DOCSLIB.ORG

Dancing Christian: Narrative, Embodied Action, Choreography in American Evangelical and Emergence Christianity a Dissertation S

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Dancing Christian: Narrative, Embodied Action, Choreography in American Evangelical and Emergence Christianity a Dissertation S DANCING CHRISTIAN: NARRATIVE, EMBODIED ACTION, CHOREOGRAPHY IN AMERICAN EVANGELICAL AND EMERGENCE CHRISTIANITY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF DANCE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BY EMILY WRIGHT, BFA, MFA DENTON, TEXAS DECEMBER 2016 DEDICATION For my parents, Jay and Beverley, who first instilled my loves of dance and faith. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the many people and organizations that have contributed to this dissertation. Thank you to my committee chair, Dr. Rosemary Candelario, who provided invaluable support and investment in my project over many months. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Linda Caldwell and Dr. Claire Sahlin, for their unique perspectives and the rich dialogue that ensued from their contributions. I am grateful for the support of the Department of Dance, the Graduate School, and the Student Travel Grant committee, whose support enabled me to attend conferences to present my research. I also extend thanks to Dr. Jennifer Phillips- Denny and the Texas Woman’s University Writing Center, who provided detailed feedback on my initial drafts and greatly strengthened my writing process. A special thank you to the members of my doctoral cohort: Ali Duffy, A’Keitha Carey, Melonie Murray, Merry Lynn Morris, and Anisha Rajesh. What a privilege it has been to share this journey with you. I would also like to thank my study participants: Kathy Thibodeaux and the members of Ballet Magnificat!, Randall Flinn and the members of Ad Deum Dance Company, Elizabeth Dishman of Dishman + Co. Choreography, and Karin Stevens of Karin Stevens Dance. Your investment made this project possible, and your thoughtful contributions deepened my understanding and appreciation of this topic. Thank you as iv well to my colleagues and students at Belhaven University, whose support and encouragement sustained me through the writing process. Finally, I would like to recognize my family. To my husband, Joshua, thank you for your encouragement, unfailing support, and technical expertise throughout this endeavor. To my sons, Benjamin and William, thank you for your understanding and patience. You have been my cheerleaders all along the way! v ABSTRACT EMILY WRIGHT DANCING CHRISTIAN: NARRATIVE, EMBODIED ACTION, CHOREOGRAPHY IN AMERICAN EVANGELICAL AND EMERGENCE CHRISTIANITY DECEMBER 2016 Dancing Christians occupy marginalized spaces on two fronts: within the context of American Christianity, dance is a denigrated faith practice with a contested history; within the context of Western concert dance, Christian dance is often viewed as technically and aesthetically substandard. The current literature on dance and Christianity is limited and tends to focus on amateur practices within the church worship service setting. This dissertation examines dancing Christians in the professional context to determine how faith informs dance practices and, conversely, how dance influences practices of faith. For this research, I developed a multisite, qualitative study of four professional dance companies. During a fourteen-month period, I conducted participant-observations and ethnographic interviews with artistic directors, choreographers, and company members who identify as evangelical and/or emergent Christians. In exploring the role of the body, I note that some dancing Christians communicate contradictory messages around the body, as in the case of one company which situates the body as a vehicle to be used in Christian service while simultaneously affirming the notion of body/mind wholeness as the ultimate end of Christian practice. Others frame the body as a starting vi point for audiences and dancers to share in a common resonance with the human experience. I contend that traditional devotional activities, such as prayer, Bible study, and singing, are embodied actions that dancing Christians use as a means to prime the body to experience Western concert dance as religious activity. Further, rather than demonstrating a unified aesthetic sensibility, my findings show that dancing Christians produce a diverse range of choreographic constructions, from story ballets framed as church services to postmodern works abstracted from individual spiritual journeys. I argue that dancing Christians frame professional dancing as religious practice in order to actualize individual and communal religious identities. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION ............................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ iv ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... xi Chapter I. INTRODUCTION: “DANCING CHRISTIAN” ...................................... 1 Christian Dance/Dancing Christian ...................................................... 3 Communities of Practice ....................................................................... 8 American Evangelicals as Communities of Practice ...................... 8 Foundations in Practice Theory .................................................... 11 Communities of Practice in Dance and Religious Studies............ 14 Overview of Chapters: Dancing a Christian Narrative/Body/Choreography ........................... 18 Overview of Methodology Chapter .............................................. 18 Overview of Data Chapters ........................................................... 