bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Theology of Baptism
Authors: Heron John 
Published: February 2009

In the Bible we find Baptism suddenly appearing for the first time in that action of John the Baptist which, according to one way of reading Mark I.I, was ‘the beginning of the Gospel’. The Evangelists speak of Baptism not as a strange rite invented by John, but as something so familiar that it requires neither detailed description nor careful explanation.To readers of the present day, however, the sudden appearance of Baptism at the beginning of the New Testament is a source of bewilderment which can easily lead to the kind of false interpretation of Scripture that underlies the Baptist movement et hoc genus omne.It is therefore necessary to try to discover all we can as to the origin and significance of this strange rite.The New Testament uses two cognate nouns: βάπτισμα and βαπτισμóς. βάπτισμα is found only in the New Testament and in Christian writers, and in the New Testament is used only of Baptism, whether it be John's Baptism or Christian Baptism. βαπτισμóς is used in the New Testament meaning a special form of ‘washing’. It occurs only at Mark 7.4, Heb. 6.2 and 9.10. In all these cases the reference is to ritual washings either of persons or of things. It is never used of Baptism in the New Testament, though Josephus, the only profane author to use the word, applies it to John's Baptism (Ant. xvii.v.2).
The Reformation of Worship
Authors: Read D. H. C. 
Published: February 2009

There are signs in nearly all the Christian communions of the Western world today of restlessness and dissatisfaction with our inherited patterns of public worship. This is indicated by the numerous experiments that are being made and by the movements for liturgical reform that are active in many denominations. A great variety of motives lies behind these movements for reform; but in general it might be said that we are conscious of living in a world that has changed more fundamentally in the last fifty years than in any remotely comparable period of the past, and feel that these changes, while not affecting the essence of Christian worship, must surely be reflected in its forms. This is felt by convinced and instructed Christians who have a vision of what worship might be as the expression of our highest and holiest activity and are disappointed at its meagre realisation in the normal practice of their church: it is felt even more by the semi-convinced who are genuinely seeking to know and experience more of what we mean by worship, and who find our services unilluminating and uninspiring. It is certainly not ill-will, and may not even be indifference, that keeps multitudes of potential worshippers from entering our churches. The blight that seems to afflict public worship in our day might be characterised in one word—irrelevance.Now the charge of irrelevance is not to be disposed of by a series of sermons on the relevance of the Christian faith and of Christian worship.
Holy Materialism: An Examination of Lüthi's Die Soziale Frage im Lichte der Bibel
Authors: Read David H. C. 
Published: February 2009

A Danish friend remarked to me recently that he wished that preachers would stop attacking materialism. I found myself in complete agreement with his thesis that the current pulpit fashion of denouncing the materialism of the age is both muddleheaded and ill-timed. In the first place, it is highly questionable whether the present generation is more “materialist” (using the word in its worst sense) than, let us say, the Victorian era. What is more important, the phrase “materialism of the modern man ” o n the lips of Churchmen begs more than one question. In what sense is the Christian abstracted from the human material situation? And what is the remedy for materialism supposed to be? An abstract “ spiritualism ”? A flight from the concrete situation in which we all have to earn a living? If the answer is that by “ materialism ” the Church to-day means an obsession with things with a consequent neglect of spiritual values, we do well to ask whether that is indeed the problem of the modern world, or whether it is not more true that the real battlefield is the sphere of these spiritual values, the ideologies in whose name things are controlled.Walter Ltithi's recent booklet,Die Soziale Frage im Lichte der Bibel, is a realistic effort to bring an informed and Reformed insight to bear on the sociological questions of to-day.
Is ‘Miracle’ an Intelligible Notion?
Authors: Miller John Franklin 
Published: February 2009

