Another Look at the Antioch Incident (Gal 2:11-14)

This paper will address the incident in Antioch (Gal. 2:11-14) in the context of the challenges from Jews outside the Christian church in Jerusalem. Peter was afraid, not of the men James sent to Antioch, but of the message they brought him about threats from fanatically minded non-Christian Jews in Jerusalem. It has already been established (Burton) that the phrase phoboumenos tous ek peritomēs simply means “fearing the circumcised” – “the Jews” – rather than “converts from Judaism.” Longenecker argues that the preposition ek denotes character, as in hoi ek pisteōs (Gal 3:7,9; Rom 3:26; 4:16). Thus, the “circumcision party” would not be Jewish Christians at all, but simply “the Jews” or “the circumcised” who are described earlier in Galatians 2:7-9. Thus, Peter did not fear the brothers, but the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem. The following considerations are the main point of this paper and support the distinction between “men from James” and “the circumcision party”, and thus create quite a different scenario: (1) It is unlikely that James would send anyone to “audit” Peter’s work in Antioch since Peter was probably the most prominent church leader in Jerusalem. Rather, James informed Peter of the Jewish pressure. (2) The ill advice the apostles gave Paul (Acts 21:20-24) shows how the Christian leaders in Jerusalem did not realize that they could never meet the expectations of the Jewish leaders. (3) The persecution in Jerusalem was very real to Barnabas and the Jewish believers in Antioch (Acts 11:19) which explains why they joined Peter. Thus, it seems Peter was shaken by the external threats which were political rather than theological. Paul reacted in his way because the Christian spiritual identity was at stake

Another Look at the Antioch Incident (Gal 2:11-14)

This paper will address the incident in Antioch (Gal. 2:11-14) in the context of the challenges from Jews outside the Christian church in Jerusalem. Peter was afraid, not of the men James sent to Antioch, but of the message they brought him about threats from fanatically minded non-Christian Jews in Jerusalem. It has already been established (Burton) that the phrase phoboumenos tous ek peritomēs simply means “fearing the circumcised” – “the Jews” – rather than “converts from Judaism.” Longenecker argues that the preposition ek denotes character, as in hoi ek pisteōs (Gal 3:7,9; Rom 3:26; 4:16). Thus, the “circumcision party” would not be Jewish Christians at all, but simply “the Jews” or “the circumcised” who are described earlier in Galatians 2:7-9. Thus, Peter did not fear the brothers, but the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem. The following considerations are the main point of this paper and support the distinction between “men from James” and “the circumcision party”, and thus create quite a different scenario: (1) It is unlikely that James would send anyone to “audit” Peter’s work in Antioch since Peter was probably the most prominent church leader in Jerusalem. Rather, James informed Peter of the Jewish pressure. (2) The ill advice the apostles gave Paul (Acts 21:20-24) shows how the Christian leaders in Jerusalem did not realize that they could never meet the expectations of the Jewish leaders. (3) The persecution in Jerusalem was very real to Barnabas and the Jewish believers in Antioch (Acts 11:19) which explains why they joined Peter. Thus, it seems Peter was shaken by the external threats which were political rather than theological. Paul reacted in his way because the Christian spiritual identity was at stake

The Empirical Development of a College Curriculum of the Epistle to the Galatians

Problem. Seventh-day Adventist adolescents need a clear understanding of the gospel which provides the assurance of salvation. Since in Seventh-day Adventist colleges there is no curriculum for the Epistle to the Galatians, this study was intended to provide college religion students with the opportunity to understand cognitively and to apply experientially the claims of the gospel as presented in Galatians. Method. The basic philosophy of the learning approach utilized in this study was that a curriculum is more than a blueprint for educational planning. In Christian education, curriculum is a bridge between theory and practice in the cognitive, affective and spiritual domains. The instructional product development method of Baker and Schutz (1971) was utilized in this study. The product was empirically developed through seven systematic steps. Having established the need for the product, behav iGTu 1 objectives were created. Then the cognitive pre- and post-tesc items were formulated, as well as the criteria by which they would be evaluated. The curriculum was prepared in the form of lectures for the college students. General mastery was established at 80/80; that is, at least 80% of the learners would need to demonstrate mastery of at least 80% of the criteria established for each of twenty-eight objectives in the cognitive post-test. An affective instrument was also developed to measure the modification of effect in the instructional sequence. The lectures were presented first to small groups, then modified, and the group size increased. When the mastery of the content was achieved at the determined level, the curriculum was considered to be ready for field use. Results. All of the thirty-three participants achieved (1) cognitive mastery at the predetermined level of 80/80 and (2) a t-score of 8.122 which is above the level of significance of 2.036. This suggests that a positive modification of affect was also achieved. Conclusions. Since there is both a need for a well-formulated gospel message and a lack of a college curriculum of the Epistle to the Galatians, this college curriculum could be utilized as a primary learning tool of instruction in college religion classes

Botulinum neurotoxin type A: actions beyond SNAP-25?

Botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A), the most potent toxin known in nature which causes botulism, is a commonly used therapeutic protein. It prevents synaptic vesicle neuroexocytosis by proteolytic cleavage of synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP-25). It is widely believed that BoNT/A therapeutic or toxic actions are exclusively mediated by SNAP-25 cleavage. On the other hand, in vitro and in vivo findings suggest that several BoNT/A actions related to neuroexocytosis, cell cycle and apoptosis, neuritogenesis and gene expression are not necessarily mediated by this widely accepted mechanism of action. In present review we summarize the literature evidence which point to the existence of unknown BoNT/A molecular target(s) and modulation of unknown signaling pathways. The effects of BoNT/A apparently independent of SNAP-25 occur at similar doses/concentrations known to induce SNAP-25 cleavage and prevention of neurotransmitter release. Accordingly, these effects might be pharmacologically significant. Potentially the most interesting are observations of antimitotic and antitumor activity of BoNT/A. However, the exact mechanisms require further studies

Effects of starch concentration on calcium‐enhanced black bullhead catfish protein gels

Calcium‐enhanced protein recovered from black bullhead catfish was used to develop gels containing increasing amounts of potato starch (0–20 g/kg protein paste) and the effects of starch on functional, textural, and color properties were tested. Energy required to unfold protein groups was greater with the addition of 5 g starch/kg protein paste. Gels containing starch were harder, chewier, and less springy (p \u3c .05) than gels without starch. For most measurements, regression analysis showed that increasing the starch concentration beyond 5 g/kg did not contribute to further significant textural changes. Torsional shear stress and strain along with Kramer shear force increased as the concentration of starch increased (R2 = .79, .79, and .53, respectively). The addition of ≥10 g starch/kg protein paste resulted in darker gels and gels got darker as more starch was added (R2 = .71). Results showed no benefit to increasing starch concentration in gels beyond 5 g starch/kg protein paste

Botulinum toxin type A in motor nervous system: unexplained observations and new challenges

In the motor system, botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A) actions were classically attributed to its well-known peripheral anticholinergic actions in neuromuscular junctions. However, the enzymatic activity of BoNT/A, assessed by the detection of cleaved synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25), was recently detected in motor and sensory regions of the brainstem and spinal cord after toxin peripheral injection in rodents. In sensory regions, the function of BoNT/A activity is associated with its antinociceptive effects, while in motor regions we only know that BoNT/A activity is present. Is it possible that BoNT/A presence in central motor nuclei is without any function? In this brief review, we analyze this question. Limited data available in the literature warrant further investigations of BoNT/A actions in motor nervous system