An Archive of the Best Student Papers at RTS Charlotte
Students know that research papers are a major part of the seminary experience. RTS Charlotte wants to promote the writing of good research papers among the students and wants to encourage students when they write good papers. In addition, we want to provide a resource where students can see what qualifies as a good paper. For these reasons we are establishing a place on the RTS Charlotte website to publish the best papers each semester. This will be called Pen and Parchment: An Archive of the Best Student Papers at RTS Charlotte.
These papers will come from the following courses that require a research paper: Gospels, Acts and Romans, Pauline Epistles, Greek Exegesis, Genesis-Joshua, Judges-Esther, Poets, Isaiah-Malachi, Hebrew Exegesis, Hebrews-Revelation, and Christian Encounter with Islam.
The professor will choose the best paper from the course, the paper will be published on the website, and the authors will be announced at the first chapel of each semester.
Fall 2024
- Jon Allen — “The Purpose and Relevance of the Prohibition Against Eating Blood” — OT5200 Genesis-Deuteronomy
- Luis Felipe Heringer — “One Lord, One Faith, One People: An Exegetical Argument from Isaiah 56:1-8 for the Audience of Isaiah Being Revealed in the Eschatological Essence of the People of God” — OT5350 Isaiah-Malachi
- Faith Key — “‘I AM’ Exodus and Epiphany in Mark 6:48-52” — NT5200 Gospels
- Evan Zhuo — “‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me’: Luke 4:18-19 as the Mission Statement of Jesus” — NT5200 Gospels
- James Herring — “Marcella Althaus-Reid, the Queer Theologian” — HT6200 History of Christianity III
- Roddey Smith – “Tracing Augustine’s Thought on Roman Intervention in the Donatist Schism” – HT5100 History of Christianity I
Spring 2024
- John Matthews – “A Tragic Vow? Analyzing the Meaning of Jephthah’s Vow in Judges 11:29-40 and its Place in the Deuteronomistic History” – OT5250 Joshua-Esther
- Clay Anderson – “A Meal Fit for Sage: Proverbs 9:1-6 and Christian Formation” – OT5300 Poets
- Luis Felipe Heringer – “Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In: An Exegetical Argument Against an Annihilationist Interpretation of 2 Peter 3:10-13” – NT5350 Hebrews-Revelation
- Matthew Esposito – “The Conquering King-Priest of Psalm 110, the Lynchpin of the Davidic Covenant, and the Final Victory of God: An Exegesis Paper on the Hebrew Text of Psalm 110” – OT5150 Hebrew Exegesis
- Isaac Noh – “Thankful for Fire (Without Having to be a Charismatic!): The Application of Hebrews 12:29” – NT5150 Greek Exegesis
Fall 2023
- Katherine Barringer – “Menstruation and the Female Body in Redemptive History: A Look at Leviticus 15:25-30” – OT5200 Genesis – Deuteronomy
- Jeffrey Neikirk – “An Invitation to a Wise King: An Exegetical Analysis of Matthew 11:25-30” – NT5200 Gospels
- John Matthews – “The Surest Love for David and the Nations: Isaiah 55;3 and Its Use in Acts 13:34” – OT5350 Isaiah – Malachi
Winter/Spring 2023
- Josh Duemler – “Did Jesus Say That? A Prosopological-Contextual-Typological Interpretation of Paul’s Quotation of Psalm 69:9b in Romans 15:3” – NT5250 Acts & Romans
- Nathan Ecarma – “An Eternal Foundation: A Theological-Exegesis of Zechariah 6:9-15” – OT5150 Hebrew Exegesis
- Jack Roylston – “Conquering King or Sapiential Scribe? Joshua as Covenant Exegete in the Mount Ebal Torah Ceremony” – OT5250 Joshua-Esther
- Nathan Ecarma – “The Covenant of Redemption and Biblical Reasoning: An Exegesis of Hebrews 7:20-25” – NT5350 Hebrews to Revelation
- Zachary Leach – “Preaching: The Salvific Voice of God” – NT5300 Pauline Epistles
- Zach Riddiough – “An Exegesis of Philippians 2:5-11” – NT5150 Greek Exegesis
- Eric Westog – “The Unique Place of Psalm 137 in the Psalter and its Enduring Value for Believers” – OT5300 Poets
