A Convergent Model of Renewal

A Convergent Model of Renewal

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  • Author: C. Wess Daniels
  • Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
  • ISBN: 1498201199
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 240

A Convergent Model of Renewal addresses a perceived crisis for faith traditions. How do we continue to value tradition while allowing for innovative and contextual expressions of faith to emerge? How do we foster deeper participation and decentralization of power rather than entrenched institutionalism? Drawing on insights from contemporary philosophy, contextual theology, and participatory culture, C. Wess Daniels calls for a revitalization of faith traditions. In A Convergent Model of Renewal he proposes a model that holds together both tradition and innovation in ways that foster participatory change. This convergent model of renewal is then applied to two case studies based in the Quaker tradition: one from the early part of the tradition and the second from an innovative community today. The model, however, is capable of being implemented and adapted by communities with various faith backgrounds.


A Convergent Model of Hope

A Convergent Model of Hope

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  • Author: Christopher Wess Daniels
  • Publisher:
  • ISBN:
  • Category : Christianity and cultural
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 488

In the wake of modernity, faith traditions face the challenge of how to adapt within changing cultures, new scientific discoveries, and other pressing realities that bring about crisis. Often the response to revitalization is to eschew tradition altogether or rigidly cling to it. The "convergent model of renewal" proposed here demonstrates how renewal can conserve tradition while being innovative. The model draws on missiology and participatory cultural studies, enabling the construction of a theory that is fully contextual and fosters participation. In order to construct the model, I draw on the work of philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, missiologist Stephen Bevans and cultural studies scholar Henry Jenkins. MacIntyre argues that traditions are historically extended arguments that are socially embodied within living communities. At their best, they overcome internal and external crises by drawing on the resources already within their tradition. Bevans emphasizes that all theology is contextual, and that changing contexts necessitate changing theology. Bevan's synthetic model illustrates how practitioners within a context can be in a dialogue with tradition, culture and praxis. Henry Jenkins demonstrates that within participatory culture, practitioners remix original texts in order to create something new, they work to create authentic experiences, they produce what they want to consume, they share their collective intelligence in ways that are decentralized, and in doing so they embody an alternative social community. The convergent model draws on these three thinkers to offer a way forward for tradition. Tradition is the only grounds for innovation, context is the catalyst for change and participatory culture provides the practices for holding these two things together. Two examples are presented that demonstrate how the model works: early Quakerism and Freedom Friends Church in Salem, Oregon. Both of these groups remix original texts of their tradition with new texts in a way that innovates while maintaining a continuity with the past, as they resist a passive culture of consumerism in order to foster an authentic subjective experience, drawing on many voices an open work of shared power and knowledge is formed, and by doing so they embody an alternative participatory community.


American Christian Programmed Quaker Ecclesiology

American Christian Programmed Quaker Ecclesiology

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  • Author: Derek Brown
  • Publisher: BRILL
  • ISBN: 900453590X
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 100

In American Christian Programmed Quaker Ecclesiology, Derek Brown argues that American Christian Programmed Quakerism has inherited a practical and pragmatic ecclesiology at the expense of an ontological understanding of the church. Inspired by the work of Gerben Heitink, Brown proposes a normative, deductive, ontological ecclesiology based on the biblical concept of koinonia, which would act as a 'foundational' model for future confessional, empirical, and practical efforts. To help form the proposed ecclesiology, Brown explores the ecclesiological views of George Fox and Robert Barclay, the adoption of the pastoral system, and the emergence of the Evangelical Friends Church. The ecclesiological writings of Miroslav Volf, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Hans Küng, Jennifer Buck, and C. Wess Daniels are also surveyed.


The Cambridge Companion to Quakerism

The Cambridge Companion to Quakerism

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  • Author: Stephen W. Angell
  • Publisher: Cambridge University Press
  • ISBN: 1108548520
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 412

The Cambridge Companion to Quakerism offers a fresh, up-to-date, and accessible introduction to Quakerism. Quakerism is founded on radical ideas and its history of constancy and change offers fascinating insights into the nature of non-conformity. In a series of eighteen essays written by an international team of scholars, and commissioned especially for this volume, the Companion covers the history of Quakerism from its origins to the present day. Employing a range of methodologies, it features sections on the history of Quaker faith and practice, expressions of Quaker faith, regional studies, and emerging spiritualities. It also examines all branches of Quakerism, including evangelical, liberal, and conservative, as well as non-theist Quakerism and convergent Quaker thought. This Companion will serve as an essential resource for all interested in Quaker thought and practice.


American Theological Inquiry, Volume Eight, Issue One

American Theological Inquiry, Volume Eight, Issue One

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  • Author: Gannon Murphy
  • Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
  • ISBN: 1725249901
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 106

American Theological Inquiry (ATI) reaches thousands of Christian scholars, clergy, and other interested parties, primarily in the U.S. and U.K. The journal was formed in 2007 by Gannon Murphy (PhD Theology, Univ. Wales, Lampeter; Presbyterian/Reformed) and Stephen Patrick (PhD Philosophy, Univ. Illinois; Eastern Orthodox) to open up space for Christian scholars who affirm the Ecumenical Creeds to contribute research throughout the broader Christian scholarly community in America and the West. The purpose of ATI is to provide an inter-tradition forum for scholars who affirm the historic Ecumenical Creeds of Christendom to constructively communicate contemporary theologies, developments, ideas, commentaries, and insights pertaining to theology, culture, and history toward reforming and elevating Western Christianity. ATI seeks a critical function as much or more so as a quasi-ecumenical one. The purpose is not to erase or weaken the distinctives of the various ecclesial traditions, but to widen the dialogue and increase inter-tradition understanding while mutually affirming Christ's power to transform culture and the importance of strengthening Western Christianity with special reference to Her historic, creedal roots. "Theologians, would-be theologians, and the theologically attentive will want to check out American Theological Inquiry." ~ Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009), First Things


