bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Capacity Building and Education among Sex-Workers in the Phnom Penh Red Light District: Is Peer Education the Way Forward for HIV/AIDS Prevention?
Authors: Torri Maria Costanza
Published: April 2013

There is currently a strong interest in the role of grassroots participation in health promotion and a growing influence of capacity development and related concepts of capacity building in HIV/AIDS related policy programs. Although participatory peer educational approaches have increased in both popularity and practice among sexual health promoters in Asia, they have met with varying degrees of success. A clear understanding of the processes and mechanisms underlying these approaches' successes or failures is still in its infancy. This study presents a case of a community-led, participatory peer education program that aims to reduce HIV transmission among commercial sex workers in the city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The purpose of this study is to consider the relevance of capacity building through peer education for HIV/AIDS prevention among high risk groups such as sex-workers. Despite the expressed commitment to community participation in the development of culturally relevant interventions, much remains to be learned about the complexities of translating theoretical notions of “community participation” and “into practice among hard-to-reach groups.”
Nutritional Status and Pattern of Infant Feeding Practices among Children under Five in a Rural Community of Northwestern Nigeria
Authors: Idris S. H. , Popoola-Zakariyya B. , Sambo M. N. , Sufyan M. B. , Abubakar A.
Published: April 2013

The study assessed the factors influencing nutritional status of children less than five years in Biye village in rural Nigeria. The study was a cross sectional descriptive study: 119 caregivers and mothers were interviewed. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data using multi-stage sampling. Anthropometric measurements of children were also taken. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 17.0. Respondents age ranged from 11–50 years, mean age of 26 (± 11.7); 79.8% had Quranic education; and 50.4% were not gainfully employed. Two-thirds (68.9%) were polygamous, and 64.7% had 1–3 children. Less than 1% of children were exclusively breast fed. From anthropometric data obtained, 62.2% were stunted, 12.6% wasted, and 48.7% underweight. A statistically significant relationship exists between family size and children's nutritional status. The prevalence of malnutrition was high with poor child feeding practices. Thus, healthcare providers should carry out community-wide health education on the need to promote appropriate infant feeding practices and nutritional status.
Book-Tax Differences as an Indicator of Financial Distress
Authors: Noga Tracy J. , Schnader Anne L.
Published: April 2013

SYNOPSIS:

We contend that tax-related information, which has not yet been considered by extant research, can significantly improve bankruptcy prediction. We investigate the association between abnormal changes in book-tax differences (BTDs) and bankruptcy using a hazard model and out-of-sample testing as in Shumway (2001). We find that information regarding abnormal changes in BTDs significantly increases our ability to ex ante identify firms that have an increased likelihood of going bankrupt in the coming five-year period. The information provided by BTDs significantly adds information to traditional models for predicting bankruptcy, such as that proposed by Ohlson (1980), and also expands the prediction window beyond the traditional two-year time frame.
The Effects of Reward Type on Employee Goal Setting, Goal Commitment, and Performance
Authors: Presslee Adam , Vance Thomas W. , Webb R. Alan
Published: April 2013

The use of tangible rewards in the form of non-cash incentives with a monetary value has become increasingly common in many organizations (Peltier et al. 2005). Despite their use, the behavioral and performance effects of tangible rewards have received minimal research attention. Relative to cash rewards, we predict tangible rewards will have positive effects on goal commitment and performance but will lead employees to set easier goals, which will negatively affect performance. The overall performance impact of tangible rewards will depend on the relative strength of these competing effects. We conduct a quasi-experiment at five call centers of a financial services company. Employees at two locations earned cash rewards for goal attainment while employees at three locations earned points, with equivalent retail value to cash rewards, redeemable for merchandise. Results show that cash rewards lead to better performance through their effects on the difficulty of the goals employees selected. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Data Availability: The data used in this study are available upon request.
Conversion of Mature Human β-Cells Into Glucagon-Producing α-Cells
Authors: Spijker H. Siebe , Ravelli Raimond B.G. , Mommaas-Kienhuis A. Mieke , van Apeldoorn Aart A. , Engelse Marten A. , Zaldumbide Arnaud , Bonner-Weir Susan , Rabelink Ton J. , Hoeben Rob C. , Clevers Hans , Mummery Christine L. , Carlotti Françoise , de Koning Eelco J.P.
Published: April 2013

Conversion of one terminally differentiated cell type into another (or transdifferentiation) usually requires the forced expression of key transcription factors. We examined the plasticity of human insulin-producing β-cells in a model of islet cell aggregate formation. Here, we show that primary human β-cells can undergo a conversion into glucagon-producing α-cells without introduction of any genetic modification. The process occurs within days as revealed by lentivirus-mediated β-cell lineage tracing. Converted cells are indistinguishable from native α-cells based on ultrastructural morphology and maintain their α-cell phenotype after transplantation in vivo. Transition of β-cells into α-cells occurs after β-cell degranulation and is characterized by the presence of β-cell–specific transcription factors Pdx1 and Nkx6.1 in glucagon+ cells. Finally, we show that lentivirus-mediated knockdown of Arx, a determinant of the α-cell lineage, inhibits the conversion. Our findings reveal an unknown plasticity of human adult endocrine cells that can be modulated. This endocrine cell plasticity could have implications for islet development, (patho)physiology, and regeneration.
Nested Stromal Epithelial Tumor of the Liver in Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome
Authors: Malowany Janet I. , Merritt Neil H. , Chan Nancy G. , Ngan Bo-Yee
Published: April 2013

