Dissertationen zum Thema „Mount Zion Baptist Church“

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2003.
Thesis research directed by: English Language and Literature. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2005.
Title from title screen. John Kantner, committee chair; Kathryn A. Kozaitis, Emanuela Guano, committee members. Electronic text (112 p. : col. ill.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed June 11, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 106-112).

This dissertation addressed the teaching and implementation of effective mission and outreach ministry at the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. The mission statement of the church has always reflected the importance of remaining mission focused when carrying out the work of Christ and reads as follows: 'We win souls to Christ. We develop Christian growth in grace, knowledge, and service. We build a community, to reach a community.' 1 The intent of this dissertation was to provide a Christian Education ministry that identified the beliefs, attitudes, and actions, whereby the ministries of Mount Pleasant could implement effective mission and outreach ministry programs through the discipline of Christian Education. The implementation portion in this project were carried out in two phases: planning/teaching and implementation/praxis. Methodology for this implementation model included the combined efforts of the Office of the Pastor, the Board of Christian Education, and the Social Services Ministry of the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. The teaching and implementation for effective mission and outreach ministry will be addressed using the following five components: (A) God's vision for mission and outreach ministry; (B) Board of Christian Education planning; (C) ministry education and training; (D) mission project development; and (E) mission and outreach praxis implementation. 1O. L. Blackshear, Sr., Michael T. Barnes and Charles A. Harper, III, 'Mount Pleasant Baptist Church Mission Statement' (Atlanta, Ga., 2 August 1995).

