Luke 15: The Heart of God

The fifteenth chapter of Luke recounts a contentious exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees, a confrontation where the Pharisees essentially attacked the moral character of Christ. After all, he accepted the company of wretched sinners. In response to this grumbling, Jesus told them “this parable” (Luke 15:3). Yet what followed was not one but rather three stories: the story of the lost lamb, the lost coin, and what is commonly but incorrectly known as the prodigal son. Yet these three stories are merely a three time recounting of a unified message. They were told to the same audience, they have common themes, but most important of all, they share the common purpose of revealing the heart of God. This paper is an exposition of this chapter from Luke. These are not stories about herding, housekeeping, or parenting. Instead, these stories reveal the incredible passion Almighty God has for lost sinners, written so that Theophilus, plus all others who would read this “orderly account,” would see a word picture of the heavenly father and be able to discern for themselves the heart of God

Matthew\u27s Parable of the Talents: A Story of Faith

Jesus often used the powerful tool of story in his teaching and preaching ministry for the purpose of conveying spiritual truth. In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. This is a story of an exceedingly wealthy master who entrusts to his servants very large sums of money, then departs on a journey. After a long time the master returns and asks for an accounting from those servants concerning their actions. Those who worked hard were praised and rewarded by their master. The one who produced no monetary gain did not fare as well. At first reading, the parable might strike the reader that Jesus is teaching his followers to work diligently while awaiting his return. This basic theme has been often expanded to include the idea of using one’s gifts, talents, and abilities in the service of Christ or else lose them The common thread of these interpretations is simply those who are industrious will be blessed; those who are not will face dire consequences. This notion of individual work, responsibility, or self-effort is essentially the consensus of opinion for the parable’s application by commentators. Unfortunately, if this interpretation is correct and taken to its logical conclusion, then one is confronted with the proposition that the difference between those who enter the joy of the master from those who are cast into outer darkness is simply diligent labor. One problem with this interpretation is that it contradicts biblical theology. Another problem is that these interpretations ignore common story techniques that Jesus employed to convey his message. Certainly a reading of the story leads the reader to the notion that faithfulness of some sort is important. Indeed this is true. But faithfulness is merely a story technique that Jesus employed to show the reader that faith is the true message of his parable. In the context of his Second Coming, Jesus was clearly teaching his listeners how to be prepared for his return, what it means “to watch.” The message of this parable, that all too often is overlooked, is that preparation must be made for his return by first responding to him by faith. Outward actions are mere reflections of the faith, or lack of faith, that resides within an individual’s heart. And this faith is not some vague, ethereal religious notion focused on some intangible God. Rather this faith resides in the very person, character, integrity, and indeed the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ. To summarize, Jesus told a story about faithfulness, however he showed a story concerning faith towards himself. This conclusion stands in contrast to the majority of preachers and commentators. Yet the parable of the talents is indeed a story of faith, and this thesis will demonstrate the truth of this message

Simulation and observations of stratospheric aerosols from the 2009 Sarychev volcanic eruption

We used a general circulation model of Earth’s climate to conduct simulations of the 12-16 June 2009 eruption of Sarychev volcano (48.1°N, 153.2°E). The model simulates the formation and transport of the stratospheric sulfate aerosol cloud from the eruption and the resulting climate response. We compared optical depth results from these simulations with limb scatter measurements from the Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imaging System (OSIRIS), in situ measurements from balloon-borne instruments lofted from Laramie, Wyoming (41.3°N, 105.7°W), and five lidar stations located throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The aerosol cloud covered most of the Northern Hemisphere, extending slightly into the tropics, with peak backscatter measured between 12 and 16 km in altitude. Aerosol concentrations returned to near background levels by Spring, 2010. After accounting for expected sources of discrepancy between each of the data sources, the magnitudes and spatial distributions of aerosol optical depth due to the eruption largely agree. In conducting the simulations, we likely overestimated both particle size and the amount of SO2 injected into the stratosphere, resulting in modeled optical depth values that were a factor of 2-4 too high. Model results of optical depth due to the eruption show a peak too late in high latitudes and too early in low latitudes, suggesting a problem with stratospheric circulation in the model. The model also shows a higher annual decay rate in optical depth than is observed, showing an inaccuracy in seasonal deposition rates. The modeled deposition rate of sulfate aerosols from the Sarychev eruption is higher than the rate calculated for aerosols from the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo

A Gyrochronology and Microvariability Survey of the Milky Way's Older Stars Using Kepler's Two-Wheels Program

Even with the diminished precision possible with only two reaction wheels, the Kepler spacecraft can obtain mmag level, time-resolved photometry of tens of thousands of sources. The presence of such a rich, large data set could be transformative for stellar astronomy. In this white paper, we discuss how rotation periods for a large ensemble of single and binary main- sequence dwarfs can yield a quantitative understanding of the evolution of stellar spin-down over time. This will allow us to calibrate rotation-based ages beyond ~1 Gyr, which is the oldest benchmark that exists today apart from the Sun. Measurement of rotation periods of M dwarfs past the fully-convective boundary will enable extension of gyrochronology to the end of the stellar main-sequence, yielding precise ages ({\sigma} ~10%) for the vast majority of nearby stars. It will also help set constraints on the angular momentum evolution and magnetic field generation in these stars. Our Kepler-based study would be supported by a suite of ongoing and future ground-based observations. Finally, we briefly discuss two ancillary science cases, detection of long-period low-mass eclipsing binaries and microvariability in white dwarfs and hot subdwarf B stars that the Kepler Two-Wheels Program would facilitate.Comment: Kepler white pape

Perceptions of an Ideal Point-of-Care Test for Sexually Transmitted Infections – A Qualitative Study of Focus Group Discussions with Medical Providers

A point-of-care test (POCT) for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which offers immediate diagnosis resulting in patients receiving diagnosis and treatment in a single visit, has the ability to address some of the STI control needs. However, needs assessment from STI experts and end users about currently available STI POCTs and their future new development has not been evaluated since World Health Organization Sexually Transmitted Diseases Diagnostics Initiative was formed over 15 years ago. Therefore, our objective was to explore the perceptions of the ideal types of STI POCT for use in health care settings.A qualitative study, encompassing eight focus groups, was conducted from March 2008 through April 2009. Participants included 6 STD clinic directors, 63 clinicians, and 7 public health/laboratory/epidemiology professionals in the STI field. Discussion topics included currently available POCT, perceived barriers to using POCT in clinics, priority STI for the development of new POCT, and characteristics of the ideal POCT. All discussions were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Themes raised as barriers for current POCT included complexity, long time frames of the so-called "rapid" test, multiple time-driven steps, requiring laboratory technician, difficulty in reading result, interruption of workflow, unreliability, and invasiveness. Chlamydia trachomatis was identified as the priority organism for development of a new STI POCT. Themes indicated for the ideal POCT included rapid turnaround (up to 20 minutes), ease of use, non-invasive, accurate (preferred sensitivity and specificity in the range of high 90s), Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-waived, user-friendly (for both patients and staff), compact, durable, and sturdy.Focus group discussions with STI experts and professionals highlighted chlamydia as the top priority pathogen for POCT development, and identified the qualities of new POCT for STIs. Participants endorsed ease of use, rapid turnaround and high accuracy as essential characteristics of an ideal POCT

Revolution and the end of history: Caryl Churchill's Mad Forest

Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest, written and performed very soon after the Romanian revolution in 1990 and performed both in London and Bucharest, is a dynamic, inter-cultural play that represents a variety of perspectives on the revolutionary events, as well as oscillating between English and Romanian cultural and language coordinates. It has a peculiar topicality in its detailed and specific usages of different aspects of the revolutionary narrative, its sketches of family life before and after the revolution, and the inclusion of the revolution as reported in quasi-documentary-style testimony. The perspective in this article is one that places the play within a framework that thinks through Mad Forest’s relationship to the triumphant, neoliberalist heralding of “the end of history,” most famously argued by Francis Fukuyama in his 1989 article of that name. This discourse gained further confidence from the collapse of Eastern Europe, a collapse that was viewed by proponents of the end-of-history argument as signalling the permanent disintegration of communism and a victory for capitalism. However, Mad Forest is considered here as a play that reflects multiple perspectives on the revolutionary period and, while declining to provide political solutions as such, simultaneously refuses to accede to the implications of the end-of-history argument