The specific thesis that is tested in this study is that there is continual interaction between the sanctuary cult and personal religious experience in the Book of Psalms. The main theoretical argument is that the sanctuary cult had a formative role in creating the piety of the psalmists. The study attempts to explore the specific nature of that relationship and to benefit from the contributions of three major approaches to the Psalms, i.e., the form critical approach (Hermann Gunkel), the cultic approach (Sigmund Mowinckel) and the Psalter-shaping approach (Gerald H. Wilson, James L. Mays, Jerome F. D. Creach, Mark D. Futato, J. Clinton McCann and Walter Brueggemann). The study suggests that the ongoing interaction between the sanctuary cult and personal piety in the Psalms is the result of the creative power of cult. It offers evidence of the possible shaping of the Psalter around the sanctuary motif. It also offers a unique perspective on the piety of the psalmists, suggesting that the psalmists, and particularly the editor(s) of the present shape of the Psalter, promoted the eschatological hope of Israel in the new temple and the heavenly aspect of Israel’s sanctuary. / Thesis (PhD (Old Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in association with Greenwich School of Theology, U.K., 2013.

The Zittau people and their churches (approx. 1300-1600) The essay deals with the church history in the town of Zittau in Upper Lusatia, today's federal state of Saxony, Germany, in late Middle Ages and Early Modern Era. The main focus of the work was to illustrate the changes of religious institutions and benefactions throughout the era. Most importantly, we dealt with the fate of mostly medieval benefactions during reformation, which established a cultural break point in the given region. We analysed a broad spectrum of benefactions, ranging from small ones (masses, alms etc.) to more complex ones (monasteries, hospitals, church fabric etc.). The essay consists of three sections. The first section is dedicated to Middle Ages and it focuses on ancient history, i. e. the starting point from which the religious benefactions entered the reformation era. The second section focuses on the town of Zittau in the era of reformation and on the process of validation of the new denomination. We specifically focus on the end of four monasteries' benefactions in the course of 16th century, taken over by the Zittau city council. The third section deals with the fate of another general benefaction, i. e. the church fabric of Zitttau parish church, which, unlike the monasteries, successfully survived the...

Uma pesquisa com base na interpretação hermenêutica de textos da tradição wesleyana, com ênfase no conceito "Conhecimento e Piedade Vital", a partir regulamentação oficial e da prática da Pastoral Escolar e Universitária, na instituição de ensino da Igreja Metodista. A pesquisa é desenvolvida em três momentos complementares. No primeiro capítulo há um resgate da história e teologia de John Wesley e sua ênfase na educação. Segue uma análise do Regulamento das Pastorais Escolares e Universitárias, a partir de suas funções, por meio de uma leitura interpretativa vinculando a herança wesleyana, as diretrizes e a prática diária da Pastoral na instituição de ensino. Também são considerados outros documentos basilares para a educação e a vida da Igreja além das "Diretrizes para a Educação na Igreja Metodista": o Plano para a Vida Missão da Igreja Metodista e o Credo Social. O terceiro capítulo a traz uma abordagem hermenêutica, buscando mesclar a tradição wesleyana de teologia e história, e as funções da Pastoral Escolar e Universitária a partir de sua prática diária, seus desafios, suas dúvidas e o vislumbre das possibilidades. Para finalizar o terceiro capítulo são abordadas algumas indicações para uma teologia da educação para pesquisas posteriores. Na articulação entre história, teologia e prática as conclusões buscam desafiar ao debate e construção de conhecimento sistematizado que responda e subsidie a prática da Missão na Igreja Metodista em suas instituições de ensino a partir da herança de John Wesley, e do envolvimento do Metodismo com a educação numa perspectiva de Missão. / An hermeneutic interpretative research in wesleyan heritage texts, with emphasis on the concept of "knowledge and vital piety", considering the practices of School and Universitary Pastoral Ministry, in the Methodist education instituition. This research is developed in three complementary moments. There is a John Wesleys historical and theological rescue in the first chapter, in his education emphasis. Followed by an analysis in the School and Universitary Pastoral Ministry regimental statements, it functions, with an interpretative reading crossing the wesleyan heritage, and daily practices of Pastoral on methodist education instituition. Also considering other main documents for education an methodism than "Diretrizes para a Educacao na Igreja Metodista", as "Plano para a Vida e Missao da Igreja Metodista" and "Credo Social". In the last chapter an interpretation combine wesleyan theological and historical tradition, and School and Universitary Pastoral Ministry function and practices, challenges, doubts and possibilities. Third chapter evaluate some indications toward a theology of education settling for further researches. In this history, theological and practice combined, conclusions build ideas to challenge knowledge construction to answer and be helpfull for Methodist Church Mission practices through it education instituition with wesleyan heritage, and Methodist educational efforts in the Mission perspective.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-07-14T20:09:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 davisonschaefferdeoliveira.pdf: 558469 bytes, checksum: 9eda3fec8b950cdea0aa550e9b18ee1e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Diamantino Mayra (mayra.diamantino@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-07-19T15:48:26Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 davisonschaefferdeoliveira.pdf: 558469 bytes, checksum: 9eda3fec8b950cdea0aa550e9b18ee1e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-19T15:48:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 davisonschaefferdeoliveira.pdf: 558469 bytes, checksum: 9eda3fec8b950cdea0aa550e9b18ee1e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-02 / CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / A presente pesquisa tem por objetivo investigar a filosofia da religião de Friedrich D. E. Schleiermacher. Pretende-se apresentar sua teoria geral acerca da religião, tendo por fio condutor dois conceitos fundamentais: o conceito de sentimento e autoconsciência imediata. A fim de cumprir a tarefa desta pesquisa, e, ao mesmo tempo, considerando a amplitude da obra de Schleiermacher, dois de seus principais escritos se apresentam como referenciais teórico-fundamentais: Über die Religion (1799) e Glaubenslehre (1830). Desse modo, a partir de uma análise descritiva e sistemática destas duas obras, objetiva-se expor de que maneira Schleiermacher elabora sua concepção de religião como uma dimensão constitutiva da subjetividade humana. / The aim of this research is to investigate the Friedrich D. E. Schleiermacher’s philosophy of religion. It seeks to present his general theory about religion focussing on two basics concepts: feeling and immediate self-consciousness. In order to accomplish this task, keeping in mind the sheer size of the Schleiermacher’s work, two of his major writings are presented as crucial theoretical sources: Über die Religion (1799) and Glaubenslehre (1830). Thus the goal of this research is to expose on the basis of a descriptive and systematic analysis of these two works how Schleiermacher elaborates his conception of religion as a constitutive dimension of human subjectivity.

