"Sacramental Magic" explores the animate statue in early modem romance as an emblem of the potential spiritually transformative power of objects. The tendency of New Historicism to "empty out" theology from Catholicism overlooks the continued power of sacred objects in Reformation literature. My dissertation joins the recent turn to religion in early modern studies--Catholic doctrine and religious experience explain the startling presence of benevolent animate statues in Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton; one would expect these statues to be empty idols, but instead they animate, revealing a real presence of the divine. I first investigate Spenser's Egyptian lexicon for the Catholic veneration of sacred images in the Temple of Isis in the Faerie Queene. Embedding Britomart's dream vision of an English empire in Egyptian mythology creates a translatio imperii from Egypt to Rome to England, transferring not only political but also religious power. The Isis statue's transformation of Britomart bears striking textual and visual correlations to John Dee's hermetic Monas Hieroglyphica. For Shakespeare, ermetic magic emblematizes the sacrament of penance. Shakespeare's claim "to make men glorious" suggests that Pericles transforms its audience by effecting, not merely signifying, grace. The play emblematizes the restorative aspects of reconciliation, the antidote to the seven deadly sins, with alchemical and medical imagery, culminating in Cerimon's reanimation of Thaisa through an Egyptian magic based on the hermetic ritual to ensoul statues. The Winter's Tale continues Shakespeare's meditation upon the emotional metamorphoses produced by reconciliation. I argue that Shakespeare creates an affective communion among the audience members and the characters, an effect similar to the workings of the Holy Spirit in a Mass, emblematized by the hermetic animation of Hermione. The final chapter examines the Catholic and hermetic parallels in Milton's "Il Penseroso" and Comus. In both works, Milton traces a shared system of correspondences underlying Catholicism and hermeticism in order to explore the relationship between objects and the immaterial, through angelology, Ficinian music theory, the contemplative lives of nuns, the Catholic sacrament of Extreme Unction, and ritual exorcism.

This thesis examines three prevalent models of community engagement in the black churches in the United States of America since the year 2000. It will contribute to existing scholarship by identifying theological motivations for community engagement by the black churches, and assessing the extent to which the black churches address and fulfill criteria for advancing liberation delineated from three generations of scholarship in Black Theology. This shall provide theological insight into the continued social relevance of the black churches. Existing scholarship has shown that the black churches historically have engaged the oppressed communities they have served by addressing their secular and social needs in addition to their spiritual ones, with a sense of mission to affirm human dignity and advance social justice. This praxis of liberation through community engagement was necessitated by the oppressive contexts in which the black churches were founded, and has continued in varied ways in tandem with shifts in social location of black people in America. Black church community initiatives have also been marked among three generations of scholars in Black Theology, who have delineated imperatives for which the black churches might engage their communities to fully continue the praxis of liberation in the present. The interrelated aims of this thesis are to discover the theological motivations of black church community engagement agents, and, to consider the extent to which the community engagement initiatives of the black churches of the twenty-first century address critical theological criteria from Black Theology for advancing liberation; each of which will help to illuminate theological implications for the continued social relevance of the black churches. This project requires an examination of contemporary models of black church community engagement in their own social reality. The models of community engagement that are researched are grass-roots movements where black churchpersons use non-violent direct action to advance particular social justice causes, community development corporations where churches filter grant money from the government to create economic opportunities for their local communities, and megachurch initiatives where congregations use the revenue of their large memberships to effect positive change in their communities. Local examples of each model are examined from a grounded theory approach through interviews with clergy and community workers, observations of worship and program activities, and textual analysis of bulletins, websites, and brochures.

