The Son of God and Trinitarian Identity Statements

Classical Trinitarians claim that Jesus—the Son of God—is truly God and that there is only one God and the Father is God, the Spirit is God, and the Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct. However, if the identity statement that ‘the Son is God’ is understood in the sense of numerical identity, logical incoherence seems immanent. Yet, if the identity statement is understood according to an ‘is’ of predication then it lacks accuracy and permits polytheism. Therefore, we argue that there is another sense of ‘is’ needed in trinitarian discourse that will allow the Christian to avoid logical incoherence while still fully affirming all that is meant to be affirmed in the confession ‘Jesus is God.’ We suggest a sense of ‘is’ that meets this need

Filled with the Spirit: Wine and Worship in Levitical Light (Ephesians 5.18–21)

This essay argues that the background of the temple, and particular priestly and levitical activities, explain the logic of Eph. 5.18–21. After setting this text in context and addressing various proposed backgrounds, the proposal of this essay is initially examined in relation to the imperative to be filled ἐν πνεύματι in 5.18, which I argue is a dative of content. After seeing how this fits within the temple themes of the letter, the immediate context is explored to show how similar motifs continue to emerge. In particular, the prohibition of drunkenness is seen in relation to the desire for priests to abstain from alcohol while serving in the temple. The worship that ensues in the first four participles (5.19–20) that are dependent on the imperative to be “filled” (5.18) are similarly seen to be inspired by priestly and levitical actions, since singing was primarily relegated to the temple setting and to a particular levitical office within the cult. This is then finally situated in relation to the subsequent Haustafel, which is also grammatically subordinated to the imperative in 5.18. The Haustafel contributes to this scene by highlighting how, in the domestic context of early Christian house churches, the gathering was believed to be sacred space in which the church was a temple made of priests who were filled with the Spirit and praised God. In such corporate settings of worship, drunkenness is not to be permitted.Napełnieni Duchem: wino i uwielbienie z perspektywy lewickiej (List do Efezjan 5,18–21)Autor artykułu argumentuje, że otoczenie świątyni, a zwłaszcza czynności kapłańskie i lewickie wyjaśniają logikę Ef 5,18–21. Po umiejscowieniu tekstu we właściwym kontekście i odniesieniu się do różnych zaproponowanych przesłanek na początku analizowane jest użycie trybu rozkazującego „być napełnionym ἐν πνεύματι” w Ef 5,18, formy, która według autora jest celownikiem treści. Po spojrzeniu na to zagadnienie w relacji do motywów świątynnych listu, analizowany jest najbliższy kontekst, aby pokazać, w jaki sposób pojawiają się podobne motywy. W szczególności zakaz pijaństwa postrzegany jest w łączności z zaleceniem, aby kapłani powstrzymywali się od alkoholu podczas służby w świątyni. Uwielbienie, jakie występuje w czterech pierwszych imiesłowach (5,19–20), które są zależne od trybu rozkazującego, być „wypełnionym” (5,18), jest podobnie postrzegane jako inspirowane przez czynności kapłańskie i lewickie, ponieważ śpiew był uważany za zajęcie typowe dla urzędu kapłańskiego i wiązał się ze sprawowaniem kultu. To zagadnienie jest ostatecznie omawiane w odniesieniu do Haustafel, który jest również gramatycznie podporządkowany trybowi rozkazującemu w 5,18. W tej scenie Haustafel podkreśla, że w kontekście wczesnochrześcijańskich kościołów domowych zgromadzenie uważano za świętą przestrzeń, w której kościół był świątynią stworzoną z kapłanów napełnionych Duchem i wychwalających Boga. W takim zbiorowym miejscu kultu pijaństwo nie ma prawa bytu.

“Nothing Beautiful Hides Its Face”: The Hiddenness of Esther in C. S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces

C. S. Lewis’ last and arguably best novel, Till We Have Faces, is an impressively nuanced revision and recasting of Apuleius’ short tale of Cupid and Psyche, Books 4–6 of The Golden Ass. Although this ancient myth was the main source for Till We Have Faces, inspiration was no doubt gained from many places. One such influence, previously unnoted, was the biblical book of Esther. This study will note some of the key places where the influence of Esther is detectable, in particular Lewis’ choice of the name “Istra.” This is followed by an investigation into why Esther may have been suitable for Lewis’ main concerns in writing Till We Have Faces. Finally, a few scenes will be highlighted to show how these concerns are particularly illuminated through the influence of Esther

Human IgE responses to Schistosoma mansoni and resistance to reinfection

Schistosoma mansoni infected Kenyan patients were treated and the intensities of their reinfections were followed over the next two years. In addition, their pre- and six month post-treatment serum levels of IgG1-4, IgM, and IgE, specific for schistosomula, egg and adult worm, were measured in ELISA. No reinfection took place before six months post-treatment. Reinfection intensities varied with age; the younger children becoming reinfected at significantly higher intensities than older individuals. When antibody and reinfection levels were compared, only the six month post-treatment IgE response against adult worm correlated negatively with intensities of reinfection and, therefore, was predictive of resistance or immunity to reinfection. IgE and IgG specific Western Blots were carried out. The adult worm antigens recognized by IgE were restricted compared with the IgG responses of the same patients, although no individual antigen was uniquely recognized by the IgE isotype. A dominant 22 kDa antigen was recognized by most but not all high IgE responders. Patients with IgE responses against this antigen suffered significantly lower subsequent levels of reinfection, compared with non-responders. A monospecific rabbit antiserum against the 22 kDa adult worm antigen showed that this antigen is specifically located in the tegument of the adult worm and of 'lung' and 'liver' stage schistosomula, but is absent from the early 'skin' schistosomula. It is possible that this antigen is a target for human IgE mediated immune effector mechanisms active against the post skin stage schistosomula and that this is boosted by the death of adult worms

