The aim of this thesis is to study, understand and explain the theories and work of the Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, whose controversial statements and lectures have made him a darling of certain factions of the political right, as he portrays himself as an enemy of progressive ideology. With a focus on understanding and explaining Peterson and how he provides meaning to his followers, the study will go through Peterson’s work in his two books Maps of Meaning and 12 Rules for Life in order to analyze their content and the follower’s reaction to the books as well as Peterson’s persona as a whole.   To analyze these works, hermeneutic methods based on the work of finnish theologian Björn Vikström will be utilized. The texts will be analyzed on a textual and intertextual level, but the role of the author as well as the readers will also be put under scrutiny in order to elaborate on many aspects of Peterson’s writing. To analyze how he provides meaning to his followers and the definition of the terms lifestance and meaning, the work of Swedish theologian Carl Reinhold Bråkenhielm will be referenced and compared to Peterson’s work.   While Vikström and Bråkenhielm will be the main sources of intertextual comparison with Jordan Peterson, they will also be supplemented with the work of other established theologians such as Hjalmar Sundén and others to further understand and compare the making of meaning undertaken by Jordan Peterson to other academic studies in the field of making meaning.

Interdisciplinary work is of the essence of pastoral theology, most obviously where theology and the human sciences interact. Such work carries with it a number of risks that are not always addressed or even recognised. The principal risk is that a facile attempt to forge links between disciplines may lead to serious distortions of the meanings of both. This thesis examines gestalt therapy and feminist theology as possible candidates for interdisciplinary work. By reading and interrogating the literature of both disciplines, it identifies their origins and analyses their core ideas. The thesis affirms disputed links between gestalt philosophy, psychology and the later therapy, and examines other contributors to the development of gestalt and its core ideas. It next examines the development and scope of feminist theology before analysing core ideas across the range of voices in feminist writing. From these core ideas it is possible to establish the values that writers and practitioners find important in their lives (practical-values). On this basis, it is shown that these two disciplines, despite differences of history and purpose, are compatible with each other and therefore suitable candidates for interdisciplinary work.

This thesis explores various trajectories of contextual theology as they have developed in the two Chinese enlightenments of twentieth and twenty-first century China. Drawing methodologically from the typological works of historian Justo González and the missiologists Stephen Bevans and Roger Schroeder, one of the main aims of this study is to map and evaluate the various types of Chinese theology. An analysis of three major Chinese Protestant representatives will identify the tendencies of each type, highlight the importance of a contextual theology in dealing with a context’s socio-political concerns and religiophilosophical tradition, and show a bias in Chinese theology towards Latin Christianity. This leads to the second major aim of the study to explore the usefulness of Eastern Orthodox category of theosis and related subjects in the Second Chinese Enlightenment. It will highlight the tendencies of Chinese philosophy and religion, inclusive of Chinese Protestantism, to exhibit many themes from Byzantine Christianity. It will also call attention to the potential usefulness of this other “Eastern” theology in China’s socio-political concerns. This study will conclude by discussing the possibilities of Eastern Orthodoxy in playing an important role in complementing and supplementing future developments of a Chinese contextual theology.

In the UK approximately 60% of deaths occur in acute hospital settings to people from different cultures and religions. This thesis explored the experiences of bereaved relatives from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants and religious leaders to explore the essences of bereavement and implications for providing religiously appropriate end of life and bereavement care in an acute hospital setting. Phenomenology provided the philosophical and intellectual framework and van Manen’s (1984) four existential dimensions of temporality, spatiality, corporeality, and communality the structure. Chronological story telling allowed exploration of the ‘lived’ experience of bereavement and demonstrated that current bereavement theories and practice are not always reflective of the diverse needs of a multifaith and multicultural population. Similarities and differences in the requirements of the 3 Abrahamic faiths became apparent through the experiences of all participants and the importance and significance of doing the right thing, at the right time for the right person in a sensitive and caring way was demonstrated. The impact of end of life care on the bereavement experience was palpable throughout participant recollections. The study highlighted education and training needs not only of hospital staff but of the general public and the need for a more holistic approach to bereavement theory, policy, practice and research.

