The church must become the people of Soweto : Manas Buthelezi’s existential-Christocentric understanding of the church

The aim of this study has been to discern what Manas Buthelezi (1935-), a black South African Lutheran theologian and later also a bishop, regards as the requirements a church has to fulfill in order to be credible in the apartheid society. Buthelezi’s dissertation and several articles written between the years 1968 and 1993 are the sources of this study. Also the lectures held in Heidelberg in 1972 are referred to. Systematic analysis is the method used. The question of the credibility of the church is studied through three concepts that play an important role in Buthelezi’s ecclesiological thought, namely the wholeness of life, incarnation and liberation. The notion of the wholeness of life stems from the African tradition. Buthelezi takes the concept into the Christian church: the church should realize that God is the Creator of all life and Christ the lord of every aspect of human existence. Life is one entity coram Deo. However, the church is not to become the world; solidarity between the two must remain critical as the church is also called to play a prophetic role in the society. The church is in an open relationship with the world. It has a unique message of forgiveness and reconciliation. Nevertheless, the message is not a possession of the church but it is addressed to the whole world. The meaning of incarnation comes close to that of the wholeness of life. Following the example of Christ’s incarnation, the church must become human in the reality of the people. The church in Soweto is to become the people of Soweto, that is, the church must become as vulnerable as the people are. An incarnate church cannot be immune to the oppression that people experience, because the people are the church. The church is therefore bound to suffer. Buthelezi’s theology of the cross is pragmatic: the suffering of the church aims at the liberation of the oppressed. At times the physical presence of the church by the side of the suffering people is the only way to preach the incarnate gospel. In the South Africa of the late 1960s onwards the liberation of the oppressed black people was high on the agenda of Black Theology. As a leader of the early South African Black Theology, Buthelezi is concerned about the racial injustice in his country. He urges the churches to join the struggle against it as one people of God. The notions of liberation and the wholeness of life emerge in Buthelezi’s holistic understanding of liberation that involves the inner liberation of the black spirit and the liberation of the economic, social and political aspects of life. Interpreting Tillich’s correlation method in the South African situation, and also paralleling other liberation theologians, Buthelezi takes the existential situation of the people as the starting point for liberation. The gospel has to respond to the existential questions of people. The church is called to work for the liberation of society but it must also be liberated itself. Buthelezi initiated the LWF statement on the status confessionis in South Africa (1977). In line with the statement, he calls for church unity on the human level. For the unity to be true, it has to be experienced on the grassroots’ level. All the three concepts covered urge the church to come down from any ivory tower and out of any spiritual haven it might hide in. A lot of the credibility of the church derives from the behavior of the people. Buthelezi’s concentration on how the people who constitute the church should live their faith leaves less attention to how God constitutes the church. I have labeled Buthelezi’s understanding of the church existential-Christocentric due to the emphasis he lays on the need of the church to take the existential situation of the people seriously and on the other hand, on Christ as the exemplar for the church.

Towards a Critique of the Concept of the Right to Self-Determination in Africa : A Conceptual Examination and the Cases of Western Sahara, Southern Sudan and Eritrea

