In 1908, two Canadian women published first novels that became instant best-sellers. Nellie McClung's Sowing Seeds in Danny initially outsold Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, but by 1965 McClung's book had largely disappeared from Canadian consciousness. The popularity of Anne, on the other hand, has continued to the present, and Anne has received far more academic and critical attention, especially since 1985. It is only recently that Anne of Green Gables has been criticized for its ideology in the same manner as Sowing Seeds in Danny. The initial question that inspired this dissertation was why Sowing Seeds in Danny disappeared from public and critical awareness while Anne of Green Gables continued to sell well to the present day and to garner critical and popular attention into the twenty-first century. In light of the fact that both books have in recent years come under condemnation and stand charged with maternal feminism, imperial motherhood, eugenics, and racism, one must ask further why this has now happened to both Danny and Anne. What has changed? The hypothesis of the dissertation is that Danny's relatively speedy disappearance was partly due to a shift in Canadians' religious worldview over the twentieth century as church attendance and biblical literacy gradually declined. McClung's rhetorical strategies look back to the dominant Protestantism of the nineteenth century, in contrast to Montgomery's, which look forward to the twentieth-century's waning of religious faith. Although there is enough Christianity in Montgomery's novel to have made it acceptable to her largely Christian reading public at the beginning of the century, its presentation is subtle enough that it does not disturb or baffle a twenty-first-century reader in the way McClung's does. McClung's novel is so forthright in its presentation of Christianity, with its use of nineteenth-century tropes and conventions and with its moralising didacticism, that the delightful aspects of the novel were soon lost to an increasingly secular reading public. Likewise, the recent critical challenges to both novels spring from a worldview at odds with the predominantly Christian worldview of 1908. The goal of the dissertation has been to read Sowing Seeds in Danny and Anne of Green Gables within the religious contexts of a 1908 reader in order to avoid an unquestioning twenty-first-century censure of these novels, and to ascertain the reasons for their divergent popularity and recent critical condemnation.

Text in Afrikaans / Aanduidings bestaan dat jongmense na twaalf jaar van kategetiese onderrig steeds slegs 'n opperviakkige kennis, begrip van en insig in skrifwaarhede het. Hierdie probleem moet deur die praktiese teologie aangespreek word, want kategetiese onderrig is 'n kommunikatiewe handeling in diens van die evangelie. Die praktiese teologie kan 'n bydrae lewer deur die polivorme en polivalente leefwereld van die jeugdige (as praxis) te beskryf en te verklaar, sodat tot groter insig in die geloofswereld van die jeugdige gekom kan word, maar ook wee verken waardeur die jeugdige effektief met die Evangelie bereik kan word. Onderhawige studie poog om langs beskrywend-analitiese weg ervaringsleer as aanbiedingswyse te ondersoek met die doel om te bepaal of ervaringsleer moontlikhede bied wat kan verseker dat skrifwaarhede effektief ontsluit word. Die vertrekpunt in die studie is die leerparadigmatiese en 'n konstruktivistiese benadering tot leer word gevolg. Die meriete van die benutting van ervaringsleer moet gesien word vanuit 'n prakties-teologiese vertrekpunt waar die praxis krities ondersoek is met die doel om kommunikatiewe handelinge tussen jeugwerker en jeugdige in diens van die evangelie te optimaliseer. / Indications are that youth, after twelve years of catechetical instruction, still have superficial knowledge, understanding and insight into biblical truths. This problem must be addressed within practical theology, because catechetical instruction is a communicative action in evangelical service. The practical theology can make a contribution by describing and interpreting the multifarious and multifaceted world of the youth (as praxis). In this way, greater insight can be gained into the spiritual life of the youth and ways can be explored to reach youth more effectively with the Word. This study, by means of a descriptive and analytical review of experiential learning, attempts to determine whether experiential learning could be used to effectively disclose biblical truths. The approach was based on the learning paradigm and a constructivistic view of learning. The merit of using experiential learning in youth work must be seen from a practical theology perspective where the praxis was critically examined with a view of optimising the communicative interaction between youth and youth workers. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / Thesis (M. Diac.)--Universiteit van Suid-Afrika, 2000.

