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The purpose of this study is to promote research into and the development of a non-polemical Islamic conception of Jesus Christ. Before engaging the textual sources the thesis considers in some detail the historical context within which the Quranic discourse about Christ was formulated, and then some post-Quranic Christological disputes between Muslims and Christians. It also considers a broad range of Quranic data about Christ in order to identify certain primary themes in the Quran about him. Then three Quranic verses about Christ and his relationship with the Holy Spirit are analyzed through the interpretations of four classical exegetes. On the basis of their interpretations as well as the general Quranic discourse about Christ this thesis makes a limited number of positive assertions about Christ as well as suggests areas wherein further research on the specifically Islamic view of Christ can be developed.

Den 23 november 2017 beslutade kyrkomötet att anta en ny kyrkohandbok för Svenska kyrkan. Vägen till beslutet har varit allt annat än rak, samtidigt som den återspeglat ett djupt engagemang, både inom och utanför Svenska kyrkan. De remissenkäter som skickades ut för att undersöka och utvärdera kyrkohandboksförslaget 2016 (KHF 2016) bestod till största delen av fasta frågor med fasta svarsalternativ. Remissenkätfrågorna kritiserades för att alltför starkt fokusera på brukarmöjlighet, inte innehållsmässiga synpunkter, varpå många spontanremisser skickades in. I dessa spontanremisser finns en ofantlig källa till varför kritiken mot kyrkohandboksförslaget varit så stor.   En central utgångspunkt i framarbetandet med en ny kyrkohandbok har varit ett inklusivt språk. I spontanremisserna har inte något uttalat motstånd gentemot intentionen gått att finna, däremot pregnant kritik gentemot resultatet. Områdena som undersökts är det inklusiva språkets påverkan på teologi, liturgi och liturgisk musik, ekumenik, de många valmöjligheterna, pastoralteologisk funktion samt processen. Vidare har Officiella remissammanställningen (OR) studerats utifrån ett komparativt perspektiv. Hur återges spontanremissernas innehållsmässiga synpunkter? Masteruppsatsen är en deskriptiv innehållsanalytisk granskning och en kvalitativ metod med kvantitativa inslag, utifrån en hermeneutisk forskningsansats har använts.   Det inklusiva språket har påtalats gått från medel till självändamål. Konsekvensen anses ha blivit en betydande teologisk problematik (teologiska brister, teologisk otydlighet, teologisk inkonsekvens och/eller felaktig teologi i strid med Svenska kyrkans egna bekännelser) och språklig stilistisk kvalitetsförlust. Till de teologiska invändningarna hör bl.a. att KHF 2016 anses medfört betydande konsekvens för gudsbilden, människobilden och frälsningsgärningen. Detta riskerar även få pastoralteologisk och ekumenisk konsekvens (distansering från världskyrkor i allmänkyrklig tradition, och brott mot ekumeniska överenskommelser, främst BEM). Vissa gånger upplevs ändringarna i vedertagna texter och i nytillkomna vara mer av ideologisk än teologisk karaktär. Vidare påtalas obalans mellan förnyelse och bevarande, för stora språkliga förenklingar mm.   När det kom till liturgi, återfanns i spontanremisserna synpunkter på att liturgi och liturgisk musik bör ses som ett förkunnande, ett lärande och en levande tillbedjan. Om inte, riskerar dess relevans gå förlorad. Den bör inte ses som en lokal angelägenhet, inte heller utgå från vad som är inne just nu. Liturgi bör betraktas som ett kulturarv vilket förenar Svenska kyrkans med den världsvida kyrkan i allmänkyrklig tradition och med kyrko- och liturgihistorien.  KHF 2016 påtalas bli en distansering från detta. Kyrkoåret levandegör teologin, men dess gestaltning riskerar nu gå förlorad, något som även haft en pedagogisk funktion för den enskilde gudstjänstdeltagaren.   Av de granskade källmaterialet finns inget som tyder på något övergripande motstånd till en kyrkohandbok med flera valmöjlighetsalternativ. Däremot finns återkommande synpunkter på att valmöjligheterna i KHF 2016 dels är för många till antalet, dels för innehållsmässigt distinkta.  Obalans mellan lokalt, regionalt och nationellt påtalas, vilket bl.a. riskerar kunna få allvarliga konsekvenser gällande delaktighet och igenkännande för den enskilde gudstjänstfirararen. Frågor gällande vad som framöver kommer bli Svenska kyrkans framtida gemensamma gudstjänst ställs tillsammans med oro för brott med den världsvida kyrkan. Detta riskerar i sin tur kunna få pastorala konsekvenser, såsom negativ påverkan på delaktighetsupplevelse hos gudstjänstfirande.   Återkommande synpunkter i spontanremisserna är att grundorsaken ses härröra ur processen, en process vilken beskrivs som bristfällig och avsaknad av transparens. Den påtalas ha präglats av ovilja att ta till sig kritik, avsaknad av riktlinjer och expertkompetens, orimligt tidsperspektiv samt kritik mot remissenkätfrågeformuleringarna vilka ämnade undersöka möjlig brukbarhet, inte innehållsmässiga synpunkter.   När det kommer till hur spontanremissernas synpunkter gestaltas i OR är i de fall en komparativ studie gått att genomföra, innehållsmässigt överensstämmande. Däremot är återgivelserna överlag ytterst minimerade och utspridda i OR, varpå många av de detaljrika innehållsmässiga synpunkterna i spontanremisserna, på en rad olika områden när det gäller process och innehåll, förblivit nästintill osynliga. / On the 23rd of November 2017 the Church of Sweden´s General Synod adopted the new Church Handbook (Kyrkohandbok för Svenska kyrkan). The road towards the decision has been sided with criticism, but has at the same time revealed a deep commitment, both inside and outside the Church of Sweden. The Official Referral questionnaire that was sent out by the Church of Sweden (kyrkokansliet) to review and evaluate the proposal of the new forthcoming Church Handbook, mainly contained firm questions with firm answer alternatives. The questionnaire has been heavily criticized due to its focus on possibilities to use, not reflections on the proposal itself. Due to this, many Free Responses (spontanremisser) were sent in. They are a tremendous source of information to investigate why the new Worship Book has been so strongly criticized. This Master’s thesis aim to review and interpret The Free Responses’ reflections on the proposal of the new Church Handbook for the Church of Sweden (Kyrkohandboksförslaget 2016). Of importance in the production of the new Church Handbook was to try to find an inclusive language to the liturgical texts. The main areas which have been examined are the inclusive language itself, its effect on theology, liturgical tradition, musical theology, ecumenism and its many options. The method used is mainly qualitative and the thesis could be described as a descriptive text analysis of The Free responses. The research also aims to review The Official Referral (Officiella remissamanställningen) from a comparative perspective: How does The Free Responses reflections replicate in the official document? The intention itself, trying to achieve a more inclusive language, the research has not been able to find any opposing on, only on the result. The inclusive language has according to The Free Responses resulted in negative consequences on theology, liturgy, ecumenism, language quality, and the many options (which aimed to free choices) are considered far too many and far to distinct. This may result in negative consequences for the worshipers, such as loss of feeling of participation. The main underlying cause to the criticism is considered to derive from the process, a process described as inadequate due to lack of transparency.   When it comes to the comparative study between The Free Answers and The Official Referral it was recovered that the comments and reflecting in The Free Responses were vague and simplified. For someone who only take part of the The Official Referral will get an overall view that the positive and negative opinions are more or less of the same quantity which does not properly reflect reality.

