David Tonghou. "Rethinking the Other in Contemporary African Christian Theology." Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology, 2011. http://digital.library.duq.edu/u?/bet,274.

Oyama, Eriko. "Religions and inculturation, Ebina Danjyo's Japanese Christian theology." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ57449.pdf.

Parker, Anthony B. "The doctrine of revelation in African Christian theology." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1992. http://www.tren.com.

Hirt, John. "Radical discipleship : towards the theology and sociopolitical implications." Phd thesis, School of Studies in Religion, Faculty of Arts, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/13796.

Deremer, Don A. "Tapping the rock developing a systematic theology for financing global evangelism /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1995. http://www.tren.com.

Leblanc, Nicholas Paul. "Divine instruction on fiscal giving in progressive revelation a biblical theology of giving /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 2008. http://www.tren.com/search.cfm?p001-1212.

Landau, Christopher. "A theology of disagreement." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2017. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:41a1c20e-64ea-45af-8582-fff22c956b7c.

McGaha, Robert K. "Lessons in Christian essentials an introductory course on Bible doctrine /." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 2002. http://www.tren.com.

Kelm, Paul E. "A theology of ministerial practice." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 2003. http://www.tren.com.

Paul, Vilmer. "Measuring Christian-voodoo syncretism in some Haitian Christian churches in the north of Haiti." Thesis, Nyack College, Alliance Theological Seminary, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10161698.

This study created a method for measuring the presence of Christian-voodoo syncretism in three Protestant denominations in the north of Haiti. Estimates of voodoo practice among Christians have ranged from 50% to 75%, a;though it is unclear how these percentages were derived. The researcher created a Voodoo-Protestant Scale (VPS), which tests for the presence of fourteen Christian-voodoo syncretistic practices and fifteen Christian-voodoo syncretistic beliefs. The VPS was written and administered in Creole, but the study contains an English translation. A scoring system for the VPS is also explained in Chapter Three, in which four points are counted for "strongly agree" and two points are counted for "agree" responses to syncretistic practice questions (PQs), and two points are counted for "strongly agree" responses and one point is counted for "agree" responses to syncretistic belief questions (BQs). Zero points were counted for "neutral," "disagree" or "strongly disagree." The VPS therefore had scores that ranged from zero to 88. The VPS allowed the researcher to make determinations about the extent of syncretism within the population (the percentage of the participants) as well as the depth of syncretism for each participant (the VPS score itself). The VPS was administered to 218 individuals who attended churches in the Church of God, Baptist, and Evangelical denominations in four urban areas (Milot, Plaine du Nord, Cap-Haitian Petite-Anse and Vaudreuil) and in three rural areas (Grand Bassin, La Jeune, and Maliarette). First, with respect to extent, the researcher discovered that 212 of 218 participants evidenced some syncretism of some kind (97%)—only 6 of 218 showed no trace of Christian-voodoo syncretism. Second, with respect to depth, the researcher discovered that 84 of 218 (39%) evidenced low syncretism (VPS scores from 1-14), 94 of 218 (43%) evidenced intermediate-level syncretism (VPS scores from 15–30), 25 of 218 (11%) evidenced high syncretism (VPS scores from 31–48), and 9 of 218 (4%) evidenced super-high levels (VPS scores from 50–88). Thus, these results offer a more nuanced picture of Christian-voodoo syncretism in Haiti. The study concludes with recommendations for church leaders.

Cheney, Craig Stephen. "The authority and power of Satan in the life of the believer." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1989. http://www.tren.com.

Odozor, Paulinus I. "Thoughts On African Christian Theology Of Marriage And Sexuality." Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology, 1994. http://digital.library.duq.edu/u?/bet,475.

Turner, Philip Stanley. "Relating to God : a practical theology of Christian holiness." Thesis, Durham University, 2018. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12882/.

Molyneux, K. Gordon. "African Christian theology : processes of theological reflection in Zaire." Thesis, SOAS, University of London, 1988. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/28454/.

Gatzhammer, Stefan. "Slovenský misionár v portugalskom väzení : Brazílsky misionár P. Jozef Keyling, SJ z Banskej Štiavnice." Universität Potsdam, 1994. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2009/2921/.

Gatzhammer, Stefan. "Vorschläge zur Lösung der «Quaestio Romana» in Bezug auf die päpstliche Souveränität von 1848 bis 1928." Universität Potsdam, 1999. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2009/2922/.

Gatzhammer, Stefan. "Politisch-diplomatische Beziehungen zwischen Portugal und Österreich im 18. Jahrhundert vor dem Hintergrund der Jesuitenfrage." Universität Potsdam, 1994. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2009/2923/.

Gatzhammer, Stefan. "Die Schicksale des Oberpfälzer Missionars P. Martin Schwarz SJ : ein Beitrag zur Kolonialgeschichte im 18. Jahrhundert." Universität Potsdam, 1989. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2009/2924/.

Gatzhammer, Stefan. "Ein Auswanderungsgesuch aus Ingolstadt von 1825/26 : zur zeitgenössischen Bewertung von Auswanderung aus Bayern nach Lateinamerika." Universität Potsdam, 1992. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2009/2925/.

Gatzhammer, Stefan. "Portugal : [Lexikoneintrag]." Universität Potsdam, 1993. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2009/2926/.

Gatzhammer, Stefan. "Antijesuítismo europeu : relações político-diplomáticas e culturais entre a Baviera e Portugal (1750-1780)." Universität Potsdam, 1993. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2009/2927/.

Tan, John S. "Developing your Christian worldview : a handbook for growth in ministry /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1996. http://www.tren.com.

Johnson, Michael Ryan. "Presenting every member complete in Christ a theology of leadership development /." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 2002. http://www.tren.com.

Atchison, Thomas. "The relationship between a Christian world view and a Christian view of work." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1989. http://www.tren.com.

Pham, Hung. "The Beatitudes in moral theology the contribution of Servais-Th[eodore] Pinckaers, O.P. /." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 2004. http://www.tren.com.

Waschevski, Michael A. "Becoming theologians together a way of Christian living /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 2003. http://www.tren.com.

Valdez, Jerome. "Selflessness a motif in the biblical theology of Philippians /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 2007. http://www.tren.com/search.cfm?p001-1160.

Alder, Jeremy T. "The relationship between faith and works a comparison of James 2:24 and Ephesians 2:8-10 /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 2005. http://www.tren.com/search.cfm?p083-0023.

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Philosophy and Christian Theology

Many Christian doctrines raise difficult philosophical questions. For example, Christians have traditionally insisted that they worship a single God, while simultaneously identifying that God with a trinity comprised of three numerically distinct, fully divine persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is not easy to see how three divine persons add up to one God. Similarly, Christians have also asserted that a human man, Jesus of Nazareth, is also God-the-Son, the second person of the divine trinity. It is not easy to see how a human man, who is born, lives, and dies, could also be a fully divine being. Consider also the relationship between divine providence and human freedom. Are human beings free to accept or reject God, or does God alone decide who will accept or reject God? Any answer to this theological question will also assume some specific philosophical account of human freedom and moral responsibility.

Christian thinkers have always drawn on philosophy to help answer these kinds of questions. In the earliest years of Christianity, running roughly from the second to the seventh centuries CE, and often called the “Patristic” period, the emerging Christian Church faced the daunting task of defining doctrinal orthodoxy in the face of internal and external challenges. In pursuing this task, Patristic thinkers typically did not understand themselves as “theologians” in contrast to “philosophers”. Indeed, they may not have endorsed any sharp distinction between philosophy and theology at all. But they still reasoned about their Christian commitments in the intellectual idiom of the ancient Mediterranean world, which was the idiom of Platonic, Aristotelian, and Stoic philosophy.

Over the course of the Patristic period, as the early Church successfully established its own intellectual framework, it formally defined the boundaries of Christian orthodoxy through a series of ecumenical councils. These councils—including the Councils of Nicaea (325 CE), Constantinople (381), and Chalcedon (451)—established the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity and its corollary, the doctrine of the Incarnation (see Kelly 1978).

Yet even after the parameters of orthodoxy were established, Christian thinkers continued to face difficult philosophical questions about the meaning, coherence, and plausibility of settled Christian doctrines. They continued to try to answer those questions using the best philosophy of their day—from Scholastic Aristotelianism in the Medieval period to analytic metaphysics today. For Christian thinkers, the already settled doctrines of Christian orthodoxy provide a normative framework within which this philosophical reflection occurs, by demarcating the logical space that constrains the field of acceptable solutions. For example, it is not open to an orthodox Christian thinker to dispel the logical problem of the Trinity (the problem of how God can be both three and one) by arguing that there is in fact no God, or that God is not triune, or that the Father and the Son are two stages in the temporal life of the one God. These theoretical options are ruled out by virtue of the philosopher’s own orthodox Christian commitments.

As a general, formal matter, this point holds even though different Christian groups disagree about what the constraints of orthodoxy actually are. So Roman Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians will accept different constraints about, say, the nature of the Eucharist, and rival Protestant Christian groups will differ with each other in a similar way. But as a formal matter, Christian thinkers who think philosophically about Christian doctrines typically do so inside the intellectual framework provided by what they regard as authoritative Christian orthodoxy. Obviously, it is not the case that everyone who wants to think philosophically about Christianity must accept the constraints of Christian orthodoxy, even in this more relativistic sense of “orthodoxy”. Some modern and contemporary thinkers still identify as Christians even though they reject the very idea of normative orthodoxy, for example. And, of course, non-Christian thinkers, including non-theists, will reject any notion of Christian orthodoxy in its entirety. Yet they can still think philosophically about Christian doctrines.

Because its twin foci are so broad, an encyclopedia entry on “Philosophy and Christian Theology” could legitimately go in many different directions. This entry has two related aims. First, the entry discusses methodological questions about how philosophy and theology should be related. Accordingly, it surveys some of the most important ways they have been related in the history of the Christian tradition ( Section 1 ), before turning to contemporary debates about the way Anglo-American analytic philosophy of religion interacts with theology ( Section 3 ). Second, in between these two methodological sections, the entry also discusses recent work in analytic philosophical theology ( Section 2 ). Note that the previous version of this entry (Murray and Rea 2008 [2021]) focused on topics in contemporary philosophical theology. That version is archived and available via the Other Internet Resources but see, also, the topic-focused entries linked in the Related Entries for additional coverage.

Philosophical critics of contemporary analytic philosophy of religion (APR) are often struck by just how Christian and theological much of it seems. This criticism expresses the worry that APR as such looks too much like Christian philosophical theology. At the same time, theological critics often fault APR for lacking theological sophistication ( Section 3 ). In order to understand both poles of criticism, it is useful to have a better sense of the relevant historical background ( Section 1 ). But it is also important to appreciate what the best contemporary work in analytic philosophical theology actually looks like ( Section 2 ).

