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The article focuses on pursuit of Christian holiness and identity in the works of American monk Thomas Merton and head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis. Topics include how Merton's writings anticipate the nature of Christian discipleship presented in Pope Francis's magisterial teaching; and non-canonical ‘saints pattern of holiness that evokes the life and writing of the late U.S. Trappist monk reduced to the hagiographic tales of superhuman heroism.

The universal call to holiness has its origins in the gospel. The call comes from Christ himself: «you, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect» (Matthew 5, 48). All christians, regardless of their condition, whether married, celibate, widowed, religious, should strive for holiness in their current circumstances. This invitation is open to all without privileges or differences. However, every person has his or her own path to follow. One of the paths to holiness is the celibate life. It may be lived by the priest, the religious and the lay person. The goal is the same in each case (as in that of any faithful): identification with Christ. All celibate life has its foundation in Christ, deriving from him its strength and example. Knowing and understanding Christ's celibacy -its purpose and its characteristics-permits a deeper understanding of the celibacy lived by priests, religious or lay people. From the times of the early christians, we find examples of lay persons leading a celibate life. In the 21st century we find lay institutions whose members live this feature (celibate life) in their quest for holiness. Theological reflection on celibate life is needed in order to highlight its beauty and attractiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 21 November 1964, at the end of the third session of the Second Vatican Council, the Constitution on the Church,Lumen Gentium(LG), was solemnly adopted together with its final chapter on Mary. Simultaneously, Pope Paul VI proclaimed the Marian titleMater Ecclesiae. This article will both review the Council’s debate and identify the specifics of the titleMater Ecclesiae. The Council had rejected the idea of awarding this title to Mary, even though chapter VIII ofLumen Gentiummentions her ‘function as mother’ (LG60). In proclaiming this title, Paul VI did not follow the Council, which had located Marywithinthe Church. The question therefore arises as to whether Mary, as the ‘Mother of the Church’, is now placed outside the Church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discuses religious expression and the legal aspects of snake-handling in Appalachian states such as Tennessee and Kentucky as of April 2014, focusing on a historical overview of snake-handling and its role in religion. According to the article, Tennessee first outlawed the handling of poisonous snakes in 1947. Holiness churches, the Tennessee Supreme Court, and the free exercise of religion are mentioned. Public nuisances and Alabama laws are also examined.

Although black Pentecostal leaders are known for their emphasis on holiness and spiritual empowerment, they are not renowned for having led and spearheaded political protest struggles during the Civil Rights movement. In this paper I discuss black Pentecostals' postures toward political protest struggles, and I analyze reasons why some black Pentecostals participated in the Civil Rights movement while others did not. My central argument is that critical consciousness formation played an integral role in motivating a minority of Church of God in Christ (COGIC) clergy and leaders to engage in Civil Rights protest struggles. That is to say, many black Pentecostals who took part in the movement reconciled their strivings for spiritual empowerment against evil with critical reflection upon complex social, political, and economic realities. They recognized the utility of opposing structures of oppression through direct, nonviolent means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented that discusses the history of theological influences on the Brethren in Christ Church. Topics include the relation of Pietism and Wesleyanism to the Anabaptist roots of the Brethren in Christ, the relation of the Wesleyan Holiness movement to the Brethren in Christ, and the relation of American Evangelicalism to the Brethren in Christ. The church's 1949 membership in the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is related to the church's traditional peace doctrine.

The article discusses changes in doctrine and structure within the denomination Brethren in Christ Church from 1980 to 2010. Topics include the denomination's pacifist beliefs, its teaching regarding personal holiness in relation to the Holiness movement, and its rejection of a strict position on eschatology. Also noted are the church's teachings regarding divorce and remarriage, changes in organizational structure in response to numerical growth, and the role of traditional Anabaptist doctrines in the church.

Abstract In the long course of Christian history there have been many expressions of the action of the Holy Spirit in renewing the Christian Church through a variety of renewal movements. Two such movements are the twentieth-century Pentecostal movement and the thirteenth-century Franciscan movement. While there is no specific historical link one with the other, there are resources in the older movement, with its concern for direct human experience of Christ, its return to biblical poverty, a hope of renewing the church by a restoration of biblical holiness, its experience of gradually integrating its radical view of the end of time with the institutional church, and its impulsive missionary outreach, that offer many lessons for the newer movement as it serves worldwide Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the necessity of reforming and purification of Vatican II documents' with special focus on historical theology and terminology used by the council fathers in their oral and written presentations. It discusses the connection between the ideas of the Church renewal, aggiornamento and holiness and sinfulness in or of the Church. It also juxtaposes such concerns in ecumenical dialogues in which usually the Roman Catholic Church takes part.