That Christians must believe in miracles is indubitable, for their religion substantially rests upon the miracle of the resurrection. However there have been a number of criticisms of miracles as both unintelligible and unreasonable. This paper will attempt to answer these criticisms and to show that the notion of ‘miracle’ is intelligible and that to believe in miracles is reasonable.1 To do this, the following four criticisms must be answered in some way:(1) The very concept of ‘miracle’ is a self-contradictory or in some other way incoherent notion.(2) The empirical evidence given for miracles has always been inadequate to substantiate a rational belief.(3) Judging from past experience, one can always rule out even the possibility of miracles.(4) A miracle can never be shown incapable of a natural and scientific explanation, at least in principle.
The Ambiguous Revolution: Kant on the Nature of Faith
Authors: Wiebe Don 
Published: February 2009

Kant, it has been said, brought a ‘Copernican Revolution’ to religion and theology no less so than he did to physics. According to Karl Barth, for example, Kant's theology diverges radically from tradition. While rejecting the traditional proofs as foundation for a knowledge of God (his existence, etc.) as wholly inadequate, he, nevertheless, remained a theist. Unwilling to believe in God in the absence of good reasons for doing so, however, he offered an alternative justification for such belief. Religious belief, he insists, is based on practical considerations rather than on theoretical ones. Kant, therefore, did not consider it as necessarily irrational to hold a thing as true even though it be a theoretically insufficient holding to be true. According to him it is simply that in such a case the belief that ‘something’ is true does not constitute knowledge. And it is this displacement of knowledge in the religious sphere by faith that essentially constitutes the revolutionary change in theology.Contrary to this generally accepted view of Kant's thought, I shall in this paper argue the essentially unrevolutionary character of his understanding of theology. There is, I shall maintain, a basic continuity in Kant's thoughts on religion with the theologies of the past. The faith of which Kant speaks, I shall attempt to show, is a cognitive faith—a source of beliefs that can quite legitimately, even if only in a weak sense, be referred to as religious knowledge. His theology, therefore, is, like the theology of his predecessors, ultimately an inferential knowledge of the divine.
On God's Ontic and Noetic Absoluteness: A Critique of Barth
Authors: Brown Robert 
Published: February 2009

Karl Barth's formidable attack on all forms of natural theology is one of the major events in twentieth-century religious thought. He anathematized every effort by unaided reason to conceive adequately of the nature of God or to demonstrate God's existence. To him all are disguised attempts to ‘domesticate’ God in the circumscribed and self-serving world of human interests. Those theologians who are dissatisfied with this dimension of Barth's thought sometimes criticize it, but more often find it easier just to ignore him and go their own ways. Those philosophers who are interested in provoking a confrontation with Barth find it difficult to penetrate the confessional circle and establish a point of contact which the defenders of Barth's prohibition of natural theology would themselves be constrained to acknowledge.My contention is that there is such a point of contact open to theological and philosophical critique, one which previous critics have overlooked. The argument is organized around five theses. They are:1. The foundation of Barth's position on God's knowability lies inChurch DogmaticsII, 1. Here he declares that God's noetic absoluteness derives from his ontic absoluteness (pp. 310f). To the critical eye this spurious derivation appears to be anon sequiturrather than an acceptable statement of logical entailment or of metaphysical or theological necessity.2. Barth fails to support the derivation with convincing exegetical arguments of the sort required to override its conceptual weakness. This is a rather surprising circumstance for one who strives to rest his entire theology on revelation.
Necessary Being
Authors: Hick John H. 
Published: February 2009