1.1 Integration

1.2.1 cooperation, 1.2.2 disjunction, 1.2.3 conflict, 1.3 from historical models to contemporary philosophical theology, 2.1 trinity, 2.2 incarnation and christology, 2.3 atonement and salvation, 2.4.1 the first sin, 2.4.2 the fall of adam and eve, 2.4.3 original sin, 2.4.4 personal sin, 2.5 other topics, 2.6 the rise of “analytic theology”, 3.1.1 narrowness of scope, 3.1.2 inappropriate methods, 3.1.3 responses to the worry that apr is “too theological”, 3.2 or not theological enough theological critiques of analytic philosophy of religion, other internet resources, related entries, 1. the relationship between philosophy and theology in the christian tradition.

Although modern thought tends to assume a sharp disjunction between philosophy and theology, it is not at all obvious how to distinguish them in a principled way. Suppose that we take philosophy in the broadest sense to be the systematic use of human reason in an effort to understand the most fundamental features of reality, and suppose that we take theology in the broadest sense to be the study of God and all things in relation to God. Then we should expect to see considerable overlap between the two: after all, God, if there is a God, is surely one of the fundamental features of reality, and one to which all the other features presumably relate.

In practice, when we survey the history of Christian thought, we do see considerable overlap between philosophy and theology. With respect to their topics of inquiry, philosophers and theologians alike ask questions about epistemology, axiology, and political theory, as well as about metaphysics and fundamental ontology. Similarly, with respect to their methods of inquiry, philosophers and theologians alike interpret authoritative texts, deploy arguments, and marshal evidence to support their conclusions. Here one might insist that Christian theological claims are grounded by appeals to “faith” or “authority”, whereas philosophical claims are grounded by appeals to “reason”. This contrast is promising when suitably developed, but it is not as sharp as one might initially suppose. Theology also makes appeals to common sense and ordinary human reason, and philosophy also has its versions of faith and authority.

Of the making of typologies there is no end, but it is still worth examining some of the most common ways that Christian thinkers throughout the centuries have understood the relationship between philosophy and theology. Without this historical background, it becomes all-too-easy to draw the relationship in naïve, anachronistic, and overly simplistic ways. In fact, no single interpretation of the relationship between philosophy and theology can claim overwhelming support from the Christian tradition. From outside the Christian tradition, while many non-Christian thinkers see philosophy and theology as quite distinct, others deliberately blur the distinction between them—because they think that theology is actually just misguided philosophy.

At the top-level of the proposed typology, we can distinguish between “Integration” and “Contrast” views. Integration views do not distinguish philosophy and theology at all, whereas Contrast views do. We can disambiguate the “Contrast” category into “Cooperation” views, “Disjunction” views, and “Conflict” views. The most prominent Cooperation views treat philosophy as a valuable, perhaps even necessary, tool for theological inquiry, and still allow some degree of overlap between the two. Disjunction views, by contrast, regard philosophy and theology as non-overlapping forms of inquiry, which feature distinct and ultimately unrelated goals and methods. “Conflict” views treat philosophy and theology as not only distinct but mutually antagonistic. In fact, however, few Christian thinkers have endorsed outright conflict between philosophy and theology. But it is still worth discussing the Conflict view explicitly, because some prominent Christian theologians throughout history—for example, Tertullian, Martin Luther, or Karl Barth—initially seem to advocate Conflict. Upon closer inspection, however, their views are closer to those in the Disjunction category.

These categories are crude. They could each be further divided, and subdivided again. They focus mainly on different Christian attitudes toward the interaction of philosophy and theology, rather than on the attitudes of non-Christian philosophers. Some non-empty categories are omitted altogether. But these categories do capture much of the landscape, and at least show that there are more options available than a naïve conflict between faith and reason.

The Integration model treats philosophy and Christian theology as continuous, integrated activities. On this model, rational inquiry about God does not sharply divide into discrete activities called “philosophy” and “theology”. Instead, there is simply the single, continuous intellectual task of trying to understand God, and all things in relation to God, using all of one’s intellectual resources. This account does not deny the importance of faith or revelation to the Christian intellectual life; rather, it denies that faith and revelation properly belong to a separate activity called “theology” in distinction from another activity called “philosophy”. According to this view, when we engage in rational inquiry of any sort, we should draw on every available source of knowledge that is relevant to that inquiry. So when we engage in rational inquiry about Christian topics, we should draw on scripture, Church tradition, and other such sources of knowledge, whether we call the resulting inquiry “theology”, “philosophy”, or something else. To do anything else would be to hobble our inquiry from the outset, according to the Integration view.

This account of the relationship between philosophy and theology has deep roots in the Christian tradition. Before the rise of the medieval university, it was the dominant view, and it still has contemporary defenders (discussed below). Patristic thinkers did not typically describe their own intellectual work as “theology”. The term “theology” already had a fixed meaning in late antiquity. It meant “poetic speech about the gods”, and was in general associated with pagan story-telling and myth-making: the great “theologians”, were Homer and Hesiod. Even though Christian thinkers like Gregory of Nazianzus sometimes acquired the honorific title “Theologian”, they did so because of the lyrical and poetic quality of their writing, not because they wrote about Christian doctrinal topics (Zachhuber 2020; McGinn 2008).

The general term that early Christian thinkers used to describe their intellectual work was, more often than not, simply “philosophy” or “Christian philosophy”. Christianity was regarded as the “true philosophy” over against the false philosophical schools associated with pagan thought. (See Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 8.1; Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 1.28.3, 1.28.4 1.80.5,6; Augustine of Hippo, Against Julian , 4.14.72.) This usage is consistent with Pierre Hadot’s (1995) claim that in Greco-Roman antiquity philosophy was understood as a comprehensive way of life. Christianity, on this model, is analogous to a philosophical school, in Hadot’s sense (see also Zachhuber 2020).

The Integration account continued to be the default account of the relationship between philosophy and theology into the early Medieval period. Before the rise of scholasticism in the great Western universities, there was no sharp distinction between philosophy and theology. Anselm of Canterbury, for example, certainly has the concept of a line of inquiry that proceeds using reason alone, without appealing to revelation, but he does not label that inquiry “philosophy” in distinction from “theology”. Moreover, in his own writings, he frequently blurs any such distinction, as he seamlessly moves between rational reflection and argument, on the one hand, to prayers, meditations, and exclamations of thanksgiving, on the other (e.g., Proslogion 1–4). Like many premodern Christian thinkers, Anselm also held that intellectual inquiry and personal holiness are linked, so that the more one grows in Christian virtue, the more rationally one is able to think about God (Adams 2004; Sweeney, 2011). This understanding of inquiry and virtue is also a hallmark of the Integration account.

1.2 Contrast

Unlike the Integration model, the Contrast model insists that philosophy and theology are fundamentally different forms of inquiry. Strictly speaking, there can be many different Contrast models, because the relevant sense of “contrast” comes in degrees. I focus on three: Cooperation, Disjunction, and Conflict. On the Cooperation account, philosophy and theology remain close cousins. When rightly pursued, they cannot really conflict, and they can even overlap in their respective topics of inquiry, sources, and methods. Nevertheless, the Cooperation account holds that the overlap between philosophy and theology is only partial, because they each begin from different intellectual starting points and appeal to different sources of evidence (Baker-Hytch 2016; Chignell 2009: 117; Simmons 2019). On another version of the Contrast model, Disjunction, philosophy and theology are even further apart: although they still do not conflict, and may even consider the same topics in an attenuated sense, their starting assumptions and methods of investigation are different enough that they share no significant conclusions. Finally, Conflict accounts assert that the conclusions of Christian theology are positively irrational from the point of view of philosophy. Although some historically important Christian thinkers might seem to endorse Conflict, closer inspection shows that they do not. Nevertheless, in the popular imagination, a persistent assumption holds that Christianity requires a sharp conflict between theology and philosophy—or at least faith and reason—and so it is worth briefly discussing why Conflict has had few traditional defenders.

On the Cooperation account, philosophy and theology are understood to be different, but mutually supporting, intellectual activities. For Christian thinkers who advocate Cooperation, philosophy and theology form a coherent, mutually supportive whole. They are not in conflict with respect to their conclusions, since truth cannot contradict truth, but they differ with respect to their foundational axioms, goals, and sources of evidence. Philosophy is understood as a preamble to theology, while theology completes and fulfills philosophy. Thomas Aquinas is a foundational advocate of the Cooperation account ( Summa Theologiae 1.1.1–8, Summa Contra Gentiles 1.1.1–9, Hankey 2001). Often the relationship between philosophy and theology is described in hierarchical and instrumental terms: theology draws on philosophy as needed, because philosophy is instrumentally useful to theology. According to a traditional metaphor, philosophy is the servant of theology ( ancilla theologiae , literally “handmaid” of theology; see Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae , 1.1.5). In a more contemporary idiom, theology uses conceptual tools provided by philosophy in the pursuit of its own distinctive intellectual task: elucidating the meaning and truth of revealed Christian doctrines.

On the Cooperation account, theology differs from philosophy chiefly because theology assumes the truth of divine revelation, whereas philosophy does not. Philosophy takes its foundational axioms and assumptions from generally available truths of human reason and sensory experience. Philosophy and theology also differ in the way they argue and in the kinds of intellectual appeals that are proper to each. Theologians can appeal to revelation—scripture and authoritative Church tradition—in order to generate new lines of inquiry, and can treat revealed truths as evidence in their investigations. For their part, philosophers must appeal only to premises and evidence that are in principle available to any rational inquirer.

This distinction between “revealed truths” and “truths of reason” implies that at least some revealed truths are not also truths of reason. By hypothesis, such truths would have remained unknown and unknowable had they not been revealed by God. (It therefore follows that without revelation, Christian theology could not exist, on the Cooperation account.) Paradigmatic instances of revealed truths are the doctrine of the Trinity, and the doctrine of the Incarnation. Throughout the centuries, most, though not all, broadly orthodox Christian thinkers have held that human beings could not reason their way to the truth of these doctrines without the aid of divine revelation.

