M.A.

The presented Master theses deals with the issues related to the existence and activities of the Non-Catholics and the Non-Christians in the 16th Century Italy. Using the comparative approach, it studies the spreading of the ideas of Reformation and their reception by the local population. It deals also with the social structure of the sympathizers of the Non-Catholical confessions. In the case of Non-Christians it deals mainly with the change of the attitude towards them in the selected time period. For the comparation was chosen the majority of important Italian States of the selected period - Tuscany, The Republic of Genoa, The Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily, The Duchy of Milan, The Duchy of Savoy, The Republic of Venice and the Papal state. On the bases of the chosen comparative approach and the study of relevant historical sources and specialised literature, this Master theses provides both the analysis of the common features of the activity of the Non-Catholics and the Non-Christians in the studied area, as the regional differences. Keywords: Heresy, Non-Catholics, Italy, 16th Century, Non-Christians

The question this paper attempts to answer is: “Does God base his blessings to church members solely on giving”. The research investigated prosperity gospel from a missiological perspective, a gospel that promises material wealth, health and happiness to faithful Christians who sow “faithful seed to the ministers”. A Collection of literatures relating to the subject matter coupled with citations from interviewees was reviewed and analysed, in making judgment in answering the research question. To accomplish the objective of the study the biblical foundation of giving and prosperity were examined, the background, history and synonymous features to prosperity gospel were evaluated, coupled with the views of respondents. A comparison was made, and a conclusion was reached, based on the findings. Thus, grounded on the result obtained from the research the researcher attempts to establish that though God blesses humanity for obeying his command to give, it does not mean that giving is his prerequisite of blessing humankind. The claim that God wants everyone to be rich contradicts the Bible. For no one can instruct God on who to bless and curse, therefore the claim that man of Rhema can decree blessing on humankind per our giving power is unbiblical. / Dissertation (MA Theol)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted

This dissertation examines possible differences in media habits and tastes between Christians and non-Christians. The study utilizes data from singles Internet personal advertisements to determine whether or not Christians, especially those with high levels of religiosity or who may be part of the Christian Right, have different television viewing patterns. Three models were developed using multivariate data analysis and logistic regression to examine Christians' television viewing habits regarding reality shows, soap operas, and news. The first model looks at the viewing habits of Christians, the second model examines the viewing habits of Christians attending religious services at least monthly, and the third model analyzes the viewing habits of Christians attending religious services at least monthly and having conservative political views. No significant differences were found in viewing habits between Christians and non-Christians for any of the three models. Although the results of this study cannot be generalized to Christians as a whole, they suggest that Christians in this sample might have adopted secular practices with regard to their television viewing habits.

"The Mission of the Apostle Paul in Corinth and Its Historical Background". This thesis aims to present the figure of the Apostle Paul on the basis of biblical and historical reports are available. It describes his life, conversion and preaching Christianity on his mission trips, especially in Corinth. It deals with the life of people at the time and the arrangement of the ancient society. In particular, attention is focused on the historical aspect but also related missionary activities in Corinth. It pays attention to the context of his relationship to Judaism and other pagan cultures. Also included is a clear theological analysis of his letters to Corinth. The work is complemented by maps, archeological excavations from Corinth, showing the layout of the city and dwelling, where early Christians gathered. Attention is also paid to the Christian community in Corinth and everyday problems solved in the letters of the Apostle Paul.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that African American women had the lowest recorded number of suicide completions among all ethnic and gender groups in the United States. In addition, the number of suicides among African American women continued to soar without a clear reason or understanding of their lowest completion rates. Further research in the area of spirituality among African American women may be critical in understanding why African American women's rates of completed suicides are statistically lower than other ethnic groups and how to prevent future rate increases. A phenomenological framework was used to examine the thoughts and opinions of African American Christian women on whether or not religion plays a vital part during the contemplation phase of suicidal ideations and on their reasons for living. The study explored the low rates of suicide completions among African American women from a religious and spiritual perspective. Fifteen African American Christian women who had contemplated suicide were recruited via flyers posted at a local church campus. Participants were individually interviewed about their lived experiences during suicidal behaviors. After the interviews were transcribed, data were coded by assigning numbers to common themes and placing the common themes into categories. The results indicated that among the small sample of 15 participants, religion and spirituality are highly considered as being a protective factor against repeated suicidal behavior, followed by family relationships, when compared to other reasons for living. The least likely protective factor was financial status. The findings suggest that spirituality can be used as a preventative measure to lower the risk of suicide completions among African American Christian women.

