<p>Organic ministry is a term that describes the matrix of life-to-life mentoring that is found in the biblical tradition of the spiritual community of families, house churches and mission teams. The familia Dei and the missio Dei inform our focus on mentoring and mission. The family became the organic structure around which the early church community was built. House churches provided a place for transformational social dynamics to be worked out as spiritual fictive kinship challenged blood kinship as well as social structures. Ministry was developed through a network of organic relationships in the early church, and this should cause leaders to reconsider approaching ministry merely as a leadership function that requires institutional support.</p> <p>Mentoring that is grounded in community and mission builds authentic relationships and develops organic ministry. The missional community advances the Kingdom of God and engages in the mission of God by sharing the gospel through relational networks. Mentoring in this context provides for transformational growth, is focused on character development, and maintains a missional focus. Modern patterns of mentoring help to inform our understanding of mentoring, but often are contrived or individualistic. The organic missional church will provide a backdrop for exploring missional values and practices that reinforce authentic mentoring relationships.</p> / Master of Theological Studies (MTS)

<p>Psalm 29 is studied first as a discrete poem using poetic analysis (parallelism, imagery, verse patterns) and then as a psalm within the larger context of the Psalter using a canonical approach. Psalm 29 as a discrete poem reveals the mighty power of the LORD as eternal king over His created world. The meaning of Ps 29 is clearly expanded in the context of the whole Psalter. In the context of the introductory (Pss 1-2) and concluding psalms (Pss 146-150) of the Psalter, Ps 29 emphasizes the theme of the kingship of the LORD. In the context ofPss 23-30 and in the wider canonical contexts (Books I-V), however, the emphasis ofPs 29 clearly shifts from the theme of the kingship of the LORD to the theme of the temple of the LORD. Reading Ps 29 in the context of the Psalter, reveals not only the kingship of the LORD over the cosmic forces, but also the importance of the temple of the LORD where the LORD dwells.</p> / Master of Theological Studies (MTS)

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If poetry is the act of looking twice, or again, at the world, then I propose that each looking, whether the first, the second, or the last, is done so as filtered by the mind, so that to look is actually an act of creation, a wedding between intention and observation.

Findings from numerous laboratory studies on thought suppression suggest that engaging in deliberate thought suppression may lead to the ironic effects of becoming preoccupied by the very same thoughts one wishes to avoid. Based on the results of these laboratory studies, a sophisticated model of thought suppression (i.e., Ironic Process Theory) has been developed. It has been argued that Ironic Process Theory can inform our understanding of the processes involved in the development and maintenance of clinical disorders such as PTSD. Unfortunately, to date, several important issues that are relevant to the successful application of this model specifically to PTSD have not been explored in detail. One such issue has to do with whether different types of thought suppression strategies that use different types of distracters lead to different levels of preoccupation. The current investigation examined whether the use of minor worries as distracters would lead to greater levels of preoccupation than the use of positive thoughts (Study 1). Eighty-one female undergraduates were assigned to one of three experimental conditions (suppress-worry, suppress-positive, control). Those in the suppression groups were asked to distract themselves from target thoughts using minor worries vs. positive thoughts whereas the participants in the control condition were asked to think about anything they liked. This was followed by instructions to think about anything for all three groups. Results indicated that although the two suppression groups differed on later preoccupation with previously suppressed thoughts, they did not do so in a significant manner. Study 1 also examined the potential mediating role of mental load when mental load is measured. No support for the mediational role of mental load was found. Study 2 further investigated the mediational role of mental load, this time through experimental manipulation. Forty female undergraduates were assigned to one of four experimental conditions (suppress-worry/no load, suppress-worry/load, suppress-positive/no load, suppress-positive/load). The same instructions used in Study 1 were given with the addition of a 10-digit number-recall task for those in the load condition. No support for the mediational role of mental load was found. Results are discussed in relation to theory and practice. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this research was to further my understanding of the inventive experience by capturing the perceptible thoughts, feelings, emotions, and actions that occur during the development of a Patentable Invention. The author, subject of the study, is an experienced inventor with numerous Patents issued and pending. The invention produced during this research was a mechanical device comprised of approximately seventy parts. Documentation of the product was through a formal Application for a U.S. Patent, filed pro se, and accompanied by nine pages of formal drawings also generated by the Researcher/Subject. The qualitative research process employed a phenomenological framework and included a variety of established data collection techniques, many of which had not previously been applied to the study of invention. Guided by the question of better understanding the experience of invention and its meaning, data were collected in written, verbal, and drawn form. An emphasis on real-time data collection avoided many of the pitfalls of autobiographical and retrospective verbal techniques. Over one hundred pages of transcribed data and over 400 developmental drawings were produced and analyzed. In addition to the traditional qualitative data analysis processes, the researcher developed a variety of data organization, coding, and analysis techniques providing quantitative insight into graphical data. / Ph. D.

