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Onwunta, Uma Agwu. "Ethnicity and missional strategies within the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/17328.
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Thesis (D.Th.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study and dissertation examines “Ethnicity and missional strategies within the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria.” A historical study of the mission methods and an empirical study of current missionary practices in the church point to the need for a new missional identity of the church. This missional identity requires a reversal of and a change to missionary strategies that should result into reconciliatory missiology. In the process of making this assessment of the Presbyterian mission in Nigeria, it was necessary to revisit the missionary ecclesiologies that shaped and contributed to the present identity. Thus, the research focused on the missionary impact of the Church of Scotland, Presbyterian Church in Canada, Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Netherlands Reformed Church (NRC). Insights from these historical excursions helped in determining not only the blessings that these ecclesiologies brought to bear on Nigerian Presbyterianism but also in discovering the burdens they brought on their trails, especially, regarding the seed of racism which was a precursor to the present ethnocentrism in the PCN. The second segment of this research was the empirical study of the current mission and work of the PCN. Using a focus group approach, sixteen leaders (8 Nigerians, 7 Canadians and 1 American) were interviewed through a structured questionnaire. The responses from these leaders were analysed in this paper and details of the analysis applied in chapter 4. The assumption in the hypothesis that the bane of contemporary PCN mission is ethnocentrism was affirmed. This problem as the research showed, was compounded by lack of adequate theological response both in the educational training and the liturgical activities of the church. Combining the historical data and the empirical research carried out, it was determined that the PCN needs a new theological orientation that can move it from the present institutionalized mode to a missonal frame. It was shown that this process would require a new definition of mission and a rediscovery of missional biblical metaphors that suit a conflict-ridden context of the Church as we have it in Nigeria. Three important metaphors were selected: community, servant and messenger. These metaphors formed the theological foundation for subsequent discussions on a missional frame which is the focus of chapter five. Chapter six outlines the meaning of conflicts and the causes of conflicts in Nigeria arguing for a reconciliatory missiology with a theologically-driven dialogue as its strategy. A theologically –driven dialogue is a strategy that, as is presented, enables the church to be God’s counter-cultural agent in the world, holding in tension the four cardinal points of obedience, critical contextualization, discernment and the anticipation of Christ’s return. It is argued that dialogue is a credible theological option through which the PCN can engage in the process of true reconciliation in the Nigerian society – a reconciliation which is based on the biblical cornerstones of truth, justice, peace and mercy. It is a task and a challenge for reconciliatory missiology - a momentous task the PCN is called upon to pursue in the 21st century.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie proefskrif ondersoek “Etnisiteit en missionale strategieë van die Presbiteriaanse Kerk in Nigerië”. ʼn Historiese blik op die sending metodes en ʼn studie van huidige missionêre praktyke binne die kerk dui daarop dat die kerk ʼn nuwe missionale identiteit benodig. ’n Nuwe missionale identiteit vereis ʼn transformasieproses in die huidige benadering van die Presbiteriaanse Kerk van Nigerië sodat die weg tot ʼn versoenende benadering gevind kan word. Om die huidige situasie te kan evalueer moes die missionêre ekklesiologie wat vorm gegee en bygedra het tot die huidige identiteit geëvalueer word. Gevolglik is die missionêre impak van die Kerk van Skotland, die Presbiteriaanse Kerke van Kanada en Amerika en die Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerk nagegaan. Hulle het in baie opsigte help vorm aan die huidige identiteit van die Presbiteriaanse kerk in Nigerië. Die positiewe maar ook negatiewe gevolge van hulle werk is beskryf. Een aspek van hul werk was die invloed van die stille rassisme wat destyds geheers het en wat die voorloper was van die huidige etnosentrisme in die Presbiteriaanse Kerk van Nigerië. Die tweede deel van die navorsing ondersoek die huidige missionêre bediening en ingesteldheid van die Presbiteriaanse Kerk van Nigerië. Deur middel van ʼn fokus groep benadering en ’n vraelys, is onderhoude gevoer met 16 kerkleiers (8 Nigeriërs, 7 Kanadese en 1 Amerikaner). Die antwoorde van hierdie kerkleiers is geanaliseer en in hoofstuk 4 bespreek. Die voorveronderstelling in die hipotese dat die PKN etnosentrisme openbaar, is bevestig. Hierdie probleem, soos aangetoon in die navorsing, is versterk deur ʼn gebrek aan voldoende teologiese refleksie in die teologiese onderrig en in die liturgiese aktiwiteite van die kerk. Die historiese data en die empiriese navorsing toon aan dat die PKN ʼn nuwe teologiese oriëntasie benodig en dat dit slegs kan geskied as daar wegbeweeg word vanaf die huidige geïnstitusionaliseerde bedieningspraktyk na ʼn missionale raamwerk. Verder het dit duidelik geword dat ʼn nuwe verstaan van sending en ʼn herontdekking van missionale bybelse metafore nodig is om te spreek tot die konflik geteisterde konteks van die kerk in Nigerië. Drie belangrike metafore is voorgestel: gemeenskap, dienaar en boodskapper. Hierdie metafore voorsien die teologiese fundering vir die bespreking van ’n missionale verwysingsraamwerk vir die kerk se bediening. Hoofstuk 6 lig die betekenis van konflik asook die oorsake van konflik in Nigerië uit en argumenteer vir ʼn versoenende missiologie met ʼn teologies-gemotiveerde dialoog as strategie. ʼn Teologiesgemotiveerde dialoog is ʼn strategie wat, soos voorgelê in die navorsing, die kerk bemagtig om te reageer op die heersende kultuur, waar die vier kardinale aspekte van gehoorsaamheid, kritiese kontekstualisasie, onderskeiding en die afwagting van Christus se wederkoms byeen gebring word. Daar word geargumenteer dat dialoog ʼn waardige teologiese opsie is waardeur die Presbiteriaanse Kerk van Nigerië binne die Nigeriese samelewing kan opereer in ʼn proses van ware versoening – ʼn versoening wat gebaseer is op die bybelse hoekstene van waarheid, geregtigheid, vrede en genade. Die uitdaging van ʼn versoenende missiologie is die uitdaging waartoe die Presbiteriaanse Kerk van Nigerië in die 21ste eeu geroepe is.
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Banyasz, Alissa M. "Predicting Religious Ethnocentrism of Christians Towards Non-Christians: Testing a More Comprehensive Model." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1436198354.
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Morgan, Suzanne Melissa. "Aspects of Mary Wollstonecraft's Religious Thought." The University of Waikato, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2300.