19 Overview of Conclusion ............................................................... 23 II. A BRIEF HISTORY OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY: PROTESTANTISM, EVANGELICALISM, AND EMERGENCE ....... 24 Protestantism: The Roots of American Evangelicalism ..................... 26 The Birth of Fundamentalism ............................................................. 28 A Turning Tide: Emergence Christianity ........................................... 31 Dance in American Christian History ................................................. 33 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 37 III. METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO STUDYING DANCING CHRISTIANS .......................................................................................... 39 Positionality and Self-Reflexivity ...................................................... 42 Methodology ...................................................................................... 43 Qualitative Research Foundation .................................................. 44 viii Participant Recruitment and Preparation ...................................... 45 Research Questions ....................................................................... 52 Data Collection ............................................................................. 53 Data Analysis ................................................................................ 57 Conclusion ......................................................................................... 58 IV. DANCING CHRISTIAN STORIES: NARRATIVES FOR DANCE AND FAITH............................................................................................. 59 Testimony as Narrative Practice ........................................................ 62 Ad Deum Dance Company: Sacred Gift, Sacred Calling ............. 66 Ballet Magnificat!: Let Us Praise His Name With Dancing ......... 71 Dishman + Co. Choreography: Testimonies of Journey ............... 78 Karin Stevens Dance: Evolving Narratives of Faith ..................... 82 Dancing Christian Metanarratives and Metaphors ............................ 86 Re-scripting the Bible as Narrative Practice ...................................... 91 Conclusion: Dancing Christian Narratives ........................................ 94 V. DANCING CHRISTIAN BODIES: EMBODIED ACTIONS OF DANCE AND FAITH ............................................................................................ 97 The Body in Western Culture and Early Christianity ...................... 101 The Body in Contemporary American Christianity ......................... 105 Ballet Magnificat!: “Redeeming the Body” While Reifying Dualism ....................... 107 Dishman + Co. Choreography: Body as a Medium for Expression .............................................. 118 Ad Deum Dance Company: Practicing Sacrifice/Dancing Intercession .................................. 126 Karin Stevens Dance: Evolving Practices of Spirit ........................................................ 133 Conclusion: Embodied Christianity ................................................. 137 VI. DANCING CHRISTIAN MEANING: CHOREOGRAPHIC ANALYSES OF DANCES................................................................... 140 Choreographing Church in Ballet Magnificat!’s Most Incredible Christmas ............................................................... 142 Dancing in the Aisles .................................................................. 152 Constructing Choreographies of Struggle in Ad Deum’s Joyful Noise ...................................................................................... 154 Dishman + Co. Choreography’s Fold Rhapsody: A Journey of Faith ..........................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Fad Diet Or Exercise? Maintainaing Weight Among Millennials
    FAD DIET OR EXERCISE? MAINTAINAING WEIGHT AMONG MILLENNIALS by Leigh Mattson Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Departmental Honors in the Department of Nutritional Sciences Texas Christian University Fort Worth, Texas May 7, 2018 Texas Christian University, Leigh Mattson, May 2018 FAD DIETS OR EXERCISE? MAINTAINING WEIGHT AMONG MILLENNIALS Project Approved: Supervising Professor: Dr. Anne VanBeber, PhD, RD, LD, FAND Department of Nutritional Sciences Dr. Lyn Dart, PhD, RD, LD Department of Nutritional Sciences Dr. Wendy Williams John V. Roach Honors College 2 Texas Christian University, Leigh Mattson, May 2018 ABSTRACT Background: Research indicates millennials are more concerned about having healthy eating habits than following fad diets, and they exercise more than their baby boomer counterparts. The purposes of this study were 1) to determine reasons university students follow fad diets, and 2) to determine other methods students utilize for weight management. Methods: In this un-blinded, randomized trial approved by TCU IRB, participants completed an online research questionnaire after providing informed consent. Population included 236 TCU male and female students, 18-22 years old. Analyses assessed students’ history of fad dieting and outcomes, perceived health status based on body weight and image, eating and exercise habits, and incidence of lifestyle practices such as smoking and alcohol use. Data was analyzed using SPSS (p<0.05). Frequency distributions and correlations were analyzed for trends in health maintenance behaviors. Results: Participants self-identified as 76% females, 85% white, 6% Hispanic, and 4% other ethnicity. Only 32% of participants had followed a fad diet (p=0.01). Participants who followed fad diets included 30% Paleolithic®, 23% Gluten-Free®, 20% Weight Watchers®, and 14% Atkins®.