Crisis thought is an idea that gives a name to and accounts for some of the problematics of the sign crisis in political, social, cultural, and economic discourse. Specifically, crisis thought is a discursive formation, a concept used loosely here to refer to an assemblage of signs such as anxiety or fear that evoke or invoke similar, but inaccurate connotations as crisis in political and everyday usage. The general question this study grapples with is why political, social, cultural, and economic crises are often recognized and, yet, are seemingly unrecognized, unaddressed, or accepted as a basic part of political and ordinary life. This study focuses on the mobilization of crisis thought by the 24/7 news media and throughout politics in the United States. Working outside of economic and Marxist traditions of crisis studies, this study focuses on the effects of crisis thought by way of a critical, interpretive, and interdisciplinary approach. There are two goals of this project. The first is to offer some of the linkages between crisis thought, security, and liberalism. The second goal is to examine through various examples and vignettes how, where, and why crisis thought manifests itself in US politics and in ordinary life. Some topics addressed in this study include: news media, infrastructure, police militarization, mass shootings, US electoral politics, and the alleged US politics of crisis. In the final analysis, this study suggests that 24/7 news media and political mobilizations of crisis thought paradoxically help secure the ontological security of subjectivities as linked to securing security and the logos of liberalism. This study illuminates a peculiar aspect about liberal capitalist democracies: the (re)production of a myriad of crises and, thus, crisis thought, in order to perpetuate itself. / Ph. D. / This study focuses on the effects of crisis thought by way of a critical, interpretive, and interdisciplinary approach. There are two goals of this project. The first is to offer some of the linkages between crisis thought, security, and liberalism. The second goal is to examine through various examples and vignettes how, where, and why crisis thought manifests itself in US politics and in ordinary life. Some topics addressed in this study include: news media, infrastructure, police militarization, mass shootings, and the alleged US politics of crisis. In the final analysis, this study suggests that 24/7 news media and political mobilizations of crisis thought paradoxically help secure the ontological security of subjectivities as linked to securing security and the <i>logos</i> of liberalism. This study illuminates a peculiar aspect about liberal capitalist democracies: the (re)production of a myriad of crises and, thus, crisis thought, in order to perpetuate itself.

This program of research was designed to examine the role of thought suppression in the retrieval of autobiographical memories (ABMs). The principal theory proposed here is that thought suppression is an important mechanism in explaining certain ABM retrieval patterns relevant to trauma and self-harm. Study 1 examined the role of thought suppression as a correlate of ABM retrieval in a nonclinical student sample, and showed that higher levels of thought suppression were significantly correlated with the faster recall of negative episodic ABMs as well as the recall of fewer personal semantic memories. Study 2 used a suppression manipulation procedure designed to examine whether this was a causal relationship, and revealed that induced thought suppression directly led to a significant enhancement in the retrieval of negative episodic ABMs as well as significantly fewer overgeneral first responses to negative cues. Furthermore, the induced thought suppression also resulted in the recall of significantly fewer personal semantic memories. Together these results support the theory that thought suppression is an important factor in ABM recall. The enhanced recall of negative memories could be particularly important in individuals who are self-harming, suicidal and/or suffering from PTSD, as enhanced negative recall has previously been observed in these populations. In order to further examine how thought suppression affects ABM retrieval and whether the enhanced negative recall observed in Study 2 was a result of mood-congruent recall, Study 3 used a similar suppression manipulation paradigm to examine the effects of induced thought suppression on mood. The results suggested that the enhanced negative ABM recall was unlikely to have been a by-product of the suppression manipulation resulting in a more negative mood state. Finally, Study 4 examined the role of thought suppression and ABM recall in a clinical sample of self-harming adolescents (who also reported high levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms). The results showed that levels of thought suppression were significantly higher in the self-harmers than the control group, indicating that thought suppression is an important coping mechanism in self-harmers. Furthermore, in terms of the autobiographical memory retrieval, it was found that the self-harmers were significantly faster in their retrieval of negative episodic ABMs and recalled fewer personal semantic memories than the control group. Multiple regression analysis of the data revealed that thought suppression remained as the most important predictor of variability in negative episodic ABM retrieval and personal semantic memory retrieval, even when variability explained by symptoms of depression and PTSD was considered. This program of research extends current theories of ABM retrieval by identifying thought suppression as a cognitive mechanism that directly affects the retrieval of both episodic as well as personal semantic ABMs. The theoretical importance and clinical relevance of this program of research are discussed.