According to Aquinas, theologians use the conceptual tools furnished by philosophy to elucidate the contents of revelation. Just like philosophers, theologians make arguments, and their arguments appeal to common standards of logic and rigor, even though they also draw on theology’s own unique (revealed) axioms and sources of evidence ( Summa Theologiae 1.1.1). Philosophical arguments cannot prove the foundational truths of revelation, according to Aquinas, but at the same time, revelation and reason cannot conflict. (That God exists is a truth of reason, not revelation, for Aquinas—see Summa Theologiae 1.2.2, reply to obj. 1.) Theologians can therefore use common standards of philosophical reasoning to answer any putative objections to their theological claims, by showing that any alleged conflict is only apparent. So, for example, even though it is not possible to establish that God is triune by means of philosophical arguments, it is possible to use philosophical arguments in a defensive mode, to answer objections alleging that the doctrine of the trinity is logically incoherent. When arguing with other Christians, theologians can appeal to revelation to support their claims. When arguing with opponents who do not accept revelation, they cannot ( Summa Theologiae 1.1.8). Yet this restriction is not really a disciplinary maxim designed to oppose philosophy to theology, but a pragmatic admission that one cannot successfully persuade opponents by appealing to premises they deny.

Like Cooperation, the Disjunction view holds that philosophy and theology are different forms of inquiry. Similarly, like Cooperation, the Disjunction view also that agrees that there can be no real conflict between the conclusions of philosophy (when true) and those of theology. But the Disjunction view goes further: Disjunction advocates deny that there is any significant overlap between philosophy and theology at all.

Disjunction does not subordinate philosophy to theology or treat philosophy as an essential tool for theology. Instead, to borrow a term from contemporary science and religion debates, philosophy and theology are “non-overlapping magisteria” (Gould 1997). In particular, Cooperation’s appeal to the distinction between truths of reason and truths of revelation does not suffice to distinguish philosophy from theology, according to Disjunction advocates, who instead appeal to various more fundamental distinctions of method or approach (see discussion below). Of course, even those who explicitly advocate Disjunction will occasionally deploy some methods associated with philosophy: carefully defining terms, making formally valid arguments, uncovering contradictions in opposing views, etc. Yet these methods are found in any form of rational inquiry, and so (presumably) they do not belong to philosophy alone.

Any given thinker’s view of Disjunction will of course depend on their underlying construal of philosophy and theology. Some thinkers—even some Christian thinkers—endorse the Disjunction view because they deny that theology is really a propositional, truth-apt discourse that proceeds by way of arguments and evidence. Instead, theology is something else entirely—poetry, perhaps; or a form of worship, praise, or prayer (Caputo 2015). This view of theology implies a sharp contrast with Aristotelian and scholastic philosophy, modern philosophy, and contemporary Anglo-American Analytic philosophy, though perhaps not with philosophy tout court . Philosophers might associate this view with the “expressivist” or “emotivist” critiques of theology that were common in the heyday of logical positivism. But in fact, versions of the “theology as poetry” view are found throughout the history of Christian thought (Beggiani 2014).

Other versions of the Disjunction view figure even more prominently in the Christian tradition. The foundational Protestant reformers, Martin Luther and John Calvin, both advocate Disjunction, in part because they both reject the synthesis of philosophy and theology that characterized late medieval scholasticism. According to Luther, philosophy and theology proceed from entirely different perspectives, with different starting points and different goals (1539 [1966: 244]; Grosshans 2017). Philosophy considers its objects of inquiry from the perspective of common human reason and sense experience, with the goal of trying to understand things as they actually are in the real world. Theology considers its objects of inquiry from a creational and eschatological perspective, with the goal of trying to understand them in relation to God as their creator and final end. Furthermore, for Luther, “creation” and its cognates are properly theological terms whose meaning derives from scripture and revelation, and which should not be identified with any philosophical notion of a first cause or prime mover; mutatis mutandis , the same point hold for creation’s final end in God (1539 [1966: 245, 248]).

Even when philosophy and theology do consider the same object of inquiry—for example, the human being—this difference in perspective ensures that the lines of inquiry remain completely separate. Luther’s 1536 “Disputation Concerning Man”, for example opens with the thesis that “Philosophy or human wisdom defines man as an animal having reason, sensation, and body” and then goes on to explore this definition. But his exploration only serves to contrast this philosophical view of the human being with the perspective of theology. Theology,

from the fulness of its wisdom, defines man as whole and perfect… made in the beginning after the image of God… subject to the power of the devil, sin and death…freed and given eternal life only through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. (1536 [1966: 137–138])

Luther’s theological account of the human being does not contradict the philosophical account, but it also does not complete or augment that account, because (according to Luther) properly theological claims are simply unintelligible to philosophy (1536 [1966: 137–140]; 1539 [1966: 240–241, 242]). They do not belong to the same universe of discourse.

Calvin shares Luther’s basic understanding of the disjunction between philosophy and theology. Like Luther, Calvin holds that the Fall has corrupted the power of human reason, but has not destroyed it altogether ( Institutes 2.2.12–17). When restricted to its proper sphere—matters pertaining to the natural world—philosophy remains valuable. But as a result of the Fall, “heavenly things” are inaccessible to unaided human reason ( Institutes 2.2.13). By “heavenly things”, Calvin means the saving truths of the Gospel.

So far, Calvin’s understanding might seem quite similar to the Cooperation view, which also denies that revealed truths are accessible to human reason. But Calvin further distinguishes philosophy from theology at the level of method, by denying that true theology engages in abstract, speculative reasoning, which he associates with philosophy, and insisting that any legitimate knowledge of God must be practical and affective ( Institutes 1.12.1, 1.5.10). For example, according to Calvin, it would be impious and dangerous to speculate on all the actions that God could possibly do—God’s absolute power. Instead, we should focus our loving attention on what God has actually done, paradigmatically in the person and work of Christ ( Institutes 3.24.2; Helm 2004: 24–26). Theology presupposes Christian faith, which is an affective response to Christ, and which requires “confidence and assurance of heart” ( Institutes 3.2.33). Yet scholastic philosophy, with its “endless labyrinths” and “obscure definitions”, has “drawn a veil over Christ to hide him” ( Institutes 3.2.2).

For Luther and Calvin, then, there can be no genuinely philosophical theology. Even though both agree that philosophical speculation can arrive at some limited truths about, e.g., a first cause, or about the nature of human beings, those truths are of no theological interest; even as bare propositional claims, they are already better and more fully known in theological inquiry. From the other direction, the properly Christian notions of God as creator and of the human being as imago dei , e.g., resist all philosophical speculation. Of course, Luther and Calvin can only hold these views because of the way they understand philosophy and theology. They both identify philosophy with late medieval scholasticism, and they both understand theology as a kind of existential encounter with God and Christ, as revealed in the scriptures. Different accounts of philosophy and theology would yield different construals of the underlying disjunction, or no disjunction at all.

None of the three views considered so far—Integration, Cooperation, and Disjunction—assume any real, essential conflict between philosophy and theology. All three views allow for apparent conflict, due to errors of reasoning or interpretation, or when either discipline departs from its own proper sphere, but they do not assert that Christian theology or Christian faith is irrational from the point of view of philosophy, nor do they hold that any significant Christian doctrinal claims can be falsified by sound philosophical reasoning. Throughout the history of Christian thought, many prominent Christian philosophers and theologians have criticized philosophy, or fulminated against what they regard as philosophical overreach, but few if any have regarded philosophy and theology as essentially incompatible, in the sense just outlined. Popular understandings of “faith” and “reason” often posit a deep and abiding conflict between the two, and so it is important to emphasize just how rare that position has actually been among major Christian philosophers and theologians. Key figures who are often regarded as Conflict advocates, turn out, upon closer inspection, to hold a different view.

For example, the Patristic theologian Tertullian famously asks “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” but he never actually asserted the irrationalist credo “I believe because it is absurd” ( De praescriptione haereticorum 7; De carne Christi 5.4; see also Harrison 2017). Instead, like all the Patristic fathers, Tertullian regarded human reason as one of God’s greatest gifts; ratio (reason) is one of his most frequently used nouns, and his own writing draws heavily on the stoic philosophy of his day (Osborn 1997).

Turning to a putative modern irrationalist, Søren Kierkegaard presents the incarnation as a paradox that offends human reason in his (pseudonymous) 1844 Philosophical Fragments , but close reading shows that “paradox” and “offence” do not equate to “formal contradiction” (1844 [1985: 53, 101]; Evans 1989). Rather, the incarnation seems paradoxical only to fallen, sinful human reason (1844, [1985: 46–47]). So the “offence” of the incarnation resolves into the claim that the doctrine of the incarnation had to be revealed, because its truth exceeds the limits of fallen reason. But, as discussed above, accepting this claim about the incarnation has been the norm throughout the Christian tradition. Moreover, according to Kierkegaard, even though the truth of the incarnation exceeds the limits of human reason, the claim that reason has limits is itself one that can be assessed by human reason (1846 [1992: 580]; Evans 1989: 355).

Finally, the twentieth century theologian Karl Barth’s famous “No!” to philosophical reasoning about God is also best understood as a rejection of philosophical overreach rather than a rejection of philosophy per se (Brunner & Barth 1946). According to Barth, we cannot establish the truth of theological claims using generally persuasive arguments available to any rational enquirer. But Barth had no quarrel with using philosophy in an Anselmian mode, to elucidate and clarify the implications of divine revelation, and in principle he even allows that there could be a genuinely Christian philosophy (1932 [1975: 6]; Diller 2010).

These prominent Christian thinkers all criticize what they see as philosophical hubris, but they do not set philosophy and theology as such in essential opposition, and they do not agree that any belief-worthy Christian doctrines actually are irrational—still less that they can be falsified by sound philosophical reasoning. In a way, this conclusion should be unsurprising. It is a basic claim of Christian orthodoxy that God is the very summit and source of rationality, and that human reason is one of God’s greatest gifts (Turner 2004; A. N. Williams 2007; Crisp et al. 2012). Christian thinkers have differed about the degree to which sin and the Fall have caused human reason to malfunction, but the suggestion that theological truths conflict with properly functioning human reason is alien to the orthodox Christian tradition, and so it is unsurprising that few major Christian thinkers have endorsed it. Far more common is the claim that some theological truths are inaccessible to philosophy because they somehow surpass human reason. On this line, when there is an apparent conflict between a philosophical conclusion and some Christian truth, the conflict is treated as a sign that philosophy has overstepped its own proper boundaries, not a sign that Christian truth actually conflicts with human reason. By and large, even the sharpest Christian critics of philosophy have held this view.

This historical survey has focused on prominent models of the relationship between philosophy and theology in the history of Christian thought. The survey also illuminates some contemporary philosophical and theological debates about how to understand this relationship.

