Joseph Smith Junior, founder of the Mormon faith, presented himself to America and the world as a prophet with the same powers as the widely known prophetic figures of the Bible. Like Moses and Elijah, he made God's will known to humankind. Before assuming this role, Smith had used divining rods and then seer stones to find underground water, buried treasure, lost items, and stray livestock. This thesis charts Joseph Smith's progression from rodsman to seer to prophet. For the most part, I present Joseph Smith's divinatory development as he himself experienced it. Dowsing with a rod, seeing things in stones, and receiving heavenly revelations were as real to Smith as harvesting wheat. In order to understand his progression from rodsman to seer to prophet, one must first understand his worldview. The mental universe of early American water witches and village seers forms one of the historical and cultural contexts in which Joseph Smith developed his divinatory abilities.

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xi, 69 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / In the context of Judeo-Christian theology, I develop what appears to be the first formal economic model to analyze the joint interactions between human actors and a divine actor involved in the production of good works. Human actors are identified as trusting believers, doubting believers, or nonbelievers. The divine actor is perceived as offering four different alternative contracts, an ex ante contract without a penalty, an ex post contract, an ex ante contract with a penalty, and a covenant. Contract types are identified with specific religious affiliations. The amount of good works produced depends on the strength of faith and the contractual choices of the individual, as implied by religious affiliation. I test explicit predictions of the model using individual survey data from a nationally representative sample. My results suggest that (1) ex post contracts "work" (attendance is greater for trusting believers under ex post contracts than under ex ante contracts without a penalty); (2) strength of faith does not matter (good works are equivalent for both trusting and doubting believers under ex ante contracts); (3) penalties do not "work" for believers (attendance is no greater for believers under ex ante contracts with a penalty than under ex ante contracts without a penalty); and (4) covenants "work" (attendance is the same for believers under covenants as under ex ante contracts without a penalty). Tests focus either on the model's counterintuitive predictions for the role of strength of faith for a given contract type or on the role of religious affiliation and contract type for a given strength of faith. The tests suggest substantial power for the model's predictions. Even so, the dissertation emphasizes throughout the limitations of a purely economic analysis of the Judeo-Christian tradition and theology. / Committee in charge: Joe Stone, Co-Chairperson, Economics; Jo Anna Gray, Co-Chairperson, Economics; Larry Singell, Member, Economics; Jean Stockard, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy & Mgmt