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is an imprinting disorder characterized by overgrowth, congenital malformation, and tumor predisposition. Children with BWS have a higher incidence of tumors, commonly intra-abdominal tumors such as Wilms tumor, hepatoblastoma, and adrenal cortical carcinoma. Here, we describe the first case of a rare hepatic malignancy of nested stromal epithelial tumor (NSET) of the liver in a child with BWS. A 22-month old girl with BWS had a new incidental liver mass. Her alpha-fetoprotein levels were normal. She underwent a liver segmentectomy. Histopathologic features combined with immunohistochemistry results (positivity for pankeratin [AE1/3], CD56, CK19, CD117, CD99 [weak membranous pattern], β-catenin, and WT1-COOH [focal]), were diagnostic of NSET of the liver. This is the first case of NSET of the liver associated with BWS. Its occurrence at such an early age is consistent with the tumor predisposition of BWS.
Dual band triangular slotted stacked microstrip antenna for wireless applications
Authors: Singh Vinod , Ali Zakir , Singh Ashutosh , Ayub Shahanaz
Published: April 2013

In this paper stacked configuration of microstrip antenna is used to produce dual wide band which is suitable for various wireless applications. Using triangular slot and stacking of foam substrate of dielectric constant 1, two bands of bandwidth 18.70% and 12.10% is obtained. The antenna is fed by coaxial probe feeding technique. The proposed patch antenna is designed on the foam substrate and simulated on the Zeland IE3D software.
Seeking the Roots of Terrorism: An Islamic Traditional Perspective
Authors: Lo Mbaye
Published: April 2013

This article analyzes the associational relationship between Islam and terrorism as embedded in the current popular culture. Two questions are examined: (a) whether from a historical and political perspective current organizations that are terror threats and Bin Laden are natural outgrowths of the Islamic tradition; (b) whether the Muslim popular tradition has historically interpreted some Qur’anic terms such as Jihad and Kuffar ”allegedly infidels” to promote hate and violence against non-Muslims. In view of this discussion, the article suggests that the current terror treats is due to the politicization of the Muslim faith, rather than rooted in Islamic teachings.
Forest Spirits, Giant Insects and World Trees: The Nature Vision of Hayao Miyazaki
Authors: Wright Lucy
Published: April 2013

This article is an exploration of the themes and symbols of Shinto mythology and spiritualism in the early animated feature films of Hayao Miyazaki. In his use of resonant moments of communion with nature, I argue that Miyazaki is cinematically practicing the ancient form of Shinto, which emphasised an intuitive continuity with the natural world. At the same time he is subverting Japan’s cultural myths, such as the myth of an idealised ancient Japan living in harmony with nature, as articulated by kokugaku (National Studies) scholar Moto-ori Norinaga.Miyazaki is a tremendously popular anime director in Japan and his recent film, Spirited Away (2001), won an Academy Award, illustrating his global appeal. His work transforms and reinvigorates the tenets of Shinto, and these are juxtaposed with global culture–inspiration is taken from American science fiction, Greek myths and British children’s literature–to create a hybrid “modern myth” that is accessible (in different ways) to post-industrialised audiences all over the world.
Secular Versus Religious Fans: Are they Different?: An Empirical Examination
Authors: Reysen Stephen
Published: April 2013

An 11-item survey was created and administered to examine differences between secular and religious fans with respect to fan behaviours and beliefs. Responses from 158 adults were examined. Responses from different secular fan groups (e.g., music, media, sports) were similar, lending support to the notion that fans are similar regardless of interest. Responses from different religious groups were also similar among themselves. However, secular fan group responses were different from religious member responses with respect to a number of the questions presented.
Re-sexualizing the Magdalene: Dan Brown’s Misuse of Early Christian Documents in The Da Vinci Code
Authors: Kalvert-Koyzis Nancy
Published: April 2013

In his overwhelmingly popular novel, The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown states that he describes all documents “accurately” when he asserts the theory that Mary Magdalene had a sexual relationship with Jesus, was married to him and bore his children. In this article I will examine the sources for Brown’s ideas and compare them to the actual documents–particularly the Gnostic gospels –that he claims to have carefully described. I will argue that Brown not only misrepresents the documents that he claimed to have used but that he actually replicates the errors of the early church by concentrating on Mary’s sexual status rather than upon her status as the apostle to the apostles.
Under the Influence? The Bible, Culture and Nick Cave
Authors: Boer Roland
Published: April 2013

Debates on the relation between culture and the Bible are locked into two restrictive models: either the Bible is a source for subsequent appropriations, or it is the goal that one must attain through the thicket of those appropriations. In order to trouble this two-way street, I explore the words and music of Nick Cave, focusing on the way he controls interpretation of his work and where that control breaks down. At this moment Cave provides an unwitting insight into another way to view the relation of the Bible and culture, one that operates in terms of “strategies of containment.”
“Applauding the Good and Condemning the Bad”: The Christian Herald and Varieties of Protestant Response to Hollywood in the 1950s
Authors: Linnell Greg
Published: April 2013

