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The article "Priests of Creation: John Zizioulas on Discerning an Ecological Ethos" explores the intersection of theology and ecology through the work of John Zizioulas. Zizioulas argues for an Eastern perspective in theology to address the ecological crisis, critiquing Western anthropocentrism and proposing a more holistic approach to creation. He emphasizes the ontological value of creation, viewing humans as priests who mediate between the divine and creation. While Zizioulas presents compelling arguments, the article suggests that the West may have the resources to incorporate his insights into a broader theological framework. [Extracted from the article]

What may seem astonishing is the near dismissal of the beatific vision doctrine in the last 50+ years of biblical and theological scholarship in contrast to the emphasis given to it throughout church history. The state of theological scholarship is changing. In what follows, we set forth a short survey of a theology of the beatific vision, while also introducing the rest of the volume on the beatific vision and theosis, of which we take to have an intimate and overlapping relationship. The editorial article has four parts: it begins by (1) introducing some of the relevant biblical material on the vision, proceeding to (2) develop a theological interpretation of those passages, and then (3) offer a short historical survey of the doctrine, focusing on the relevant medieval and Reformed developments. It finally (4) introduces the articles of the issue.

The doctrine of the atonement is a subject of perpetual curiosity for a number of contemporary theologians. The penal substitution theory of atonement in particular has precipitated a great deal of recent interest, being held up by many (mostly evangelical) Protestants as ‘the’ doctrine of atonement. In this essay, we make a defense against the objection to the Anselmian theory of atonement that is often leveled against it by exponents of the Penal Substitution theory, namely, that Christ’s work does not accomplish anything for those whom it appears he undertakes his atoning work, but merely makes provision for salvation.

The beatific vision is a subject of considerable importance both in the Christian Scriptures and in the history of Christian dogmatics. In it, humans experience and see the perfect immaterial God, which represents the final end for the saints. However, this doctrine has received less attention in the contemporary theological literature, arguably, due in part to the growing trend toward materialism and the sole emphasis on bodily resurrection in Reformed eschatology. As a piece of retrieval by drawing from the Scriptures, Medieval Christianity, and Reformed Christianity, we motivate a case for the Reformed emphasis on the immaterial and intellectual aspects of human personal eschatology and offer some constructive thoughts on how to link it to the contemporary emphasis of the body. We draw a link between the soul and the body in the vision with the help of Christology as reflected in the theology of John Calvin, and, to a greater extent, the theology of both John Owen and Jonathan Edwards.

As divergent as they seem to be, In God's Image; Marriage, Family and the Church; Restless Devices; and, Believing in Bits all have several overlapping themes that center on the embodied nature of the imago Dei. Each presents a set of questions that prompt consideration of how 'technology' influences, shapes, and informs our embodied practice of religion. In God's Image and Marriage, Family and the Church give us a broad vision of the human that helps situate and theologically engage the themes, concerns, and developing challenges in Restless Devices and Believing in Bits. The latter two gesture in the direction that aid us in thinking about the liturgical nature of what it means to be human. In God's Image offers a sampling of different proposals primarily from a Protestant perspective that open up questions for how one ought to unify the themes and teleological nature of the body. Through a brief interaction with all four works, I gesture toward Marriage, Family and the Church as providing A Boat with New Nets that might just help us to navigate our changing world of technological advancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of personal identity is ultimately theological in nature. Through a survey of some of the recent philosophical evidence for the soul (in the analytic philosophical tradition), the following lays out reasons for why personal identity is accounted for by a soul because of the nature of phenomenal consciousness as essentially descriptive of persons. Yet, this conclusion is buttressed by theological reflection on personal origins and the end of life. Through a guided reflection on the origins of persons and the end of life (through the lens of dementia case studies), further suggested information about the person as a substance of consciousness reveals more than what is uncovered through philosophical or scientific analysis alone. In this way, and building on Priest's recents work, the following is a sketch of personal identity as ensouled identity that moves beyond what Priest calls the 'conditioned' mode to the 'unconditioned' mode of theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Richard Swinburne is a prominent defender of the soul, specifically a version rooted in the tradition of René Descartes. He argues that humans are composed of two distinct substances with different properties. Swinburne has written extensively on this topic, with two notable works being "The Evolution of the Soul" and "Mind, Brain, & Free Will." His latest book, "Are We Bodies or Souls?," further develops his argument and introduces the concept of informative designators. While the book is academic and dense, it offers valuable insights for religious and theological scholars interested in exploring the concept of the soul. [Extracted from the article]