xxviii, 592 p. : ill., music / This dissertation investigates the music and liturgy of the German Benedictine convent of Kloster Preetz as reflected in three fifteenth-century manuscripts: the Buch im Chor of prioress Anna von Buchwald, an antiphoner and a gradual. Chapter II describes the convent's music and liturgy and the cantrix's responsibilities, showing that the cloister practiced an unusually elaborate liturgy. It examines Anna's account of an episcopal visitation and explains resulting reforms. Chapter III examines the musical and liturgical roles of the cloister's children. I also present evidence of a group of female "professional" singers who contributed to the music on important occasions and examine Anna's descriptions of rules governing children's lives, the training of young cantrices, and cloister entrance rites. Chapter IV presents a physical description of the convent's gradual and antiphoner and an analysis of their scripts and notation, arguing for the presence of a convent scriptorium that fostered a unique notational lineage. Chapter V discusses music for the mass in the gradual, focusing on the genres of introit trope, alleluia, and sequence. A comparative analysis suggests an early and melodically conservative transmission of tropes. An analysis of alleluia assignments suggests a likeness to the manuscript I-Rvat 181 (Erfurt) and to the liturgical predecessor of a repertoire eventually promulgated by the Bursfeld reform. I furthermore describe six previously undocumented alleluias. A comparison of the sequence repertoires of Preetz and Lübeck shows that the cloister maintained a rich and unique selection. A case study of the melody OCCIDENTANA/REX OMNIPOTENS confirms a Rhenish origin for the earliest repertoire. Four unusual late sequences are analyzed for their textual and theological complexity. The cloister's unique version of the sequence Letabundus exultet reflects the convent's Marian devotion, hints at its imperial origins, and serves as self-depiction of the nuns' devotional practices. Chapter VI describes music for the office preserved in the antiphoner. An analysis of a previously unknown office for St. Blaise suggests that it may be a lost composition of tenth-century composer Reginold of Eichstätt. An added proper office for St. Matthias bespeaks a liturgical connection to Trier, likely transmitted through the Bursfeld movement. / Committee in charge: Dr. Lori Kruckenberg, Chairperson; Dr. Anne Dhu McLucas, Member; Dr. Marc Vanscheeuwijck, Member; Dr. Lisa Wolverton, Outside Member

Introduction: Dentistry has changed significantly during the last two decades. Patients are more aware and demanding of the latest technologies available in restorative dentistry. The purpose of this study was to determine any possible changes on the surface roughness, gloss and color change of CAD-CAM milled porcelain veneers following repeated milling times, before and after a glazing process. Methods: A Teflon disk-shaped mold was used as a cast to take a digital impression (BlueCam) in order to fabricate cylindrical-shaped specimens. A total of one hundred (N=100) specimens porcelain veneers using Empress CAD (I10) block, were milled using the CAD/CAM CEREC-SIRONA system. The specimens representing the 1 st , 5th , 10th , 15th , 18th and 20th milling times were evaluated to determine any statistical differences regards surface roughness, gloss and color-change. Subsequently, all milled specimens representing the 1 st , 5th , 10th , 15th , 18th and 20th received a standard surface glaze and surface properties (roughness, gloss and color) were re-measured. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in roughness (Pre-glazing) between test groups at different milling times with a determined p value of 0.027. Regard roughness (Pre and Post-glazing) a statistically significant difference was found between test groups on different milling times, which present a p value of 0.18. A statistically significant difference was found in gloss (Pre and Post glazing) between test groups on different milling times. A significantly higher score after glossing, which present a p = 0.791.There was a significant difference found between samples with the same milling time, (Pre and Post the glazing process). The ΔE range between (2.5021 to 3.0418), which is considered to be detectable only by a skilled person and is clinically acceptable. Also, after perform the SEM evaluation of the burs used after 20 milling times, it showed some lost particles leaving some void on the bur surface. Conclusions: There was a statistically significant change in the surface roughness on porcelain veneers processed by CAD/CAM using the same set of burs prior to the glazing process. There was no statistical difference in porcelain surface roughness between samples of the groups Pre-Glazing. Porcelain gloss was altered significantly between groups Pre and Post-Glazing at all milling times. Porcelain Color-shade, value, and hue were significantly altered after the glazing process. There seem to be a considerable change in the physical and optical characteristics (surface roughness, gloss and color-change) after the glazing process, and this likely has a meaningful impact on the clinical aesthetic qualities of the final restoration.