In 1908, two Canadian women published first novels that became instant best-sellers. Nellie McClung's Sowing Seeds in Danny initially outsold Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, but by 1965 McClung's book had largely disappeared from Canadian consciousness. The popularity of Anne, on the other hand, has continued to the present, and Anne has received far more academic and critical attention, especially since 1985. It is only recently that Anne of Green Gables has been criticized for its ideology in the same manner as Sowing Seeds in Danny. The initial question that inspired this dissertation was why Sowing Seeds in Danny disappeared from public and critical awareness while Anne of Green Gables continued to sell well to the present day and to garner critical and popular attention into the twenty-first century. In light of the fact that both books have in recent years come under condemnation and stand charged with maternal feminism, imperial motherhood, eugenics, and racism, one must ask further why this has now happened to both Danny and Anne. What has changed? The hypothesis of the dissertation is that Danny's relatively speedy disappearance was partly due to a shift in Canadians' religious worldview over the twentieth century as church attendance and biblical literacy gradually declined. McClung's rhetorical strategies look back to the dominant Protestantism of the nineteenth century, in contrast to Montgomery's, which look forward to the twentieth-century's waning of religious faith. Although there is enough Christianity in Montgomery's novel to have made it acceptable to her largely Christian reading public at the beginning of the century, its presentation is subtle enough that it does not disturb or baffle a twenty-first-century reader in the way McClung's does. McClung's novel is so forthright in its presentation of Christianity, with its use of nineteenth-century tropes and conventions and with its moralising didacticism, that the delightful aspects of the novel were soon lost to an increasingly secular reading public. Likewise, the recent critical challenges to both novels spring from a worldview at odds with the predominantly Christian worldview of 1908. The goal of the dissertation has been to read Sowing Seeds in Danny and Anne of Green Gables within the religious contexts of a 1908 reader in order to avoid an unquestioning twenty-first-century censure of these novels, and to ascertain the reasons for their divergent popularity and recent critical condemnation.

The Czechoslovak Hussite Church can be proud of professor Otto Rutrle's personality, because by his pedagogical and educational approach he helped to realize and revive religious education and catechetical teaching in the Church. In his publications The Road to the Child I. and The Road to the Child II. pays great attention to this activity and he touches on individual topics that are necessary for teaching and education in the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. He does not neglect the importance of a teacher, as a preacher, a guide and a helper on the path to the spiritual knowledge. He emphasizes the personal religion, that lives. He uses examples from the Holy Scripture for a practical spiritual life. His work is a legacy not only for our generation, but also for following generations. In my master's thesis, I have mostly tried to look into the activities of Sunday school, which was closely linked to the life of the Church. There were cultivated both moral and spiritual values needed for life. I have wanted to show by master's thesis, how important were the Christian education and teaching for children and youth. In the first chapter of my work, I have introduced readers to the topicality of topics, which were essential for Otto Rutrle and important for the education and teaching of children and youth. His...

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Traditional Coptic charity, as I call it, is not just a flawed attempt at humanitarianism, as many believe. It is not just “giving a man a fish” as proponents of “human development” argue. Traditional Coptic charity, as I hope to explain, is an integral part of a larger social system that works together to maintain (and grow slowly) a religious community whose very salvation rests in the practice and transmission of its complex Liturgical body. By merit of its theological peculiarity, and the soteriological significance it gives the practice of sacraments and other religious activities, the Coptic Church effectively hems in the community in perpetuity. This contrasts with the other side of the philanthropic coin—development. Development, which is championed by certain organizations stands as a bulwark of “modernity” in the face of charity’s traditionalism, does not fit into the soteriological orientation of the Church’s Liturgical life. In essence, development’s ultimate goal is to “develop” individuals to the point of “financial independence”—a goal that does not fit into the Church’s communal ethos or exclusively contribute to salvific ends. In recognizing these facts, I began to reevaluate my initial stance on human development as the best way of engaging non-Copts. Overall, this thesis is can be read as a continuation of an ongoing debate between modernity and tradition—and the philanthropic tools they deploy—development and charity.

