abstract: When consumers fail in their environmental, dieting, or budgeting goals, they may engage in a consumer confession about their goal-inconsistent behavior. This dissertation seeks to understand how confessions about consumer goal transgressions affect subsequent consumer motivation and behaviors. Results from a series of five experiments reveal that after reflecting about a past transgression, Catholics who confess (vs. do not confess) about the focal transgression are more motivated to engage in subsequent goal-consistent consumer behaviors. However, results reveal no such effects for Non-Catholics; Non-Catholics are equally motivated to engage in goal-consistent consumer behaviors regardless of whether or not they confessed. Catholics and Non-Catholics differ on the extent to which they believe that acts of penance are required to make amends and achieve forgiveness after confession. For Catholics, confessing motivates restorative, penance-like behaviors even in the consumer domain. Thus, when Catholics achieve forgiveness through the act of confession itself (vs. a traditional confession requiring penance), they reduce their need to engage in restorative consumer behaviors. Importantly, results find that confession (vs. reflecting only) does not provide a general self-regulatory boost to all participants, but rather that confession is motivating only for Catholics due to their beliefs about penance. Together, results suggest that for consumers with strong penance beliefs, confession can be an effective strategy for getting back on track with their consumption goals. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2015

This study focuses on the structure and process of forgiveness as experienced by individuals, from the East London and surrounding areas, who either suffered gross human rights violations or who are related to someone who suffered gross human rights violations during the Apartheid era. Those who participated in the study testified at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and expressed forgiveness towards the perpetrators of the violations. The aims of the study were to reveal: the participants' structure cif forgiveness, i.e. how they define forgiveness; the process of forgiveness, i.e. the changes that took place from the time of the violation up until the participants forgave the perpetrators: and, the relation. if any. between the participants' structure and process of forgiveness. It is argued that mainstream Psychology has neglected to study forgiveness because the subject matter is incompatible with the natural scientific method. For this reason, the study was approached from a hermeneutical paradigm. This was motivated by its ability to explicate the meaning and content of phenomena. Unstructured qualitative interviews were conducted with the participants. Data was analyzed using a multi-layered process of progressively deeper interpretation, employing a reading guide technique. Results indicated that authentic forgiveness is an unconditional commitment on the part of victims and survivors to relate positively towards the perpetrators. The relationship should include non-bitterness, non-vengeance, unconditional love and respect for their human rights. Another significant dimension of the structure of forgiveness is the fact that the desire for the truth is not abandoned although forgiveness has taken place. Forgiveness also does not take away the effects of the violation. This means that one does not forget although forgiveness has been granted. Results further indicate that the forgiveness process is highly complex, individualized and not instantaneous. The individuals have to deal with various intrapersonal conflicts and anxieties as a result of the violation, before forgiveness is explored as an option, and before they can finally forgive. Significant interrelations between the structure and process of forgiveness were also identified.

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2016-08-18T12:01:27Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivo total.pdf: 1965730 bytes, checksum: 5eccdd34ed0cdbe812b568f97e219c33 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-18T12:01:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivo total.pdf: 1965730 bytes, checksum: 5eccdd34ed0cdbe812b568f97e219c33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This master’s dissertation aims to know the relationship between marital forgiveness and human values, as well as verify the power of human values in predicting marital remission. Three studies were performed to achieve the aims. In Study 1, it was aimed to adapt and know evidences of construct validity of the MOFS on the Brazilian context; for this study, a sample composed by 205 people, married or in stable union, from Brazilian state of Paraiba (mean age = 35.8; 59% female). These people answered to MOFS and sociodemographic questions. An analysis of principal components (varimax rotation) showed a structure with two dimensions that explain together for 52.6% of total variance, with Cronbach alphas of 0.65 (benevolence) and 0.80 (avoidance-resentment), which are acceptable psychometric parameters. In Study 2, it was sought to confirm the two- dimensional structure. For this, 225 people attended, married or in stable union, with 41.3% from Brazilian state of Piaui and 58.7% from Brazilian state of Paraiba (mean age = 36.94; 70.7% female). By means of Confirmatory Factorial Analysis, it was ratified the bidimensionality of MOFS [χ²/gl = 2.45; GFI = 0.93; CFI = 0.90; RMSEA (IC90%) = 0.08 (0.05 - 0.10)]. In the Study 3, in which 313 people participated, married or in stable union, from Brazilian state of Piaui (30%) and from Brazilian state of Paraiba (70%), it was aimed to know the power of human values in predicting marital forgiveness. These people answered the following instruments: MOFS, Basic Values Questionnaire (BVQ) and a Sociodemographic Questionnaire. In order to achieve the objective outlined two Multiple Linear Regression Analysis (stepwise method) were performed. In the first analysis, predictor variables were assumed as valorative subfunctions, and was noticed that the interactive subfunction [F (1; 303) = 15.74, p < 0.001] explains 5% of the total variance of marital forgiveness, contributing directly (Standardized β = 0.22) to explain the granting of forgiveness between couples, showing statistically significant indicators (t > 1.96). In the second analysis, kinds of orientation were fixed as explanatory variables. This analysis revealed that the social values [F (1; 303) = 9.55, p <0.001] were included in the model explaining 3% of marital remission, which is a statistically significant explanation (t > 1.96) and direct order (Standardized β = 0.17). Considering these results, it is concluded that individuals guided by social values are more prone to grant forgiveness in marriage. It is entrusted that this study has provided further evidences of the power of human values in explaining socio-psychological constructs, such as the marital forgiveness, in addition to contributing to the literature on forgiveness, with the adaptation of a scale to measure this construct within marital relationships. / A presente dissertação tem como objetivo conhecer a relação entre o perdão conjugal e os valores humanos, bem como verificar o poder deste último em predizer a remissão marital. Para alcançar os objetivos foram realizados três estudos. No Estudo 1, objetivou-se adaptar e conhecer as evidências de validade de construto da MOFS no contexto brasileiro; para isso contou-se com uma amostra 205 pessoas, casadas ou em união estável, da Paraíba (idade média = 35,8; 59% do sexo feminino). Estes responderam a MOFS e perguntas sociodemográficas. Uma análise de componentes principais (rotação varimax) mostrou uma estrutura com duas dimensões, que explicaram conjuntamente 52,6% da variância total, apresentando alfas de Cronbach de 0,65 (benevolência) e 0,80 (evitação-ressentimento), sendo estes parâmetros psicométricos aceitáveis. No Estudo 2, buscou-se confirmar a estrutura bidimensional. Participaram 225 pessoas, casadas ou em união estável, sendo 41,3% do estado do Piauí e 58,7% do estado da Paraíba (idade média = 36,94; 70,7% do sexo feminino). Por meio da Análise Fatorial Confirmatória ratificou-se a bidimensionalidade da MOFS [χ²/gl = 2,45; GFI = 0,93; CFI = 0,90; RMSEA (IC90%) = 0,08 (0,05 – 0,10)]. No Estudo 3, visou-se conhecer o poder dos valores humanos em predizer o perdão conjugal. Para isso, contou-se com 313 pessoas, casadas ou em união estável, do estado do Piauí (30%) e da Paraíba (70%) - idade média = 35,00; 67,7 do sexo feminino. Estes responderam os seguintes instrumentos: MOFS, Questionário de Valores Básicos e um Questionário Sociodemográfico. Visando alcançar o objetivo traçado, foram executadas duas Análises de Regressão Linear Múltipla (método Stepwise). Na primeira, houve, como variáveis previsoras, as subfunções valorativas. Nesta ,constatou-se que a subfunção interativa [F (1; 303) = 15,74, p < 0,001] explica 5% da variância total do perdão conjugal. Contribuindo de forma direta (β Padronizado = 0,22) na explicação da concessão do perdão entre casais, exibindo indicadores estatisticamente significativos (t > 1,96). Na segunda, fixaram-se como variáveis explicativas os tipos de orientação. Esta revelou que os valores sociais [F (1; 303) = 9,55, p < 0,001] são responsáveis por explicar 3% do remissão matrimonial, tratando-se de uma explicação estatisticamente significativa (t > 1,96) e de ordem direta (β Padronizado = 0,17). Diante destes resultados, conclui-se que os indivíduos guiados por valores sociais encontram-se mais predispostos a conceder o perdão dentro do casamento. Confia-se que o presente trabalho tenha fornecido mais evidências sobre o poder dos valores humanos em explicar construtos sociopsicológicos, a exemplo do perdão conjugal. Além de contribuir para a literatura sobre perdão, com a adaptação de uma medida que o mensure dentro dos relacionamentos matrimoniais.