The last half of the twentieth century has seen a rapid increase in the process of secularization in both Britain and America, and this trend is nowhere more clearly evident than in the widespread relaxation of sexual mores. Within the Catholic Church a tension has arisen between liberal Catholics who argue for the right of Catholics to act according to the dictates of individual conscience, and traditionalists who champion the absolute moral authority of the Church. Liberal Catholics emphasize the Thomist view in which the flesh and its desires are seen as part of God's creation and, therefore, intrinsically good, while conservative Catholics lean toward an Augustinian/Jansenist view which equates sexual desire with the fallen nature of humankind. There has also been a great deal of unrest among Catholic women regarding continuing misogynistic tendencies within the male-dominated Church. This study focuses upon portrayals of women and sexuality in selected novels by four representative contemporary Catholic novelists, David Lodge, Mary Gordon, Piers Paul Read, and Anne Redmon. In their fiction, these writers pursue moral questions related to sexuality which preoccupy contemporary Catholics, reflecting in their work the empirical struggle of Catholics to reconcile Church law with their individual needs and desires. In their ratio to each other, these novelists represent in microcosm the spectrum of opinion among lay Catholics regarding sexual morality. Liberals David Lodge and Mary Gordon affirm in their fiction the goodness of the body and its desires, while Piers Paul Read argues for the orthodox view that the flesh must be rigidly controlled in the interests of spiritual health. Anne Redmon explores issues of women and sexuality without entering the debate between liberal and conservative Catholics. As this study makes clear, the contemporary Catholic novel provides an experientially based context for moral reflection on sexual behaviour parallel to and often in tension with the traditional teaching of the Church. The recent Catholic novel has also provided an important site for the exploration of women's sexual needs, desires, and moral thinking against the background of an all-male hierarchical Church, which has largely been silent in this area.

This thesis explores the philosophical and theological motivations for early Christian celibacy prior to the appearance of monasticism. This thesis will challenge recent scholarly positions that portray early Christian celibacy only in light of the emergence of monasticism in the fourth century, and which argue that celibacy as an ascetic practice was motivated primarily by resistance to the dominant social structures of antiquity. The practice of celibacy was a significant movement in the early church well before the appearance of monasticism or the development of Christianity as the dominant social force in the empire, and although early Christian sexual austerity was similar to the sexual ethics of Greco-Roman philosophical constructs, early Christian sexual ethics had developed in relation to uniquely Christian theological and cosmological views. Moreover, a segment of the early Christian community idealized celibacy as an expression of the transformation of human nature amidst a community that continued to remain sexually austere in general. / vi, 267 leaves ; 29 cm.

The genocide of April 1994 left the Rwandan society completely ruined and the survivors totally disoriented with numerous problems ranging from material deprivation to bodily and psychological injuries. As in other conflicts, especially in Africa, women and children were the most affected by the Rwandan genocide; consequently Rwanda has a sizeable number of widows and orphans. After the genocide, Rwanda witnessed an influx of many non-governmental organizations, which came with the aim to help the Rwandans in general, and genocide survivors in particular, as part of a program to put the Rwandan society back on its feet. Rwanda claims to be overwhelmingly a Christian nation, which theoretically gives the Christian community in Rwanda a prominent hand in all efforts of rebuilding the Rwandan society. This work therefore, is a Case Study, which seeks to investigate the role of Christian Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in responding to the needs of genocide widows residing in Kigali-Ville province-Rwanda. The study thus aims to assess efforts of the above-cited Christian NGOs and highlights their success and shortcomings in the light of a Christian model of understanding and responding to human needs. The investigation also surveys the background to the genocide. It focuses on the interpretation of the history of the people of Rwanda, the role impact of the colonial rule and Christian missionaries, and the role of the civil war of early 1990s. The study also investigates the plight of genocide widows from fives angles: economic loss, personal and social relationships, bodily injuries, psychological damage and spiritual welfare. The assessment was carried out through the analysis of the data collected mainly from selected Christian NGOs, genocide widows, churches, and written materials. The paradigm used to critically analyze the response of Christian NGOs has stemmed out of a body of literature that focuses on Christian response to human need, with particular emphasis on the distinctiveness of the Rwandan context. The findings, conclusion, recommendations of this study are of cardinal significance not only to Christian NGOs operating in Kigali-Ville province but also to other groups involved in the ministry to the needy in other parts of Rwanda and beyond her boundaries. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