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The works of Mary Wollstonecraft have been largely utilized in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries within the domain of feminist studies. They were influential throughout the 'feminist movement' of the 1960s and 1970s and Wollstonecraft is routinely given the title of 'mother' of feminism. One result of her works being classified as important feminist texts is the elision of the religious element in her works. Moreover, recent scholarship has drawn attention to the central importance of religion in eighteenth century British discourse. This thesis will primarily argue that Wollstonecraft was heavily influenced by religion, and that her writings were conceived in response to a profoundly theologico-political culture. This influence of religion has generally been overlooked by researchers and this thesis will aim to redress this absence. Four of Wollstonecraft's works - all produced within a 'similar' political climate and within a concise time period - are utilized to show that religion was a foundational element within Wollstonecraft's thought and arguments. This thesis shows that Wollstonecraft was not so much a 'feminist' thinker, but a unique intellectual determined to show that the inferior position of women went against 'God's will', teachings and the equality He had ascribed to both men and women during Creation.
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Steinmetz, Mayumi Takanashi. "Artistic and Religious Aspects of Nosatsu (Senjafuda)." Thesis, University of Oregon, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/22962.
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195 pagesNosatsu is both a graphic art object and a religious object. Until very recently, scholars have ignored nosatsu because of its associations with superstition and low-class, uneducated hobbyists. Recently, however, a new interest in nosatsu has revived because of its connections to ukiyo-e. Early in its history, nosatsu was regarded as a means of showing devotion toward the bodhisattva Kannon. However, during the Edo period, producing artistic nosatsu was emphasized more than religious devotion. There was a revival of interest in nosatsu during the Meiji and Taisho periods, and its current popularity suggests a national Japanese nostalgia toward traditional Japan. Using the religious, anthropological, and art historical perspectives, this theses will examine nosatsu and the practices associated with it, discuss reasons for the changes from period to period, and explore the heritage and the changing values of the Japanese common people.
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Benfey, Matthias Wilhelm. "Religious cinema as virtual religious experience : a theory of religious cinema applied to Werner Herzog's Herz aus Glas." Thesis, McGill University, 1986. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=72087.
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The dissertation is an exercise in the application of the philosophical hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur and the biblical hermeneutics of John Dominic Crossan to the aesthetics of religious cinema.The thesis defines religious cinema as virtual religious experience; therefrom a theory of religious cinema is derived. This derivation depends on a discussion of the essential elements of the cinematic experience and permits the expansion of the category of religious cinema beyond its traditional frontier. Throughout the dissertation, a dialogue is maintained with general cinema theory on the one hand and religious cinema criticism on the other. The purpose of this dialogue is to increase credibility (in the former case) and to demonstrate originality (in the latter case).
Finally, extrapolating from a specific dialogue between Crossan and Ricoeur, a critical method is developed, then applied to Werner Herzog's Herz aus Glas, a transcription of which is included as an appendix.
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Gümüşay, Ali Aslan. "God at work : an institutional perspective on the impact of religion on organizations." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:e6dc1016-0205-427a-8a54-6503cef2c371.
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The dissertation presents an institutional perspective on the role of values and meaning for organizations focusing on the institutional logic of religion. At its core are Chapter III, a conceptual paper, and Chapters IV and V, empirical papers based on an in-depth two-years long ethnographic case study on the founding process of the first Islamic Bank in Germany. They are framed by an introductory chapter and a conclusion that address the overarching research question of how diverse institutional demands are managed within and beyond the boundaries of organizations, as well as a general literature review chapter that embeds the papers within the wider institutional theory literature. Chapter III presents a conceptualization that integrates religion, specifically Islam, with entrepreneurship along three interconnected pillars: the entrepreneurial, socio-economic/ethical and religio-spiritual; and outlines how Islam shapes entrepreneurship at the micro-, meso- and macro-level. It suggests the institutional logics perspective to further analyze the impact of religion on organizations, which the subsequent papers build on. Chapter IV extends theory on organizational hybridity by outlining polyphony and polysemy as two mutually reinforcing organizational responses, that allow competing logics to coexist without structurally separating or blending them, and that produce elastic hybridity, showing how hybrid organizations can accommodate competing logics that are both central and incompatible. Chapter V shows how organizations collectively and dynamically co-generate and co-resolve institutional complexity through four combinatory mechanisms: pushing, pulling, clarifying and tolerating. These are subsequently integrated into a framework based on their desired versus required and actual versus perceptual nature. Overall, this dissertation contributes to a better understanding of how organizations manage diverse institutional demands including religion.
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Russek, Lisa Marie. "Social workers' responses to religious clients." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1995. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1042.
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Brinsfield, Gregory S., and Christopher B. Ashby. "Convergence and religious terrorism in America." Thesis, Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/1464.
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.Religious terrorism, as most recently highlighted by the horrendous 9/11 attacks, is not a new phenomenon. It is not restricted to any one particular religion or belief system, nor is it reserved as a weapon against foreign lands. Domestic religious terrorism is just as prevalent throughout history and is brought about by certain converging factors at particularly susceptible times within the society, such as economic difficulties, new or modified technologies, and social uncertainties. Under these conditions, a charismatic leader with an appealing ideology and access to sufficient resources may become a very powerful threat to society, pitting the secular against the divine. This type of convergence may result in altogether new religious movements, or the unexpected growth of fringe groups that, until they act, are not even identified. Examining the historical convergences of the Reformation, First and Second Great Awakenings, and the trends of modern domestic society, we find that the threads which hold these movements together remain consistent throughout history. Enabled by the rapid growth of technology, these groups have unprecedented potential power. A group that decides to become offensive or use weapons of mass destruction, such as Japan's Aum Shinrikyo, may pose an unacceptable risk to our country.
Major, United States Air Force
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Ismail, Badroen. "Potential use of Islamic finance among Muslims in Port Elizabeth." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/17526.