With the emphasis on children’s responsibility for the care of ageing parents, this study examined how Chinese adult children’s support provided to parents was associated with filial piety, support from parents and parent-child contact frequency. With the 2006 Chinese General Social Survey, we used structural equation modelling with 1,452 adults with two living parents and tested the model for sons and daughters separately. For both groups, the results showed that (1) filial piety was positively associated with emotional support provided to parents; (2) support received from parents was positively related to instrumental and emotional support to parents; and (3) parent-child contact frequency was linked to instrumental support. For adult daughters, financial support was positively associated with the support received from parents and negatively related to parent-child contact frequency. This study suggests that the traditional norm of filial piety may be less influential than other factors for adult children’s support behaviour.

Trots att Jesus är en av världens mest kända personer finns det ingen som vet hur han egentligen såg ut. Det finns inga bevarade bilder eller ögonvittnesbeskrivningar av hans yttre som kan dateras till den tid då personer som hade sett Jesus med egna ögon kan ha levt. Avsaknaden av samtida beskrivningar har möjligen bidragit till en större frihet för alla de konstnärer som avbildat honom. Många gånger verkar det som att konstnärer genom konsten framställer Jesus i sin egen avbild, eller i sin egen kulturs avbild. Förvånansvärt sällan avbildas han med tydliga judiska förtecken såsom kippa eller bönesjal. Själv har jag under lång tid undrat över detta, då vi alla vet att den historiske personen Jesus var judisk. Det var bland annat ur denna undran som idén till denna uppsats utvecklades. Jag ville veta mer om hur Jesus har avbildats i västerländsk tradition, varför han avbildades så och vilken funktion det kan ha fyllt. Därför valde jag att undersöka två av de mest spridda och inflytelserika framställningarna av Jesus från modern tid och västerländsk kultur - Light of the World av William Holman Hunt och Head of Christ av Warner Sallman.       Uppsatsens frågeställningar är: Vilka likheter och skillnader kan man se i Jesu fysiska skepnad i de båda konstnärernas avbildningar? Vad kan detta bero på eller vilka formativa faktorer påverkade deras Jesusbilder? Vad förmedlar deras konst socialt, kulturellt och religiöst?       Exempel på likheter är att båda tavlorna fick motta mycket kritik från sin tids kulturelit men blev mycket omtyckta av allmänheten. Båda tavlorna kritiserades för att visa en Jesus med “bristande maskulinitet”. Båda bilderna visar Jesus påklädd, vitklädd, vuxen, stark och frisk. Han avbildas oskadd, utan kors eller skador orsakade av korsfästelsen. Båda tavlorna visar Jesus med skägg och långt hår, Hunts Jesus har rödbrunt hår och Sallmans Jesus har mörkblont hår. Uppsatsen diskuterar de faktorer som likheterna och skillnaderna kan bero på och hur man kan tolka dessa.      En tydlig skillnad mellan de båda tavlorna är att Hunts framställning innehåller betydligt mer symbolik än Sallmans framställning. Eventuella orsaker till detta, exempelvis skillnader i de kristna traditioner konstnärerna kom ifrån samt vad konstnärerna vill säga om Jesu identitet,  diskuteras i uppsatsen. Somliga tolkar  bilderna som exempel på hur Jesus europeiserats i västerländsk konst. Hunts Jesus kan, exempelvis på grund av symboler som Aarons bröstplåt, ses som en framställning där konstnären velat inkorporera Jesu judiskhet i bilden och samtidigt visa honom som profet och präst.