    [Show full text]
  • Russian Orthodoxy and Women's Spirituality In
    RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY AND WOMEN’S SPIRITUALITY IN IMPERIAL RUSSIA* Christine D. Worobec On 8 November 1885, the feast day of Archangel Michael, the Abbess Taisiia had a mystical experience in the midst of a church service dedicated to the tonsuring of sisters at Leushino. The women’s religious community of Leushino had recently been ele­ vated to the status of a monastery.1 Conducting an all-women’s choir on that special day, the abbess became exhilarated by the beautiful refrain of the Cherubikon hymn, “Let us lay aside all earthly cares,” and envisioned Christ surrounded by angels above the iconostasis. She later wrote, “Something was happening, but what it was I am unable to tell, although I saw and heard every­ thing. It was not something of this world. From the beginning of the vision, I seemed to fall into ecstatic rapture Tears were stream­ ing down my face. I realized that everyone was looking at me in astonishment, and even fear....”2 Five years later, a newspaper columnistwitnessedasceneinachurch in the Smolensk village of Egor'-Bunakovo in which a woman began to scream in the midst of the singing of the Cherubikon. He described “a horrible in­ *This book chapter is dedicated to the memory of Brenda Meehan, who pioneered the study of Russian Orthodox women religious in the modern period. 1 The Russian language does not have a separate word such as “convent” or nunnery” to distinguish women’s from men’s monastic institutions. 2 Abbess Thaisia, 194; quoted in Meehan, Holy Women o f Russia, 126. Tapestry of Russian Christianity: Studies in History and Culture.
    [Show full text]
  • How Can Spirituality Be Marian? Johann G
    Marian Studies Volume 52 The Marian Dimension of Christian Article 5 Spirituality, Historical Perspectives, I. The Early Period 2001 How Can Spirituality be Marian? Johann G. Roten University of Dayton Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/marian_studies Recommended Citation Roten, Johann G. (2001) "How Can Spirituality be Marian?," Marian Studies: Vol. 52, Article 5. Available at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/marian_studies/vol52/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Marian Library Publications at eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Marian Studies by an authorized editor of eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Roten: Spirituality Spirituality HOW CAN SPIRITUALITY BE MARIAN? Johann G. Roten, S.M.* "There is nothing better than true devotion to Mary, con, ceived as an ever more complete following of her example, to in, troduce one to the joy ofbelieving."1 Can this statement, formu, lated with the spiritual formation of future priests in mind, be applied to all Christians? Is it true that sound Marian devotion is "an essential aspect of Christian spirituality"F Or must we con, cede that Marina Warner's prophecy has come true, namely, that the "reality of her [Mary's] myth is over; the moral code sheaf, firms has been exhausted"?3 While reducing Marian devotion to an expression of the "traditionalist counter,movement," a recent sociological study reached a different conclusion: "With the weight of the history I reviewed ... firmly supporting the following con, elusion, I contend that Marian devotion will continue well into the next millennium.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecstasy and Mysticism by HANS HOF
    Iv Ecstasy and Mysticism By HANS HOF The task I set myself in this paper is that of finding and understanding the structures in human consciousness which characterise the experience of certain kinds of ecstasy. The context in which I try to perform this task is an outline of fundamental changes in consciousness brought about by those methods of meditation which, under optimal conditions, give rise to mysti- cal experience. I define the terms "ecstasy" and "mysticism" within the scope of this outline. My presentation will be divided into three sections. In the first section I discuss a method of finding and interpreting structures of consciousness relevant for understanding the phenomena of ecstasy and mysticism. In the second section I present the results of an investigation based on the given method: an outline of the realms of human consciousness where different ecstatic and mystical phenomena can be placed. In the third section I offer some considerations regarding the phenomenological method that I recom- mend for examining the structures of consciousness of ecstasy and mysti- cism. 1. Concerning an experimental method in study of ecstasy and mysticism Phenomena such as ecstasy and mysticism display both psychological and physical features. We find their defining features within the psychological sphere: what makes ecstasy ecstasy or mysticism mysticism is their psy- chologically describable features and not the physical ones. The physical features which are a part of these phenomena are usually regarded as secondary in relation to the psychological ones. This relation entails a methodological problem. How does one go about an experimental investi- gation of phenomena whose main features are to be found in subjective experience? How can one find intersubjective criteria? 16—Religious Ecstasy 242 HANS HOF A useful approach in obtaining an answer to these questions is shown by the experiences afforded us through the so called "meditation" of the last two decades.