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The resurgence of Islam across the globe combined with the resilience that Islamic financial assets have shown against the onslaught of the current financial crisis, make Islamic finance an attractive alternative financial system. Over the past decade, the Islamic finance sector have shown double digit growth rates beyond the traditional areas of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regions of Asia as well as other parts of the Middle-East and North Africa (MENA) regions. Research suggests that the future of Islamic finance in Africa depends on business opportunities in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal. The South African government, in conjunction with the national finance authorities, have made their intention clear to position the country as the Islamic finance hub for the rest of the African continent. Despite various marketing campaigns over the past decade to convince the public that Islamic banking and finance is for everyone, non-Muslims generally view Islamic banking as being for Muslims alone. Scepticism towards Islamic finance has resulted in a mere 15 per cent of the estimated 1.5 million South African Muslims currently making use of the sector’s banking and retail instruments. This lack of interest is impacting negatively on the country’s aspirations to establish itself as the gateway of Islamic finance to the rest of Africa. Generally, people’s attitudes toward utilising Islamic finance are regarded as a key obstacle to the development of the Islamic banking and finance system in Muslim minority countries. A Kuwait Finance House research report (2012) highlighted a lack of awareness and knowledge of Islamic finance products and services as key factors stifling the growth of the Islamic finance sector in South Africa. In this context, it was deemed necessary to analyse how knowledge, awareness, expectations, beliefs, perceptions and ancillary external factors impact on potential users’ attitude and decision to adopt or reject Islamic finance.By means of adapting Fishbein’s (2000; 2008) Integrative Model of Behavioural Prediction, a universally-acceptable behavioural-change model, this research explains in a holistic manner how cognitive, affective and environmental measures impact on a Port Elizabethan Muslim’s attitude and eventual decision to accept (or reject) Islamic finance. This study has found that knowledge was the most important variable influencing attitude and intention to use (or reject) Islamic finance. Consequently, this thesis proposed that Islamic institutions should focus their efforts on promoting knowledge and awareness of their products among the South African Muslim and non- Muslim population. As the global Shari’ah finance industry continues its positive growth trajectory, it is imperative that Islamic finance stakeholders in South Africa ensure that they exploit the benefits derived from online learning platforms and assist, by means of cross-border collaborations, more students to have greater access to Islamic finance courses. Furthermore, universities and training institutions are encouraged to offer courses and qualifications in Islamic finance to close the talent gap that currently exist in this particular field of study.
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Macy, Alexandra G. "The Socio-economic and Religious Aspects in Robinson Crusoe." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2011. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/199.
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In the novel, Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe examines a wide range of complex issues. Defoe takes the typical adventure theme and transforms it into a thought-provoking reflection of many issues involving society. A blending of economic and religious issues is created by first focusing on economy, then bringing the issue of religion in, and finally allowing for the portrayal of the interpenetration between each. Defoe proves that it is possible to live by economic practices and monetary values while still maintaining a good, moral character. The emphasis on economic issues is extremely apparent, as Defoe calls into question the concept of money and its value, as well as its place in society. Crusoe is first portrayed as a man defined by money and ruled by economic principles. Even when removed from society, he is impelled to practice many economic conventions, such as investment, moderation and the idea of profit. Defoe creates Crusoe to be so greatly influenced by money and the economy in the beginning so as to better emphasize the intertwining of his economic side with his religious side. The Christian values and morals of Crusoe dominate the latter part of the novel. He rediscovers the Bible and its teachings and learns the importance of repentance and giving thanks. The provocative progression in unveiling the many layers of Crusoe allows for the reader to see that the man they thought to be defined by money is rather a man trying to live by the Word of God.
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Armstrong, Darren Philip. "The religious aspects of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien." Thesis, Durham University, 1994. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1044/.
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This thesis maintains that no comprehensive assessment of the work of J. R. R. Tolkien can be made without giving due weight to him as a religious writer, in the senses that : (a) he maintained an esthetic that is intrinsically Christian, believing that certain kinds of fantasy can bring new insights of the fallen world; (b) that writing, or sub-creating, was for him an essentially religious activity, participating in the myth of Creation; (c) his major fantasy texts contain subtle, often subliminal allusions to the Judaeo-Christian scriptures, although stripped of any dogmatic content; and (d) his major texts assume a cultural authority, through an allusive use of imagery and imitation of scriptural syntax to operate as a quasiscripture. I also consider Tolkien's treatment of major theological issues and assess how well suited the format of fantasy fiction is for the exploration of such themes.
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Carbonneau, André 1952. "Conscientious objectors to a medical treatment - what are the rules?" Thesis, McGill University, 1999. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=30290.
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Patients who refuse a specific medical treatment for religious reasons must often overcome strongly entrenched presumptions held by physicians and judges, presumptions frequently based on personal values. A case in point is the refusal of blood transfusion therapy by Jehovah's Witnesses.This paper rests on the following theory: The sanctity of life principle is not necessarily violated by respecting the autonomous decision of a patient who, for religious or moral reasons, chooses one therapy over another that may be favored by the treating physician. Where a patient has decided for conscientious reasons against a certain treatment in any given medical situation, the need to be informed will shift from the patient to the physician. The physician must understand the nature of the religious or moral conviction, as well as his own moral and legal obligation to respect the patient's wishes by providing the best medical care under the circumstances.
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Reddy, Mike Megrove. "Communication in Christian groups from movements to organisations." Thesis, University of Zululand, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10530/456.
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A dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of D. Litt. In Communication Science University of Zululand, 2004.This dissertation reports the results of a study made of the forms of communication employed by Judaeo-Christian religious groups when they saw themselves as movements, compared to when they had become organisations. Beginning with ancient Israel, the study documents how forms of communication become elaborated during the organisational phase of groups' existence. The forms of communication used in Christian religious groups are documented from the rime of the eady Christian Church, through the Reformation period, through the 17* century to present-day Christian groups. The dissertation also reports as a case study an empirical analysis of the forms of communication used by the Cell Church and churches with cell groups, both of which are inter-denominational and host regular informal gatherings. It is found that these gatherings display the onset phase characteristics of Christian movements. From a theoretical point of view the research reported here provides evidence in support for the following Christian Religious Communications Hypothesis: Christian religious groups will use a limited number offorms of communication when they perceive themselves as movements and they will expand their forms of communication, as they become organisations, which forms special instance of Klopper (2003)'s general Theory of the Optimisation of Human Communication: Humans optimise a variety of forms of communication within a culture, to ensure immediate direct personal survival and to maintain their culture as a fongterm indirect survival strategy. By confirming the validity of the Christian Religious Communications Hypothesis, the research findings also provide indirect validation for Klopper's general Theory of the Optimisation of Human Communication.
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Tilak, Shrinivas 1939. "Religion and aging in Indian tradition : a textual study." Thesis, McGill University, 1988. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=75680.
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The purpose of the present study is to recover from selected Hindu and Buddhist texts ideas and images of aging and illumine their historical, semantic and metaphysical dimensions. The results of this endeavor indicate that as cultural adaptive systems, both religion and gerontology share a common concern in seeking to provide aging with purpose and meaning. Further, the internal logic and semantics expressing this relationship in the texts examined are governed by the formal and literary modes of simile, metaphor and myth. The analysis of such age-sensitive concepts as jara (aging), asrama (stages of life), kala (time), parinama (change), karma (determinate actions), kama (desire), and vaja (rejuvenatory and revitalizing force) suggest that the bond between the traditional Indian values of life and gerontology is particularly close and mutual.
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Van, den Berg Ruan. "An examination of Christian values and correlated concepts in small business practices in South Africa." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021094.
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The purpose of this research project was to establish in what way Christian entrepreneurs, in this case owner-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises, drew on their Christian faith – as an identity-creating construct – in the day-to-day running of their businesses. Religion was identified as one of the significant contributing elements that form part of individuals’ underlying values that are used to make numerous value-based decisions. Because SME owner-managers that adhere to the Christian faith constitute a fairly large segment of society in the Western World, a study of this nature can be regarded as a worthwhile undertaking that provides valuable insights related to how and to what extent this particular group of economic actors merge religious convictions with business operations. The research was set up in such a way that SME owner-managers in South Africa, who were self-proclaimed Christians and broadly defined as members of the Protestant tradition, constituted the sample participants. The methodology regarded as most suitable was a qualitative, grounded-theory approach whereby interviews were conducted along the lines of a semi-structured interview schedule. An openended exploratory strategy was adopted that allowed respondents to convey their thoughts and ideas pertaining to the research phenomenon from their personal perspectives. A number of conceptual and linguistic frames offered by the respondents – that gave language to the way they rationalised their faith in the context of managing their businesses – were recorded. A total of sixteen major themes and an additional eight sub-themes emerged from the data. The themes recorded and analysed were: faith, grace, calling, stewardship, kingdom, holiness, discipleship, discernment, love, relationship, anointing, inseparable dimensions of life, the Christian life journey, money, cultural perspectives and biblical principles, including the centrality of the Bible, integrity and honesty, sowing and reaping, humility, forgiveness, power of the tongue, importance of prayer and the centrality of Christ. The research findings revealed that a correct understanding of the Christian identity as well as a correct application thereof is crucial in successfully incorporating Christian ideals in the market. Full integration of the Christian identity plus an internalisation of God’s purposes and principles create an inner sense of direction that is less focused on external moral guidelines and codes of conduct – the phrase living from the inside out’ seems appropriately fitting to describe a group of economic actors who pursue their business careers with a sense of calling coupled with a belief that their commercial whereabouts are distinctively linked to a transcendent objective. In addition, general business administration guidelines, where the issue of religious affiliation per se is of no particular consequence, allow for the integration of the value concepts uncovered through the study by way of the corporate governance framework as contained in the King III report – particularly with reference to business practice interventions related to the formulation and implementation of core organisational values and moral codes.
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Sandenbergh, Hercules Alexander. "How religious is Sudan's Religious War?" Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/3470.
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Thesis (MPhil (Political Science))--Stellenbosch University, 2006.Sudan, Africa’s largest country has been plagued by civil war for more than fifty years. The war broke out before independence in 1956 and the last round of talks ended in a peace agreement early in 2005. The war started as a war between two different religions embedded in different cultures. The Islamic government constitutionalised their religious beliefs and imposed them on the whole country. This triggered heavy reaction from the Christian and animist people in the South. They were not willing to adhere to strict marginalising Islamic laws that created cleavages in society. The Anya-Anya was the first rebel group to violently oppose the government and they fought until the Addis Ababa peace accord that was reached in 1972. After the peace agreement there was relative peace before the government went against the peace agreement and again started enforcing their religious laws on the people in the South. This new wave of Islamisation sparked renewed tension between the North and the south that culminated in Dr John Garang and his SPLM/A restarting the conflict with the government in 1982. This war between the SPLA and the government lasted 22 years and only ended at the beginning of 2005. The significance of this second wave in the conflict is that it coincided with the discovery of oil in the South. Since the discovery of oil the whole focus of the war changed and oil became the centre around which the war revolved. Through this research I intend to look at the significance of oil in the conflict. The research question: how religious is Sudan’ Religious war? asks the question whether resources have become more important than religion.
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Velthuysen, Daniel Nicholas. "A pastoral theological examination of inner healing." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016248.
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Doing a survey of the ministry of inner healing, one is arrested by three salient features: its pragmatic and correlative development, its lay orientation, and the inconsistent and naïve theoretical explanation of the phenomenon. Inner healing, or as it was first known, the healing of the memories, appears to have its roots with Agnes Sanford during the 1940's (Sandford 1982: 3-4). Over a period of time and through a series of events, Sanford experienced what she termed a healing of memories. After some reflection on her experiences she began to teach her views at the School of Pastoral Care started by her husband in 1958, at Camps Farthest Out (CFO), and at numerous churches and conferences.
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Cheung, Man-ling, and 張曼玲. "The role of religious attributions in coping with bereavement." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1995. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3197787X.
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Chant, Jeffrey MacIntosh, and University of Lethbridge Faculty of Education. "Experiences of male woundedness and the influence of understandings of Christ." Thesis, Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2005, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10133/341.
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The purpose of this study was to bring to consciousness the varied experiences that men
have had of feeling wounded and to explore how a relationship to Jesus the Christ has
influenced their understanding of those experiences. A modified naturalistic inquiry
model was used as the qualitative research method, and the research was developed using
grounded theory. This method of inquiry encouraged participants, and the researcher, to
voice their experiences and to utilize them in a way that made the research significant.
This methodological approach allowed themes to emerge, while honouring the stories and
experiences that the participants shared. The theoretical framework for the study emerged
from two major fields of research: Christian theology and gender-male studies. This
research is located where these two fields intersect and overlap. It builds on the research
from gender-male studies, specifically the psychological study of men and masculinity,
organized men's movements, mythopoetic movements, profeminist movements, as well
as the Christian theological understanding of a Messiah who has been portrayed and
understood as the "wounded healer." The research focuses on the point at which men's
experiences connect with their own sense of woundedness, their Christian faith, and their
process of healing. The researcher engaged a discriminate group of men in exploring and
trying to understand their experiences of feeling wounded in relation to the Christian
story. Four men were identified who have had formal education in both pastoral
psychology and theology. The participants were interviewed, and a constant comparative
method was employed. Throughout the process of interviewing these men and being
privy to their stories, my own story of feeling wounded often surfaced. This research is significant because allowing these men to articulate their experiences of woundedness facilitates healing, for themselves but also for other men who may access their own
stories of feeling wounded through hearing those of the participants. Identifying and
articulating woundedness helps to manifest the path of healing and self-understanding,
ultimately leading to happier lives.x, 130 leaves ; 29 cm.