This thesis examines the right to self-determination which is a norm used for numerous purposes by multiple actors in the field of international relations, with relatively little clarity or agreement on the actual and potential meaning of the right. In international practice, however, the main focus in applying the right has been in the context of decolonization as set by the United Nations in its early decades. Thus, in Africa the right to self-determination has traditionally implied that the colonial territories, and particularly the populations within these territories, were to constitute the people who were entitled to the right. That is, self-determination by decolonization provided a framework for the construction of independent nation-states in Africa whilst other dimensions of the right remained largely or totally neglected. With the objective of assessing the scope, content, developments and interpretations of the right to self-determination in Africa, particularly with regard to the relevance of the right today, the thesis proceeds on two fundamental hypotheses. The first is that Mervyn Frost s theory of settled norms, among which he lists the right to self-determination, assumes too much. Even if the right to self-determination is a human right belonging to all peoples stipulated, inter alia, in the first Article of the 1966 International Human Rights Covenants, it is a highly politicized and context-bound right instead of being settled and observed in a way that its denial would need special justification. Still, the suggested inconsistency or non-compliance with the norm of self-determination is not intended to prove the uselessness or inappropriateness of the norm, but, on the contrary, to invite and encourage debate on the potential use and coverage of the right to self-determination. The second hypothesis is that within the concept of self-determination there are two normative dimensions. One is to do with the idea and practice of statehood, the nation and collectivity that may decide to conduct itself as an independent state. The other one is to do with self-determination as a human right, as a normative condition, to be enjoyed by people and peoples within states that supersedes state authority. These external and internal dimensions need to be seen as complementary and co-terminous, not as mutually exclusive alternatives. The thesis proceeds on the assumption that the internal dimension of the right, with human rights and democracy at its core, has not been considered as important as the external. In turn, this unbalanced and selective interpretation has managed to put the true normative purpose of the right making the world better and bringing more just polity models into a somewhat peculiar light. The right to self-determination in the African context is assessed through case studies of Western Sahara, Southern Sudan and Eritrea. The study asks what these cases say about the right to self-determination in Africa and what their lessons learnt could contribute to the understanding and relevance of the right in today s Africa. The study demonstrates that even in the context of decolonization, the application of the right to self-determination has been far from the consistent approach supposedly followed by the international community: in many respects similar colonial histories have easily led to rather different destinies. While Eritrea secured internationally recognized right to self-determination in the form of retroactive independence in 1993, international recognition of distinct Western Sahara and Southern Sudan entities is contingent on complex and problematic conditions being satisfied. Overall, it is a considerable challenge for international legality to meet empirical political reality in a meaningful way, so that the universal values attached to the norm of self-determination are not overlooked or compromised but rather reinforced in the process of implementing the right. Consequently, this thesis seeks a more comprehensive understanding of the right to self-determination with particular reference to post-colonial Africa and with an emphasis on the internal, human rights and democracy dimensions of the norm. It is considered that the right to self-determination cannot be perceived only as an inter-state issue as it is also very much an intra-state issue, including the possibility of different sub-state arrangements exercised under the right, for example, in the form of autonomy. At the same time, the option of independent statehood achieved through secession remains a mode of exercising and part of the right to self-determination. But in whatever form or way applied, the right to self-determination, as a normative instrument, should constitute and work as a norm that comprehensively brings more added value in terms of the objectives of human rights and democracy. From a normative perspective, a peoples right should not be allowed to transform and convert itself into a right of states. Finally, in light of the case studies of Western Sahara, Southern Sudan and Eritrea, the thesis suggests that our understanding of the right to self-determination should now reach beyond the post-colonial context in Africa. It appears that both the questions and answers to the most pertinent issues of self-determination in the cases studied must be increasingly sought within the postcolonial African state rather than solely in colonial history. In this vein, the right to self-determination can be seen not only as a tool for creating states but also as a way to transform the state itself from within. Any such genuinely post-colonial approach may imply a judicious reconsideration, adaptation or up-dating of the right and our understanding of it in order to render it meaningful in Africa today.

Towards real-time understanding of processes in pharmaceutical powder technology

There is a need for better understanding of the processes and new ideas to develop traditional pharmaceutical powder manufacturing procedures. Process analytical technology (PAT) has been developed to improve understanding of the processes and establish methods to monitor and control processes. The interest is in maintaining and even improving the whole manufacturing process and the final products at real-time. Process understanding can be a foundation for innovation and continuous improvement in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. New methods are craved for to increase the quality and safety of the final products faster and more efficiently than ever before. The real-time process monitoring demands tools, which enable fast and noninvasive measurements with sufficient accuracy. Traditional quality control methods have been laborious and time consuming and they are performed off line i.e. the analysis has been removed from process area. Vibrational spectroscopic methods are responding this challenge and their utilisation have increased a lot during the past few years. In addition, other methods such as colour analysis can be utilised in noninvasive real-time process monitoring. In this study three pharmaceutical processes were investigated: drying, mixing and tabletting. In addition tablet properties were evaluated. Real-time monitoring was performed with NIR and Raman spectroscopies, colour analysis, particle size analysis and compression data during tabletting was evaluated using mathematical modelling. These methods were suitable for real-time monitoring of pharmaceutical unit operations and increase the knowledge of the critical parameters in the processes and the phenomena occurring during operations. They can improve our process understanding and therefore, finally, enhance the quality of final products.

