Includes bibliographical references (leaves 292-313) : illustrations / This thesis examines the Experience of God in the Fourth Gospel (in this research, it is also called the Johannine Experience of God) by perceiving it from the perspective of the metaphoric Familia Dei, found in this Gospel. This examination is done in a three-step process: The first step consists of a literary review and a presentation of the methodology and approach employed in this research. It intends to set the thesis within the Johannine studies. The second step involves the articulation of essential considerations on Religious Experience, the Johannine Community, and the Fourth Gospel. This articulation has two aims: First, to acquire a deeper understanding of the background of the Johannine Experience of God, and second, to point out the functionality of this Gospel’s narrative in constituting this experience. The third step comprises the following suggestion and the elaboration on its constituents: - The Johannine Experience of God consists of two components: the first one is the initiative of God the Father conveyed by Jesus Christ, perpetuated by the Holy Spirit, and as it is recorded in the Fourth Gospel. And the second one is the response of the believers (John’s readers) to this initiative by accepting the Son and journeying spiritually under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. - The Johannine Experience of God can be perceived from the perspective of the Familia Dei metaphoric found in the Fourth Gospel. - The narrative of the Fourth Gospel has the ability to constitute an experience of God and accordingly creates spirituality, once it is read or heard. This thesis aims to generate a deeper understanding of the spirituality of the Fourth Gospel at one level, and to offer an acceptable general insight about the Johannine Spirituality at another, hoping that its findings become an inspiration for future studies. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Christian spirituality)

Das Kreuzherrenkloster Hohenbusch bei Erkelenz (Niederrhein) wurde 1802 während der Säkularisation linksrheinischer Gebiete aufgehoben. Etwa 130 Handschriften und frühe Drucke aus seiner Bibliothek befinden sich heute vorwiegend in der Diözesanbibliothek Köln sowie in München, Brüssel, New York u.a. Ein 1801 im Auftrag der französischen Verwaltung erstelltes Inventar von 265 konfiszierten Büchern bildet das einzige Verzeichnis der ehemaligen Klosterbibliothek. Auf der Grundlage dieses Inventars und der erhaltenen Bestände unternimmt die Studie eine Teilrekonstruktion der Bibliothek. Schreibhände, Buchschmuck, Einbände, Besitzeinträge und Marginalien werden erfasst und beschrieben. Die inhaltliche Analyse des Bestandes belegt, dass sich Geschichte, Spiritualität und intellektuelle Ausrichtung des Klosters auch im Restbestand der Bibliothek spiegeln. Um sich in kulturhistorischer, interdisziplinärer Herangehensweise der sozialen und kulturellen Lebenswelt der Kreuzherren zu nähern, wird die Metapher des ‚Wissensraums‘ verwendet. Von dreidimensionaler Beschränkung befreit, umschreibt sie die Bibliothek als dynamischen Wissenskatalysator, der zu verschiedenen Zeiten die Generierung neuen Wissens auf der Grundlage vorhandener Informationen ermöglicht. Zwei Bestandsschnitte bei den Jahren 1520 und 1700 belegen so den Wandel des Klosters: Verstand es sich anfangs als geistlich-seelsorglich ausgerichtetes Haus, das später für die ordensinterne Ausbildung bedeutend wurde, ließen zuletzt Grundbesitz und zunehmender Wohlstand juristisch-administrative Fragen in den Vordergrund treten. / The Crosier monastery of Hohenbusch, situated between Cologne and Aix-la-Chapelle, was dissolved in 1802, on the occasion of the secularization of church property. About 130 manuscripts and early prints from the canonry’s library survived in the diocesan library of Cologne, as well as in libraries in Munich, Brussels, New York etc. An inventory of 265 confiscated books, drawn up on behalf of the French administration in 1801, represents the only description of the former monastery library. The study attempts a reconstruction of the library based on this inventory, and on the material properties of the extant books. Script, book illumination, binding, ownership records and marginal notes in the books are therefore described. An analysis of the contents of the known books shows that they still reflect the history, spirituality, and intellectual bias of the canonry. The German metaphor ‘Wissensraum’ (knowledge space) shall help to approach the social and cultural life of the Crosiers. Perceived as a cultural concept beyond all restrictions of space, the metaphor aims to describe the library as a dynamic instrument which allows generating new knowledge based on existing information. A look on two segments of the library, the first up to the year 1520, the second up to 1700, shows how the monastery changed: Starting in a spiritual and pastoral orientation, it became an important house for the spiritual formation of novices, while at the end, due to its increasing land ownership, and prosperity, legal and administrative questions predominated.