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MacDonald, Kathleen Anne. "Sacred healing, health and death in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition." Thesis, McGill University, 2001. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=32927.
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The Tibetan Buddhist approach to healing, health and death is rooted in the sacred. Its teachings and techniques create a road map guiding the practitioner through the process of purification called sacred healing. It encompasses foundational Buddhist teachings, sacred Buddhist medicine, and the esoteric healing pathways found in tantra and yoga, which together constitute a detailed and technical guide to healing. The mind is central to all aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. The ability to focus the mind through meditation during life enables the practitioner to prepare for death by experiencing the subtle aspects of the body and mind through the chakras. Both Tibetan spiritual teachers and doctors practise healing and help practitioners learn to focus their minds in preparation for death. The moment of death presents the greatest opportunity for attaining sacred health, but healing can also occur after death. The objective of this thesis is to present the Tibetan Buddhist understanding of sacred healing in relation to life, death, the bardos and suicide through its texts, teachings and techniques.
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Menatsi, Richard. "The concept of "the people" in liberation theology." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015654.
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The concept of "the people" has become a key concept within the work of several Latin American theologians, Korean Minjung theologians and South African theologians. When liberation theologians use the concept of "the people" in their literature they do so with a lack of clarity, to the extent that the exact meaning of the term is obscure. In their usage of the concept "the people" liberation theologians come up with differing and at times contradictory meanings, particularly as regards the concrete and symbolic meanings of the concept. This thesis sets out to investigate the use of the concept "the people" by liberation theologians by consulting a selection from Latin American theology, Korean Minjung theology, South African liberation theology and Marxism, to detect its influence on the use of this notion. A general overview of the thesis indicates the following. The first chapter provides a detailed analysis of the concept of "the people" in the work of different liberation theologians. Chapter two considers "the people" in relation to poverty and oppression. The third chapter deals with "the people" as subjects of history. In the fourth chapter "the people" as a concept is developed in relation to belief within the Christian church. The final chapter is an evaluation. The thesis reveals that the following characteristics are central to "the people", they are poor and oppressed but are also inclusive of all those persons who identify and actively support the struggle against poverty and oppression. "The people" are subjects of their own history, finally they are Christian believers.
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Borchardt, Frederick Francois. "Religious experience and schizophrenia in modern man : an experiential theoretical study." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002061.
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In this study the psychological structures of two categories of religious and schizophrenic experience were examined from a phenomenological- existential perspective. Existing theories describe schizophrenia as an unfree, rigid experience with limited possibilities for selfhood. Some theorists believe, however, that some forms of schizophrenia can be seen as potential growth experiences which could facilitate existential renewal. These forms of schizophrenia are mystical, mythical or spiritual in nature. Religious experiences are, according to the literature, essentially renewal experiences facilitating existential growth and transformation through a particular system of thought and devotional relationship shared by a group of people. The Duquesne phenomenological- psychological method was used to analyse seven case studies, four of which involved schizophrenic experiences and three which involved religious conversion experiences. The general psychological structure which emerged through this analysis showed both schizophrenia and religious experience to have specific implications for the personal, social, material and mystical dimensions of being. The description of a specific psychological structure of experience which could optimally facilitate existential growth and transformation was attained by examining psychological structures where the subject's experience culminated in existential growth and transformation (such as religious experience and certain schizophrenIc experiences). As both these categories of experience displayed a strong mystical component, a psychological structure of experience which facilitates a transformative mystical experience was described. It can be concluded that an experience involving a mystical dimension could be transformative if the general psychological structure of the person displays (a) an openness towards reality as it presents itself (b) an experience of oneself as having a measure of existential freedom (c) a certain sense of security in one's own selfhood and (d) a social world which could understand, support and reflect inner experiences.
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Mermer, Alison Clare. "Aspects of religious identity : the Nurcu movement in Turkey today." Thesis, Durham University, 1985. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1614/.
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Griffing, Gene A. "Creativity and religious orientation : an interactional study of psychological wellbeing." Virtual Press, 2002. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1233199.
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Past research has shown that both creativity and religious orientation are related to psychological wellbeing. There has also been some support for the idea that a relationship exists between creativity and religiosity. The present study sought to determine whether the interaction between creativity and religious orientation would be a significant predictor of psychological wellbeing. Psychological wellbeing, in the current study, was defined as the linear composite of life satisfaction, meaning in life, and purpose in life. The independent variables were measured using the Religious Orientation Scale, the Religious Orientation Scale Revised, and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Dependent variables were assessed via the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Scales of Psychological Wellbeing Short Forms, and the Life Attitude Profile Revised. Questionnaires were administered to 291 college students at a mid-western university. Individuals were identified as being either high or low in creativity and as either intrinsic or extrinsic with respect to their religious orientation. A final participant sample participant sample of 120 participants was retained for analysis and a two by two factorial MANOVA was performed to determine if creativity and religious orientation would interact. While the results of the study suggested that creativity and religious orientation were both significant predictors of psychological wellbeing, the interaction of these variables was not found to be a significant predictor of psychological wellbeing. The independent factor of creativity was found to be a significant predictor beyond the .05 level for psychological wellbeing, satisfaction with life, purpose in life, and meaning in life. Similarly, religious orientation as an independent factor was found to be a significant predictor beyond the .05 level for psychological wellbeing, purpose in life, and having meaning in life. While this data is consistent with the current literature, religious orientation was not a significant predictor of life satisfaction. It was postulated that the lack of interaction may have been attributed to low variability in test scores, developmental characteristics of the sample, and/or the more precise psychometric properties of the instruments used in the current study. Recommendations for future research were suggested.Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
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Kasmed, Fa-eeza. "The identity alignment of Christian beliefs and homosexual orientation in adult women." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/17658.
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The homosexual orientation has been controversial in many countries around the world, with religion often used as the foundation for critique against this orientation. The prevalence of discrimination, and the expectation of rejection, often results in homosexual individuals concealing their sexual identity. In the process homosexual individuals may deny, hide, or even discarded their authentic selves. However, some individuals reach a point of comfort with both these constructs of their identity, a position that supports the authentic self. The aim of this study is to explore and describe the process of how individuals who identify as both Christian and homosexual align these parts into their identity, to reach a place of comfort. The study further seeks to generate insight that can be used to assist individuals in similar positions of identity conflict. The study uses qualitative methodology, more specifically an exploratory- descriptive design. The sample is identified through non-probability purposive sampling, and data collected through semi- structured interviews. The data is analysed using an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) framework. Thematic analysis identified major themes of denial, conflict, anger, bargaining, deconstruction, and self- acceptance. These themes followed a non- linear and interactive process, and present participants reaching a place of comfort with their Christian beliefs and homosexual orientation; which is discussed through the interpretative lens of social constructionism and queer theory.