Fall 2022
- Alberto Paredes – “NON ABSCONDITUM, SED PARADOXUM: A Covenant Symphony of Kingship, Judgement, and Hope in Isaiah 45:14-25” – OT5350 Isaiah – Malachi
- Luis Felipe Heringer – “The Arches of Nazareth: An Argument for the Intentional Polysemy of the Nazarene Prophecy in Light of the Dramatic Structure of the Gospel of Matthew” – NT5200 Gospels
- Andrew Thompson – “ Each Will Die For Their Own Sin: An Argument Against Economic, Retributive Justice From Deuteronomy 24:16” – OT5200 Genesis – Deuteronomy
Winter/Spring 2022
- Matthew Kirk – “Exegetical Paper: 1 Corinthians 15:1-5” – NT5150 Greek Exegesis
- Aaron Kees – “The Hope of Israel: Three Defenses with a Threefold Meaning” – NT5250 Acts & Romans
- Luis Felipe Barbosa Heringer – “Nostalgia for a Time I Have Never Lived: The Pauline Concept of “Waiting” and the Eschatological Identity of the Believer” – NT5300 Pauline Epistles
- Grant Taylor – “Oh, the Humanity! A Translation, Justification, and Biblical-Theological Analysis of Genesis 11:1-9” – OT5150 Hebrew Exegesis
- Walker Byrd – “The Mystery of Qohelet and the Epilogue: an Exploration of the Role and Place of the Epilogue in Ecclesiastes” – OT5300 Poets
- Isaac Noh – “Falling From the Greatest Height: An Exegetical Study of Hebrews 10:26-31” – NT5350 Hebrews to Revelation
Fall 2021
- Will Keyton – “Redemptive Liberty and Justice for All: Isaiah 42:1-4 and its Quotation in Matthew’s Gospel” – OT5350 Isaiah to Malachi
- Beck Otersen – “Untangling the Knot: An Exegesis of Exodus 21:22–25” – OT5200 Genesis to Deuteronomy
- Johannes Damaschke – “Forgiving Sins at a Pharisee’s Table: Luke 7:36–50 and the Mission of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke” – NT5200 Gospels
- Stiven Peter – “The New Exodus Depicted in the Descent and Ascent of the Son of Man in John” – NT5200 Gospels (at NYC)
Winter/Spring 2021
- Drew Patrick – “A Call for a Sexual Revolution: An Analysis of the Adjuration Refrain in the Song of Songs” – OT5300 Poets
- Garrett Black – “I Am Not Left-Handed! The Ambidextrous Savior, the Calf-Man King, and the Exegesis of Judges 3:15-22”- OT5150 Hebrew Exegesis
- Josh Duemler – “Works-Righteousness and the Useless Christ: Answering the Objection to Justification by Faith in Galatians 2:17-21 – NT5150 Greek Exegesis
- Joey Hyatt – “A Second Adam, the Anti-Image of God, and the Reversal of the Exodus: The Dismal End to Josiah’s Glorious Reign” – OT5250 Joshua to Esther
- Alberto Paredes – “How Firm a Foundation! (If We Manage to Get There, Anyway) An Exegetical Study of 2 Peter 1:19–21” – NT5350 Hebrews to Revelation
- Caleb Johnson – “Suffering Accomplished and Applied? The Sympathy of the Great High Priest” – ST5200 ST: Christology, Soteriology & Eschatology
- Josh Duemler – “Divinely Furnishing Christ’s Office: Exegetical and Theological Reflections on the Trinity in Isaiah 48:16” – ST6100 Trinitarian Theology
Fall 2020
- Josh Duemler – “Why Have You Forsaken Me?”: The Mutual Indwelling of Dereliction, Orthodox Trinitarianism, and Penal Substitution – ST5150 Systematic Theology: Scripture, Theology Proper, Anthropology
- Josh Duemler – “Peter Throws Himself Into the Sea: Discipleship, Grace and John’s Use of Luke 5:1-11 in John 21:1-14” – NT5200 Gospels
- Joey Hyatt – “One Temple to Rule Them All? How Isaiah and Stephen Show Jerusalem’s Temple is Not the One Temple” – OT5350 Isaiah to Malachi
- Benjamin Traynor – “Social Distancing, Masks and Quarantine; Not Just a 2020 Thing: Lessons From Leviticus 13:45-46 For a Covid-19 World” – OT5200 Genesis to Deuteronomy
Winter/Spring 2020
- Robert Hertha – “I’m the Bad Guy? Universal Human Depravity in Romans 3:10-18” – NT5250 Acts and Romans
- Taylor Wright – “Hold Fast and Be Poured Out: St. Paul on the Christian’s Endurance” – NT5300 Pauline Epistles
