Living coal : Robert Boyle, John Holland, and the bodily passages of chimney sweep literature, 1684-1824

This project attends to a body of literature that registers the extraordinary and tragic effects of chimneys infused with living coal upon young chimney sweeps. In so doing, I show how writers, especially John Holland, registered the dynamic interrelationship between chimney sweeps, chimneys and coal as bodily passages. To assist our imagining of these bodily passages, I adapt Edward Casey’s logic of place and Stacy Alaimo’s concept of “transcorporeality” in order to make sense of the material exchange between the child-sweeps and the lively matter of and within the chimneys. Together, place-thinking and transcorporeality help us see the way in which dwelling within toxic places might involve processes of what Rob Nixon has called “slow violence,” a violence often culminating in the spectacular erasure of bodies. In turn, I hope to contribute to a fuller understanding of what it means to live firmly emplaced in the environment in which we dwell.Englis

Jesu Meine Freude: A cultural reception analysis of Romans 8

Romans 8:1-11 ; Contains German text and trans of motet, Jesus Meine Freude by J S Bach. Cultural reception of the Gospel, edt by T Hegedus

Building for the Future: Worldview Foundations of Sand and Rock

The good news of Jesus Christ is a message about the revelation and accomplishment of the goal of history-the restoration of the entire creation from sin. Thus, the Christian faith is not a religion that can be slotted into the private domain of human life. Rather it is a comprehensive worldview embodied by the Christian community. The Christian community has always had to embody the gospel of the kingdom in the context of a culture that holds other comprehensive beliefs. Three cultural contexts can be discerned in church history, all of which bring possibilities for and dangers to a faithful witness to the gospel. Sometimes the cultural setting is hostile to the Christian faith, as in the case of the early church and the church under Communism. While Christians may be limited in contributing to the cultural development of society, they must embody an alternative worldview that challenges the reigning public doctrine, even if it means suffering. Sometimes the cultural arrangement will favour the Christian church, giving it an established position. In this situation, Christians must use the position offered to shape the culture according to the light of the gospel, remaining critical of elements of culture out of keeping with the kingdom and modelling the gentle and uncoercive manner of Jesus the Servant-King. Sometimes Christians will find themselves in a culture that ignores the Christian faith and relegates it to the private realm. Then Christians must refuse to reduce the gospel to a private religious teaching, and seek ways to embody the truth of the gospel for public life. The church in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union has seen all three of these cultural contexts. The paper concludes with two comments for the church in Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, and other countries of the former Soviet Union. First, there may be a parallel situation between the collapse of the Roman empire and the collapse of Communism. Both offer the opportunity for the Christian worldview to fill the vacuum created by the crumbling of the reigning cultural doctrine. Second, the growing presence of capitalistic liberalism threatens the gospel as public truth about human society and culture. The gospel and liberal, democratic capitalism offer two different stories about the world that demands a commitment in faith. Which worldview will provide a foundation for the future of Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe? Will it be the rock of the gospel of Jesus Christ or the sand of a human hope for the future

Parental rejection upon coming-out as a risk factor for substance abuse for gay/bisexual adolescents

Very few studies have examined how parental rejection impacts substance use or abuse behaviors among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents. The purpose of this study was to explore lesbian, gay, and bisexual men and women\u27s experiences with substance use or abuse after experiencing parental rejection upon coming out in adolescence. This qualitative study looked at the unique experiences of coming out during adolescence through in-person interviews with twelve lesbian, gay, and bisexual men and women,. Narratives from these interviews were obtained through a structured self-created interview guide, consisting of open-ended questions. Findings varied among each participant, but shared themes also emerged in regards to parental reactions and the increased level of substances used after coming out. Due to a lack of literature in this area, the findings of this study may contribute to a larger body of research examining this phenomenon. Each participant included in this study experienced parental rejection, and some form of substance use or abuse after coming out. While each person found it difficult to cope with parental rejection, those who had an identified support system reported higher levels of resiliency and development of coping skills