There were four major purposes of this study: (1) to evaluate the level of grief experience by bereaved individuals who attend either a grief support group or grief psycho-educational group in the Inland Empire, (2) to evaluate the level of spirtuality experienced by bereaved individuals who attend either a grief support or grief psycho-educational group in the Inland Empire, (3) to correlate the level of grief reactions with the level of spiritual experience within bereaved individuals, and (4) to describe demongraphic and grief/spiritual-related factors that may influence a bereaved individual's spiritual experience and grief process.

The modern world is experiencing a spiritual and moral crisis. Associated with this, Christian spirituality and ethics have become separated in the life of the individual Christian and the community of the church. The Christian understanding of human beings and the integrated nature of spirituality and ethics provides a solution to this crisis. Christian spirituality and morality both originate in the character and purposes of God as revealed in the biblical record. The value and effects of the. integral relationship between spirituality and morality can be traced throughout scripture and the history of the church. The. encounter and relationship with God, in Jesus Christ and through the presence and power of God's Spirit, transforms the disciple of Christ, which means that spirituality is the basic framework and motivation for morality. Integrated spiritual and moral formation creates moral character and moral communities which enable believers to act with love and justice. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Specialisation in Christian Spirituality)

The modern world is experiencing a spiritual and moral cns1s. Associated with this, Christian spirituality and ethics have become separated in the life of the individual Christian and the community of the church. The Christian understanding of human beings and the integrated nature of spirituality and ethics provides a solution to this crisis. Christian spirituality and morality both originate in the character and purposes of God as revealed in the biblical record. The value and effects of the integral relationship between spirituality and morality can be traced throughout scripture and the history of the church. The. encounter and relationship with God, in Jesus Christ and through the presence and power of God's Spirit, transforms the disciple of Christ, which means that spirituality is the basic framework and motivation for morality. Integrated spiritual and moral formation creates moral character and moral communities which enable believers to act with love and justice. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Christian Spirituality)

The Secret Doctrine is the magnum opus of H.P. Blavatsky and one of the foundation texts of the Theosophical Society. It represents her attempt to appropriate authority in a wide variety of fields, including, science, religion, and philosophy. This study examines H.P. Blavatsky’s engagement with Ancient Egypt in relation to two specific themes, the constitution of the individual and the afterlife, as they are portrayed in this work. It locates Theosophy in its historical context, the late nineteenth century, in relation to various fields of knowledge. It reviews the sources that H.P. Blavatsky drew on in her work and discusses the various interpretive techniques she employed to insert Theosophical content into various world religions. Finally, it contrasts the Theosophical presentation of Ancient Egypt in The Secret Doctrine with that of mainstream modern Egyptology. The fundamental disconnect which is revealed highlights the challenges that the Theosophical perspective faces. / Religious Studies & Arabic / M. A. (Religious Studies)

The Secret Doctrine is the magnum opus of H.P. Blavatsky and one of the foundation texts of the Theosophical Society. It represents her attempt to appropriate authority in a wide variety of fields, including, science, religion, and philosophy. This study examines H.P. Blavatsky’s engagement with Ancient Egypt in relation to two specific themes, the constitution of the individual and the afterlife, as they are portrayed in this work. It locates Theosophy in its historical context, the late nineteenth century, in relation to various fields of knowledge. It reviews the sources that H.P. Blavatsky drew on in her work and discusses the various interpretive techniques she employed to insert Theosophical content into various world religions. Finally, it contrasts the Theosophical presentation of Ancient Egypt in The Secret Doctrine with that of mainstream modern Egyptology. The fundamental disconnect which is revealed highlights the challenges that the Theosophical perspective faces. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M. A. (Religious Studies)

The modern world is experiencing a spiritual and moral cns1s. Associated with this, Christian spirituality and ethics have become separated in the life of the individual Christian and the community of the church. The Christian understanding of human beings and the integrated nature of spirituality and ethics provides a solution to this crisis. Christian spirituality and morality both originate in the character and purposes of God as revealed in the biblical record. The value and effects of the integral relationship between spirituality and morality can be traced throughout scripture and the history of the church. The. encounter and relationship with God, in Jesus Christ and through the presence and power of God's Spirit, transforms the disciple of Christ, which means that spirituality is the basic framework and motivation for morality. Integrated spiritual and moral formation creates moral character and moral communities which enable believers to act with love and justice. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Christian Spirituality)

This research pursues the use of the Bible in counseling. The focus is to identify the different theological paradigms in which the Bible is used and the different ways that counsellors make use of the Bible in therapy. It also pursues the experiences that the clients had of such counsellors in the use of the Bible. Therapists and clients from different theological backgrounds partake in this study. An overview is given of the shift that is taking place from a modern to a postmodern approach about reality, truth, and knowledge and the effect there of on the use of the Bible in therapy. The aim of the research is to explore if an evangelical christian in a postmodern context can make use of the Bible as the inspired word of God. The implication of this can be profound for pastoral therapy. A narrative paradigm is adopted to dicuss the discourses that evolved from the research. / Practical Theology / M.Th. (Pastoral Therapy)

