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Evangelical interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:8-15 (certainly at the level of detail) has, in the period from 1945 to 2001, changed from one of received consensus to confused plurality. This thesis provides an explanation of this phenomenon by identifying and analysing the influences within evangelical interpretation that contributed to and shaped it. The first part of the thesis (Section A) is foundational. It establishes the validity of using the term Evangelical as an heuristic concept and provides, by means of a wide-ranging and unique analysis of published discussions of 1 Timothy 2:8-15, t...

Traditional Islamic law has long been regarded as academic, local in nature, and relevant only as a measure of the inadequacy of women’s rights in the family law regimes of a few Islamic states. In opposition, the author argues that the Sharia is both a quasi-regional customary international law capable of competing with prevailing customary international law, and brings its own international agenda of “Islamic human rights” that compete with and seek to displace “Western human rights.” Rather than acknowledging the rights of Muslims qua Muslims internationally, aggressive proponents of an “Am...

Reiki is an emerging adjunctive therapy that claims to provide physical and psychological healing as well as an experience of spiritual connection. It is increasingly employed in counseling centers, hospitals, and even churches. Reiki is believed by many to be a safe, non-invasive healing intervention that draws individuals towards God. Reiki practitioners maintain that they imitate Jesus’ laying on of hands and claim that their praxis is essentially the same as the healing used by Jesus as well as by Buddha. An ethnographic multi-case study was performed comparing the experiences of nine ind...

This study investigated the impact that women’s body image had on prehistoric, ancient Greek, and developing Jewish and Tibetan Buddhist religions. Questions focused on the validity of a Mother Goddess concept, the justifications used to reinforce negativity about women’s bodies, and the roles women assumed to maintain their spirituality. The evolution of patriarchal leadership was investigated, given the archeological evidence that women’s biological functions were seen as connected to the divine world and in parallel with the mysteries of nature. Data was drawn from arch...

This dissertation argues that business people, clergy, lay persons, and many chaplains do not understand the leadership and management dynamics of chaplaincy, and this lack of knowledge has a direct impact on how chaplaincy is done and not done in certain areas. In chaplaincy and many churches, leadership, management, and ministry have a synergistic effect when they come together in response to a problem or crisis. An understanding of chaplaincy dynamics, scope, methods, possibilities, and issues in relation to this effect is vital to this growing field in four areas: Helps prepare people for...

This project is concerned with the factors that are responsible for the failure of Information Technology outsourcing in reducing the costs for companies. Even though there is a substantial amount of evidence in the literature that confirms the problem of IT outsourcing ineffectiveness, researchers and practitioners are still a long way from adopting a common view on the factors that can lead to inefficient outsourcing. This lack of understanding has serious managerial implications since it is hindering the ability of managers to make outsourcing decisions and manage their IT functions in a ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate church congregants’ ratings of church deacons’ leadership skills utilizing the MLQ instrument and compare those ratings among 4 selected churches in Memphis, Tennessee. Because the church has experienced a rapid rate of growth in its membership and has been focused on dealing with those congregation-wide growing pains, it has neglected to provide the support to the deacons, which is necessary for their development. The problem related to rapid growth has resulted in empirical and anecdotal statements by various congregants that ...

Experience confirms that every believer has a daily challenge of how to appreciate and understand the disposition of his God in times of faith crises, great difficulty, trials and near hopelessness. Some would even ask: “Did God ever have a plan of salvation? If so, is it working at all?” Cognisant of the fact that a Biblical example could be the best way of appreciating the disposition of God at difficult times, the remnant motif in the Old Testament and especially in Isaiah presented some attractive issues that, if explored, could offer useful insights into the divine plan. As a response to...

Wong Kar wai is one of the most famous Chinese directors in modern filmdom. The cinema of Wong Kar wai is important 20th century cinema in 90’s Hong Kong society, which was in a post-industrial and post-colonial situation. In this paper, I have chosen four of Wong’s films: As Tears Go By (1988), Happy Together (1997), In The Mood For Love (2000) and compared them respectively with American and British films Mean Streets (1973), Brokeback Mountain (2005), and Brief Encounter (1945) with similar themes. These comparisons will be used in order to explore the spiritual tendency of Wong’s cinema, a...

In this paper, I aimed to explore deeply the Hong Kong ‘1997 handover’ theme films by comparison and summary in order to discover the history and cultural meaning of this incident from a human perspective. 1997 is a turning point for Hong Kong people, society and the film industry. The city confronted a historical turning point under an experimental ‘one country, two systems’ convention without precedent in history. This led many Hong Kong people to lose confidence about their future. In addition, this historical incident brought a series of social issues to Hong Kong people, such as confusio...