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Nkesiga, Reverend Solomon Basabose. "Virtuous living towards an African theology of wisdom in the context of the African renaissance." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/454.
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The structure of this study is a complex inter-relationship of a variety of sources in a theological work, namely, personal experience, African social and politico-economic context, philosophical reflection, wisdom traditions and Christian theology. These sources form a coherent inter-relationship which is foundational for an African theology of wisdom. The introduction gives an overview of my moral and theological formation. This is intended to provide a perspective through which the issue of moral orientation in African context has been approached. It is therefore entitled: Moral formation and the shaping of a theological mind. The first chapter answers the question: Why is Africa in need of a wisdom theology that addresses the issue of moral regeneration? This question is posed in the broader context of the current African Renaissance debates. The links between the Italian (European) and African Renaissance indicate that moral regeneration is a crucial part of the socio-political, intellectual and economic re-birth of Africa. This “socio-historical” source gives the context and urgency of a wisdom theology. It is therefore entitled: A contextual analysis: The European and African Renaissance. The second chapter re-asserts the rise of virtue ethics as an alternative ethical theory to the predominant deontological and utilitarian traditions. This is achieved through analysing Alisdair MacIntyre’s earlier work, After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory (1981), set in the context of Iris Murdoch and Elizabeth Anscombe, the modern initiators of a virtue ethic. This “philosophical” source gives the theoretical framework that addresses the question of moral formation. It is therefore entitled: A philosophical analysis: The rise of virtue ethics as alternative ethical theory. The third chapter is devoted to two related “wisdom” themes: Firstly, the seven traditional virtues are briefly described highlighting the virtue of wisdom as foundational. Secondly, the idea of wisdom is further developed via three wisdom traditions, namely: wisdom in the Hellenistic, Judeo-Christian and African traditions. This “sapiential” source gives this African theology of wisdom its most important building blocks. This chapter is therefore entitled: A sapiential analysis: Wisdom as foundation for virtue ethics in Africa. The last chapter brings the previous sources together under a specific theological perspective. It draws on aspects of recent African theologians’ work, notably: Kwame Gyekye and Benezet Bujo who engage with and bring together Western and African theological traditions. I answer a pertinent question, “What does such a ‘theological’ perspective entail?” I draw on Scripture and its Trinitarian tradition to demonstrate how African wisdom, reinforced by the framework of virtue theory, and developed in the context of present-day Africa by an African student of theology, has the potential to contribute to the moral transformation of Africa. This more overt “theological” source is the distinctive Christian enterprise of an African wisdom theology. The chapter title is aligned with the overall title of this study: A theological analysis: Toward an African virtue ethics? To this end, this study achieves its attempt to construct an inter-related framework from which an African theology of wisdom may emerge.
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Venter, Johannes Machiel. "How the Christian church can help in building business ethics." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012905.
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Research suggests that there is a relationship between religion and business ethics. When looking at the South African society and the statistics that says that 80 percent of the population is Christian but on the other hand we are confronted within this country with increasing incidents of corruption in private companies as well as in public services. Why would that be the case? This study seeks to understand if Christianity or the local church really makes an impact on the lives of its members. The research starts of by looking at behaviour in general and what constitute to good ethical decision-making. In the study on Christian ethics it becomes clear that there is a strong appeal in the Bible on ethical behaviour. The Bible goes as far as to claim that, when in a relationship with the Lord, the followers will show His character in the way they live at home and the way they behave and make ethical decisions at the workplace. This study used focus groups to research the role of the local church in changing behaviour. The study finds that Christianity per se does not change the behaviour of church members. The church members‘ definition of the church largely determines the impact the church will have on their lives. In the study on the Christian ethics it was clear that ethics were seen as something that was formed in communities and not by rules or regulations. It was not a case of people telling others what to do and what not. It was more a case of mentors that helped others to live differently in community with others. The study finds that when the local church is build on relationships and if there is a strong sense of community, the church has a huge impact on the lives of its members. This suggests that the local church should be more focused on strong and intimate relationships and not so much on the church as organisation or institute. This is also important for the businesses that will employ these members because they will make better ethical decisions.
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Jackson, Robert. "The interrelationship between religious education and religious studies : paper to accompany materials submitted for PhD by published work." Thesis, University of Warwick, 1993. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/71284/.
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Nehushtan, Yossi. "Religious conscientious exemptions." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.670045.
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Pillay, Miranda N. "Re-visioning stigma: a socio-rhetorical reading of Luke 10:25-37 in the context of HIV/AIDS in South Africa." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2008. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_4669_1227789291.
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HIV and AIDS present challenges to the well-being of individuals and to public health proportions unpresedented in modern history, and stigma has been identified as the single most contributor to the spread of the HI-virus. While the challenges presented by the AIDS pandemic are scientific and medical, it also has a psychological, legal,
economic, social, ethical and religious impact on those infected and affected. The underlying question in this thesis is not whether the church should respond to this urgent societal challenge, but how it ought to respond. To explore this question, the thesis investigated how a New Testament text (as primary resource), particularly Luke's Gospel, could be a resource for shaping/sharpening the church's response to the pandemic.
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Goins, Jeffrey P. (Jeffrey Paul). "Expendable Creation: Classical Pentecostalism and Environmental Disregard." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1997. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc278335/.
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Whereas the ecological crisis has elicited a response from many quarters of American Christianity, classical (or denominational) Pentecostals have expressed almost no concern about environmental problems. The reasons for their disregard of the environment lie in the Pentecostal worldview which finds expression in their: (1) tradition; (2) view of human and natural history; (3) common theological beliefs; and (4) scriptural interpretation. All these aspects of Pentecostalism emphasize and value the supernatural--conversely viewing nature as subordinate, dependent and temporary. Therefore, the ecocrisis is not problematic because, for Pentecostals, the natural environment is: of only relative value; must serve the divine plan; and will soon be destroyed and replaced. Furthermore, Pentecostals are likely to continue their environmental disregard, since the supernaturalism which spawns it is key to Pentecostal identity.
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Chan, Sin-wai, and 陳倩慧. "Religious release of birds in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2006. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B38345821.
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Wilson, Alissa Carrie. "A qualitative study of spiritual and alternative practices in social work." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2005. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2652.
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The purpose of this study is to more closely examine social workers who are practicing or familiar with spiritual and alternative techniques. These approaches are seen as highly relevant to social work values of cultural competency and empowerment.
