The objective of this research study is to investigate the problems of the divorced Christians within the Anglican Diocese of Kirinyaga in Kenya. A selection was made of some the divorced Christians in this diocese who even after their separation and divorce remained in the Church. The divorced Christians in this study were observed to have many more problems than ordinary Christian people. Their failure to survive their marriage made them feel desperate, tending towards a sense of personal failure. It was hypothesized that divorcees experience being sidelined in the Church, thus causing them physical and psychological emotions which affect them and label them as people who are unpardonable. Jack Dominian (1979), in search of information leading to the breakdown of marriages, has observed that the Christian Churches' teaching on sexuality and marriage has been a factor contributing indirectly to the breakdown of marriages and specifically to divorce. He also confirmed that another important contributing factor is the background of the partners. With this in mind the Christian Churches will want to do everything possible to save marriages. Therefore, the Churches have to be properly prepared and equipped for undertaking the challenges involving in building a worthy marriage. At the end of this research study the emphasis on marriage counselling is appealed to as a worthy tool to guide people towards a stable marriage. The dissertation commences with chapter one as an introduction which defines the objectives, motivation and the hypothesis to be tested. The literature review is tabled and is followed by definition of the terms so as to make the reader familiar with their usage. Finally, the chapter closes with the structure of the study. Chapter two deals with the methodology, explaining the sample and the development of the tool. The survey and all procedures are explained. Chapter three is divided into three parts. Part one introduces Agikuyu marriage and divorce, part two brings a theological review of divorce problems in the scriptures and part three brings a challenge to the missionary endeavours in the Anglican Diocese of Kirinyaga. It deals with the tensions created by the efforts of the Western missionaries and the Church as they came up against the African traditional heritage. Chapter four brings out the results of the methodological work. Hypothesis analysis is done and the interpretation given. The findings are given for and against the hypothesis. Discussion of the findings is done and then a conclusion is made. Chapter five is divided into three parts. First, a few ideas arising from the findings are discussed at length.The second part is the way forward which suggests possible ways in dealing with divorcees and enhancing a stable marriage. The final part carries the concluding remarks as a summary of the research study. / Thesis (M.Th. ; School of Theology)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998

M.A. / Marriage is neither a Jewish nor a Christian invention. Both religions have one thing in common: their origin is traced back to the God of the Bible, who is also the Creator of the universe. While Christianity does not hesitate to trace its origins to Judaism, Judaism perceives it as a perversion of its heritage. Christian ethics have a rich Jewish background. Actually, the very founders of Christianity were Jewish. Jesus and Paul were, first and foremost, Jews. The former was neither a Christian nor did he intend to start a new religion apart from the Jewish faith. He only perceived himself as a Jewish revivalist, and the long-awaited Messiah. The latter was a Jew who got converted to Christianity. The first four books of the New Testament are an attempt, by both eyewitnesses and their disciples, to present a record of the words and deeds of the historical Jesus. Paul interprets the God's plans of salvation as fulfilled in the Jesus of Nazareth. This research paper attempts to compare the teachings of both Paul and Jesus on marriage and divorce. Christian marriage is a marriage in which both partners are Christian believers. Jesus' teaching is generally addressed to a homogenous JeWish Christian community, with few excerptions in the Markan and Lukan versions. In view of Christian marriages, the Law of Christ seems to be binding upon both partners. A problem arose when the Gospel crossed the borders of Palestine into the Gentile lands. Paul became the instrument used by God to put the universality of the Gospel into practice. The issue of mixed marriages comes into place in the Pauline community. In such unions, the Law of Christ would be binding on only one partner, namely, the believer. The apostle finds himself now faced with a real life situation in which there is no direct command of the Lord. His churches looked up to him for answers. Like marriage, divorce is neither Christian nor non-Christian, although many scholars would have us think in terms of their being Christian or non-Christian. Between what is ethically right and wrong, is the twighlight zone of the acceptable or the unacceptable. For the Jew, divorce was custom. The Gentile world also had its own rules governing marriages, which were no better than those held by Jews. Jesus (the synoptics) quotes no code of law for or against the practice of divorce. He bases his argument on the natural order of things - that is, God's original plan at creation. Marriage may be perceived as a pre-fall divine institution, and divorce a post-fall divine concession. In speaking about marriage, Jesus speaks in terms of principles: marriage was meant to be a permanent bond. Man's sinfulness necessitated a compromise on the part of God: to allow for divorce. We propose that the synoptics speak about the ideal. The state of affairs which Jesus propagates is not practical, and cannot be fully realised in the present age of fallen man. Conversely, Paul deals with the practical - the realistic as opposed to the ideal. His teaching reflects the problems of applications in a rather heterogeneous context. The whole law of God reflects the relativised will of God. In Christianity, Jesus seems to be the first person to relativise the very Law of God. In order for us to fully comprehend the perfect will of God, we need to look beyond the code of law, to that state of absolute perfection. The state which man cannot attain in this present life, where sin and the devil are still at large. This seems to have been the approach applied by Jesus in answering questions on marriage and divorce. In the whole record of Jesus' ministry, nowhere was a called to resolve a real marital problem. We thus propose that What Jesus he gives is only a theoretical framework which requires further analysis before it can be applied to real life situations. We also propose both Jewish and Gentile ethical principles need to be readjusted and reinterpreted before they can be adopted into Christianity. The socio-historical context of both the writer and readers will play an important role in our quest for the link between the Pauline and synoptic perspectives on marriage and divorce. The gulf between the ideal and the real seems to be as wide as one between justice and mercy. The following questions raise some of the major concerns in this research: Are there any links between Paul and Jesus (synoptics) on marriage and divorce? If Jesus speaks about the ideal in his absolutist attitude, is there any link between the ideal and the real; between principle and practice?

