Hasil untuk "Practical religion. The Christian life"

James Pedrera

Marek Jodkowski

W 1886 r. po śmierci biskupa chełmińskiego Jana Nepomucena Marwicza, Chełmińska Kapituła Katedralna początkowo wstrzymała się z wyborem administratora diecezji z uwagi na konieczność składania przez niego przysięgi dotyczącej lojalności i posłuszeństwa wobec króla pruskiego oraz prawa państwowego, co było pokłosiem kulturkampfu. Po złagodzeniu ustawodawstwa państwowego obrano administratorem kanonika Leona Rednera. Władze państwowe od początku odrzucały kandydatury na stolicę biskupią w Pelplinie związane ze środowiskiem polskim, przede wszystkim kanoników kapituły, którzy reprezentowali tzw. frakcję polską. Z przygotowanego początkowo przez kapitułę zestawienia kandydatów, jedyną osobą możliwą do zaakceptowania przez władze państwowe okazał się prepozyt Gustav Wanjura. Wybór nie mógł jednak dokonać się w oparciu o jedną kandydaturę. Ponadto faworyta władz państwowych odrzuciła Stolica Apostolska. Żeby nie przeciągać wakatu na stolicy biskupiej, Leon XIII wymógł na kapitule zawieszenie jej prawa wyboru. Pertraktacje prowadzone bezpośrednio między Stolicą Apostolską a rządem pruskim doprowadziły do nominowania kanonika Leona Rednera na biskupa chełmińskiego. Brewe papieskie ogłoszono 16 listopada 1886 r. Święceń biskupich udzielił Rednerowi 9 stycznia 1887 r. w katedrze pelplińskiej arcybiskup gnieźnieński i poznański Juliusz Dinder.

Yanbin Zhao, Hao Liu, Zhihua Deng et al.

Accelerated life testing (ALT) can significantly reduce the economic, time, and labor costs of life testing in the process of equipment, device, and material research and development (R&D), and improve R&D efficiency. This paper proposes a performance characterization data prediction (PCDP) method and a life prediction-driven ALT (LP-ALT) method to accelerate the life test of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The PCDP method can accurately predict different PCD using only four impedances (real and imaginary) corresponding to a high frequency and a medium frequency, greatly shortening the measurement time of offline PCD and reducing the difficulty of life testing. The test results on an open source life test dataset containing 42 PEMFCs show that compared with the determination coefficient (R^2) results of predicted aging indicators, including limiting current, total mass transport resistance, electrochemically active surface area, and crossover current, obtained based on the measured PCD, the R^2 results of predicted aging indicators based on the predicted PCD is only reduced by 0.04, 0.01, 0.05, and 0.06, respectively. The LP-ALT method can shorten the life test time through early life prediction. Test results on the same open-source life test dataset of PEMFCs show that the acceleration ratio of the LP-ALT method can reach 30 times under the premise of ensuring that the minimum R^2 of the prediction results of different aging indicators, including limiting current, total mass transport resistance, and electrochemically active surface area, is not less than 0.89. Combining the different performance characterization data predicted by the PCDP method and the life prediction of the LP-ALT method, the diagnosis and prognosis of PEMFCs and their components can be achieved.

Kate Keahey, Marc Richardson, Rafael Tolosana Calasanz et al.

This report synthesizes findings from the November 2024 Community Workshop on Practical Reproducibility in HPC, which convened researchers, artifact authors, reviewers, and chairs of reproducibility initiatives to address the critical challenge of making computational experiments reproducible in a cost-effective manner. The workshop deliberately focused on systems and HPC computer science research due to its unique requirements, including specialized hardware access and deep system reconfigurability. Through structured discussions, lightning talks, and panel sessions, participants identified key barriers to practical reproducibility and formulated actionable recommendations for the community. The report presents a dual framework of challenges and recommendations organized by target audience (authors, reviewers, organizations, and community). It characterizes technical obstacles in experiment packaging and review, including completeness of artifact descriptions, acquisition of specialized hardware, and establishing reproducibility conditions. The recommendations range from immediate practical tools (comprehensive checklists for artifact packaging) to ecosystem-level improvements (refining badge systems, creating artifact digital libraries, and developing AI-assisted environment creation). Rather than advocating for reproducibility regardless of cost, the report emphasizes striking an appropriate balance between reproducibility rigor and practical feasibility, positioning reproducibility as an integral component of scientific exploration rather than a burdensome afterthought. Appendices provide detailed, immediately actionable checklists for authors and reviewers to improve reproducibility practices across the HPC community.