To investigate the effects of emotional arousal on information processing strategy, three different moods (sadness, anger, and happiness) were hypnotically induced at three different levels of intensity (high, medium, and low) in 29 male and female undergraduate students, while engaging them in a visual information processing task. Subjects were screened for hypnotic susceptibility and assigned to either a high susceptibility group or low susceptibility group to account for the attentional bias associated with this trait. All subjects were trained to access the three emotions at the three levels of intensity. During separate experimental sessions, subjects were hypnotized, and asked to access a mood and experience each level of intensity while being administered the Navon Design Discrimination Task, a measure of global and analytic visual information processing. Scores were derived for global processing, analytic processing, and a percentage of global to analytic processing for each level of mood and intensity. Two (hypnotic susceptibility) x 3 (emotion) x 3 (intensity level) repeated measures ANOVAs were computed on the global, analytic, and percentage scores. In addition, two separate ANCOVAs were computed on each dependent measure to account for the effects of handedness, and cognitive style. None of these analyses revealed significant main effects or interactions. The analysis of the percentage scores revealed a trend toward differences between the emotions, but in a direction opposite to that hypothesized. Hypnotic susceptibility does not appear to mediate global and analytic responses to the Navon visual information processing task when emotions are being experienced. Results regarding emotions and emotional intensity were discussed in terms of the problems with adequate control and manipulation of mood and intensity level. Difficulties with the Navon measure were also explored with regard to the exposure duration in the Navon task, and its adequacy in measuring shifts in information processing associated with transient mood states. Implications for future research were discussed.

Thesis advisor: Thomas J. Massaro / In the U.S. theological context since the 1970's, the current called "public theology" has offered a very interesting proposal for the church to be present in society. In its Catholic variant, this current is very much inspired by the American theologian David Tracy. Applied to the context of Spain, this variant could clarify the relationship between Spanish citizenship and Catholic identity. However, in order to be applied to the context of Spain, this current needs to be put in dialogue with the two other major actors in Spanish society: (1) unbelief, and (2) the Islamic tradition. The issue of unbelief has been the focus of the French moral theologian Paul Valadier. His anthropological framework based on conscience could help public theology to respond to the main secularistic critics. The work of five major modern Islamic social thinkers: Abdulaziz Sachedina, Nurcolish Majid, Adullahi An-Naim, Tariq Ramadan, and Alli Allawi --each of whom have attempted to integrate modern social values with Islamic tradition--provide resources for public theologians to address the Muslim tradition from within the Christian theological stance. By incorporating the insights of these two conversations, public theology presents a new and very interesting proposal for the Church in Spain to be present in the social debates. Integrating Valadier's concern for conscience into Tracy's critical correlational approach offers a suitable theological method. To incorporate Islam into the conversation we should put some previous conditions (the category of public religion) and we should agree on a goal for interreligious dialogue (the pluralistic common good). This method could be the way for the Church in Spain to develop a discourse rooted in Christian identity but understandable by modern Spanish pluralistic society. / Thesis (STD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.