Explores how to successfully combine the ideals of Christianity with the ideals of the academy, a goal explored by Pepperdine University Center for Faith and Learning. Addresses issues relevant to this goal, including diversity, academic freedom, and taking seriously Pepperdine University's relationship to the Churches of Christ. (EV)

Contends that religious belief often matters to students and that spiritual identity may be the primary kind of selfhood that more than a few of them draw upon in making meaning of their lives and the world around them. Gives particular attention to evangelical expression in the classroom and the complex ways that faith is enacted in discourse.…

Examines adolescent attitudes towards Christianity, science, creationism, and scientism among high school students (n=1584) between the ages of 14-16. Reports that the apparent independence of attitude towards science and attitude towards Christianity is transformed into a positive relationship after taking into account individual differences in…

Investigates the connections among laughter, power, and motivation for religious education by reviewing the history of laughter and four models for laughter. Discusses complexity and the laughter of complexity. Concludes that the laughter of complexity can be a guide towards the appropriate use of power by using intrinsic motivation. (CMK)

This article proposes a pedagogy based upon congregational studies to further the contextualization of education in both seminary and congregational settings. Christian congregations and theological seminaries comprise two overlapping yet distinctive "communities of practice" in which teaching and learning the Bible constitutes a primary, even…

The most frequently identified factor associated with the use of religious and spiritual interventions in counseling has been therapists' personal religious attitudes or behaviors. Church attendance and personal religious behaviors, in particular, have been found to correlate with therapists' use of religious and spiritual interventions in…

A new movie version of Shakespeare's classic troubling comedy, "The Merchant of Venice" (Brokaw, Cowan, Navidi, Piette, & Radford, 2004), has appeared, bringing up an ancient issue of the possible bigotry of the greatest writer in the English language. Shakespeare's plays about minority characters in the Venetian Republic have caused more and more…

A sample of 334 undergraduates completed the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity and the Astley-Francis Open Worldview Scale, together with the short form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. The data provide no support for the view that a positive attitude toward Christianity inhibits openness to other worldviews, although both…

In his groundbreaking article "The Theological and Apologetical Dimensions of Muslim Evangelization," Samuel P. Schlorff states that "for far too long evangelical missions have been limping along without an effective apologetic to Islam" (Schlorff, 1980, 335). Since his article was published some work has been done, yet there remains a great need…

This study examines a math journal writing assignment comparing how high school (grades 10 through 12) algebra students who performed well and students who performed poorly on traditional mathematics tests constructed their corresponding journal entries. Statistically significant differences found indicated that students who performed well on the…

Utilizing a biographical approach and network analysis, this article examines one South Australian woman's life of public and Methodist social welfare service in the post-suffrage era. It is argued that although Kate Cocks (1875-1954) viewed her welfare work as "a God-given mission", as "practical Christian service", personal…

This article is a historical case study of George Fox University (GFU) in Newberg, Oregon. Using organizational lifecycle as a theoretical framework, George Fox University had a long and delayed childhood in that it remained a small and struggling institution for most of the 20th century, and then experienced rapid growth in the late 1980s. This…

The college administrators, who push homosexual rights so vigorously, are confused. They routinely flout the law, abandoning any pretense of neutrality, by censuring organizations that do not embrace gays into their midst. Again and again they punish or expel individuals for whom certain behaviors remain perverse or sinful. David French represents…

This study examines the production of religious collective memory at a fundamentalist Christian school. By depicting in rich detail what happened on September 11, 2001, in one eighth-grade classroom and how the events of that day were discussed in the weeks that followed, the article reveals the processes wherein the attacks were subsumed into an…

The word "parrhesia" is of Greek origin and indicates the right to say anything a person chooses. The Apostle Paul was himself an operational definition of parrhesia, and a term that symbolizes such a controlling force on such a significant figure is worthy of examination and academic study. For Paul, his work as an evangelist and pastor was a…