Frank Pallas, Katharina Koerner, Isabel Barberá et al.

Privacy engineering is gaining momentum in industry and academia alike. So far, manifold low-level primitives and higher-level methods and strategies have successfully been established. Still, fostering adoption in real-world information systems calls for additional aspects to be consciously considered in research and practice.

Alberto Canonaco, Christian Haesemeyer, Amnon Neeman et al.

In this article we prove that all the inclusions between the 'classical' and naturally defined full triangulated subcategories of a weakly approximable triangulated category are intrinsic (in one case under a technical condition). This extends all the existing results about subcategories of weakly approximable triangulated categories. Together with a forthcoming paper about uniqueness of enhancements, our result allows us to generalize a celebrated theorem by Rickard which asserts that if $R$ and $S$ are left coherent rings, then a derived equivalence of $R$ and $S$ is "independent of the decorations". That is, if $D^?(R\text{-}\square)$ and $D^?(S\text{-}\square)$ are equivalent as triangulated categories for some choice of decorations $?$ and $\square$, then they are equivalent for every choice of decorations. But our theorem is much more general, and applies also to quasi-compact and quasi-separated schemes -- even to the relative version, in which the derived categories consist of complexes with cohomology supported on a given closed subscheme with quasi-compact complement.

The Person and the Challenges

Jonathan H. Jiang, Avery M. Minion, Stuart F. Taylor

As humanity embarks on an age of exploration, the question of whether we are alone in the universe remains unanswered. This comprehensive review reflects on the paradoxical nature of our existence in a seemingly lifeless cosmos, delving into the silence we encounter and the depths of our self-awareness. We embark on a journey that encompasses the search for life within our solar system, the mysteries of exoplanets, and the absence of technologically detectable life. Traditional definitions of life are challenged, especially in the context of artificial intelligence, as we strive to understand the complexities of existence. Contemplating our significance and insignificance in the vast cosmos, we grapple with the profound responsibility that accompanies being the only known life forms. Through introspection and contemplation, we capture the essence of our epoch -- an era defined by cosmic loneliness yet magnificent self-awareness.

Youdit Tariku Feyessa

This article argues that Ethiopia has seen an increase in ethnic-based atrocities and killings, creating a “society of enmity” which is in need of cura vitae, healing. The failure of the Church to minister healing and hope in this context has been largely brought about by political motives. This article examines and challenges the position of the Ethiopian Church amid a society of enmity and argues that the Church ought to search for cura vitae, healing of life, through the theology of lament and metanoia. A lamenting and metanoic Church would be able not only to enter the space of the sufferer and partake in naming what is going on, but would also enable self-questioning for authenticity that leads not only to healing but also to taking new action towards transforming the self and society for the better.

