Human Embodiment and Christian Worship: God\u27s Revelation Through the Human Body in Scripture, Theology, and Liturgy

This research will demonstrate that bodily existence is essential to human nature and that Christian worship practices must go hand-in-hand with a sound understanding of human embodiment in order to be faithful to the essence of Christianity. The following thesis demonstrates that the biblical understanding is that humanity was created as a body enlivened by the breath of God and intended to be the sacred sanctuary where God’s presence will dwell. In the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God’s goal to make humanity the sanctuary for his presence is fulfilled. Jesus Christ is the image of God, who redeems and represents all humanity regardless of age, class, race, or gender. All humanity finds their ultimate destiny in union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, by which those who believe are transformed into God’s dwelling place. The human body is where God is most directly present in creation, and thus must be accounted for in all reflections on worship and the Christian life. Ritual practices are proven to form human beliefs and behaviors in critical ways, requiring that liturgical rituals be carefully formed to faithfully shape Christians into God’s sanctuary. All ethnicities, classes, and genders are invited into the Church, and the liturgy must especially recognize the gendered experience that all people have of God, necessitating the representation of both women and men as leaders within the Church. Sacred architecture must be structured and organized to nurture and orient people towards an embodied engagement with God. If the sanctuary God is building in the Church is to be truly faithful, the essentially embodied existence of humanity must be unequivocally affirmed and guide Christian doctrinal, liturgical, and spiritual practices

Human Embodiment and Christian Worship: God\u27s Revelation Through the Human Body ih Scripture, Theology, and Liturgy

This research will demonstrate that bodily existence is essential to human nature and that Christian worship practices must go hand-in-hand with a sound understanding of human embodiment in order to be faithful to the essence of Christianity. The following thesis demonstrates that the biblical understanding is that humanity was created as a body enlivened by the breath of God and intended to be the sacred sanctuary where God’s presence will dwell. In the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God’s goal to make humanity the sanctuary for his presence is fulfilled. Jesus Christ is the image of God, who redeems and represents all humanity regardless of age, class, race, or gender. All humanity finds their ultimate destiny in union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, by which those who believe are transformed into God’s dwelling place. The human body is where God is most directly present in creation, and thus must be accounted for in all reflections on worship and the Christian life. Ritual practices are proven to form human beliefs and behaviors in critical ways, requiring that liturgical rituals be carefully formed to faithfully shape Christians into God’s sanctuary. All ethnicities, classes, and genders are invited into the Church, and the liturgy must especially recognize the gendered experience that all people have of God, necessitating the representation of both women and men as leaders within the Church. Sacred architecture must be structured and organized to nurture and orient people towards an embodied engagement with God. If the sanctuary God is building in the Church is to be truly faithful, the essentially embodied existence of humanity must be unequivocally affirmed and guide Christian doctrinal, liturgical, and spiritual practices

Diffusion-weighted MRI in acute spinal cord ischaemia

Abstract : Acute spinal cord ischaemia is often undetectable with conventional MRI. Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) has been difficult to use in the spine because of susceptibility artefacts. We assessed the diagnostic value of echoplanar DWI for early confirmation of spinal cord ischaemia. We performed conventional MRI and DWI in two men and three women, aged 54-75years with clinically suspected acute spinal cord ischaemia. Imaging was performed 9-46h after the onset of symptoms, and 2-9days later to assess the extent of ischaemic signal change. Spatial resolution of DWI within the spine using standard equipment was poor, but in all patients, early DWI revealed areas of high signal indicating decreased diffusion, confirmed by measurement of apparent diffusion coefficients. Follow-up MRI showed high signal on T2-weighted images and contrast enhancement at the expected levels. Neurological deficits corresponded with radiological findings in four patients: various syndromes, including isolated bilateral weakness or sensory change and combined deficits, were found. Echoplanar DWI may be helpful for confirmation of spinal cord ischaemia in the acute stage, but follow-up T2-weighted images have superior spatial resolution and correlation with clinical findings and lesion exten

Inherited cavernous malformations of the central nervous system: clinical and genetic features in 19 Swiss families

Cavernous malformations (CCMs) are benign, well-circumscribed, and mulberry-like vascular malformations that may be found in the central nervous system in up to 0.5% of the population. Cavernous malformations can be sporadic or inherited. The common symptoms are epilepsy, hemorrhages, focal neurological deficits, and headaches. However, CCMs are often asymptomatic. The familiar form is associated with three gene loci, namely 7q21-q22 (CCM1), 7p13-p15 (CCM2), and 3q25.2-q27 (CCM3) and is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with incomplete penetrance. The CCM genes are identified as Krit 1 (CCM1), MGC4607 (CCM2), and PDCD10 (CCM3). Here, we present the clinical and genetic features of CCMs in 19 Swiss families. Furthermore, surgical aspects in such families are also discusse

Hit-and-run epigenetic editing prevents senescence entry in primary breast cells from healthy donors

Aberrant promoter DNA hypermethylation is a hallmark of cancer; however, whether this is sufficient to drive cellular transformation is not clear. To investigate this question, we use a CRISPR-dCas9 epigenetic editing tool, where an inactive form of Cas9 is fused to DNA methyltransferase effectors. Using this system, here we show simultaneous de novo DNA methylation of genes commonly methylated in cancer, CDKN2A, RASSF1, HIC1 and PTEN in primary breast cells isolated from healthy human breast tissue. We find that promoter methylation is maintained in this system, even in the absence of the fusion construct, and this prevents cells from engaging senescence arrest. Our data show that the key driver of this phenotype is repression of CDKN2A transcript p16 where myoepithelial cells harbour cancer-like gene expression but do not exhibit anchorage-independent growth. This work demonstrates that hit-and-run epigenetic events can prevent senescence entry, which may facilitate tumour initiation