Die wet van God - ’n teologiese en wysgerige studie

The theological term law of God is discussed in relation with Us significance for other scholarly disciplines, in particular for philosophy. First, the idea of creational ordinances is viewed with respect to the underlying notion of law. Secondly, the idea of the law as being ‘border’ is discussed. According to this view certain entities of reality arc classified as being ‘under' (i.e. within the law) and others as 'above' the law. Other points discussed are the creational meaning of the law-order, the relationship of law and cosmic time, and the description of law in modal terms used not as concepts but as ideas. The positivizing of law is viewed from what is considered to be the correct view-point, as well as from the biblicistic view-point. Finally, the cosmological meaning of law is discussed in coherence with the fall and with the redemption in Christ. In this context, the view is defended that the law, being, in its supratemporal fulness, Christ Himself, docs not 'belong’ to creation, as is often asserted

Korrespondensie of koherensie?

Apart from the pragmatic , the performative , and the existentialist theorie s of truth, the correspondence theory and the coherence theory of truth are of special importance in any discussion about scientific truth. The Christian scholars Ceisler and Feinberg are q u o ted as proponents of the correspondence theory, and Botha as a proponent of the coherence theory. None of them seem to take sifficiently into account the essential distinction between the practical and the theoretical attitude of thought, nor do they discuss the difference between the two theories of them within the framework of a Christian cosmology and episiemology. Therefore, the distinction between Biblical and theological knowledge is briefly discussed, as well as the scientism inherent in the fundamentalistic preference of the correspondence theory. It is argued, however, that the same danger of scientism threatens Botha's preference of the weak criterion of truth of the coherence theory. Finally, Botha ’s preference of the relational concept of truth is criticized because of its false distinction between the relational an d the objective and subjective. Here, too, a consistent Christian cosmology and epistemology could be helpful

Is 'n Christelike universiteit moontlik?

The question regarding, the nature o f a truly Christian University is addressed in this article. It is argued that such a university should develop a clear-cut concept of Christian scholarship (in the widest sense o f the term). Christian scholarship is not ‘derivect from the Bible or from any theology, hut founded in a radical Christian-philosophical view of reality and knowledge. A truly Christian university has the duly to work within and further develop such a Christian-cosmological and Christian-epistemological paradigm, and to point out and elaborate its relevance fo r the various sciences. If this is not done, scholars will, under the guise o f the Christian faith, unconsciously assume presuppositions of either a secular-humanistic, or a scholastic, or a biblicislic-fundamentalist nature. It is pointed out that the foundational questions concerning the various special sciences are necessarily of a philosophical nature, and that, if one wants to practise science on a Christian basis, one's philosophical paradigm has to be fully attuned to on e ’s Christian life and world view. For the time being, the author prefers the Reformational philosophy developed along the lines of Dooyeweerd, Vollenhoven, and Stoker, not because it is the best but because it is the only radical Christian, encompassing cosmology and epistemology available. The author makes this choice fully aware of the fact that this philosophy is, like all scientific theories, nothing but a fallible and preliminary construct, and that Christian scholarship vim not begun, or did not become possible, only with Dooyeweerd c.s.. The necessity of a radical Christian philosophy is based upon the presupposition that all human activity is founded in a ground-motif, and that the latter is necessarily of a religious nature

Is Happiness a trait?

ABSTRACT One of the ideological foundations of the modern welfare states is the belief that people can be made happier by providing them with better living conditions. This belief is challenged by the theory that happiness is a fixed 'trait', rather than a variable 'state'. This theory figures both at the individual level and at the societal level. The individual level variant depicts happiness as an aspect of personal character; rooted in inborn temperament or acquired disposition. The societal variant sees happiness as a matter of national character; embedded in shared values and beliefs. Both variants imply that a better society makes no happier people. Happiness can be regarded as a trait if it meets three criteria: 1) temporal stability, 2) cross-situational consistency, and 3) inner causation. This paper checks whether that is, indeed, the case. The theory that happiness is a personal-character-trait is tested in a (meta) analysis of longitudinal studies. The results are: 1) Happiness is quite stable on the short term, but not in the long run, neither relatively nor absoloutely. 2) Happiness is not insensitive to fortune or adversity. 3) Happiness is not entirely built-in: its genetic basis is at best modest and psychological factors explain only part of its variance. The theory that happiness is a national-character-trait is tested in an analysis of differences in average happiness between nations. The results point in the same direction: 1) Though generally fairly stable over the last decades, nation-happiness has changed profoundly in some cases both absolutely and relatively. 2) Average happiness in nations is clearly not indep

Ondersteuning van beschadigd hart met Impella-pomp

Temporary mechanical circulatory support is increasingly used, particularly in patients with cardiogenic shock or during high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions. In the last five years there have been numerous developments in this field. Experience has been gained from usage of temporary heart pumps, and new pumps have arrived on the market. Until recently, the intra-aortal balloon pump was the standard treatment for patients with cardiogenic shock; however, results from the latest research into the effectiveness of this pump have rendered it less popular. An alternative modality is the Impella system. Since 2012, usage of a heart pump in cardiogenic shock treatment is reimbursed by healthcare insurers in the Netherlands. Recently, the FDA approved the Impella system for said indicatio

Peri-operative continuation of metformin does not improve glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial

Historically, metformin was withheld before surgery for fear of metformin-associated lactic acidosis. Currently, however, this risk is deemed to be low and guidelines have moved towards the continuation of metformin. We hypothesized that continuing metformin peri-operatively would lower postoperative serum glucose level without an effect on plasma lactate levels. We performed a single-blind multicentre randomized controlled trial in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus scheduled for non-cardiac surgery and continued (MF+ group) or withheld (MF- group) metformin before surgery. The main outcome measures were the differences in peri-operative plasma glucose and lactate levels. We randomized 70 patients (37 MF+ group and 33 MF- group) with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Postoperative glucose levels were similar in the MF+ and the MF- groups (8.2 +/- 1.8 vs 8.3 +/- 2.3mmol/L P=.95) Although preoperative lactate levels were slightly higher in the MF+ group compared with the MF- group (1.5 vs 1.2mmol/L; P=.02), the postoperative lactate levels were not significantly different (1.2 vs 1.0mmol/L; P=.18). In conclusion, continuation of metformin during elective non-cardiac surgery does not improve glucose control or raise lactate levels to a clinically relevant degre