The Development of the Concept of Music Education in Estonian Kindergartens, 1905-2008 : a Historical–Critical Overview

The dissertation focuses on the development of music education in Estonian kindergartens and the factors influencing it, analysed in the historical perspective relying on post-positivist paradigm. The study is based on the factors and subjects’ views on kindergarten music education from 1905 to 2008, recorded in written sources or ascertained by means of questionnaire and interview. The dissertation deals with music’s functions, music education in retrospective, factors influencing child’s musical aptitude and development and teacher’s role in it through the prism of history. The formation of Estonian kindergarten music education and the phenomenon of its development have been researched by stages: the first manifestations of music in kindergarten in 1905 - 1940; the formation of the concept of music education in 1941 - 1967 and the application of a unified system in 1968 - 1990. The work also outlines innovative trends in music education at the end of the last millennium and the beginning of this century, in 1991 - 2008. The study relies on a combined design and an analysis of historical archival material and empirical data. The empirical part of the study is based on the questionnaire (n=183) and interviews (n=18) carried out with kindergarten music teachers. The data has been analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The subject of the research is the content and activity types of kindergarten music education and the role of music teacher in their implementation. The study confirmed that fundamental changes took place in Estonian kindergarten music education due to the change in political power in the 1940s. Following the example of the Soviet system of education, music in kindergarten became an independent music educational orientation and the position of a professionally trained music teacher was established (1947). It was also confirmed that in the newly independent Estonian Republic under the influence of innovative trends a new paradigm of music education arose from the traditional singing-centred education towards the more balanced use of music activity types (attaching importance to the child-centred approach, an increase in the number and variety of activity types). The most important conclusions made in the dissertation are that there has been improvement and development deriving from contemporary trends in the clear concept that has evolved in Estonian kindergarten music education over a century; professionally trained music teachers have had a crucial role in shaping it; and kindergarten music education is firmly positioned as a part of preschool education in Estonian system of education. Key words: early childhood music education, history of music education, kindergarten music education, early childhood music teachers

Variation in the Understanding of Lutheranism and Its Implications for Religious Education : Meaning Discernment of Students and Teachers in Finnish Upper Secondary Schools

The study investigated variation in the ways in which a group of students and teachers of Evangelical Lutheran religious education in Finnish upper secondary schools understand Lutheranism and searched for educational implications for learning in religious education. The aim of understanding the qualitative variation in understanding Lutheranism was explored through the relationship between the following questions, which correspond to the results reported in the following original refereed publications: 1) How do Finnish students understand Lutheranism? 2) How do Finnish teachers of religious education constitute the meaning of Lutheranism? 3) How could phenomenography and the Variation Theory of Learning contribute to learning about and from religion in the context of Finnish Lutheran Religious Education as compared to religious education in the UK? Two empirical studies (Hella, 2007; Hella, 2008) were undertaken from a phenomenographic research perspective (e.g., Marton, 1981) and the Variation Theory of Learning (e.g., Marton & Tsui et al. 2004) that developed from it. Data was collected from 63 upper secondary students and 40 teachers of religious education through written tasks with open questions and complementary interviews with 11 students and 20 teachers for clarification of meanings. The two studies focused on the content and structure of meaning discernment in students and teachers expressed understandings of Lutheranism. Differences in understandings are due to differences in the meanings that are discerned and focused on. The key differences between the ways students understand varied from understanding Lutheranism as a religion to personal faith with its core in mercy. The logical relationships between the categories that describe variation in understanding express a hierarchy of ascending complexity, according to which more developed understandings are inclusive of less developed ones. The ways the teachers understand relate to student s understandings in a sequential manner. Phenomenography and Variation Theory were discussed in the context of religious education in Finland and the UK in relation to the theoretical notion of learning about and from religion (Hella & Wright, 2008). The thesis suggests that variation theory enables religious educators to recognise the unity of learning about and from religion, as learning is always learning about something and involves simultaneous engagement with the object of learning and development as a person. The study also suggests that phenomenography and variation theory offer a means by which it is possible for academics, policy makers, curriculum designers, teachers and students to learn to discern different ways of understanding the contested nature of religions. Keywords: Lutheranism, understanding, variation, teaching, learning, phenomenography, religious education

