MAAS / Centre for African Studies / The letter to the Romans congregation played an important role in defining theologies and doctrines in the early Church history period. The Church fathers and early reformers read this letter and other epistles meticulously to understand Paul’s theology and mission. Martin Luther’s reading of this letter, in particular verses 4 and 8, has always been referred to as the culmination of Luther’s theology. Luther’s theological statements on the Law and Gospel discourse became central in this case. Faith debates and discussions are critical in most communities. This research aims to look at how local congregations read Romans 1:17 especially focusing on the Tumelo and Tshiamiso biblical expressions. The key questions are: Are local community readings the same as those of Luther and other biblical scholars? Are context-dynamics of local community biblical readers essential in determining their reading of Romans 1:17? These two questions form the basis for this research study. The Marapyane local Lutheran community will be used as the research site. The research study will take into consideration current theories and approaches of biblical interpretation especially the works of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal School of Theology Ujamaa Biblical Studies Project. Some of the theoretical views will include the works of Gerald West, Itumeleng Mosala and Justin Ukpong. Contextual Bible study methodologies and instruments will be used in understanding how local communities read issues of Tumelo and Tshiamiso in this case. / NRF

The thesis will present in the first part the biography and catechetical bibliography of the German catechetics Klemens Tilmann (1904-1984). In the second part I present detail of the Czech edition Tilmann's publications. I will focus mainly on topics presented on the content of his interpretations, experiences and recommendations. In the third part of this work will be done the comparison Tilmann's approaches with the actual church documents about catechesis and at the conclusion will be featured in works whose message is still relevant.

Thesis "The Christological, soteriological and relevant spiritual topics in the Dostoevsky Work The Brothers Karamazov" applies to the life and literary heritage of the Russian writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, especially to his master piece The Brothers Karamazov. The novel summarizes the writer's life ideas which have matured throughout life. In this work, the emphasis is primarily put on finding and describing christological and soteriological features contained in the novel demonstrating the author's inner conviction and faith in Jesus Christ. The thesis also points to some spiritual themes, which are crucial in the literary work, such as human suffering and questions of faith and human freedom. Keywords Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, christology, soteriology, spirituality, faith, freedom

130 English Abstract This diploma thesis deals with the issue of acquisition of property from an unauthorised person. Such a possibility deprives the owner of legal protection of his/her ownership rights in favour of protection of good faith of the acquirer, who thus can acquire ownership even though the transferor is a neither an owner nor authorised for any other reason to dispose with the property. The new Civil Code which entered into force on 1 January 2014 introduces new rules governing such situations, while differing significantly from the previous legislation. Legislation which was in effect until 1 January 2014 was inadequate, in particular due to dichotomy between Civil Code and Commercial Code. Another significant deficiency represented the lack of possibility of acquisition of immovable property registered in the cadastral register from an unauthorised person. Material publicity applied only to a limited extent and did not provide sufficient protection to persons who trusted that the rights recorded in the cadastral register also objectively existed. The diploma thesis is divided into six chapters and analyses the institute of acquisition of property from an unauthorised person in its broader context. The first chapter describes ownership right and manners of its acquisition as well as the...

The Sustainable Development Goals SDGs were adopted in 2015. The contribution of FBOs in their achievement is however, not properly recognised owing partly to the historical perception of FBOs as peripheral rather than core development actors. Using the case study of one FBO in Kenya, this study examined the relevance of FBOs’ development work to the SDGs. Using Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and a literature review for data collection, the study found that: FBOs possess a dual identity (faith and development). The faith identity gives them some comparative advantages over secular counterparts in engaging local faith communities; there was a direct link between the FBOs’ work and the SDGs. The case study organisation directly contributed to six of the 17 SDGs; the FBOs’ knowledge on SDGs and their engagement with SDG forums were found to be limited. The study recommends a renewed attention to FBOs work and more studies to increase evidence on the FBOs’ role and impact on SDGs. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

As the face of aging in our society changes, there is an increasing need for healthy interventions for the elderly. Spirituality and religion are powerful cultural influences for many African Americans and are used as resources to overcome personal, physical and health crises. Churches and other faith-based organizations have become increasingly popular settings to conduct health promotion and research studies, particularly in the African American community. The proposed study is to contextualize the spiritual life and eating behaviors of older adults (63 years and older) using the H.E.A.L. Congregation study. This survey was developed by the research team and utilized a mixed methods approach to assess the role of the church on their health and well-being and administered via Qualtrics to over 300 African Americans across the US. Preliminary analyses identified nearly 75% of participants recognized the church having a role in their spiritual and physical growth.

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This thesis examines the role of religion for Ukrainian immigrants in Sweden and its connection to their subjective well-being. The aim of the study is to explore the experience of Ukrainian immigrants by collecting their stories. The data of the study is based on eight semi-structured interviews with Ukrainian immigrants who belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church. This qualitativestudy is guided by the grounded theory approach drawing upon cultural identity theory and theory of third place. The theories are applied in order to understand the meaning of religion, faith, and church-attending in the Ukrainian immigrants’ lives in Sweden. Guided by the grounded theory methodology, the results of the study reveal that for those Ukrainian immigrants, who consider themselves religious, religion and faith play a significant role in life, affecting their choices, decisions, shaping their world-view. It is found that religious beliefs and rituals, and attending church affect their subjective well-being positively. However, for those participants, who do not consider themselves as religious, some religious rituals still take place, serving them as a connectionwith their cultural background, which is also positively impacting their subjective well-being. Furthermore, this study analyses the role and functions of cultural identity and its connection with immigrants’ subjective well-being and provides recommendations for future researchers.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / With the National Development Plan vision 2030, the South African government has charted a path to ensure that through social development, poverty, inequality and unemployment will be eradicated in post-apartheid South Africa. After more than twenty years of democracy and freedom, the nature and scale of the problems plaguing social development are far from alleviated. However, scholars share the view that social development partnerships could enhance the delivery of developmental welfare services as is implied in the South Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP). The variety of actors involved in any functional partnership pose particular challenges, risks and benefits. In order to explore ways to assess the functionality of such partnerships, this study will focus on religion-state partnerships in social development, with special reference to FBOs, their relation with the state, society and the context within which they exist; hence, defining the nature, identity and role of FBOs in social development.

A collection of linked stories.