The role of scripture in the theology of Jürgen Moltmann

The sum total of dissertations engaging Jürgen Moltmann’s work—numbering over 400—is testament to both his widespread appeal and the controversy of his claims. But while Moltmann’s interlocutors provide significant comment on key issues in his theology, the role that Scripture plays in his project is often only given limited attention, or even overlooked completely. This dissertation thus seeks to shed light on this frequently neglected aspect of Moltmann’s theology. In attending to the “role” of Scripture in Moltmann’s theology, this disserta-tion’s aim is twofold. First, it will investigate the nature of Scripture according to Moltmann—its relationship to God, the church, and wider humanity. Second, it will address the function of Scripture in his theology—how it informs other areas of the-ological construction, such as eschatology, the theology of the cross, and the doctrine of the Trinity. Taking up this definition, the dissertation proceeds through six chap-ters to explore the role of Scripture in Moltmann’s early theology; Theology of Hope; the eschatology and political theology of the mid- to late-sixties; The Crucified God; the doctrine of the Trinity leading up to and in The Trinity and the Kingdom; and later theology—particularly Experiences in Theology. In addition to various insights arising from studies of these different periods, this dissertation concludes with three key claims. First, Scripture plays a central and non-negotiable role in the construction of Moltmann’s theology. He cannot be properly understood apart from his this commitment. Second, Moltmann invokes a contrastive paradigm throughout his career, identifying allegedly non-biblical fea-tures in traditional and contemporary theology, and answering these with his own proposals derived from the biblical text. Third, Moltmann can be profitably under-stood as a “speculative” theologian—in the best sense of the term. He is not bound to a particular hermeneutic but reads Scripture creatively in order to open up new directions in theology. The dissertation includes a comprehensive index of biblical references in Moltmann's English works

Qoheleth and the Cross: Back and Forth with Jürgen Moltmann and Peter Enns

The book of Ecclesiastes has often endured an existence at the margins of Christian faith. Interestingly, a theologian known precisely for his interest in retrieving the marginal, Jürgen Moltmann, has all but overlooked the theological value of this text, tending to treat it as a counterexample to the Christian life of hope, rather than grappling with its fundamental themes. But there is much that Ecclesiastes can offer Moltmann’s theology, and much in Moltmann’s theology that is amenable to a faithfully Christian interpretation of Ecclesiastes, particularly with respect to its value in voicing suffering in the Christian life. This article first provides an outline of Moltmann’s basic rejection of Ecclesiastes. It then offers an overview of the outlook of Ecclesiastes’s main voice, Qoheleth, drawing on Peter Enns’s commentary. Next, it outlines the biblical-theological significance Enns accords to Ecclesiastes in the reflections that follow his exegesis. Finally, it revisits Ecclesiastes in the context of Moltmann’s theology, demonstrating the commonalities between the two and contending that this biblical text can positively contribute to Moltmann’s Christology. Also included here is a letter by Moltmann written in response to the article.Peer Reviewe

Active Vibration Fluidization for Granular Jamming Grippers

Granular jamming has recently become popular in soft robotics with widespread applications including industrial gripping, surgical robotics and haptics. Previous work has investigated the use of various techniques that exploit the nature of granular physics to improve jamming performance, however this is generally underrepresented in the literature compared to its potential impact. We present the first research that exploits vibration-based fluidisation actively (e.g., during a grip) to elicit bespoke performance from granular jamming grippers. We augment a conventional universal gripper with a computer-controllled audio exciter, which is attached to the gripper via a 3D printed mount, and build an automated test rig to allow large-scale data collection to explore the effects of active vibration. We show that vibration in soft jamming grippers can improve holding strength. In a series of studies, we show that frequency and amplitude of the waveforms are key determinants to performance, and that jamming performance is also dependent on temporal properties of the induced waveform. We hope to encourage further study focused on active vibrational control of jamming in soft robotics to improve performance and increase diversity of potential applications.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2109.1049

Berry Flesh and Skin Ripening Features in Vitis vinifera as Assessed by Transcriptional Profiling