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:16:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1207767 bytes, checksum: 1ef058802c5807fe7c520abaf0b78c40 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The moral development of forgiveness has been studied since the 1980s by Robert Enright. This author considers forgiveness a moral virtue that develops within the justice, and that depends on it to occur. Although the literature review indicates that justice and forgiveness are positively associated, and that forgiveness allows the emergence of a more compassionate justice, there are no empirical studies that address the relationship between reasonings of justice and forgiveness, especially in the approach of Psychology of Moral Development. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to examine empirically the relationship between the moral reasoning of justice and the moral reasoning of forgiveness. As main theoretical orientation was used the stage model of forgiveness reasoning developed by Enright, Santos and Al-Mabuk (1989), which shows six stages of forgiveness reasoning related to the stages of moral reasoning of justice given in Kohlberg's theory (1984). The study included 155 students, divided into three age groups: pre-adolescents (10 to 14 years), adolescents (15 to 19 years) and young adults (20 to 24 years). As a measure, a questionnaire composed of two moral dilemmas was used, the first to identify the stages of dominant reasoning of justice and the second aimed to identify the dominant stages of forgiveness reasoning. The results showed that the use of stage 4 of justice was the prevailing thought in the three age groups. With regard to forgiveness, pre-adolescents had higher frequency in stage 3, while adolescents and young adults showed mostly stage 4 of thought. It was proven by means of a Wilcoxon test, a relationship of necessity between the reasoning of justice and forgiveness where justice precedes forgiveness in development. In this sense, the stages of forgiveness were always less than or equal to the stages of justice in the participant s thinking. Thus, the results of this study provide important contributions to the field of study on forgiveness and justice in Psychology. The proof that these two thoughts are associated has implications for future research, especially for studies in moral education with a view to development. However, an unbalanced relationship was indentified, where the stages of justice were higher than the stages of forgiveness. It is necessary to investigate the causes of this imbalance and develop strategies to reverse this process. / O desenvolvimento do pensamento moral do perdão tem sido estudado desde a década de 1980 por Robert Enright. Este autor considera o perdão uma virtude moral que se desenvolve dentro da justiça, e que depende dela para ocorrer. Apesar de a revisão da literatura indicar que justiça e perdão são positivamente associados, e que o perdão permite o surgimento de uma justiça com mais compaixão, não existem estudos empíricos que abordem a relação entre os pensamentos de justiça e de perdão, especialmente dentro da abordagem da Psicologia do Desenvolvimento Moral. Nesse sentido, o objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar empiricamente a relação entre o pensamento moral da justiça e o pensamento moral do perdão. Como orientação teórica principal, foi utilizado o modelo de estágios de pensamento de perdão desenvolvido por Enright, Santos e Al-Mabuk (1989), que apresenta seis estágios de raciocínio do perdão, relacionados aos estágios de pensamento de justiça indicados na teoria de Kohlberg (1984). Participaram do estudo 155 estudantes, divididos em três grupos de idade: pré-adolescentes (10 a 14 anos), adolescentes (15 a 19 anos) e jovens adultos (20 a 24 anos). Como instrumento, foi utilizado um questionário composto por dois dilemas morais, o primeiro voltado para identificar os estágios dominantes de pensamento de justiça e o segundo voltado para identificar os estágios dominantes de perdão. Os resultados mostraram que o uso do estágio 4 de justiça foi predominante no pensamento dos três grupos de idade. No que se refere ao perdão, os pré-adolescentes apresentaram maior frequência no estágio 3, enquanto os adolescentes e jovens adultos apresentaram majoritariamente o estágio 4 de pensamento. Foi comprovada, por meio de um teste de Wilcoxon, uma relação de necessidade entre os pensamentos de justiça e de perdão, onde a justiça antecede o perdão no desenvolvimento. Nesse sentido, os estágios de perdão foram sempre iguais ou inferiores aos estágios de justiça no pensamento dos participantes. Assim, os resultados do presente estudo trazem contribuições importantes para a área de estudo sobre o perdão e a justiça na Psicologia. A comprovação de que esses dois pensamentos são associados traz implicações para pesquisas futuras, especialmente para os estudos em educação moral com vistas ao desenvolvimento. No entanto, identificou-se uma relação desequilibrada, onde os estágios de justiça são mais elevados do que os estágios de perdão. Faz-se necessário investigar as causas desse desequilíbrio e desenvolver estratégias para reverter esse processo.

