Was könnte Grundtvig heutzutage für reformierte Christen bedeuten?

What might Grundtvig mean today to Reformed ChristiansfBy G. F. W. HerngreenThe author, a former vicar in the Hague, asks this question on the basis of his knowledge of both Grundtvig’s writings and of the Grundtvigian church life in Denmark. Two of Grundtvig’s hymns have recently been included in the Dutch Hymn Book (Liedboek) and in this connection Grundtvig’s theology has for the first time received close consideration. In this article the author discusses in depth his view of the relationship between the Calvinist and the Grundtvigian interpretation of the Eucharist, particularly with regard to Karl Barth’s theology, and finds a greater agreement than even Grundtvig himself was aware of. The Reformed teaching on the Eucharist offers a greater opportunity to understand Grundtvig’s deepest concern: where do we hear God’s word to us personally? Grundtvig’s reference to the congregation’s ‘loud yes and amen’ in the creed during baptism is in consonance with Calvin’s main concern that man has no control over God’s word, not even at the Eucharist.It is God, the free agent, who acts through His word at both sacraments - not man. The creed is not a number of dogmas, a different holy writ from the Bible, but an oral narrative about who God is. This interpretation may lead to a cult-fellowship with its back to the world, which is at variance with the Reformed view that the true service takes place in the everyday life of the world, but it is for this very reason of great importance for the ecumenical debate whether one can also explain to the Reformed churches the basic idea behind Grundtvig’s ‘First a man, then a Christian’

Phylogenetic Analysis of Seven WRKY Genes across the Palm Subtribe Attaleinae (Arecaceae) Identifies Syagrus as Sister Group of the Coconut

BACKGROUND:The Cocoseae is one of 13 tribes of Arecaceae subfam. Arecoideae, and contains a number of palms with significant economic importance, including the monotypic and pantropical Cocos nucifera L., the coconut, the origins of which have been one of the "abominable mysteries" of palm systematics for decades. Previous studies with predominantly plastid genes weakly supported American ancestry for the coconut but ambiguous sister relationships. In this paper, we use multiple single copy nuclear loci to address the phylogeny of the Cocoseae subtribe Attaleinae, and resolve the closest extant relative of the coconut. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We present the results of combined analysis of DNA sequences of seven WRKY transcription factor loci across 72 samples of Arecaceae tribe Cocoseae subtribe Attaleinae, representing all genera classified within the subtribe, and three outgroup taxa with maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian approaches, producing highly congruent and well-resolved trees that robustly identify the genus Syagrus as sister to Cocos and resolve novel and well-supported relationships among the other genera of the Attaleinae. We also address incongruence among the gene trees with gene tree reconciliation analysis, and assign estimated ages to the nodes of our tree. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:This study represents the as yet most extensive phylogenetic analyses of Cocoseae subtribe Attaleinae. We present a well-resolved and supported phylogeny of the subtribe that robustly indicates a sister relationship between Cocos and Syagrus. This is not only of biogeographic interest, but will also open fruitful avenues of inquiry regarding evolution of functional genes useful for crop improvement. Establishment of two major clades of American Attaleinae occurred in the Oligocene (ca. 37 MYBP) in Eastern Brazil. The divergence of Cocos from Syagrus is estimated at 35 MYBP. The biogeographic and morphological congruence that we see for clades resolved in the Attaleinae suggests that WRKY loci are informative markers for investigating the phylogenetic relationships of the palm family

A palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Middle Jurassic of Sardinia (Italy) based on integrated palaeobotanical, palynological and lithofacies data assessment

During the Jurassic, Sardinia was close to continental Europe. Emerged lands started from a single island forming in time a progressively sinking archipelago. This complex palaeogeographic situation gave origin to a diverse landscape with a variety of habitats. Collection- and literature-based palaeobotanical, palynological and lithofacies studies were carried out on the Genna Selole Formation for palaeoenvironmental interpretations. They evidence a generally warm and humid climate, affected occasionally by drier periods. Several distinct ecosystems can be discerned in this climate, including alluvial fans with braided streams (Laconi-Gadoni lithofacies), paralic swamps and coasts (Nurri-Escalaplano lithofacies), and lagoons and shallow marine environments (Ussassai-Perdasdefogu lithofacies). The non-marine environments were covered by extensive lowland and a reduced coastal and tidally influenced environment. Both the river and the upland/hinterland environments are of limited impact for the reconstruction. The difference between the composition of the palynological and palaeobotanical associations evidence the discrepancies obtained using only one of those proxies. The macroremains reflect the local palaeoenvironments better, although subjected to a transport bias (e.g. missing upland elements and delicate organs), whereas the palynomorphs permit to reconstruct the regional palaeoclimate. Considering that the flora of Sardinia is the southernmost of all Middle Jurassic European floras, this multidisciplinary study increases our understanding of the terrestrial environments during that period of time

The life and scientific work of William R. Evitt (1923-2009)

