Boyce Digital Repository (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Not a member yet
7153 research outputs found
Sort by
Divine and Human Agency by Means of the Covenant: The Anti-Pelagian Theology of John Owen
Get PDFChapter 1 presented the thesis and purpose of this research. Throughout his life, John Owen vindicated an anti-Pelagian soteriology through divine and human agencies in the covenant. Owen was anti-Pelagian despite his emphasis on human agency in the covenant because of the divine agency of the Spirit. Owen was anti-Pelagian not despite but because of divine sovereignty.
Chapter 2 examined the anti-Pelagian soteriology of Owen in his life and ministry. Examining the life and ministry of Owen was necessary to understand how he developed his anti-Pelagian soteriology. Owen considered theology as a comprehensive means to exercise faith. Other areas were important as well, but they served a greater purpose. For Owen, theology had political implications, but theology was more than political.
Chapter 3 examined the anti-Pelagian soteriology of Owen in his covenant theology. He regarded covenant theology as a theological basis for anti-Pelagianism. Examining the covenant theology of Owen was necessary to understand how he operated in the Reformed tradition. While Owen pursued an anti-Pelagian reformation, his teachings were grounded in tradition. Reformed theologians utilized covenant theology as an interpretive tool to harmonize divine sovereignty and human responsibility.
Chapter 4 examined the anti-Pelagian soteriology of Owen in his polemics against Arminianism. Examining the views of Arminius was necessary to understand Owen’s positional anti-Arminian stance regarding predestination. Though Arminius was anti-Catholic, Reformed theologians considered Arminius a threat. For Owen, Arminianism was ultimately Pelagianism. In his response, Owen regarded predestination as a theological basis for anti-Pelagianism against Arminians.
Chapter 5 examined the anti-Pelagian soteriology of Owen in his polemics against Socinianism. Examining the development of Socinianism was necessary to understand why Owen defended the Trinity against Socinian teachings. For Owen, vindicating the Trinity was his basis for anti-Pelagian polemics against Socinians. Owen argued that the Trinity was the foundation of covenant theology in their tradition.
Chapter 6 examined the anti-Pelagian soteriology of Owen in his affirmative teachings of human agency. Examining his teaching on human agency was essential in understanding how the Spirit worked in the covenant. As an anti-Pelagian, Owen argued that believers exercised an anti-Pelagian human agency through covenantal pneumatology
Biblical Counseling in Homeschool Cooperatives: Bringing Scriptural Help to Homeschool Educators and Students
Get PDFChristian homeschool cooperatives provide a rich environment for biblical counseling. These cooperatives are rooted in biblical truth and therefore have a ready foundation for addressing problems faced by teachers, parents, and students. Homeschool cooperatives provide a context for Christian families to counsel one another. They also have the needed content, that is the Bible, including the gospel message. Born-again Christians in a homeschool cooperative are competent to counsel one another, and they enjoy the benefit of Christian community.Chapter 1 presents literature that (1) introduces biblical counseling, (2) Christian education, and (3) homeschool education. The literature shows there is a close relationship between the foundational principles of biblical counseling and homeschool education. However, there is little or no intentional writing on how to do biblical counseling in a homeschool cooperative.
Chapter 2 uses four Scripture passages to demonstrate that Christians are helped by God and equipped by him to help each other with life’s common problems. Exegesis of the passages demonstrates that (1) the Lordship of Christ should impact the way Christians live, (2) Scripture provides the necessary and authoritative instruction for dealing with life’s problems, (3) the Holy Spirit empowers believers to help each other, and (4) the heart is central in life transformation.
Chapter 3 demonstrates that a homeschool cooperative is an effective context for biblical counseling. The chapter points to (1) the reality that all education is religious in nature, (2) that Christian homeschool cooperatives are founded on biblical principles, (3) that these cooperatives can provide support for local church ministry, and (4) minister to the whole family.