Aim: As the ageing population in China increases, support required from family caregivers for older relatives living with long-term health conditions also increases. This being so, this thesis explored the experiences and perceptions of current and prospective family caregivers, under the culture of Xiao (孝; filial piety). Design and Methods: Phase 1 was conducted with 19 Chinese students using 3 focus groups to gain greater familiarity with the culture and inform the main study (Phase 2). Adopting a social constructivist philosophical position, data for Phase 2 were obtained from three generational sub-samples: only-children affected by the One-Child Policy (OCP), parents affected by OCP, and family caregivers in the workforce, totaling 23 participants through virtual in-depth interviews with participants in mainland China. Interviews were translated, transcribed, and analysed using reflective thematic analysis. Findings and Conclusion: Phase 1 confirmed the centrality of the concept of Xiao to attitudes and beliefs around future caregiving for parents. Phase 2 findings’ overarching theme was ‘Competing pressures’, which comprised of three inextricably linked themes: (i) Caregiving beliefs, (ii) Contextual factors, and (iii) Caregiving conditions. Participants expressed meaningful desires to fulfil obligations, reflecting value-based convictions, stemming from their socio-cultural environment. Stressors experienced reveals structural and personal barriers to seeking support. Ultimately, extensive demands and limited coping strategies could diminish meaning in caregiving. This thesis makes a novel contribution on perceptions and experiences of family caregivers of older relatives within China as a collectivist society. Findings have implications for research, policy, and practice, highlighting the need for culturally attuned services to build resilience.

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This study examines the paradoxical and at the same time interesting relationship between Christian religion and the system of slavery in the American historical context. Through the use of Kenneth Burke’s concept and theory of Perception by Incongruity as a theoretical and conceptual framework, this study examines Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Frederick Douglass’ The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. In the view of this study, Perception by Incongruity, as a theoretical and conceptual tool has the literary and the rhetorical resources to unmask the ironies and paradoxes involved in slave holding religion and religion holding slaves. The principal research question of the present study seeks to probe the usability of the Christian faith by slave owners to dominate and pacify the slaves, and the instrumentalisation by the slaves of the Christian faith as a liberatory and emancipatory belief. Perception by Incongruity enriches the present study in so far as it unmasks the incongruity and paradox of masters and slaves sharing the same definition of God and faith and still remaining in their conflictual positions of masters and slaves. Since this study is a study in literature, the methods of literature study and textual analysis are deployed in examining the primary texts, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. A multiplicity of secondary texts; in form of critical and empirical literature; are used throughout this study to support observations, arguments and conclusions that are advanced by the study. Summatively, this study observes and concludes that religion, in this case Christianity occupies a perceptively incongruous position where it is suable by people in conflicting situations. Further, where domination, power and capitalism as an economic system meet, religion belongs in the mind and the eye of the beholders who seeks to use it to justify and defend their particular interests and positions. / English Studies / M.A. (English Studies)

German text / Zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts markiert der zeitliche Wendepunkt gleichzeitig einen kirchlichen Krisenpunkt. Die sinkende Zahl der Gottesdienstbesucher sowie der stetige Rückgang der Kirchenmitgliedschaften verdeutlichen die fehlende Bindekraft der Kirchen in Deutschland. Dieses zurückgehende Interesse an institutioneller Religiosität steht in scharfem Kontrast zu dem zu beobachtenden Interessenanstieg an spirituellen Themen und Angeboten. In der vorliegenden Forschungsarbeit wird dieses scheinbare Paradoxon untersucht und darüber hinaus erörtert, in welcher Form die Kirchen der Nachfrage nach Sinn und Spiritualität mittels der Rückgewinnung ihrer eigenen spirituellen, mystischen Dimension begegnen können. Dabei geht es unter Berücksichtigung des voranschreitenden komplexen Prozesses weltweit enger werdender Verflech-tungen und umfassender Strukturumbrüche konkret darum, die Chancen und Herausforderungen einer Respiritualisierung der Kirchen zu beleuchten. Darüber hinaus werden Handlungsempfehlungen für eine geistliche Erneuerung der kirchlichen Praxis in Betracht gezogen. / The beginning of the 21st century marked not only a turning point in time but also a crisis point for churches. The decrease in church attendance and the steady decline in church membership demonstrate the lack of the churches’ bonding power in Germany. This declining interest in institutional religion stands in sharp contrast to a noticeable increasing interest in spiritual issues and offers. The research presented here examines this seeming paradox and also discusses how churches can meet the demand for meaning and spirituality by reclaiming their own spiritual, mystical dimension. In considering the increasingly complex processes of global interdependence and major structural changes, this dissertation aims to examine the opportunities and challenges of a re-spiritualization of the churches. In addition, recommendations for a spiritual renewal of church practices are considered. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)