A descriptive analysis of the ways in which the non-denominational Protestant monthly The Christian Herald attempted to mediate between Hollywood and American Protestants reveals the complexity and variety of Christian response to popular culture in the ostensibly quiescent and uniform 1950s. Moreover, film reviews, editorials, commentary and letters to the editor demonstrate how the Herald sought to exert control of Protestant activity vis-à-vis motion pictures at a time when Protestants were losing cultural hegemony and Hollywood itself was transitioning to new forms of production and distribution. Even as the decade is renowned for its biblical epics it becomes clear that concurrent legal and social changes prepared the way for the marginalization and eventual ineffectuality of concerted Christian action in this cultural area. These historical dynamics comprise a necessary and proximate background to understanding more contemporary developments such as the celebrated “culture wars” of the 1980s and 1990s.
Middle Earth’s Messianic Mythology Remixed: Gandalf’s Death and Resurrection in Novel and Film
Authors: Stucky Mark D.
Published: April 2013

In the mythology of the very influential The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien employed several Christ figures, the most obvious being the wizard Gandalf. In Tolkien’s “fundamentally religious and Catholic” novel, the symbolism of Gandalf’s “death and resurrection” scenes was implicit, but Peter Jackson’s film versions visually made Gandalf’s Christ-figure symbolism more explicit. This article will explore:

• The cultural impact of Tolkien’s mythology

• The meaning of myth to Tolkien

• The characteristics of a Christ figure

• What a Christ figure subtext may add to the psychological/mythological impact of a work of art

• How Gandalf’s death and resurrection scenes portrayed him as a Christ figure

• How these two scenes in the films diverged from the book

• The possible meaning of that divergence (of the mythology remixed)
Personalized Gravestones: Your Life’s Passion for all to See and Hear
Authors: Maresco Peter A.
Published: April 2013

In the past several years, a trend has developed that in an earlier age would have seemed inappropriate and perhaps even morbid; the increased personalization of gravestones (memorials). What makes this trend interesting is the variety of shapes, designs, manufacturing processes, and types of personalization actually appearing on gravestones, including seven-inch LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screens recessed into the face of memorials. This paper discusses gravestones (memorials) in a religious context. It examines the rapidly developing market for elaborately designed memorials both in their traditional forms, typically vertical and created out of granite with just a name and date of death, to memorials in every conceivable size, shape and colour portraying scenes of the deceased’s everyday life. Although this paper concentrates on memorials found in Christian, mostly Catholic and Protestant cemeteries, references to personalization, or lack of it, in Jewish and Muslim cemeteries are also discussed. Briefly addressed are references to advances in the latest engraving processes that are now making these personalized memorials possible.
“‘Who Do You Say That I Am?’”: Identity and Discipleship in The Last Supper and the Gospel of Mark”
Authors: Toensing Holly Joan
Published: April 2013

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s film The Last Supper presents multiple characters as Christ-figures in events on an eighteenth-century Cuban sugar plantation in order to show the moral bankruptcy of Christianity’s images of the “dolorous Christ” and the “celestial monarch Christ.” Created no more than two decades after the Cuban revolution, the film fosters the revolutionary spirit for cultural decolonization and resistance to imperialist endeavors. For Christians who evoke Jesus as a model of discipleship, the film draws attention not only to the interpretive nature of discipleship, but also the importance of critically analyzing any image of Jesus for being life-giving or oppressive as a model.
“Beyond Beards, Scarves and Halal Meat”: Mediated Constructions of British Muslim Identity
Authors: Moll Yasmin
Published: April 2013

There is an emerging identity discourse among young British Muslims in the twenty-first century that strives to create a space for itself in the public sphere beyond both assimilation and isolation. Its articulators seek to affirm their Islamic identity within its Western context and through interaction with it, re(defining) and (re)constructing in the process what it means to be British as well as to be Muslim. An important way in which such redefinitions take place is through British Muslim particularistic media. Through a critical analysis of the content of two British Muslim magazines, this article examines the way in which these media construct an identity open to the possibility of multiple ways of simultaneously being Western and being Muslim.
The Language of “Sacrifice” in the Buildup to War: A Feminist Rhetorical and Theological Analysis
Authors: Denton-Borhaug Kelly
Published: April 2013

This article investigates the language of “sacrifice” used in official U.S. government communications to build up support for the Iraq war in the American public. Drawing on the rhetorical analysis of victimage rhetoric and framing, and feminist theological criticisms of Christian atonement metaphors in popular American culture, I argue that in the wake of 9/11, the familiar religious connotations of sacrificial language created a frame with deep emotional resonance that encouraged quietistic support for war, manipulated self-sacrificial identity inculcation in the American military, and enabled a comforting interpretation in the face of what seemed an incredible event. My analysis will demonstrate the importance of inclusion of theological inquiry as a part of a broad multi-disciplinary approach to adequately understand the dynamics of the present political and cultural moment.
“Bog off Dog Breath! You’re Talking Pants!” Swearing as Witness Evangelism in Student Evangelical Groups
Authors: Dutton Edward Croft
Published: April 2013