While clergy are at the forefront of providing mental health counseling services, many lack confidence in their ability to provide adequate care for those suffering mental health issues and many, across denominations, question the validity and reliability of mental health counseling and are reluctant to make referrals to professional counselors. There remains a gap in the current research literature regarding the views of Southern Baptist pastors. Using conflict theory as the framework for this study, the purpose of this exploratory quantitative study was to determine how 225 Southern Baptist pastors' conservative views, church size, and educational level (the independent variables) impacted their attitude towards counseling (the dependent variable). Data were collected using the Religious Attitude Scale and the Attitude Toward Seeking Professional Help Scale. A three-way ANOVA was performed to measure interaction effects among the independent variables. The results of this research indicated that a pastor's level of education and conservative views, but not church size, had an impact on attitudes about counseling. While future research could better inform the kinds of education that influence counseling referrals from pastors, this research supports the idea that more educated pastors are more likely to use diverse resources for addressing congregants' issues of mental wellness. The results of this research can influence social change because Christians needing mental health counseling often go to their pastor for help. Providing further education to pastors about the benefits of professional counseling will result in improved mental health for those congregants and their families.

<p>Tidigare forskning pekar på att psykologiska faktorer påverkar hur individen rekryteras till en sekt. Förförståelsen inför denna intervjustudie var att det skulle kunna finnas ett behov av ett rehabiliteringscentrum i Sverige, och frågeställningen gällde vilka behov som föreligger hos en individ som lämnar en destruktiv sekt sett utifrån professionella hjälpares perspektiv. 14 personer deltog, psykiatriker, präster, politiker, terapeuter och psykologer. Resultatet visade att det finns olika anledningar till att individer rekryteras in i en sekt liksom till att de lämnar den. Resultatet visade också att det föreligger ett hjälpbehov hos individer som lämnar sekter och gemensamma svar för alla respondenter var att det behövs: (1) samtal, (2) gemenskap, (3) någon som lyssnar.</p>

Tidigare forskning pekar på att psykologiska faktorer påverkar hur individen rekryteras till en sekt. Förförståelsen inför denna intervjustudie var att det skulle kunna finnas ett behov av ett rehabiliteringscentrum i Sverige, och frågeställningen gällde vilka behov som föreligger hos en individ som lämnar en destruktiv sekt sett utifrån professionella hjälpares perspektiv. 14 personer deltog, psykiatriker, präster, politiker, terapeuter och psykologer. Resultatet visade att det finns olika anledningar till att individer rekryteras in i en sekt liksom till att de lämnar den. Resultatet visade också att det föreligger ett hjälpbehov hos individer som lämnar sekter och gemensamma svar för alla respondenter var att det behövs: (1) samtal, (2) gemenskap, (3) någon som lyssnar.

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The submitted publications address aspects of 'The Physicality of the Self from a psychoanalytic perspective and in so doing extend the remit of psychoanalytic thinking. Conscious and unconscious investment of personal meaning in physical exercise, body-oriented behaviour and physical dimensions of experience and communication is explored through presentation and discussion of clinical case examples and infant observation material. The embodied nature of our being is identified as an issue of key significance in psychoanalysis, where unconscious communication, much of which is non-verbal, is a central concern of both theory and practice. Ways of conceptualising psychosomatic disturbance are discussed, whether the disturbance emerges in physical symptoms without apparent organic underlay or in disturbed body-oriented behaviour such as eating disorders and self-injury. With regard to clinical practice, the central significance of receptivity to unconscious communication and capacity for containment (Bion 1962) is reaffirmed. The therapist's 'use of body' as part of the 'use of self Is discussed with particular reference to somatic communication in the transference - countertransference matrix. The primary context for the work is a contemporary object relations framework. The perspective on embodiment or'indwelling' developed by D. W. Winnicott and the post- Kleinian concept of 'psychic skin' are of particular Importance. The disciplines of philosophy, psychology, neuroscience and sociology constitute a secondary, broader, context and inform the discussion of changing perspectives on 'mind', 'body', 'health' and'illness'. A'continuum' model of self-care and self-harm is developed. The acronym 'cashas' is introduced to refer to 'culturally accepted self-harming acts/activities', behaviours which occupy a border area between good enough self-care and clinically relevant self-harm. Drawing on clinical material and research Involving practitioner discussion of clinical vignettes, arguments are advanced for the relevance and clinical usefulness of the 'continuum' model.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 417-424) and index.