Divine appointments : living life with maximum impact
Abstract
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Despite the wide range of theorizing and philosophizing regarding genuine dialogue, few efforts have been made to analyze the phenomenon from an empirical standpoint within any specific relational context. This qualitative study explores genuine dialogue within the context of divine appointments. Divine appointments being interactions in which participants felt as though God played a role in bringing them together with another person for a meaningful conversation. By analyzing the lived experiences of 31 Christians in the Midwest United States, this study was able to gain greater insight into the communicative elements and consequences of divine appointments and missed opportunities for divine appointments. Two overarching themes developed out of the analysis of missed and fulfilled divine appointments: (a) interaction process and (b) afterlife sense-making. The interaction process focuses on what was said and done in conversation. The afterlife sense-making focuses on what occurred following the encounter for both the participant and their relational partner.
Degree
Ph. D.
Thesis Department
Rights
Access is limited to the campus of the University of Missouri--Columbia.