The researcher proposes working toward a more integrated approach of faith formation in the local church - where one's immediate family plays the central role and the congregation as the extended family functions as a support system. The church as family becomes a community where faith formation is continually nurtured as a lifelong process and by means of all the ministries of the church. The conscious furthering of faith formation should, therefore, not be confined to the ambit of the Sunday School. Its target group cannot be limited to children and adolescents, but should be be broadened to include the adult members, thus serving the totality of the congregation. The researcher proposes an approach where the different generations are not separated in the process of faith formation, but become an integrated learning community where all the different age groups and generations learn from each other and with each other. / Die navorser stel `n meer geïntegreerde benadering tot geloofsvorming binne die plaaslike gemeente voor - waar die gesin of familie die sentrale rol speel en die gemeente as geloofsfamilie as `n ondersteunende sisteem funksioneer. Die gemeente as familie word `n leergemeenskap waar geloofsvorming `n lewenslange proses is en plaasvind binne al die bedienings van die gemeente. Die navorser stel voor dat geloofsvorming nie net beperk moet word tot die tradisionele kategese of "Sondagskool" wat grootliks gerig is op kinders en adolessente nie, maar verbreed moet word om alle gelowiges van alle ouderdomme in te sluit en so die gemeente as geloofsfamilie te dien. Die navorser stel `n benadering voor waar die verskillende generasies nie van mekaar geskei word in die proses van geloofsvorming nie, maar `n geïntegreerde leergemeenskap vorm waar al die verskillende ouderdomsgroepe en generasies saam met mekaar, asook by mekaar kan leer. / Social work / M. Diac. (Youth Work)

