Christian Socialism: A Critique

Robert Owen said in 1816, “Society may be formed so as to exist without crime, without poverty, with health greatly improved, with little, if any misery, and with intelligence and happiness increased a hundredfold; and no obstacle whatsoever intervenes at this moment except ignorance.” 200 years later, however, no such system exists. A society in which every need is met, every resource fully available, every talent fully utilized for good, may be considered the ideological pinnacle of human civilization, but the question of how to create such a utopia remains unanswered. Many modern intellectuals favor socialism or its more extreme descendant; communism, in their search for perfect government. Likewise, many Christian young people and scholars have a fascination with the concept of Christian Socialism, synthesizing the ideals of communism with Biblical statements about the ideal Christian life found in the gospels. Some scholars assert that the socialist ideal is the ultimate fulfillment of Jesus’ command to love and serve one another – the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. So such a society should promote the provision for all that a loving God would logically offer to the creation made in His image. Yet the socialist and communist worldviews rest on flawed assumptions regarding the nature of man and thus consistently leave the masses unsatisfied and deprived. ‘Christian Socialism,’ has experienced a dramatic revival in recent years, resurrecting the ‘social gospel’ of Walter Rauschenbusch, through the writings of Jim Wallis among others, however the Biblical portrait of mankind is diametrically opposed to the theories upon which Socialism stands. While the surface of this movement may appear consistent with the precepts taught by Christ, deeper examination of its theological, philosophical, and historical inconsistencies quickly reveals a pit of fallacy - a flawed foundation upon which adherents would build an unstable future. Half a decade ago, the Christian Anti-Communist Crusade and other scholars codified many of the objections to Christian Socialism, but this research has since faded into obscurity as they were discounted as reactionary. However given the cultural atmosphere and resurgence of the movement today, these writings deserve significant reexamination

\u3cem\u3eTetrahymena thermophila\u3c/em\u3e Lack a Homologue of the Caenorhabditis Elegans Lin-4 miRNA

The netrin family of proteins was first discovered because of their role in axonal guidance during development. Netrin homologues are important developmental signals in organisms ranging from vertebrates to the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, and netrin-like proteins have even been found in the ciliated protozoan, Tetrahymena thermophila. Since the lin-4 miRNA regulates netrin signaling in C. elegans, we hypothesized that a lin-4 homologue might exists in Tetrahymena thermophila. In order to test this hypothesis, we purified total miRNA from T. thermophila, used this miRNA to make cDNA, then used RT-PCR to quantitate the amount of lin-4 specific cDNA we obtained. Our sample was positive for total cDNA, but not for the lin-4 cDNA specifically, suggesting that this miRNA may not have a homologue in Tetrahymena

Netrin-3 and Netrin-4-Like Proteins are Secreted from \u3cem\u3eTetrahymena thermophila\u3c/em\u3e

Netrins are signaling proteins, acting as chemorepellants or chemoattractants, and their role is especially important in early growth in organisms. In studies involving Tetrahymena thermophila, netrin proteins often act as chemorepellants, so research centered around verifying if this was also true for Netrin-4 protein. Since Netrin-1 and Netrin-3 have been shown to influence neurological and developmental growth in organisms, the implications for discovering the cellular effects of Netrin-4 are significant for human health and research. Through behavioral assays, we were able to confirm that Netrin4 does act as a chemorepellant. In addition, our ELISA and Western blots also helped substantiate the idea that Tetrahymena produce Netrin-4 for physiological functions, as they possess receptors for these proteins. The exact purposes of Netrin-4 for this organism is unknown up to this point, so further testing is needed to determine the cellular mechanisms with which Netrin-4 is involved

The biobehavioural pain and movement questionnaire (BioPMovQ): development and psychometric validation of a new questionnaire

ObjectiveThe purpose of this research was to design and psychometrically validate a new instrument (the Biobehavioural Pain and Movement Questionnaire/BioPMovQ), which assesses the relationship between pain and various factors related to motor behaviour from a biobehavioural perspective.MethodsA mixed-method design combining a qualitative study with an observational and cross-sectional study was employed to develop (content validity) and psychometrically validate (construct validity, reliability and concurrent/discriminant validity) a new instrument. A total of 200 patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain were recruited.ResultsAccording to the exploratory factor analysis, the final version of the BioPMovQ consists of 16 items distributed across 4 subscales (1, disability, 2, self-efficacy for physical activity; 3, movement avoidance behaviours; and 4, self-perceived functional ability), all with an eigen value greater than 1, explaining 55.79% of the variance. The BioPMovQ showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.82; McDonald’s ω = 0.83). The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.86 (95% confidence interval 0.76 to 0.91), which was considered to demonstrate excellent test–retest reliability. The standard error of measurement and minimal detectable change were 3.43 and 8.04 points, respectively. No floor or ceiling effects were identified. There was a positive, significant and moderate magnitude correlation with the Graded Chronic Pain Scale (r = 0.54), kinesiophobia (r = 0.60), pain catastrophising (r = 0.44) and chronic pain self-efficacy (r = −0.31).ConclusionThe BioPMovQ showed good psychometric properties. Based on the findings of this study, the BioPMovQ can be used in research and clinical practice to assess patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain