This research proposes a Nigerian indigenous oikotheology to assist the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) better meet the challenges of the “double earth crisis” of poverty and environmental degradation. The thesis begins by arguing that the crisis of poverty and the crisis of ecology are inextricably linked. It does this by examining the situation globally, in Africa and in Nigeria. It argues that for the church to be able to articulate the needed theological paradigm in response to the “double earth crisis”, it is important that it is adequately informed and equipped with environmental knowledge as well as the dynamics of the global capitalist system and its hegemonic influences. This understanding is imperative because these affect the environment and poverty nexus. The thesis then examines the response of the Anglican Church to the environment and poverty by situating this within the wider biblical, Christian and ecumenical history, and the history of the Anglican Church itself. It then looks at the Anglican Church in Nigeria by investigating the engagement of the three Anglican Dioceses in Anambra State (Nigeria) in environment and poverty issues. It also investigates the understanding of the diocesan clergy on these issues. Findings from the research field work indicate that a majority of the clergy exhibited an appreciable level of environmental awareness contrary to the hypothesis of the study. However, this knowledge is a “paper knowledge” because of its heavy reliance on the ‘traditional’ view of understanding of the environment. Thus it creates a huge gap between theoretical knowledge and practical commitment on the part of the dioceses. Collective will and practical commitment which are vital for the church’s engagement in poverty and environment issues are therefore lacking, and this leads to the church’s difficulty in significantly living up to its environmental responsibility in practical ways. In responding to the identified gap, the thesis examines ‘four generations’ of ecological motifs in theology, namely, dominion, stewardship, eco-theology and oikotheology. Oikotheology is an attempt to strengthen the weaknesses in the Christian ecological thoughts (from dominion to ecotheology) and hence provide an eco-theological framework that will engender commitment and action. However, because of the challenges with which Oikotheology grapples (strong eschatological influences and inaccessibility to African culture), it could not achieve this aim in the Nigerian setting. In a continued search for an eco-theological framework that is more African, the study articulates the synthesis of Oikotheology and African indigenous ecological ethics (a fifth generation) as a theological framework which would uniquely appeal to African Christianity in its attempt to collaborate with other disciplines in addressing the challenges of the environment and poverty in Africa and the world. Key to this synthesis is an examination of Nigerian Igbo proverbs-the egbe belu precautionary principle and onye aghana nwa nne ya in particular, and the African cosmology in general. This synthesis, considered in our opinion as Africa’s gift to humanity and Christendom, will no doubt significantly contribute to the global discussion on the current double earth crisis of environment and poverty. The thesis concludes with a series of practical suggestions including among others the formation of a National Commission on the environment by the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) as a way of fostering environmental education. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not Sallie McFague's body of God model is an adequate resource for a Christian ecological theology. The study endeavours to evaluate, test and revise this particular theological model. It is located on the abstract and hypothetical level and is thus a non-empirical analysis of McFague's thought. The researcher analysed the body of God model by using theological and philosophical resources. Current literature on ecological theology was studied in order to formulate thirteen criteria for an adequate Christian theology. These criteria were used throughout the study to test the theology that accompanies McFague's model. The study analysed three key areas of McFague's thought: cosmology, anthropology and theology. It was found the body of God model tends towards reductionism, because it does not appear to endorse a coherent complexity hierarchy. This reductionism was apparent in the three key areas of McFague's thought. However, it was found the body of God model functions as a transformative metaphor that takes into account the social reality that affects the health of planet earth. Its strength is a clear orientation towards ethics that takes Jesus' praxis as its departure point. The researcher provides suggestions on how the body of God model may overcome reductionism. After consideration of the three key areas of McFague's thought, the researcher concluded that the body of God model is an adequate resource for a Christian ecological theology. It is suggested that this theological model is applicable to the South African context in three areas: the socio-economic reality and its impact on the natural environment, the land ownership and the issue of racism. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, [2006]

Text in Afrikaans / Musiekvideos is 'n integrerende deel van die (rock)-musiekbedryf, hoofsaaklik as reklame vir die kunstenaars en hul musiekopnames. Musiekvideos is verder 'n wesenlike deel van die massamedia, in so 'n mate dat daar verskeie spesialismusiektelevisiekanale is wat 24 uur per dag op al die kontinente uitsaai, wat 'n aanduiding gee van die omvang van musiekvideos. Hierdie videos speel veral 'n vemame rol by die jeug as sub-kultuurgroep. Ook christenmusikante gebruik musiekvideos, en hul videos word gereeld as deel van christelike programme uitgesaai. Dit is gewoonlik een van die oogmerke van christenkunstenaars om die evangelie deur hul musiek uit te dra, en in die geval van christelike musiekvideos dien hulle dikwels nie net as reklame nie, maar word daar ook 'n christelike boodskap oorgedra, veral in die geval van verhalende en konsepvideos. Daar word na die rol van hierdie videos in die konteks van die christene se benutting van die massamedia gekyk en daar word onder meer 'n teologiese fundering vir die gebruik van die massamedia in die algemeen, asook musiekvideos in die besonder gegee. 'n Aantal musiekvideos van kontemporere musiekkunstenaars soos Carman, Michael W. Smith, Steve Taylor, The Newsboys, en Steven Curtis Chapman word individueel beskryf en vanuit 'n teologiese perspektief beoordeel om te sien hoe suksesvol hulle in die oordra van 'n christelike boodskap is. Daar word 'n vergelyking getref tussen christelike en sekulere musiekvideos en hoe sekere onderwerpe benader word. Sekere tekortkominge, sowel as positiewe aspekte by christelike musiekvideos word as deel van 'n missiologiese reflektering uitgewys. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Missiology)