Tills research project arose from an awareness that many Christian women experience female sexual desire and the expression of sexual pleasure within a religious context to be a forbidden subject and that they are consequently isolated in silence. The social construction of sexuality within the history of Christianity was briefly explored to see which discourses underpin current constructions of White Christian female sexuality. Tills feminist, participatory action research project challenged the silence on women's sexuality by inviting three women to narrate their personal stories of sexuality. With the help of narrative therapeutic practices, some of the dominant social and religious discourses that constitute White Christian female sexuality were challenged and explored. This research project aimed at the co-construction of narratives of sexuality that will hopefully be life-giving to Christian women's experiences with sexuality. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Specialization in Pastoral Therapy))

The last half of the twentieth century has seen a rapid increase in the process of secularization in both Britain and America, and this trend is nowhere more clearly evident than in the widespread relaxation of sexual mores. Within the Catholic Church a tension has arisen between liberal Catholics who argue for the right of Catholics to act according to the dictates of individual conscience, and traditionalists who champion the absolute moral authority of the Church. Liberal Catholics emphasize the Thomist view in which the flesh and its desires are seen as part of God's creation and, therefore, intrinsically good, while conservative Catholics lean toward an Augustinian/Jansenist view which equates sexual desire with the fallen nature of humankind. There has also been a great deal of unrest among Catholic women regarding continuing misogynistic tendencies within the male-dominated Church. This study focuses upon portrayals of women and sexuality in selected novels by four representative contemporary Catholic novelists, David Lodge, Mary Gordon, Piers Paul Read, and Anne Redmon. In their fiction, these writers pursue moral questions related to sexuality which preoccupy contemporary Catholics, reflecting in their work the empirical struggle of Catholics to reconcile Church law with their individual needs and desires. In their ratio to each other, these novelists represent in microcosm the spectrum of opinion among lay Catholics regarding sexual morality. Liberals David Lodge and Mary Gordon affirm in their fiction the goodness of the body and its desires, while Piers Paul Read argues for the orthodox view that the flesh must be rigidly controlled in the interests of spiritual health. Anne Redmon explores issues of women and sexuality without entering the debate between liberal and conservative Catholics. As this study makes clear, the contemporary Catholic novel provides an experientially based context for moral reflection on sexual behaviour parallel to and often in tension with the traditional teaching of the Church. The recent Catholic novel has also provided an important site for the exploration of women's sexual needs, desires, and moral thinking against the background of an all-male hierarchical Church, which has largely been silent in this area. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

German text / Singles sind Menschen mit speziellen Problemen und Bedürfnissen – insbesondere, wenn sie unfreiwillig Single sind und lieber in einer Partnerschaft leben wollen. Viele Singles leiden unter ihrem Dasein als Single, ihre Probleme können vielfältig sein: Einsamkeit, unbefriedigte sexuelle Wünsche, mangelndes Selbstwertgefühl, fehlende Elternschaft, Leere und Antriebslosigkeit. Diese Probleme stellen die Seelsorge vor eine wichtige Aufgabe: Wie kann man diesen leidenden Singles helfend begegnen? Mein poimenischer Ansatz besteht darin, die Frage nach der Berufung zur Ehelosigkeit zu stellen(1 Korinther 7,17). Wenn Singles ihr Dasein nicht mehr als gescheiterte Existenz betrachten, sondern als Stand, zu dem sie von Gott berufen worden sind, hilft das vielleicht, eine positivere Lebenseinstellung zu bekommen und ein zufriedeneres Leben zu führen. / Singles are people with special problems and needs – particularly when they are involuntary singles and would prefer to live in a partner relationship. Many singles suffer with their condition as a single, and their problems can be manifold: loneliness, unsatisfied sexual desires, feelings of low self-worth, missing parenthood, emptiness and listlessness. These problems present the pastoral carer with an important task: How can these suffering singles be helped? My poimenics orientated approach is to raise the question regarding the call to singleness (1 Corinthians 7:17). When singles no longer consider their life as a failed existence, but rather as a state to which they have been called by God, perhaps that would help them have a more positive attitude to life, and to lead a satisfying life. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

