The doctrine of the church in Norway in the nineteenth century

The object of the thesis is to trace the doctrine of the Church in Norway during the 19th century, a period of unique Importance both in the thought and Church-life of the country. An attempt will be made to show that the problems Involved in the doctrine had a profound effect upon the whole current of Norwegian Church-life. On the basis of a theocentric approach and a dynamic, personal conception of Revelation, Martin Luther adopted a dialectical view of Christian doctrine as a whole and the doctrine of the Church In particular, and a functional concept of the Ministry. Through the re-Introduction of an Intellectualist conception of Revelation, however, these insights were lost in the later history of Lutheranism. The unity of the doctrine of the Church was broken, and a dualism of "Objectivism" and "Subjectivism" arose. Informed by an Idealist metaphyeic but virtually dependent upon an Empiricist epistemology, 19th century Norwegian theology was unable to overcome this dualism and to re-establish the dialectical view. It displayed a wide range of ecclesiologlcal positions, from Catholic Sacerdotalism (Krogh-Tonning) and Hegelian Erastianisra (Monrad) on the one hand, to Low-Church Orthodox-Pietism (Gisle Johnson) and Associational Independency (Sverdrup) on the other. The crisis in the doctrine of the Church was clearly reflected in the practical Church-life of the period, which was characterized by a gradual but definite trend In the Low-Church direction. The Grundtvigian party, seeking an objective authority, found it in the Church and its historic Creed. But the traditionalism and Sacramentallsm of this party were sharply opposed and finally overcome by the Orthodox-Pietists. The introduction of Revivalism, with its associational idea of the Church and charismatic concept of the Ministry, gave rise to the Inner Mission and Foreign Mission movements, and created tremendous tensions within the Church. After a protracted struggle, the "free organizations" and lay-preaching gained legal and ecclesiastical recognition. The Erastianlsm of the Church of Norway led to a reaction in the form of a vast movement for political reform. But failure to agree on a sound Lutheran doctrine of the Church within the movement and political pressure from without prevented the realization of Its objectives. The question of Church discipline within the national Church provided the occasion for several small separatist movements, which, although relatively Insignificant, illustrate the ecclesiological tensions. Thus, the unity of the Church In Norway was shattered during the 19th century. What was needed was a return to the dynamic conception of Revelation and dialectical view of Luther and the Confessions

Quality of life data as prognostic indicators of survival in cancer patients: an overview of the literature from 1982 to 2008

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Health-related quality of life and survival are two important outcome measures in cancer research and practice. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between quality of life data and survival time in cancer patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A review was undertaken of all the full publications in the English language biomedical journals between 1982 and 2008. The search was limited to cancer, and included the combination of keywords 'quality of life', 'patient reported-outcomes' 'prognostic', 'predictor', 'predictive' and 'survival' that appeared in the titles of the publications. In addition, each study was examined to ensure that it used multivariate analysis. Purely psychological studies were excluded. A manual search was also performed to include additional papers of potential interest.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 451 citations were identified in this rapid and systematic review of the literature. Of these, 104 citations on the relationship between quality of life and survival were found to be relevant and were further examined. The findings are summarized under different headings: heterogeneous samples of cancer patients, lung cancer, breast cancer, gastro-oesophageal cancers, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, melanoma and other cancers. With few exceptions, the findings showed that quality of life data or some aspects of quality of life measures were significant independent predictors of survival duration. Global quality of life, functioning domains and symptom scores - such as appetite loss, fatigue and pain - were the most important indicators, individually or in combination, for predicting survival times in cancer patients after adjusting for one or more demographic and known clinical prognostic factors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This review provides evidence for a positive relationship between quality of life data or some quality of life measures and the survival duration of cancer patients. Pre-treatment (baseline) quality of life data appeared to provide the most reliable information for helping clinicians to establish prognostic criteria for treating their cancer patients. It is recommended that future studies should use valid instruments, apply sound methodological approaches and adequate multivariate statistical analyses adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics and known clinical prognostic factors with a satisfactory validation strategy. This strategy is likely to yield more accurate and specific quality of life-related prognostic variables for specific cancers.</p

The use of complementary and alternative medicine by cancer patients

The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) among cancer patients is widespread and appears to be increasing. However, it is not clear whether patients use CAM as an 'alternative' to standard oncology care or as an adjunct to the conventional treatment they receive. This study reviews the role of CAM therapies in the management of cancer, from the view of both patients and health professionals and it highlights issues relating to the efficacy of CAM used by cancer patients. Most patients use CAM to 'complement' the conventional therapies of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and surgery. Health professionals in general have expressed positive views when CAM is used 'complementarily' and not as an 'Alternative'. Results so far published have shown that CAM can contribute to improving the quality of life of cancer patients and their general well-being