"Sex, Tech & Faith: Ethics for a Digital Age" by Kate Ott is a thought-provoking exploration of the relationship between sexuality and technology. The author operates from a Western liberal democratic perspective, assuming that sexuality is good and technology is ethically neutral. The book raises important questions about the appropriate use of technology for sexuality and the impact of technology on our understanding of gender and sexual practice. While the book may not align with conservative or traditionalist views, it encourages readers to consider these perspectives and engage in thoughtful discussions about the topic. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: To describe a novel metric to aid clinical decision making between shorter versus longer palliative radiotherapy (PRT) regimens using objective patient factors. Materials and Methods: Patients receiving PRT at a single institution between 2014 and 2018 were reviewed. The time between PRT start and finish was calculated and divided by overall survival (in days from start of PRT) to generate the percent of remaining life (PRL). This value was compared across various clinical factors using the Kruskal–Wallis test. Factors identified with a significance level p < 0.01 were included in a novel Palliative Appropriateness Criteria Score (PACS) and were included in an online risk assessment tool to assist clinicians in patient-specific fractionation decisions. Results: Totally 1027 courses of PRT were analyzed. Median age was 64 years; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status was 3–4 in 22%. Primary malignancies included were lung (38%), breast (13.8%), prostate (9.3%), and other (39%). The indication for PRT was pain (61%), neurological (21%), or other (18%). Palliative regimens included 199 (19.4%) receiving single fraction, 176 (17.1%) receiving 2–5 fractions, and 652 (63.5%) receiving 10 fractions. Median follow-up was 83 days overall and 437 days for patients alive at last follow-up. Factors significantly associated with increased PRL (and included in the PACS) were male gender, ECOG 3–4, lung or "other" primary diagnosis (vs. breast or prostate), PRT indication (neurological dysfunction vs. pain/other), inpatient status, and extraosseous sites treatment. Death within 30 days was significantly associated with high-risk PACS categorization, regardless of fractionation scheme (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The PACS is a novel metric for evaluating the utility of PRT regimens to improve clinical decision making. Single fraction is associated with low PRL. When considering multifraction PRT regimens, the PACS identifies patients who may benefit from shorter courses of PRT and alternatively, low-risk patients for whom a more protracted course is reasonable. Prospective external validation is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of familial identity is central to a growing number of theological works. The authors of the volumes here each represent a different set of issues, disciplines, and perspectives. The discussions, ironically, center around family. Made in the Image of God gives the readers a series of reflections on diverse theological topics oscillating around the image and identity. Forming Resilient Children is unlike Made in the Image of God in that it is not strictly speaking a theological reflection on diverse issues, but a work of developmental psychology focusing on the nature of the child and the familial context for the child. Married Priests in the Catholic Church offers the reader a series of ecclesial engagements on the topic of the vocation of priesthood as either married or celibate. Overlapping with the previous two volumes in content by touching on identity, the image of God, and the nature of creaturely relations to God, Married Priests is, in one sense, a sustained reflection on the meaning of familial and organic identity (as an image of God) to the Church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To describe intensity‐modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with Gamma Knife Radiosurgery (GKRS) boost for locally advanced head and neck cancer (HNC) with disease near dose‐limiting structures. Methods: Patients with HNC treated with IMRT/GKRS as part of a combined modality approach between 2011 and 2021 were reviewed. Local control, overall survival and disease‐specific survival were estimated using the Kaplan Meier method. Results: Twenty patients were included. Nineteen patients had T3‐4 tumors. Median follow‐up was 26.3 months. GKRS site control was 95%. Two patients progressed at the treated primary site, one patient failed at the edge of the GKRS treatment volume, with no perineural or intracranial failure. 2‐year OS was 94.7% (95% CI: 85.2%–100%). Concurrent chemotherapy was given in nine patients (45%). One patient (5%) received induction/concurrent chemotherapy. Brain radionecrosis occurred in three patients, one of which was biopsy‐proven. Conclusions: IMRT plus GKRS boost results in excellent disease control near critical structures with minimal toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent atonement literature reveals a growing trend accepting the thesis that the Reformer's doctrine just is the biblical doctrine of penal substitution. This is the claim of William Lane Craig in his recent works on the atonement. In the present article, we challenge these set of claims in Craig's recent works and advance an alternative theory of the atonement that has some significant footing in the Reformed theological tradition, most notably reflected in the theologian, William Ames. Finally, we lay out several reasons why Craig's doctrine of the atonement fails to capture the biblical data on the atonement and fails to avoid the legal fiction problem parasitic on most, if not all, accounts of penal substitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farrow does a masterful work in dismantling variations of penal substitution atonement where Christ assumes the debt of punishment on behalf of humans - a view of which has become commonplace in Protestantism a/er Calvin. Farrow attempts to make the case that Protestants are beholden to a kind of Pelagianism he calls "doxological Pelagianism." Unconvinced that all of Protestantism yields doxological Pelagianism, Farrow helps us, Protestants, see the proclivity to do it "my way.". [Extracted from the article]