The aim of this study is to address the proposition that the spirituality of L'Arche has a great deal of potential to offer people with learning disabilities outside its own community setting. For chaplains who have the task of seeking to nurture and develop the spiritual lives of people with learning disabilities in schools, there exists the opportunity to draw out the fundamental characteristics of the spirituality of L'Arche and incorporate these into their own formation programs. The opportunity to be creative and imaginative in developing formation programs comes from within the context of legislation which requires schools to meet the spiritual needs of the children in their care. / Christian Spirituality / M. Th. (Christian Spirituality)

Text in German / Die vorliegende Forschungsarbeit beschäftigt sich mit der erlebnisorientierten Ausrichtung des geistlichen Lebensstils als Herausforderung für den Gemeindeaufbau in der Postmoderne. Die zunehmende Erlebnisorientierung der postmodernen Gesellschaft hat auch vor den Türen der Glaubensgemeinschaften in Deutschland und in der Schweiz nicht Halt gemacht. Die Folgen fordern von den Verantwortlichen der Gemeinden und Kirchen neue Überlegungen im Hinblick auf die bisherige Gemeindeaufbaupraxis. In diesem Prozess fällt auf, dass in Deutschland und in der Schweiz vor allem die Impulse der Church Growth Movement (CGM), insbesondere das Gemeindemodell der Willow Creek Community Church (WCCC) und der Saddleback Valley Community Church (SVCC), große Aufmerksamkeit erlangt haben. Einerseits werden die Gemeindemodelle vielerorts mit Begeisterung nachgeahmt, andererseits werden sie aber unter anderem wegen ihres Verhältnisses zur Erlebnisorientierung und wegen ihres Umgangs damit stark kritisiert. In der vorliegenden Forschungsarbeit wurden deshalb die Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede bezüglich der erlebnisorientierten Ausrichtung des geistlichen Lebensstils der Gläubigen in den Partnergemeinden der Willow Creek Community Church und in den Nichtpartnergemeinden empirisch untersucht. Außerdem wurde geprüft, inwiefern soziostrukturelle Faktoren, insbesondere das Gemeindeumfeld, zur Generierung des erlebnisorientierten geistlichen Lebensstil beitragen und, inwiefern eine Wechselwirkung zwischen den Bestandteilen des geistlichen Lebensstils vorhanden ist. Die Ergebnisse der Forschungsarbeit ermöglichen eine empirisch-oikodomische Beurteilung der Gemeindeaufbaumodelle der CGM und die Entwicklung einer Vorgehensweise im Gemeindeaufbau in der Postmoderne, wodurch auf die zunehmende Erlebnisorientierung der Gesellschaft als Herausforderung in der Gemeindeaufbaupraxis entsprechend reagiert werden kann. The present research investigates the justification of an experience-orientated alignment of a spiritual lifestyle as a challenge for churchbuilding in postmodernity. The increasing experience-orientated behaviour in post-modern society did not stop at the gates of the churches in Germany and Switzerland. The results require, from those persons responsible in the congregations and churches, new deliberation and reflection with regard to the present practice of the promotion and development of church growth. When one looks at this process, it becomes apparent, that above all the stimuli from the Church Growth Movement (CGM), especially the church models of the Willow Creek Community Church (WCCC) and the Saddleback Valley Community Church (SVCC) gained huge attention in Germany and Switzerland. On the one hand the church models are emulated with great enthusiasm, on the other hand they are strongly criticised for their relationship with and handling of experience-orientated behaviour. The present research empirically examines and investigates the communalities and differences regarding the experience-orientated alignment of the spiritual lifestyle of the faithful believers from partner churches of the Willow Creek Community Church and non-partner churches. It was also examined and investigated to what degree socio-structural factors contributed to, particularly the congregational environment, with regards to the creation of the experience-orientated spiritual life style, and in how far an interaction exists between the various components of the spiritual lifestyle. The research findings facilitate an empirical-theological evaluation and assessment of the models of churchbuilding of the CGM and the development of an approach to churchbuilding in postmodernity. It is therefore possible to react to the increasing experience-orientation of the societal as a challenge in the churchbuilding. / Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Practical Theology)

The aim of this study is to address the proposition that the spirituality of L'Arche has a great deal of potential to offer people with learning disabilities outside its own community setting. For chaplains who have the task of seeking to nurture and develop the spiritual lives of people with learning disabilities in schools, there exists the opportunity to draw out the fundamental characteristics of the spirituality of L'Arche and incorporate these into their own formation programs. The opportunity to be creative and imaginative in developing formation programs comes from within the context of legislation which requires schools to meet the spiritual needs of the children in their care. / Christian Spirituality / M. Th. (Christian Spirituality)