Receiver, Bearer, and Giver of God\u27s Spirit-Jesus\u27 Life and Mission in the Spirit as a Ground for Understanding Christology, Trinity, and Proclamation

In this project, I assess the usefulness of a Spirit-christology for reflection on Jesus’ perennial question, But who do you say that I am? (Mt. 16:15), and its implications for christology itself, trinitarian theology, and the proclamation of Jesus\u27 story.1 I argue that reading the life and mission of Jesus as receiver, bearer, and giver of God\u27s Spirit—i.e., a Spirit-christology 2 —invigorates and complements classic Logos-oriented approaches to christology, Trinity, and proclamation. Like many proposals in systematic theology, mine has both critical and constructive tasks. Critically, I investigate some reasons for the partial eclipse of the place of the Holy Spirit in the history of theological reflection on Jesus Christ. Constructively, I propose an invigoration or revitalization of the pneumatological dimensions of the Christ-event in view of their relativization by the church\u27s predominant apologetic interest in Logos oriented approaches to the same. My investigation shows that a rediscovery of these historically weakened and even forgotten pneumatic aspects can help us immensely to recover once again the economic-trinitarian dimensions of the mystery of Christ for the sake of reflection on their soteriological and immanent-trinitarian implications. In other words, a Spirit-christology places the question of Jesus\u27 identity in the broader context of God’s acts in history through the Son and in the Spirit (economic Trinity) for the sake of reflection both on their import for us (soteriology) and on their eternal ground in relations among divine persons who precede our creation and salvation (immanent Trinity). Against Arianism and modalism, a Logos-oriented christology defines Jesus\u27 identity respectively in terms of his divine equality with God the Father and his personal self- distinction from the same in eternity. Moreover, in reaction to Nestorian and Eutychian christologies, this classical approach defines Jesus\u27 identity in terms of his individual inner-constitution in time as God-man from the first moment of the incarnation. In both cases, the emphasis falls on the static and individual dimensions of Jesus\u27 identity, namely, his being-from-the-beginning (or being-from-before ) and his being-in himself.” A Spirit-oriented christology, as I envision it, defines the Son\u27s identity in terms of his openness to exist in relation to the Father in the Spirit, both temporally for us and eternally in the inner-life of God. By placing the question of Jesus\u27 identity in the wider soteriological and trinitarian context of his acts and relations, a Spirit-oriented Christology complements, not replaces, the static and individual emphases of Logos-oriented christology with dynamic and relational aspects. We can then speak of Jesus\u27 identity in terms of his being-in-act (or being-in-action ) and his being-in relation (or being-in/through/with/for-another ). This move allows us to give full weight to the defining place of the Spirit of the Father in the humanity of the Son and the events of his life and work (christology), in his trinitarian existence (Trinity), and in our present-day participation in his anointing (baptism), death, and resurrection through the convicting and liberating word (proclamation)

What Does God Say About Immigration

Dr. Sanchez presents at the Inaugural lecture at the Center for Applied Lutheran Leadership at Concordia Portland University. What does God say about …Immigration

Performance of alternative spatial models in empirical Douglas-fir and simulated datasets

Key message: Based on an empirical dataset originating from the French Douglas-fir breeding program, we showed that the bidimensional autoregressive and the two-dimensional P-spline regression spatial models clearly outperformed the classical block model, in terms of both goodness of fit and predicting ability. In contrast, the differences between both spatial models were relatively small. In general, results from simulated data were well in agreement with those from empirical data. Context: Environmental (and/or non-environmental) global and local spatial trends can lead to biases in the estimation of genetic parameters and the prediction of individual additive genetic effects. Aims: The goal of the present research is to compare the performances of the classical a priori block design (block) and two different a posteriori spatial models: a bidimensional first-order autoregressive process (AR) and a bidimensional P-spline regression (splines). Methods: Data from eight trials of the French Douglas-fir breeding program were analyzed using the block, AR, and splines models, and data from 8640 simulated datasets corresponding to 180 different scenarios were also analyzed using the two a posteriori spatial models. For each real and simulated dataset, we compared the fitted models using several performance metrics. Results: There is a substantial gain in accuracy and precision in switching from classical a priori blocks design to any of the two alternative a posteriori spatial methodologies. However, the differences between AR and splines were relatively small. Simulations, covering a larger though oversimplified hypothetical setting, seemed to support previous empirical findings. Both spatial approaches yielded unbiased estimations of the variance components when they match with the respective simulation data. Conclusion: In practice, both spatial models (i.e., AR and splines) suitably capture spatial variation. It is usually safe to use any of them. The final choice could be driven solely by operational reasons

Acculturation, Familism and Mother–Daughter Relations Among Suicidal and Non-Suicidal Adolescent Latinas

We examined the role of acculturation, familism and Latina mother–daughter relations in suicide attempts by comparing 65 adolescents with recent suicide attempts and their mothers to 75 teens without any attempts and their mothers. Attempters and non-attempters were similar in acculturation and familistic attitudes but attempters report significantly less mutuality and communication with their mothers than non-attempters. Mothers of attempters reported lower mutuality and communication with their daughters than mothers of non-attempters. Small increments in mutuality decreased the probability of a suicide attempt by 57%. Acculturation and familism do not appear to play major roles in suicide attempts but relational factors may. Instituting school-based psychoeducational groups for young Latinas, particularly in middle school, and their parents, separately and jointly, and focusing on raising effective communication and mutuality between parents and adolescent daughters are important primary prevention strategies

Ultraviolet-A Light and Riboflavin Therapy for Acanthamoeba Keratitis: A Case Report

Purpose: To report ultraviolet-A (UV-A) light treatment in a patient with Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK). Methods: Interventional case report. A standard protocol for ultraviolet corneal therapy, with a power emission of 3 mW/cm2 and a wavelength of 370 nm, was used. The protocol included an 8-nm bandwidth at a 54-mm distance measured with a collimation system of diodes as well as a protective shield of riboflavin in a case of documented AK. Results: A 54-year-old female patient with AK, showing no therapeutic response to a wide variety of topical antimicrobial agents and with a visual acuity of 20/400, was treated with UV-A therapy. The patient displayed a favourable response in the first 24 h after treatment, with improvement of symptoms, visual acuity (to 20/200) and biomicroscopy cornea with haze degree I. By the third week post-treatment, the patient was symptom-free. Her visual acuity was 20/30, and the affected cornea was clear. Five months after treatment, there had been no recurrence, and her vision was 20/20. Conclusions: Treatment with UV-A light was an effective therapy in this case of AK