Occasionally (and fortunately), circumstances and timing combine to allow an individual, almost singlehandedly, to generate a paradigm shift in his or her chosen field of inquiry. William R. (‘Bill’) Evitt (1923-2009) was such a person. During his career as a palaeontologist, Bill Evitt made lasting and profound contributions to the study of both dinoflagellates and trilobites. He had a distinguished, long and varied career, researching first trilobites and techniques in palaeontology before moving on to marine palynomorphs. Bill is undoubtedly best known for his work on dinoflagellates, especially their resting cysts. He worked at three major US universities and spent a highly significant period in the oil industry. Bill's early profound interest in the natural sciences was actively encouraged both by his parents and at school. His alma mater was Johns Hopkins University where, commencing in 1940, he studied chemistry and geology as an undergraduate. He quickly developed a strong vocation in the earth sciences, and became fascinated by the fossiliferous Lower Palaeozoic strata of the northwestern United States. Bill commenced a PhD project on silicified Middle Ordovician trilobites from Virginia in 1943. His doctoral research was interrupted by military service during World War II; Bill served as an aerial photograph interpreter in China in 1944 and 1945, and received the Bronze Star for his excellent work. Upon demobilisation from the US Army Air Force, he resumed work on his PhD and was given significant teaching duties at Johns Hopkins, which he thoroughly enjoyed. He accepted his first professional position, as an instructor in sedimentary geology, at the University of Rochester in late 1948. Here Bill supervised his first two graduate students, and shared a great cameraderie with a highly motivated student body which largely comprised World War II veterans. At Rochester, Bill continued his trilobite research, and was the editor of the Journal of Paleontology between 1953 and 1956. Seeking a new challenge, he joined the Carter Oil Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during 1956. This brought about an irrevocable realignment of his research interests from trilobites to marine palynology. He undertook basic research on aquatic palynomorphs in a very well-resourced laboratory under the direction of one of his most influential mentors, William S. ‘Bill’ Hoffmeister. Bill Evitt visited the influential European palynologists Georges Deflandre and Alfred Eisenack during late 1959 and, while in Tulsa, first developed several groundbreaking hypotheses. He soon realised that the distinctive morphology of certain fossil dinoflagellates, notably the archaeopyle, meant that they represent the resting cyst stage of the life cycle. The archaeopyle clearly allows the excystment of the cell contents, and comprises one or more plate areas. Bill also concluded that spine-bearing palynomorphs, then called hystrichospheres, could be divided into two groups. The largely Palaeozoic spine-bearing palynomorphs are of uncertain biological affinity, and these were termed acritarchs. Moreover, he determined that unequivocal dinoflagellate cysts are all Mesozoic or younger, and that the fossil record of dinoflagellates is highly selective. Bill was always an academic at heart and he joined Stanford University in 1962, where he remained until retiring in 1988. Bill enjoyed getting back into teaching after his six years in industry. During his 26-year tenure at Stanford, Bill continued to revolutionise our understanding of dinoflagellate cysts. He produced many highly influential papers and two major textbooks. The highlights include defining the acritarchs and comprehensively documenting the archaeopyle, together with highly detailed work on the morphology of Nannoceratopsis and Palaeoperidinium pyrophorum using the scanning electron microscope. Bill supervised 11 graduate students while at Stanford University. He organised the Penrose Conference on Modern and Fossil Dinoflagellates in 1978, which was so successful that similar meetings have been held about every four years since that inaugural symposium. Bill also taught many short courses on dinoflagellate cysts aimed at the professional community. Unlike many eminent geologists, Bill actually retired from actively working in the earth sciences. His full retirement was in 1988; after this he worked on only a small number of dinoflagellate cyst projects, including an extensive paper on the genus Palaeoperidinium

Hvad kunde Grundtvig i dag betyde for reformerte kristne? (Forkortet udgave)

What might Grundtvig mean today to Reformed Christians? (Abbreviated edition on Danish)By G. F. W. HerngreenThe author, a former vicar in the Hague, asks this question on the basis of his knowledge of both Grundtvig’s writings and of the Grundtvigian church life in Denmark. Two of Grundtvig’s hymns have recently been included in the Dutch Hymn Book (Liedboek) and in this connection Grundtvig’s theology has for the first time received close consideration. In this article the author discusses in depth his view of the relationship between the Calvinist and the Grundtvigian interpretation of the Eucharist, particularly with regard to Karl Barth’s theology, and finds a greater agreement than even Grundtvig himself was aware of. The Reformed teaching on the Eucharist offers a greater opportunity to understand Grundtvig’s deepest concern: where do we hear God’s word to us personally? Grundtvig’s reference to the congregation’s ‘loud yes and amen’ in the creed during baptism is in consonance with Calvin’s main concern that man has no control over God’s word, not even at the Eucharist.It is God, the free agent, who acts through His word at both sacraments - not man. The creed is not a number of dogmas, a different holy writ from the Bible, but an oral narrative about who God is. This interpretation may lead to a cult-fellowship with its back to the world, which is at variance with the Reformed view that the true service takes place in the everyday life of the world, but it is for this very reason of great importance for the ecumenical debate whether one can also explain to the Reformed churches the basic idea behind Grundtvig’s ‘First a man, then a Christian’.