This dissertation examines the spiritual growth of individuals: what growth is; why growth is necessary; and how it can be nurtured. An individual's spiritual growth needs to happen in relationship with others, so that Christ's commandments to love God and neighbour are fulfilled. Thus the dynamics, goals and effects of community life are examined. Spiritual growth and community raises implications for the Christian Church. These are examined, in particular the need for transformed leadership and models of ministry, transforming communities that will enable the church to fulfil its mission to the world. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Christian Spirituality)

This study centres on Church involvement in community development. The study seeks to demonstrate that the model adopted by the Christian Community Services is a fruitful experiment of church involvement in community development - one that has a tremendous potential to shed theological as well as practical light on church involvement in community development. After offering the statement of the problem and a brief geographical and social analysis of Kirinyaga Diocese, the study traces the genesis, vision and the modus operandi of the Christian Community Services. It then discusses the CCS 'Food Increase Programme' through the organisation's Rural Development Department. The Community Health and Social Services Programmes are presented as some of the CCS's interventions to reduce poverty in the community. The impact of these interventions was evident after the data collection, analysis and interpretation. The study then offers a theological evaluation and reflection of the work of the CCS as a model of church involvement in development activities in the community.The study argues that Christian theology has a particularly significant contribution to make to the debates about community development. In a pluralistic society in a secular age, a special responsibility is laid on the Church to present its distinctive understanding and insights to address the abject poverty among the vast majority of her followers. Without this, her public life is impoverished. Theology of development is the tool of the Church to achieve this vision. Although difficult to define, development is seen as the process of transforming the conditions of life of the people referred to as 'the poor' such that they can lead a more holistic life. The main objective of the CCS development activities is to allow the poor to become the subject, not the object, of development strategies. Given the opportunity to do so, they have shown themselves to be capable of making rational choices regarding their own destinies. In this context, it is hoped that this dissertation will help to contribute to an increased understanding of Church involvement in development from within for, by and with the poor. As a result, therefore, new optimism for the role of the Church in development may emerge from the current pessimism. The study has concluded that the Church's involvement in development is not an 'extra' but a bona fide function of the Church. / Thesis (M.Th)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

Submitted by Noeme Timbo (noeme.timbo@metodista.br) on 2017-06-12T18:27:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Andre Magalhaes Coelho.pdf: 666895 bytes, checksum: 73ff206de83f00bb2a5cfdd172196a8a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-12T18:27:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andre Magalhaes Coelho.pdf: 666895 bytes, checksum: 73ff206de83f00bb2a5cfdd172196a8a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This research proposes to investigate the theological anthropology of the Christian Community Peace and Life, evangelical group of neo-Pentecostal matrix. The theological emphasis on the unity of the human constitution, which biblical testimony indicates, contrasts with the historical experience of Christendom in which the body has always played a secondary role, a status that still remains in various religious groups, including current Brazilian Pentecostalism. In view of this reality, Pentecostalism establishes its foundations, faithful to its ecclesiastical context in the same Platonic tendency to value more what is usually called the "soul" and "spirit" than the body, despite the value of body healing, Corporeality in the liturgy and the logic of material prosperity also present in these religious experiences. In order to counter this view, the concept of integrated anthropology will be indicated, based on several authors, especially the theologian Alfonso Garcia Rubio. This concept is fundamentally characterized by the understanding that the human being is a unit. It is that concrete being that appears in all its corporeal dimensions, and the body must relate to the whole cosmos and other living beings making present in a world of relationships and not of exclusions and dichotomies. In this sense, we wonder to what extent the contribution of an integral theological anthropology can constitute a contribution to overcome the anthropological dualism in religious groups such as the Christian Community Peace and Life? The research indicates some theological paths of overcoming concepts of dualistic and reductionist nature of the human condition, in view of an integrated anthropology. As an overcoming of this dualism we suggest an incarnated spirituality where the body makes evident in all its relations and where the unitary experience of the human being as a concrete person. From the concept of Integrated Human, which seeks to overcome dualisms, it is hoped to offer the Christian Community Peace and Life, from its own experience, with all the ambiguities in it, a unitary perception of the human being. / Esta pesquisa propõe investigar a antropologia teológica da Comunidade Cristã Paz e Vida, grupo evangélico de matriz neopentecostal. A ênfase teológica na unidade da constituição humana, que o testemunho bíblico indica, contrasta com a experiência histórica da cristandade, na qual o corpo sempre teve um papel secundário, status que ainda permanece em vários grupos religiosos, incluindo o pentecostalismo brasileiro atual. Diante desta realidade, o pentecostalismo estabelece suas bases, fiel ao seu contexto eclesiástico na mesma tendência platônica de valorizar mais o que usualmente se denominou a “alma” e “espírito” do que o corpo, não obstante ao valor da cura do corpo, da corporeidade na liturgia e da lógica de prosperidade material também presentes nessas experiências religiosas. Para se contrapor a essa visão será indicado o conceito de antropologia integrada, a partir de vários autores, em especial o teólogo Alfonso Garcia Rubio. Tal conceito se caracteriza fundamentalmente por entendermos que o ser humano é uma unidade. Trata-se daquele ser concreto que se apresenta em todas as suas dimensões corpóreas, sendo que o corpo deve se relacionar com todo o cosmo e com outros seres vivos fazendo presente em um mundo de relações e não de exclusões e dicotomias. Nesse sentido, nos perguntamos em que medida a contribuição de uma antropologia teológica integral pode se constituir em uma contribuição para a superação do dualismo antropológico em grupos religiosos como a Comunidade Cristã Paz e Vida? A pesquisa indica alguns caminhos teológicos de superação de conceitos de natureza dualista e reducionista da condição humana, tendo em vista uma antropologia integrada. Como superação desse dualismo sugerimos uma espiritualidade encarnada na qual o corpo faz evidente em todas as suas relações e na qual a experiência unitária do ser humano como pessoa concreta. A partir do conceito de Humano Integrado, que busca a superação dos dualismos, espera-se oferecer à Comunidade Cristã Paz e Vida, a partir de sua própria vivência, com todas as ambiguidades nela existentes, uma percepção unitária do ser humano.