Background Ripening of fleshy fruit is a complex developmental process involving the differentiation of tissues with separate functions. During grapevine berry ripening important processes contributing to table and wine grape quality take place, some of them flesh- or skin-specific. In this study, transcriptional profiles throughout flesh and skin ripening were followed during two different seasons in a table grape cultivar ‘Muscat Hamburg’ to determine tissue-specific as well as common developmental programs. Methodology/Principal Findings Using an updated GrapeGen Affymetrix GeneChip® annotation based on grapevine 12×v1 gene predictions, 2188 differentially accumulated transcripts between flesh and skin and 2839 transcripts differentially accumulated throughout ripening in the same manner in both tissues were identified. Transcriptional profiles were dominated by changes at the beginning of veraison which affect both pericarp tissues, although frequently delayed or with lower intensity in the skin than in the flesh. Functional enrichment analysis identified the decay on biosynthetic processes, photosynthesis and transport as a major part of the program delayed in the skin. In addition, a higher number of functional categories, including several related to macromolecule transport and phenylpropanoid and lipid biosynthesis, were over-represented in transcripts accumulated to higher levels in the skin. Functional enrichment also indicated auxin, gibberellins and bHLH transcription factors to take part in the regulation of pre-veraison processes in the pericarp, whereas WRKY and C2H2 family transcription factors seems to more specifically participate in the regulation of skin and flesh ripening, respectively. Conclusions/Significance A transcriptomic analysis indicates that a large part of the ripening program is shared by both pericarp tissues despite some components are delayed in the skin. In addition, important tissue differences are present from early stages prior to the ripening onset including tissue-specific regulators. Altogether, these findings provide key elements to understand berry ripening and its differential regulation in flesh and skin.This study was financially supported by GrapeGen Project funded by Genoma España within a collaborative agreement with Genome Canada. The authors also thank The Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion for project BIO2008-03892 and a bilateral collaborative grant with Argentina (AR2009-0021). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewe

AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study

: High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, high-quality X-ray crystal structures, or manual cherry-picking of compounds. We show that the molecules selected by the AtomNet® model are novel drug-like scaffolds rather than minor modifications to known bioactive compounds. Our empirical results suggest that computational methods can substantially replace HTS as the first step of small-molecule drug discovery

The role of scripture in the theology of Jürgen Moltmann

The sum total of dissertations engaging Jürgen Moltmann’s work—numbering over 400—is testament to both his widespread appeal and the controversy of his claims. But while Moltmann’s interlocutors provide significant comment on key issues in his theology, the role that Scripture plays in his project is often only given limited attention, or even overlooked completely. This dissertation thus seeks to shed light on this frequently neglected aspect of Moltmann’s theology. In attending to the “role” of Scripture in Moltmann’s theology, this disserta-tion’s aim is twofold. First, it will investigate the nature of Scripture according to Moltmann—its relationship to God, the church, and wider humanity. Second, it will address the function of Scripture in his theology—how it informs other areas of the-ological construction, such as eschatology, the theology of the cross, and the doctrine of the Trinity. Taking up this definition, the dissertation proceeds through six chap-ters to explore the role of Scripture in Moltmann’s early theology; Theology of Hope; the eschatology and political theology of the mid- to late-sixties; The Crucified God; the doctrine of the Trinity leading up to and in The Trinity and the Kingdom; and later theology—particularly Experiences in Theology. In addition to various insights arising from studies of these different periods, this dissertation concludes with three key claims. First, Scripture plays a central and non-negotiable role in the construction of Moltmann’s theology. He cannot be properly understood apart from his this commitment. Second, Moltmann invokes a contrastive paradigm throughout his career, identifying allegedly non-biblical fea-tures in traditional and contemporary theology, and answering these with his own proposals derived from the biblical text. Third, Moltmann can be profitably under-stood as a “speculative” theologian—in the best sense of the term. He is not bound to a particular hermeneutic but reads Scripture creatively in order to open up new directions in theology. The dissertation includes a comprehensive index of biblical references in Moltmann's English works

