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13 results on '"Erica Ferg"'

1. Orthodoxy, Orthopraxy, and Locke’s Arguments for Toleration

Author

Bryan Hall and Erica Ferg

Subjects
John Locke, Toleration, Christianity, World Religions, Religions. Mythology. Rationalism, BL1-2790, Philology. Linguistics, P1-1091, History (General), D1-2009
Abstract

A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689) comprises John Locke’s mature thoughts on religious toleration. In it, Locke offers three political arguments against state religious coercion. He argues that it is impossible, impermissible, and inadvisable for the civil magistrate to enforce ‘true religion,’ which Locke defines as the ‘inward and full persuasion of the mind’ (Works, 6:10). Notwithstanding the various internecine conflicts within Christianity, conflicts which motivated Locke’s concern with toleration, all of the many-splendored sects of Christianity nonetheless share the notion that orthodoxy (correct belief) is required for salvation. Since the early days of Christianity, orthodoxy has represented the lowest-common-denominator obligation of adherents to Christianity. Locke’s political arguments in the Letter, at least in their first instance, assume an orthodox definition of “true religion.” This is likewise true of those who have either defended or criticized Locke’s arguments in the secondary literature. In contrast to Locke and his commentators, we will argue that the dominant characterization of “true religion” globally and throughout history does not concern correct religious belief as much as it concerns correct religious practice, or orthopraxy. Even though it has not received as much attention in the literature, Locke does discuss orthopraxy–what he calls ‘outward worship’–at length in the second half of the Letter (Works, 6:29-39). We will demonstrate how versions of all three political arguments for toleration can be redeployed to constrain the power of the magistrate within an orthoprax conception of true religion.

Published
2023
Full Text
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2. The Impact of Religious Ritual Initiation on Males

Author

Erica Ferg, McMillan, David, Erica Ferg, and McMillan, David

Abstract

The following paper is focused on revealing the influence that religious ritual initiations/rites of passages have on males from the religions of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. In the first section of the paper, I explain why it is important that the influence that religious ritual initiations have on males be studied. The second section covers the literature that was used to obtain my research results. The third section explains how the methodologies of content analysis and semiotics were incorporated into my research. In the fourth section, I reveal that practices such as self-control and discipline are common traits in how certain Muslims, Jews, and Christians construct manhood while also showing that religious pilgrimages have a high chance of influencing a person’s identity. Lastly, in the fifth section I discuss the limitations of my research while mentioning potential opportunities for further research to be done on the impacts ritual initiations have on people from other religions and non-religious groups.

Published
2021

11. Geography, Religion, Gods, and Saints in the Eastern Mediterranean

Author

Erica Ferg and Erica Ferg

Subjects
Religion and geography
Abstract

Geography, Religion, Gods, and Saints in the Eastern Mediterranean explores the influence of geography on religion and highlights a largely unknown story of religious history in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the Levant, agricultural communities of Jews, Christians, and Muslims jointly venerated and largely shared three important saints or holy figures: Jewish Elijah, Christian St. George, and Muslim al-Khiḍr. These figures share ‘peculiar'characteristics, such as associations with rain, greenness, fertility, and storms. Only in the Eastern Mediterranean are Elijah, St. George, and al-Khiḍr shared between religious communities, or characterized by these same agricultural attributes – attributes that also were shared by regional religious figures from earlier time periods, such as the ancient Near Eastern Storm-god Baal-Hadad, and Levantine Zeus. This book tells the story of how that came to be, and suggests that the figures share specific characteristics, over a very long period of time, because these motifs were shaped by the geography of the region. Ultimately, this book suggests that regional geography has influenced regional religion; that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are not, historically or textually speaking, separate religious traditions (even if Jews, Christians, and Muslims are members of distinct religious communities); and that shared religious practices between members of these and other local religious communities are not unusual. Instead, shared practices arose out of a common geographical environment and an interconnected religious heritage, and are a natural historical feature of religion in the Eastern Mediterranean.This volume will be of interest to students of ancient Near Eastern religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, sainthood, agricultural communities in the ancient Near East, Middle Eastern religious and cultural history, and the relationships between geography and religion.

Published
2020

12. Preparing Leaders for the FIght

Author

Jeffery Ogle, PhD, Erica Ferg, PhD, Taylor, Stephen, Jeffery Ogle, PhD, Erica Ferg, PhD, and Taylor, Stephen

Abstract

Preparing Leaders for the Fight: An Attempt to get Left of the Boom There is a need, in the United States Army, to examine and refine the training of Soldiers in ethical decision making in order to better equip leaders for unforeseen dilemmas which regularly occur in both war and peace. This project includes a cursory look at several noteworthy cases which have provoked public debate and discourse about situational ethics within the military. Other cases are mentioned as emblematic examples because of their instructive value and offer various insights into the current ethical climate and moral health of the Army. By focusing primarily on the case study of Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Allen B. West the project seeks to examine the systems and circumstances that preceded and contributed to a very public moral morass. The project investigates the adequacy, or lack thereof, of ethical training and preparation which may have contributed to the controversial unfolding of events in the West case. The project includes a survey and assessment of both theoretical and tested military ethics and leadership models to evaluate their future potential. An attempt is made to glean lessons learned from both the primary and secondary cases while suggesting revisions and improvements to any existing ethical decision-making models which may be in place. Ultimately this project offers a new rudimentary Ethical Decision-Making Model for review and consideration.

Published
2020

13. Orthodoxy, Orthopraxy, and Locke’s Arguments for Toleration

Author

Bryan Hall and Erica Ferg

Subjects
Social Sciences and Humanities, John Locke, Sciences Humaines et Sociales, Toleration, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, World Religions, Christianity
Abstract

A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689) comprises John Locke’s mature thoughts on religious toleration. In it, Locke offers three political arguments against state religious coercion. He argues that it is impossible, impermissible, and inadvisable for the civil magistrate to enforce ‘true religion,’ which Locke defines as the ‘inward and full persuasion of the mind’ (Works, 6:10). Notwithstanding the various internecine conflicts within Christianity, conflicts which motivated Locke’s concern with toleration, all of the many-splendored sects of Christianity nonetheless share the notion that orthodoxy (correct belief) is required for salvation. Since the early days of Christianity, orthodoxy has represented the lowest-common-denominator obligation of adherents to Christianity. Locke’s political arguments in the Letter, at least in their first instance, assume an orthodox definition of “true religion.” This is likewise true of those who have either defended or criticized Locke’s arguments in the secondary literature. In contrast to Locke and his commentators, we will argue that the dominant characterization of “true religion” globally and throughout history does not concern correct religious belief as much as it concerns correct religious practice, or orthopraxy. Even though it has not received as much attention in the literature, Locke does discuss orthopraxy–what he calls ‘outward worship’–at length in the second half of the Letter (Works, 6:29-39). We will demonstrate how versions of all three political arguments for toleration can be redeployed to constrain the power of the magistrate within an orthoprax conception of true religion.

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