Originating from the Evangelical Philosophical Society's Panel Discussion at the American Academy of Religion 2017 on themes in Andrew Loke's Christological work, Kryptic Christology, the present article isolates one important issue that began as discussion in Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie between James Arcadi and Andrew Loke on the nature of Christ's human nature according to abstractism and concretism. Upon summarizing the debate, I make two claims. After I take a fresh look at the state of the analytic Christological literature, I, first, suggest that Loke is not consistent with the common descriptions of abstractism/concretism as stated in the analytic literature. And, second, I argue, based on Loke's own words, that he confuses a metaphysical distinction with a semantic distinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When we wait for a significant other, it is not as if we are waiting for someone who looks like her, talks like her, or even walks like her. Instead, what we want is her. And, the same goes for the afterlife: if there is an afterlife, we long to see our loved ones. Not those who look like our loved ones, who sound like them, or even smell like them, but we actually want them. In the study of human nature, this is, arguably, one of the modern insights on humanity. The question of the "particularity" of human beings matters. In technical philosophical studies, the question of "particularity" is a question of thisness (i.e., the fact that objects are countable as discrete in virtue of some property or feature that makes an object what it is). What makes one person this person rather than that person? By showing how the concept of thisness is important in modern and contemporary theology, I will argue for a specific view as that which accurately captures both the historical consensus and the modern emphasis of personhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deacy, Christopher. Screening the Afterlife: Theology, Eschatology and Film. London and New York: Routledge, 2012.188 + xii pp. $34.95 (USD). ISBN: 978-0-415-57259-0 (pbk) In Screening the Afterlife, Christopher Deacy critically [...]

What one does not expect to see in an introduction to coffee is the way in which religious participants wrestled on a regular basis with how their practice of religion fit in with their practice of drinking coffee. Rev. Schenck spends considerable time tracing the historical response to coffee from leaders in Islam and Christianity. Schenck, Tim. Holy Grounds: The Surprising Connection Between Coffee and Faith. [Extracted from the article]

Professor of Theology at Loyola University of Maryland, Frederick Bauerschmidt has given us a gift for soulful meditation. For Barth and Bauerschmidt, the task of the theologian, and the preacher (for both they are generally the same role) is to bring revelation to the world, which it so desperately needs. All in all, the present collection is an artful and poetic collection of sermons that deserve the Christian's time and reflection. [Extracted from the article]

Following on the heels of work done in particular by Justin Barrett and other cognitive scientists of religion, Kelly Clark does not so much advance the discussion, but he does make an appealing and readable case for the benefits found in cognitive science for religious studies. In this way, he offers the theologian and religious scholar unfamiliar with cognitive science an introduction, as it were, to the subject and its implications for a wide set of issues already thoughtfully developed in the literature. In I God and the Brain, i Clark gives an overview for how religiously inclined philosophers and theologians can use the resources in cognitive science within a reliabilist epistemology. [Extracted from the article]