Slogans of Change : Three Outlooks on Finnish Television

The study Slogans of Change. Three Outlooks on Finnish Television Contents is concerned with alleged changes of television contents during the 1990s and 2000s, such as dumbing down, tabloidisation, entertainisation , and the like. Specifically, the focus is on the ways these changes might manifest in Finnish television. The aim of the study has been threefold: 1. To operationalise public and academic discussions about changes via specific slogans emerging from the debates; 2. Consequently, to study the slogans empirically and reflect on the findings with earlier research, including studies on institutional and audience-related aspects; 3. Finally, to suggest what the findings might mean regarding discussions about television s role, and what kinds of slogans or concepts might best serve future discussions and research. The empirical outlooks presented in this study offer analyses with three different sets of opposing slogans of change. The outlooks also follow three different traditions of the study of television. The first outlook focuses on quantity, as it gives a longitudinal (1993-2004), macro-level view on programme structures. The methodological approach is derived from media economic and policy studies. The claims that frame the analysis are convergence versus diversification of programme structures. The second outlook provides quantitative and qualitative views on the characteristics and quality  the term signifying essence as well as worth  of Finnish television journalism during sample weeks from the years 2002 and 2003. This outlook follows the traditions of quantitative content analysis found in journalism studies coupled with descriptive qualitative content analyses. The slogans reflected in this section are the lightening or widening of journalism. The third outlook narrows down the material and focuses at a micro-level on form; that is, communicative conventions in a small array of selected programmes in 1993, 2000 and during 2002-2004. The analyses have been inspired by the method of conversation analysis of verbal interaction, and coupled with qualitative close readings, with the focus of different communicative situations in the programmes. The catchphrases employed in this part are emotainment versus democratainment, coupled with more specific claims of discursive hybridisation and conversationalisation. The findings depict that, empirically, changes in Finnish television contents are not clear linear trends and cannot easily be moulded into neat slogans. The quantitative outlook on programme output during 1993-2004 depicts a tendency towards differentiation of channels, paving the way for the multi-channel digital system. The change in programme structures, however, is not dramatic on the level of total output. The second outlook suggests that the dualistic concepts, such as the pair information-entertainment, are not sufficient in understanding the array and changes of programmes that could be called journalism. The outlook on communicative conventions highlights hybridisation in the manner of television talk and its relation to broader debates on contents. Despite the three dissimilar empirical approaches, unifying aspects emerge. The outlooks suggest, albeit in different ways, tendencies toward distinction and polarisation. This study proposes that in order to facilitate a more nuanced understanding of the changes in television contents, dualistic slogans should be replaced with a multi-dimensional understanding of the concept of diversity.

Organizing (with) Thirdness. A Dialogic Understanding of Bicultural Interactions in Organizations

This conceptual paper examines bicultural interactions in organizations as they are experienced by the involved individuals. Notions from Bakhtinian dialogism are used in order to conceptualize the sensemaking opportunities provided by the encounter with a cultural otherness. It is argued that in such bicultural situations, because of the lack of intimate understanding of the other culture, the third element in the dialogic relation - ‘thirdness’, i.e. the relation itself, without which there would be no sensemaking potential - may be lacking as a result of the distorting combination of projected similarity and stereotyping, added to certain counterproductive organizational dynamics. Therefore, it is suggested that, to make the bicultural work interaction the rewarding relation it could be, thirdness should be coordinated by management in a way that can transcend the spontaneous negative dynamics of the confrontational situation. If management was to fail to organize (with) thirdness appropriately, bringing in a third party could be a possible alternative in order to initiate the necessary mutual understanding that should eventually lead to a fruitful work interaction.

The Home of Hearing : George Lindbeck's understanding of community

The aim of this thesis was to examine the understanding of community in George Lindbeck s The Nature of Doctrine. Intrinsic to this question was also examining how Lindbeck understands the relation between the text and the world which both meet in a Christian community. Thirdly this study also aimed at understanding what the persuasiveness of this understanding depends on. The method applied for this task was systematic analysis. The study was conducted by first providing an orientation into the nontheological substance of the ND which was assumed useful with respect to the aim of this study. The study then went on to explore Lindbeck in his own context of postliberal theology in order to see how the ND was received. It also attempted to provide a picture of how the ND relates to Lindbeck as a theologian. The third chapter was a descriptive analysis into the cultural-linguistic perspective, which is understood as being directly proportional to his understanding of community. The fourth chapter was an analysis into how the cultural-linguistic perspective sees the relation between the text and the world. When religion is understood from a cultural-linguistic perspective, it presents itself as a cultural-linguistic entity, which Lindbeck understands as a comprehensive interpretive scheme which structures human experience and understanding of oneself and the world in which one lives. When one exists in this entity, it is the entity which shapes the subjectivities of all those who are at home in this entity which makes participation in the life of a cultural linguistic entity a condition for understanding it. Religion is above all an external word that moulds and shapes our religious existence and experience. Understanding faith then as coming from hearing, is something that correlates with the cultural-linguistic depiction of reality. Religion informs us of a religious reality, it does not originate in any way from ourselves. This externality linked to the axiomatic nature of religion is also something that distinguishes Lindbeck sharply from liberalist tendencies, which understand religion as ultimately expressing the prereflective depths of the inner self. Language is the central analogy to understanding the medium in which one moves when inhabiting a cultural-linguistic system because language is the transmitting medium in which the cultural-linguistic system is embodied. The realism entailed in Lindbeck s understanding of a community is that we are fundamentally on the receiving end when it comes to our identities whether cultural or religious. We always witness to something. Its persuasiveness rests on the fact that we never exist in an unpersuaded reality. The language of Christ is a self-sustaining and irreducible cultural-linguistic entity, which is ontologically founded upon Christ. It transmits the reality of a new being. The basic relation to the world for a Christian is that of witnessing salvation in Christ: witnessing Christ as the home of hearing the message of salvation, which is the God-willed way. Following this logic, the relation of the world and the text is one of relating to the world from the text, i.e. In Christ through the word (text) for the world, because it assumes it s logic from the way Christ ontologically relates to us.

