Browsing by Author "Hall, Amy Laura"

Serious divisions within the United States currently threaten our social fabric. These divisions are acutely on display across the political arena and permeate many aspects of American society. Alarmingly, Christian convictions are contributing to this upheaval. Many conservatives and liberals across the ideological spectrum believe they are following not only the Constitution of the United States but also biblical principles when they engage in inflammatory rhetoric against political rivals. Predictably, justifying political positions with biblical principles has caused many Christians to embrace partisan identities and adopt divisive behaviors. Furthermore, the present political divisions are severely harming American churches at the local level. The kind of rhetoric emanating from pulpits, pews, and Christian publications across most denominations pose a direct challenge to how the church has traditionally understood the Christian life and its bearing upon our relationships with one another. The issue of immigration is a particularly acute example. The tearing apart of family structures, the constant threat of deportation, and the frequent use of dehumanizing rhetoric are stances that some Christians have unapologetically supported. It is my attempt to show how in this time of intense partisanship Christians desperately need to practice right speech and embody Jesus’ commandment to love one’s neighbor. Using the issue of immigration as a case study, I argue that the way we talk about people influences how we treat them.

A careful observer of the current political dynamic in America will understand its precarious position. Following the presidency of Barack Obama, a tide has clearly turned across the country. The sounds of hope, optimism, and progressive change have been replaced by a boisterous quest to “Make America Great” again by restricting U.S. borders, re-visiting trade agreements, limiting access to health insurance, retreating from nuclear treaties, as well as dismissing and altogether denying climate change. Where a warm cultural embrace once stood, profound xenophobia now rests; diversity has gone the way of division. Lost in the shuffle of this dynamic however is the human element of communal relationship with one another. For individuals and institutions that claim allegiance to Jesus Christ, the political speech and actions witnessed across the United States challenge the very nature of Christian identity. Among many Christians there is a dichotomy between the Christian ethic portrayed and the one practiced, a disconnect between what is offered in the Holy Scriptures and reality. If the case can be made that the political dynamic in America is on precarious footing because of the role Christians currently play guiding the nation forward, it too means that Christian identity in America is subject to that same dynamic. When political policy in America is dressed up and disguised as proper Christian action, and supported as such by many Christian adherents, then the very nature of the Christian faith as practiced in America is threatened. This thesis will examine how recent speeches and comments made by political figures on various aspects of immigration law and human rights compel Christians to reflect upon right speech considering the teachings on speech found in the book of Proverbs. For Christians to blindly and unequivocally label immigrants “animals,” “rapists,” and “criminals,” presents a ripe and necessary opportunity to hear the guidance, wisdom and chastisement of the Proverbial writer. A rediscovery of speech that could be considered “Christian” and a recommitment to embodying such speech, is ultimately incomplete, unless it results in right Christian action. Examining the parable of the Good Samaritan in its wider context (Luke 10:25 – 37), I will display how it might inform our Christian praxis. Early followers of Jesus and the historic church have understood this commandment as a necessary component of the Christian life. Noting key textual observations from theologians and Bible scholars including Joel Green , the project will show how aspects of the text speak to contemporary Christian praxis. The research of this thesis will be designed to build upon existing theological literature concerning the role of Christian speech and action and placing these distinct roles in conversation with current political affairs. I argue that in an era marked decidedly by extreme political and cultural polarization, Christians, and by extension the Christian church, must rediscover the role of speech and behavior in the workings of everyday life and the shaping of a more just society for all.