Necessary being' is one of the terms by means of which Christian thought has sought to define the difference between God and man. The notion of necessary being, applied to God and withheld from man, indicates that God and man differ not merely in the characteristics which they possess but more fundamentally, in their modes of being, or in the fact that they exist in different senses of the word ‘exist’.That such a distinction, however it may be best expressed, is essential to the Christian concept of God is agreed virtually on all hands. Paul Tillich in our own day emphasises the distinction to the extent of using different terms to refer to the reality of God and of man respectively. Human beings and other created things exist; God, on the other hand, does not exist, but is Being-itself. This is the most recent way of formulating a discrimination which has been classically expressed in the history of Christian thought by the idea of the necessary being of God in contrast to the contingent being of man and of the whole created order. There are, however, two importantly different concepts which may be, and which have been, expressed by the phrase ‘necessary being’. ‘Necessity’, in a philosophical context, usually means logical necessity, and gives rise in theology to the concept of a being such that it is logically impossible that this being should not exist. But this is not the only kind of necessity referred to in philosophical literature.
The Problem of the Gospel According to Matthew
Authors: Hebert Gabriel 
Published: February 2009

For whom, and with what special purpose, was St. Matthew's Gospel written? The thesis of this paper is, that it was written after the Fall of Jerusalem by a Jewish Christian for the Great Church, which by then was predominantly Gentile, with the special purpose of bringing to Gentile Christians the moral and spiritual teaching which Jerusalem had preserved and which they sorely needed.One problem of Matthew is this: that the Evangelist, while reproducing with great care the testimony of the sources which he accepts as authoritative (namely, Mark, Q,, and M which contained the tradition of the Church of Jerusalem over which St. James had presided), does not attempt to reconcile them. As we shall see, it is hard to think that if our Lord said that ‘till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished’ (5.18), He could also have said ‘It is not that which enters the mouth that makes a man unclean, but that which comes out of his mouth is what makes him unclean’ (15.11, cf. Mark 7.15), since this saying repeals the whole of Leviticus 11, on unclean foods. Again, if He commanded His disciples to do and observe all that was laid down by the Scribes who sat on Moses' seat (23.1–3), how could He have so trenchantly criticised the Tradition of the elders as leading in actual cases to breach of the Fifth Commandment (15.1–9, cf. Mark 7.5–13)?
Barth and Loyola on Communication of the Word of God
Authors: Starkloff Carl F. 
Published: February 2009

Ten years ago it might have seemed odd to place side by side two men like Karl Barth (1886-1968) and Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), the former considered a ‘modern church father’ of the Reformation and the latter an implacable foe of that tradition in its fledgling state. What is significant however is that their essential spiritual thrust took such similar directions. It is the similarity in essentials that first drew this writer to begin comparing the thought of the two men, but more than a similarity is involved here. An examination of the attitudes of the two towards Christian proclamation and communication provides striking ecumenical possibilities, and allows Roman Catholics and Protestants to see how close their traditions are in so many cases, if only a careful effort is made to understand the other's language. Loyola himself, at the outset of his spiritual manual, offers us a pattern for sensitivity in theological discussion:To assure better cooperation between the one who is giving the Exercises and the exercitant, and more beneficial results for both, it is necessary to suppose that every good Christian is more ready to put a good interpretation on another's statement than to condemn it as false. If an orthodox construction cannot be put on a proposition, the one who made it should be asked how he understands it. If he is in error, he should be corrected with all kindness. If this does not suffice, all appropriate means should be used to bring him to a correct interpretation, and so defend the proposition from error.
Noble gas and stable isotope geochemistry of thermal fluids from Deception Island, Antarctica
Authors: Kusakabe Minoru , Nagao Keisuke , Ohba Takeshi , Seo Jung Hun , Park Sung-Hyun , Lee Jong Ik , Park Byong-Kwon 
Published: February 2009