- Garrett Black – “Exposing the Darkness: The Evangelistic Imperative of Ephesians 5:11” – NT5150 Greek Exegesis
- Peter Leach – “Those Who Mock Them Will Become Like Them: Jude’s Polemic Use of the Evil Angels” – NT5350 Hebrews-Revelation
- Josh Duemler – “Standing Before YHWH: The Restored Priesthood in Zechariah 3”– OT5150 Hebrew Exegesis
- Trip Smith – “The Lord, the Leader, and the Commander of the Lord’s Army: Analysis of a Singular Event in the Life of Joshua” – OT5250 Joshua-Esther
- Will Keyton – “Qoheleth and Soggy Bread: The Enigmatic Exhortation of Ecclesiastes 11:1” – OT 5300 Poets
- Matthew Sparks – “Sub Utraque Specie: A Reformed Argument for Communion under Both Kinds” – ST5250 Ecclesiology and Sacraments
Fall 2019
- Matthew Sparks – “Deuteronomic Ecology: Warfare and the Preservation of Trees” – OT5200 Genesis to Deuteronomy
- Matthew Robinson – “The King is Coming: The New Testament Use of Isaiah 40:1-5 in light of the Context of Isaiah 40”– OT5350 Isaiah-Malachi
- Joseph Hyatt – “ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ: The Text Critical Issue of Luke 22:43-44” – NT5200 Gospels
- Charles Hart – “Confessing the Divine Beauty” – ST5150 ST: Scripture, Theology Proper, Anthropolgy”
Winter/Spring 2019
- Michael Bauer – “Jesus Christ, ‘Author of Life’: The Preexistence of the Son of God in Acts” – NT516 Acts and Romans
- Trip Smith – “Paul’s Theology of Obligation as a Proper Motivation for Sanctification” – NT516 Acts and Romans
- Robert Hertha – “Subtle Sarcasm? A Defense of the Veracity of Job’s Repentance in Job 42:1-6” – OT512 Poets
- Bobby Roberts – “To Whom May It Concern? The Mysterious Case of the אֱלֹהִים within בַּעֲדַּת־אֵל” – OT512 Poets
- Nathaniel Vroom – “The Bloody Bridegroom and the Bloody Lamb: An Exegesis of Exodus 4:19-26”– OT506 Hebrew Exegesis
- Peter Leach – “Itching Ears: The Tragedy of Micah and the Levite” – OT510 Judges-Esther
- Arthur Rankin – “2 Corinthians 13:13: A Trip Down Genitive Lane” – NT506 Greek Exegesis
- Matt McFarling – “Loved unto Love: Analyzing the Relationship between Love and Predestination in Paul’s Theology” – NT520 Pauline Epistles
- Ginni Fischer Larkins – “The Lord’s Day, Every Day: The Culmination of Sabbath Rest in Revelation” – NT522 Hebrews-Revelation
- Christian Brewer – “Eschatological Doxology or Doxological Eschatology? The New Covenant and Worship in Hebrews 8-10”– ST601 Covenant Theology
- Matthew Duraski – “The Qur’anic Use of the Apocryphal New Testament” – ST504 Christian Encounter with Islam
- Taylor Wright – “Glorification: Perichoresis Or Participation” – ST517 ST: Christology, Soteriology, and Eschatology
Summer/Fall 2018
- Alex Lott – “The Gospel Truth or Poetry for Lyres? A Critique of Mark as Oral Composition” – NT508 – Gospels
- Ashley Kerr – “Christ as the Fulfillment of the Covenant of Works: A Study of Hebrews 5:7-10” – NT522 – Hebrews-Revelation
- Timothy Jackson – “The Day of the Lord and the Joy of the Lord in Zephaniah 3:14-17” – OT 516 – Isaiah-Malachi
- Dónal Walsh – “Created for God: The Imago Dei and Homosexual Desire” ST515 – ST: Scripture, Theology Proper, Anthropology
- Arthur Rankin – “Continuity or Discontinuity: John Calvin and Nicene Christianity” – ST610 – Trinitarian Theology
Winter/Spring 2018
- Wesley M. Grubb – “A Religion of the Covenant: The Centrality of Covenant Theology to the Islamic Faith” – ST540 – Christian Encounter with Islam
- Seth D. Gurley – “Total Glory and Radical Hope: Reading Romans 8:18-25 with an Anthropological-Soteriological Emphasis without Diminishing Cosmic Redemption” – NT506 – Greek Exegesis
- Katy McIlvaine – “An Exhortation to φιλαδελφία While Sojourning as Exiles in the World: An Exegesis of 1Peter 1:22-25” – NT522 – Hebrews-Revelation
- Jason Piland – “Paul’s Theology of Evangelism: Gospel-Proclaimers and Gospel-Promoters Today” – NT520 – Pauline Epistles