Serious divisions within the United States currently threaten our social fabric. These divisions are acutely on display across the political arena and permeate many aspects of American society. Alarmingly, Christian convictions are contributing to this upheaval. Many conservatives and liberals across the ideological spectrum believe they are following not only the Constitution of the United States but also biblical principles when they engage in inflammatory rhetoric against political rivals. Predictably, justifying political positions with biblical principles has caused many Christians to embrace partisan identities and adopt divisive behaviors. Furthermore, the present political divisions are severely harming American churches at the local level. The kind of rhetoric emanating from pulpits, pews, and Christian publications across most denominations pose a direct challenge to how the church has traditionally understood the Christian life and its bearing upon our relationships with one another. The issue of immigration is a particularly acute example. The tearing apart of family structures, the constant threat of deportation, and the frequent use of dehumanizing rhetoric are stances that some Christians have unapologetically supported. It is my attempt to show how in this time of intense partisanship Christians desperately need to practice right speech and embody Jesus’ commandment to love one’s neighbor. Using the issue of immigration as a case study, I argue that the way we talk about people influences how we treat them.

A careful observer of the current political dynamic in America will understand its precarious position. Following the presidency of Barack Obama, a tide has clearly turned across the country. The sounds of hope, optimism, and progressive change have been replaced by a boisterous quest to “Make America Great” again by restricting U.S. borders, re-visiting trade agreements, limiting access to health insurance, retreating from nuclear treaties, as well as dismissing and altogether denying climate change. Where a warm cultural embrace once stood, profound xenophobia now rests; diversity has gone the way of division. Lost in the shuffle of this dynamic however is the human element of communal relationship with one another. For individuals and institutions that claim allegiance to Jesus Christ, the political speech and actions witnessed across the United States challenge the very nature of Christian identity. Among many Christians there is a dichotomy between the Christian ethic portrayed and the one practiced, a disconnect between what is offered in the Holy Scriptures and reality. If the case can be made that the political dynamic in America is on precarious footing because of the role Christians currently play guiding the nation forward, it too means that Christian identity in America is subject to that same dynamic. When political policy in America is dressed up and disguised as proper Christian action, and supported as such by many Christian adherents, then the very nature of the Christian faith as practiced in America is threatened. This thesis will examine how recent speeches and comments made by political figures on various aspects of immigration law and human rights compel Christians to reflect upon right speech considering the teachings on speech found in the book of Proverbs. For Christians to blindly and unequivocally label immigrants “animals,” “rapists,” and “criminals,” presents a ripe and necessary opportunity to hear the guidance, wisdom and chastisement of the Proverbial writer. A rediscovery of speech that could be considered “Christian” and a recommitment to embodying such speech, is ultimately incomplete, unless it results in right Christian action. Examining the parable of the Good Samaritan in its wider context (Luke 10:25 – 37), I will display how it might inform our Christian praxis. Early followers of Jesus and the historic church have understood this commandment as a necessary component of the Christian life. Noting key textual observations from theologians and Bible scholars including Joel Green , the project will show how aspects of the text speak to contemporary Christian praxis. The research of this thesis will be designed to build upon existing theological literature concerning the role of Christian speech and action and placing these distinct roles in conversation with current political affairs. I argue that in an era marked decidedly by extreme political and cultural polarization, Christians, and by extension the Christian church, must rediscover the role of speech and behavior in the workings of everyday life and the shaping of a more just society for all.

A history of white supremacist ideology has long shaped white evangelical churches and their theology. This has never been more apparent since the election of Donald Trump and the response to the protests after the murder of George Floyd. Amid the racial reckoning in the summer of 2020, white evangelical preachers sought to address race, racism, and racial justice. This thesis aims to articulate theological resources and homiletical strategies for white evangelical churches as they address racial injustice from the pulpit. Specifically, two predominately white evangelical churches in San Diego, which have a stated belief in and pursuit of racial justice, are studied, and the six sermons after the death of George Floyd are analyzed. The study and analysis of Park Hill Church and All People’s Church are placed in conversation with present antiracist scholarship. Examination of antiracist discussions will illuminate the homiletics of these two churches and lead to practical theological insights and biblical hermeneutics that pursue an antiracist imagination. This thesis concludes by suggesting three biblical passages, Amos 2, Matthew 15, and Acts 15, as biblical companions for imagining antiracist homiletics.