This dissertation suggests the Song of Songs as a biblical paradigm for Christian spiritual direction based on the poem’s human dynamics, theological poetics and mystical aesthetic. The Song of Songs is paradigmatic as a journey from a state of self-neglect (depletion), through dynamic encounters of love (transformation), to living who I am in union with the divine I AM (deification). Identifying the human beloved as archetypal seeker and positing transformation in love as the raison-d’être for spiritual direction, the research delineates important implications for spiritual praxis, namely: the human subject (locus); human yearning (focus); the human search (journey); dynamics of human transformation and spiritual maturation (process); aspects of life-integration and union with God (purpose); and becoming a living sacrament in the world (epiphany). With its experiential-existential approach, The Canticle of Spiritual Direction serves as an interdisciplinary and intercultural resource on the Song of Songs, Christian spiritual direction, and Christian mysticism. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Christian Spirituality)

Text in German / Zusammenfassung Der Ausgangspunkt dieser Untersuchung ist die Frage, wie weibliche, ledige, heterosexuelle Führungskräfte in deutschen, christlichen Organisationen mit ihrer Sexualität und sexuellen Versuchlichkeit umgehen. Das Ziel ist es, ledigen, leitenden Missionarinnen Hilfestellungen zu geben, wie sie authentisch leben und arbeiten können um so auch die Authentizität ihrer missionarischen Botschaft zu stärken. Welchen Einfluss hat sexuelle Versuchlichkeit auf Authentizität von weiblichen Singles in der Missionsarbeit? Macht Macht diese Frauen erotisch? Im ersten Schritt untersuchen wir Frausein und sexuelle Versuchlichkeit theologisch, biologisch und soziologisch. Die abgeleiteten Thesen dienten als Grundlage zu einer empirischen Untersuchung. Fünf ledige Frauen in Führungspositionen wurden interviewt die in missionarischer Authentizität leben wollen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Interviews führen zur Verifizierung und Modifizierung der Thesen. SchlieÃlich werden praktische Konsequenzen gezogen wie Missionsorganisationen ihre ledigen Leiterinnen unterstützen können. English Summary The starting point of this investigation is the question how female, single, heterosexual leaders in German Christian organisations deal with their sexuality and sexual temptability. The objective is to provide these women with support to live and work authentically in order to strengthen the authenticity of their mission. Which impact has sexual temptability on the authenticity of female singles in the mission field? Is their power sexy? In the first step we investigate womanhood and sexual temptability both in theological and in psychological-sociological perspective. The derived hypotheses served as a basis for an empirical investigation. Five single women in leadership positions were interviewed. The results of the interviews lead to verification and modification of the hypotheses. Finally, we draw practical consequences for mission agencies how to support female, single leaders. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Text in German / In dieser empirischen Untersuchung wird die Lebens- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft von Missio-nar/-innen auf dem Missionsfeld erforscht. Ausgangspunkt der Untersuchung ist die Frage, wie der Status (Single oder verheiratet, Frau oder Mann) die Lebens- und Arbeitsgemein-schaft von Missionar/-innen beeinflusst. Mit welchen heterosexuell erotisierten Situationen werden Missionar/-innen konfrontiert? Ziel ist es, die verschiedenen Erotisierungen zu erken-nen, deren Einfluss auf die Missionsarbeit zu verstehen und herauszuarbeiten, welche Präven-tion für die Missionar/-innen hilfreich ist. Nach der Begriffsklärung wird im ersten Schritt die aktuelle Genderdebatte beleuchtet, um den Denkrahmen der Erotisierung zwischen Frau und Mann zu skizzieren und um die Notwendigkeit feministischer Ansätze zu erkennen. Dann werden in einer biblisch-theologischen Untersuchung zu Geschlecht und Erotik die biblisch-theologische Wesensmä-ßigkeit von Frauen und Männern, die Authentizität des Ehelebens, sowie sexuelle Versuchung und Versuchlichkeit dargestellt. Ebenso wird die Anziehung durch die Schönheit nach dem Hohelied dargestellt. In einer missionswissenschaftlichen Literaturstudie wird Leiterschaft und Mitarbeiterführung, sowie der Wahrnehmung von Frau- und