The Son of God and Trinitarian Identity Statements

Classical Trinitarians claim that Jesus—the Son of God—is truly God and that there is only one God and the Father is God, the Spirit is God, and the Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct. However, if the identity statement that ‘the Son is God’ is understood in the sense of numerical identity, logical incoherence seems immanent. Yet, if the identity statement is understood according to an ‘is’ of predication then it lacks accuracy and permits polytheism. Therefore, we argue that there is another sense of ‘is’ needed in trinitarian discourse that will allow the Christian to avoid logical incoherence while still fully affirming all that is meant to be affirmed in the confession ‘Jesus is God.’ We suggest a sense of ‘is’ that meets this need

Toward the Development of an Instrument for Measuring a Christian Creationist Worldview

The research reported in this article addresses the fundamental issue of measurement of the construct worldview. Specifically the issue of how to measure a person\u27s worldview as related to the creation/evolution controversy is considered. Data were collected via a LIKERT-scale instrument constructed for the specific purpose of measuring a Young Earth Christian Creationist Worldview. The analysis of data revealed some weaknesses in the design and individual questions. Reliability and validity of the instrument was explored. The preliminary investigation reveals that the construct under consideration most likely can be measured successfully

Toward a theology of pareo dei: exploring a contextual theology of missio dei for the missiological reconciliation of the Korean Protestant church

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1484/thumbnail.jp

THE ROLE OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH IN THE 21ST CENTURY GLOBAL MISSION: A CASE STUDY OF THE EECMY GLOBAL MISSION VENTURE AND ECONOMIC MINDSET

Jesus Christ inaugurated and commissioned his church to be a missionary until the end of the world. Thus, the church is missionary by her very nature. The modern mission paradigm was from the West to the rest. But, in this 21st century, the mission has shifted from the global North to the global South; this massive shift has anchored the global South as the heartland of Christianity and the force of mission. This mission shift also demands the paradigm shift of both global north and south. Although the African church has played a pivotal role in the church history, and the largest Christian continent is still a mission field for most missionary-sending churches and organizations. Its missionary endeavors and role is limited only to the continent of Africa. The thesis attempted to understand the factors which have limited the African church’s mission role within the continent and impede its role for the 21st-century global mission and expected paradigm shift

Proceedings of the Twentieth Conference of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences

The proceedings of the twentieth conference of the Associate of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences held at Redeemer University College from May 27-30, 2015

Relational Pastoral Care and Counseling: A Practical Theological Exploration of Relational Spirituality and Grief

What is the relationship between relational spirituality and grief? This dissertation pursues this question by employing a practical theological method for practitioners of pastoral care and counseling when tending to unique grief experiences. Grief is understood in terms of contemporary bereavement science. Relational spirituality is developed as an interdisciplinary, interpretive lens with the capacity to describe how individuals relate to the sacred in light of four dimensions: human-human, human-God, God-human, and inner Trinitarian. The outworking of these dimensions suggests a relational approach to interdisciplinary dialogue. Applying relational spirituality to individuals’ unique grief experiences produces a process of care for tending to grief experiences. This exemplifies how relational spirituality is an explicitly relational, interdisciplinary paradigm that creates transformational dialogue applicable to a breadth of human needs. Chapter One tends to the complexity of integrating contemporary bereavement science with pastoral care and counseling by describing how this dissertation is guided by Richard Osmer’s four tasks of practical theology: descriptive-empirical, interpretive, normative, and pragmatic. Also, the Chalcedonian Pattern of Logic is extended in order to propose a relational approach to interdisciplinary dialogue. Chapter Two represents the interpretive task, as it is based on psychological literature that describes the history and trends in grief research, highlighting resilience as the hallmark of contemporary bereavements science. Chapters Three and Four engage in the normative task by developing relational spirituality in each of its four dimensions. Concepts used to develop these include attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB), analogia spiritus, imago Dei, Trinitarian relationality, and the immanent-economic distinction. Each of these concepts highlights normative relational patterns that lead to thriving in human life, particularly in light of specific virtues. Normativity is also suggested in terms of what it is not, namely suffering. The descriptive-empirical task occurs in Chapters Five and Six, which includes an in-depth, qualitative exploration of individuals’ unique grief experiences. Chapter Seven concludes the dissertation with a thorough explanation of research findings and development of pragmatic guidelines, as described in the process of care. It is hoped that relational spirituality not only serves practitioners with a descriptive paradigm to creatively elicit dialogue and co-create life-giving narratives with others and God