This dissertation examines the participation of the church and Christians in the lives of women who are infected and affected by HIV/Aids in South Africa. To this end two Christian facilities; Sparrow Village and St Francis Care Centre, were examined in order to gain insight into the ethical issues of knowledge of patients and caregivers, the prevention measures being taught and the care facilities available to women in the plight in which they find themselves. A partial survey was conducted into the current policies and contributions by the church in an attempt to assess new ways to combat the disease. Medical information was examined as to what the virus is and how it is transmitted and reasons why women are particularly vulnerable to the virus. The dissertation seeks to understand practical ministerial ways in which the church should participate in women’s lives while being sensitive to the cultural, social and political and economic elements involved. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Theological Ethics)

This dissertation examines the spiritual growth of individuals: what growth is; why growth is necessary; and how it can be nurtured. An individual's spiritual growth needs to happen in relationship with others, so that Christ's commandments to love God and neighbour are fulfilled. Thus the dynamics, goals and effects of community life are examined. Spiritual growth and community raises implications for the Christian Church. These are examined, in particular the need for transformed leadership and models of ministry, transforming communities that will enable the church to fulfil its mission to the world. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Christian Spirituality)

This thesis addresses the division that exists between theory and praxis. Theology in general and practical theology as a specific discipline has allowed this division to arise and indeed grow. The problem facing us is that faith communities now operate out of blind theory and/or blind praxis. To address this situation a reintegration of the theory and practice of the entire ecclesial praxis is needed. This thesis proposes “Practical Theological Ecclesiology” as the way forward. Practical theological ecclesiology is defined as: The dynamic critical purposeful engagement with the human-divine interactive life of the ecclesial praxis to: ground, integrate, align and improve its essence and expression dimensions as the revelational incarnational sign of God and his purposes in and for the world and directed toward his eschatological kingdom goal. Practical theological ecclesiology addresses both the abstractness of pure ecclesiology and the pragmatics of the praxis through the development of an operational ecclesiology model that integrates the essence, expression and goal dimensions of the ecclesial praxis. By applying the operational ecclesiology model to praxis, practical theological ecclesiology, through the tasks of grounding, integrating, aligning and improving, uncover the gaps that exist in and between the theory and praxis of a faith community. The resulting analysis provides ecclesial pictures of what is, compared to what should be, according to the operational ecclesiology model. The areas of ecclesial life which need to be grounded, integrated, aligned and improved are therefore exposed for ongoing work. Historical and contemporary research of the Christian Community Churches of Australia, provide the data for a case study which illustrates the potential and the analysis process of practical theological ecclesiology. The research underlines the importance of having an integrated operational ecclesiology, of grounding and integrating the theory, of aligning of theory and praxis, and of providing improvement direction for the praxis, thus removing theory and praxis division, avoiding both blind theory and blind praxis, and giving a clear pathway for the future . / Practical Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

