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Rewriting evangelical theology is essential to stimulate the American intellect and reduce the gap between modern culture and traditional theology. Most evangelists resort to the use of popular culture to win the masses and ignore the significance of the Scripture for the theologian tradition. Research in theology, attempting to forge unity among Christians, returning to the study of the Scriptures and making theological works readable will help increase the significance of evangelical theology in the modern world.

The Christian concept of sin becomes more clear when it is contrasted to the Hebrew concept of shalom. Shalom, often translated as peace, stresses the value of wholeness, and describes the unity of God, humanity, and nature. Sin is the opposite of shalom. A sinful act is any act that prevents the existence of shalom. Sin needs to be distinguished from related concepts such as crime, disease, error and addiction.

'Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near' (Luke 21:28). WE LIVE IN BETWEEN the first coming of [...]

Objective: This study compared the acute phase (12-week) efficacy of fluoxetine versus placebo for the treatment of the depressive symptoms and the cannabis use of adolescents and young adults with comorbid major depression (MDD) and a cannabis use disorder (CUD) (cannabis dependence or cannabis abuse). We hypothesized that fluoxetine would demonstrate efficacy versus placebo for the treatment of the depressive symptoms and the cannabis use of adolescents and young adults with comorbid MDD/CUD.Methods: We conducted the first double-blind placebo-controlled study of fluoxetine in adolescents and young adults with comorbid MDD/CUD. All participants in both treatment groups also received manual-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and motivation enhancement therapy (MET) during the 12-week course of the study.Results: Fluoxetine was well tolerated in this treatment population. No significant group-by-time interactions were noted for any depression-related or cannabis-use related outcome variable over the 12-week study. Subjects in both the fluoxetine group and the placebo group showed significant within-group improvement in depressive symptoms and in number of DSM diagnostic criteria for a CUD. Large magnitude decreases in depressive symptoms were noted in both treatment groups, and end-of-study levels of depressive symptoms were low in both treatment groups.Conclusions: Fluoxetine did not demonstrate greater efficacy than placebo for treating either the depressive symptoms or the cannabis-related symptoms of our study sample of comorbid adolescents and young adults. The lack of a significant between-group difference in these symptoms may reflect limited medication efficacy, or may result from efficacy of the CBT/MET psychotherapy or from limited sample size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slender rings and their products are characterized in terms of algebraic and topological properties. Possible limitations on uncountable products of such rings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endomorphism ring of the group of all sequences of integers, the Baer-Specker group, is isomorphic to the ring of row finite infinite matrices over the integers. The product bases of that group are represented by the multiplicative group of invertible elements in that matrix ring. All products in the Baer-Specker group are characterized, and a lemma of László Fuchs regarding such products is revisited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an answer to a question of integer sequences of length mean in a polynomial having integer coefficients whose sequences of values equals the given sequence.

Objectives: The objective of this paper is to present the prevalence of Bipolar Disorder (BPD) in a population of adolescents and young adults with alcohol use disorders (AUD) and to compare salient alcohol use, mood, and diagnostic variables between adolescents with BPD, those with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and those with AUD without a mood disorder. Methods: The subjects were 452 adolescents and young adults, age 12.9 to 28.3 years, who met DSM-IV criteria for a lifetime history of either alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence. DSM-IV psychiatric and AUD diagnoses were obtained by semi-structure interviews (K-SADS and SCID) to discern the possible effect of comorbid BPD on alcohol and other drug variables, we compared adolescents or young adults who met DSM-IV criteria for concurrent BPD and AUD with adolescents with MDD plus AUD and those with AUD and no mood disorder. Following one-way ANOVA comparing across the 3 groups, we proceeded with post hoc analysis comparing the BPD+AUD group with either the MDD + AUD or AUD only group. Results: 6.4% of the subjects met criteria for BPD. While there were no differences between groups on the alcohol consumption variables, subjects with BPD had a significantly earlier onset of an AUD diagnosis than either the MDD group or the AUD only group. The BPD + AUD group had a significantly greater percentage of subjects meeting criteria for alcohol dependence than the AUD only group. Conclusions: Comorbid mood disorders, particularly Bipolar Disorder, may have an important effect on alcohol and substance use variables and diagnosis. More research is needed to determine the effect of treatments for mood disorder on both mood and substance use variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this five-year follow-up evaluation was to characterize the long-term (five-year) clinical course following the completion of an acute phase study with fluoxetine in comorbid adolescents. At the five-year follow-up evaluation, the group continued to demonstrate significantly fewer DSM criteria for an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and fewer BDI depressive symptoms, and also consumed fewer standard drinks than they had demonstrated at the baseline of the acute phase study. Also, between the three and five-year follow-up assessments, the level of self-reported depressive symptoms showed a significant decrease. Three of the 10 participants demonstrated Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) at the five-year follow-up assessment, but only one demonstrated Alcohol Dependence (AD), and none demonstrated Cannabis Dependence (CD). Eight of the 10 participants (80%) had demonstrated MDD at some time during the five-year follow-up study. The presence of a current AUD was significantly associated with the presence of a current MDD episode at both the one-year and the three-year follow-up evaluations. Six of the participants (60%) restarted SSRI medications at some point during the five-year follow-up period, but none were still taking SSRI antidepressants at the time of the 5-year assessment. Despite their substantial residual depression and alcohol use, a strong majority (8/10, 80%) of the subjects graduated from college during the five-year follow-up period. We conclude that the long-term (5-year) prognosis for the AUD, CD, and academic functioning of comorbid adolescents following acute phase treatment with SSRIs is surprisingly good. However, the long-term prognosis for their depression was surprisingly poor, and was worse than is typically seen among non-comorbid adolescents or adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and comorbidity of psychiatric disorders among 12-20 year-old patients treated in emergency departments. Methods: Two hundred-fifteen adolescents and young adults were recruited on weekends from two Level-1 trauma facilities located within a University-based medical center. Comprehensive psychiatric interviews were conducted with participants outside the emergency department. Latent class analysis was used to determine participant clusters based on DSM-IV psychiatric diagnoses and emergency treatment for an alcohol-related medical event as indicator variables, while controlling for covariates. Results: A three-cluster model: (1) n = 90, 42%; (2) n = 65, 31%; and (3) n = 57 (27%) provided the best fit to the data. None of the participants in Cluster 1 were treated for alcohol-related events. All members of Cluster 2 were treated for alcohol-related events but only 23% were diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder. Thirty-two members of Cluster 3 (56%) were treated for alcohol-related events and Cluster 3 members were significantly higher than members of Clusters 1 and 2 on rates of: (1) alcohol use disorders (Wald statistic = 30.1, p < .001), (2) drug use disorders (Wald statistic = 42.3, p < .001), and 3) disruptive behavior disorders (Wald statistic = 19.3, p < .001). Conclusions: One group treated in the ED in this study is at low risk for alcohol-related injury. Conversely, one at risk-group may require brief interventions of low intensity while the other at-risk group displays high rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders and frequently engages in risk-taking behaviors, placing them at highest-risk for experiencing alcoholrelated injuries. Reduction of alcohol-related injuries in young drinkers depends on differentiating high and low risk drinkers in the emergency department and providing, or referring them to appropriate treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]