AbstractNew stable isotope and noble gas data obtained from fumarolic and bubbling gases and hot spring waters sampled from Deception Island, Antarctica, were analysed to constrain the geochemical features of the island's active hydrothermal system and magmatism in the Bransfield back-arc basin. The 3He/4He ratios of the gases (< 9.8 × 10-6), which are slightly lower than typical MORB values, suggest that the Deception Island magma was generated in the mantle wedge of a MORB-type source but the signature was influenced by the addition of radiogenic 4He derived from subducted components in the former Phoenix Plate. The N2/He ratios of fumarolic gas are higher than those of typical mantle-derived gases suggesting that N2 was added during decomposition of sediments in the subducting slab. The δ13C values of -5 to -6‰ for CO2 also indicate degassing from a MORB-type mantle source. The H2/Ar- and SiO2 geothermometers indicate that the temperatures in the hydrothermal system below Deception Island range from ~150°C to ~300°C. The δD and δ18O values measured from fumarolic gas and hot spring waters do not indicate any contribution of magmatic water to the samples. The major ionic components and δD-δ18O-δ34S values indicate that hot spring waters are a mixture of local meteoric water and seawater. Mn and SiO2 in spring waters were enriched relative to seawater reflecting water-rock interaction at depth.
Archive Compiles New Resource for Global Tropical Cyclone Research
Authors: Knapp Kenneth R. , Kruk Michael C. , Levinson David H. , Gibney Ethan J. 
Published: February 2009

The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) compiles tropical cyclone best track data from 11 tropical cyclone forecast centers around the globe, producing a unified global best track data set (M. C. Kruk et al., A technique for merging global tropical cyclone best track data, submitted to Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 2008). Best track data (so called because the data generally refer to the best estimate of a storm's characteristics) include the position, maximum sustained winds, and minimum central pressure of a tropical cyclone at 6‐hour intervals.Despite the significant impact of tropical cyclones on society and natural systems, there had been no central repository maintained for global best track data prior to the development of IBTrACS in 2008. The data set, which builds upon the efforts of the international tropical forecasting community, has become the most comprehensive global best track data set publicly available. IBTrACS was created by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center (NOAA NCDC) under the auspices of the World Data Center for Meteorology.
Investigating Age Resolution in Laser Ablation Geochronology: Workshop on Data Handling in LA‐ICP‐MSU‐Th‐Pb Geochronology; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 12–13 July 2008
Authors: Horstwood Matt , Kosler Jan , Jackson Simon , Pearson Norman , Sylvester Paul 
Published: February 2009

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) uranium‐thorium‐lead (U‐Th‐Pb) dating is an increasingly popular approach for determining the age of mineral grains and the timing of geological events. The spatial resolution offered by this technique allows detailed investigations of complex igneous and metamorphic processes, and the speed of data capture allows vast amounts of information to be gathered rapidly. Laser ablation U‐Th‐Pb dating is therefore becoming an increasingly influential technique to the geochronology community, providing cost‐effective and ready access to age data for laboratories and end users worldwide.However, complications in acquiring, processing, and interpreting data can lead to inaccurate age information entering the literature. With the numbers of practitioners expanding rapidly, the need to standardize approaches and resolve difficulties (particularly involving the subjectivity in processing laser ablation U‐Th‐Pb data) is becoming important.
AMPK and the biochemistry of exercise: implications for human health and disease
Authors: Richter Erik A. , Ruderman Neil B. 
Published: February 2009

AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) is a phylogenetically conserved fuel-sensing enzyme that is present in all mammalian cells. During exercise, it is activated in skeletal muscle in humans, and at least in rodents, also in adipose tissue, liver and perhaps other organs by events that increase the AMP/ATP ratio. When activated, AMPK stimulates energy-generating processes such as glucose uptake and fatty acid oxidation and decreases energy-consuming processes such as protein and lipid synthesis. Exercise is perhaps the most powerful physiological activator of AMPK and a unique model for studying its many physiological roles. In addition, it improves the metabolic status of rodents with a metabolic syndrome phenotype, as does treatment with AMPK-activating agents; it is therefore tempting to attribute the therapeutic benefits of regular physical activity to activation of AMPK. Here we review the acute and chronic effects of exercise on AMPK activity in skeletal muscle and other tissues. We also discuss the potential role of AMPK activation in mediating the prevention and treatment by exercise of specific disorders associated with the metabolic syndrome, including Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.
Determinants of Retinal Microvascular Architecture in Normal Subjects
Authors: HUGHES ALUN D. , WONG TIEN Y. , WITT NICHOLAS , EVANS RICHARD , THOM SIMON A. MCG. , KLEIN BARBARA E. , CHATURVEDI NISH , KLEIN RONALD 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTBackground: Recent studies have shown that changes in the retinal microvasculature predict cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, little is known regarding influences on the retinal microvasculature in healthy people without overt cardiovascular or metabolic disease.Methods: We used a semiautomated computerized technique to analyze digitized retinal photographs from a total of 167 healthy people (age range, 45–75 years; 83 female), without clinical CVD, diabetes, or hypertension, randomly sampled from the population‐based Beaver Dam Eye Study. We assessed arteriolar and venular narrowing, arteriolar optimality deviation, and other quantitative aspects of the retinal microvasculature.Results: Arterioles were significantly narrower and longer, had wider branching angles, and were more tortuous than venules. Increased arteriolar length to diameter ratio (an index of ratio arteriolar narrowing) was positively and independently associated with older age and elevated systolic blood pressure. Arteriolar optimality deviation (an index of microvascular endothelial dysfunction) increased with greater body mass index. Current smoking and increased white blood cell (WBC) count was associated with wider venules. After controlling for smoking, WBC was no longer a significant predictor of venular diameter.Conclusions: CVD risk factors are associated with retinal microvascular changes in healthy individuals without evidence of CVD, diabetes, or hypertension. CVD risk factors have different influences on the arteriolar and venular bed.
Effect of epidural saline washout on regression of sensory and motor block after epidural anaesthesia with 2% lidocaine and fentanyl in elderly patients
Authors: Park E. Y. , Kil H. K. , Park W. S. , Lee N.‐H. , Hong J.‐Y. 
Published: February 2009

SummarySeventy elderly males received lumbar epidural anaesthesia with 12 ml of 2% lidocaine containing fentanyl 50 μg. At the end of transurethral surgery, the washout group (n = 33) received an epidural bolus of 30 ml saline while the control group (n = 34) did not. Mean (SD) times to 1‐grade (17.2 (11.9) vs 32.7 (11.3) min) and 2‐grade regression (23.8 (12.2) vs 56.0 (23.9) min) of motor block, 3‐dermatomal sensory regression (31.4 (11.6) vs 42.2 (14.4) min for cold and 30.8 (15.6) vs 40.6 (14.2) min for pinprick), and regression to S1 (57.7 (16.1) vs 76.2 (20.2) min for cold and 56.8 (17.3) vs 69.2 (16.2) min for pinprick) were significantly shorter in the washout group than the control group. There were no differences in postoperative pain scores and side effects between the two groups. We concluded that epidural washout facilitates regression of both motor and sensory block following epidural anaesthesia without reducing the postoperative analgesic benefit.
Ambulation in labour and delivery mode: a randomised controlled trial of high‐dose vs mobile epidural analgesia*
Authors: Wilson M. J. A. , MacArthur C. , Cooper G. M. , Shennan A. ,   on behalf of the COMET Study Group UK
Published: February 2009

SummaryCompared to high‐dose epidurals where mobility is impossible, mobile epidurals have been shown to reduce instrumental vaginal delivery rates. The mechanism for this benefit may depend on women walking or adopting upright postures during labour. We investigated maternal motor power and ambulation of 1052 primparous women randomised to high‐dose epidural (Control), Combined Spinal Epidural (CSE) or Low‐Dose Infusion (LDI) as a pre‐specified, secondary outcome of the Comparative Obstetric Mobile Epidural Trial. Modified Bromage power scores and the level of mobility a woman actually achieved were recorded each hour after epidural placement during first and second stage, until delivery. Relative to control, significantly more women maintained normal leg power throughout labour in both mobile groups and significantly more women with CSE maintained superior leg power for longer than with LDI. Observational analysis did not demonstrate an association between the level of ambulation a woman actually achieved after epidural placement and delivery mode.