John Riches

This is the recently published version of Ian Wishart’s dissertation written for Knox College, Toronto, in 1968. Its author had also studied in Germany and Scotland. It was in Germany, when on a scholarship from the World Council of Churches, that he developed his great interest in Schleiermacher. He then spent the rest of his career as a preacher in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Newfoundland. It is, then, a remarkable fact that his dissertation should not only appear fifty-three years later but that it should speak to us with such clarity and relevance. A hundred years on from the beginnings of dialectical theology and Barth’s ferocious attacks on liberal theology and, in particular, Schleiermacher, comes a voice to remind us, not only of our debt to Schleiermacher for the strength of his response to the Enlightenment, but also of the centrality of his preaching of Christ to his life and work. Wishart sets Schleiermacher in the wider context of his times. Brought up and educated by the Moravians, he was deeply influenced by their emphasis on piety, as is clear from the central role which it, Frömmigkeit, plays in his mature work, The Christian Faith. For the Pietists, piety was a ’human activity directed against the world, where the world is taken to be all existence and activity apart from the work of the kingdom of God ... a separation from the activities of human knowledge and human power, a retreat from science and politics.’ (p. 6) Central to this were meetings in small groups for Bible reading and spiritual counselling, through which Pietists sought to evoke ‘moments of emotion, visions, and conversions.’ Like the Pietists, Schleiermacher saw the Bible as a practical book which should be open. He disagreed with them about how readily it could be understood. His reservations were based on his understanding of language and literature. Again, like the Pietists he placed great emphasis on experience as opposed to speculation. He did not however regard religious experience as simply individual emotional transport, but as something of a universal nature, a feeling of unconditional dependence found in all people. Such ‘[e]xperience was the ground of faith and faith was the ground of action’ (p. 7). Schleiermacher had a complicated relationship to pietism: its anti-intellectualism drove him away to the intense study of Kant in Halle, but he later acknowledged that his upbringing with the Moravians had awakened in him a deep sense of mysticism, so that ’I can still say that I am a Herrnhuter – only a Herrnhuter of a higher order’ (cited p. 9). In much the same way, Schleiermacher was both influenced by and reacted to the Enlightenment with its deep commitment to human reason and deep suspicion of the notion of revelation. ‘[R]eason was thus the first principle of religion—and revelation, if it was to be accepted at all, must conform to and be judged by the standards of reason’ (p. 9). But what were the bounds of reason? While Kant, to whom Schleiermacher turned, had offered an account Schleiermacher and Scripture 1112785 EXT0010.1177/00145246221112785Book of the Month research-article2022

Manuel Stetter

Lucia Ludvigh Cintulová

There is no Strategic Plan for tackling and preventing homelessness in Slovakia, which exacerbates the unsystematic process of social services for homeless people. For this reason, we point out the positives and negatives of the whole system. The research focuses on mapping the current situation of homelessness and describes the aid system under the auspices of the non-profit sector. The participants in the research were social and street workers who provide care and counseling for the homeless on an outpatient basis, on a residential basis or directly in the street where they live.