This thesis seeks to examine how churches might better practice Jesus's command to “love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:37) through food pantries that primarily serve Black communities. Although churches believe they exemplify Jesus’s command to love through their food pantry ministry, they are too often offering cheap love—love that is artificial, inauthentic, and unhealthy. Many churches, in my experience, have a transactional approach in their food pantries—they collect and distribute foods that are cheap, processed, and high in sodium and sugar. However, this practice is possibly causing long-term effects that are physically harmful to Black people who regularly receive and consume these kinds of goods. This thesis will examine food insecurity and health disparities that significantly affect the Black community. Second, this thesis will review literature that has contributed to the food justice movement. Third, in conjunction with Matthew 22 and Daniel 1 and ministry examples, this thesis will encourage churches to adopt a relational approach that will lead them to love and empower their patrons and lean into Christianity’s surprise. Fourth, this thesis will offer curriculum to help church leaders enhance their love for God and others. By learning to love more and in new ways, churches can adopt a more relational approach in the food pantry ministry. Last, this research will offer creative models of how churches and organizations have been able to connect their community to agriculture. When churches embody the expansive nature of this love through their food pantry ministry, their fight against the hunger crisis will be more holistic as they will understand the critical correlation between healthy relationships and healthy food distribution. If churches are going to commit to providing food for Black communities, they must integrate equality and justice in their food ministry mission. It is critical for churches to be more thoughtful about how their actions and the ways they give can be rooted more in love and justice. This type of food ministry will require churches to rethink the kinds of food they provide to other people and their methods to collect and distribute foods. This thesis posits that if churches want to better serve Black communities through food pantry ministries, they should consider possible health risks of Black people and how the act of food distribution can reflect the church’s love for God and the hungry.

As faith communities engage in conversations about the meaning and significance of gender, many people have begun exploring the concept of gender beyond a fixed binary of male and female. These conversations can be challenging, raising complicated questions and employing unfamiliar concepts. This thesis seeks to engage the conversation about gender by attending to voices found in the biblical tradition, discovering a resource for better understanding the contemporary questions that have been posed. Although some may argue that the Bible endorses a strict, male-female binary, a close examination reveals that the Bible paints a much more complex picture of gender and its significance. This thesis will explore gender from several angles, discovering biblical and theological resources for a more expansive conception of gender beyond the binary. Written from a perspective that supports the full inclusion and embrace of transgender and nonbinary people in Christian churches, this thesis seeks to highlight ways that the Bible can be a useful tool for understanding gender in a way that is more nuanced and ultimately more faithful to the beautiful complexity of God’s creation.

The Evangelical Covenant Church, like so many Christian denominations, is embroiled in conflict over homosexuality and gay marriage. This small North American denomination cannot afford a split, not only due to its small size, but because doing so would fundamentally deny its very identity. Thankfully, it is the denomination’s shared identity that gives the church, and sexual minorities, hope for the future.

The ECC is a gathering of churches that covenant together for the sake of God’s mission in the world. It’s pietistic history and ethos values relational unity over doctrinal uniformity, making gracious space for theological diversity for the purpose of that mission. It’s affirmations and distinctives provide a strong DNA for the church to flourish in the midst of a rapidly changing culture.

Homosexuality and gay marriage are complex problems in the church. They challenge fundamental beliefs, values and identities, and they are inherently personal and emotional topics. In order to address this challenge, church leaders must learn new ways of leading.

This paper proposes that an adaptive leadership framework provides the tools necessary for the Evangelical Covenant Church to faithfully and fully take on the challenge without compromising its commitment to Christ and the authority of the Bible. It offers practical resources to assist local congregations in discussing the topic. And, it suggests ways that denominational leadership can support the work of the local congregation.

