Date
5-1-2025
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Ministry (DMin)
Chair
Thomas Spotts
Keywords
Divine love, Theosis, Deification, Christoformity, Agape love, Spiritual Transformation
Disciplines
Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Recommended Citation
Derowitsch, Jayson Pengra, "Developing Divine Love into Christoform Obedience: Understanding and Applying the Theological Framework of Divine Love in a Measurable Growth Praxis" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 6906.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/6906
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to analyze the growth outcomes of participants from a curriculum intervention on divine love with the goal of Christoform obedience. The point of the curriculum was to define divine love properly by using synthesized vantage points derived from precedent literature. These vantage points were developed into a four-step praxis of transformation in divine love. This praxis was the capstone of the curriculum. Three methods of data retrieval were used throughout the intervention process to target intellectual concept improvement, self-assessment improvement, and praxis improvement. As a result of the data, it was determined that fifty percent of the participants developed an initial and observable Christoform obedience. The benefit of this study in a ministry context is that it will identify a potential lack of understanding and practice of divine love within a congregation and provide an adequate blueprint for developing a practice of growing and transforming within divine love.