This study began from the pain of a woman going through divorce and experiencing invisibility in the church. Through conversations with divorced people in a small research group and a participatory research process, the study brings together the narratives of literature, narrative therapy and pastoral care to challenge the dominant discourses of divorce and its influence and effects on people's lives and the communities in which they live and worship. From the study has grown a healing ministry with people who are divorced, which has begun to tum around their experience of invisibility and isolation into an experience of community, inclusion and care. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology (Pastoral Therapy))

The Gumuz society in Ethiopia has been neglected and almost forgotten by the previous rulers of Ethiopia. It is not surprising therefore to see that the majority of the population of Ethiopia have no knowledge about the Gumuz society. This society was not exposed to education until the arrival of the missionaries at the end of 1950's. When Christianity was introduced, the Church did not do enough in helping Christians to distinguish between the Gumuz traditional and the Christian marriage practices, the former which denies some male members of the community the possibility of getting married. Marriage is contracted by exchanging girls. Thus, unless a man has a sister to exchange he is not going to get married. There is an assumption that a man may get a girl from one of his extended families, but that is not always possible. He may or may not get a girl. Therefore the man will end up without getting married. The introduction of Christianity made it possible for every member of the Gumuz people to get married by allowing them to marry from the neighbouring tribes. However, it introduced another side effect. Christians were not able to differentiate between the Gumuz traditional and Christian marriage practices. This dissertation studies the traditional and the Christian marriage practices of the Gumuz society and of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (the EECMY). According to the Gumuz society, marriage is believed to be (Okka) God given. To get married is to obey okka, to accept what God has given, and to have as many children as possible in order to increase the population of the Gumuz tribe. Failure to get married is a crime against traditional beliefs and practices. Furthermore, this dissertation provides the way the Gumuz society understands divorce. Among the Gumuz society divorce does not concern only one family. Both family members and extended families are affected. Since marriage is performed as indicated earlier on by exchanging girls, if a person divorces his wife he has to expect that his sister will divorce her husband which will disturb the whole extended family relationships. Realizing the risk, every married persons in the Gumuz society is conscious about divorce. This attitude brings the rate of divorce to a low level. This dissertation sees the need for counselling and appeals for a therapeutic approach by putting emphasis on contextual family therapy, a therapeutic process which is constructed with maximal concern for its relevance to the cultural context in which it occurs. For example, the problems related to exchanging girls, marriage between the Gumuz and the neighbouring tribes, the issue of divorce, and so forth, are not problems which can be discussed only with individuals or a family member, it needs the inclusion of extended families as well as multigenerational processes. This therapeutic process is capable of providing a contextual approach by looking at the system of the family. I recommend the therapists to have a grounding in the general principle of family life and to get familiar with the way families operate as a social system. The dissertation hopes to create awareness among therapists with basic theories of family systems which enable them to get knowledge of a causes for dysfunctional behaviour within the families, and to equip them with therapeutic skill. This is paramount. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996.

This study began from the pain of a woman going through divorce and experiencing invisibility in the church. Through conversations with divorced people in a small research group and a participatory research process, the study brings together the narratives of literature, narrative therapy and pastoral care to challenge the dominant discourses of divorce and its influence and effects on people's lives and the communities in which they live and worship. From the study has grown a healing ministry with people who are divorced, which has begun to tum around their experience of invisibility and isolation into an experience of community, inclusion and care. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology (Pastoral Therapy))

no abstract available / Class, Near & far East & Rel / MA - SP ANC LANG AND CULT

Using a stress and coping framework, this study examines the role of religious coping in the divorce adjustment process. This study utilizes three waves of data from a longitudinal study of divorcing mothers with young children. The primary analyses examine the role of religiosity in the divorce appraisal process, as well as the influence of both positive and negative religious coping on divorce appraisal, depression, and changes in religiosity. The study also explores how changes in divorce appraisal and religiosity influence change in depression over time. The results indicate that higher rates of negative religious coping are linked to more negative divorce appraisal, higher levels of depression, and declines in religiosity. In contrast, positive religious coping is associated with increases in religiosity over time. Additionally, findings show that changes in divorce appraisal predict changes in depression, but this relationship is moderated by one’s level of religiosity. / text

no abstract available / Class, Near and far East and Rel / MA - SP ANC LANG AND CULT