The doctrine of atonement is at the heart of Christian soteriology and yet there is no one theory or even one model of atonement that is de fide instantiated in the early ecumenical symbols. Despite this fact, Penal Substitutionary atonement holds near creedal status in many evangelical circles. However, there are challenges with the theory. One of the challenges has to do with the nature of justice and how it is that Christ can assume the debt accrued by individual violators of the law. In order to salvage the theory, Joshua Thurow has recently defended a new theory of atonement, namely, a communal version of the theory for contemporary reflection. In the present article, we argue that Thurow's communal notion is neither new nor is the penal theory most fitting with a communal notion, but rather the communal feature of the atonement finds a more natural residence in Anselm's satisfaction theory of atonement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussions on soul origins are perceived as antiquated at best. However, there is a recent resurgence of interest in the nature and origins of the mind. This is due in part to the recent developments on the nature of “emergent” properties and/or substances in the contemporary literature on the philosophy of mind. As a contribution to this discussion, I examine the two most prominent theories of mental origins (e. g., Timothy O’Connor and William Hasker) and find that each encounter some noteworthy problems. With these in mind, I recommend that some form of Creationism deserves our attention. It provides a solution to the various philosophical and theological concerns associated with the previously mentioned emergence theories of the mind. Finally, I lay out a more satisfying theory of the soul’s creation in a way that accounts for the benefits of emergentism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The doctrine of Christ’s atonement is a subject of recurrent interest to contemporary philosophical-theologians. The Penal Substitution theory of atonement, in particular, has precipitated a great deal of interest. In this article, we offer several reasons—reasons related to the nature of divine justice and somatic death—for thinking that a version of Anselm’s Satisfaction theory of atonement is not only a viable, but preferable, Protestant theory of atonement to penal substitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scholastic character of theological education in New England during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries is reflected in part by a variety of surviving lists of theological questions. These lists--varying in content, length, and intent and most of them missing their corresponding answers--offer insight into the program of theological education in New England before and during its institutionalization, beginning with Andover Seminary (c. 1808).1 Representing the dissemination of New England theology, in 1882, Bibliotheca Sacra published 2 lists of questions entitled, "The Theological Questions of President Edwards, Senior, and Dr Edwards, His Son."2 The first list is ascribed to President Jonathan Edwards and consists of 90 questions, the order and nature of which resemble a concise systematic account of doctrine. The second list, ascribed to Dr Jonathan Edwards Jr., consists of a formidable 313 questions, some appropriated from his father's list, the bulk of which however, reflect later and distinct New Divinity sensibilities.3 These lists provide unique insight into the transmission of those theological sensibilities distinct to 'the single most brilliant and most continuous indigenous theological tradition that America has produced'. For all its brilliance, however, the collected works of most of Edwards' successors, including such well-known figures as Joseph Bellamy, Samuel Hopkins, Jonathan Edwards Jr., Nathaniel Emmons, as others, rank amongst the most ignored body of theological literature in the history of theology.5 However, in the most recent decade, interest in Edwards and his successors has gained some new ground, particularly with respect to the reception of Edwards' ideas, has accelerated.6 It is in the wake of this renewed momentum that we offer up the following biographical sketch of the Reverend Maltby Gelston (1766-1856), a little-known theologian in the New England tradition, whose hitherto private notebook, entitled, A Systematic Collection of Questions and Answers in Divinity provides insight into the development(s) of New England theology that compare in significance with such early seminal works as Joseph Bellamy's True Religion Delineated (1750) and Samuel Hopkins' System of Doctrines Contained in Divine Revelation (1793). There may be no other document that provides as thorough, as wonderfully concise and as accessible a summary of scores of philosophical and theological concerns of both President Edwards' and his son's intellectual tradition as this one.7 Following this biographical sketch of Gelston's life, as a means of previewing the value of Gelston's work for contemporary scholarship, we offer up for the first time a selection of Dr Edwards' 313 questions coupled with Gelston's answers. Gelston's significance to the New England theological tradition is certainly and inimitably bound up with the appearance of this manuscript. His place among the New England theologians is a point of some significance too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses imago Dei characterizing person as simple, independent with souls capable of change. He is critical of the scripture's narration on human persons and investigated holistic empiricism or phenomenal conservatism with fundamental intuitions. He overviewed interface between God's special revelation and one's intuitions.