Reconciliation language, however well-intentioned, is neither innocent nor innocuous. In this dissertation, I argue that reconciliation is part of a grammar of whiteness. This word, particularly when spoken and enacted by White people, works violence upon Black life. I argue that reconciliation grammar is a performance of whiteness that banks on racial difference properly managed to assuage White anxiety of otherness. This performance is explored in three acts. The first act concerns the theo-economics of reconciliation accounting and its afterlife in Luca Pacioli. The second act concerns the theo-patriarchy of Lethal Weapon fantasies of racial reconciliation that is real if men are really men, and if the explosions of violence upon muscular White male flesh look real enough. The final act concerns the theo-technology of the human found in White feminist theological writings of Letty Russell, revealing a reconciling humanism that renders difference an “ism” to be overcome by Jesus’ singular humanity. Each of these acts works violence upon Black life in different, and yet intersecting ways. Each of these acts performs reconciliation in such a way that inequitable power relationships result. Reckoning with reconciliation entails a reckoning not only with the words White people use, but also with the ways those words have a material effect on relationships, imaginations, and bodies. I show how reconciliation as a grammar of whiteness has been performed on Black life to account for it as fungible and expendable, to profit from a Black Madonna attending a manly White hero Jesus, and to render the Black woman as plastic material from which any manner of White theologies and ontologies might be built. I then point toward the excess and otherwise life that can never fully be consumed by reconciliation grammar; I argue for the liberative possibilities of life unreconciled.

Penal substitutionary atonement is a wide-spread, wildly acknowledged, and often-repeated understanding of Jesus’s death on the cross in white, western Christianity. Found in inside the church in hymnody, Sunday school lessons, church pulpits, as well as in influences in the wider culture, it is considered by many to be the orthodox understanding of Jesus’s death on the cross. What is little known is that not only did this theory of atonement take significant time to develop within the history of Western theology, it includes some troubling theological implications.

It also remains true that many Christians, particularly in mainline Protestant denominations, are stumped when it comes to articulating in any coherent way the meaning of Jesus’s death on the cross for their faith and practice. In part, this deficit is due to the fact that while substitutionary atonement swims in the waters of popular white western culture, many mainline congregations do not necessarily hold to a penal view of atonement. Yet, they also do not have a compelling alternative. Additionally, for many Christian traditions, outside of fundamentalist and evangelical traditions, the atonement is not a defining point of doctrine. The cross might be thought about briefly on the way to Easter Sunday, or with a casually mentioned, but marginally understood phrase such as, “Jesus died for my sins.”

In the absence of a theologically rich account of the cross, Christian communities are at risk for being unable to articulate in any meaningful way how exactly this fundamental theology makes any difference for what it means to be Christian, and ultimately to the reality of people’s lives and the salvation of the world.

This paper proposes that the postmodern church must reclaim a robust theology of the cross in three ways: embracing multiplicity and variety, reconnecting the cross to Jesus’s ministry and therefore the first-century Greco-Roman context in which he lived, and articulating a nonviolent atonement. It offers practical resources to assist local congregations in teaching the topic.

*Designated as an exemplary master's project for 2015-16*

As a work of Christian dogmatic theology, this dissertation proceeds from the primary theological claim that human existence in time is determined by the incarnation, passion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. It also examines how the predominant accounts of time in the modern West have been affected by, and produced by, claims of scientific authority. The implications of these accounts are not only a matter of abstract doctrinal and philosophical reflection. Instead, they have had, and continue to have, concrete ramifications for human life together. They have been death-dealing rather than life-giving, characterized by a set of temporal pathologies that participate at the deepest level in marking some lives as expendable.

There are four particular pathologies that this project addresses in turn. The first is the mystification of theology by questions of human origins, especially as those questions are addressed by figures of scientific authority. The second is the problem of progress and politicized eschatology, in which securing a desired vision of the future becomes a human project. The third is temporal distancing, in which some human beings are marked as temporally retrograde or outside of history. The fourth, and final, problem addressed is the Hegelian perspective outside of time from which time is evaluated.

This dissertation offers a set of Christological temporal recalibrations through a reading of Søren Kierkegaard and Karl Barth, highlighting the ways that both figures rejected an approach to time that is not coincidentally intertwined with a racialized account of history, and with the co-opting of Christianity by the modern Western state. It also suggests how the liturgical calendar may, and may not, provide Christians with the formational resources to think differently about their own time, and about their neighbors.