Chapter 4 explores ways biblical counseling can be applied in the homeschool cooperative context. The chapter points to (1) the importance of going to the Bible, the right source for counseling content, (2) competence for counseling in a homeschool cooperative with suggestions for programs of informal and formal counseling, and (3) the resulting transformed community within the homeschool cooperative.
Chapter 5 demonstrates the implications biblical counseling in a homeschool cooperative has for the church. The chapter shows (1) the opportunities homeschool cooperatives provide for local churches, (2) the opportunities local churches provide for homeschool cooperatives, (3) suggestions for taking advantage of these opportunities, and (4) examples of biblical counseling in partnership between a church and a homeschool cooperative
Revelational Foundationalism: A Constructive Synthesis of the Epistemologies of Cornelius Van Til and Alvin Plantinga
Get PDFCornelius Van Til and Alvin Plantinga are titans in the arena of Christian philosophy. They both come from Dutch Reformed Calvinist traditions and studied under William Jellema at Calvin College. Yet, their approaches to philosophy are distinct, stemming from their different academic and social contexts. Sadly, they never seriously interacted with one another. Currently, a lacuna of scholarship exists integrating both philosophers together. I propose that a constructive synthesis of certain select philosophical and theological ideas of Plantinga and Van Til, as they are taken together and allowed to critically interact, provides a more robust Christian epistemology than either of them can deliver on their own.While some take Van Til to be an internalist, others still see some externalist criteria in his epistemology. Plantinga is explicitly an externalist. Plantinga’s externalism emphasizes how a person acquires knowledge while Van Til’s approach provides the grounds for all rationality, including the very possibility of externalism.
Van Til has a deep biblical understanding of the noetic effects of sin. He explains these effects in such a way as to limit the ability of fallen man to understand anything truly, distinguishing knowledge in terms of epistemological and metaphysical. Plantinga affirms the reality of the noetic effects of sin. However, he accounts for the noetic effects as mostly limited to the subject matter of the knowledge of God.
Van Til allows no epistemological common ground between unbeliever and believer while Plantinga believes there is vast agreement between the two depending on the subject matter. Van Til argues that the unbeliever relies on borrowed capital from the Christian worldview in order to reason intelligibly while Plantinga ties epistemic progress to properly functioning cognitive faculties.
Van Til’s approach to apologetics centers on transcendental arguments and the necessary preconditions for rationality. Plantinga’s approach shows the self-defeating nature of evolutionary naturalism.
Given Van Til’s distinction between metaphysically and epistemologically knowing, his understanding of how presuppositions function within one’s worldview, and Plantinga’s understanding of the necessary conditions for knowledge, general revelation is the foundation for metaphysical warranted true belief, and special revelation is the foundation for epistemological warranted true belief
Equipping the Leaders of Skrefsrud Lutheran Church of Beresford, South Dakota, to Lead Prayer Meetings Based on the Lord's Prayer and the Psalms
Get PDFThe purpose of this project was to strengthen the spiritual life of Skrefsrud Lutheran Church (SLC) in Beresford, South Dakota, by equipping its leaders to lead prayer meetings based upon the Lord’s Prayer and the Psalms. Chapter 1 presents the ministry context of SLC and the goals for this project. Chapter 2 gives a biblical foundation for the importance of corporate prayer. This is achieved through an exposition of Luke 11:1-13, 1 Timothy 2:1-8, and James 5:13-18. Chapter 3 surveys the practice of corporate prayer in the early church and during the Reformation. Chapter 3 also surveys various contemporary methods for conducting prayer meetings. Chapter 4 describes the project’s implementation and gives a summary of the curriculum created for this project. Chapter 5 concludes with an evaluation of this project along with guidance for those who wish to utilize this research to lead prayer meetings in their own ministry contexts
Utilizing a Reformed Sanctification Framework to Assess and Evaluate C. Peter Wagner’s Doctrine of Sanctification
Get PDFEd. D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2022Through the utilization of John David Trentham’s Inverse Consistency Protocol (ICP) as a methodological paradigm to define, reflect on, evaluate, and assess Wagner’s philosophy of discipleship, this thesis demonstrates that C. Peter Wagner’s philosophy of discipleship is incongruent with an articulated Reformed doctrine of sanctification and paradigm of discipleship and sanctification. This work (1) introduces and employs an articulated paradigm of discipleship, Virtuous Christian Discipleship (VCD), to access and evaluate Wagner’s doctrine of sanctification and (2) introduces the term commissional catechetical confessionalism to further articulate a redemptive and confessional doctrine of sanctification for a biblical perspective on human learning, growth, and development in light of the imago Dei. VCD endeavors to strengthen the church’s commitment to the practice of a biblical model of discipleship.