The capacity to forgive from a psychological perspective.A scale developed to assess the capacity to forgive, administered to 800 adults (50% males and 50% females) from the general population of the city of Buenos Aires and its suburban area (N: 8(0), is presented. Preliminary research data related to gender, age and religiosity are analyzed, as well as different psychological and philosophical conceptions. We found that women show a higher capacity to forgive than men and that forgiveness is associated to the presence of beliefs about it. According to our results, 88% of men and 95% of women consider that it is important to be able to forgive. / Se presenta una escala diseñada para la evaluación de la Capacidad de Perdonar, administrada a una muestra de 800 adultos (50% varones y 50% mujeres) de la población general de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires y el Conurbano Bonaerense. Se analizan datos preliminares relacionados con las variables sexo, edad y nivel de religiosidad, así como diferentes concepciones teóricas -psicológicas y filosóficas- sobre el concepto perdólI. Se encontró que las mujeres son más perdonadoras que los varones y que el perdonar aparece asociado a la presencia de creencias acerca del mismo. El 88% de los varones y el 95% de las mujeres entrevistadas consideran importante ser capaces de perdonar.

O foco analítico deste trabalho se dá sob o olhar de um psicólogo inserido num programa de formação de facilitadores em práticas restaurativas. Diferentemente de formações dessa natureza e finalidade, a formação das Escolas de Perdão e Reconciliação convidam o educando a cumprir um deslocamento subjetivo por meio da prática do perdão, apoiando-o através de um espaço grupal acolhedor, catártico, linguageiro e reflexivo. Compreendendo o humano em suas quatro dimensões (comportamental, emocional, cognitiva e espiritual), as ESPERE provocam um espaço de tensão política ao aproximar a teoria e a prática do perdão à experiência de justiça. Com base na Educação Popular, a pedagogia do curso investe esforços no autocontrole e no apoio das relações humanas através de atividades plásticas, jogos e dinâmicas de grupo, fazendo com que as pessoas tenham, ao final, podido restaurar-se de um episódio violento de seu passado, experimentar essa nova relação com ele e querer multiplicála em sua prática como facilitador. Com a ajuda do outro, o participante do curso ainda promove a desconstrução de antigas verdades, reflete sobre as relações de poder dos conflitos, questiona-se quanto ao papel da vingança e da punição na sociedade e alfabetiza-se emocionalmente para se comunicar de modo assertivo. Isto cumpre consolidar práticas restaurativas informais para que possam seguir em direção à formalidade. Os capítulos do trabalho foram divididos da seguinte maneira: (1º) é feita uma explanação sobre as práticas restaurativas, seus valores e princípios, para levarmos em conta a hipótese destas estarem vinculadas a dois polos fundamentais que se apoiam: a exigência de uma repactuação social conseguida na radicalização do protagonismo dos envolvidos; (2º) fazemos um levantamento histórico-institucional do Centro de Direitos Humanos e Educação Popular de Campo Limpo (CDHEP) para que possamos situar as ESPERE dentro de um projeto de sociedade que a ONG empreende até os dias de hoje; (3º) abordamos a chegada das ESPERE no CDHEP como ponte fundamental para possibilitar a construção de uma Justiça Restaurativa independente e popular; (4º) reservado à descrição da formação das ESPERE e apontamentos para reflexão; (5º) são colocadas algumas contribuições e reflexões que articulam nossas experiências como educadores, retomando a hipótese e os apontamentos a fim de caracterizarmos as mudanças fundamentais da Justiça Restaurativa no que tange seus resultados, pressupostos, entendimentos e ética / This research is based on the outlook of a psychologist in a training program for facilitators in restorative practices. As opposed to other programs of this nature, the training programs of the Schools of Forgiveness and Reconciliation invite the students to create a subjective dislocation through the practice of forgiveness, supporting them in a welcoming, cathartic and reflexive group context. Understanding the human being in its fours dimensions (behavioral, emotional, cognitive and spiritual), the ESPERE schools create a context of political tension by uniting the theory and practice of forgiveness to the experience of justice. With its basis in Popular Education, the trainings theory is based in self-control and the support in human relations through artistic activities, games and group dynamics, in such a way that permits the participants to, in the end, restore themselves regarding a violent episode from their past, experience a new relationship with it, and pass this on as a facilitator. With the help of others, the