An Analysis of the Concept of Citizenship: Legal, Political and Social Dimensions

The thesis aims at analyzing concept of citizenship in political philosophy. The concept of citizenship is a complex one: it does not have a definitive explication, but it nevertheless is a very important category in contemporary world. Citizenship is a powerful ideal, and often the way a person is treated depends on whether he or she has the status of a citizen. Citizenship includes protection of a person’s rights both at home and abroad. It entails legal, political and social dimension: the legal status as a full member of society, the recognition of that status by fellow citizens and acting as a member of society. The thesis discusses these three dimensions. Its objective is to show how all of them, despite being insufficient in some aspects, reach something important about the concept. The main sources of the thesis are Civic Republicanism by Iseult Honohan (Routledge 2002), Republicanism by Philip Pettit (Clarendon Press 1997), and Taking Rights Seriously by Ronald Dworkin (1997). In addition, the historical part of the thesis relies mainly on the works of Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, Adam Smith, Quentin Skinner, James Pocock and James Tully. The writings of Will Kymlicka, John Rawls, Chantal Mouffe, and Shane Phelan are referred to in the presentation and critique of the liberal tradition of thought. Hannah Arendt and Seyla Benhabib’s analysis of Arendt’s philosophy both address the problematic relations between human rights and nation-states as the main guarantors of rights. The chapter on group rights relies on Peter Jones’ account of corporate and collective rights, after which I continue to Seumas Miller’s essay on the (liberal) account of group rights and their relation to the concept of citizenship. Republicanism and Political Theory (2002) edited by Cécile Laborde and John Maynor is also references. David Miller and Maurizio Viroli represent the more “rooted” version of republicanism. The thesis argues that the full concept of citizenship should be seen as containing legal, political and social dimensions. The concept can be viewed from all of these three angles. The first means that citizenship is connected with certain rights, like the right to vote or stand for election, the right to property and so on. In most societies, the law guarantees these rights to every citizen. Then there is also the social dimension, which can be said to be as important as the legal one: the recognition of equality and identities of others. Finally, there is the political dimension, meaning the importance of citizens’ participation in the society, which is discussed in connection with the contemporary account of republicanism. All these issues are discussed from the point of view of groups demanding for group-specific rights and equal recognition. The challenge with these three aspects of citizenship is, however, that they are difficult to discuss under one heading. Different theories or discourses of citizenship each approach the subject from different starting points, which make reconciling them sometimes hard. The fundamental questions theories try to answer may differ radically depending on the theory. Nevertheless, in order to get the whole image of what the citizenship discourses are about all the aspects deserve to be taken into account.

Uskonnonopetuksen tunnustuksellisuus koulun kiistakysymyksenä : Evankelinen herätysliike oppivelvollisuuskoulun kristillisyyden asialla 1912-1926