It has been widely noted that formerly taboo sexual swearing is an increasing part of contemporary popular culture, especially among the young. It has equally been observed that evangelical Christians (or at least evangelical Christian students) tend to swear in an idiosyncratic way (e.g., Bramadat 2000), though this has not been looked at in depth. This article will examine the ways in which two evangelical student groups use swearing as part of their “witness evangelism.” Drawing upon fieldwork, as well as research by Douglas (1966), McEnery (2006), Reiss (2000) and Stark (1996), it will argue that the groups” use of swearing leads to successful evangelism because it gives the group a sense of status in broader society—but also clear boundaries in relation to that society— while maintaining the cultural heritage of those that the groups are attempting to evangelise. Moreover, it will suggest that it helps to create social bonds, within certain parameters, and provides a means of talking about and expressing Christianity and thus “witnessing.”
Et Tu, U2? “Wake Up Dead Man” and Bono’s Perceived Betrayal of the Faith
Authors: Holm-Hudson Kevin
Published: April 2013

In one of U2’s most controversial songs, “Wake Up Dead Man,” from 1997’s Pop album, singer-lyricist Bono seemingly portrayed a dead and powerless Jesus, unable to help a troubled world. This interpretation assumes the song to be an autobiographical spiritual statement, the legacy of the perceived “sincerity” of 1970s singer-songwriters. But was Bono portraying a musical persona? Drawing upon Edward T. Cone’s persona theory as well as the writings of C. S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, N. T. Wright and Christian Kettler, “Wake Up Dead Man” is interpreted as a dialogue, rather than as a diatribe.
“I’m a Stranger Here Myself”: Forced Individuation in Alien Resurrection
Authors: Ortigo Kile M.
Published: April 2013

In Alien Resurrection, Ripley’s hybridity catalyzes her unnatural individuation—a unique and significant contribution to the technological myth. Using an analytic framework created from Jung, Rushing, Frentz, and Haraway, I chart Ripley’s complex journey towards individuation, beginning with spiritual mentoring, moving through the mythic significance of her dual wounds, including her equally important double captivity, and the final challenge towards a hybrid mode of individuation in the form of her hideous offspring, the Newborn. The film suggests that the next hope for humanity is either its fragmented creations or the embracing of our own hybrid identities.
The Morality and Politics of Consumer Religion: How Consumer Religion Fuels the Culture Wars in the United States
Authors: Kline Scott
Published: April 2013

Abstract: In his book Consuming Religion (2003) Vincent J. Miller demonstrates how consumer capitalism has been able to commodify religious rituals, symbols, and figures and market them to consumers seeking self-improvement, individual enlightenment, and/or greater spirituality. His thesis is that “consumer religion” is emblematic of a radically transformed social relationship created by consumer capitalism. This article focuses on an element of consumer religion missing in Miller’s argument; that is, how commodified, consumer religion enables certain conservative political leaders to claim a tradition as their inheritance and, in turn, mobilize alienated consumers/voters in the US culture wars. In practical-political terms, culture-war conservatives have found a way to consolidate political power by embracing both a free market, which actually erodes local tradition, and traditional values, which provides fuel for culture war battles over popular movies, television, music, and public education.
Serpents, Sainthood, and Celebrity: Symbolic and Ritual Tension in Appalachian Pentecostal Snake Handling
Authors: Tidball Keith G. , Toumey Chris
Published: April 2013

Intense media coverage of Appalachian Pentecostal-Holiness serpent handling sometimes causes a switch in signifier/signified relationships. The snakes used symbolically in this practice are grounded less in traditional religious meaning, and more in a certain recent secular meaning: from signifying faith in the Holy Spirit to indicating the value of celebrity status. This phenomenon is analyzed in a framework of theories about symbols and rituals, and is then described in a series of ethnographic observations at a serpent-handling church in Kentucky. This case study raises some troubling issues about how cosmopolitan media represent a distinctive local culture.
Enchanted Modernism: “Magical Thinking: a Symposium,” University of London, May 11-12, 2007
Authors: McCorristine Shane
Published: April 2013

“I see dead people … They don’t know they’re dead!” So run the famous lines from M. Night Shyamalan’s film The Sixth Sense (1999). These fearful words, addressed by a clairvoyant boy to the child psychologist examining his “hallucinations,” herald a now-famous twist towards the end of the film in which the psychologist is himself revealed to be dead, a revenant in fact, although he did not know it. For researchers and commentators in a wide variety of disciplines and cultural arenas it has become known that the great “twist” in life, as in death, is that between knowledge and belief, between evidence and faith, there exists a chasm within which deeply-rooted human behaviours, such as ghost-seeing, percolate and can come to dominate our experience of the world. The foreknowledge of our own personal death, and its consequent denial and obfuscation in everyday thought-processes has become a standard reference-point in debates focusing upon the concept of magical thinking. This concept, equally at home in the disciplines of social anthropology, psychoanalysis, and literary theory, refers to the range of strategies, behaviours, and cultural interventions which format the interface between thought and the other, desire and fulfilment, and cause and effect.
Bluegrass Theology: From Primitive (Baptist) to Postmodern
Authors: Stern Richard C.
Published: April 2013