participants achieve deconstruction of old truths, reflect about the power relations in conflicts, question themselves about the role of revenge and punition in society and build an emotional basis to communicate assertively. This consolidates informal restorative practices, in order to later move on to a formal approach. The chapters of this dissertation were divided as follows: (1st) an explanation about restorative practices, their values and principles, considering that these practices are linked to two main ideas, which support one another: a demand for social repactuation achieved by the radicalization of the empowerment of those involved. (2nd) The second chapter is a historical account of the institution Center for Human Rights and Popular Education of Campo Limpo (CDHEP), placing the ESPERE in the context of a project of society that the NGO continues to carry out to this day; (3rd) The third chapter addresses the arrival of the ESPERE at CDHEP as a fundamental bridge for the construction of an independent and popular Restorative Justice; (4th) The forth chapter is reserved for the description of the ESPERE training program and notes for reflection; (5th) In the fifth chapter contributions and reflections are put forth, which articulate our experiences as educators, and resume our hypothesis characterizing the main changes in Restorative Justice regarding results, assumptions, understandings and ethics

Certaines fictions romanesques du XIXe siècle se présentent sous la forme de récits rétrospectifs faits à la première personne par un narrateur qui propose une relecture de son passé. Ce retour en arrière peut prendre la forme d’une confession. Dans quel but la confession investit-elle le roman ? Pourquoi la confession passe-t-elle par l’intermédiaire d’une fiction ? L’analyse met en évidence l’émergence d’un nouveau genre dans l’histoire littéraire – le « roman confession » –, genre historiquement daté qui a ses propres règles, ses propres critères, sa propre logique, et qui se situe au confluent de deux genres singuliers : l’autobiographie et le roman. / In literature, confessions can be inserted into novels. Confessions belong to the autobiographical genre and can show faults, sins and guilty behavior whereas novels belong to the fictional genre. Our work analyses the extent to which a new genre appears in the literary history, and most particularly in the 19th century. Indeed, the “novel confession” is a genre of the 19th century, with its own characteristics

Apartheid may have ended formally in 1994, but its legacy endures in many aspects of South African society and in the lives of individual South Africans. One of the difficulties which post-apartheid South Africa has had to contend with is the question of justice for the victims of atrocities committed during the apartheid years, and the possibility of redress. The Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) was established in order to formalise a process whereby victims could tell their stories and have their pain recognized, and to grant perpetrators an opportunity to provide information and acknowledge their wrongdoing. This thesis explores the possibility of forgiveness in relation to the complexities of guilt and victimhood. Forgiveness is posited as a powerful and viable response, which has the potential to free both the perpetrators and the injured parties from the stranglehold of the past. The thesis draws on studies which approach the question of forgiveness from a moral and philosophical perspective. These include the work of historians and theorists such as Simon Wiesenthal, Hannah Arendt, Jacques Derrida and Paul Ricoeur. It then goes on to consider the ways in which a number of seminal post-apartheid texts, works of fiction and non-fiction, have dealt with forgiveness and its potential to heal. One chapter focuses specifically on texts which deal with the TRC and its aftermath, especially Antjie Krog’s Country of My Skull (1999) and Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela’s A Human Being Died That Night (2003). This is followed by an analysis of three important novels which foreground and problematise the issue of forgiveness: J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999), Marlene van Niekerk’s Agaat (published initially in Afrikaans in 2004, and then in an English translation in 2006), and Mark Behr’s Kings of the Water (2009). Nelson Mandela will not go down in history for the 27 consecutive years that he lived imprisoned without ever renouncing his ideas. He will go down in history because he was able to draw from his soul all the poison accumulated by such an unjust punishment. He will be remembered for his generosity and for his wisdom at the time of an already uncontainable victory, when he knew how to lead so brilliantly his self-sacrificing and heroic people, aware that the new South Africa would never be built on foundations of hatred and revenge. / Thesis (DLitt)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / English / unrestricted

