<p> Science has exerted a tremendous influence on modern thought. This occurrence has brought with it its share of benefits and problems. Science has offered humankind the growing ability to understand and master nature. This benefit has also brought with it the critical problem of environmental destruction. Within its philosophical roots, science is tied to a cosmology that has alienated humanity from its 'spiritual' experience. This includes aesthetic and theological experience. Two extremes choices are possible: either to reject the scientific cosmology or to reject 'spirituality' as central to the functioning of reality. For those who wish to include the integrity of all human experience in a cosmology, the hope of synthesizing the scientific with the 'spiritual' stands as an ideal.</p> <p> The thought of Alfred North Whitehead is an attempt at such a synthesis of thought. This thesis examines Whitehead's metaphysical synthesis. It begins, in the first and second chapters, with an examination of what Whitehead understands as the problem. The first chapter deals with his description of the mechanist-materialist understanding of nature. The second chapter shows the deep problems which make such an understanding untenable. In the third chapter we explicate Whitehead's attempt at a more plausible metaphysical synthesis. Lastly, we apply Whitehead's thought to questions of ecological ethics. In this chapter we note how reintegrating the idea of a living nature occupied by things with 'inherent value' with a renewed assessment of the importance of human aesthetic and theistic experience, form together a mandate for the ethical treatment of nature.</p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Living and working abroad is one of the best ways to grow and learn about who you are and who you can become. The purpose of the project is to develop and articulate a radical reflexive praxis within the paradigm of the lived experiences of a Black female expatriate Christian mathematics educator. Grounded in the epistemological tradition of Black feminist thought, this study defines the intersectionality of my identity as a Black woman mathematics educator and explores ways it informs my interaction with students, parents and colleagues and inspires the quality of my instruction delivered in and out of the classroom setting. Through the qualitative practice of autoethnography, the use of personal narratives and field notes tell the story because storytelling adds context and allows the reader to both comprehend and participate in the experience. These narratives of re-reflection are used to explain how each of these identities were parlayed from a place of knowing and being known. Teaching is largely a white female Christian dominated profession and the tendency of the profession to propagate the traditional white male leader prototype confirms the need for more research for and by Black women educators. The rate of Black women yielding a productive gap between living in a culture but not being fully of that culture further confirms the need for more research. Ours is an experience that offers a refreshing sense of agency and opportunity, the characteristics of sound pedagogy and the expected outcomes of robust, dynamic classroom experiences.

We will attempt to show that Paul's doctrine of justification was not an arbitrary replacement of the Jewish idea of justice but a natural necessity of man's nature and his society.

This study has been prompted by the apparently similar claims of the Sixteenth century Anabaptists and the Nineteenth century Mormons of having effected a restoration of the "True Church" after a period of complete apostacy in Christendom. It has attempted to ascertain the extent to whcih these claims actually are similar by comparing the teachings of the two movements regarding the characteristics of the "True Church."

In this thesis prominent teachings of the apostles and prophets were examined on the subject of the divine nature of God. These teachings indicate that among the elements of the divine nature of God is his Holy Spirit, his glory or the light which emanates from his person. God's glory, spirit and light were compared and analyzed to determine their relationship to each other. It was found that they perform the same roles and functions and are often used synonymously. Other aspects of the divine nature were examined, such as life, love, truth and goodness. The terms omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence were studied in light of statements made by the apostles and prophets. They show that God is omnipotent in the sense that he has all the power that it is possible to have, and that he is omniscient in that he knows the past, present and future. Even though God has an organized, glorified and spiritual body of flesh and bone, he is nevertheless omnipresent through the ubiquity of his divine nature and is in and through all things.

From time to time some members of the Church knowingly or ignorantly circulate fallacious stories, rumors, or unsubstantiated reports of a sensational nature, which become more injurious than constructive. Also problems arise when the record of a person's spiritual experiences is published about by others. Often such material becomes garbled as it is passed from person to person. This study investigates some of these rumors and stories in an attempt to discern if there is any truth in them and to present statements of General Authorities as to the position the Church takes, if any, concerning the stories embraced in this thesis. Included also are suggested guidelines and criteria that one might use to attempt to validate or recognize the error of stories not included in this study and other stories that may be forthcoming.

This study examines the impact of religiosity on coping in a group of Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) youth. Longitudinal data were gathered from detailed questionnaires administered to 2852 male and female adolescents in 1990 and 1993. Coping was conceptualized as four general dimensions (self-concept, public activities and service, deviance and future plans). Religiosity was also conceptualized multi-dimensionally (religious belief, public religiosity, private religious behavior, and religious experiences). Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the unique effects of each of the dimensions of religiosity on each dimension of coping. It was hypothesized that religiosity was positively related to coping. More specifically, it was hypothesized that public religiosity would have the greatest impact on community service, while private religious practices would most strongly influence deviance and future plans, and that religious belief and religious experiences would have the strongest impact on the self. Results from the study failed to confirm the hypothesis. While private religiosity moderately impacted future religious, educational and career plans among these youth, the results indicated that the impact of religiosity on the other dimensions of coping was negligible. Limitations of the study and possible reasons for these results are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to determine the contributions of latter-day revelation to an understanding of the atonement of Christ in addition to that which is taught in the Bible. It is generally acknowledged among Christians that the primary purpose of Christ's mission was to redeem mankind. The doctrine of the atonement contains the foundation principles of Chirstian faith and, yet the creeds of the several churches are in serious disagreement on many vital principles involved. If the widely differing views are due to insufficient information in the bible, the question naturally follows - how does modern revelation clarify the problem?

Whether in its earliest or its most recent formulations, Mormon millennialism is essentially premillennial. At no time can it be considered postmillennial or a millennial. Along with a millenarian ideology, Latter-day Saints of the 1830s maintained a polarized perception of society and salvation. Apparently, it was not until the 1840s that Mormons began to explore the millennial implications of the "Vision" of the three degrees of glory. Other strands of thought unique to the earliest years of Mormonism are also considered. Furthermore, it is shown how millenarianism informed Mormon perceptions of Native Americans, missionary work, persecution, the Apostasy, and Zion. With the aid of recent scholarly studies of millenarianism in other religions and cultures, the early Mormon mind is set in a broad eschatological framework. Finally, recent attempts to explain Mormon millenarianism as a response to socioeconomic frustrations are found to be inadequate. Mormon millenarianism is better viewed as a religious response to doctrinal and spiritual frustration.

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