In the early years of independence the Finnish school system went through a major change. Both the Compulsory school attendance act (1921) and the Religious freedom act (1923) were legislated almost simultaneously. Although the legislators were deciding on the whole content of the citizenship education given in the compulsory school, their attention was mainly concentrated on the issue of the religious education. The former study concerning the subject shows that this issue was strongly influenced by the political power struggle between the conservative and the socialist parties. One of the underlying factors was also the Church s decreased authority concerning the elementary school. The aim of this research was to study the Finnish evangelical movement s attitude and opinions on the issue of religious education and on its status and nature. Their opinions on the issue were especially investigated from the point of view of their own evangelical lower elementary school teachers seminar, which was deeply connected with the matter of confessionalism. The source material of this research of educational history consist of documents of the school administration and the Lutheran Evangelical Association as well as of vast collection of educational, Church s and evangelical movement s journals. According to the results of this study, the evangelical movement plead very strongly for denominational religious education. However, the confessionalism they were pursuing differed from the common understanding of the concept at that time. This became evident both because of their demands for increased education on the Christian doctrine and because of their sharp criticism against loosely confessional, generally Christian religious education. The evangelical movement s strict opinion was combined with their effort to emphasize the Lutherian doctrine in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland. The founding of the Evangelical seminar for lower elementary school teachers in Karkku was a significant indication of the evangelical movement s dedication to strive towards school s Christianity. The objective of the evangelical seminar was to change the school by means of training evangelical minded teachers. The seminar was only a part of much larger plans of evangelical education and home missionary work. However, maintaining the seminar proved to be impossible, especially as the National Board of Education was absolutely against it, claiming that it would endanger the unity of the compulsory school. The National Board of Education indicated that the objectivity of citizenship education would be forfeit, if every marginal ideological movement could educate their own teachers.

Ode to a Skylark: Agricultural intensification and farmland birds in the Baltic region

Intensification of agricultural land-use has been was shown to be the key reason behind declines in wildlife species associated with farmland. Accession to the European Union is regarded as a potential threat to the farmland biota of its new member states. In my thesis I looked at scenarios of agricultural development across the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and the ways they are seen to affect farmed environments as a habitat of farmland bird species. I looked at the effects of major farmed habitats across the region, and assessed the role of spatial organisation of farmed habitats. I also evaluated the direction and magnitude of changes in bird communities following progression of farmland land-use from a relatively less intensive to the most intensive type within each country. Different aspects of the structural complexity of farmland were critical for supporting farmland birds. There was a clear indication that the more intensively farmed areas across the region provided habitat for fewer bird species and individuals, and intensification of field management was reflected in a tangible decrease in farmland bird abundance. The second part of the thesis, based on interviews in Estonia and Finland, is devoted to farmers interest in and knowledge of farmland wildlife, their understanding of the concept of biodiversity, and awareness of causes behind species declines. I examined the relationship between farmers interest and their willingness to undertake practices favouring farmland wildlife. Many farmers viewed biodiversity from a narrow perspective. In Finland farmers expressed higher concern about the decline in common farmland species than in Estonia. In both countries farmers rated intensification of agriculture as the major driving force behind declines. The expressed interest in wildlife positively correlated with willingness to undertake wildlife-friendly measures. Only farmers with agri-environment contracts targeted specifically at biodiversity were more knowledgeable about practical on-farm activities favouring wildlife, and were more willing to employ them that the rest. The results suggest that, by contributing to simplification of the farmland structure, homogenisation of crops, and increase in intensity of field use, EU agricultural policies will have a detrimental effect on farmland bird populations in Eastern Europe. Farmers are on the whole positive to the idea of supporting wildlife on their farms, and are concerned about declines, but they require payments to offset their income loss and extra work. I propose ways of further improving and better targeting of the agri-environment schemes in the region. I argue that with a foreseen tripling of cereal yields across the region, the EU Council s target of halting biodiversity decline in the EU by 2010 may not be realistic unless considerable improvements are made in conservation safeguards within the EU agricultural policy for the region.

Confronting Confucian Understandings of the Christian Doctrine of Salvation : A systematic theological analysis of the basic problems in the Confucian-Christian dialogue

The aim of the present study is to analyze Confucian understandings of the Christian doctrine of salvation in order to find the basic problems in the Confucian-Christian dialogue. I will approach the task via a systematic theological analysis of four issues in order to limit the thesis to an appropriate size. They are analyzed in three chapters as follows: 1. The Confucian concept concerning the existence of God. Here I discuss mainly the issue of assimilation of the Christian concept of God to the concepts of Sovereign on High (Shangdi) and Heaven (Tian) in Confucianism. 2. The Confucian understanding of the object of salvation and its status in Christianity. 3. The Confucian understanding of the means of salvation in Christianity. Before beginning this analysis it is necessary to clarify the vast variety of controversies, arguments, ideas, opinions and comments expressed in the name of Confucianism; thus, clear distinctions among different schools of Confucianism are given in chapter 2. In the last chapter I will discuss the results of my research in this study by pointing out the basic problems that will appear in the analysis. The results of the present study provide conclusions in three related areas: the tacit differences in the ways of thinking between Confucians and Christians, the basic problems of the Confucian-Christian dialogue, and the affirmative elements in the dialogue. In addition to a summary, a bibliography and an index, there are also eight appendices, where I have introduced important background information for readers to understand the present study.