This dissertation critically reflects the problem of divorce and remarriage within the North Eastern diocese of the Lutheran Church in Tanzania. A problem which has become rampant in the whole church. The situation became apparent to me as I was ministering in different parishes in the area of the research for five years. Divorcees are not accorded the full membership in the church because of their divorce status.Their failed marriages and criticism from church members makes them feel out of place in their own churches. They feel desperate, tending towards a sense of personal failure. The Shambala traditional customs whereby divorcees and/or remarried people are looked upon as outcasts make things even worse. Divorcees, makomanyumba 1., have no place in the Shambala Christian community. The goal of this dissertation therefore is to address divorcees' crisis through counselling. Many of these people are members of the church. I feel the church needs to face the biggest challenge to alleviate divorcees' crisis through counselling. I believe sincere pastoral care and counselling within the Lutheran Church in Tanzania will bring about healing, support, reconciliation and restoration of the hurt and deprived people, in this sense, the divorcees. Estardt (1997) believes that pastoral support is one of the services that persons committed to the church have the right to expect. He sees pastoral counselling as a relationship in which the minister assists the client in dealing with the difficulties, frustrations and tragedies of life. It is for this sense a new model of pastoral care and counselling is suggested for whole church. The model in which pastors in parishes are not the only solitary sources of counselling. The new model suggests that both trained and untrained laity is a good source for pastoral care and counselling. If these sources are fully utilised in parishes, a minister's counselling work might well be assisted, enhanced and improved by the parishioners. Referral counselling is also suggested in the new model.1.Makomanyumba - plural, divorcees. Komanyumba- singular, a divorcee. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004

German text / Die vorliegende Arbeit schlägt eine Brücke über den Graben zwischen dem normativ-ethischen Anspruch an die Lebenslänglichkeit einer Ehe und Gottes gnädigem Handeln gegenüber dem scheiternden Menschen. Anhand des Umgangs der Kirchen und Glaubensgemeinschaften mit Ehescheidung und Wiederheirat wird dieser Graben aufgezeigt. Es ergibt sich, dass die bestehende Spannung jeweils durch die einseitige Betonung von Norm oder Gnade aufgelöst wird. Die Grundlage für die Diskussion bilden das massgebende Eheverständnis sowie die Bestimmung des Verhältnisses zwischen theologischer Ethik und dem Konzept der Gnade als Handlungsprinzip Gottes. Darum werden in dieser Forschungsarbeit zuerst die theologiegeschichtlich gewachsenen Eheverständnisse und die unterschiedlichen Normen- und Gnadenverständnisse der römisch katholischen Kirche, der evangelischen Kirchen und der evangelikalen Gemeinschaften in Bezug auf den Umgang mit Scheidung und Wiederheirat untersucht. Aufgrund der herausgearbeiteten Übereinstimmungen und Unterschiede wird anschliessend anhand eines von der Vergebung ausgehenden Denkansatzes der Graben zwischen normativer Ethik und dem Konzept der Gnade überbrückt, die Spannung aber nicht aufgehoben. Daraus werden mögliche Auswirkungen im Umgang mit Scheidung und Wiederheirat für die Kirchen und Gemeinschaften abgeleitet. / The present thesis bridges the gap between the normative-ethical standard of lifelong marriage on the one hand and God’s grace for men‘s failures on the other hand. Considering the practices of churches and communities with regard to divorce and remarriage, this gap is demonstrated. It is found that the associated tension is eliminated by an unilateral choice of either the normative aspect or the principle of grace. The basis for the discussion is provided by the relevant understanding of marriage and the determination of the relationship between theological ethics and grace as the principle of God's action towards mankind. Therefore, this thesis investigates the evolution of the theological understanding of marriage during history and the different understandings of norms and grace in the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church and the Evangelical Free Communities with regard to their handling of divorce and remarriage. Considering the resulting similarities and differences, I propose – building on the fact of God’s forgiveness – how to bridge the gap between normative ethics and the concept of grace without eliminating the obvious tension. Finally, possible consequences for how to handle divorce and remarriage by churches and communities are drawn. / Philosophy & Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Theological Ethics)