Todd T. W. Daly

CHASING METHUSELAH: Theology, the Body, and Slowing Human Aging by Todd T. W. Daly. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2021. 307 pages, index. Paperback; $38.00. ISBN: 9781532698002. *Chasing Methuselah brings "a Christological anthropology to bear on the scientific quest to attenuate aging by manipulating the body" (p. xi). Todd T. W. Daly, who teaches at Urbana Theological Seminary, argues that faith-based lenses are integrally important for interpreting historically diverse, and mostly failed, efforts to slow human aging--an elusive goal typically pursued by biomedical professionals, technocrats, and quacks. "The idea of a significantly prolonged healthy life has captured the public's imagination," Daly states in his Introduction, but "to date, the ethics of aging attenuation contains assumptions that often go unchallenged, leaving fundamental questions unasked" (p. 11). *With bold originality and astounding erudition Chasing Methuselah fills a major gap in critical gerontology by highlighting ethical foundations and existential dilemmas that scientists and commentators have generally ignored while attempting to alter bodily homeostasis and manipulate basic processes. Blazing a terra incognita full of unfamiliar names and references, Chasing Methuselah poses questions that reframe a fundamental debate: Should healthful longevity be extended by trying to cure age-related diseases or by slowing the rate of aging? In his critique of this "two endings [that] speak of two disparate paths of old age" framework, Daly pushes gerontology's limits beyond what most researchers, teachers, and practitioners (regardless of their specialization) regard as its transdisciplinary, cross-professional domain. *Chasing Methuselah has five richly nuanced, assiduously researched chapters. Chapter 1 alone is 58 pages long with 284 footnotes. It traces "the quest for longevity [that] has moved from legend to laboratory," thereby engendering "new hope that human aging might be brought under human control" (p. 76). Daly's second chapter chronicles how certain Christian texts and doctrines have bolstered two conflicting perspectives--specifically, a secular contention that "prolonging life is unequivocally good" and an "unequivocal foreclos[ing of] all attempts to secure a longer life by slowing aging" (p. 112). *Chapter 3 examines the legacy of Francis Bacon (1561-1626). Its title, "Relief of Man's Estate: Francis Bacon and the Theological Origins of the Modern Quest to Slow Aging," pivots the book to a contrapuntal, interpretive turn wherein technological and theological pathways toward greater longevity have complemented, paralleled, or contradicted themselves for centuries. On the one hand, Daly affirms that Bacon birthed biomedical science as an indispensable approach to practical knowledge about old age and aging. On the other hand, Daly quotes Bacon's objections to the project: "Natural philosophy [the study of nature] should not be invaded by revealed theology in the Bible," declared Bacon, "but rather be bounded by it" (p. 148). *The last two chapters of Chasing Methuselah's narrative invite laboratory scientists, policy analysts, and healthcare professionals to grapple with theodicy and eschatology--subjects usually taught in seminaries, not showcased in conferences on aging. Chapter 4, entitled "Adam Again," reveals the typically unacknowledged importance of theology in reflecting and refracting scientific views on slowing bodily aging. Ascetics tried to attenuate aging to reframe Adam's Fall in Genesis. For the Desert Fathers, "Bodily practices such as fasting were viewed as the primary means by which the Christian might regain a measure of what was lost by Adam's sin, namely, a heightened degree of bodily incorruptibility allowing for the possibility of longer life" (p. 199). *Chapter 5, "The Last Adam and Slowing Aging," builds upon the connection between asceticism, fasting, and prolongation of life espoused by Saints Anthony, Athanasius, and other Desert Fathers. This chapter also considers the work of the Swiss theologian Karl Barth in particular, employing Barth's "dynamic anthropology" or "dialectical-dialogical anthropology" for framing "christologically informed discussions on the relationship between one's body and soul as it relates to slowing aging" (p. 206). By taking on "finite humanity as embodied soul and ensouled body" (p. 253), the incarnation affects our perspective on lengthening life: "In light of the real man Jesus, any use of biotechnology ... is not without risk, as it may threaten our pursuit of the proper order to body and soul" (pp. 253-54). *Reading Chasing Methuselah can be daunting. I had to Google many references, and readers without theological training may well find the discussion of Barth difficult to comprehend. I associated Daly's modus operandi with "thick description"--Clifford Geertz's method of doing cultural anthropology. This approach gathers biographical details, historical milieus, and societal belief systems to contextualize actors' symbols, legends, and rituals, thereby explicating individual worldviews and collective behaviors. Geertz (omitted in the 34-page bibliography) used reams of data to synthesize and interpret what he observed being enacted ethnographically. *Daly, in contrast, offers a "conclusion" to each chapter, but rejects narrative foreclosure. To wit: The last sentence of Chasing Methuselah's four-page Conclusion, which begins "Perhaps the best question is whether the use of such biotechnology will help or hinder our pursuit of Jesus" (p. 258), requires readers to formulate their own answer to what Daly implicitly articulates. This tack leaves loose ends unresolved--perhaps frustrating for scientists accustomed to explicit, straightforward conclusions. That Daly chose not to bridge two specific cultures (humanities and science) diminishes his argument's impact. Reviewing this as an historian of aging, a religious/spiritual believer, and a critical gerontologist, I opt for more transparency. *I commend Daly for invoking Tom Cole and Gerald Gruman, whose histories of science, theology, and myth orchestrated early parts of Chasing Methuselah. I am dismayed, however, that the book does not sufficiently acknowledge two fierce competitions raging for decades: (1) turf wars over intramural status and extramural authority within the Gerontological Society of America (GSA); and (2) ideological and methodological rivalries that have pitted GSA advocates against experts in the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (4AM). *For example, the pro-longevity claims made by David Sinclair and Valter Longo, 4AM stalwarts whom Daly frequently cites, are important and pertinent. Nonetheless, their research does not enclose the vast array of theories advanced and debunked by specialists and emerging professionals within GSA. That strand of historical gerontology was evident in the early twentieth-century pathological model of aging (articulated by Elie Metchnikoff) and its physiological counterpart (presented by I. L. Nascher, the father of US cross-disciplinary geriatrics). Similarly, Daly's historiography could have paid more attention to Clive McCay's caloric-reduction experiments (replicated persistently for 90 years) and to Roy Walford's fasting regimen in Biosphere 2. *This Episcopalian wanted more exegesis in Chasing Methuselah. How do women's opinions about slowing human aging compare with those of male theologians and mystics? Doesn't Daniel Callahan merit more than a footnote citing his claim that "'national necessity' [is] another way of saying 'research imperative'" (p. 12)? Might assessments of non-Christian or agnostic ethicists have sharpened Daly's focus on a faith-based lens? *As a critical gerontologist, I was frustrated at the outset by the phrase, "slowing human aging." What does Daly intend this wording to encompass and exclude? Is it the equivalent of "the scientific quest to attenuate aging by manipulating the body" (p. 15)? Is "limiting caloric intake [which] reduces oxidative stress, allowing DNA to repair damage suffered by cells" (p. 54) a modern-day version of "holy anorexia" practiced by prayerful nuns during the Middle Ages? *This critique of flaws hardly lessens my admiration and respect for what Daly contributes. Rarely, in fifty years of evaluating multidisciplinary books on old age and longevity, have I so willingly engaged dialogically with an author. Addressing questions raised in Chasing Methuselah prompted rethinking the dialectical symbiosis of religion and science. Many of my colleagues in age studies will dismiss this book as an outlier, I suspect, because Daly's Christological anthropology turns them off. That is a pity, if so: The debate and search for meanings embodied in Chasing Methuselah advances what truly matters in anchoring the aging enterprise. *Reviewed by W. Andrew Achenbaum, Professor Emeritus of History and Gerontology, Texas Medical Center, Houston, TX 77054.