Introduction: Rustenburg is a fast growing city in the world. This growth influences establishment of new faith based churches which is, in many respects at the expense of mission churches. The HIV/AIDS pandemic and diseases related to stresses results in movement of Christians from one church to the other. Christians are vulnerable when facing life stressors which results into changing allegiance to a particular church. This is a qualitative descriptive/ exploratory study Method: The researcher purposely selected respondents from the black Christian community of Rustenburg. These are those Christians who have moved from one church to join another .From these interviews the themes that emanate are discussed. Leaders of prominent churches were also interviewed . Findings: The qualities of church leaders have an influence on the movement of its members. The media, especially the local radio station has been widely used to attract new members. The availability of a pastor in times of need plays a vital role. Power struggles seem to disappoint some loyal Christians who may reluctantly leave the church. Financial benefits also play an important role in attracting membership. The faith based churches have grown both in numbers and in membership. Women with their healing power are active especially in the Zion churches. The help seeking behaviour of Christians also influences their affiliation to a particular church such as seeking / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T20:22:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Henrique Vicente de Bitencourt.pdf: 1292588 bytes, checksum: 721f79ea0d45082b2fc4453150f33532 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-10-30 / This study had as objective to verify if Christians from the Catholic Church, in Lages/SC, can develop their social protagonism and in which level, from the participation proposed by the Catholic Church. At first, it was important to understand the matter of sacred from its history and how it has been changing in religious experience, that is, in a religion more and more institutionalized. That process can be verified into the Christianity, rendering bureaucratic to it so that it was important to ask: is there condition in this Church for humans development on their several subjective spiritual expressions? In this study, protagonism was understood as the human s possibility to develop himself/herself as a social actor, able to perform an active citizenship in different levels (personal and social), making the difference into the society, the same that happened with the Christians from the communities during the three first centuries of the Catholic Church. After analyzing the history of the Catholic Church practices, from global to local levels (Lages), it was made a research with people from 08 parishes (Lages/SC), in order to (1) verify if Christians feel themselves as actors of their actions and if their faith practices contribute on their actions in civil society as well; and (2) detect if there is the practice of the protagonism. It was possible to perceive an accentuated negative sense of the Catholic Christians in relation to the Church and a camouflaged but conscious cry for changes, mainly in changing that Church rigidly hierarchical with a centralized power. They manifested a strong desire for a Church as a community of brothers and sisters , using as reference the practice of the first Christians, who lived in a permanent dialectics among institution, multiplicity of charismas and prophecy / Esta tese verificou se os cristãos da Igreja Católica, em Lages, Santa Catarina, a partir da participação nas diversas atividades que nela exercem, desenvolvem seu protagonismo social, e em que níveis. Para isso, primeiramente, buscou compreender a questão do sagrado, ao longo da história e como ele foi se transformando em experiência religiosa, acabando por desembocar num sistema religioso, ou religião, que foi se tornando cada vez mais institucionalizada. Verifica-se que este processo também aconteceu no cristianismo, burocratizando-se de tal forma, que se tornou pertinente a pergunta: há lugar nesta Igreja para o desenvolvimento do sujeito, nas suas várias expressões religiosas subjetivas? O protagonismo é compreendido aqui como a possibilidade do sujeito desenvolver-se como pessoa e ator social, capaz de exercer uma cidadania ativa, em nível pessoal, grupal e social, fazendo a diferença , como aconteceu com os cristãos das comunidades dos três primeiros séculos da Igreja Cristã. Depois dos referenciais buscados numa análise da história da prática da Igreja, em nível global e local (cidade de Lages), foi realizada uma pesquisa com os cristãos das 08 paróquias do município de Lages, com três objetivos: em primeiro lugar, verificar se os cristãos se sentem sujeitos de sua ação e se a prática da fé contribui para que eles ajam como sujeitos também na sociedade civil. Em segundo lugar, perceber se existe o exercício do protagonismo. Em terceiro lugar, compreender como vivem essas comunidades, ou seja, se elas procuram resgatar e vivenciar a experiência protagonista das comunidades eclesiais primitivas. Pode-se perceber, nas pesquisas, uma visão acentuadamente negativa dos cristãos católicos, a respeito de sua Igreja e um clamor velado , mas consciente por mudanças, principalmente no sentido de que ela se transforme numa Igreja comunidade de Irmãos, atualizada, tendo como referência a prática dos primeiros cristãos, que viviam numa dialética permanente entre instituição, multiplicidade de carismas e profecia

