Papers by David Eric Lowdermilk
Koinonia, 2009
This short article explains how we administered the CORE survey (CORE Institute: Measuring Change... more This short article explains how we administered the CORE survey (CORE Institute: Measuring Change, Delivering Results, 2006) in the fall of 2005 at Palm Beach Atlantic University, and how the instrument empowered us to quantitatively assess and track the underage use of alcohol, and its subsequent decline, by our students.
Review of Biblical Literature, 2014
Say It Again Sam is a study of 1 Sam 28 using an understanding of repetition drawn from literary ... more Say It Again Sam is a study of 1 Sam 28 using an understanding of repetition drawn from literary and film theory. Grenville Kent presents the reader with a careful analysis of film theorists’ understanding of repetition, then applies that understanding to the account of
Saul’s interaction with the witch of Endor. The book is well written, engaging, and offers insight for those willing to explore the relationship between literary theory, film, and the biblical text. . .
Social Work & Christianity, 2013
Youth in the inner-city West Palm Beach “Tamarind” community grow up amid drugs, dysfunctional fa... more Youth in the inner-city West Palm Beach “Tamarind” community grow up amid drugs, dysfunctional families, and violent crime. Despite these odds, some of these youth have been transformed to lead relatively successful Christian lives through the work of Urban Youth Impact, a local Christian ministry. The following Grounded Theory study was designed to unearth a previously unrealized causal component in that transformation. The findings indicate that common to all the study subjects’ stories were events which were highly experiential in
nature, were unexpected or surprising, and which indicated a new pathway of living. These “Experiences of Unexpected Pathways” or “EUPs” included positive as well as negative experiences and tangibly demonstrated desirable or undesirable pathways for the future. EUPs helped these subjects say “I can change” in response to these new horizons. Practical recommendations were then made to Urban Youth Impact based on these findings.
Books by David Eric Lowdermilk
John 21 portrays seven disciples fishing all night yet catching nothing. In the morning, a shorel... more John 21 portrays seven disciples fishing all night yet catching nothing. In the morning, a shoreline stranger instructs them to recast their net. Surprisingly, the disciples fail to recognize him. After a miraculous catch and subsequent breakfast, however, there is no doubt as to who this stranger is. Jesus then questions Peter about his love and commissions him to feed Jesus' sheep. Using narrative criticism, Lowdermilk examines this recognition scene, asking, ""How would a reader, well acquainted with recognition and deception as portrayed in Genesis, understand John 21?"" He discards ""trickster"" terminology and argues that biblical recognition occurs within a context of ""manipulation."" After proposing a detailed taxonomy of manipulation, he ventures further and argues for patterns in Genesis where manipulators are ""counter-manipulated"" in a reciprocal manner, ironically similar to their own behavior, providing a transforming effect on the manipulator. These findings, plus a careful examination of Greek diminutives, inform Lowdermilk's new reading of John 21:1-19. Peter withholds his identity as a disciple in John 18 and later Jesus actively withholds his identity in ironic counter-manipulation, mirroring Peter's denials. Jesus' threefold questioning of Peter continues the haunting echoes of Peter's earlier denials. Will it result in a disciple transformed? ""In the beginning, God created stories. Great stories keep readers on edge by way of thick plot lines, complex characters, manipulation of tricksters, and reversals that lead to tragedy or redemption. Lowdermilk likens recognition scenes (aha moments) of the Patriarchs in Genesis to the life of Peter in the Gospel of John. Spoiler alert: just when you think the show is over, Jesus the counter-manipulator appears out of nowhere and changes everything."" --Martin Mittelstadt, Professor of New Testament, Evangel University ""By reading the characterization of Peter and Jesus in John against the background of the trickster motif in Genesis, Eric Lowdermilk demonstrates the importance of manipulation as a rubric for analyzing character interactions--which is especially appropriate for ancient literature produced in an agonistic society. This volume will be instructive for anyone working in Genesis and the Gospels, the dynamics of character interactions in ancient literature, the trickster motif, recognition scenes in Jewish and Christian literature, or the place of John 21 in the narrative of the Fourth Gospel."" --R. Alan Culpepper, McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University ""Lowdermilk proposes an insightful alternative to the trickster motif--that of manipulation and counter-manipulation. He demonstrates that this motif better represents biblical character development and more clearly highlights the plot function of the transformative potential of character interaction. Lowdermilk's careful, creative reading across testaments will be of interest to biblical narrative, rhetorical, and performance critics, as well as to all who delight in the story of the Bible."" --Kathy R. Maxwell, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Palm Beach Atlantic University Eric Lowdermilk serves as Assistant Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies and Coordinator of the Orlando Ministry Program at Palm Beach Atlantic University in Orlando, Florida. He is the author of various writings in student affairs, a grounded theory study of the transformation of inner-city youth, and biblical studies.