Notwithstanding its Patristic origins, the Integrationist view has been especially prominent in recent philosophy of religion. For example, Alvin Plantinga’s (1984) programmatic essay “Advice to Christian Philosophers” intentionally blurs the distinction between philosophy and theology. Plantinga argues that Christian philosophers qua philosophers are entitled to base their arguments on revealed truths, and urges them to investigate distinctively Christian questions that may be of no interest to the wider philosophical community. More recent defenders of “analytic theology” have also taken an integrationist line. According to Nicholas Wolterstorff, the demise of Enlightenment-style foundationalism has thoroughly blurred the distinction between philosophy and theology:

What difference does [this distinction] make, now that analytic philosophers no longer believe that for some piece of discourse to be a specimen of philosophy, the writer must base all his arguments on public philosophical reason? Call it what you will. (Wolterstorff 2009: 168; see also Stump 2013: 48–49; Timpe 2015: 13)

Yet this prominent Integrationist line has been strongly criticized by other philosophers of religion, who implicitly endorse some version of the Contrast view, on which philosophy cannot legitimately appeal to theological sources of evidence like revelation and Church authority (Simmons 2019; Schellenberg 2018; Oppy 2018; Draper 2019: 2–4). At the same time, according to many Christian theologians, analytic philosophy as such is almost uniquely unsuitable for investigating properly theological questions (Milbank 2009; Hart 2013: 123–134). On the view of these critics, analytic philosophical theology does not revive the Patristic integration of philosophy and theology at all; rather, it remains a distinctly anti-theological form of modern philosophy.

Contemporary philosophers and theologians continue to debate the proper relationship between philosophy and theology. Before considering these debates in further detail (in Section 3 ), however, it is useful to briefly survey recent work in analytic philosophical theology. The fact that the Integrationist view has been so prominent among contemporary analytic philosophers of religion has helped shape a philosophical climate in which self-identified philosophers, working in departments of philosophy, find it completely natural to investigate explicitly Christian theological questions, from within the framework of normative Christian orthodoxy, in the course of their academic work.

2. Recent Work in Analytic Philosophical Theology

Recent work in analytic philosophical theology has engaged with nearly every major Christian doctrine. But work has focused on the most central doctrines: Trinity, Incarnation and Christology, Salvation and Atonement, and Sin and Original Sin. This section lays out the most significant philosophical problems associated with each doctrine and identifies some of the foundational philosophical responses from contemporary thinkers.

Analytic philosophical theology on the Trinity has focused primarily on the “logical” problem of the Trinity, the problem of how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—construed as three really existing, really distinct divine entities—can also be exactly one God (Cartwright 1987). The Church’s first two ecumenical councils defined the orthodox terminology now used to state the doctrine, but the councils did not attempt a philosophical solution to the logical problem. In the traditional terminology, the Father, Son, and Spirit are three distinct divine persons ( personae in Latin; hypostases in Greek) who share a single divine nature ( substantia in Latin; ousia in Greek; see Tanner 1990: 5, 24, 28). The logical problem then becomes the problem of how three divine persons (whatever we mean by “persons”) can instantiate a single divine nature (whatever we mean by “nature”) while remaining numerically distinct.

Responses to the logical problem can be grouped into several families, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. “Social” trinitarians defend an account of the Trinity on which the Father, Son, and Spirit are three distinct centers of consciousness, with three distinct centers of knowledge, will, and action, who nevertheless count as a single God. Social trinitarians attempt to secure the divine unity by arguing that a single divine nature can support three separate consciousnesses. They may also claim that the three persons necessarily love each other so perfectly and act in such harmony that they are properly regarded as a single God. Prominent social trinitarians include Richard Swinburne (1994), William Lane Craig (2006), Keith Yandell (2009), and William Hasker (2013).

By contrast, “Latin” trinitarians deny that the Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct centers of consciousness. On Latin trinitarianism, even though the Father, Son, and Spirit are numerically distinct persons , they are not numerically distinct divine agents . When they act, they do not merely act in perfect harmony (as on social trinitarianism). Rather they are (somehow) a single actor, with a single will, carrying out a single action. The special challenge for Latin trinitarianism is to explain how it can be the case that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so construed, really do exist as concrete, distinct entities, and are not just different names for the same entity, or different phases in the life of a not-essentially triune God. Brian Leftow offers the most well-developed Latin model, which appeals to an extended analogy to a time-travelling chorus-line dancer (2004).

Unsurprisingly, the sharpest critics of Latin trinitarianism are those who advocate a social trinity, and vice-versa: each side insists that the theoretical costs of the opposing view are too great. So Latin trinitarians charge that social trinitarians do not escape tri-theism (Leftow 1999; see also Merricks 2006); social trinitarians argue that their Latin counterparts cannot explain how the Father and Son could have a genuine, “I–you”, personal relationship, as the Biblical account seems to suggest (e.g., Matt 3:17, Mark 14:36; Hasker 2013: 114–118; McCall 2010: 87–88).

Philosophical responses to the logical problem of the Trinity do not divide exhaustively into social models and Latin models. “Relative identity” theorists argue that identity is kind-relative, so the Father can be the same God as the Son without being the same person as the son (van Inwagen 1995). “Constitution” theorists make a similar claim by drawing on the metaphysics of constitution. According to constitution theorists, a lump of bronze can constitute a statue without being identical to it, since we can destroy the statue (by melting it down) without destroying the bronze. So too, they argue, the divine nature can constitute the three divine persons without being identical to them, or without entailing that they are identical to each other (Brower & Rea 2005). The metaphysics of constitution requires a coherent notion of “numerical sameness without identity”. The sharpest criticism of relative identity accounts of the Trinity takes aim at the underlying notion that identity is kind-relative in the relevant sense. Similarly, the sharpest criticism of constitution views expresses doubts about the cogency and usefulness of the metaphysics of constitution (Merricks 2006).

Scott Williams defends a hybrid “Latin social” model of the Trinity on which the Father, Son, and Spirit are each constituted by the single divine nature, without being numerically identical to the divine nature or to any other person (2013, 2017). Unlike other Latin models, on Williams’s account each of the persons is a distinct agent; unlike other social models, they share numerically one set of powers, including one will (2017). Even so, according to Williams, the persons can each token the indexical “I” with different senses. Critics argue that Williams’s model falters at precisely this point (Hasker 2018b; see also S. Williams 2020).

For an extended discussion, see the entry, Trinity .

By the close of the fourth century, the early Church had agreed that God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, is no less divine than God the Father. But this Trinitarian settlement led directly to another, equally vexing question: how could Jesus of Nazareth, a human man, also be identical to God the Son? After another period of intense debate, the Church defined the doctrine of the Incarnation, which asserts that Christ is one person (or one hypostasis ) who exists in two natures, one fully human, the other fully divine (Tanner 1990: 83; Kelly 1978: 338–343). Yet, as with the doctrine of the Trinity, on its own, this conciliar terminology does not attempt to solve the underlying philosophical problem.

In contemporary philosophy, this problem has been called the “fundamental philosophical problem of Christology”. As Richard Cross puts it:

how is it that one and the same thing could be both divine (and thus, on the face of it, necessary, and necessarily omniscient, omnipotent, eternal, immutable, impassible, and impeccable) and human (and thus, on the face of it, have the complements of all these properties)? (Cross 2009: 453)

In other words, the fundamental philosophical problem of Christology is the problem that arises when a single subject bears incompatible properties. Christ seems to be both necessarily omniscient, as the divine Son, the second person of the Trinity, and yet also limited in knowledge, as the human man, Jesus of Nazareth—and so on for other divine and human attributes. Yet Christ is one person, not two: he just is the divine Son and he just is Jesus of Nazareth. On standard interpretations of logical consistency, nothing can have logically incompatible properties at the same time and in the same respect—hence the problem.

A venerable attempted solution to the problem of incompatible properties makes use of grammatical modifiers to index Christological predications to their respective natures: Christ is limited in knowledge qua his human nature, and omniscient qua his divine nature, where “qua” means “with respect to” or “in virtue of”. More simply: Christ qua human is limited in knowledge; Christ qua divine is omniscient. The thought of Thomas Aquinas furnishes a foundational source for this solution ( Summa Theologiae 3.16.1–12; for broader discussion of patristic and medieval uses, see Cross 2002: 192–205). Thomas Senor forcefully argues that this grammatical solution does not work, for it cannot block the relevant entailment: since the one Christ really is human and really is divine, it follows that the one Christ is also limited in knowledge ( qua human) and omniscient ( qua divine), and so the contradiction remains (Senor 2002; see also Morris 1986).

Kenotic Christologies hold that at the point of incarnation, in order to become a human being, God the Son relinquished the divine attributes (Forrest 2000; Evans 2002, 2006). In a way, the kenotic option neatly solves the problem of incompatible properties, since Christ is not omnipotent and omniscient (etc.) at the same time as he is limited in power and knowledge. Kenotic Christologies have a venerable pedigree, as well as some clear Biblical warrant (Philippians 2; for discussion see Evans 2006; McGuckin 1994 [2004: 189]. But if omnipotence and omniscience are essential divine attributes, then it is not possible for God the Son to relinquish them during the incarnation and regain them after the incarnation while remaining self-identical.

Compositional Christologies try to solve the problem of incompatible properties by appealing to the various “parts” that together compose the whole Christ. According to Thomas V. Morris, Christ is composed of the divine mind of God the Son, a human mind, and a human body. On his telling, Christ counts as fully divine, because he has a divine mind, which is the seat of his omnipotence and omniscience; he also counts as fully human because he has a human mind and a human body (Morris 1986). Morris seeks to dispel the contradiction between divine and human attributes by revising our understanding of Christ’s human attributes. Morris denies that human beings as such are essentially limited in power and knowledge (etc.). This move clears the way for attributing omnipotence and omniscience (etc.) even to the human, incarnate Christ, while also denying that the human, incarnate Christ is limited in power and knowledge. Richard Swinburne (1994) defends a similar Christology, but according to Swinburne, Christ is composed only of God the Son and a human body, which together constitute both a human way of thinking and acting and also a divine way of thinking and acting.

Other compositional Christologies appeal to supposed mereological facts about the incarnation to ground a more sophisticated version of the “qua move” (discussed above). If God the Son has human parts and divine parts, then perhaps the whole mereological composite can borrow properties from its constituent parts without violating the law of non-contradiction. Analogously, we might say that an apple is both colored and not colored, since it is red (colored) with respect to its skin, but white (not colored) with respect to its flesh. There is a sense in which the apple as a whole is both colored and not colored because it borrows properties from its parts. Perhaps something similar can be said about Christ, understood as a mereological composite of God the Son, a human body, and a human soul. Leading advocates of this sort of view include Brian Leftow (1992, 2011) and Eleonore Stump (2002).