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T14:57:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Henrique Vicente de Bitencourt.pdf: 1292588 bytes, checksum: 721f79ea0d45082b2fc4453150f33532 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-10-30 / This study had as objective to verify if Christians from the Catholic Church, in Lages/SC, can develop their social protagonism and in which level, from the participation proposed by the Catholic Church. At first, it was important to understand the matter of sacred from its history and how it has been changing in religious experience, that is, in a religion more and more institutionalized. That process can be verified into the Christianity, rendering bureaucratic to it so that it was important to ask: is there condition in this Church for humans development on their several subjective spiritual expressions? In this study, protagonism was understood as the human s possibility to develop himself/herself as a social actor, able to perform an active citizenship in different levels (personal and social), making the difference into the society, the same that happened with the Christians from the communities during the three first centuries of the Catholic Church. After analyzing the history of the Catholic Church practices, from global to local levels (Lages), it was made a research with people from 08 parishes (Lages/SC), in order to (1) verify if Christians feel themselves as actors of their actions and if their faith practices contribute on their actions in civil society as well; and (2) detect if there is the practice of the protagonism. It was possible to perceive an accentuated negative sense of the Catholic Christians in relation to the Church and a camouflaged but conscious cry for changes, mainly in changing that Church rigidly hierarchical with a centralized power. They manifested a strong desire for a Church as a community of brothers and sisters , using as reference the practice of the first Christians, who lived in a permanent dialectics among institution, multiplicity of charismas and prophecy / Esta tese verificou se os cristãos da Igreja Católica, em Lages, Santa Catarina, a partir da participação nas diversas atividades que nela exercem, desenvolvem seu protagonismo social, e em que níveis. Para isso, primeiramente, buscou compreender a questão do sagrado, ao longo da história e como ele foi se transformando em experiência religiosa, acabando por desembocar num sistema religioso, ou religião, que foi se tornando cada vez mais institucionalizada. Verifica-se que este processo também aconteceu no cristianismo, burocratizando-se de tal forma, que se tornou pertinente a pergunta: há lugar nesta Igreja para o desenvolvimento do sujeito, nas suas várias expressões religiosas subjetivas? O protagonismo é compreendido aqui como a possibilidade do sujeito desenvolver-se como pessoa e ator social, capaz de exercer uma cidadania ativa, em nível pessoal, grupal e social, fazendo a diferença , como aconteceu com os cristãos das comunidades dos três primeiros séculos da Igreja Cristã. Depois dos referenciais buscados numa análise da história da prática da Igreja, em nível global e local (cidade de Lages), foi realizada uma pesquisa com os cristãos das 08 paróquias do município de Lages, com três objetivos: em primeiro lugar, verificar se os cristãos se sentem sujeitos de sua ação e se a prática da fé contribui para que eles ajam como sujeitos também na sociedade civil. Em segundo lugar, perceber se existe o exercício do protagonismo. Em terceiro lugar, compreender como vivem essas comunidades, ou seja, se elas procuram resgatar e vivenciar a experiência protagonista das comunidades eclesiais primitivas. Pode-se perceber, nas pesquisas, uma visão acentuadamente negativa dos cristãos católicos, a respeito de sua Igreja e um clamor velado , mas consciente por mudanças, principalmente no sentido de que ela se transforme numa Igreja comunidade de Irmãos, atualizada, tendo como referência a prática dos primeiros cristãos, que viviam numa dialética permanente entre instituição, multiplicidade de carismas e profecia

This thesis shares the results of oral history interviews with members of the heterogeneous Doukhobor community in Canada. The stories and memories of fifteen different voices highlight the influence of intersecting demographic variables (age, gender, ideological affiliation, and geographic location) on the experience of Doukhobor life in Canada during times of sensationalized conflict. The interviews are framed and analyzed through broader questions of history and cultural sustainability. What considerations influence the representation of difficult Doukhobor pasts in Canada? In the contemporary context of unification and reconciliation, how does one speak of conflict? This thesis shows that discussions of the past surface considerable contradiction in the collective memory of the Doukhobor community; the results outline various individual and community strategies that are used to manage the past in favour of the present. Ultimately, this thesis locates memory as a social and cultural anchor that must support a history for the future.