Mannsein im Missionskon-text gesichtet. Die empirische Forschung begann mit einer Prästudie, in der die im Arbeitskreis Evan-gelikale Mission (AEM) zusammengeschlossenen Missionsgesellschaften zu ihrem aktuellen Umgang mit Erotisierungen im missionarischen Beziehungsgeflecht befragt wurden. In der dann folgenden empirischen Forschung wurden Missionar/-innen narrativ interviewt. Sie be-richteten von Erotisierungen, die sie in ihrer aktiven Missionar/-innenzeit erlebt hatten. Dabei wurden Erotisierungen mit und ohne Erotik festgestellt. Ebenso wurden die Folgen der Eroti-sierungen für die Mission und hilfreiche Präventionen thematisiert. Die Auswertung geschah mittels Grounded Theory in der Software MAXQDA. Die Ergebnisse werden interpretiert und münden in Konsequenzen für die Praxis. / This empirical study investigates the living and working community of missionaries, male and female, on the missions field. The basis of this study is the question, how does the status of the missionary (single or married, man or woman) influence the community of missionar-ies. What kind of heterosexual eroticising situations are missionaries confronted with? The goal is to identify these eroticisations, attempt to understand their impact on missionary work and to find preventative measures that could be helpful for missionaries. After explaining key terms, the first step is to look at the gender debate in order to sketch out the various ways of understanding eroticisations between man and woman and to emphasise the necessity of feministic approaches. Then a biblical-theological investigation on gender and eroticism displays the biblical-theological perspective on the essential being of man and woman, the authenticity of marriage, as well as sexual temptation and the suscepti-bility to sexual temptation. The attraction of beauty in Solomon’s Song of Songs is also de-scribed. Finally, the role of leadership as well as the perception of what it means to be a man or woman in the context of missions is evaluated in a missiological literature review. The empirical research began with a pre-study in which mission societies who are member of the Arbeitskreis evangelikaler Missionen (AEM) were asked how they deal with eroticisations within the context of missions. The empirical research which followed was based on narrative interviews with missionaries. They described eroticisations that were ex-perienced during their time as active missionaries. It became apparent that there were erotici-sations with and without involving erotism. Furthermore, they addressed the consequences of eroticisations for missions itself and suggested helpful preventative measures. The interviews are analysed using Grounded Theory and the software MAXQDA. The results were interpret-ed and led to consequences for praxis. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Hierdie navorsing meen dat die kerk in die verlede te veel klem gele het op negatiewe seksuele praktyke, en verantwoordelike seks nie aan die qeloofsgemeenskap voorgehou is nie. Sodoende het 'n negatiewe mentaliteit in die geloofsgemeenskap ontstaan, wat verder aangewakker is deur verskeie sosio-politieke en ekonomiese faktore. Dit het tot 'n gebroke familielewe, huwelike, immoraliteit en 'n identiteitskrisis gelei, wat uiteindelik saamgewerk het tot die HIV-dilemma. Daar is nie werklik 'n begrip van die sin van bogenoemde elemente in die geloofsgemeenskap nie, en gevolglik konsentreer hierdie navorsing daarop om, met die evangelie as basis op 'n geinkultureerde wyse, bogenoemde kultuurbeskouinge in die Kgalagadi-gemeente te inkultureer. Hierin moet die plaaslike gemeente se koninklike, profetiese en priesterlike funksies gestalte kry in die daarstelling van sisteme, sodat doelgerig tot die bekamping van, pastorale hulp aan, en bystand aan HIV-slagoffers bygedra kan word. / The Church has focused too much on the negative aspects of sexuality and not enough on how to have sexual relations in a responsible manner. A negative mentality regarding sexuality, family life and morality had been created in the community, which contributed to the HIV-dilemma. There is no understanding of these aspects in the community. Inculturation of the relevant aspects into the Kgalagadi congregation should be done on the basis of the gospel. In this the local congregation should fulfill its kingly, prophetic and priestly functions by creating relevant systems to help prevent, support and counsel HIV-victims. / Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)