    [Show full text]
  • Birkbeck Institutional Research Online
    Birkbeck ePrints BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research Online Enabling open access to Birkbeck’s published research output Queer Walsingham Book chapter (Author’s draft) http://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/4244 Citation: Janes, D. (2010) Queer Walsingham – In Janes, D.; Waller, G. - Walsingham in Literature and Culture from the Middle Ages to Modernity pp.147-166 (ISBN: 9780754669241) © 2010 Ashgate Publisher version ______________________________________________________________ All articles available through Birkbeck ePrints are protected by intellectual property law, including copyright law. Any use made of the contents should comply with the relevant law. ______________________________________________________________ Deposit Guide Contact: [email protected] 209 Chapter 10 Queer Walsingham Dominic Janes A banner reading “The Bible. Cure for Sodomy” was deemed to be sufficiently inflammatory that the police escorting the National Pilgrimage of Our Lady of Walsingham in 2004 required that it be taken down (fig. 9).1 Disgust at this official line can be found, as a component of a substantial campaign of vilification of the shrine, on the website of the European Institute of Protestant Studies (EIPS) which is housed in the Paisley Jubilee Complex of the Martyrs‟ Memorial Free Presbyterian Church in Belfast. Its President is Ian Paisley, until recently First Minister of Northern Ireland, founder and moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church in Belfast and possessor of an Honorary Doctorate from the evangelical Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. The purpose of the institute is to “expound the Bible and expose the Papacy” and it offers courses which include “showing Roman Catholics the way to Christ,” “False doctrines of Roman Catholicism,” and “The Church of Rome and Politics (an exposure of the Vatican conspiracy to overthrow civil government from the twelfth century to the present, with particular emphasis on the history of Papal assaults against Britain and Rome's contemporary involvement in the European Union).”2 [Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • CHURCH and PEOPLE " Holyrussia," the Empire Is Called, and the Troops of The
    CHAPTER V CHURCH AND PEOPLE " HOLYRussia," the Empire is called, and the troops of the Tsar are his " Christ-loving army." The slow train stops at a wayside station, and..among the grey cot- The Church. tages on the hillside rises a white church hardly supporting the weight of a heavy blue cupola. The train approaches a great city, and from behind factory chimneys cupolas loom up, and when the factory chimneys are passed it is the domes and belfries of the churches that dominate the city. " Set yourselves in the shadow of the sign of the Cross, O Russian folk of true believers," is the appeal that the Crown makes to the people at critical moments in its history. With these words began the Manifesto of Alexander I1 announcing the emancipation of the serfs. And these same words were used bfthose mutineers on the battleship Potenzkin who appeared before Odessa in 1905. The svrnbols of the Orthodox Church are set around Russian life like banners, like ancient watch- towers. The Church is an element in the national conscious- ness. It enters into the details of life, moulds custom, main- tains a traditional atmosphere to the influence of which a Russian, from the very fact that he is a Russian, involuntarily submits. A Russian may, and most Russian intelligents do, deny the Church in theory, but in taking his share in the collective life of the nation he, at many points, recognises the Ch'urch as a fact. More than that. In those borcler- lands of emotion that until life's end evade the control of toilsomely acquired personal conviction, the Church retains a foothold, yielding only slowly and in the course of generations to modern influences.
