Includes bibliographies. / My study investigates the possibility of gender preference for the possible paradigms of reality established in Cumpsty's theory of religion. According to him there are three possible paradigms for the nature of the ultimately-real to which one would belong. These generate three ideal types of religious tradition he has labelled Nature Religion (NR), Withdrawal Religion, and Secular World Affirming Religion (SWAR). These labels reflect the adherents' understanding of and engagement with their immediate 'world-out-there'. Using CUmpsty's general theory of religion and writers on feminine identity, I explored the theoretical relationship between paradigms for reality and gender. This indicated a theoretical preference for NR by women within a SWAR dominated western culture. I then report field studies in which instruments were tested which were themselves intended to test the existence of the relationship between paradigms of reality and gender.

Bibliography: leaves 134-8. / Chapter one introduces the debate in the Ecumenical Movement surrounding problems of poverty, unemployment and environmental degradation. In particular, the argument draws on the sentiment in the Ecumenical Movement that these problems are the result of "classical and neo-classical economic thinking". Having established a global context and a theoretical framework in chapter one, chapters two and three focus on Namibia. Chapter two discusses the policies of the Namibian government in addressing the problems of poverty, unemployment and environmental degradation, and chapter three examines the responses of the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN) to these problems. In particular, it becomes evident that whereas the state in Namibia is attempting to address the three problems holistically - i.e., as inextricable from each other - the church shows a marked human interest at the expense of environmental concern. Chapter four introduces the Ecumenical Movement's Theology of Sharing as a Christian imperative for addressing threefold, intrinsically related problem of poverty, unemployment and environmental degradation. Chapter five proposes several models for the realization of this theology.

Bibliography: leaves 84-87. / This dissertation primari Iy focuses on the problem of custom or 'urf and its treatment as a marginal source in Muslim legal theory or w

Bibliography: leaves 104-110. / This study examines the role of African traditional religion in the promotion of human rights in Africa generally and among the Shona people of Zimbabwe in particular.

Bibliography: leaves 72-74. / Guided by faith in the love and justice of God for humanity, this paper aims to examine the rhetoric and reality of the question of gender justice in the church in Zambia.

This thesis explores the development of the Doctrine of Sin as personal and social in the thinking of three representative theologians, Irenaeus, Martin Luther and Juan Luis Segundo. We shall show that both their understanding of sin, and their understanding of redemption is at once personal and social. This thesis rejects any individualistic or private conception of sin as unbiblical and contrary to the mainstream of Christian tradition. We shall show how the three theologians we have chosen expose the corporate nature of sin, and therefore show an awareness of a deeper, communal involvement of human persons in sin, thus demonstrating that sin is both personal and social. At the same time each of the theologians approaches the problem in a different way, highlighting that dimension of sin which is most appropriate in his particular context.

Bibliography: p. 95-108. / Land restitution is an inevitable consequence of the new dispensation in South Africa. Restitution aims to return people to land dispossessed because of racial laws corresponding to the Land Act of 1913. An alternative is to compensate the victims in other appropriate mechanisms. In facilitating this aspiration the present study proposes, as a solution, the biblical Jubilee as in (Leviticus 25) reiterated by Jesus in (Luke 4:16-30) and further adopted by the Christian Tradition as a theological submission. The Jubilee concept, from its biblical inception, was designed to resolve the landlessness experienced by deprived Jews in ancient Israel. This model has been adopted by various scholars as a guideline in solving similar problems in modern societies. A theological view is deemed necessary since the legal, political, economic, and agricultural systems have failed to emphasise the moral dimension in reparation and land restitution. The Christian Church in South Africa is identified as the prime facilitator in this country's nation building process. It should therefore assume a leadership role in this process through, in this instance, translating the Jubilee concept in the transformation in our modern society.

Bibliography: pages 749-755. / Six people fitting the above description of "destined human beings" were studied as far as possible from their own work, i.e. writings, paintings, music, speeches, letters, etc. They were studied on two levels, that of their own metier, and then how they retained that holistic quality which enabled them to remain in touch with a greater vision of life and humanity as a whole. They are Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt van Rijn, Johann Sebastian Bach, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, and, as an exception to some things which have been said, Pablo Picasso. It is hoped that this research demonstrates that these people understand humanity and its needs for religion, and that their experiences and interpretations thereof help humanity engage those needs sanely and fruitfully. In other words, they enrich religion as a quest. Different senses of identity, modes of engagement, models of reality, methods of expression are examined, all of which demonstrably fit into Cumpsty's Theory of Religion of Belonging. One of the case studies demonstrates what happens when the sense of belonging is impaired. The thesis takes a very broad view of what constitutes religious experience, but the expressions of the case studies can be considered as religion at its best, or most universal.

This thesis has been called forth by the debate about the concept soul which has been pursued in many fields: in theology by Oscar Cullmann and many others; in philosophy by Gilbert Ryle, among others. In psychology, we find that as early as 1926, at an International Psychological Conference, Pavlov declared that we must abandon the misleading term "soul". He stated that, in his opinion, "the proper study of psychology is physiology".

Includes bibliography. / This study is a contribution to the New Testament hermeneutics. It is a reinterpretation of the Parable of the "Ten Maidens" from an African Womanist Perspective consonant with an Epideictic Rhetoric approach. Through this perspective the social position of women in parables based on an androcentric world is explored. However, this position is challenged by a womanist perspective. Because it is challenged, the process of conscientization has begun and the struggle for the lack of self-worth follows. With African womanist epideictic perspective the intended effect is to respond to the needs of particular individuals or communities, and to persuade the readers to bring about a change of attitude and behaviour in their situation. This thesis opens with an exploration of the socio-historical experience of women revealed in literature of the first century Greco-Roman world; the Jewish world as well as ancient African world. A search in the literature betrays that women's experiences from different societies are generally based on a patriarchal ideology - that of women's supposed position in society. Women's view of the world was therefore along these patriarchal standards. An African womanist epideictic approach, therefore is employed as a liberative tool in dealing with this problem. The second chapter presents women's portrayal in parables, especially those found in African literature and in the synoptic gospels. Luke, in particular, deals with women in parables very positively bringing up the whole question of relationality, that is, practising good relations with one another. This is explored further in the concluding section. In African parables there are two sets of women behaviour. Firstly, there are those who are very much inclined with the socialization of the obedience and loyalty to males in an African cultural tradition. Secondly, there are also those who try to pull out of the patriarchal normative instructions. The behaviour of these two sets is similar to the behaviour of women found in Matthean parables. These behavioural tendencies become so significant for an African womanist that the "Parable of the Ten Maidens" in Matthew is further explored in chapter three. The concluding chapter includes an overview of the thesis and a discussion of the ethical considerations raised when one reads the parables, especially of the "Ten Maidens" from an African womanist epideictic perspective.