Timothy Pawl (2014, 2016) seeks to dispel the fundamental problem by revising the truth conditions of Christological predications like “Christ is omniscient” and “Christ is limited in knowledge”. According to Pawl, it is incorrect that “being omniscient” and “being limited in knowledge” are logically contradictory properties at all. In fact, according to Pawl, once we correctly understand their truth conditions, we can see that they can both be true of the same subject after all. On Pawl’s account, “Christ is omniscient” is true just in case Christ has a nature that is omniscient and “Christ is limited in knowledge” is true just in case Christ has a nature that is limited in knowledge. Because Christ, and only Christ (so far as we know) has two natures, only Christ can be both omniscient and limited in knowledge. At first glance, Pawl’s proposed solution might seem to be the “qua move” once again, in different dress. But it is importantly different: Pawl is content to affirm the very entailments (e.g., “Christ is omniscient and limited in knowledge”) that the qua move seeks to block; he simply denies that this entailment is logically contradictory.

Jc Beall goes a step further and argues that some predicates really are both true and false of Christ, because Christ really is a contradictory being (2019, 2021). Beall defends a contradictory Christology because he accepts a non-standard model of logic, one on which some predicates can be neither true nor false of a subject, and other predicates can be both true and false of a subject. According to Beall, logic as such—that is, his favored account of logic—is neutral about whether any given substantive theory contains true contradictions. To determine whether it does, we must examine the theory’s axiomatic statements. When we examine the axioms of orthodox Christology, according to Beall, we find that they include authoritative conciliar statements that are most naturally read as contradictory—e.g., “Christ is passible and impassible” (2019: 415). Rather than revise or reinterpret such statements so that they are not contradictory, we should accept that they are.

Arguably, the deepest and most fundamental Christian affirmation is that Christ saves. In traditional terminology, another way to express the same affirmation is that Christ “atones” for the sins of human beings. Unlike the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation, however, the early Church never formally defined a single orthodox account of exactly how Christ saves or what it is about his life, death, and resurrection that accomplishes that saving work. As a result, a variety of theories or models of atonement have proliferated throughout the centuries. Contemporary work in analytic philosophical theology typically builds on these models, reformulates them in contemporary language, and seeks to defend them from criticism.

Satisfaction models argue that as a result of their sinfulness, human beings have a debt or obligation to God that they cannot possibly repay. By becoming incarnate, living a sinless life, and voluntarily dying for the sake of humanity, Christ successfully discharges the debts and obligations that human beings owe to God. Anselm’s “Why God Became Human” ( Cur deus homo ) is the locus classicus for the satisfaction theory, which has more recently been defended by Swinburne (1988). Closely related to satisfaction models, penal substitution models claim that human beings deserve punishment from God as a result of their sinfulness. Christ saves by freely agreeing to be punished in their place. Mark Murphy (2009) proposes a similar model of “vicarious punishment”, on which Christ’s suffering actually counts as the required punishment for guilty human beings, since knowing that a loved one suffers in one’s place is itself a form of punishment.

Satisfaction and penal substitution theorists must explain why a perfectly merciful God would require satisfaction or punishment from human beings at all, and why a perfectly just God would allow an innocent person to play the required role (Porter 2004). Accordingly, satisfaction and penal substitution views have been heavily criticized by modern and contemporary theologians for depicting God as a petty, wrathful tyrant. Adolph von Harnack’s nineteenth-century criticism of Anselm remains representative. According to Harnack, Anselm’s account depends on a

mythological conception of God as the mighty private man, who is incensed at the injury done to His honor and does not forego His wrath till He has received an at least adequately great equivalent. (1899: 77)

More recently, feminist theologians and philosophers have criticized satisfaction and penal substitution views for valorizing suffering (Brown and Parker 1989).

Eleonore Stump (2018) argues that typical satisfaction and penal substitution accounts cannot address the sinner’s persistent dispositions toward wrongdoing and concomitant feelings of shame. She dubs her positive proposal the “Marian” interpretation of atonement, and argues that it can explain how sinners are freed from shame and restored to fellowship with God. The proposal defies easy summary but it advances an account of atonement as union with God that is further explained using second-personal, psychological notions like “mind-reading” and empathy (2018: 138–139). Christ on the cross mind-reads—that is, psychically experiences—the mental states of every human sinner. Sinful human beings are thereby united to Christ, and so to God. When the indwelling Holy Spirit leads sinners to respond to Christ with love, they also will what God wills. The resulting state of union with God also heals the stain on the soul that is the sinner’s shame.

Several other models, also prominent in the Patristic and medieval tradition, have so far received little attention from analytic philosophers of religion. These include “ransom” theories on which human beings are freed from Satan’s grasp, and especially “theosis” or “divinization” accounts of atonement and salvation, on which Christ’s saving work consists in perfecting human beings so that they become as divine as a creature can be. (Jacobs 2009 and Mosser 2021 are important exceptions). Similarly, few contemporary philosophers defend the modern “moral exemplar” model, on which Christ saves by being a perfect moral example for other human beings to imitate. (Quinn 1993 offers a highly qualified defense, but holds that Christ is more than just a moral exemplar).

2.4 Sin, Original Sin, and the Fall

The doctrine of sin and the doctrine of atonement are correlative in the same way that a disease and its remedy are correlative. If sin is that from which Christ saves us, then the strength of the remedy (atonement) must vary according the severity of the disease (sin). As a first approximation, a sinful act can be thought of as a morally bad act for which the sinner is responsible. But the language of “sin” adds something to the language of moral wrongdoing: a sin is a failure or fault with respect to God. Like other Christian doctrines, the doctrine of sin poses tricky philosophical problems. To see those problems more clearly, it is useful to disambiguate the doctrine of sin into several distinct components: the first sin, the Fall, original sin, and personal sin.

For extended discussion, see the entry sin in Christian thought .

The problem of the first sin is the problem of how the very first sinful act is even possible, given various Christian axioms about the goodness and creative power of God, and various philosophical assumptions about the nature of freedom and moral responsibility. The problem of the first sin is sometimes treated as a question about the fall of Satan. It turns out to be surprisingly difficult to explain how Satan—by hypothesis, an angel created by God with a rational intellect, an upright will, and wholly good desires and dispositions—could ever make the sinful choice to reject God. Augustine ( City of God , Book 12), Anselm (“On the Fall of the Devil” De casu diaboli ), and Duns Scotus ( Ordinatio 2, dist. 6, q. 2 ) all wrestle with this problem. Contemporary philosophers who try to improve on their efforts include Barnwell (2009, 2017), MacDonald (1999), Rogers (2008), and Timpe (2012). Their responses all seek to explain how Satan’s choice is metaphysically possible, by appealing to their own favored accounts of human freedom and conscious attention. Wood (2016) further distinguishes between the “hard problem” of how Satan’s sinful choice is metaphysically possible, and the “harder problem” of how it can be subjectively rational—rational from the point of view of Satan himself.

The biblical story of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3) recounts the story of the first human sin and its consequences. The traditional story of the fall of Adam and Eve does not seem consistent with either an evolutionary account of human origins or what we know about human history more generally. On some understandings, questions about the historicity of the Fall are not properly philosophical questions at all. Yet it does seem like a properly philosophical task to articulate a doctrine of the fall that is both internally consistent and consistent with other things we know to be true. Moreover, the doctrine of the Fall is conceptually connected to other aspects of the doctrine of sin as well as to the doctrine of salvation.

Peter van Inwagen presents an account of the Fall that maintains many of its most important elements and, he claims, is consistent with evolutionary theory. Importantly, van Inwagen does not assert that this account is true, but only “true for all we know” (2004). In a similar vein, Hud Hudson (2014) offers an ingenious defense of a literal reading of the Genesis account that appeals to contemporary “growing block” theories of time. Despite initial impressions, neither van Inwagen nor Hudson are really concerned with defending quasi-literal readings of Genesis. Instead, they want to show that objections to those readings presuppose highly contestable philosophical—rather than empirical or scientific—assumptions.

In Christian theology, “original sin” in the strictest sense refers to the human condition after the Fall and not to the first human sin itself. The fall is the cause of the condition of original sin: because of Adam and Eve’s sin, subsequent human beings somehow “inherit” a disposition toward sin and an attraction toward evil that makes it inevitable that they will sin. On some stronger interpretations, all subsequent human beings are also justly regarded as guilty by God from birth, even before they have sinned themselves. Even apart from worries about the historicity of the fall, the philosophical challenges posed by this doctrine are obvious. How can people living now be morally responsible for the sins of the first human beings? What is the mechanism by which sin and guilt are “inherited” from past generations? If it is inevitable that all human beings will sin, can God justly punish them?

Some Christian philosophers have simply rejected the stronger versions of the doctrine of original sin as incoherent. Swinburne, for instance, denies that all human beings are born guilty as a result of the sin of their first parents and argues that the condition of original sin only makes it very likely, rather than inevitable, that they will sin themselves (1989: 141–43). Other philosophers have attempted to show that even a strong doctrine of original sin can be philosophically coherent, given the right metaphysical framework. Michael Rea, for instance, draws on fission theory and the metaphysics of temporal parts to suggest a way that contemporary humans might bear responsibility for the sin of Adam by virtue of being counterparts or stages of Adam himself (2007). He also argues that a Molinist-inspired doctrine of “transworld depravity” might accomplish much of what Christians want from the traditional doctrine of original sin (2007). John Mullen (2007) also constructs a Molinist account of original sin and inherited guilt. On Molinism, God knows all the true counterfactuals of creaturely freedom, which means that God knows every free choice that every human being would make in every possible situation. According to Mullen, if it were true that every free creature would sin in an ideal, garden of Eden situation, then God could justly punish them in the actual world for what they would have done in that counterfactual world.

“Personal sin” refers to individual sinful acts. Because the philosophical problems associated with personal sin initially seem very similar to the problems associated with moral wrongdoing, there has been comparatively little philosophical work on personal sin. Still, important definitional questions remain about exactly how, if at all, sin should be distinguished from moral wrongdoing, whether there are sinful actions that are not immoral actions, and, conversely, whether there are immoral actions that are not sinful (Mitchell 1984; Dalferth 1984; Adams 1991; Couenhoven 2009).

There are philosophical questions raised by nearly all Christian doctrines and practices, and so there are many fertile areas of inquiry that still remain comparatively underexplored. This brief survey has focused on the most widely treated areas of analytic philosophical theology. But some of the most creative work has branched out into other domains including the Eucharist (Arcadi 2018; Pickup 2015); liturgy, ritual, and worship (Cuneo 2016); bodily resurrection and personal identity (van Inwagen 1978; Merricks 1999; Zimmerman 1999; Rudder Baker 2001); heaven (Walls 2002; Ribeiro 2011), hell (Walls 1992; Adams 1993; Kvanvig 1993; Sider 2002; Buckareff & Plug 2005) and purgatory (Walls 2011; Dumsday 2014).