“No powers, man!”: A student perspective on designing university smart building interactions

Smart buildings offer an opportunity for better performance and enhanced experience by contextualising services and interactions to the needs and practices of occupants. Yet, this vision is limited by established approaches to building management, delivered top-down through professional facilities management teams, opening up an interaction-gap between occupants and the spaces they inhabit. To address the challenge of how smart buildings might be more inclusively managed, we present the results of a qualitative study with student occupants of a smart building, with design workshops including building walks and speculative futuring. We develop new understandings of how student occupants conceptualise and evaluate spaces as they experience them, and of how building management practices might evolve with new sociotechnical systems that better leverage occupant agency. Our findings point to important directions for HCI research in this nascent area, including the need for HBI (Human-Building Interaction) design to challenge entrenched roles in building management

Expanding modes of reflection in design futuring

Design futuring approaches, such as speculative design, design fiction and others, seek to (re)envision futures and explore alternatives. As design futuring becomes established in HCI design research, there is an opportunity to expand and develop these approaches. To that end, by reflecting on our own research and examining related work, we contribute five modes of reflection. These modes concern formgiving, temporality, researcher positionality, real-world engagement, and knowledge production. We illustrate the value of each mode through careful analysis of selected design exemplars and provide questions to interrogate the practice of design futuring. Each reflective mode offers productive resources for design practitioners and researchers to articulate their work, generate new directions for their work, and analyze their own and others’ work.

Structured inquiry-based learning: Drosophila GAL4 enhancer trap characterization in an undergraduate laboratory course.

We have developed and tested two linked but separable structured inquiry exercises using a set of Drosophila melanogaster GAL4 enhancer trap strains for an upper-level undergraduate laboratory methods course at Bucknell University. In the first, students learn to perform inverse PCR to identify the genomic location of the GAL4 insertion, using FlyBase to identify flanking sequences and the primary literature to synthesize current knowledge regarding the nearest gene. In the second, we cross each GAL4 strain to a UAS-CD8-GFP reporter strain, and students perform whole mount CNS dissection, immunohistochemistry, confocal imaging, and analysis of developmental expression patterns. We have found these exercises to be very effective in teaching the uses and limitations of PCR and antibody-based techniques as well as critical reading of the primary literature and scientific writing. Students appreciate the opportunity to apply what they learn by generating novel data of use to the wider research community

Making Sense of Blockchain Applications:A Typology for HCI

Blockchain is an emerging infrastructural technology that is proposed to fundamentally transform the ways in which people transact, trust, collaborate, organize and identify themselves. In this paper, we construct a typology of emerging blockchain applications, consider the domains in which they are applied, and identify distinguishing features of this new technology. We argue that there is a unique role for the HCI community in linking the design and application of blockchain technology towards lived experience and the articulation of human values. In particular, we note how the accounting of transactions, a trust in immutable code and algorithms, and the leveraging of distributed crowds and publics around vast interoperable databases all relate to longstanding issues of importance for the field. We conclude by highlighting core conceptual and methodological challenges for HCI researchers beginning to work with blockchain and distributed ledger technologies

Satellite sensor requirements for monitoring essential biodiversity variables of coastal ecosystems

The biodiversity and high productivity of coastal terrestrial and aquatic habitats are the foundation for important benefits to human societies around the world. These globally distributed habitats need frequent and broad systematic assessments, but field surveys only cover a small fraction of these areas. Satellite-based sensors can repeatedly record the visible and near-infrared reflectance spectra that contain the absorption, scattering, and fluorescence signatures of functional phytoplankton groups, colored dissolved matter, and particulate matter near the surface ocean, and of biologically structured habitats (floating and emergent vegetation, benthic habitats like coral, seagrass, and algae). These measures can be incorporated into Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs), including the distribution, abundance, and traits of groups of species populations, and used to evaluate habitat fragmentation. However, current and planned satellites are not designed to observe the EBVs that change rapidly with extreme tides, salinity, temperatures, storms, pollution, or physical habitat destruction over scales relevant to human activity. Making these observations requires a new generation of satellite sensors able to sample with these combined characteristics: (1) spatial resolution on the order of 30 to 100-m pixels or smaller; (2) spectral resolution on the order of 5 nm in the visible and 10 nm in the short-wave infrared spectrum (or at least two or more bands at 1,030, 1,240, 1,630, 2,125, and/or 2,260 nm) for atmospheric correction and aquatic and vegetation assessments; (3) radiometric quality with signal to noise ratios (SNR) above 800 (relative to signal levels typical of the open ocean), 14-bit digitization, absolute radiometric calibration \u3c2%, relative calibration of 0.2%, polarization sensitivity \u3c1%, high radiometric stability and linearity, and operations designed to minimize sunglint; and (4) temporal resolution of hours to days. We refer to these combined specifications as H4 imaging. Enabling H4 imaging is vital for the conservation and management of global biodiversity and ecosystem services, including food provisioning and water security. An agile satellite in a 3-d repeat low-Earth orbit could sample 30-km swath images of several hundred coastal habitats daily. Nine H4 satellites would provide weekly coverage of global coastal zones. Such satellite constellations are now feasible and are used in various applications