This article examines the music of two bluegrass gospel composers to assess how the theologies in their songs compare. The theo-symbolic code from John McClure’s Four Codes of Preaching provides the reader with a means for discerning the theological elements in a song, sermon, or other artifact, and how the several elements relate to one another. The article concludes that while the composers’ theologies have similarities, at a deeper level there are subtle but important differences that reflect their distinct theological backgrounds.
Envisioning the Arts: Changing Attitudes towards the Visual Arts in Canadian Conservative Protestant Christianity
Authors: Chapman Mark Denis
Published: April 2013

Conservative Christianity has not been known as a supporter of the visual arts. Recently, however, some communities of Canadian conservative Christians have explored the role of the visual arts in the practice of their faith. This paper provides an introduction to this social change through descriptions of how conservative Christian organizations have dealt with the religion/art relationship and through a survey of Christian visual artists associated with conservative Christianity. It concludes with a discussion of some of the reasons behind this change.
American Idol(atry): A Religious Profanation
Authors: DiBernardo Sabatino
Published: April 2013

It may seem as though religion, and along with it the prophetic voice, is and has long been on a steady decline in terms of wider societal and spiritual significance in our increasingly postmodern Western culture. This paper will provide a theoretical counterpoint to this prevailing ethos by means of reflection upon the reappearance and recontexualization of the perennial Western theological notion of idol(atry). The resurrection of this theme by means of the “reality” television show American Idol will serve as an entrance point into (popular) music culture in an attempt to distill potential religio-theological implications for contemporary culture.
Popular Cold Warriors: Conservative Protestants, Communism, and Culture in Early Cold War America
Authors: Crouse Eric R.
Published: April 2013

Vigilant Conservative Protestants, eager to defend the “American Way of Life,” confronted the threats of Communist expansion in the world and “infiltration” in the United States. Leaders such as Billy Graham, Carl Henry, and J. Edgar Hoover offered pietistic, aggressive, and virile ideals that shared common ground with early Cold War American expectations. In an examination of the forces shaping American Cold War culture, one must consider the amplified voices of Conservative Protestants.
Marla, Freud, Religion, and Manhood: An Interpretation of David Fincher’s Fight Club
Authors: Gravett Sandie
Published: April 2013

This paper connects the reading biblical narrative about women with the experience of viewing David Fincher’s film Fight Club. To do so first requires understanding Marla Singer, the primary female character in Fight Club, as the linchpin in a Freudian psychodrama. Using Freud as a guide allows for an exploration of what this film says about the formation of male identity while also providing space for reflection on how the production of maleness simultaneously generates religious systems or religiously–oriented norms. Within this interpretive framework, comparison of Marla’s position and function to that of women in biblical narrative and feminist reading of such reveals some striking similarities.
Ecstasy, Joy, and Sorrow: The Religious Experience of Southern College Football
Authors: Bain-Selbo Eric
Published: April 2013

Beginning with the assumption that college football in the American South at least looks religious, this essay explores the possibility that it functions religiously to the extent that it provides opportunities for fans to have religious experiences. The essay draws upon fan descriptions and survey data, classic accounts of the nature and import of religious experience, and the contemporary philosophy of religion of Wayne Proudfoot. The conclusion is that a reasonable case can be made that the experience of the Southern college football fan is similar to the kinds of experiences of religious adherents.
Home Altars and the Virgin of Guadalupe in Quinceañera: Historical and Critical Perspectives
Authors: Espinosa Aurelio
Published: April 2013

In this article I explain the historical trajectory of Guadalupan devotion as a strategic repertoire of beliefs and practices, especially the use of home altars. I investigate continuities of Guadalupan performances and representations in order to show how these are inscribed in the film, Quinceañera, which was produced and made in the United States.
Seeing the Saviour in the Stars: Religion, Conformity, and The Day the Earth Stood Still
Authors: Cowan Douglas E.
Published: April 2013

This article uses Robert Wise’s 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still to interrogate the process by which particular cultural hegemonies become sedimented in commentarial and interpretive traditions. That is, since the late 1970s Wise’s film has been all but consistently interpreted as a Christian allegory, something for which there is surprisingly little evidence in the story itself. After discussing this interpretive trajectory, the paper presents a brief alternate reading of the film, and, building on the work of Edward Said, offers the concept of “occidentalism” to account for the manner in which a Christian interpretation has come to have the power of the “authorized version.”
Redeeming Sexual Difference: Stigmata, The Messenger and Luce Irigaray’s Bleeding Woman
Authors: Ugrina Luciana
Published: April 2013