In 2009 Oliver Crisp and Michael Rea published their edited volume Analytic Theology: New Essays in the Philosophy of Theology . The volume’s contributors collectively try to make the case that analytic philosophy offers a valuable and neglected resource for Christian theologians. A new research program developed in its wake, and the ensuing years have seen the rise of a self-identified school of “analytic theologians”, who use the tools and methods of analytic philosophy to address Christian theological topics.

At present, it is not clear whether there is any meaningful difference between Christian “analytic theology” and Christian “philosophical theology”, which has been treated as a kind of philosophy. As the discussion above indicates, analytic philosophical theology has been produced largely by Christian philosophers working in philosophy departments, rather than by theologians in departments of theology or divinity schools. Classic works of philosophical theology like Swinburne (1994) and Adams (2000) seem like analytic theology avant la lettre , for example, and much recent work called “analytic theology” seems quite similar to previous work called “philosophical theology” or even “philosophy of religion” (e.g., Mullins 2016). Yet some self-described analytic theologians have also insisted that Christian analytic theology is really a form of theology (Torrance [Alan] 2013; Torrance [Andrew] 2019; Crisp, Arcadi, & Wessling 2019). They emphasize that Christian analytic theology is an internal project of faith seeking understanding that, as theology, holds itself accountable to scripture and Church tradition. Yet whether Christian analytic theology is properly regarded as a kind of philosophy or a kind of theology depends on how we draw the underlying distinction between philosophy and theology—if indeed we draw such a distinction at all.

3. Philosophy of Religion, Philosophical Theology, Christian Theology: Is There A Difference and Does it Matter?

It might seem odd that analytic philosophy of religion (APR) includes explicitly Christian philosophical theology of the sort discussed in Section 2 . Yet most philosophers of religion working in the analytic tradition are Christian theists (Bourget & Chalmers 2014; De Cruz 2017). They avowedly want to explore their faith using analytic philosophical tools, and see no problem in calling their work Christian philosophy, philosophical theology , or more recently, “analytic theology”. Of course, philosophy of religion as such is broader than APR, and APR is broader than Christian APR. There are philosophers of religion whose work is analytic but not Christian (e.g., Lebens 2020; Mizrahi 2020; Steinhart 2020; Oppy 2018; Schellenberg 2018; Draper 2019), Christian but not analytic (e.g., Westphal 2001; Pattison 2011), and neither analytic nor Christian (e.g., Hammerschlag 2016; Burley 2016). Even so, the predominance of Christian philosophical theology—or “Plantinga-style Christian philosophy” (Schellenberg 2018)—within APR has recently reopened some contentious debates about the proper relationship between philosophy and Christian theology.

These debates can be grouped around two different—and opposing—lines of criticism. According to the first line, much APR is too Christian and too theological: not really philosophy at all, but a thinly-disguised form of Christian theology—perhaps even a form of apologetics (Levine 2000; Knepper 2013: 9; Draper 2019: 2). Conversely, according to the second line, advanced by prominent theologians, APR is neither fully Christian nor fully theological. On this line of criticism, APR does not really wrestle with the transcendent God of Christian faith, but tends to construct and examine its own false “God of the philosophers” (Milbank 2009; Hart 2013; Oliver 2010; see also Harris & Insole 2005, 17). Although mutually opposing, both lines of criticism raise an important methodological question: how—if at all—should we distinguish philosophy about Christian topics from Christian theology? Section 1 (above) surveyed important responses to this question in the history of Christian thought. This section addresses the question in the context of contemporary challenges to analytic philosophy of religion.

3.1 Analytic Philosophy of Religion: Too Theological?

The charge that APR is “too theological” can be disambiguated into two distinct worries. The first worry concerns the scope of APR when considered as a whole: APR is too narrow, because it focuses excessively on Christian theological topics, to the exclusion of other equally important matters. The second worry concerns the sources and methods of Christian APR specifically: the sources and methods of Christian APR belong more properly to theology than to philosophy.

The charge that APR as a discipline is “too Christian” or “too theological” could be understood as a worry about its scope: perhaps APR focuses too much on Christian theological topics, or at least on versions of monotheism that are compatible with Christianity, and is therefore too narrow in scope. Critics who advance the narrowness worry include Trakakis 2008, Wildman 2010, Knepper 2013, Schilbrack 2014, Lewis 2015, Jones 2019, Draper 2019, Timpe & Hereth 2019, Mizrahi 2020. Although the narrowness worry has wide currency, it is not always clear how to understand it as a properly philosophical criticism. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the narrowness worry is more often aimed at the field of APR as a whole, rather than at individual instances of APR. After all, the general claim that APR is “too Christian” does not entail that any specific argument of any specific philosopher is unsound. Similarly, even if it is true that APR as a whole should be “less Christian”, it is hard to see why that fact would require any individual philosopher to change her research and teaching focus (Schilbrack 2014: 12).

Still, some versions of the narrowness worry are more philosophical than others. According to more philosophical versions, Christian APR frequently fails as philosophy: as a result of their Christian-theological biases, analytic philosophers of religion inadvertently make bad arguments. On this line, Christian analytic philosophers are especially likely to engage in motivated reasoning and ignore counter-arguments or alternative points of view drawn from other religious traditions. Because APR is so narrow, Christian philosophers unwittingly work in an echo-chamber or an epistemic bubble (Schilbrack 2014: 14; Draper 2019: 5; De Cruz 2020). As a result, according to critics, the conclusions of their putatively philosophical arguments are often unwarranted for anyone outside the Christian community, even when they purport to be generally probative.

Less philosophical versions of the narrowness worry assert the general principle that APR should be more capacious, and should include more non-Christian voices, without explicitly challenging the soundness of specific analytic arguments (Knepper 2013; Carroll 2016; Mizrahi 2020). Here the worry is simply that APR does not—but should—reflect the diversity of religious and non-religious viewpoints that actually obtain in the world. Phrased differently, APR as a field wrongly excludes too much good philosophical work that just happens not to fit into the dominant Christian, monotheistic paradigm. Yet one can hold this view without also agreeing that existing APR fails on its own terms or that any specific philosophers should alter their practices.

The charge that APR is too theological could also be understood as a question about philosophical methodology. On this version of the charge, Christian APR does not begin from generally accessible assumptions and argue toward generally acceptable conclusions, as good philosophy should. Instead, it typically begins from Christian assumptions and argues toward Christian conclusions, like theology.

J.L. Schellenberg, for example, argues that philosophy must seek solutions to philosophical problems that are in principle “shareable” by any member of the philosophical community. Because much Christian APR assumes the truth of Christianity, its solutions cannot satisfy this condition, and should properly count as theology rather than philosophy (Schellenberg 2018). J. Aaron Simmons agrees: even though theology “can and should” appeal to evidence restricted to “determinate communities defined by revelational authorities”, philosophy should appeal to “evidence that is, in principle, accessible by all members of the philosophical community” (2019: 147). According to Simmons, the dominant strand of APR has ignored this criterion, and threatens to “become simply a subset of Christian theological practice” (2019: 149; see also Oppy 2018; Draper 2019: 2).

Analytic philosophers of religion have a variety of ways to respond to the charge that APR is too theological. First, with respect to the narrowness charge, they can accuse critics of mistaking the part for the whole, by denying that the charge applies to APR as such, and by pointing to those analytic philosophers of religion who neither assume nor defend the truth of Christianity. Yet this response is undercut by the fact that non-Christian practitioners of APR often make the narrowness themselves (Schellenberg 2018; Oppy 2018; Draper 2019). Second, its defenders also emphasize that much Christian APR does not actually assume the truth of Christianity at all, but instead argues for that truth. (Hasker 2018a: 90; citing Swinburne is a paradigmatic example). This kind of philosophy would clear even Schellenberg’s “shareable in principle” bar. Similarly, even those philosophical projects that eschew Swinburne-style natural theology might still clear the “sharable in principle” bar so long as they engage only in defensive maneuvers—for example, by answering philosophical objections to the plausibility of Christian claims (e.g., van Inwagen 1995; Pawl 2014).

Others argue that even explicit appeals to Christian revelation could in principle still count as philosophical appeals, albeit indirectly. Suppose we agree that theology can appeal to revelation, while philosophy trades only in “generally accessible” arguments. We still must distinguish between direct, first-order appeals to revelation, and indirect, second-order arguments that it is sometimes permissible to appeal to revelation (Wood 2021: 213–215). The second-order arguments could still be generally accessible philosophical arguments, even though the first-order appeals are not. For example, a first-order “theological” appeal might be: “The New Testament asserts p ; therefore p ”. But a philosopher might offer a general epistemological argument, accessible to anyone in the philosophical community, to defend the rationality of that same first-order appeal. (For example, she might offer a general argument that it is rational to form beliefs based on testimony, and the same general argument might establish that it is rational to treat the New Testament as testimonial evidence.) In a similar vein, Plantinga’s claim that belief in God may be “properly basic” is not itself presented as a Christian assumption or a revealed truth, but as a specific application of his general philosophical theory of warrant, which he has defended at length (1983, 1993a, 1993b).

Finally, because there is no single uncontested way to understand the boundaries between philosophy and theology, it is open to Christian philosophers of religion simply to deny the sharp distinction presupposed by critics like Schellenberg and Simmons (see, for example, Plantinga 1984, Wolterstorff 2009). In so doing, they would implicitly endorse a more Patristic “Integration” model instead of either the Medieval “Cooperation” model or the modern “Disjunction” model (see Section 2 above).

While one set of critics accuse APR of becoming too theological, another set takes the opposite line. According to several prominent theologians and philosophers, something about the analytic style of philosophizing makes APR particularly unsuitable for investigating Christian doctrines. On this line of criticism, far from becoming a species of Christian theology, APR is constitutively opposed to Christian theology, and the problem with analytic philosophical theology is not that it is too theological but that it is too analytic. This criticism takes several forms.