Although Swazi women's contribution to national development has been phenomenal, they like any other women in patriarchal societies confront an overbearing situation in which they have been regarded and treated as minors, both in the family and most spheres of public life. This has largely been due to the social construction of gender. Traditional gender-based attitudes, deeply ingrained in the people's mind set, not infrequently, have limited women's access to and control of various aspects of public life, and impinge on their rights, most especially the rights to selfdetermination and equal participation in the decision making process. Coupled with religion which influences "the deepest level of what it means to be human" (King, 1994:4) and zealous cultural conservatism, the Swazi women, with a few notable exceptions, experience an asymmetry of power due to the pervasive nature of gender. Nonetheless, the history of Swaziland bears testimony, however muted, to a legacy ofwomen's struggles to overcome gendered conditions imposed upon them either by taking full advantage of their spiritual endowment and charisma to overcome attitudinal barriers or by organising themselves into groups to work for the social transformation of their conditions and status. This study examines the Swazi women's search for gender equality. It discusses the social and cultural context of gender in Swaziland, the various moments in the Swazi women's quest for equality and its manifestations, and the push and pull effect of religion and culture. Particular attention is given to four organisations, namely Lutsango lwakaNgwane (loosely referred to as women's regiments), the Council of Swaziland Churches, the Women's Resource Centre (Umtapo waBomake) and Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA). The study shows that Swazi women have, across a passage of time, adopted different strategies, including ritual, economic empowerment and creation of new knowledge through promotion of gender awareness and social advocacy either in a womanist approach that accepts women's embeddedness in Swazi culture or in the liberal feminist tradition that espouses women's individual rights. However, the study shows that the women's movement has yet to reach the critical mass level so as to influence public policy and come to terms with the deconstruction of the dominant gender ideology. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

Although Swazi women's contribution to national development has been phenomenal, they like any other women in patriarchal societies confront an overbearing situation in which they have been regarded and treated as minors, both in the family and most spheres of public life. This has largely been due to the social construction of gender. Traditional gender-based attitudes, deeply ingrained in the people's mind set, not infrequently, have limited women's access to and control of various aspects of public life, and impinge on their rights, most especially the rights to selfdetermination and equal participation in the decision making process. Coupled with religion which influences "the deepest level of what it means to be human" (King, 1994:4) and zealous cultural conservatism, the Swazi women, with a few notable exceptions, experience an asymmetry of power due to the pervasive nature of gender. Nonetheless, the history of Swaziland bears testimony, however muted, to a legacy ofwomen's struggles to overcome gendered conditions imposed upon them either by taking full advantage of their spiritual endowment and charisma to overcome attitudinal barriers or by organising themselves into groups to work for the social transformation of their conditions and status. This study examines the Swazi women's search for gender equality. It discusses the social and cultural context of gender in Swaziland, the various moments in the Swazi women's quest for equality and its manifestations, and the push and pull effect of religion and culture. Particular attention is given to four organisations, namely Lutsango lwakaNgwane (loosely referred to as women's regiments), the Council of Swaziland Churches, the Women's Resource Centre (Umtapo waBomake) and Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA). The study shows that Swazi women have, across a passage of time, adopted different strategies, including ritual, economic empowerment and creation of new knowledge through promotion of gender awareness and social advocacy either in a womanist approach that accepts women's embeddedness in Swazi culture or in the liberal feminist tradition that espouses women's individual rights. However, the study shows that the women's movement has yet to reach the critical mass level so as to influence public policy and come to terms with the deconstruction of the dominant gender ideology. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)