The 1999 film Stigmata foregrounds the difficulties and hazards involved in representing a woman as a Christ figure, and the necessity of imagining new ways of understanding gendered identity within Christianity. The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) similarly confronts the female body in an attempt to reconfigure the relationship between femininity and the sacred. Considering both films alongside the psycholinguistics of Luce Irigaray surfaces the “bleeding woman,” a figure of lack who paradoxically underwrites and secures that which excludes her – a masculine symbolic. Building on Tina Beattie’s assertions that the sacramentality of the female body in orthodox Catholicism is nonexistent – a result, she argues, of an underdeveloped theology of gender and embodiment – I explore if a way beyond the essentialist predicaments of sexed identity in Christianity might be found in Irigaray’s understanding of the divine.
Unveiling Satan’s Wrath: Aesthetics and Ideology in Anti-Christian Heavy Metal
Authors: Cordero Ph.D. Jonathan
Published: April 2013

Unlike many heavy metal bands that utilize blasphemy, sacrilege, and evil images for superficial shock value, the wrath of anti-Christian heavy metal bands is rooted in authentic sources. The anti-Christian aesthetic within the Black Metal and impious Death Metal scenes derives from the ideology of popular satanism and the subordinate structural position of the scene. In addition to the defiance engendered by the scene’s resistance to Christianity, the masculine imperative within the genre of heavy metal influences the extreme nature of the anti-Christian aesthetic.
Happy Holidays: Creating Common Ground in the “War on Christmas”
Authors: Olsen Richard K. , Morgan Julie W.
Published: April 2013

This article analyzes the “War on Christmas” that is often a seasonal theme in FOX News coverage and some conservative Christian/Family organizations. The authors apply concepts from Jurgen Habermas to diagnose the controversy. This analysis reveals that much of the controversy can be traced to the unclear status of the salutation “Merry Christmas.” They then use the work of Pearce and Littlejohn to explore possible solutions and offer a sample dialogue to model how readers of this article may become agents of peace in this controversy.
Holy Acceptable Violence? Violence in Hockey and Christian Atonement Theories
Authors: Trothen Tracy
Published: April 2013

L’hockey et le christianitsme sont souvent considerer des activité spirituels pour leur disciples et participants. Cet essai, écrit d’une perspective morale féministe, examine plusieur type de violence qui caractérise l’hockey professionnel au Canada, incluent la justice économique, commodification et sexualization des athletes, dévouement et héroisme, dommages physiques au cours des jeux, l’abus sexuel, et une mentalité dualistique qui rend les autre joueurs non-humaines. Des parallèles entre ces type de violence et des théories chrétiennes classiques d’expiation sont établis, avec attention aux conséquences. Le normalité de la violence des théories chrétiennes classiques d’expiation et dans l’hockey professionnel au Canada est discuté et critiquer.

Hockey and Christianity are described as ways of being spiritual for followers and participants. This essay is written from a feminist ethical perspective and examines violence characterizing professional Canadian hockey including: economic justice, and commodification and sexualization of athletes; self-sacrifice and heroism; on-ice bodily harms; sexual abuse; and a dualistic mentality that alienates and negates the other. Parallels between this violence and classical Christian atonement theories are drawn, with attention to consequences. The normativity of violence both in classical Christian atonement theories and in professional Canadian hockey is argued and critiqued.
Le mot et la chose, l’hostie dans le matrimoine du Québec
Authors: Bauer Oliver
Published: April 2013

Estimant insuffisante la distinction entre patrimoine matériel et immatériel, Olivier Bauer privilégie le concept de « matrimoine », une approche du patrimoine qui permet de valoriser le rôle des femmes, de reconnaître la valeur patrimoniale des biens indivis et de prendre en compte les mondes imaginaires qui leur sont associés. Jetant un regard neuf sur le Québec, il montre la place fondamentale que l’hostie y occupe, le mot fait partie du vocabulaire religieux, mais il est aussi le juron favori des Québécois ; la chose est consommée par les catholiques romains au moment de l’Eucharistie, mais elle est aussi vendue dans les magasins pour être grignotée comme goûter. Par conséquent, il propose d’inscrire l’hostie au matrimoine du Québec. Il énumère trois avantages qu’il y aurait à matrimonialiser l’hostie, reconnaître le rôle fondamental des femmes dans l’Eucharistie, refuser que l’Église catholique romaine s’attribue le monopole de l’hostie, prendre en compte le monde imaginaire du corps du Christ.

Because he is unsatisfied with the classical distinction between tangible and intangible heritage, Olivier Bauer prefers using the old French word matrimoine to qualify a certain type of heritage (patrimoine). His approach makes it possible to focus on women’s role in heritage, recognize the value of goods without owners and to take into account the imaginary worlds which are associated for them. With a new look at Quebec culture, he shows the fundamental place that the host occupies there: the word belongs to religious vocabulary, but it is also the favourite swearword of the Quebecers; the thing is consumed by Roman Catholics at the time of Eucharist, but it is also sold in the stores to be eaten as a snack. Consequently, he proposes to register the host with the “matrimoine du Québec.” He enumerates three advantages that there would be considering the host as a piece of the matrimoine: to recognize the fundamental role of women in Eucharist, to refute notion that the Roman Catholic Church allots the monopoly of the host, to take into account the imaginary world of the body of Christ.St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal is the most popular centre of pilgrimage in Canada. At the Oratory there are three distinct locations of ritual activity, the votive chapel, the crypt church and the basilica, that are expressive of three different types of religion which can be interpreted along a continuum from folk to popular to elite Catholicism, respectively. A systematic examination of the ritual space and processes of these sites, as well as citations from the publications of the Oratory, make it clear that there is a tension between the elite and folk ritual expressions—a tension which I suggest is mediated, at least in part, by the locus of popular ritual activity, the crypt church.
Faint Hope—A Theological Interpretation of Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors
Authors: Landry David
Published: April 2013

Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors is arguably his most theological film. Interpretations of the picture generally agree that Allen intended to subvert the notion that moral behaviour is necessitated by a God who rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked. Some have argued that in addition to calling this notion into question, Allen positively asserts that there is no reason at all to behave morally. While each of these readings of the film has merit, my thesis in this paper is that the theological message is more complex than a simple refutation of divine justice and/or embrace of nihilism, and that Allen ultimately does offer a cautious and tentative proposal in favour of behaving morally.
Myth Sells: Mattel’s Commission of The Masters of the Universe Bible
Authors: Laycock Joseph
Published: April 2013

Many adults of the millennial generation share childhood memories of “syndication cartoons”—cartoons created to promote an existing product. Mattel’s “He-Man” was one of the most successful syndication characters of all time. However, few people know that in 1982, Mattel commissioned a document called, “The Masters of the Universe Bible.” The “Bible” drew on comparative mythology in order to create a modern mythos for Mattel’s franchise. While most syndication cartoons were unsuccessful, He-Man became a global phenomenon and turned Mattel’s fortunes almost overnight. This article suggests that He-Man had such an influence precisely because of the mythic themes outlined in this document.
Book Reviews
Authors: Luft Shanny , Rushton James , Barkman Adam , Ballan Joseph N.
Published: April 2013

Sander, Lauren. Righteous: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement, reviewed by Shanny Luft

Sammons, Martha C. War of the Fantasy Worlds: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien on Art and Imagination, reviewed by Cory James Rushton

Bakker, Freek L. The Challenge of the Silver Screen: An Analysis of the Cinematic Portraits of Jesus, Rama, Buddha and Muhammad, reviewed by Adam Barkman

Lindvall, Terry. Sanctuary Cinema: Origins of the Christian Film Industry, reviewed by Joseph N. Ballan
Christian Teens and Biblezines: An Analysis of Revolve, The Complete New Testament
Authors: Kaell Hillary
Published: April 2013

Released in 2003, Revolve was the first “Biblezine”, a format that combined scripture with a teen magazine. It sold extraordinarily well and spawned a series of copycats. This essay argues that previous scholarly analyses of Christian and secular teen magazines do not provide an adequate framework for understanding this new genre. A close reading of Revolve reveals a complicated pattern of socialization, where inerrant scripture interacts with pop culture. Revolve teaches and reinforces in its teenage readers two principal cultural norms: the process of engaging with and “filtering” secular messages and a method of communication that follows a redemptive sin-confess-repent cycle. The essay concludes by discussing Walter Benjamin’s concept of “aura” and questioning whether the Biblezine is powerful for teens due to its very reproducibility.
TLC and the Fundamentalist Family: A Televised Quiverfull of Babies
Authors: Mesaros-Winckles Christy
Published: April 2013

The Quiverfull Movement has gained media attention in the United States due to the success of the The Learning Channel’s show 19 and Counting. The movement believes children are a gift from God and that using any form of birth control goes against God’s family planning. The subjection of women is also prevalent in the Quiverfull movement. Using a feminist perspective of televisual narrative analysis, I will examine four episodes from the show to argue that it provides a platform for legitimizing a radical Christian sect that oppresses basic human rights of the women who belong to the movement.
O’Neill and the Impossibility of Faith
Authors: Presley John W.
Published: April 2013

In Eugene O’Neill’s less successful plays, religion and man’s* cosmic place are discussed by his characters in long discursive speeches and with brutally overt symbols to imbue with significance the frequently melodramatic action. In later, more critically acclaimed plays O’Neill’s skepticism and criticism of are presented more philosophically, and the symbols and images are much more subtle. Whether overt or subtle, O’Neill’s treatment of religion is always pessimistic: in the face of the cosmos, man is finite; all his faiths and systems and religions are in response to that sense of finitude, and flawed by their origin in that finitude.
The Truth and Divinity of Sickness and Rage in the Karaoke of Despair
Authors: Cristaudo Wayne
Published: April 2013

The wrath and demonic despair of much of contemporary rock music is indicative of a genuine religious need and search. In opposition to the Platonist moral approach to music (exhibited recently by the philosopher Roger Scruton’s attack upon rock music) that condemns the monstrousness of much rock music, I take my direction from the (all but forgotten) German thinker, Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy. Rosenstock-Huessy was a Christian thinker who saw that Nietzsche, by adopting the role of the Anti-Christ, was expressing an important truth about the spiritual poverty of moral idealism and the encroaching catastrophe that required a much more drastic spiritual expression in order to deal with it. I argue that much of contemporary rock is devoted to drawing attention to the spiritual impoverishment of modern life; the harshness of its music and message is a drastic means to wake us up spiritually.
Higher Love: What Women Gain from Christian Romance Novels
Authors: Barrett Rebecca Kaye
Published: April 2013