Andrey K. Sudakov

David Robinson

In 1985 Kurt Vonnegut produced a satirical novel entitled Galapagos, in which the author explored a possible earth set one million years in the future. Human beings “have quietly evolved into sleek, furry creatures with flippers, and small brains.”[1]   Vonnegut posits a world in which human logic, derived from the functioning of three-kilogramme brains, has resulted in the downfall of the species, prior to the evolution of the seal-like creatures. This article explores the novel from an ecocritical perspective, including references to the work of Greg Garrard, Rachel Carson and Arne Naess. Charles Darwin’s work is also considered, because the novel’s title and setting allude to his work on evolution. This article will argue that Vonnegut believes human beings should change their thought and behaviour patterns if we are to have an optimistic future.   [1] This quote is from the blurb on the back cover of the Flamingo edition, 1994. https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.85.1.2491

Christian Hennig

Note: Published now as a chapter in "Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Mathematical Practice" (Springer Nature, editor B. Sriraman, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19071-2_105-1). The application of mathematical probability theory in statistics is quite controversial. Controversies regard both the interpretation of probability, and approaches to statistical inference. After having given an overview of the main approaches, I will propose a re-interpretation of frequentist probability. Most statisticians are aware that probability models interpreted in a frequentist manner are not really true in objective reality, but only idealisations. I argue that this is often ignored when actually applying frequentist methods and interpreting the results, and that keeping up the awareness for the essential difference between reality and models can lead to a more appropriate use and interpretation of frequentist models and methods, called "frequentism-as-model". This is elaborated showing connections to existing work, appreciating the special role of independently and identically distributed observations and subject matter knowledge, giving an account of how and under what conditions models that are not true can be useful, giving detailed interpretations of tests and confidence intervals, confronting their implicit compatibility logic with the inverse probability logic of Bayesian inference, re-interpreting the role of model assumptions, appreciating robustness, and the role of "interpretative equivalence" of models. Epistemic probability shares the issue that its models are only idealisations, and an analogous "epistemic-probability-as-model" can also be developed.

Douglas Scott, Ali Frolop

Exploring the Universe is one of the great unifying themes of humanity. Part of this endeavour is the search for extraterrestrial life. But how likely is it that we will find life, or that if we do it will be similar to ourselves? And therefore how do we know where and how to look? We give examples of the sort of reasoning that has been used to narrow and focus this search and we argue that obvious extensions to that logical framework will result in greater success.