Darwinian evolution is a robustly supported scientific theory. Yet creationists continue to challenge its teaching in American public schools. Biology teachers in all 50 states are responsible for teaching science content standards that include evolution. As products of their backgrounds and affiliations teachers bring personal attitudes and beliefs to their teaching. The purpose of this study was to explore how biology teachers perceive, describe, and value their teaching of evolution. This research question was explored through a heuristic qualitative methodology. Eight veteran California high school biology teachers were queried as to their beliefs, perceptions, experiences and practices of teaching evolution. Both personal and professional documents were collected. Data was presented in the form of biographical essays that highlight teachers' backgrounds, experiences, perspectives and practices of teaching evolution. Of special interest was how they describe pressure over teaching evolution during a decade of standards and No Child Left Behind high-stakes testing mandates. Five common themes emerged. Standards have increased the overall amount of evolution that is taught. High-stakes testing has decreased the depth at which evolution is taught. Teacher belief systems strongly influence how evolution is taught. Fear of creationist challenges effect evolution teaching strategies. And lastly, concern over the potential effects of teaching evolution on student worldviews was mixed. Three categories of teacher concern over the potential impact of evolution on student worldviews were identified: Concerned, Strategist, and Carefree. In the final analysis teacher beliefs and attitudes still appeared to he the most important factor influencing how evolution is taught.

This study was designed with an interest for the healing of emotional distress shared by the disciplines of psychology, philosophy, and spirituality. It sought to merge these disciplines into a coherent therapeutic context for human interaction that could be grounded in the shared human condition, the essential need for meaning, freedom, and relationship. This study also sought to examine the importance of spirituality across the lifespan to the practice of psychotherapy and particularly to explore the spiritual experiences of the adolescent male and discover the meaning and healing effects those experiences have for them, especially those who have experienced significant emotional or relationship difficulties in their lives. Using a phenomenological methodology for the qualitative data analysis, 10 interviews were conducted with young adult males who had participated in a unique spiritual retreat while in high school and during a particularly troubled time in their lives. An exhaustive document review took place. Two distinct phenomena emerged: Lost in Suffering, a state of life prior to the retreat and Found in Redemption: the results of a four day experience of bonding, healing, and transformation, each experience containing five distinct themes. The result is a deep understanding of the lived experience of the participants and a powerful implication regarding the place of spiritual experience in psychotherapeutic healing.

The existence of the oath in the courtroom can be traced back thousands of years throughout history, but the use, meaning, and effect of the oath in law has changed dramatically. The oath as we know it was once a powerful truth-telling instrument that our ancestors used to call upon a higher power. It was the belief of many that the oath itself was not sworn to man or state, but rather directly to a deity. The oath has since then evolved as a result of ever changing beliefs, fueled by increasing tolerance, shaping the oath into more of a tradition, and less of an edict. For centuries, theorists have attempted to determine whether an oath in court is actually effective at accomplishing its goal. The intent of this thesis is to examine the origin of the oath all the way up to the present day. It will be through a comprehensive study of federal law, state law, case law, articles, and publications that we will better understand the oath as a truth-telling instrument that in recent times has lost its effect. From there, it will be possible to better form a solution to a problem that plagues our courtrooms: perjury, or the act of lying under oath. This thesis will seek to establish the best way for our community to actively work towards ensuring the integrity and effectiveness of our judicial system.