La Ilustración de Galicia y Asturias : revista quincenal ilustrada: Año I Número 5 - 1878 septiembre 1

Jürgen Moltmann’s proposals for the doctrine of the Trinity have generated much critical response. His readers have rarely attended, however, to the exegetical basis on which Moltmann establishes his trinitarian interpretation of the cry of dereliction. Those who have contested Moltmann’s interpretation of the cry on the basis of Scripture make appeals to Luke and John to rein in the overly Markan shape of Moltmann’s doctrine of the Trinity. But these appeals overlook the value of Moltmann’s project for a truly canonical doctrine of the Trinity. While Moltmann employs a dubious historical Jesus methodology to establish the theological priority of Mark’s passion narrative, this article argues that his doctrine of the Trinity in The Crucified God allows readers of Scripture to behold Mark’s unique witness to the triune God.Peer Reviewe

Qoheleth and the Cross: Back and Forth with Jürgen Moltmann and Peter Enns

The book of Ecclesiastes has often endured an existence at the margins of Christian faith. Interestingly, a theologian known precisely for his interest in retrieving the marginal, Jürgen Moltmann, has all but overlooked the theological value of this text, tending to treat it as a counterexample to the Christian life of hope, rather than grappling with its fundamental themes. But there is much that Ecclesiastes can offer Moltmann’s theology, and much in Moltmann’s theology that is amenable to a faithfully Christian interpretation of Ecclesiastes, particularly with respect to its value in voicing suffering in the Christian life. This article first provides an outline of Moltmann’s basic rejection of Ecclesiastes. It then offers an overview of the outlook of Ecclesiastes’s main voice, Qoheleth, drawing on Peter Enns’s commentary. Next, it outlines the biblical-theological significance Enns accords to Ecclesiastes in the reflections that follow his exegesis. Finally, it revisits Ecclesiastes in the context of Moltmann’s theology, demonstrating the commonalities between the two and contending that this biblical text can positively contribute to Moltmann’s Christology. Also included here is a letter by Moltmann written in response to the article.Peer Reviewe

The Significance of the Cross for the Doctrine of the Trinity in the Theology of Jürgen Moltmann

The distinctive claim Moltmann makes in his second major work, The Crucified God, is that the two characteristic features of Christianity, the cross and the Trinity, are inseparable and thus must always be thought together. It is only in the context of the doctrine of the Trinity that the cross can be properly understood, and only in the context of the cross that the doctrine of the Trinity has any ground. The core of Moltmann’s innovations derive from the latter. That is, for Moltmann the cross is of central significance to the doctrine of the Trinity. This thesis consists of two chapters of exposition followed by three chapters of analysis and discussion, a final comparative chapter, and then a conclusion. The first two chapters trace the development of the significance of the cross for the doctrine of the Trinity through The Crucified God and The Trinity and the Kingdom, respectively. Chapter three begins the discussion by outlining and assessing Moltmann’s methodology. The latter half of the chapter provides a case study of his use of Scripture by looking at the function of Mark 15:34 in his theology. Chapter four discusses Moltmann’s innovations regarding divine passibility. After clarifying the grounds on which he rejects divine impassibility and, for him, the related Chalcedonian distinction between divine and human natures in Christ, it critically assesses his rationale for divine suffering and addresses his claim that there is enmity between Father and Son in the crucifixion. Chapter five discusses Moltmann’s construal of the relationship between immanent and economic Trinity. It begins by addressing the ambiguous relationship between history and eschatology in this area of his theology. Then it provides a critical assessment of Moltmann’s construal of this relationship in light of Karl Barth’s doctrine of the Trinity. Chapter six expounds and discusses a passage from Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theo-Drama which provides a helpful mediating position between Moltmann’s proposals and classical theism. The thesis concludes with a commendation of the value of his theologia crucis for hermeneutics, of his theology of divine passibility for a global, twenty-first century theology, and of his trinitarian panentheism as a potential alternative to classical theism for imagining the God of Jesus Christ