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:13:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ionara Cristine Lermen.pdf: 5175071 bytes, checksum: 7a8d2f2d74e8ca3b2496e27b56b89e77 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-11-04 / This research aimed to understand which relationships and possible contributions, arising from the study of angelology, to the technological-scientific thinking in the area of communication and semiotics, media events from Angel's character in the movies. Conjectured that the figure of the Angel addressed within the study of angelology had relations and fundamental contributions to the field of communication, both similar in character, from the perspective of reasoning character "messenger", as well as persuasive element within the manifestations media in film, considering his character and religious mythological-archetypal followed by their relevance as semiotic sign, in particular, has also sought to understand the figure of the Angel from the studies of angelology (pseudoscience proposed within the study of religion, theology and philosophy, addressed in particular by the authors Arturo Blanco and Charles Ryrie and Judeo-Christian literature with reference to the Bible) and its categorization within the sciences, briefly adding their spheres of analysis within the cradle of these (philosophy) and the study of religion (theology), and to analyze in a descriptive interpretation based on comparative argument twenty-five films that include the character Angel (Western filmographies dated in the period between the late twentieth and early twenty-first century) generating categories of "types "recurring characters archetypally (theoretical guided especially Carl Jung and Christopher Vogler), He has helped the findings on concepts of communication theory that made use of the Angel as a metaphor for its phenomena, in particular by the authors' Michel Serres and Walter Benjamin and issues arising from modeling and translatability studies Semiotics of Culture, with its exponent, Iury Lotman. The theoretical-methodological procedure took around concepts based on media publications and media holders (motion pictures), proposed in descriptive, analytical and interpretive, generating a basic qualitative research. The work shows is important considering that the area of communication has proved lacking in research that promote interaction between scientific and technological studies pseudoscience, such as the angelology. How conclusive elements, brings desmitificam notes that the idealization of common sense Angel necessarily be basic Judeo-Christian film, permeated with new specificities and attributes that only introduces narativa well as attentive to the unfounded idea that characters Angels the fantastic genre, are recurring in film, thus leaving open the reflection of the possible contributions that digital technologies within the communication can provide for amplification, and dissemination "materialization" of the universe and its angelological signs, making use of the seventh art / A presente pesquisa objetivou compreender quais as relações e contribuições possíveis, advindas dos estudos da angelologia, para com o pensamento tecnológico-científico na área da comunicação e semiótica, a partir de manifestações midiáticas da personagem Anjo no cinema. Conjecturou-se que a figura do Anjo, abordada dentro dos estudos da angelologia possuía relações e contribuições fundamentais para com a área da comunicação, em caráter tanto análogo, sob a ótica da fundamentação de personagem mensageiro , bem como elemento persuasivo dentro das manifestações midiáticas no cinema, tendo em vista seu caráter mitológico-arquetípico e religioso seguido de sua relevância enquanto signo semiótico; Em específico, buscou ainda compreender a figura do Anjo a partir dos estudos da angelologia (pseudociência proposta dentro dos estudos da religião, da teologia e da filosofia, abordada em especial através dos autores Arturo Blanco e Charles Ryrie e de literatura judaico-cristã tendo como referência a Bíblia) e sua categorização dentro das ciências, agregando brevemente suas esferas de análise dentro do berço destas (filosofia) e do estudo das religiões (teologia), além de analisar de modo descritivo interpretativo com base no argumento comparativo, vinte e cinco filmes que contemplam a personagem Anjo (filmografias ocidentais datadas no período entre os final do século XX e início do século XXI) gerando categorias de "tipos" de personagens recorrentes arquetipicamente (referencial teórico pautado especialmente em Carl Jung e Christopher Vogler); Amparou as constatações em conceitos da teoria da comunicação que fizeram o uso do Anjo como metáfora para seus fenômenos, em especial através dos autores Michel Serres e Walter Benjamim e as questões da modelização e tradutibilidade advindas dos estudos da Semiótica da Cultura, com seu expoente, Iury Lotman. O procedimento teórico-metodológico se deu em torno de conceitos advindos de suportes bibliográficos e de suportes de mídia (filmes cinematográficos), em proposta descritiva, analítica e interpretativa, gerando uma pesquisa de base qualitativa. A obra mostra-se importante por considerar-se que a área da comunicação tem se mostrado carente de pesquisas que promovam a interação entre estudos tecnológicos científicos e as pseudociências, a exemplo da angelologia. Como elementos conclusivos, traz apontamentos que desmitificam a idealização do senso comum do Anjo ser necessariamente de base judaico-cristã no cinema, permeado por especificidades e novos atributos que apenas a narativa introduz, bem como atenta-se para a ideia infundada de que personagens Anjos no gênero fantástico, são recorrentes no cinema, deixando-se assim em aberto a reflexão das possíveis contribuições que as tecnologias digitais dentro da comunicação podem oferecer para a amplificação, disseminação e "materialização" do universo angelológico e seus signos, fazendo uso da sétima arte

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-05-06T11:21:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 luiscarlosdecarvalhosilva.pdf: 1046515 bytes, checksum: ff6391f151f652d84f7c35c729144d38 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-06-07T15:48:31Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 luiscarlosdecarvalhosilva.pdf: 1046515 bytes, checksum: ff6391f151f652d84f7c35c729144d38 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-07T15:48:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 luiscarlosdecarvalhosilva.pdf: 1046515 bytes, checksum: ff6391f151f652d84f7c35c729144d38 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-08 / O objetivo desta dissertação é perscrutar a vida de Edith Stein, com o intuito de incluíla no rol dos precursores do Diálogo Judaico-Cristão. A base para essa hipótese está em sua obra “Sobre o problema da Empatia”, enquanto método fenomenológico que descreve a estruturação humana, donde brota o ímpeto dialogal e relacional. A tese de Stein inspira a apreensão espiritual do universo do outro, o que confirma a empatia como caminho de união entre Judeus e cristãos. A manifestação desse processo se verifica na biografia da autora, cujo itinerário demonstra que ela encarnou a empatia, relacionando-se com pessoas de diversas crenças em profundo respeito e harmonia, inclusive com o próprio Deus. Em Edith Stein se contempla a síntese da pessoa humana, inserida no conflito políticoreligioso do século XX. Apesar de rejeitada e humilhada pelo fato de ser mulher, judia, monja, e ter sua vida exterminada em Auschwitz, ela triunfa. O seu legado polissêmico e principalmente a sua contribuição antropológica estão refletidos nos documentos e declarações oficiais da Igreja Romana e das autoridades religiosas do judaísmo. / The obejctive of this dissertation is explore the life of Edith Stein, with the intention of include her on the list of precursors of the Jewish-Christian Dialog. The base of the hiphotesys is in her book “The problem of empathy”, while the phenomenological method that describes the human organization, where come the dialogic and relational momentum. The thesis of Stein inspires the spiritual apprehension of the universe of other, that confirms the empathy as way of union between Jews and Christians. The manifestation of this process is found in the biography of the author whose itinerary shows that she incarnated the empathy, relating with people of several beliefs in a deep respect and harmony, even with God himself. In Edith Stein contemplates the synthesis of the human person, inserted in the political-religious of the XX century. Besides rejected and humilated by the fact that she was a woman, judea, nun, and have your life exterminated in Auschwitz, she triumphs. Her legacy polysemic and especially your anthropological contribution are reflected in documents and oficial declaration of the Roman Church and religious authorities of Judaism.