Discretization and MCMC Convergence Assessment

Discretization and MCMC Convergence Assessment

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  • Author: Christian P. Robert
  • Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
  • ISBN: 9780387985916
  • Category : Mathematics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 212

This monograph proposes several approaches to convergence monitoring for MCMC algorithms which are centered on the theme of discrete Markov chains. After a short introduction to MCMC methods, including recent developments like perfect simulation and Langevin Metropolis-Hastings algorithms, and to the current convergence diagnostics, the contributors present the theoretical basis for a study of MCMC convergence using discrete Markov chains and their specificities. The contributors stress in particular that this study applies in a wide generality, starting with latent variable models like mixtures, then extending the scope to chains with renewal properties, and concluding with a general Markov chain. They then relate the different connections with discrete or finite Markov chains with practical convergence diagnostics which are either graphical plots (allocation map, divergence graph, variance stabilizing, normality plot), stopping rules (normality, stationarity, stability tests), or confidence bounds (divergence, asymptotic variance, normality). Most of the quantitative tools take advantage of manageable versions of the CLT. The different methods proposed here are first evaluated on a set of benchmark examples and then studied on three full scale realistic applications, along with the standard convergence diagnostics: A hidden Markov modelling of DNA sequences, including a perfect simulation implementation, a latent stage modelling of the dynamics of HIV infection, and a modelling of hospitalization duration by exponential mixtures. The monograph is the outcome of a monthly research seminar held at CREST, Paris, since 1995. The seminar involved the contributors to this monograph and was led by Christian P. Robert, Head of the Satistics Laboratory at CREST and Professor of Statistics at the University of Rouen since 1992.


The Routledge Handbook of Remix Studies and Digital Humanities

The Routledge Handbook of Remix Studies and Digital Humanities

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  • Author: Eduardo Navas
  • Publisher: Routledge
  • ISBN: 1000346722
  • Category : Computers
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 761

In this comprehensive and highly interdisciplinary companion, contributors reflect on remix across the broad spectrum of media and culture, with each chapter offering in-depth reflections on the relationship between remix studies and the digital humanities. The anthology is organized into sections that explore remix studies and digital humanities in relation to topics such as archives, artificial intelligence, cinema, epistemology, gaming, generative art, hacking, pedagogy, sound, and VR, among other subjects of study. Selected chapters focus on practice-based projects produced by artists, designers, remix studies scholars, and digital humanists. With this mix of practical and theoretical chapters, editors Navas, Gallagher, and burrough offer a tapestry of critical reflection on the contemporary cultural and political implications of remix studies and the digital humanities, functioning as an ideal reference manual to these evolving areas of study across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. This book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of digital humanities, remix studies, media arts, information studies, interactive arts and technology, and digital media studies.


A Rhythm of Prayer

A Rhythm of Prayer

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  • Author: Sarah Bessey
  • Publisher: Convergent Books
  • ISBN: 0593137221
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 176

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • For the weary, the angry, the anxious, and the hopeful, this collection of moving, tender prayers offers rest, joyful resistance, and a call to act, written by Barbara Brown Taylor, Amena Brown, Nadia Bolz-Weber, and other artists and thinkers, curated by the author Glennon Doyle calls “my favorite faith writer.” It’s no secret that we are overworked, overpressured, and edging burnout. Unsurprisingly, this fact is as old as time—and that’s why we see so many prayer circles within a multitude of church traditions. These gatherings are a trusted space where people seek help, hope, and peace, energized by God and one another. This book, curated by acclaimed author Sarah Bessey, celebrates and honors that prayerful tradition in a literary form. A companion for all who feel the immense joys and challenges of the journey of faith, this collection of prayers says it all aloud, giving readers permission to recognize the weight of all they carry. These writings also offer a broadened imagination of hope—of what can be restored and made new. Each prayer is an original piece of writing, with new essays by Sarah Bessey throughout. Encompassing the full breadth of the emotional landscape, these deeply tender yet subversive prayers give readers an intimate look at the diverse language and shapes of prayer.


Resisting Empire: The Book of Revelation as Resistance

Resisting Empire: The Book of Revelation as Resistance

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  • Author: C. Wess Daniels
  • Publisher: Barclay Press
  • ISBN: 9781594980633
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 138

Revelation speaks to the reality that we are caught in the fray of cosmic conflict. We are guilty. We've already been contaminated. But it's not too late for us to exit empire and enter the kingdom. We are yet both victim and victimizer. We have healing work to do, and we must take responsibility for the ways in which we have benefited from and been complicit with the religion of empire. This is the truth of Revelation. God wants to liberate us in body, heart, soul, and mind.Revelation reveals how scapegoating functions within empire to define its own boundaries and contours as being over and against wicked others.Revelation critiques wealth and shows that even in the first century there was prophetic critique against an economic system that was based on abundance for some, while exploiting the rest.Revelation demonstrates the importance of liturgy as something that forms people into the likeness of either empire or the lamb.Revelation reveals an alternative social order which becomes the center of resistance rooted in a vision of what the book describes as "the multitude."


Quaker Studies: An Overview

Quaker Studies: An Overview

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  • Author: C. Wess Daniels
  • Publisher: BRILL
  • ISBN: 9004365079
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 119

Jon R. Kershner, Robynne Rogers Healey and C. Wess Daniels explore the historiography and contemporary fields of Quaker theology and philosophy, history, and the rise of sociology. Developments within Quaker Studies are compared to external sources and tracked over time.