Faculty Presents Research
Besides excellence in teaching, Regent University professors are also known for their scholarship. As part of an ongoing initiative, Regent faculty share their findings with their peers in research projects that captivate their passions and interests. On Thursday, July 15, professors from the Robertson School of Government (RSG) and Regent University’s School of Psychology & Counseling (SPC) presented some of their work.
Dr. Eric Patterson, dean of the RSG, used the Spanish-American War as a case study to show neighbor love and post-conflict reconstruction. He answered questions about what order could look like after recent wars in the Middle East. Patterson says that it doesn’t necessarily look like paved sidewalks or rebuilt infrastructure, but brutally defeating ISIS. He says the most loving way to handle the war is to ensure its victory quickly.
“This might not sound, on the surface, like a solution you’d expect to hear from a Christian university, but smashing the opposing military would establish order, justice and conciliation more swiftly,” he said.
Patterson argues the result would be peace for the people who live in war-torn regions, and less debt accrued on future American generations caused by war costs. He cited the number of lives that have been lost in longer wars, and says a brutal defeat of ISIS would save lives.
Focusing their attention farther east, Dr. Jim Sells and Dr. Jennifer Ripley discussed marriages in China. The two SPC professors are planning a trip to China toward the end of 2016 to continue researching the topic. They are providing answers to pastors who are seeking to council Christian Chinese couples. Divorce in China is on the rise, jumping up from four to 15 percent in recent years. Now the Chinese government is taking interest in what can be accomplished to decrease that number. Sells and Ripley are introducing the biblical principle of grace as a solution, and presented a relational model to stress its importance.
“Grace is extended when it is not deserved,” said Sells. “This idea needs to be taught, and it alters the pattern of relational interaction.”
Regent University’s Office of Academic Affairs hosts seasonal faculty research presentations to keep professors informed of their colleagues’ discoveries and work. Presentations typically cover a broad range of topics.