Nobody has a safeguard against loss. All people experience loss and the accompanying grief process during their lifetime. Grieving is a complex process. There are many different forms of grief. The grief process is understood in this study as identifiable moments rather than successive stages. The moments of grief are experienced on an unconscious level and vary in intensity. The role of the counsellor is to facilitate the process of bringing the experiences of grief into the conscious. This provides the counselee with the opportunity to work through his or her experience of loss. The contention of this study is that an existential experience of God’s presence can counteract the despair often associated with loss and the grief process. A method of story telling is used to bring hopeless stories into the empathic presence of God. Hope then becomes possible. A person’s experience of God is articulated by means of metaphors. Some of these are shared with the faith community as a whole, whereas other metaphors express the person’s individual experience of God. The different God images function in relation to one another. This study investigates how images of God can be harmful or helpful to the counselee in the grief process. The use of imagery assists in bringing the person’s perceptions of God to conscious awareness. By means of questions asked from a not-knowing position the counsellor helps to facilitate the telling of their story of grief, the story of God’s presence, and eventually their new story of hope for the future. The counselee experiences consolation, healing, liberation and a victory which becomes an existential reality in God’s presence. This pneumatic event is understood as God’s deliverance through Jesus Christ from a situation of hopelessness. This liberation takes place here-and-now. At the same time it is open toward the future. / Thesis (PhD (Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

The following treatise focuses on the ongoing conflict within the church regarding the issue of homosexuality. It is an important issue that has divided both churches and denominations and it continues to cause hurt in both the lives of Christians and non-Christians alike, both straight and gay. The popular position seems to be that the church, and Christians in general, are homophobic and believe that Christianity and homosexuality are not compatible. This research is a case study and focuses on a church in London. The research was carried out to discover whether this position, often portrayed by the media, was true of this church. It also sought to discover whether theories of conflict management and in particular John Burton’s theory of basic human needs could offer insight and alternative approaches in future discussions. The findings of this research offer hope in the situation in that they show this particular church is not homophobic, nor do the majority believe homosexuality and Christianity to be incompatible.

