The Imago Dei: an historical and critical examination

The imago Dei has become for Western theology primarily a symbol of either melancholy or disdain. For the Hebrew it was a symbol of the most intimate God -man relationship which we have called co- inherence. For most of the church Paradise lies behind, and our thoughts of it are tinged with memories of shame; for Israel Paradise was ahead, and she looked forward in hope.Our brief analysis has supported the proposition, stated as simply as possible, that man is destined by God for a good end. Hope itself appears to be a universal symbol of this very attitude. The imago Dei, in our opinion, is that symbol's theological counterpart. But the imago theme, in order to clarify and enlarge upon so- called secular hope, needs to be reinterpreted; it needs to be freed from opinions which remain from the theological season when creation and fall were treated as literal history.Our theme is: "The Imago Dei: An Historical and Critical Examination ". The major characteristics of our own interpretation of the imago Dei theme have been articulated above; our final chapter will be an attempt to construct and present what we believe to be a dogmatically sound and systematically justifiable re- interpretation of the theme. This will not be done de novo; rather it will evolve from a critical evaluation of the historical interpretations of the image motif.The word "Historical" is chosen to indicate that our method will be to select and evaluate theological systems of various historical epochs, i.e., Patristic, Scholastic, Reformation and Contemporary. The word "Critical" requires explanation. We do not wish to imply that our explication will be negative in the main, or that we have presupposed the conclusion. Rather, we will endeavor to allow each theologian to speak for himself, reserving, as much as is possible, our own presuppositions, i.e., those noted above. Our intention, therefore, is primarily to pose the question: what does, e.g., Augustine teach in respect to the imago Dei? Necessarily, the question itself will require an explication of various related themes and doctrines, e.g., creation, fall, sin, etc., which seem to impinge rather directly on the imago Dei theme. Therefore, although we will include doctrines other than the imago Dei specifically, it should be noted that we will not presume to study any such peripherally related themes exhaustively.Further, it should be realized that our method will not require a comparison and contrast of the systems under consideration. Whatever comparative conclusions mentioned are for the purpose of clarification and understanding; they are not for the purpose of ascertaining relative value. Quite 33. obviously, and admittedly, our own tentative presuppositions will "control" and circumscribe first the body of material selected for study, and finally even the conclusions derived. Whether the questions themselves are the "real" questions, i.e., the authentic questions of theology; whether they are formulated properly; whether they sufficiently lead us into the respective systems; - these are the primary considerations upon which the reader is invited to make his assessment. The secondary consideration - yet, nearer to the writer's personal objective - is ultimately to lay a foundation for hope in terms of the imago Dei. This requires: a. that we should carefully study and consider our own doctrinal substructure; b. that we remain judiciously, yet courageously susceptible to the possibility of either major or minor revision; and c. that we learn that all theological formulation is penultimate. "No definitions made by the Church in via are in themselves final or irreformable, however faithfully they serve to mediate to mankind the final authority of God for practical purposes.

Initial Findings on Visual Acuity Thresholds in an African Elephant (\u3cem\u3eLoxodonta africana\u3c/em\u3e)

There are only a few published examinations of elephant visual acuity. All involved Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and found visual acuity to be between 8′ and 11′ of arc for a stimulus near the tip of the trunk, equivalent to a 0.50 cm gap, at a distance of about 2 m from the eyes. We predicted that African elephants (Loxodonta africana) would have similarly high visual acuity, necessary to facilitate eye-trunk coordination for feeding, drinking and social interactions. When tested on a discrimination task using Landolt-C stimuli, one African elephant cow demonstrated a visual acuity of 48′ of arc. This represents the ability to discriminate a gap as small as 2.75 cm in a stimulus 196 cm from the eye. This single-subject study provides a preliminary estimate of the visual acuity of African elephants

Inhibition of \u3cem\u3eRhizobium etli\u3c/em\u3e Polysaccharide Mutants by \u3cem\u3ePhaseolus vulgaris\u3c/em\u3e Root Compounds

