Browsing by Subject "Bible."
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Item Body, soul, and bible : a religious history of nineteenth-century physiological reform.(2013-09-24) Riddle, Jonathan D.; Hankins, Barry, 1956-; History.; Baylor University. Dept. of History.The nineteenth-century American physiological reform movement was deeply religious. While historians have noted the moral or religious imperatives intermingled with reformers’ dietary recommendations, few have examined why and how a movement to reform the body became religious and how that religious impulse manifested itself. This thesis therefore offers a close examination of the religious aspects of physiological reform, arguing first that a holistic or sympathetic theological anthropology undergirded the sacralization of bodily regimen. Second, this thesis demonstrates that physiological reformers relied on the Bible to promote their movement and that the Bible’s dietary teachings were a substantial point of conflict between the reformers and other Americans. Finally, this thesis analyzes the reformers’ hermeneutic, arguing that they read the Bible through the lens of physiology. They therefore clashed with the commonsense literalism with which their contemporaries read the Bible—a hermeneutical conflict the physiological reformers failed to win.Item Figuring Jesus : the power of rhetorical figures of speech in the Gospel of Luke.(2010-06-23T12:24:29Z) Reich, Keith A.; Parsons, Mikeal Carl, 1957-; Religion.; Baylor University. Dept. of Religion.This dissertation examines Luke's use of rhetorical figures of speech on the lips of Jesus as a means of persuading his audience to accept a role-reversing message that challenged the social, religious, economic and political systems in the Roman Empire. A figure of speech is the use of either words or thoughts in a way that is uncommon or out of the ordinary. Because figures of speech are the "uncommon" use of language, they stand out to an audience and grab their attention. They are an artful ordering of words designed to be powerful, memorable, and to seize attention. This dissertation takes seriously the adage that says, "It’s not what you say, it's how you say it." The form of the Lukan Jesus' speech is just as important as the content of that speech. To ignore the form of Jesus' speech is to ignore the power and persuasiveness of his message. Luke uses figures of speech in various ways to persuade his audience of the gospel message. He uses figures of speech to fulfill the stylistic virtues of clarity and ornamentation. Fulfilling these stylistic virtues makes the Lukan Jesus' argument easy to follow and impressive, serving as an ethos argument to portray Jesus as one who speaks like the social elites. Further, Luke uses figures as a means of argument and persuasion to draw the audience to side with Jesus and to participate in his message. These figures serve as arguments of ethos, logos, and pathos and create audience members who are invested in the character of Jesus and the gospel message. Finally, Luke uses powerful and memorable figures of speech to proclaim a message of role reversals in the major social, religious, economic, and political systems of the Roman Empire. Using figures of speech that are highly refined and artful allows the proclamation of this role-reversing message to resonate with the audience and ultimately to form its members.Item Reading the American Bible : its role in liberal morality, criminal justice attitudes, and attitudes about religion and science.(2011-05-12T15:30:02Z) Franzen, Aaron B.; Froese, Paul.; Sociology.; Baylor University. Dept. of Sociology.The Bible has had a large impact on American culture, but thus far very little research has looked at the impact that reading the Bible may have. Research shows that religion has the tendency to have a conservative influence upon those who are more highly religious, but using the 2007 Baylor Religion Survey, this study finds three different areas where reading the Bible has a liberalizing effect on the reader. The three domains where reading has a liberalizing effect deals with liberal morality issues, various criminal justice attitudes, and attitudes about the interaction between science and religion. This liberalizing effect is in opposition to the effect of Biblical literalism. Three mechanisms are suggested for how reading the Bible has this effect on the reader.