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Brown, Robert Bruce. "Holy war as an instrument of theocratic and social ideology in Judaic, Christian, and Islamic history." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1997. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1428.
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Armstrong, Dorothy Sheilah. "Psychological well-being and spirituality: Constituents of successful aging." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1999. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1801.
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Epstein, Heidi. "Melting the Venusberg : a feminist theology of music." Thesis, McGill University, 2000. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=36766.
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I am writing a feminist theology of music. Feminist musicologists, by studying music's relation to human sexuality (a connection which theologians have neglected, suppressed, or simply ignored), contend that music has always functioned as a metaphor for sexual relations. As such, music constitutes a site where personal and social formation is negotiated and contested. Via repertoires of musical conventions, much like those in film and literature, composers arouse, manipulate, and channel our desires, thereby reinforcing (and sometimes transgressing) cultural norms of sexuality and gender construction. Their compositions become "fabrications of sexuality." (McClary)Historically, theologians and church authorities vilified music's preeminent worth as an erotic medium, promoting instead its exemplary embodiment of ontic harmony and order. To do so, they clothed their polemic against "illicit" musical practices with the rhetoric of effeminacy, thus veiling male ambivalence toward women and the body in a politics of transcendence. After a critique of these masculinist models, and an exposition of music as a gendered, en-gendering discourse, I will redefine music theologically as abject, fleshly imitatio. To construct a feminist musico-theological model, I shall synthesise a lost trope from the tradition with insights which I have gained from the musical activities of four women musician-composers: Hildegard of Bingen, Bolognese nun Lucrezia Vizzani (and her consoeurs), Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Diamanda Galas. Through this recuperative synthesis, music's theological significance will shift from its incarnation of harmony and order---divine, cosmic, or human to its ineradicable promiscuity, its dis-integrative powers.
My original contribution to the field is fourfold: (1) I document the rhetoric of effeminacy and virility which has influenced and shaped traditional theologies of music, and thereby undermine the latter's privileged status as musico-theological resources; (2) I portray the music of the above women composers as musical imitations of Christ; (3) I enrich revisionist accounts of women in the Christian tradition by giving greater prominence to women's musical activity, the latter previously neglected in, for example, theological studies of mediaeval women, this despite music's centrality to their daily lives; (4) I initiate mutually enriching dialogue between feminist musicology and theology. To date, a feminist theology of music has not been written.
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Boesak, Willem Andreas. "God's wrathful children : toward an ethic of vengeance, retribution, and renewal for a post-apartheid nation." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17354.
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Includes bibliographies.God's wrath results in divine acts of vengeance in favour of the powerless and the oppressed. This manifestation of anger is devoid of hatred and malice, for in the first epistle of John, love is equated with God in such a way that it is the personification of the divine Being (1 John 4:7-12). God's grace, forming the nexus between compassion and wrath, renders any suggestion of a contradiction in the divine nature untenable. Human vengeance is, however, an ambiguous concept. It emanates from human anger, which often includes hatred and malice. Nevertheless, this cannot simply be dismissed as a destructive force, as it can be a valid form of resistance. The crucial theological-ethical question arises: Can the wrath of God's children (human vengeance) legitimately reflect divine anger? The first part of the thesis deals with the historical content of God's wrathful children, focusing on the history of struggle in South Africa. The age-old history of injustices perpetrated against black people has generated a deep-seated anger, a dangerous socio-political rage that cannot be ignored. The central question is: How should black people handle their anger theologically? Given the multi-religious and -cultural South African context this issue needs addressing at an ecumenical level, while taking interfaith perspective into account. The Zealots of first-century Palestine, the late-medieval reformer Thomas Muntzer, and the African-American activist Malcolm X, wrestled with the interplay between faith and vengeance. Case studies of these revolutionaries are dealt with in the second part of the thesis, and assistance is sought from their experiences in clarifying our own theological formulation. The final part of the thesis argues that post-apartheid South Africa requires a comprehensive, inter-faith 'ethic of vengeance' to curb destructive black political rage.
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Warren, Meredith. "'Like dew from heaven:' : honeycomb, religious identity, and transformation in Joseph and Aseneth." Thesis, McGill University, 2006. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=99397.
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This thesis examines the construction of identity in the pseudepigraphic novel Joseph and Aseneth by means of discussions of conversion, food ritual, and genre. Each of these is invaluable for interpreting the meaning and significance of the honeycomb scene in which Aseneth is transformed. The interaction of a ritual of eating, angelic visits, and the medium of genre for expressing transformation presents a window through which to view identity in the ancient world. This project explores how the shared symbolic knowledge of the ancient world informs the literary presentation of Aseneth's transformation that describes the development of her religious identity. I argue that the honeycomb scene speaks most strongly about Joseph and Aseneth's notions of religious identity. Through the ritual eating of the honeycomb, Joseph and Aseneth constructs a hybrid identity for Aseneth, integrating biblical motifs with those found in pagan narratives.
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Cheng, Fung-kei, and 鄭鳳姬. "Conceptualising a bodhisattva-spirit-oriented counselling framework inspired by the Vimalakīrti nirdeśa sūtra." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/206482.
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Mental health has become a critical global issue over the last century, adversely impacting individual happiness, social costs and human capital, all of which devastate national competitiveness, urging government leaders to take immediate action to solve this problem. Caring professionals have studied medical and non-medicinal solutions, including counselling, which may interface with religion. The integration of Buddhist elements and therapies is increasingly prevalent, with positive effects. However, very few of these psychotherapeutic approaches adopt canonical evidence to support their theories, even though many are associated with Tibetan or early Buddhism. Focusing on first-hand data and employing interpretivism and plurality, this exploratory research interprets the ideas of bodhisattva and the four immeasurables within the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra, an influential Mahāyāna text, and translates them into a counselling framework from the Chinese Buddhist perspective, cross-referenced with qualitative fieldwork.
Through purposive sampling, 38 participants were recruited through cold calls, social networks, and electronic mails, including helping practitioners, Buddhist masters, volunteers, and beneficiaries who have overcome life challenges through Buddhist wisdom. In addition to 44 semi-structured, in-depth individual as well as two focus group interviews analysed through interpretative phenomenological analysis, multiple resources were also utilised, such as participatory observations, expressive art, television programmes, and autobiographies. The ATLAS.ti 7 software package was used for both scriptural and interview data analyses. Triangulation was conducted to enhance rigour, involving expert consultation, member-checking, and a peer analysis that resulted in an inter-rater reliability of 92%, which reflects the credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability of this project. Results finalised two super-ordinate themes (philosophical concepts and propositions for counselling) from 14 emergent themes arising from 40 themes, proposing a bodhisattva-spirit-oriented counselling framework, highlighting the social dimension and illuminating constructs that are disregarded by the extant models. These outcomes correspond to research questions which achieve the research objective, and support the research assumption regarding the inherent therapeutic functionality of Buddhism.
