Truth, Lies, and Stolen Valor: A Case For Protecting False Statements of Fact Under the First Amendment

The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 (the Act) makes it a crime to lie about having received a medal authorized by Congress for the military. In 2010, in United States v. Alvarez, the Ninth Circuit found the Act unconstitutional under the First Amendment, holding that false statements of fact, like other content-based restrictions on speech, are subject to strict scrutiny. The Act failed this test because, according to the court, it was not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest. The decision highlights the uncertainty of First Amendment protections for false speech. Though the Supreme Court has held that certain categories of false speech— such as fraud and defamation—are proscribable, it has not ruled directly on a case in which false speech had been barred without respect to context, intent, or harm. This Note argues that false speech should be presumptively protected by the First Amendment, with exceptions for certain classes of speech that result in concrete harm to individuals. Such protection would limit government control of speech, avoid chilling worthy speech, promote privacy and autonomy, and result in easier administration for courts

The Correlation Between Ecclesial Communion and the Recognition of Ministry

Recognition of an imperfect communion between churches, the recognition of ecclesial communities as churches, and the mutual recognition of ministry are treated as separate and discrete topics in ecumenical conversations. Nevertheless, an ecclesiology of communion suggests that ecclesial recognition and recognition of ministry within a relationship of imperfect communion should be correlated with each other in such a way that an imperfect ecclesial communion contributes to an incremental recognition of ministry in ecumenical relationships. This essay explores this question with specific references to the concept of communion in Chapter II, part D and E of the World Council of Churches document, The Church: Towards a Common Vision (2013)

The Shifting Ecumenical Landscape at the 2017 Reformation Centenary

The 2017 Reformation Centenary is the first commemoration to take place during the ecumenical age and marks fifty years of Lutheran–Roman Catholic dialogue. The current ecumenical landscape is a tale of two cities, one of ecclesial fragmentation that exists simultaneously with new relationships of communion and ecumenical progress. The way forward requires the discernment of deeper commonalities among ecclesial tradition, a correlation of doctrines, a “pastoral ecumenism,” and a hierarchy of virtues in addition to a hierarchy of truths

Baptism

This chapter surveys commonalities and divergences with regard to the theology and practice of baptism that are reflected in the World Council of Churches convergence document on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, and considers in particular the Anabaptist, Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Orthodox, Quaker, and Reformed traditions. Major topics treated include: the role of faith with regard to baptism, interconnections between baptism, faith, and justification; the relationship between baptism and patterns of initiation in various traditions; and elements of the ancient catechumenate in contemporary rites. The chapter argues that in the expansive theology of baptism in the catechumenal tradition baptism is understood to be transformative and regenerative, eucharistic in orientation and meaning, eschatological in orientation, and ecclesial in context. The chapter finally summarizes the achievements of ecumenical dialogue and identifies remaining issues

High temperature penetrator assembly with bayonet plug and ramp-activated lock

A penetration apparatus, for very high temperature applications in which a base plug is inserted into an opening through a bulkhead is described. The base plug has a head shape and is seated against the highest temperature surface of the bulkhead, which may be the skin of the nose cone or other part of a space vehicle intended for nondestructive atmospheric reentry. From the second side of the bulkhead at which the less severe environment is extant, a bayonet plug is inserted into the base plug and engages an internal shoulder at about 90 deg rotation. The bayonet plug has an integral flanged portion and a pair of ramping washers which are located between the flange and the second bulkhead surface with a spacing washer as necessary

Continuity and Development in Roman Catholic Ecclesiology

An overview of the conceptualizations of the Catholic Church from the theology of Bellarmine to contemporary understanding of the church as communion shows both continuity and development from one concept to the next rather than an abrupt change to a new model that discards the model preceding it. This essay examines the church as perfect society, church as mystical body, church as sacrament, church as people of God, and church as communion, demonstrating that the various conceptualizations represent development, balance, correction, and a deeper penetration in the understanding and articulation of the prior conceptualizations. The church as body of Christ develops the spiritual and Christological dimension of the church as society. The church as sacrament offers a way of differentiating between Christ and the church while at the same time retaining the close correlation between the two. The church as people of God introduces historical consciousness into the definition of the church. The church as communion synthesizes the strong sacramental and spiritual identity of the church with its organizational structure