"Drink with Pleasure when it is Aged'' A Model of Friendship for Contextual Christian Ethical and Liturgical Life

Ghansah, John Kobina (2006) "Drink with Pleasure when it is Aged'' A Model of Friendship for Contextual Christian Ethical and Liturgical Life. Masters thesis, Weston Jesuit School of Theology.

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Abstract

Do not abandon old friends, for new ones cannot equal them. A new friend is like new wine; when it has aged, you can drink it with pleasure. (Sirach 9:1 0) The practice of friendship is not new. It is found in all cultures and in all traditions. In fact, one could say that the beginning of human life is founded and built on friendship. Primordial human life of communication and of language presupposes friendship. Friendship is the appropriate context to discuss issues of birth and death, love and fear, compassion and apathy. The book of Sirach, one of the few writings of Scripture that discusses extensively the subject of friendship, recognizes its value and enjoins its readers to the nurturing and sustaining the practice of friendship. This dissertation intends to revisit the practice of friendship. To use the metaphor of the book of Sirach, the dissertation means to "drink again this old wine (of friendship) with pleasure." It is to "taste friendship" from a different perspective and to draw attention to its value and relevance to ethics and liturgy in particular and to theological discourse in general. What is this new taste that I have acquired over the years? My work is not primarily a discussion about friendship. There are numerous books and writings about friendship. Researching the subject in a library database will overwhelm anyone because the results show thousands of books. This dissertation is also not primarily about two autonomous subjects coming together to become or to make friendship. Again there are many how-to books in the market that fosters such vision.

Item Type: Thesis (Masters)
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity
Divisions: Jesuitica
Depositing User: JHI Africa
Date Deposited: 30 Nov 2018 14:15
Last Modified: 30 Nov 2018 14:17
URI: http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/8013

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