[Note: Typographical errors in abstract were in original volume prior to digitization.] The purpose of this project was to demonstrate strains of white theological racism in the language and practice of Mount Hermon Baptist Church of Flint, Michigan (Mount Hermon). The writer’s intends to do this by probing the congregation’s faith language of being made in the image of God. This investigation seeks to show how white theological racism is a part of Mount Hermon’s biblical, theological, and ideological understanding of being made in the image of God. It is the author’s contention that whether consciously or unconsciously, white theological racism exists in both the language and practice of many African-American churches. For this reason three questions propelled the author to undertake this project. The first being: How can we recognize white theological racism in the consciousness of Mount Hermon Baptist Church? The second question was: What role does Mount Hermon play in causing its congregants to feel they are unable to achieve at higher levels socially, politically, or economically because of their skin color? Thirdly: What steps are necessary to overcome this dilemma? The author addressed these questions at length in the project dissertation. The writer’s study of Mount Hermon’ s members began in the summer of 2001 and continued until the summer of 2005 Particular focus was given to members who were forty years of age and over. Most members in this age category have served on the Church Board of Christian Education. In preparation for this study, the writer led the church to select a biblical theme: Image of God and the Vision of Ourselves. All formal and informal church activities were informed by our theme, borrowed from Genesis 1:26-27. The writer’s intent was to raise church members’ consciousness of who they are in the image of God. The author hypothesized that the more we learn about the image of God in our vision of ourselves the better we will feel about ourselves. Our knowledge of God affects our ability to function dynamically as members of the body of Christ. Some members of Mount Hermon have consciously and unconsciously internalized strains of white theological racism, which minimize their image, promote self-hatred and are predicated on myths of inferiority, which began long before African enslavement in the United States of America. Damon Jones in “Understanding Racism to End Its Effects,” concludes that there are four ways that the myth of racism effected Africans and African Americans.1 Jones described the first major effect of the myth of racism occurred with the enslavement of Africans in North America during chattel slavery for over four centuries; thereby creating a consciousness of Black inferiority. He goes on to detail the second effect of the racism myth as building a platform that perpetuates the stigma of race in the American South. The third effect Jones described was the reinforcement of Black inferiority through education. Credible scholars of the day refder ed ifdifgs reif orcif g Black if eriority that were ifc orporated ifto pro essiofal jourfals o sciefce afd philosophy. Lastly, Jofes described the ourth e ect o the racist myth as the use o the Bible to support chattel slavery afd the lyfchif g o A ricaf males. White theological racism distorts the image o God if our visiof o who we are. It has provef aft i-productive if the past f or caf it serv e the preseft age. A survey was created to determife the embedded ideology afd theology preseft if Mouft Hermof Baptist Church’s aith expressiofs. This survey was desigfed to idefti y implicit afd explicit racist ideas, afd the lack o sel -esteem if the members’ aith expressiofs. If order to idefti y embedded biblical afd theological ufderstafdif gs withif the cofgr egatiof, the survey ifclude s questiofs addressifg participaft’s ideological, biblical, afd theological views. The survey oufd that fe gative belie s afd attitudes cofcerfif g race did exist if Mouft Hermof afd they were harm ul afd based upof allacious if ormati of. Later. the same survey was givef to a group o the Wolverife State Baptist Cofveftiof o Michigaf mifisters. The author’s purpose if askifg this group o mifisters to participate was to compare afd coftrast the embedded ideological, biblical, afd theological ufdersta fdifgs o the cofv eftiof with those o Mouft Hermof Baptist Church. Whef comparifg afd cofirastif g the ifdifgs, the author oufd parallelisms afd dissimilarities if belie 5 afd ufde rstafdif gs. Completiof o the survey by mifisters ifdicated how white theology racism, doctrife, afd ethics are preseftl y shapifg cofg regatiofs. It was the author’s hope that mifisters who participated if the survey would idefti y straifs o white theological racism if their persofal theology afd motivate urther ifv estigatiof. 0 course, the writer’s theology mirrors the theology o Wolverife State Baptist Convention ministei~ thereby shaping ihe theology of our particular congregations. The survey used allowed the author to learn more about Mount Hermon’ s congregation~ fellow Baptist ministers, and most of all self. Mount Hermon can be helpful in validating, liberating, and raising the self-esteem of its believers. Moreover~ it is possible for Mount Hermon to have far-reaching influence into the future by dis-allowing faulty faith language and the influence of white theological racism to prevail in Christian Education efforts. Christian supremacist theology claims that morality is predicated upon unwavering faith in Jesus Christ and that the Bible is the source of law. This view sees all non-Christian beliefs as atheism and the root of wickedness in society. Christian supremacist theology is the parent of white supremacy 2 The writer’s study helped Mount Hermon Baptist Church and its pastor to see the continuing need for contemporary teaching resources to address Christian Education in African-American congregations at all ages. The author has come to understand the need for ongoing Christian Education to enlighten African-American church so that it might transform the future. 1 Damon R. Jones, “Understanding Racism to End Its Effects,” available from lmp:/!www.blackandchristian.c0m!a11ic1e5Iaca1~Y~J01~5~hl -07 .shtrnl; Internet. 2 Mitchell Kahie, “Opposing the Christian Supremacy Movement,” available fromhttp: ‘\Vww. lava. net/~.~hcssc/ChristianSuPremaCYMOve111ent.ht1T1l ] nternet.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
人類學研究所
104
This research focuses on the study of the autonomous community “Mount Zion” (Mt. Zion), established by the New Testament Church (NTC) in Taiwan. The aim of the research is to examine the contemporary features, present its development and practice of social life, and connect with some previous studies on Utopia. In my study, it is believed that the “thought” of Utopia may exit in various cultures, if Utopia is to be generalized as an idealism of living in a wonderful society in the mortal world. Throughout the world history, it seems that most of the few communities successfully turning the thoughts of Utopia into experiment or practice have been founded by the Christian Utopian ones. On the other hand, in Chinese societies, the case of the “Utopian community” founded by the ideology of religion is scarce. Currently, the best example of this kind of community would be Mt. Zion founded by NTC in Taiwan, which preserves the Utopian way of living in the most complete and sustained fashion. In my study, I consider that the “Holy-Land” (promised land) owned and developed by NTC in Taiwan is a community that sustains and practices the idea of Utopia by implementing Christian religion as its culture base and blueprint of concept. NTC has many Holy-Lands in different places throughout Taiwan, even overseas. Among all, the most representative and most divine one is Mt. Zion located in Kaohsiung City. As for the other Holy-Lands following the example of Mt. Zion are called “branches of Mt. Zion”. Inside the Holy-Land, which deliberately isolates itself from the outside world, the NTC believers consciously recreates the living style similar to “Eden” and “Commune” in the beginning of the Christian Church recorded in the Bible. They live in the God-based life style, and combine “work, live, serve” as a whole. Moreover, they gained the power of self-educating the disciples’ children from Taiwan government in 1997, hence the religion-practicing living area become more mature, and is therefore called “Eden Homestead”. The content of my thesis firstly through the diachronic view point presents the development of NTC/Mt. Zion from 1960s to the present time, indicating how the “internal and external motivation” of the Utopia was efficiently combined by “people”, and how they further actively realized the concrete Utopia community. At the same time, the close-relationship between Christianity and Utopia was examined and revised through the study of the case of Mt. Zion. Secondly, the current study presents the social life of NTC believers in Mt. Zion through the synchronic view point, including the aspects of God-based life and God-based education, environment preservation and eco-village, production and consumption, the idea of Utopia-construction. It also recorded the NTC’ homeschooling (God-based education), daily congregation (prophecy and witness), and pilgrimage (Feast of Tabernacles in 2014). These aspects above hence depicted the profile of Mt. Zion as a Christian Utopia in contemporary Taiwan. Furthermore, the diachronic and synchronic results show that NTC has vividly interpreted various “in-the-name-of-God” actions, inside and outside the community through its unique religious doctrines and mobilization system, and has actively created meanings and given value to it, making it a “practice of faith”. On one hand, it has internally created cohesion within the members in the group. On the other hand, it has externally produced a motion of resistance to form and sustain the boarder of the Utopia. Therefore, Mt. Zion, the Christian Utopian community, is able to continuously “transform” and “adapt” the challenges arising from inside and outside the community under the specific social, cultural and historical context in Taiwan, and further more continues functioning till present time for over thirty years. Finally, this research takes the example of Mt. Zion experience to examine the qualities and conditions for a successfully established and functioning Utopian community. Moreover, the research indicates that the phenomenon of NTC/Mt. Zion is not only a religious utopian movement, but also a “special way of expression” of social movement. Last, the comparison between of Christian Utopia and secular Utopia is made, in order to enter into a dialogue with the Utopia theories in the field of anthropology.