Sometimes, theological objections to APR simply reiterate Barthian objections to natural theology, presumably on the assumption that most APR is really a form of natural theology (Moore 2007). Other critics charge analytic philosophers of religion with historical anachronism and ignorance of the Christian tradition. Perhaps “a-historical” analytic philosophers of religion do not understand pre-modern ways of thinking and reading (so runs the charge), and so they wrongly believe that their own constructive work is congruent with the historic Christian tradition, when it in fact depends modern assumptions that are inimical to the Christian tradition (Hart 2013: 123, 129; Milbank 2009: 320). Other critics press the related worry that APR ignores the real Christian tradition altogether in favor of theorizing its own abstract, self-constructed version of the Christian god. Here APR

does not deal with the God of any tradition or encounter, but with a conceptual construct, a simulacrum or ‘the God of the philosophers’…. (Oliver 2010: 467–468; see also Hyman 2010)

Another multi-faceted line of theological criticism criticizes APR for “idolatry”, “univocity”, and “ontotheology”. This line reflects the general worry that APR does not take divine mystery or transcendence seriously enough. “Ontotheology” is a theological term of opprobrium that, in its current usage, derives from Heidegger (1957; see also Marion 1982 [1995]). It means, roughly, treating God like “a being” or “a thing in the world”. According to its theological critics, APR constitutively assumes that God is a possible object of human knowledge, even apart from revelation, and therefore treats God as fundamentally similar to any other object “out there” passively waiting to be discovered. Yet a God like this (so runs the worry) is not really God at all, but something else—an idol.

The worry about ontotheology and idolatry is also a worry about univocity—the view that our terms bear the same meaning when applied to God and creatures (Trakakis 2010). According to opponents of theological univocity, precisely because God is not “a being” or a “thing in the world”, God and creatures differ absolutely; they share no properties and so cannot be described by univocal predications. (So, e.g., the word “good” cannot have the same meaning in the statements “God is good”, and “Socrates is good”.) Worries about theological predication and univocity date back to the Patristic period, but in contemporary philosophy of religion, they are best understood as continuations of the late medieval disputes between followers of Duns Scotus, who defends univocal predication, and his Thomist opponents (T. Williams 2005; Burrell 2008; Cross 2008). As a generalization, most contemporary analytic philosophers of religion endorse a univocal account of theological language, whereas contemporary Christian theologians are more likely to deny univocity in favor of analogical or metaphorical predication, or even non-predicative forms of theological language (Pickstock 2005; Marion 1999).

Notwithstanding the sharp rhetoric, there has been very little direct engagement between analytic philosophers of religion and their theological opponents on these questions. T. Williams (2005), Cross (2008) defend univocal predication, and Adams (2014) tries to rehabilitate ontotheology. Other analytic thinkers offer their own positive accounts of divine transcendence (Crisp and Rea [eds.] 2009: 9–11; Rea 2015, 2020; Jacobs 2015). More generally, analytic philosophers and theologians have a variety of strategies for avoiding the deleterious consequences of univocity and ontotheology (Wood 2021: 130–74).

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Murray, Michael and Michael Rea, “Philosophy and Christian Theology”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = < https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2021/entries/christiantheology-philosophy/ >. [This was the previous entry on this topic in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — see the version history .]

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The thesis / project must be directly related to the major of study, involve the integration of theory and praxis, demonstrate creativity and make a concrete contribution. It can take the form of an academic dissertation, a training manual, a study guide, or a ministry project. (8 credits)

Master of Theology (2 years, 30 credit hours)

This program provides advanced training for those desiring greater mastery of the Bible and theology in preparation for ministry in teaching or further study at the doctoral level. Courses cover biblical studies, theological studies, and teaching and preaching skills. Students can choose one of the three concentrations: Old Testament, New Testament, and Systematic Theology.

Why ThM at CWTS?

To prepare yourself for ministry in Chinese theological education
To enrich your ministry of teaching, preaching, and/or writing
To deepen your theological training through studying advanced topics in theology and biblical studies
To prepare for Ph.D. studies

Master of Divinity (3 years, 90 credit hours)

The objective of this program is to provide fundamental and comprehensive training for those preparing for full-time Christian ministry. Courses cover Biblical studies, Biblical languages, theological studies, and practical and ministerial skills. Students are required to participate in the spiritual exercises provided by the seminary, and to fulfill a 2-year field education requirement before graduation.

Master of Biblical Studies (2 years, 60 credit hours)

The objective of this program is to provide fundamental training for those preparing for a ministry in teaching or further study. Courses cover Biblical studies, theological studies, and teaching skills. Students are required to write a thesis, and to fulfill a guided research or teaching practicum.

Master of Christian Ministry (2 years, 60 credit hours)

The objective of this program is to provide fundamental training for those preparing for full-time or part-time ministry. It is not as comprehensive as the M.Div. program, but focuses on practical and Biblical courses. Students are required to participate in the spiritual exercises provided by the seminary, and to fulfill a one-year field education requirement before graduation.

Master of Theological Essentials（3 years，36 credit hours）

The purpose of the Master of Theological Essentials (MTE) is to provide students with a solid foundation for Christian faith and thought, regardless of their vocational or ministerial calling. Students focus on learning biblical books and develop essential theological skills in order to apply them in their life and ministry contexts, within and beyond the church.

Master of Christian Ministry Online（3 years，60 credit hours）

The online Master of Christian Ministry program is designed for distance students, and its courses and degrees are the same as the MCM onsite program. The difference is that the online program is divided into three semesters: Fall, Spring and Summer. The MCM online does not have a concentration but students may choose any Practical Electives (4 credits).

Diploma of Christian Studies (1 year, 30 credit hours)

The objective of this program is to provide fundamental training for those who are preparing for the Christian ministry, but who cannot take a full-time degree program. Diploma students taking courses full-time may finish in one year. All credits are transferable to any one of the degree programs of the seminary.

Diploma in Church Leadership (1.5 year, 30 credit hours)

The objective of this program is to provide training to lay Christian leaders to equip them to serve in churches as elders, deacons and leaders of small groups/ fellowships by providing them with fundamental knowledge of the Bible and theology, as well as the theory and practice of various forms of ministry. The credits of this course can be transferred to all master degree programs.

Certificate of Children Ministry

Based on the biblical principles and the current knowledge about the children ( 0-12 years old) development to train the coworkers for the children ministry at the churches, or just to help the parents and grandparents to understand better how to grow with their children and grandchildren.

Certificate of Family Ministry; Certificate of Family Ministry Teacher

To train the coworkers for the family ministry at the churches based on the current knowledge about the family issues such as parenting, culture difference between OBC (Oversea Born Chinese) and ABC( American Born Chinese), how to grow with teenager, work and faith, marriage and family, single family, mentor, how to support the ill family members, Christian counseling.

Certificate of Evangelism Ministry; Certificate of Evangelism Ministry Teacher

Base on the special knowledge and skill about evangelism to prepare the the brothers and sisters for evangelism ministry, especially for short-term and mid-term missions.

Certificate in Servant Leadership; Certificate of Sunday School Teacher; Certificate of Small Group Leader

Provide adequate training to potential church small group leaders, Sunday school teachers, and church fellowship leaders/deacons/elders.

The indulgence being marketed by Tetzel distressed Luther because he saw it as misinforming lay people (i.e., non-clerics) about crucial aspects of God's plan for redeeming fallen humanity - about, in other words, the whole purpose of history, and about the nature (specifically, the Will) of God. To be misinformed in essentials about the nature of God means that what one ends up obeying is a false image of God. This constitutes a "mortal sin" (see the note to Thesis 2), and leads (if not corrected) to damnation. Specifically, Albert's indulgence (as represented by Tetzel) encroached on the sacrament of penance.

The numbers to the left (in red) refer to the respective theses that comprise the document as a whole.

In the note to Thesis 6, you will find some suggestions about how to think of the organizational strategy Luther follows in listing his first 52 theses.

[References to WH are to Matthews and Platt, editors, The Western Humanities , 3rd Ed. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1993. These need updating, since this text is now in at least its 5th edition.]

Two categories of sin are recognized. Mortal sins involve turning away from the eternal good, or God. (The breach of Faith committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden constituted mortal sin. So did what Cain did to Abel.) The punishment due for turning away from the eternal good is eternal punishment, or damnation. Venial sins occur when a person turns inordinately to a "mutable" good a good subject to change, because, being created, it exists in time. (Such goods are thus also called "temporal" or "earthly" goods.) Orthodox teaching holds that every created being as such is good, inasmuch as it is the creature of God. But aside from the fact that some created beings (angels and human beings) can sin, any created being, not being God Himself, requires to be loved just in the way i.e., in the degree and circumstances that God ordains. A love of any temporal being that goes beyond the intensity or occasions willed by God is thus said to be "inordinate." Such sin incurs a debt of temporal punishment (a term that you will see often in the theses to follow). The priest (via his ordination by a bishop appointed in turn by the pope) is a designated representative of the pope. (We meet here the general concept of vicars and vicarage , which will become a focus of even more fundamental dispute when Luther a few years later comes to attack the even more fundamental notion that the pope is Christ's own designated vicar.) Hence when a priest administering the sacrament of penance imposes satisfaction on the penitent, he is acting on behalf of the pope. This explains why Luther speaks interchangeably of "penalties...imposed by [the pope's] own authority" (Thesis 5), or of "those imposed by himself" (Thesis 20), or of "penalties of sacramental satisfaction, which are of human appointment" (Thesis 34).

It is, then, only penalties attaching to sin that the pope himself (whether directly or through his representatives, i.e., priests) can remit. Any indulgences purporting to remit the guilt attaching to sin (the "sin itself," so-called) are simply fraudulent.

Conclusion: these penalties of sin -- the remorse suffered by souls in purgatory on their way to heaven -- are outside the power of the pope to remit. Any indulgences purporting to remit the suffering of souls in purgatory (penalties for sin being experienced by them, namely, their remorse for having committed them) are likewise fraudulent.

What remains are those penalties imposed by the pope or the canon law, in the context of the sacrament of penance, as administered by priests. [This is the language of Theses 5 and 20. Thesis 34 uses the formula "appointed by man" (since the pope and the priests are not God) to describe "sacramental satisfaction" -- i.e., penalties of the sort the priest declares the penitant to owe).] Coming at this category from still another point of view, authorities described them as "temporal punishment." (See the note to Thesis 2.) Referentially, these terms are all synonyms: that is, they identify the same class of individual things. Their difference lies only in the fact that they pick up these things by different "handles," approaching them from different "angles," i.e., via different relationships they have with other things.

Theses 7-8 focus on Tetzel's claim that the indulgence he was selling was issued by the pope and had the power to remit guilt for sins.

Luther circles back to this theme later on, in Theses 75-76.

Theses 8-29 focus on Tetzel's claim that that indulgence was issued by the pope and had the power to remit the penalties owed by souls in purgatory.

Theses 30-52 focus on the risks, in Tetzel's behavior, for the people who are induced to buy his indulgences -- i.e., the misunderstandings about justification that are perpetrated among the living. (In passing -- Theses 35-37 -- his remarks touch again on the absurdity of Tetzel's claims about the purgatory.) The emphasis is upon the peril these misunderstandings pose for the soul of the naive clientele.