- Matthew Robinson – “An Instrument of the Spirit of YAHWEH: The Strength and Grace of God in the Weakness and Pride of His Servant Samson in Judges 15:14-20” – OT506 – Hebrew Exegesis
- Keith William Rose – “The Davidic Covenant as Gospel Bridge: Paul’s Evangelistic Sermon in Acts 13:16-41” – NT516 – Acts and Romans
- Donal Walsh – “Royal Matrimony: The Theme of Kingship in the Book of Song of Songs as an Apologetic to Solomon” – OT512 – Poets
Fall 2017
- Angel Flippen – “Birds of a Feather Flock Together- Unless They Are Slaughtered During the Ritual Cleansing Rite for Those Healed of a Skin Disease: an Expositional Discourse on Leviticus 14:1-7” – OT508 Genesis-Joshua
- Kelci Rose – “But What Did Jesus Say? A Deconstruction of the Feminist Reconstruction of Mark 7:24-30” – NT508 Gospels
- Barr Overcast – “Just Before Dawn: The Importance of Isaiah 8:16-23 for Understanding Isaiah 9:1” – OT516 Isaiah-Malachi
Winter/Spring 2017
- Michael Bauer – “Galatians 3:19-20: ΜΕΣΙΤΗΣ and the Mediator of the Pactum Salutis” – NT506-Greek Exegesis
- Christopher M. Diebold – “The Proverbial Afterlife: Rephaim as Polemic in Proverbs” – OT512-Poets
- Andrew D. Hane – “A Gracious Reversal: The Use of Hosea 1:10 and 2:23 in Romans 9:25-26” – NT516-Acts and Romans
- Hann Lee – “To Kiss or Not to Kiss?: Understanding New Testament Epistolary Imperatives” – NT520-Pauline Epistles
- Jason Piland – “Sexual Sins in Act, Thought, Speech … and Sight?” – NT506-Greek Exegesis
- Jason Piland – “Sharia and the Legal System in the United States: An Overview and Christian Response” – ST540-Christian Encounter with Islam
- Ryan Richardson – “What Happens to the Works of the World? A Text Critical Examination of II Peter 3:10” – NT522-Hebrews-Revelation
Fall 2016
- Brittain Brewer – “Lord of Covenant Vengenance: Nahum 1:2 and Neo-Assyrian Curses” – OT516 Isaiah-Malachi
- Nathan Johnson – “Deviant Mercy: A Reexamination of the Kikayon Parable and Jonah 4:11” – OT516 Isaiah-Malachi
- Jason Piland – “Mark 8:22-26: Jesus the Parable Worker” – NT508 Gospels
- Keith William Rose – “Unfaithfulness, Uncleanliness, and the Suspected Adulterress in Numbers 5:11-31” – OT508 Genesis-Joshua
Spring 2016
- Brittain Brewer – “Hope in Concession: The Translation of כי אם In Lam. 5:22” – 03OT512 Poets
- Marlin Harris – “John and the Disappearing Sea: Revelation 21:1” – 03NT522 Hebrews to Revelation
- Thomas Haviland-Pabst – “Sin Unto Death in 1 John 5:16: An Investigation and Appraisal of the Problem with a Mind to the Solution” – 03NT522 Hebrews to Revelation
- Zachary Keuthan – “Qadar and Decree: Comparing Islamic and Reformed Views on Free Will and Predestination” – 03ST540 Christian Encounter with Islam
- Jon Oliphant –“What Do You Want to Do: An Exegesis of Galatians 5:16-18” – 03NT506 Greek Exegesis
- William Wingate – “Perichoretic Graces: Paul’s Theology of Faith, Hope, and Love” – 03NT520 Pauline Epistles
Fall 2015
- Jonathan Dennis – “In Redemption and Judgment: God’s Sovereignty in the Book of Jonah” – 03OT516 Isaiah to Malachi
- Kathryn McIlvaine – “Kashrut: Israel’s Dietary Restrictions in Leviticus 11:1-23, 41-47” – 03OT508 Genesis to Joshua
- Ryan Richardson – “Gethsemane and the Humanity of Jesus: A Text Critical Look at Luke 22:43-44” – 03NT508 Gospels
Spring 2015
- James Midwinter – “Who Led the Israelites Out of Egypt? An Examination of Jude 5” – 03NT522 Hebrews to Revelation
- Garrett Spitz – “Takin’ Care of Business: A Case for Paul’s Positive Attitude Towards Work” – 03NT520 Pauline Epistles
- Bethany Wilson – “Deceitful Above All Things – 1 Kings 12:25-33” – 03OT506 Hebrew Exegesis
- Chris Diebold – “1 Timothy 3:16: Gospel and Response”- 03NT506 Greek Exegesis
- Nathan Johnson – “The Love above Allah: The Gap between Trinitarian Love and the Love of Allah” – 03ST540 Christian Encounter with Islam