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AbstractThere are only a few studies in Sweden concerning migrants who have converted from Islam to Christianity through Swedish churches and the integration of those converts into Swedish society. The present study therefore concerns the integration of converts and new Christians through congregations and religious community. The main purpose of the thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of how new Christians experience the process of integrating through community, and whether the religious/social community is helpful in promoting and facilitating the integration of new Christians into Swedish society.The study was conducted in two Persian churches and nonprofits, EFS Missionary Association, in the Stockholm region which offers a number of different religious and social activities for Christian Iranians. The study is based on an ethnographic methodological approach: interviews with four church pastors and leaders, participant observation and informal conversations. Drawing on the theoretical perspectives of Pierre Bourdieu – field, habitus and capital - the study analyzes how migration affects the individual, and how religious and social communities can compensate for the consequences of migration,destabilisations of networks, habitus or the embodied preferences. It also analyzes, to some extent, how these communities enrich converts’ lives with what they are missing due to theirmigrant experience.The work of integration by missionary groups aims to help immigrants become integrated into Swedish society. But that means, at first, a person becoming a part of the Christian family or being folded into the body of believers [the local church body] and building relationships within the fellowship of the church. This means a person assimilates religious by conversion, and being a part of the community as the way to unity and integration. The study shows how church staff and pastors engage in promoting integration and the employment of converts, and how they go about helping in this way. This happens, for instance, through Bible studies, church classes, counselling, social and cultural gatherings, and help with work.The study shows that missionaries and churches serve to integrate converts largely through religious and social communities, where converts are taken into the fellowship and led to an internal network. This network makes them more inclined to engage outside the church context. Religious and social community is also a place where a new Christian develops social and cultural competencies for future interactions and relationships within Swedish society. In addition, the study analyzes the convert's opportunities and challenges in this process, where the Swedish language, fears, anxiety, lack of motivation, and socializing across ethnic boundaries are considered significant challenges. A side effect of these challenges is disintegration or expanding differences and repulsion.

Kingdom center Sweden is a small-town Pentecostal community located in the Swedish province of Scania. What, on a surface level, distinguishes this community from other Christian communities in Sweden is that the congregation operates a cowboy-themed wilderness center. Religious communities that operate businesses is not in itself a novel occurrence; instead, it is the cowboy theme in particular that potentially alludes to a phenomenon, novel to a Swedish context, that is, cowboy Christianity. Thus, this essay centers on examining if and how the congregation can be understood as a representation of cowboy Christianity in Sweden. In addition to this, a theological reading is performed in order to further examine the roots of the congregation. The results of the examination suggest that Kingdom Center Sweden, outwardly, shares characteristics with other movements within the cowboy Christian milieu; this, based on images in the congregation’s e-book and on their YouTube accounts in which members of the congregation both dress in cowboy-themed clothes when appearing as a congregation, and to some extent has appropriated practices such as baptism in a horse through and wedding services on horseback – all of which has been previously connected to the cowboy Christian phenomena. Moreover, the information on their YouTube account and e-book brings out how the congregation promotes itself as existing within a cowboy Christian milieu, which consists of cowboy churches, rodeo ministries and profiles within the Christian cowboy community. However, the analysis of the theological material suggests that this, seemingly isolated case of Cowboy Christianity in Sweden, is not merely the result of cowboy Christianity mushrooming from the Great Plains to rural Scania. Instead, the examined material suggests that, theologically, the movement kept it ties with the prosperity theology associated with faith movements and the Swedish Word of Life. Thus, suggesting that after the congregation was excluded from the Swedish faith community, they appropriated the material culture and traits of the cowboy Christian phenomena. Hence, rooting the congregation in another contemporary offshoot of Christianity.