The article presents an exploration into the founding of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) denomination, under the leadership of Charles Harrison Mason at the turn of the 20th-century. Details are given linking the origins of the institution to the African American Pentecostal Holiness movement of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, citing its reaction against the social trends of middle-class blacks and the loss of their traditional ethnic characteristics of Christian worship. Further accounts of the denominations' growth and Mason's early leadership in the church body are included.

The widely acknowledged call for a new multilevel interdisciplinary paradigm for the psychology of religion is illustrated by a survey of our research on the contemporary Christian serpent handlers of Appalachia. Over a fifteen year period, we have employed a variety of methodologies and levels of analysis to explore the history of this tradition. They included archival documentation of the early endorsement of the Church of God for this ritual as well as the role of the Gospel of Mark within Pentecostal denominations that eventually rejected this ritual. We collected oral histories of this tradition and explored the meaning that handling has for believers using phenomenological interviews and hermeneutical methods of exploring the thematic structure of not only handling, but also of the anointing, and of near-death experiences from serpent bites. We also have developed an empirically based formula for probability of bites based upon video taped documentations of handling that we have archived. In addition, we explored the legal history of laws against handling as well the reasoning that judges gave for upholding bans against serpent handling on appeals to state supreme courts. In quasi experimental studies we explored both rational rejection of this practice and the influence of personal and cultural prejudice against it. We also empirically demonstrated that attitudes toward both handlers and laws banning the practice could be changed based upon exposure to handlers' own justification for their beliefs and practices. Finally, we explored the symbolic and sign value of the serpent indicating how their confluence produces an intense emotional response that is viewed as holy by this tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses cultural complexities depicted in the book "Sunday's Silence," by Gina Nahai. The book is about a murder that occurs in a community of the Holiness sect and depicts stereotypes associated with religious practices such as snake handling. Nahai suggests similarities between Holiness churches and Islamic practices involving women.

Discusses the introduction of the Church of God (COG) in Northern Luzon, Philippines in 1947. Pastors who are considered to be the pillars of the COG; Background on the incorporation of the COG into a formal organization and the acquirement of the right to solemnize marriage; Role of American missionary Joseph Warnick in the establishment of the United Free Gospel Church.

The study examined what factors led pastors to say something either negative or positive about former President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky for a sample from "Middletown." There was no significant difference between three Protestant categories (Holiness/Pentecostal, white conservative Protestant, and mainline Protestant) in whether ministers said something or not. Analysis for those who said something indicated that the ministers who made the most critical statements in their sermons were from the most conservative/orthodox of our category of churches, i.e., Holiness/Pentecostal congregations, from the strictest churches and from churches with the greatest number of Republicans (betas were .30, .26, and .19, respectively). Also, members of Holiness/Pentecostal churches were more likely to be working class but not more Republican. Possible explanations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benton Johnson's question, "Do holiness sects socialize in dominant values?" is reexamined. Data from an empirical inquiry designed to help answer this question are discussed. It is argued that the data indicate that certain features, beliefs, and practices of the United Pentecostal Church, the holiness sect from which the informants were selected, do socialize the sect's members in some at the central values of American society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the Boys Town Center study that identifies the religious education goals for youth. The special significance of this study is the broad view it takes of Christian education goals for a representative group of American churches. The main purpose was to identify for the religious education of youth the goals that American churches actually espouse and then to explore what factors might be related to the choice of these goals. One of the striking findings of the study is that educators and parents generally share the same goals for the education of their youth. There are, however, considerable denominational differences. Southern Baptist and Church of God respondents are interested in conversion and personal religious experience for their youth. Episcopal and Catholic respondents want youth to have an understanding of sacraments and are much less concerned about conversion. Presbyterian and Methodist respondents were also less concerned about conversion. Evangelical churches want conversion and personal religious experience for their youth.

A reprint is presented of the article "Goodbye to that old mountain religion" by Terry Mattingly, published in the September 22, 2011 issue of the Texas-based "The Abilene Reporter News." In it a profile is offered of Primitive Baptist and Pentecostal-Holiness churches in North Carolina. Further reflections are offered discussing questions of whether traditional Protestant Christian denominations of the rural Appalachian Region will maintain themselves in the future.