This mixed-method inter-disciplinary work not only supplies a direct Buddhist voice, which differs from available literature, but also provides theoretical underpinnings for researchers and practitioners to enrich their practice and expand the horizon of Buddhist-related interventions. This indicates the practicability of the bodhisattva path in the human service industry, as witnessed by the lived experience of the participants, implying the applicability of Mahāyāna wisdom, which has evolved over 2,000 years, to our modern society.
In conceptualising this comprehensive counselling framework, this study opens up a doctrinal approach to substantiate Buddhist-informed interventions, revealing the significance of canonical data for such research and marking the originality and feature of this project. However, this proposed framework is being developed with little exploration of operational procedures. Future studies are suggested to develop non-medicinal and non-intrusive programmes based on this framework, and to explore other concepts of Chinese Buddhism for therapeutic purposes. In conclusion, this research, recapturing the Buddhist power of discourse in the caring field, sheds light on how the bodhisattva spirit can be put into practice via self-transcendence and a quest for well-being in contemporary cultures, through self-benefiting altruism.published_or_final_version
Social Work and Social Administration
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
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Rwimo, Edward John. "How solidarity as a virtue can promote better living conditions in Tanzania." Thesis, Boston College, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:105021.
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Nguyen, Bao. "Generosity: The flourishing virtue in the consecrated life." Thesis, Boston College, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:105010.
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Morgan, Dale Owen. "Spirituality and psychosocial adjustment in a population of terminally ill cancer patients." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/558113.
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Dyck, Veronica H. "Self-sacrifice, caring and peace : a socio-ethical preface to feminist theology." Thesis, McGill University, 1997. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=34949.
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This thesis is a critical survey of selected feminist writings on topics of interest to Christian, feminist thinkers. Specifically, this thesis has examined inter-feminist debates, highlighting those themes related narrowly to the virtues of self-sacrifice, care and peace, and broadly to how these relate to wider themes in Christian theology. This survey indicates directions and tendencies within works on virtues connected to women's work and gendered ideological assumptions about public and private spheres.A summary of the contribution and themes of this thesis includes using critical social theory to uncover ideological distortions such as those perpetuated by patriarchy. The thesis highlights how a feminist critique contributes to the debate on values and virtues, pointing out biases which previously hid the contributions of women. An important theme uncovered using these critical tools is the dualist division between the public and the private spheres which reinforce gendered social and moral roles. The discussion is structured around three virtues with an emphasis on praxis, that is, since values arise out of shared practices, these values are inherently teachable and able to contribute to an evolving understanding of moral principles which break from and/or enhance traditional liberal understandings of these principles. Finally, connections are made with the gospel and utopian values grounded in a Christian vision of the kingdom of God.
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Shaw, Sylvie. "Wild at heart : creating relationship with nature." Monash University, School of Political and Social Inquiry, 2001. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/7963.
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Panaïoti, Antoine. "The Bodhisattva and the Übermensch : suffering and compassion after the Death of God." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.609392.
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Zapor, Mary Anne. "The use of referrals for therapeutic counseling by Catholic parish priests and the implications for clinical social workers." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1995. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/492.
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This positivist research design project focused on the question: How do parish priests deal with people who are in need of therapeutic counseling? Central to this study was the hypothesis, that priests refer people to professionals, when there is no conflict expected between values and morals of the church and the values and moral of the professional therapist.
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Flynn, JoAnne Irene. "Religious social support groups: Strengthening leadership with communication competence." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2008. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/3345.
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This project involved the development of a training manual for religious small group leaders to become competent communicators of support, and to understand the nature and role of crisis groups for the purpose of supporting members in crisis.
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Ferro, Paula Luz, and Fernandez Gloria Del. "Spirituality and compliance correlates of hemodialysis patients." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2005. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2663.
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The purpose of a study of spirituality and its relationship to the compliance of hemodialysis patients is to consider changing the approach of the treatment team in the dialysis setting. The interdisciplinary treatment team at the dialysis center consists of physicians, nurses, dietitians, and social workers. One of the many roles of the dialysis social worker is to facilitate the adjustment to and acceptance of the patient's need for dialysis.
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Springer, Michelle J. "Religious and eating disorder beliefs and behaviors." Virtual Press, 1997. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1041888.
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This study utilized both qualitative and quantitative procedures to examine the relationship between religiosity and eating disorders among a sample of nineteen eating disordered individuals who sought treatment at one of two college counseling centers, or at a hospital unit which specializes in treating eating disorders. Following theoretical works that point to asceticism as the link between religion and eating disorders, it was hypothesized that subject scores on the Shepherd Scale, a measure of religiosity from a Christian perspective, would positively correlate with scores on the Eating Disorder Inventory, a measure of eating disorder symptomatology, which includes a subscale that assesses asceticism. Analysis of subject scores shows no statistically significant correlation between religiosity and asceticism, though statistically significant negative correlations were found between religiosity and other Eating Disorder Inventory subscales. A marked difference in asceticism scores was found between subjects treated at the college counseling centers and those treated at the hospital unit.Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
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Hurley, C. E., and n/a. "A study of aspects of educational leadership in a religious teaching order." University of Canberra. Education, 1985. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060731.162220.
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The quality and nature of leadership among the superiors of
religious teaching orders has not been the subject of much research.
This field study examines the criteria by which the Provincial Superior of the Marist Brothers in the Sydney Province of Australia decides
on the appointment of his principals. In order to establish an evaluation
of these criteria, the concept of leadership in general and educational
leadership are first examined as described in literature. From the
literature a model is chosen against which the leadership of the founder
is examined since the spirit of the founder, in this case, Marcellin Champagnat, still pervades the present day members of the order he
established. The beginnings of the work of the Brothers in Australia
were also important as the pioneers brought with them the spirit of
the founder and were responsible for a quality of leadership in difficult
circumstances, a quality which has become a feature of the work of
the Brothers. It is evident that the present provincial superior
is imbued with the spirit of the founder and that he has succeeded
in interpreting the criteria laid down in foundation in terms which
are relevant to education today. Certain constraints and factors, special
to a religious teaching order bring about features of leadership which
are not found in lay schools.