A Definition of the Title “Son of God” in the Synoptic Gospels

This dissertation aims to define the title Son of God as applied to Jesus Christ in the Synoptic Gospels. In the Old Testament the term son of God was variously applied to angels, Israel, Israelites, Davidic kings, and possibly to the Messiah. In intertestamental Judaism the term was used mainly with reference to Israel and its righteous people, and is never specifically applied to the Messiah. In Hellenistic literature the title was sometimes given to pagan kings, emperors, and certain heroes. None of these occurrences can form the background for the Synoptic use of the title. In the Synoptic Gospels Jesus uses only two titles of Himself: Son and Son of Man. With the title Son Jesus related Himself closely to God the Father in a unique and exclusive sense, particularly in such passages as Matthew 11:27 and Mark 12:6. Jesus always addresses God in prayer as Abba, a term never addressed to God by contemporary Palestinian Jews. At His trial Jesus publicly and clearly accepts the full title Son of God for Himself while claiming exclusive association with God, highlighted by a resulting charge of blasphemy. Matthew, Mark, and Luke each emphasize Jesus\u27s sonship as divinity rather than simple messiahship. Normally beings with supernatural insight designate Jesus as the Son of God: Gabriel, Satan, demons, Peter, and the heavenly voice at His baptism and Transfiguration. Jesus\u27 sonship requires a supernatural revelation and announcement. Even a pagan Roman centurion confesses Jesus\u27 sonship through the divine revelation of the cross. The key revelation occurs at Jesus\u27 baptism, where the perspective of the Father is given. In virtually every reference to Jesus\u27 sonship, it is either His supernatural origin, His unique relationship to the Father, or His claim to equality with God that is highlighted. The title may thus be defined as expressing that unique attribute of Jesus Christ by which He exclusively and ontologically shares the divine nature and character of His heavenly Father, revealing God to man as no other can do, and carrying out perfectly God\u27s purposes as Messiah, Servant, and eternal Sovereign

Righteousness and Wickedness in Ecclesiastes 7:15-18

In Eccl 7:15-18, Qoheleth discusses the problem of the value and balance of righteousness and wisdom. He has concluded that human wisdom cannot really explain all of life nor the future (6:10-7:14), and that even the principle that righteousness brings prosperity has many exceptions (7:14-15). He offers helpful counsel: Do not strive for exaggerated righteousness or try to make yourself the wisest person on earth, for these are not really worthwhile goals; and in the end, such striving will ruin your life. Likewise, do not turn to immorality or act like a fool, since God\u27s principles do still operate and you will put yourself in danger of premature death. What then of righteousness and wisdom? what good are they? Qoheleth answers that they are both of great benefit

Multiorgan MRI findings after hospitalisation with COVID-19 in the UK (C-MORE): a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study

Introduction: The multiorgan impact of moderate to severe coronavirus infections in the post-acute phase is still poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities after hospitalisation with COVID-19, evaluate their determinants, and explore associations with patient-related outcome measures. Methods: In a prospective, UK-wide, multicentre MRI follow-up study (C-MORE), adults (aged ≥18 years) discharged from hospital following COVID-19 who were included in Tier 2 of the Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) and contemporary controls with no evidence of previous COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibody negative) underwent multiorgan MRI (lungs, heart, brain, liver, and kidneys) with quantitative and qualitative assessment of images and clinical adjudication when relevant. Individuals with end-stage renal failure or contraindications to MRI were excluded. Participants also underwent detailed recording of symptoms, and physiological and biochemical tests. The primary outcome was the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities (two or more organs) relative to controls, with further adjustments for potential confounders. The C-MORE study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04510025. Findings: Of 2710 participants in Tier 2 of PHOSP-COVID, 531 were recruited across 13 UK-wide C-MORE sites. After exclusions, 259 C-MORE patients (mean age 57 years [SD 12]; 158 [61%] male and 101 [39%] female) who were discharged from hospital with PCR-confirmed or clinically diagnosed COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and Nov 1, 2021, and 52 non-COVID-19 controls from the community (mean age 49 years [SD 14]; 30 [58%] male and 22 [42%] female) were included in the analysis. Patients were assessed at a median of 5·0 months (IQR 4·2–6·3) after hospital discharge. Compared with non-COVID-19 controls, patients were older, living with more obesity, and had more comorbidities. Multiorgan abnormalities on MRI were more frequent in patients than in controls (157 [61%] of 259 vs 14 [27%] of 52; p<0·0001) and independently associated with COVID-19 status (odds ratio [OR] 2·9 [95% CI 1·5–5·8]; padjusted=0·0023) after adjusting for relevant confounders. Compared with controls, patients were more likely to have MRI evidence of lung abnormalities (p=0·0001; parenchymal abnormalities), brain abnormalities (p<0·0001; more white matter hyperintensities and regional brain volume reduction), and kidney abnormalities (p=0·014; lower medullary T1 and loss of corticomedullary differentiation), whereas cardiac and liver MRI abnormalities were similar between patients and controls. Patients with multiorgan abnormalities were older (difference in mean age 7 years [95% CI 4–10]; mean age of 59·8 years [SD 11·7] with multiorgan abnormalities vs mean age of 52·8 years [11·9] without multiorgan abnormalities; p<0·0001), more likely to have three or more comorbidities (OR 2·47 [1·32–4·82]; padjusted=0·0059), and more likely to have a more severe acute infection (acute CRP >5mg/L, OR 3·55 [1·23–11·88]; padjusted=0·025) than those without multiorgan abnormalities. Presence of lung MRI abnormalities was associated with a two-fold higher risk of chest tightness, and multiorgan MRI abnormalities were associated with severe and very severe persistent physical and mental health impairment (PHOSP-COVID symptom clusters) after hospitalisation. Interpretation: After hospitalisation for COVID-19, people are at risk of multiorgan abnormalities in the medium term. Our findings emphasise the need for proactive multidisciplinary care pathways, with the potential for imaging to guide surveillance frequency and therapeutic stratification