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis reports on a study undertaken within Theology and Development with a focus on health and gender. Health, in this thesis, was not merely understood from a biomedical perspective, but defined in terms of the holistic wellbeing of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer (LGBTIQ) persons with varying sexual orientations and gender identities. In the light of contextual phenomena such as the ‘corrective’ rape of gays and lesbians, the notion that homosexuality is considered to be ‘un-African’, and the churches’ response to homosexuality within South Africa, this study will attempt to utilise queer theory and queer theology ‘queery’ Gender and Development (GAD) scholars within Theology and Development. The current understanding of the GAD approach within Theology and Development discourse was argued to make use of the heterogendered binary and, as a result, is not inclusive of LGBTIQ identities as a discursive theme. Gender, in this thesis, is considered a socio-historical construct and it is argued that it expands across many cultures. This understanding of gender opens up a discussion on subjectivity and looks at how the subject is utilized within discursive practice. The thesis concurs with Feminist scholars who argue that language does not only communicate the link between one’s sex and one’s gender identity; but that it also constitutes that link. Michel Foucault’s framework of power and how it is used to regulate discourses together with Judith Butler’s work on performativity provide a valuable point of departure for queer theory and queer theology as the hermeneutical lenses utilised in this thesis. A brief literature survey is conducted concerning gendered subjectivities within development discourses within the social sciences. The historical movements of Women in Development (WID), Women and Development (WAD) and Gender and Development (GAD) were explored within development discourse with the purpose of highlighting some of the reasons for the historical inclusion of certain subjects and the exclusion of others within the discursive practice in particular. The most recent movement, GAD, is shown to have been critiqued for mainly utilizing ‘gender’ as a code word for ‘women’. There is a discursive shift within development discourses within the social sciences that has gone on to queery development discourses and advocate for the inclusion of sexual minorities as a discursive theme. Through agencies such as SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), sexuality was highlighted to also have links within a multi perspectival understanding of poverty. Finally, a thematic networks analysis coupled with the lenses of queer theory and queer theology, were conducted on seven articles that could possibly be related to the emerging field of Theology and Development. The thesis argues that the current use of heterogendered binary as an “informant” of theologising on gender is indicative of the fact that some of the Theology and development articles that are analysed here have not yet made a discursive shift to include LGBTIQ persons as a discursive theme. Indecent theology is recommended for future research as a queer theological tool to incorporate epistemological considerations of those on the sexual margins and thereby confronting heterosexist theologising within Theology and Development. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis is 'n studie binne die vakgebied Teologie en Ontwikkeling met 'n fokus op gesondheid en gender. Gesondheid in hierdie tesis is nie slegs van 'n biomediese perspektief verstaan nie, maar word in hierdie geval gedefinieer in terme van die holistiese welstand van LGBTIQ persone met wisselende seksuele oriëntasies en gender identiteit. In die lig van kontekstuele verskynsels soos die "regstellende" verkragting van homoseksuele mans en vrouens, die idee dat homoseksualiteit beskou word as iets wat 'nie eie aan Afrika' is nie en die kerke se reaksie op homoseksualiteit in Suid-Afrika ,sal hierdie studie poog om queer teorie te benut en deur queer teologie Gender en Ontwikkeling (GAD) diskoers in Teologie en Ontwikkeling te 'queer'. Daar word aangevoer dat die huidige begrip van GAD binne die Teologie en Ontwikkeling diskoers gebruik maak van die heterogeslagtelike tweeledigheid en as 'n resultaat is dit nie inklusief van LGBTIQ identiteite as 'n diskursiewe tema nie. Gender word in hierdie tesis beskou as 'n sosio-historiese konstruk en daar word aangevoer dat dit oor baie kulture strek. Hierdie begrip van gender maak 'n bespreking oop oor subjektiwiteit en kyk na hoe die onderwerp binne diskursiewe praktyk gebruik word. Die tesis stem saam met feministiese vakkundiges, wat argumenteer dat taal nie net die skakel tussen 'n mens se geslag en 'n mens se gender identiteit kommunikeer nie; maar dat dit ook die skakel vorm. Michel Foucault se raamwerk van mag en hoe dit gebruik word om diskoerse te reguleer, saam met Judith Butler se werk op uitvoerbaarheid bied 'n waardevolle vertrekpunt vir queer teorie en queer teologie as die hermeneutiese lense wat gebruik word in hierdie tesis. 'n Kort literatuur opname word onderneem aangaande geslagtelike subjektiwiteite binne die ontwikkelingsdiskoerse binne die sosiale wetenskappe. Die historiese bewegings van Women in Development (WIN), Women and Development (WAD) en Gender and Development (GAD) is ondersoek binne die ontwikkelingsdiskoers met die doel om van die redes vir die insluiting van sekere identiteite en die uitsluiting van ander binne die diskursiewe praktyk in besonder uit te lig. Daar is aangedui hoe die mees onlangse beweging, GAD, gekritiseer is vir hoofsaaklike gebruikmaak van 'gender' as 'n kodewoord vir 'vroue'. Daar is 'n diskursiewe verskuiwing binne die ontwikkelingsdiskoerse binne die sosiale wetenskappe wat voortgegaan het om ontwikkeling diskoerse te queer en op te tree as kampvegter vir die insluiting van seksuele minderhede as 'n diskursiewe tema. Deur agentskappe soos SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), is seksualiteit ook uitgelig as een van die skakels binne 'n multiperspektivale begrip van armoede. Ten slotte is 'n tematiese netwerk analise, tesame met die lense van queer teorie en queer teologie, uitgevoer op sewe artikels wat moontlik verband kan hou met/binne binne die ontluikende veld van Teologie en Ontwikkeling. Hierdie tesis argumenteer dat die huidige gebruik van die heterogeslagtelike tweeledigheid as 'n "informant" van teologisering oorgender, daarop dui dat die Teologie en die ontwikkelingsdiskoerse nog nie 'n diskursiewe verskuiwing gemaak het om LGBTIQ persone as 'n diskursiewe tema in te sluit nie. Onbehoorlike teologie word aanbeveel vir toekomstige navorsing as 'n queer teologiese instrument om epistemologiese oorwegings van diegene op die seksuele kantlyne te inkorporeer en sodoende, heteroseksuele teologisering binne die Teologie en Ontwikkeling te konfronteer.

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This thesis investigates how two Christian communities — differentiated primarily by their medium of communication — characterize and cast Christian community. The method of fantasy theme analysis was used to explore this thesis's central research question; namely, are content differences present in the ways in which face-to-face and digital communication systems characterize and cast the Christian sense of community? After an analysis of St. Pixels Church of the Internet (digital communication) and St. Luke's United Methodist Church (face-to-face communication) it was found that the online community demonstrated a rhetorical vision of koinonia, while the face-to-face community demonstrated a rhetorical vision of ekklesia. / Department of Telecommunications

Whereas the ecological crisis has elicited a response from many quarters of American Christianity, classical (or denominational) Pentecostals have expressed almost no concern about environmental problems. The reasons for their disregard of the environment lie in the Pentecostal worldview which finds expression in their: (1) tradition; (2) view of human and natural history; (3) common theological beliefs; and (4) scriptural interpretation. All these aspects of Pentecostalism emphasize and value the supernatural--conversely viewing nature as subordinate, dependent and temporary. Therefore, the ecocrisis is not problematic because, for Pentecostals, the natural environment is: of only relative value; must serve the divine plan; and will soon be destroyed and replaced. Furthermore, Pentecostals are likely to continue their environmental disregard, since the supernaturalism which spawns it is key to Pentecostal identity.