[pt] Esta tese pretende contribuir para compreensão da maneira pela qual Henry James representa a cultura nacional norte-americana, em sua obra tardia. Em 1907, são publicados, sob o título The American Scene, os relatos de sua viagem aos Estados Unidos. A análise deste conjunto de relatos, no contexto da tradição literária norte-americana do século XIX, permite que se reconstitua a imagem construída por seu autor da relação entre indivíduo e sociedade na cultura norteamericana, na virada do século XIX para o XX. A partir dos anos 1820, ensaístas, ficcionistas, sermonistas, poetas e teólogos norte-americanos começaram a identificar o mito etiológico judaico-cristão com o mito fundador da democracia nos Estados Unidos. Inicia-se, deste modo, uma disputa intelectual entre aqueles que pretendiam associar a identidade norte-americana à inocência do Adão antes da Queda e aqueles que a vinculavam à imagem do Adão decaído. A herança desta disputa e o legado literário de autores como Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville e Henry James Sr., conjugados à experiência cultural europeia, fundamentam a versão alegorizada de Henry James do mito do Adão americano, que constitui a narrativa de seu último romance publicado em vida, The Golden Bowl. A análise combinada deste romance e dos relatos de viagem tem como objetivo compreender a importância simbólica que James atribui às noções de Queda e pecado para o amadurecimento moral e o desenvolvimento da sensibilidade estética nos indivíduos. / [en] This thesis intends to contribute to the understanding of Henry James s representation of North-American national culture in his late works. In 1907, he publishes, under the title The American Scene, the travel reports of his visit to United States. The analysis of this array of reports, in the context of the American literary tradition of Nineteenth Century, helps to reconstitute the image constructed by the author of the individual-society relation, in American culture, in the turn of Nineteenth to Twentieth Century. From 1820s onwards, North-American essayists, fictionists, ministers, poets and theologians began to identify the Judeo-Christian etiologic myth with the founding myth of American democracy. It thus began an intellectual dispute between those who intended to associate American identity to the innocence of Adam s before the Fall and those who referred it to the image of the fallen Adam. This dispute s heritage and the literary legacy of writers as Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville and Henry James Sr., combined with his European cultural experience, ground Henry James s allegorized version of the American Adam s myth, which constitutes the narrative of his last published novel, The Golden Bowl. The conjoined analysis of this novel and the travel reports makes possible to understand the symbolic relevance, in James s work, of the categories of Fall and sin to the moral growth and the development of aesthetic sensibility in the individuals.

This essay is a comparative study of Judeo-Christian religion and religions from the ancient Middle East, mainly ancient Sumer/Mesopotamia and Egypt, with focus on the common symbols; the serpent, the cow and the tree. The comparison of the three symbols from different religious traditions highlights that there are both key differences and similarities. The differences and similarities are then explained with the help of professor Yair Zakovitch theory inverted reflections stories also referred to as mirror-narratives, which is an intertextual theory. The application of the theory helps to establish that many of the biblical myths are part of a large collection of polemical literature. A strategy within polemics was to invert symbols and motifs from the so called ”pagan” tradition and associate an old well known motif with the opposite meaning in the later biblical reinterpretations, or what Zakovitch identifies as mirror-narratives. The result of this study shows that the theory mirror-narratives is very fruitful in the comparison of Judeo-Christian religion and ”pagan” religions from the ancient Middle East.