Im Gegensatz zu anderen Kultur- und Freizeiteinrichtungen wie den Theatern, Kinos oder Museen sind deutsche Bibliotheken im Allgemeinen sonntags nicht zugaenglich. Nur ein Prozent der kommunalen oeffentlichen Bibliotheken und vier Prozent der Hochschulbibliotheken oeffnen an diesem Wochentag. So gering diese Anteile jeweils erscheinen, unterliegen sie seit einigen Jahren einer hohen Wachstumsrate, so dass der Bibliothekssonntag im neuen Jahrtausend inzwischen von zahlreichen namhaften Institutionen angeboten wird und im Hochschulbereich nicht mehr als ungewoehnliche Ausnahmeerscheinung anzusehen ist. Auch in den west- und nordeuropaeischen Nachbarlaendern Daenemark, Finnland, Grossbritannien und den Niederlanden ist mit der Liberalisierung des Ladenschlusses in den 90er Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts ein hoher Anstieg sonntagsgeoeffneter Bibliotheken, insbesondere der Stadtbuechereien, zu verzeichnen. Das Niveau der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika, in denen jede zweite Public Library und rund Dreiviertel der Hochschulbibliotheken sonntags oeffnet, wird in Europa jedoch nicht erreicht. Gleichwohl folgen auch deutsche Bibliotheksoeffnungszeiten dem auslaendischen Vorbild, mit der Abkehr von den regulaeren Dienstzeiten des Personals einer zunehmenden Flexibilisierung und Ausdifferenzierung im Serviceniveau zu unterfallen. Bereits vor hundert Jahren galt die Kundenorientierung der amerikanischen Gebrauchsbibliothek als wegweisend für die neugegruendeten Lesehallen, die entsprechend den Forderungen der Buecherhallenbewegung ausreichende Oeffnungszeiten für alle Bevoelkerungsschichten anboten, meist in den Abendstunden und am Sonntag. Auch wenn diese Tradition nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg allmaehlich in Vergessenheit geriet, zeigt die vorliegende Untersuchung durch die Analyse von Mitarbeiter- und Kundenbefragungen und eine umfassende Pruefung der Rechtslage auf, dass entsprechende Oeffnungszeiten auch heutzutage moeglich und nachgefragt sind. Gerade Stadtbibliotheken bietet sich die Chance, ihr Dienstleistungsniveau an das anderer kommunaler Freizeiteinrichtungen anzupassen und damit nicht nur zur Belebung des oertlichen Kulturlebens und der Innenstaedte am Sonntag, sondern nach auslaendischem Vorbild auch zur eigenen Profilierung als Freizeiteinrichtung mit hoher Aufenthaltsqualitaet beizutragen. / In contrast to other cultural and recreational facilities like theatres, cinemas or museums, the libraries in Germany are generally closed on Sundays. Only one per cent of the municipal and only four per cent of the university libraries are open on this day of the week. As small as theses percentages may seem, they have increased significantly in the last few years. Now, in the new millennium the Sunday opening is offered by well-established libraries and is no longer unusual in the academic sector. In the wake of generally liberalised opening hours in the 1990''s other northern and western European countries - Denmark, Finland, Great Britain and the Netherlands - there has been a noticeable increase in the number of libraries open on Sundays. The service level of the USA, where every second public library and roughly three quarters of the university libraries are open on Sundays, is not evident in Europe. However, German opening times are following these trends by increasing the flexibility of working hours and differentiating and adapting the delivery of service. A hundred years ago, the customer services currently offered by the American public libraries was generally practised by the new type of German municipal libraries. These so called Lesehallen, responding to the demands of the movement for open book halls (Buecherhallenbewegung), offered sufficient opening hours for all classes of population, especially in the evenings and on Sundays. Even though this tradition gradually fell into oblivion after World War I, this study shows, by the means of analyses of interviews of both employees and customers, and a comprehensive breakdown of the legal aspects, that such opening hours are possible and sought after today. Public Libraries in particular can take advantage of the public interest to align their service levels with other municipal recreational facilities, which will not only enrich the local cultural life and that of the city centres on Sundays, but also, in following international examples, enhance their image as a recreational institution with very high service standards.

The researcher proposes working toward a more integrated approach of faith formation in the local church - where one's immediate family plays the central role and the congregation as the extended family functions as a support system. The church as family becomes a community where faith formation is continually nurtured as a lifelong process and by means of all the ministries of the church. The conscious furthering of faith formation should, therefore, not be confined to the ambit of the Sunday School. Its target group cannot be limited to children and adolescents, but should be be broadened to include the adult members, thus serving the totality of the congregation. The researcher proposes an approach where the different generations are not separated in the process of faith formation, but become an integrated learning community where all the different age groups and generations learn from each other and with each other. / Die navorser stel `n meer geïntegreerde benadering tot geloofsvorming binne die plaaslike gemeente voor - waar die gesin of familie die sentrale rol speel en die gemeente as geloofsfamilie as `n ondersteunende sisteem funksioneer. Die gemeente as familie word `n leergemeenskap waar geloofsvorming `n lewenslange proses is en plaasvind binne al die bedienings van die gemeente. Die navorser stel voor dat geloofsvorming nie net beperk moet word tot die tradisionele kategese of "Sondagskool" wat grootliks gerig is op kinders en adolessente nie, maar verbreed moet word om alle gelowiges van alle ouderdomme in te sluit en so die gemeente as geloofsfamilie te dien. Die navorser stel `n benadering voor waar die verskillende generasies nie van mekaar geskei word in die proses van geloofsvorming nie, maar `n geïntegreerde leergemeenskap vorm waar al die verskillende ouderdomsgroepe en generasies saam met mekaar, asook by mekaar kan leer. / Social work / M. Diac. (Youth Work)