At the beginning of the 21st century, the multidimensional nature of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) pandemic makes it one of humanity’s greatest challenges. Although the HIV/AIDS pandemic has an impact not only on health but on all aspects of the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS, forgiveness has not received much attention in the HIV/AIDS context. Despite the fact that forgiveness has been praised for centuries by most societies and cultures as valuable of adoption, using the word does not necessarily imply that people understand its meaning. The aim of this study is to describe the conceptualisation, meaning for and use of forgiveness of the research participants as people living with HIV. The study draws on social constructionism as a research method. Social constructionism implies that personal constructions regarding forgiveness and unforgiveness are informed by the prevailing social discourses related to forgiveness and HIV/AIDS. For that reason, there are continuous references to social discourses concerning forgiveness and HIV/AIDS that may inform these conceptualisations. Furthermore, the research report is presented as a conversation between the research participants, the researcher, discourses and literature concerning forgiveness and HIV/AIDS. Therefore, the readers are continuously invited to take part in the conversation. So, the study also aims to provide readers with an opportunity to draw on their existing constructions regarding forgiveness and unforgiveness, and to co-create their own constructions regarding the issues under discussion. These descriptions and co-constructions emerged against the backdrop of South African society. The findings of the study are presented as “new constructions”. These new constructions refer to the conversations that developed between the research participants and the researcher, and the conversations that they elicited with the literature. Finally, the researcher evaluates the legitimacy of the study, makes recommendations for further research, and reflects on how she was influenced by the study. / Dissertation (MA (Counselling Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / MA / unrestricted

In this dissertation, the researcher discusses the topic: “The Communicative Power of Sacrifices: A Predominantly South African Perspective with Special Reference to the Epistle to the Hebrews”. It investigates blood sacrifices among Xhosa people, and includes some Zulu and Tsonga thoughts, as well as a few examples from elsewhere in Africa. The research findings support the fact that both animal and human blood sacrifices are still performed today. The comparison between biblical blood sacrificial rituals and African ones reveals striking similarities and a few differences. The existence of such similarities poses a pertinent question: to determine whether or not African traditional religious sacrifices, like biblical sacrifices, could also be acknowledged as originating from God. This seems indeed difficult, because such an affirmation would suggest that God has revealed Himself through African traditional religious sacrificial rituals, and would therefore call into question the unique and exclusive biblical claim to revelation. Neyrey’s (2005) model of benefactor-client, benefactor-patron has been instrumental in illustrating the mutually influential communication and exchange existing between deities and their worshippers. In order to obtain benefactions from superiors, subordinates have to use inducement and influence - inducement has to do with all sorts of gifts and services, while influence refers to reasons for doing what one does, hence requests, petitions and the like. In religious terms, inducement is called sacrifice, and influence is called prayer. The intensification of the materialisation of anticipated benefits by worshippers entails the multiplication of interactive contact through blood sacrificial rituals, as well as the strengthening of ties between deities and their worshippers, creating a seemingly unbreakable bond. The results of this study’s qualitative, empirical research in Gauteng, Kwazulu-Natal and North West provinces have substantiated the above ideas. In the Epistle to the Hebrews, the communicative power of the blood sacrifice of Jesus provided worshippers with eternal salvation, forgiveness of sins and the removal of guilt feelings. Unlike Old Testament animal blood sacrifices, Jesus’ once and for all blood sacrifice has communicated powers for soteriological, psychological and sociological benefits. This superior power should be scholarly defended through amicable dialogue. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / New Testament Studies / unrestricted