Conference Presentations by David Eric Lowdermilk
Annual Meeting of the Society of Pentecostal Studies, March 11-13, at Evangel University, Springfield, MO. "Toward Healing Our Divisions: Reflecting on Pentecostal Diversity and Common Witness.", 1999
This paper argues that the effect of historic marginalization of Pentecostals by non-Pentecostals... more This paper argues that the effect of historic marginalization of Pentecostals by non-Pentecostals, has resulted in "refugee" mentality, which Pentecostals must now move past in order to fulfill the Great Commission.
Southeastern Regional Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, 2015
My narrative convictions about “economy of detail” and literary artistry have left me dissatisfie... more My narrative convictions about “economy of detail” and literary artistry have left me dissatisfied with prior treatments on Greek synonyms in the primary text I was working with: John 21. I wondered why Jesus did not use the typical word for child when he called out, “Children, have ye any meat?” (Jn 21:5), as the Authorized Version translated it. This might not be simply a Johannine “penchant for synonyms,” as Raymond Brown put it, but rather παιδίον may have been chosen, partly because it carried a certain nuance, that of “little children.” Yet how does an interpreter determine this? John 21 contains five diminutives: παιδίον, ὀψάριον, πλοιάριον, ἀρνίον, and προβάτιον. If these are not faded diminutives, we must ask whether they were chosen intentionally, and also why the Fourth Evangelist (FE) used them.
Much of the following discussion is from the work of Walter Petersen and Donald Swanson and addresses what factors can and should color interpretation. From that point, I will address each particular diminutive in John 21:1-19 as it arises in the text to see whether there is evidence to suggest that we should regard these terms as having any diminutive nuances in John 21.
Evangelical Theological Society Annual Meeting, 2015
In this paper, I argue that that there is a sequential pattern of manipulation and counter manipu... more In this paper, I argue that that there is a sequential pattern of manipulation and counter manipulation in Genesis, whereby key family members, after having manipulated and deceived others, are in turn deceived, or “counter-manipulated,” in a “taste of your own medicine” type of way. This haunts and turns the character on a path of positive development, especially as regards family obligations. Central to my argument is that recognition, or anagnorisis, is a component of
manipulation. Anagnorisis is a much talked about topic in literary studies these days, especially as originates from Greco-Roman literature.
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Papers by David Eric Lowdermilk
Saul’s interaction with the witch of Endor. The book is well written, engaging, and offers insight for those willing to explore the relationship between literary theory, film, and the biblical text. . .
nature, were unexpected or surprising, and which indicated a new pathway of living. These “Experiences of Unexpected Pathways” or “EUPs” included positive as well as negative experiences and tangibly demonstrated desirable or undesirable pathways for the future. EUPs helped these subjects say “I can change” in response to these new horizons. Practical recommendations were then made to Urban Youth Impact based on these findings.
Books by David Eric Lowdermilk
Conference Presentations by David Eric Lowdermilk
Much of the following discussion is from the work of Walter Petersen and Donald Swanson and addresses what factors can and should color interpretation. From that point, I will address each particular diminutive in John 21:1-19 as it arises in the text to see whether there is evidence to suggest that we should regard these terms as having any diminutive nuances in John 21.
manipulation. Anagnorisis is a much talked about topic in literary studies these days, especially as originates from Greco-Roman literature.
Saul’s interaction with the witch of Endor. The book is well written, engaging, and offers insight for those willing to explore the relationship between literary theory, film, and the biblical text. . .
nature, were unexpected or surprising, and which indicated a new pathway of living. These “Experiences of Unexpected Pathways” or “EUPs” included positive as well as negative experiences and tangibly demonstrated desirable or undesirable pathways for the future. EUPs helped these subjects say “I can change” in response to these new horizons. Practical recommendations were then made to Urban Youth Impact based on these findings.
Much of the following discussion is from the work of Walter Petersen and Donald Swanson and addresses what factors can and should color interpretation. From that point, I will address each particular diminutive in John 21:1-19 as it arises in the text to see whether there is evidence to suggest that we should regard these terms as having any diminutive nuances in John 21.
manipulation. Anagnorisis is a much talked about topic in literary studies these days, especially as originates from Greco-Roman literature.