Christian romance novels, one of the most popular genres of fiction for Christian readers and one of the most ignored areas of study for scholars, provide countless readers, mostly evangelical Christian women, with emotional and spiritual encouragement. In this article, based upon research involving hundreds of women readers and writers of Christian romance novels, I share women’s own stories about the emotional and spiritual transformations that happen via the reading experience in order to discover the reasons why women read from this particular genre.
Devil Music and the Great Beast: Ozzy Osbourne, Aleister Crowley, and the Christian Right
Authors: Moreman Christopher M.
Published: April 2013

A biographical account of the much-maligned heavy-metal icon, Ozzy Osbourne, and a comparison with the demonisation of occultist, Aleister Crowley, will shed light upon the evolution of the state and stance of the Christian Right in terms of the “Satanism Scare” of the 1980s and ‘90s. Both figures have at one time or another falsely been branded Satanists, yet have come to be recognised as leaders in their respective fields and openly praised by people of power and influence in North American society today. The meaning of this societal shift will be examined throughout the paper.
The Body and the Blood of Eternal UnDeath
Authors: Humphries-Brooks Stephenson
Published: April 2013

Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, effects a double reversal of the Christ myth: the Christ is inverted and Dracula is constructed as a Christ antitype before being saved as a new Christ inclusive of the feminine principle. The film achieves this double reversal by stereotyping the female characters as representative of diseased and immoral flesh that can be cleansed only by absorption into the non-bodily male spirit. Thereby, the film leaves us with elided but nevertheless explosive mythical tensions.
Book Reviews
Authors: Rycenga Jennifer , LaGrone Matthew , Mallinson Jeffrey , Craig Tim , Williams Joseph W. , Mercer Joanne , DeLashmutt Michael W.
Published: April 2013

Moore, R. Laurence. Touchdown Jesus: The Mixing of Sacred and Secular in American History, reviewed by Jennifer Rycenga

Riess, Steven A., ed. Sports and the American Jew, reviewed by Matthew LaGrone

Whiteley, Raewynne J. and Beth Maynard, eds. Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog, reviewed by Jeffrey Mallinson

Clark, Lynn Schofield. From Angels to Aliens: Teenagers, the Media, and the Supernatural., reviewed by Tim Craig

Horsley, Richard and James Tracy, eds. Christmas Unwrapped: Consumerism, Christ, and Culture, reviewed by Joseph W. Williams

Mitchell, Jolyon and Sophia Marriage, eds. Mediating Religion: Conversations in Media, Religion and Culture, reviewed by Joanne Mercer

Michael W. DeLashmutt, Pink Beams of Light from the God in the Gutter: The Science-Fictional Religion of Philip K. Dick., reviewed by Michael W. DeLashmutt
Mel Gibson’s The Passion Of The Christ: Market Segmentation, Mass Marketing and Promotion, and the Internet
Authors: Maresco Peter A.
Published: April 2013

The pre-release publicity surrounding the Mel Gibson film, The Passion of the Christ, warrants an in-depth look at the role that market segmentation and marketing promotion, including use of the Internet, have played in the overall success of the film. As background, films commonly classified as biblical epics are referenced in order to construct a framework that will demonstrate how the promotion of this genre of film, with the exception of the Internet, has essentially changed very little over time. This paper is not a review of the film nor is it intended to be a brief course in marketing. Rather, it is intended to be used as vehicle by which readers can more fully understand how marketing components such as market segmentation, mass marketing and promotion have been used since the earliest days of biblical film making. This paper will also address how the Internet has assumed an important role in the successful marketing and promotion of The Passion of the Christ.
Wrestling with Flesh, Wrestling with Spirit: The Painful Consequences of Dualism in The Last Temptation of Christ
Authors: Kraemer Christine Hoff
Published: April 2013

Martin Scorsese’s film adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis’ The Last Temptation of Christ presents an unorthodox, nonhierarchical dualism. This dualism has often been negatively interpreted by critics, leading them to condemn the film for misogyny, among other sins. Following Scorsese’s intentions for the film, this essay offers an alternative interpretation of Last Temptation’s conflict as one between competing virtues. In addition, it also positively evaluates the creators’ attempt to lift the story of Jesus out of traditional Christianity in order to offer it to a wider audience.
Brainwashed, by George Harrison and the Bhagavad Gita
Authors: Gilmour Michael J.
Published: April 2013

This reading of George Harrison’s final album Brainwashed–posthumously released in 2002–is guided by two principal concerns. First, when engaged in the study of spirituality in popular, secular “texts,” scholars of religion are easily charged with reading too much into the objects of their inquiry. This study will represent an experiment in that the author (trained in the Christian Bible) will explore a songwriter’s presentation of a religious tradition far removed from his field of expertise. I attempt to measure, in effect, what an interested but non-specialist listener might discover about religion following clues provided by the songwriter. Second, this paper offers a source-critical reading of George Harrison’s writing that observes the importance of the Bhagavad Gita as the primary inspiration for this album.