This thesis’ aim is to examine the central and considerable Christian symbols in the tale ofNarnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis. The method used in this thesishas been as a content analysis of the book from 1950 and the two films from 1988 and 2005,which has been created from the books’ content. In order to identify the Christian symbolismin the content analysis, Propp’s structuralism has been applied to explore the differences andthe development of the story in the material and the structure of the tale’s storyline andcharacters. Based on that all stories have the same characters and storyline through all theages. The assumption has been proven by applying both the theory to the study and with helpfrom the complementary studies with similar perceptions in their work, which will bepresented throughout the whole thesis.

This thesis aims to study how Sam Harris has reinterpreted the meaning of some central buddhist concepts to fit within the contemporary discourse of secular mindfulness. To do this, the discourse analytical method of Laclau and Mouffe has been used. The studied material is As it is volume 1 and 2 by the dzogchen-lama Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, and the book and app Waking Up by Sam Harris. The study analyses and compares the use of three concepts, three nodal points, in the discourses of traditional dzogchen and contemporary secular mindfulness: ”buddhism”, ”teacher” and ”enlightenment”. A general comparison is also made between the different world views that appear in As it is and Waking Up, respectively. The major findings of the study are: In the dzogchen-discourse of Tulku Urgyen ”buddhism” is seen as a religious creed, with a multifaceted cosmology in which the Buddha is considered to have divine powers. In the secular mindfulness discourse of Sam Harris ”buddhism” is described as a testable proto- science, in which the Buddha is equated with a skilled psychologist. In the dzogchen-discourse of Tulku Urgyen a “teacher” gets his authority by referring to a line of teachers going back to the Buddha. The teacher is considered to have supernatural powers and the student is expected to show devotion. In the secular mindfulness discourse of Sam Harris a ”teacher” only needs to have practical expertise, and the student is supposed to question and test the teacher's statements. Briefly, this can be described as a change from a religious guru to a secular coach. In the dzogchen-discourse the concept of enlightenment is associated with salvation and described as the only way to escape new painful reincarnations. Enlightenment is also linked to compassion and considered an altruistic project. In the secular mindfulness discourse of Sam Harris the quest for enlightenment is described as an individualistic health project, aimed at increasing mental well-being, personal development and happiness. Keywords: Sam Harris, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, dzogchen, buddhism, secular mindfulness, enlightenment, discourse analysis.

The rise of spiritualism in the late nineteenth century raised new ways to perceive the dead. A new possibility to communicate with the deceased attributed novel characteristics to the human soul. Building upon this spiritualist discourse, the prominent theory-crafter of the Theosophical Society, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891), thought the spirit of the dead, which she differentiated from the soul, to be a separate but connected component of the physical body. As such, this component should be separable from the physical body before death. Blavatsky developed the theory into an ontology (theory of what there is), cosmogony (the origin of the universe), physiology (the constitution of the human body), and soteriology (a doctrine of salvation). The separation possible before death became known as astral projection and it was a way to liberate the ‘astral body’ from its physical sheath, enabling the individual to travel spatially and temporally. Astral projection was regarded the apex of magic and a highly valued goal, actively pursued. Unlike previous studies, this thesis aims to explain the phenomenon of astral projection, how it was perceived and constructed, from both an emic as well as etic perspective. Using discourse analysis, this thesis aims to explore and discuss how Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society diachronically constructed their understanding of the practice and the mechanisms enabling it. In addition, this thesis also aims to trace the evolution of astral projection in the Theosophical Society from its founding in 1875 to Blavatsky’s death in 1891 as well as what functions the practice filled. This is achieved in two sections, through three steps, split between the ‘early’ and the ‘later’ Theosophical Society; this thesis examines the physiology presented, followed by the second step of surveying the ontology represented, which lastly explores how these are used to explain the phenomenon of astral projection.