Kristine Heiney, Gunnar Tufte, Stefano Nichele

In living systems, we often see the emergence of the ingredients necessary for computation -- the capacity for information transmission, storage, and modification -- begging the question of how we may exploit or imitate such biological systems in unconventional computing applications. What can we gain from artificial life in the advancement of computing technology? Artificial life provides us with powerful tools for understanding the dynamic behavior of biological systems and capturing this behavior in manmade substrates. With this approach, we can move towards a new computing paradigm concerned with harnessing emergent computation in physical substrates not governed by the constraints of Moore's law and ultimately realize massively parallel and distributed computing technology. In this paper, we argue that the lens of artificial life offers valuable perspectives for the advancement of high-performance computing technology. We first present a brief foundational background on artificial life and some relevant tools that may be applicable to unconventional computing. Two specific substrates are then discussed in detail: biological neurons and ensembles of nanomagnets. These substrates are the focus of the authors' ongoing work, and they are illustrative of the two sides of the approach outlined here -- the close study of living systems and the construction of artificial systems to produce life-like behaviors. We conclude with a philosophical discussion on what we can learn from approaching computation with the curiosity inherent to the study of artificial life. The main contribution of this paper is to present the great potential of using artificial life methodologies to uncover and harness the inherent computational power of physical substrates toward applications in unconventional high-performance computing.

Chandra Han

Supremacy of Christ in Col. 1:15-20 is essential to Christian faith. Many attempts have been made to examine this passage and mostly from the theological point of view. The aim of this article is to reexamine this passage and propose an analysis from the perspective of Christian education (with the implications) by firstly exegeting the passage in Colossian’s context. The exegesis begins with providing the translation form the Greek text, proposing the structure followed by demonstrating the critical issue in each section of the structure, and finally summarizing the principles. The next step is to demonstrate the analysis from the perspective of Christian education on every section in the structure, followed by the significance of this passage in Christian education.

Bennie van der Walt

Three previous articles in this journal reviewed the history of philosophy at Potchefstroom from the beginning of the previous century up to about 2009. In this and the next contribution the writer, acting again as a fly on the wall, provides a peephole on the current situation at the end of 2017. As the subtitle suggests, it seems that Christian philosophy at Potchefstroom has arrived at the cross-roads. Different reasons, like the on-going secularisation of the North West University have contributed to the situation. A cause for differences within the School of Philosophy may also be that lecturers from outside the tradition of a Reformational approach are critical about the traditional Christian philosophical approach of more than a century. Since his viewpoint is one clear example of such an alternative approach the academic training, publications and viewpoint of Prof. Anné H. Verhoef will investigated in detail in a last (fifth) contribution. The present article about the main contours of a Reformational approach in philosophy serves as a necessary background from which the philosophical theology of Verhoef will be analysed and evaluated in the conclusion of this series.   SAMEVATTING In drie vorige artikels in hierdie tydskrif is die geskiedenis van filosofie op Potchefstroom vanaf die begin van die vorige eeu tot ongeveer 2009 behandel. In hierdie en die volgende bydrae bied die skrywer, weer ʼn vlieg teen die muur, ʼn volgende kyk op die huidige situasie teen die einde van 2017. Soos die subtitel van die huidige artikel aandui, wil dit voorkom asof die Potchefstroomse Christelike filosofie tans voor ʼn tweesprong te staan gekom het. Verskillende redes kan daarvoor aangevoer word, soos die voortgaande sekularisering van die Noord-Wes Universiteit (NWU). ʼn Oorsaak vir die verskille binne die Skool vir Filosofie, kan moontlik ook daarin gesoek word dat dosente van buite die tradisionele Christelik-Reformatoriese tradisie bygekom het en die denkgemeenskap van meer as ʼn eeu nie deel nie. As een voorbeeld van so ʼn alternatiewe visie sal die akademiese agtergrond, publikasies en standpunt van prof. A.H. Verhoef in ʼn laaste (vyfde) bydrae in besonderhede nagegaan word. Die huidige artikel oor die hoofkontoere van ʼn Reformatoriese wysbegeerte dien as agtergrond waarteen die filosofiese teologie van Verhoef in die slotartikel analiseer en evalueer sal word.   https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.84.1.2454