    [Show full text]
  • St. Catherine of Bologna Church
    1 ST.ST. CATHERINECATHERINE OFOF BOBOLOGNALOGNA TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME OCTOBER 1, 2017 READINGS FOR SUNDAY: EZ 18:25-18; PS 25,4-9; PHIL 2,1-11; MT 21,28-32 112 Erskine Rd, Ringwood, NJ 07456, Phone: (973) 962-7032 [email protected], www.stcatherineofbologna.org Parish office: Monday-Thursday 9:30am-3:00pm MASS SCHEDULE PRAYER TO ST. CATHERINE OF BOLOGNA Weekdays Monday-Friday 9:00am St. Catherine of Bologna, patron of artists and of our parish, Saturday I humbly ask you to intercede on my behalf 9:00am, 5:00pm (Vigil Mass) to gain for me, my family and our parish Sunday the grace of love and trust, peace and forgiveness. 7:30am 9:00am O Dear St. Catherine, 11:00am Let your uncorrupt body be a sign of God’s 6:00pm presence in our midst and of the unconditional love our crucified Lord has for each one of us. CONFESSION Saturdays May your art inspire us 8:30am-9:00am, 4:00pm-4:30pm and may the Franciscan spirit of humility, First Fridays simplicity, and obedience, 6:00pm-7:00pm so close to your heart, EUCHARISTIC ADORATION be present in our words, actions and thoughts at every moment. Fridays 9:30am-10:30am St. Catherine of Bologna - pray for us! First Fridays 9:30am-1:00pm, 6:00pm-7:00pm 2 TWENTY-FIFTHSIXTH SUNDAYSUNDAY IN IN ORDINARY ORDINARY TIME TIME SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 24, 1, 2017 MASS INTENTIONS PRAY FOR OUR MILITARY For those in the military serving overseas & their families that TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME October 1 they complete their mission & return home safely.
    [Show full text]
  • Violent Crime, Moral Transformation, and Urban Redevelopment in Post-Katrina New Orleans
    THE BLESSED PLACEMAKERS: VIOLENT CRIME, MORAL TRANSFORMATION, AND URBAN REDEVELOPMENT IN POST-KATRINA NEW ORLEANS by Rebecca L. Carter A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology) in The University of Michigan 2010 Doctoral Committee: Professor Gillian Feeley-Harnik, Chair Professor Thomas E. Fricke Associate Professor Stuart A. Kirsch Associate Professor Paul Christopher Johnson © Rebecca L. Carter All rights reserved 2010 DEDICATION For Evan ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There aren‟t enough words to fully express my gratitude for the guidance, encouragement, and generous support I have received during the completion of this dissertation and my doctoral degree. It has been a long but extremely rewarding process; an endeavor that has unfolded over the span of the last six years. Of that time, three years were spent completing coursework and training at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; two years (July 2007 – July 2009) were spent doing ethnographic fieldwork in New Orleans, Louisiana; and the final year was spent writing up in my home state of Tennessee, as part of a dissertation writing and teaching fellowship based at Middle Tennessee State University. To be afforded the time and the occasion to work as an anthropologist and ethnographer at all is something of a luxury; I frequently remind myself what a dream job and a privilege it is. There are many people that I must thank for the opportunity, and for their help in seeing the research through until the end. So many, that in many ways the finished product is perhaps best situated as a collective and collaborative project rather than a solo venture.
    [Show full text]
  • Dancing in Body and Spirit: Dance and Sacred Performance In
    DANCING IN BODY AND SPIRIT: DANCE AND SACRED PERFORMANCE IN THIRTEENTH-CENTURY BEGUINE TEXTS A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Jessica Van Oort May, 2009 ii DEDICATION To my mother, Valerie Van Oort (1951-2007), who played the flute in church while I danced as a child. I know that she still sees me dance, and I am sure that she is proud. iii ABSTRACT Dancing in Body and Spirit: Dance and Sacred Performance in Thirteenth-Century Beguine Texts Candidate’s Name: Jessica Van Oort Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Temple University, 2009 Doctoral Advisory Committee Chair: Dr. Joellen Meglin This study examines dance and dance-like sacred performance in four texts by or about the thirteenth-century beguines Elisabeth of Spalbeek, Hadewijch, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Agnes Blannbekin. These women wrote about dance as a visionary experience of the joys of heaven or the relationship between God and the soul, and they also created physical performances of faith that, while not called dance by medieval authors, seem remarkably dance- like to a modern eye. The existence of these dance-like sacred performances calls into question the commonly-held belief that most medieval Christians denied their bodies in favor of their souls and considered dancing sinful. In contrast to official church prohibitions of dance I present an alternative viewpoint, that of religious Christian women who physically performed their faith. The research questions this study addresses include the following: what meanings did the concept of dance have for medieval Christians; how did both actual physical dances and the concept of dance relate to sacred performance; and which aspects of certain medieval dances and performances made them sacred to those who performed and those who observed? In a historical interplay of text and context, I thematically analyze four beguine texts and situate them within the larger tapestry of medieval dance and sacred performance.