In Theses 30-40, the chief emphasis here is the necessity, for sinners, of a proper understanding of the requirement for genuine contrition , and the way in which indiscriminate peddling of indulgences implicitly preaches the contrary.
In Theses 41-46, the emphasis shifts the risks that lie in presenting purchase of pardons as instances of good works, when, in their effect on the soul, or what they signify about the condition of the soul, is far inferior to what is accomplished by works of charity.
Thesis 52 sums up this line of attack.
[??Thesis 47: does it fit in this organizational scheme? Or does it belong with Theses 48-51??]

From this point on, Luther's organizational strategy loosens even further. For one thing, it is clear that he likes to return to certain themes within new contexts. Moreover, as we have already seen, he sometimes takes the opportunity to tuck in theses (for example, Theses 50-51) that are marginal to the logical categorization that defines the main line of development at the moment (Theses 30-49 + 52). Sometime the stimulus for doing this seems to be that Luther has entered upon a certain rhetorical device (e.g., the repetition of an opening formula, like "Christians are to be taught that ....") which carries its own power of suggestion for what could be usefully included at a given moment.

After Thesis 52 , there does not seem to be a definite overall pattern of organization at work, although there are clearly stretches within which Luther is focusing on a particular theme (e.g., what are the true Treasures of the Church? [ Theses 56-68 ]) or a rhetorical turn (e.g., Theses 81-91 , where the move is to point out how the pardons being sold by Tetzel bring the pope into disrepute with the laity by stimulating them to sarcastic impieties that nevertheless seem plausible on the false assumption that the pope supports the sale of such pardons).

How does Luther stand with respect to the bull Salvator Noster (1476)?

Note that Luther's tactic in the Ninety-five Theses is to assume that the Pope is unaware of the doctrinal errors being preached in his name by a "mad" servant, who is betraying his master. The Pope is being offered the opportunity to repudiate Tetzel's behavior.

Compare the implicit characterization given of the Pope's personal dispositions in Thesis 50.
How does this re-definition of the concept of "saint" square with the particular theory of the Treasury of Merit set forth in Pope Clement VI's bull Unigenitus (1343)?
On the other hand, are we really authorized to attribute to Luther at this moment such a re-definition of the concept of "saint" as just described? Consider Thesis 58.
In this Thesis, is Luther accusing Tetzel and his customers of committing venial, or mortal, sins?
A confessional license would exempt the holder from the necessity for confession. Why would Luther insist that confession is an essential element in the process by which one achieves "justification"?
What do you understand to be Luther's ultimate position on the value and effect of works in the salvational scheme? Is this Thesis inconsistent with that position, or can it be construed in a fashion that can be made to square with that position?
What is the purpose of these ceremonies? (What is prayed for in them?)

In what sense is it a confidence game to accept money for performing such services?

(Is the issue of simony also at stake here, i.e., separately and distinctly?)
The force of your answer will come home to you to the degree that you explicitly recall for yourself what the effects of Original Sin are, according to the theology we constructed in the spirit of Augustine upon the Genesis account of the Fall of Mankind.

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Sample Online Student Theses
About. Below are downloads (PDF format) of the M.A. (Religion) theses of some of our graduates to date. Note: Certain requirements for current thesis students have changed since earlier theses were completed. Thesis Topic. Student. Year. Trinitarian Scriptures: The Uniqueness of the Bible's Divine Origin. Gregory Cline.
Theology Dissertations and Theses
Theses/Dissertations from 2023. The Universality of God in Amo's Oracles and Creation: A Historical-Critical Approach within a Catholic Context, Alexandra Bochte. Trinitarian Theology as a Resource for the Theology of Education, Anne Bullock.
Master of Theology Theses
The Rupture That Remains: A Trauma-Informed Pastoral Theology, Eric Worringer. Theses/Dissertations from 2017 PDF. The Challenge of Being in the Minority: Palestinian Christian Theology in Light of Christian Zionism Post-1948, Medhat S. Yoakiem. Theses/Dissertations from 2016 PDF
Open Access Dissertations and Theses
The Open Access Dissertations and Theses Collection consists of electronic versions of dissertations and theses produced by students of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The Boyce Digital Library search box searches the full text of these dissertations. The dissertations within this collection are available to all researchers, however ...
School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses
(Graduate Paper) Catholic Social Teaching and the Christian Responsibility to the Poor, Rose Aspholm. PDF (Master's Thesis) Not Quite Calvinist: Cyril Lucaris a Reconsideration of His Life and Beliefs, Stephanie Falkowski. PDF (Graduate Paper) Life or Death and Other False Dichotomies: A Theology of Hospice, Kayla Stock. Submissions from 2017 PDF
PDF Christian Theologies of Suffering across the Centuries: An Examination
This dissertation explores theologies of suffering through engagement with five theologians from across fifteen centuries of the Christian tradition: Gregory the Great, Julian of Norwich, Jeremy Taylor, C.S. Lewis and Ivone Gebara. It uses a typological method to examine the types of responses that are advocated by each theologian, and the
PDF Christian George PhD thesis
This thesis centers on the doctrine of Christ in the theology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon through the lens of Spurgeon's highly developed metaphor, that of Jesus Christ, the "Prince of pilgrims." That no scholarly work has thus analyzed or surveyed Spurgeon's ontological, functional, and exegetical Christologies warrants continued
Doctor of Theology Dissertation
Theses/Dissertations from 1992. The Arminian Libertarian Doctrines of Freedom and Responsibility Evaluated According to Biblical-Reformed Doctrine of Sin, Carlos Heber de Campos. Theology of the Pain of God: An Analysis and Evaluation of Kazoh Kitamori's (1916- ) Work in Japanese Protestantism, Akio Hashimoto.
Master's Theses
Reason in Theology: a Comparison of Fernando Canale and Wolfhart Pannenberg, Sven Fockner. Master's Theses from 1993 PDF. Quantum Reality: Some Implications for Christian Theology, Charles Chinyoung Choo. Master's Theses from 1990 PDF. Inerrancy and Sovereignty: a Case Study on Carl F. H. Henry, Joseph Karanja. Master's Theses from 1989 PDF
"Unveiling God in Counseling: The Compatibility of Christian Theology a
The aim of this thesis is to analyze the compatibility of Christian theology and a modern therapeutic process informed by secularism. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate that the conceptualization of an active God in the therapeutic process is essential for counselors and clients who adhere to the Christian faith. This conceptualization is either missing or altered by therapeutic ...
Doctoral Dissertations
The Scatological Scriptures: A Biblical Theology of Dung, Zachary C. Hill. PDF. A Phenomenological Study of Pastors Who Were Mentored and the Perceived Value of the Mentor Relationship, Reginald L. Horner. PDF. Generational Poverty and Education: Breaking the Cycle of Ignorance, Leland Jackson.
Theology Theses and Dissertations
Political Theology Versus Public Theology: Reclaiming the Heart of Christian Mission, Martin R. Levesque. PDF. Between Mercersburg and Oxford: The Ecclesiology of John Williamson Nevin, Kevin H. Steeper. PDF. The Christian as Witness in View of the True Witness, Emily Patricia Wilton. Theses/Dissertations from 2013 PDF
PhD Dissertations
For more details, including abstracts and PDFs, please see our institutional repository, Digital Georgetown. Mohamed Lamallam, Society, Religion and Political Power: The Theory of ulfa jāmi'a (Social Harmony) in the Socio-Political Works of al-Māwardī (d.450/1058). Advisor: Paul Heck. Arunjana Das, A Hindu-Christian Approach Towards Peace-Making: How do Theological Discourse and Agency ...
A Theology of Dissertation (and Thesis) Writing: Some Preliminary
Typing this phrase into Google will return loads of web sites about how to write a theology dissertation, people or web sites offering to write your theology dissertation for you, and even some actual theology dissertations. ... Near-Death Experiences and the Emerging Implications for Christian Theology March 3, 2024; Eros and Belonging: ...
Christian Theology
Christian Theology; Christian Theology. Affiliated Graduate Students. Michael A. Hammett. PhD Student. Research Interest. ... Reformation Christianity. Popular Religion. Folklore. Dissertation / Thesis Title. A Creative Tension: Humans, Animality, and Transformation in Christian Europe, 1400-1700. Department of Religion 80 Claremont Avenue ...
PDF AN INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY
convictions of Christian faith to the challenges of today's world. In the ﬁrst part, this book introduces the project of Christian theology and sketches the critical context that confronts Christian thought and practice today. In the second part, it oﬀers a survey of the key doctrinal themes ofChristian theology -including revelation,
Master of Theology
Choosing a specialization to match your specific career goals, you may dive into topics such as Biblical theology and history of religion to pastoral care and traditions of Christian worship. In addition to your coursework, you have the option of completing a thesis with the approval and support of an advisor.
Dissertations / Theses: 'Christian theology'
The objective of this dissertation involves the application of the philosophy of Karl Popper to Christian systematic theology. Its intent is three-fold: first, to give reasons for considering the possibility of such an application in the face of potential objections; second, throughout its discussion, to demonstrate the form that a theological appropriation of Popper might take; and, third, to ...
Philosophy and Christian Theology
Theology presupposes Christian faith, which is an affective response to Christ, and which requires "confidence and assurance of heart" ( Institutes 3.2.33). Yet scholastic philosophy, with its "endless labyrinths" and "obscure definitions", has "drawn a veil over Christ to hide him" ( Institutes 3.2.2).
Christian Witness Theological Seminary
The thesis / project must be directly related to the major of study, involve the integration of theory and praxis, demonstrate creativity and make a concrete contribution. ... Teaching: Pastoral Theology, Introduction to Christian Religious Education, Family Ministry, Discipleship. D.Min., Christian Witness Theological Seminary. Th.M., Logos ...
Breaking the Loaf
Argument 1. The first Christian congregation which met [323] in Jerusalem, and which was constituted by the twelve Apostles, did as statedly attend upon the breaking of the loaf in their public meetings, as they did upon any other part of the Christian worship. So Luke records, Acts ii. 42.
English 233: Study Guide to Luther's "95 Theses"
English 233: Introduction to Western Humanities - Reformation to Enlightenment Study Guide for the. "Disposition of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences". more commonly known as. "The Ninety-five Theses". (1517) The indulgence being marketed by Tetzel distressed Luther because he saw it as misinforming lay people (i.e ...
Western Seminary
At Western Seminary - Global, you have the option of training wherever Jesus has already sent you. Our 100% online degrees provide flexible scheduling and real-time interaction with faculty and students. You may also complete several courses by participating in Threshold, offered each semester at our Portland campus.