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This study is about the contemporary historical usage of Martin Luther with the purpose of discovering how his life and theology is described, how the historical usage takes its shape in the present time and how the results of the study can be understood in relation to the Swedish curriculum and the values it contains. The study bases it’s theoretical outlining on previously conducted studies in the field of historical usage and production in the field of Swedish church history, and a previously done study by professor in dogmatic Carl Axel Aurelius that researches usage of Luther in Sweden throughout the past four centuries. The theory and method used by Aurelius is applied to my own study. The result of the study shows that the usage of Martin Luther in the contemporary literature can be said to use a common ground when it comes to his theology, but it also shows difference in the usage. In general, it can be said that the differences are smaller than the similarities

St. Hugh the Great,1024-1109, was sixth in a distinguished line of abbots who had made Cluny, founded in 909, famous. During his abbacy, Ulrich and Bernard definitively recorded oral and written custom. The horarium, mainly liturgical, was already established, but growth in the order and considerable rise in numbers (causing notable building developments) had profound effects on the life of the abbey, whose privileges, especially as regards episcopal immunity, multiplied. The monastery was governed by an expanding body of administrative and disciplinary officials. Greater use of money, the increase of scattered resources, and heavier expenditure, characterised the economy of the period. The greatest expansion of the order occurred under Hugh, though he tended to discourage it. A coincidence of factors caused monasteries to be founded or annexed in hitherto unpenetrated parts of France and Switzerland, and in Spain and Italy where the adoption of customs in independent monasteries had already prepared the way. Cluniacs also went for the first time to England, what is now Belgium, Germany and even the Levant. The beginnings of a system establishing a juridical link between Cluny and these monasteries appeared. Abbeys were reduced in rank to priories, except for some less fully incorporated. Dependent monasteries had, in turn, priories dependent on them. All monks made profession at Cluny and recognised Hugh as abbot; he controlled the appointment of abbots and priors. Annual payment of cens was not yet general. Once the spirit and basic pattern of life had been implanted, however, Cluny allowed dependent priories to develop with a reasonable measure of independence. The foundation of Marcigny in 1054 marked the introduction of Cluniac nuns who were strictly enclosed and governed by Cluniac monks. Hugh's abbacy was decisive, contributory and outstanding in many ways, though symptoms of later disasters were already apparent.

The Preface examines the concept of life in the Old Testament which is discovered to be centred firmly on this world; special reference is made to life in the Wisdom Literature. Death at the end of a long and full life was accepted with resignation. Despite the paucity of references to death and the underworld in the Old Testament, there are passages which contain references to the mythology of death. The first chapter provides a background by reviewing the relevant aspects of the mythology of death in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Canaan. Chapter 2 lists the names for the underworld in the Old Testament end considers the mythological allusions which contain references to the location and characteristics of the underworld. Chapter 3 discusses the dwellers in the underworld. The words rp'um in the Ugaritic texts and rp'm in Phoenician inscriptions are surveyed as a background to rephaim in the Old Testament, The practices of necromancy and tomb-offerings are considered and it is concluded that while popular practice condoned them, official religion condemned them. In the fourth chapter the relation between the world ocean and the nether world is set out. As in the rest of the Ancient Near East the underworld was represented as lying in the depths of the ocean at the foot of the pillars which supported the earth. The deceased had to traverse this ocean on his way to the underworld. Chapter 5 deals with the concept of Sheol as a monster with gaping jaws and an insatiable appetite. This figure owes its ultimate origin to the Ugaritic god of death, Mot, whose ravenous appetite was proverbial. The sixth chapter surveys the personifications of death as a hunter, a shepherd and a robber. The powers of the underworld such as Abaddon, Sheol, Death the King of Terrors and the First-born of Death are discussed. In conclusion, it is observed that the mythological allusions are fragmented and moribund, serving, for the most part, a literary purpose within the context of the Old Testament. Death was an experience which meant the cessation of all life.

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No description available.

<p>Godkännandedatum 2018-01-21</p>

Relationship building with faith community provides support through fellowship, guidance, and the social interactions needed for emotional regulation. The support facilitates faith understanding, quest for faith exploration, meaning making, and character building. Although, past research informed on the quantitative measure of adolescent faith support, it is unable to capture the comprehensive information needed for understanding the meaning of faith support in adolescence. This study provides a new direction for understanding and describing the experience of faith support in three dimensions: understanding the meaning, process, and effect of the experience, and projects a conceptual framework for the rich descriptions of faith support experienced by Chinese Christian adolescents in Hong Kong. Apart from the objective of understanding the concept and meaning of faith support in adolescence, this study also reveals the variation in the participants' descriptions of the experience over time. The methodology utilized is on the dimensions of self, others, and outcome of faith experience in adolescence, with follow-up data collection and descriptive analysis on the perception, understanding, and meaning of faith support. Nineteen participants, with 11 females and 8 males, participated in semi-structured face-to-face interviews between November 2014 and July 2015 (the first wave interviews). Ten of the participants (six males and four females) were interviewed between September and December 2016 (the second wave interviews), 18 months after the first wave interviews. The Chinese Christian adolescents (Catholic and Protestant) in Hong Kong were between 15 to 18 years of age. A few of the participants' faith supporters were also interviewed to examine the research questions from multiple perspectives. The essential descriptions of the participants' psychosocial experiences and meanings attributed to faith support are: 1) faith exploration through companionship; 2) feeling loved and secured; 3) trusted relationship and resilience; 4) and emotion regulation through faith application. Narrative and descriptive analyses of the longitudinal data on the effect of faith support show a moderate change in the areas of moral judgment and meaning construct of faith development, and significant change in faith identity over time. Findings show three possible determinants of the effectiveness of faith support: (a) experience, (b) changes in social environment, family problem, and academic pressure and (c) the presence of a strong youth leader or peer mentoring for faith accountability and exploration. Participants who faced academic related stressor, moved to a new environment, and had little faith mentorship, were susceptible to changes in faith development and identity. Importantly, descriptive narratives and numerical data from this study reveal that faith experience through personal involvement tend to have significant difference in stabilizing faith identity status longitudinally through faith support. This study draws on concrete evidence from the rich descriptions of the experience by the adolescents, their supporters, and provides knowledge for understanding the social learning process of adolescent faith support. Research implications are discussed and recommendations made for church/parish, Christian youth leaders, Christian teachers, institutions, including educational and social policy makers, on how to best support Christian adolescents' faith.