Crude bean root extracts of Phaseolus vulgaris were tested for inhibition of the growth of several polysaccharide mutants of Rhizobium etli biovar phaseoli CE3. Mutants deficient only in exopolysaccharide and some mutants deficient only in the O-antigen of the lipopolysaccharide were no more sensitive than the wild-type strain to the extracts, whereas mutants defective in both lipopolysaccharide and exopolysaccharide were much more sensitive. The inhibitory activity was found at much higher levels in roots and nodules than in stems or leaves. Inoculation with either wild-type or polysaccharide-deficient R. etli did not appear to affect the level of activity. Sequential extractions of the crude root material with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water partitioned inhibitory activity into each solvent except methanol. The major inhibitors in the petroleum ether and ethyl acetate extracts were purified by C18 high-performance liquid chromatography. These compounds all migrated very similarly in both liquid and thin-layer chromatography but were distinguished by their mass spectra. Absorbance spectra and fluorescence properties suggested that they were coumestans, one of which had the mass spectrum and nuclear magnetic resonances of coumestrol. These results are discussed with regard to the hypothesis that one role of rhizobial polysaccharides is to protect against plant toxins encountered during nodule development

Cyber Security Audit and Attack Detection Toolkit

This goal of this project was to develop cyber security audit and attack detection tools for industrial control systems (ICS). Digital Bond developed and released a tool named Bandolier that audits ICS components commonly used in the energy sector against an optimal security configuration. The Portaledge Project developed a capability for the PI Historian, the most widely used Historian in the energy sector, to aggregate security events and detect cyber attacks

Developing a Mathematics Capstone Experience at The U.S. Air Force Academy

There are many details to consider when designing a capstone experience. Expectations of students, faculty workload, resources, logistics, and timing all play a part in the value of this endeavor. We discuss the experience of creating a research capstone experience from scratch including the components of our current course as well as lessons learned. Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher’s online edition of PRIMUS to view the supplemental file

Characteristics of apartment development in Topeka, Kansas

Kansas State University master's non-thesis project

Growth Responses of Zoysia spp. under Tree Shade in the Midwestern United States

‘Meyer’ zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steudel) is commonly planted on home lawns and golf courses in the transition zone; however, poor shade tolerance limits its widespread use. This study was conducted to determine changes and differences in growth among selected Zoysia cultivars and progeny under a natural shade environment over a 3-year period in the transition zone. The study was initiated in June 2010 at the Rocky Ford Turfgrass Research Center in Manhattan, KS. Soil type was a Chase silt loam (fine, montmorillonitic, mesic, Aquic, Argiudoll). Zoysia genotypes were sodded in 0.37-m2 plots and arranged in a randomized complete block with five replications under silver maple (Acer saccharinum L.) shade that resulted in a 91% reduction in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Genotypes included ‘Zorro’ [Z. matrella (L.) Merrill], ‘Emerald’ [Z. japonica × Z. pacifica (Goudswaard) Hotta & Kuroki], ‘Meyer’, Chinese Common (Z. japonica), and experimental progeny Exp1 (Z. matrella × Z. japonica), and Exp2 and Exp3 [(Z. japonica × Z. pacifica) × Z. japonica]. ‘Zorro’ and ‘Emerald’ experienced winter injury, which negatively affected their performance. Tiller numbers decreased 47% in ‘Meyer’ from June 2010 to June 2012, but declines in [(Z. japonica × Z. pacifica) × Z. japonica] progeny were only 1% for Exp2 and 27% for Exp3, and both Exp2 and Exp3 maintained high percent green cover throughout the study. In general, by the third year of evaluation, progeny of [(Z. japonica × Z. pacifica) × Z. japonica] had higher quality ratings and higher tiller numbers than ‘Meyer’ and may provide more shade-tolerant cultivar choices for transition zone turf managers

K-Band Traveling-Wave Tube Amplifier

A new space-qualified, high-power, high-efficiency, K-band traveling-wave tube amplifier (TWTA) will provide high-rate, high-capacity, direct-to-Earth communications for science data and video gathered by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) during its mission. Several technological advances were responsible for the successful demonstration of the K-band TWTA