Chapter 1 introduces the need for research. The following two chapters follow the first step of ICP, which identifies and asserts the normative biblical priorities of a Reformed biblical-theological system (chap. 2) and the Reformed doctrine of sanctification (chap. 3). Chapters 4 and 5 follow the second step of ICP, which summarizes with precision and intellectual honesty the writings of Wagner (1952–2016) concerning his articulation of the doctrine of sanctification. Chapter 6 follows the third step of ICP, which provides a critical and charitable reflection of Wagner’s theology, axioms, and praxes by expounding the conclusions of this research and articulating the implications of Wagnerian theology on discipleship praxes and ethics. Lastly, this study’s appropriative dimension determines that understanding Wagner’s longings that led to his definition of disciple and philosophy of discipleship helps us become more aware of how we are affected by the same longings, whether pragmatic or consumeristic tendencies, and how those are very relevant in our own context
A Keen Edge: Understanding and Applying John A. Broadus’s View of Communication Style to Contemporary Preaching
Get PDFThis DMin thesis argues that Broadus’s principles of style should be understood and implemented by contemporary preachers so that their preaching will be marked by clarity, precision, and power. The first chapter surveys the relevant literature in homiletics and demonstrates the current void in the field of study. The second chapter defines Broadus’s view of rhetoric and its relationship to homiletics. The third chapter defends Broadus’s view of style in preaching. The fourth chapter analyzes a selection of Broadus’s sermon manuscripts with an eye toward his use of style. The fifth chapter explores the means of improvement Broadus offers, as well as offers some modern means extrapolated from his principles
Epistemological Development in Pre-Ministry Undergraduates Attending Secular Universities
Get PDFPh. D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2022This qualitative study sought to replicate the previous study conducted by John David Trentham in 2012. Trentham’s study was cross-institutional in nature with a population from bible colleges, confessional Christian liberal arts colleges and universities, and secular universities. This study focuses on a population consisting of pre-ministry undergraduate students from secular universities. The Perry Scheme is the basis for the evaluation, and previous research conducted by Trentham is used to study how attendance at secular universities affects the progression of pre-ministry undergraduate students through positions established by Perry in his epistemological development scheme.
The qualitative research design consisted of six steps: (1) customizing the Trentham Interview Protocol; (2) recruiting study participants; (3) conducting a pilot study; (4) conducting and transcribing interviews and submitting them to the Center for the Study of Intellectual Development (CSID) for scoring; (5) performing an independent content analysis utilizing Trentham’s Taxonomy of Virtues for Christian Knowing; and (6) evaluating the scoring provided by the CSID and the content analysis, determining research findings, and drawing conclusions based on the data obtained.
The findings of the 2015 research were consistent with those of Trentham’s earlier research. This study also suggests a possible correlation between epistemological positioning and voluntary attendance at extracurricular events sponsored by Student Services/Student Affairs. However, due to the small population size, further research is necessary.