The shari‘a, or the inherited legal tradition, has tended to dominate discussions of contemporary Islam. Relatively little attention has been given to the Qur’an, however, despite its importance both in terms of Muslim theology, in which it is understood as the actual Word of God, and of Islamic reformist thought. Far from being marginal, the Qur’an has emerged as a rich resource for theological reflection and sociopolitical action. Specifically, it has become a source of empowerment, speaking to contexts of oppression. This thesis examines the commentaries of four Muslim intellectuals who have expounded the Qur’an as a liberating text – namely, the South African Farid Esack (b. 1956), the Indian Asghar Ali Engineer (b. 1939), the American Amina Wadud (b. 1952) and the Pakistani Asma Barlas (b. 1950) – supplemented by in-depth interviews. In so doing, this study seeks (i) to fill a major gap in the literature by offering the first comprehensive survey and analysis of their readings and (ii) to challenge common portrayals of justice-based exegesis as being an obscure, fundamentalist scripturalism; as being rooted in North America; and as being focussed primarily, even exclusively, on gendered oppression. Indeed, the centring of the Qur’an in Islamic thought, I argue, is an increasingly mainstream practice – a global hermeneutic – as Muslims throughout the world seek answers in scripture to the pressing problems of the present. Furthermore, justice-based exegesis has been holistic, addressing (in addition to patriarchy) poverty and racism, communal violence and imperialism. Liberationist and women’s readings are significant, I conclude, for two reasons. Firstly, they shed new insights into the rise of ‘thematic commentary’ (tafsir mawdu‘i) in Qur’anic exegesis. Secondly, their expressly political character exposes the hegemony of Islamism over our understanding of ‘the political’ and ‘the radical’ in an Islamic context, thereby forcing us to redefine political and radical Islam.

This thesis examines the controversy surrounding the doctrine of atonement among transatlantic Methodist during the Victorian and Progressive Eras. Beginning in the eighteenth century, it establishes the dominant theories of the atonement present among English and American Methodists and the cultural-philosophical worldview Methodists used to support these theories. It then explores the extent to which ordinary and influential Methodists throughout the nineteenth century carried forward traditional opinions on the doctrine before examining in closer detail the controversies surrounding the doctrine at the opening of the twentieth century. It finds that from the 1750s to the 1830s transatlantic Methodists supported a range of substitutionary views of the atonement, from the satisfaction and Christus Victor theories to a vicarious atonement with penal emphases. Beginning in the 1830s and continuing through the 1870s, transatlantic Methodists embraced features of the moral government theory, with varying degrees, while retaining an emphasis on traditional substitutionary theories. Methodists during this period were indebted to an Enlightenment worldview. Between 1880 and 1914 transatlantic Methodists gradually accepted a Romantic philosophical outlook with the result that they began altering their conceptions of the atonement. Methodists during this period tended to move in three directions. Progressive Methodists jettisoned prevailing views of the atonement preferring to embrace the moral influence theory. Mediating Methodists challenged traditionally constructed theories for similar reasons but tended to support a theory in which God was viewed as a friendlier deity while retaining substitutionary conceptions of the atonement. Conservatives took a custodial approach whereby traditional conceptions of the atonement were vehemently defended. Furthermore, that transatlantic Methodists were involved in significant discussions surrounding the revision of their theology of atonement in light of modernism in the years surrounding 1900 contributed to their remaining on the periphery of the Fundamentalist-Modernist in subsequent decades.

There is an increasing prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus among Filipino Americans. However, how well Filipino Americans with diabetes self-manage their disease and what factors influence their diabetes self-management behaviors remain unknown. Based on a holistic approach, this quantitative study was designed to investigate the diabetes self-management behaviors of this population and the factors influencing their self-management behaviors. The combined roles of diabetes knowledge, diabetes self-efficacy, spirituality, and social support were examined in predicting diabetes self-care behaviors. A convenience sample of 113 Filipino Americans with Type 2 diabetes mellitus completed the Diabetes Knowledge Test, Self-Efficacy for Diabetes Test, Daily Spiritual Experience Scale, Diabetes Social Support Questionnaire-Family Version, Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (Expanded), and a researcher-designed sociodemographic survey. A single samplet -test determined that the participants engaged well in diabetes self-management practices. Multiple regression analyses revealed self-efficacy, spirituality, and social support were predictive of diabetes self-management behaviors, even after controlling for the effect of the confounding variables (e.g., acculturation, socioeconomic status, health-related data, immigration status, education). Diabetes knowledge did not have a significant relationship to self-management. The implications for positive social change include the potential impact of educating clients with diabetes and their family members about the connections between self-efficacy, spirituality, and family social support in the self-management of diabetes. Furthermore, the use of a holistic approach by health professionals would improve diabetes self-management practices of Filipino American population with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.