William Hasker in his article, "Souls, Beastly, and Human", raises a set of cluster-related objections to traditional or creationist-dualisms, as he calls them. He argues that these views are unappealing and arbitrary and that his emergentist variety of substance dualism fares better given the mind-brain relationship and evolutionary continuity. I offer some initial thoughts in response to his worries for what I call the standard creationist model. I find his objections unconvincing and put forward two alternative creationist-soul views that fit with an alternative metaphysical story of persons. I suggest two models. First, I advance what I call Divine conceptualism. Second, I advance a view where bodies activate souls and souls are created in a kind of safe house awaiting activation. It seems that this view (or a view like it) does not fall prey to Hasker's objection(s), and such a view deserves further reflection from philosophers and theologians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lynne Rudder Baker makes a significant contribution to theological anthropology by constructively drawing from her constitutional view of human persons (hereafter CV). In a recent article, “Persons and the Natural Order”, Baker defends CV and argues that it more satisfactorily accounts for the philosophical and theological desiderata. I am especially interested in the theological desiderata given by Baker, which at its core seems to depend upon personal agency. I argue that substance dualism offers a superior accounting for the psychology persons have of themselves as personal agents. In fact, Baker’s CV encounters a significant problem concerning the ability to pick out definite content regarding the ‘I’ that entails other problematic theological ramifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The doctrine of Original Sin is a subject of perennial theological fascination. Comparatively little attention has been paid, however, to the doctrine of original sin and discussions about the origin of the soul. In this article, I argue that of the various models of the soul's origin on offer, it is something akin to what I call emergent-creationism that naturally provides the most explanatory metaphysical resources for making sense of the transmission of original sin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the rise in philosophical anthropology and the philosophy of mind there is a need to re-consider afresh the theological debate surrounding the origin of the soul. I address this particular issue in the context of the recent philosophical and theological literature that is also conversant with Ecclesiastical literature surrounding the topic by suggesting that there are, at least, three distinct options within the theology of origins. I proceed in two sections. First, I lay out the variety of positions on the soul within the philosophy of mind literature often called substance dualism. In this section, I suggest there are broadly three variations of substance dualism. These include pure substance dualism, composite or compound substance dualism, and emergent substance dualism. I compare and contrast these variations, discuss the particular problems related to each, and argue that each 'naturally' coheres with a particular view of origins based on the metaphysical relationship between the body and soul. Second, I lay out the three positions on the soul's origin in the remainder of the paper. I put forth that there is not only traducianism and creationism the two most obvious positions within Ecclesiastical history, but also emergent substance dualism with materialist origins deserving further consideration in the theological literature. Furthermore, within the positions, excluding emergent substance dualism with materialist origins, there is variation within each yet still naturally falling under the particular said category. This, then, contributes to literature not only by drawing from recent philosophical literature in the fortification of the Christian view on origins, but, additionally, by putting forth one relatively new position that has not been systematized in the theological literature. Finally, I offer that theologians will benefit in three specific ways from the discussion over substance dualism and the theology of the soul's origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there remains an aversion for substance dualism in both philosophical and theological literature. However, there has been a renewed interest in substance dualism within philosophical literature. In the present article, I advance substance dualism as a viable position that persuasively accounts for the Scriptural and theological data within Christian thought. I make a specific argument in favor of a metaphysically simple substance. Along the way, I note the overlap between the philosophical and theological literature and suggest that a simple soul as substance is a metaphysical presupposition grounding the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in carcinoma cells enhances malignant progression by promoting invasion and survival. EMT is induced by microenvironmental factors, including TGF-β and Wnt agonists, and by the E-box-binding transcription factors Twist, Snail, and ZEB. Grainyhead-like-2 (GRHL2), a member of the mammalian Grainyhead family of wound-healing regulatory transcription factors, suppresses EMT and restores sensitivity to anoikis by repressing ZEB1 expression and inhibiting TGF-β signaling. In this study, we elucidate the functional relationship between GRHL2 and ZEB1 in EMT/MET and tumor biology. At least three homeodomain proteins, Six1, LBX1, and HoxA5, transactivated the ZEB1 promoter, in the case of Six1, through direct protein-promoter interaction. GRHL2 altered the Six1-DNA complex, inhibiting this transactivation. Correspondingly, GRHL2 expression prevented tumor initiation in xenograft assays, sensitized breast cancer cells to paclitaxel, and suppressed the emergence of CD44highCD24low cells (defining the cancer stem cell phenotype in the cell type studied). GRHL2 was downregulated in recurrent mouse tumors that had evolved to an oncogene-independent, EMT-like state, supporting a role for GRHL2 downregulation in this phenotypic transition, modeling disease recurrence. The combination of TGF-β and Wnt activation repressed GRHL2 expression by direct interaction of ZEB1 with the GRHL2 promoter, inducing EMT. Together, our observations indicate that a reciprocal feedback loop between GRHL2 and ZEB1 controls epithelial versus mesenchymal phenotypes and EMT-driven tumor progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of the soul has come under attack in contemporary philosophical, scientific, and theological literature. In this essay, the question is raised as to whether or not the soul has meaning and ought to be affirmed as a real metaphysical entity. I affirm that the soul is rooted in a common-sense framework reaching back through history, and is not only intuitive but is still commonly accepted. I put forth three arguments in favor of the soul-concept and argue that it is not only meaningful, but ought to be affirmed by persons. I see these arguments as inter-related and mutually affirming. First, I consider the argument from first-person knowledge. Second, I put forth a variation of the knowledge argument. Third, I put forth an argument from personal identity. All three arguments comprise a robust cumulative case argument wherein one can derive meaning and content concerning the soul-concept. I conclude that the soul-concept is meaningful and ought to be accepted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]