Triune God and the hermeneutics of community: church, gender and mission in Stanley J. Grenz with reference to Paul Ricoeur

The aim of this dissertation is to undertake a study of the trinitarian ecclesiology of the North American evangelical theologian Stanley J. Grenz (d.2005), along with his imago Dei theology, revisioned social trinitarianism, narrative theology, incorporation of theosis, and theology of triune participation. This dissertation also utilizes the hermeneutical philosophy of Paul Ricoeur, in conjunction with Grenz’s trinitarian ecclesiology, to propose a missional and hermeneutical ecclesiology. Chapter one begins with an overview of Grenz’s theology and a discussion of the current state of Grenz scholarship. It then introduces Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of the self and theory of narrative identity. The chapter concludes with an overview of chapters two, three, and four. Chapter two traces the manner in which Grenz’s social trinitarianism and imago Dei theology yield a social imago. The first section overviews Grenz’s The Social God and the Relational Self, the social imago, the ecclesial self, his notion of ecclesial eschatological prolepsis, and his theology of triune participation. The second section responds to key criticisms of social trinitarianism, discusses Grenz and Ricoeur on the relational self, and outlines the manner in which Grenz’s theology of theosis and triune participation “in Christ” and through the Spirit yields an ecclesially oriented communal theo-anthropology. The final section takes up Grenz’s social imago and triune participation in relation to female/male mutuality in ecclesial participation and community. Chapter three discusses Grenz’s narrative theology and the development of a narrative imago. The first section overviews Grenz’s The Named God and the Question of Being and his development of the narrative of the divine name as the saga of the triune God, his further use of theosis, and the narrative imago arising within storied participation “in Christ” through the Spirit. The second section examines the continuity of Named God with Social God and argues that Grenz presents a revisioned social trinitarianism. The second section also considers Grenz and Ricoeur on the narrative self and proposes that Grenz’s ecclesial theo-anthropology now becomes a cruciform Christo-anthropology. The third section takes up the narrative imago and female/male mutuality and cruciformity as it arises from the ecclesial relation of storied and communal theotic triune participation. Chapter four treats the development of a Grenzian ecclesial imago and proposes a missional and hermeneutical ecclesiology. The first section presents Grenz’s ecclesiology as it is oriented towards mission and the connection of theosis, triune participation, and ecclesia. This section then proposes a missional grammar for the church as God’s ecclesial hermeneutics of community. The second section discusses potential charges of ecclesiological foundationalism, considers Grenz and Ricoeur on the summoned self, and extends Grenz’s theo-anthropology and Christo-anthropology into a missio-anthropology. The third section considers the mutuality and cruciformity of ecclesial “male and female” relation “in Christ” and through the Spirit, manifest in ecclesial friendship and hospitality, as the coming-to-representation and hermeneutics of community of the triune God. The conclusion offers a summary and possible avenues for further investigation

Examining Communibiology During Adrenal Stress Scenario Training in Feminist Self-Defense: An Experimental Study

In communication episodes featuring heightened stress, interactions that are perceived as threatening and evoke a sense of powerlessness often predict a cycle of victimization. Meanwhile, social interactions which affirm safety and agency amidst stress foster empowerment. This study utilized Hoplology, which studies stress inoculation against aggression and posttraumatic stress, and Communibiology, the study of neurobiology as an antecedent and outcome of communication, to explore (a) whether Adrenal Stress Scenario Training in Feminist Self-Defense (ASST-FSD) produces a physiological response to promote stress inoculation, (b) how anxiety impacts physiological response, and (c) reports of mental toughness. A 4-day ASST-FSD training pilot study was conducted to collect saliva samples to measure stress response via the hormone cortisol and pre-post self-report surveys to measure cognitive markers of stress-coping (mental toughness). Findings suggest ASST-FSD may require more extensive training features to promote a physiological behavior change, and future research with a larger sample could benefit from exploring stress adaptations and recovery, particularly with marginalized populations likely to experience interpersonal violence

Eco-Theology, Climate Justice and Food Security

"Resources and Theological Perspectives on Eco-Theology, Climate Justice and Food Security – Priorities on ETCF in theological education and Christian leadership development" Paper delivered at the international consultation on "Resources and Best Practice Models for Ecotheology, Climate Justice and Food Security", held at the Academy of Volos, Demetriades Diocese of Church of Greece, 10-13 March, 201