Faculty and student scholarship related to the MidAmerica Nazarene University Christian Ministry and Formation Department (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences).
After the fall of Rome, how did the work and words of the ancient Greek philosophers make their way, textually and intellectually, into later European thought? There were two primary and obvious paths that this Greek literature could have taken to reach medieval Europe after the splitof the Roman Empire into east and west sectors, but these two potential paths functionally became, instead, dual roadblocks to its transmission.
From the Abstract: After the fall of Rome, how did the work and words of the ancient Greek philosophers make their way, textually and intellectually, into later European thought?
In this paper, I will explore some of the theological responses of the Jewish community to competing religions in the years following exile. In particular I propose to focus upon those ideas found in the book of Daniel that respond to other religions. Following two preliminary comments, the first part of the paper will survey the religious environment of the ancient Middle East during and following the Israelite exile to Babylon.
PowerPoint Slide Presentation. Presented at MNU Week of Scholarship, April 2015.
PowerPoint Slide Presentation. Authorship noted on title slide as Kelvin St. John & MNU Millennials.
Poster describing the author's recent scholarly papers, articles, books, and presentations.
The ubiquity and popularity of video games suggest a new medium for religious education. However, the capitalistic and militaristic architecture of many evangelical Christian video games undermines their potential for faithful religious education. Thus, these video games ironically propagate a curriculum of redemptive violence. Video games with religious educational aspirations call for a distinctively religious architecture that intertwines aspects of myth, identity, contemplation, discernment, revelation, transcendence, mutuality, and creativity.
The "Games for Change" organization sponsors video game innovations that seek to teach justice and compassion through digital play. Play encompasses many dimensions: learning and growth, perspective taking, self-reflection, critical thinking, and adaptive thinking. However, the educational aims of these games may be diluted by the latent structural qualities within the chosen medium of digital play. In addition, religion appears to be an underutilized resource within these games, despite the great promise and potential of religious education.
Jason Rohrer's independently produced video game - Passage (2007) - illustrates the potential of video games to mediate transcendence and epiphany through digital play.
This poster was displayed at the MidAmerica Nazarene University Faculty Exhibition, 2013.
Thesis: Video games hold promise for situating players within a religious education curriculum that sponsors playful engagement with the ethical and the transcendent.
* At its best, video game curriculum integrates both narrative (explicit) and procedural (implicit) educational strategies.
* However, some evidence suggests that religious video game designers fail to understand either the full curricular potential of the video game medium or the implicit curricular significance of conventional video game procedures.
Today’s Millennials, the first generation to reach their majority in this millennium, often compartmentalize their faith lives from their social and work lives. MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) offers a course in Spiritual Formation once each spring. The enrollment for this elective course ranges from twelve to eighteen students per class. Each undergraduate must take three general education courses that inform their faith: Old Testament Literature, New Testament Literature, and Christian Beliefs.
Review of: The Way of the Wesleys: a Short Introduction, by John R. Tyson, Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014. 202 pp. $16.00; ISBN 978-0-8028-6954-8.
Reviewed by Bruce Flanders, Director, Mabee Library, MidAmerica Nazarene University, Olathe, KS.
Christ-Shaped Character: Choosing Love, Faith and Hope, by Helen Cepero, Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Books, 2014. 181 pp. $14.50; ISBN 978-0-8308-3582-9.
Reviewed by Bruce Flanders, Director, Mabee Library, MidAmerica Nazarene University, Olathe, KS.
The God We Worship: an Exploration of Liturgical Theology, by Nicholas Wolterstorff, Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015. 180 pp. $11.11; ISBN 978-0-8028-7249-4.
Reviewed by Bruce Flanders, Director, Mabee Library, MidAmerica Nazarene University, Olathe, KS.
Abby Felter, MNU Student
Aristocracy and Monarchy in the First United States Senate and First Federal Congress explores the attitudes and actions of the first Federal Congress.
Tish Conejo, PhD, RN
Research and evidence-based practice can help nurses define their scope of practice and provide the safest and best care possible to their patients.
Jacob Lett, PhD (candidate)
Research to form an integrative understanding of Jurgen Moltmann’s doctrine of creation from the lens of eschatology, the incarnation, and the Trinity.