The findings of the follow-up study conducted in 2022 differed from earlier research conducted by Stuckert, Kintner, and Bumanglag, whose study populations were similar. Follow-up study participants possessed significantly higher Perry Scheme scoring, especially compared to respondents of other studies of similar age. Possible reasons for this difference include familiarity with the study methodology and familiarity with the interviewer. Due to the small population size, further research is necessary
An Inquiry into the Relationship of Evangelism and Social Action in the Missiology of Adoniram Judson
Get PDFThis dissertation is a historical theological analysis of primary and secondary sources on Adoniram Judson concerning his understanding of the relationship between social action and evangelism in mission practice. This research identifies and defines the current paradigm continuum positions on the relationship between social action and evangelism, categorizes Adoniram Judson’s location on a modern continuum, and offers insights on how Judson’s view can impact the current debate. This dissertation argues that an evaluation of Judson’s missiology vis-à-vis current paradigm views demonstrates how one of the most prominent missionaries of the nineteenth century understood the relationship between social action and evangelism in mission practice. Additionally, a detailed analysis of Judson’s missiology provides a model for current missions proponents to consider as they attempt to reconcile the relationship between evangelism and social action in mission practice.
I proceed through five significant steps in conducting research for this dissertation. In chapters 2 and 3, I review twentieth- and twenty-first-century literature associated with the debate between social action and evangelism. This segment of my research aims to identify the multiple positions utilized by various theologians and missiologists in order to purport their view of the relationship between social action and evangelism. In chapter 4, I synthesize the literature and present particular theological markers regarding one’s understanding of the relationship. Then, I survey existing paradigm continuums and conclude by creating an expanded paradigm continuum encompassing the various positions in the debate. In chapter 5, I analyze and determine Adoniram Judson’s view regarding the relationship between social action and evangelism utilizing particular theological markers. I synthesize the data from primary and secondary sources to conduct a comparative analysis between Judson and current paradigm positions concerning the relationship between social action and evangelism. In chapter 6, I conclude my research by offering overarching conclusions based on the findings. Also, I provide implications of how the research conclusions impact the current debate. Then, I evaluate the research design by providing the strengths and weaknesses of the research process and propose further research recommendations that offer ways to strengthen the current research findings
Developing an Apologetics Course to Equip the Saints at La Grange Baptist Church in La Grange, Kentucky
Get PDFThe purpose of this project is to develop and teach an apologetics course at La Grange Baptist Church in La Grange, Kentucky, to equip church members to share and defend their faith. In chapter 1, I present the strengths and weaknesses of my ministry context. In chapter 2, I provide scriptural support for my ministry project. In chapter 3, I lay out the practical way that apologetics can be taught within the church. In chapter 4, I cover the way in which I prepared for and taught the apologetics course. In chapter 5, I evaluate the effectiveness of the ministry project
The Exclusive Missional Nature of the Church
Get PDFThis DEdMin thesis identifies those missional tasks that are exclusively the responsibility of the local church. The church is first and foremost a visible gathering with a visible ministry. As such, the church is God’s chosen instrument to respond to the Great Commission.
Chapter 2 focuses on the significance of Matthew 16:13-19 and the promise made to Peter that Christ will build His church. This promise is essentially a visible, structured gathering of believers who, with all its imperfections, remains the inescapable instrument designed to proclaim and carry the gospel to the uttermost.
Chapter 3 demonstrates that the church is uniquely qualified and equipped to guard, defend, and proclaim the truth. The church, as the pillar of truth, preserves the theological integrity of the mission. This chapter focuses on Paul’s first letter to Timothy where he instructs Timothy on how to establish elders that will be tasked, amongst other things, to teach the truth and guard the church from error.
Chapter 4 focuses on the Matthew 28:19-20 Great Commission where the disciples are instructed to go and make disciples of every nation. The chapter looks at the one mandate—make disciples—with three supporting commands of going, baptizing, and teaching. The chapter demonstrates that only the visible gathering of believers is equipped to fulfill the Great Commission.
Chapter 5 takes the lessons learned regarding the exclusivity of the church in missions and develops from there a healthy missional model to be implemented in the local church. Healthy is used to describe that which aligns itself with the exclusivity of the church explained in chapters 2-4. A church’s missional program, a missionary, or a paramissional organization is considered healthy to the extent that it aligns itself with the exclusive nature of the church in fulfilling the Great Commission