    [Show full text]
  • The Peformative Grotesquerie of the Crucifixion of Jesus
    THE GROTESQUE CROSS: THE PERFORMATIVE GROTESQUERIE OF THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS Hephzibah Darshni Dutt A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2015 Committee: Jonathan Chambers, Advisor Charles Kanwischer Graduate Faculty Representative Eileen Cherry Chandler Marcus Sherrell © 2015 Hephzibah Dutt All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Jonathan Chambers, Advisor In this study I argue that the crucifixion of Jesus is a performative event and this event is an exemplar of the Grotesque. To this end, I first conduct a dramatistic analysis of the crucifixion of Jesus, working to explicate its performativity. Viewing this performative event through the lens of the Grotesque, I then discuss its various grotesqueries, to propose the concept of the Grotesque Cross. As such, the term “Grotesque Cross” functions as shorthand for the performative event of the crucifixion of Jesus, as it is characterized by various aspects of the Grotesque. I develop the concept of the Grotesque Cross thematically through focused studies of representations of the crucifixion: the film, Jesus of Montreal (Arcand, 1989), Philip Turner’s play, Christ in the Concrete City, and an autoethnographic examination of Cross-wearing as performance. I examine each representation through the lens of the Grotesque to define various facets of the Grotesque Cross. iv For Drs. Chetty and Rukhsana Dutt, beloved holy monsters & Hannah, Abhishek, and Esther, my fellow aliens v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in instructing catechumens, wrote, “The dragon sits by the side of the road, watching those who pass.
    [Show full text]
  • Christianity and Vegetarianism 1809 – 2009
    EDEN’S DIET: CHRISTIANITY AND VEGETARIANISM 1809 – 2009 by SAMANTHA JANE CALVERT A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Theology and Religion School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham June 2012 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT The vegetarian teachings of the Salvation Army, Quakers, the Seventh Day Adventists and other Christian groups have been largely neglected by academics. This study takes a prosopographical approach to the development of modern Christian vegetarianism across a number of Christian vegetarian sects, and some more mainstream traditions, over a period of two centuries. The method allows for important points of similarity and difference to be noted among these groups’ founders and members. This research contributes particularly to radical Christian groups’ place in the vegetarian movement’s modern history. This study demonstrates how and why Christian vegetarianism developed in the nineteenth century and to what extent it influenced the secular vegetarian movement and wider society. It contextualizes nineteenth-century Christian vegetarianism in the wider movement of temperance, and considers why vegetarianism never made inroads into mainstream churches in the way that the temperance movement did.
    [Show full text]
  • IN THIS ISSUE of the MAGAZINE... Dating the Crucifixion Good Friday Walk of Witness Being a Dementia Friend?
    TheMagazine43_101.qxd 22/04/2015 14:08 Page 1 March & April 2015 IN THIS ISSUE OF THE MAGAZINE... Dating the crucifixion Good Friday Walk of witness Being a Dementia friend? Website: www.burtonchurch.org.uk TheMagazine43_101.qxd 22/04/2015 14:08 Page 2 From our Vicar Rev. Cathy Helm he Bible has a lot to say about the We need to worship because without we lose a Timportance of worship ....but why? If God sense of wonder and gratitude and plod along is so awesome and Almighty, why does he need with blinkers on. our worship? We need to worship because we encourage each God doesn't need our worship to make Him feel other and ride life's storms together, without that better. We need to worship to help us feel better! shared experience of worship we become Perhaps the Old Testament is so full of isolated and cold like an ember that falls from instructions as to how to worship in a way the fire will grow cold. pleasing to God, because He knows how We need to worship because of our natural forgetful we can be! A poster outside a church tendency to self reliance and stubborn read independence. 'Problem of ancient times: IDOL worship Worship is not dependent upon whether we sing Problem of modern times: IDLE worship' hymns, psalms, choruses or songs, whether we gather in a cathedral church, chapel or cafe. It is The Psalmist wrote in psalm 95: 6 ' Come, let us dependent upon our attitude and openness to bow down in worship, let us kneel before the God.
    [Show full text]