Discerning the Spirit among Catholic Charismatics

The "Catholic Charismatic Renewal," renamed by the bishops the "Charismatic Renewal of the Church," has a 35 year history in the US and Europe. Debated at Vatican II and analyzed by theologians, the experience of spiritual charisms requires thoughtful discernment, especially if charism is to be properly integrated with sacrament.     

Discerning the Spirit among Catholic Charismatics

The “Catholic Charismatic Renewal,” renamed by the bishops the “Charismatic Renewal of the Church,” has a 35 year history in the US and Europe. Debated at Vatican II and analyzed by theologians, the experience of spiritual charisms requires thoughtful discernment, especially if charism is to be properly integrated with sacrament.     

Reviews

Books reviewed in this article:
Leonardo Boff, Holy Trinity, Perfect Community
Paul Matthews, The Revelation of Nature
Jeremy S. Begbie, Theology, Music and Time
Oliver Davies, A Theology of Compassion: Metaphysics of Difference and the Renewal of Tradition     

Effects of multiple contexts and context similarity on the renewal of extinguished conditioned behaviour in an ABA design with humans

The ABA renewal procedure involves pairing a conditional stimulus (CS) and an unconditional stimulus (US) in one context (A), presenting extinction trials of the CS alone in a second context (B), and nonreinforced test trials of the CS in the acquisition context (A). The renewal of extinguished conditioned behaviour is observed during test. The current study tested the effects of multiple extinction contexts and context similarity in attenuating renewal. Participants (N = 99) took part in a fear conditioning ABA renewal procedure. Using a measure of self-reported expectancy of the US, ABA renewal was observed when a single extinction context that was dissimilar to the test context was used. Renewal was attenuated, though still present, when extinction occurred in multiple dissimilar extinction contexts or in a single extinction context that was similar to the test context. Renewal was completely abolished when multiple extinction contexts that were similar to the test context were combined. Multiple extinction contexts and context similarity act additively in their effect on attenuating renewal. The results are discussed in relation to the design of exposure therapy programs that seek to reduce relapse that can occur via renewal.     

Within-subject renewal in sign tracking

Three sign-tracking experiments using pigeon subjects examined the contextual dependence of extinction after conditioning. Renewal of extinguished responding occurred when testing occurred in a different context, using a variety of different renewal designs. In each case, a within-subject design ensured that the various contexts were equivalent in their general treatment histories and differed only in whether or not a particular stimulus had been extinguished in their presence. These results strengthen the view that extinction is relatively context specific.     

Within-subject renewal in sign tracking

Three sign-tracking experiments using pigeon subjects examined the contextual dependence of extinction after conditioning. Renewal of extinguished responding occurred when testing occurred in a different context, using a variety of different renewal designs. In each case, a within-subject design ensured that the various contexts were equivalent in their general treatment histories and differed only in whether or not a particular stimulus had been extinguished in their presence. These results strengthen the view that extinction is relatively context specific.     

Joined-up Thomism and the 'Second Quest' for Trinitarian Renewal

Book reviewed:
Scripture and Metaphysics: Aquinas and the Renewal of Trinitarian Theology , Matthew Levering, Blackwell 2004 (Hb 1-4051-1733-8; Pb 1-4051-1734-6), pp. x + 254, Hb £55/$61.95, Pb £19.99/$32.95     

Book reviews

Books reviewed:
Zoja, E. P. Transl. by Henry Martin. Abortion: Loss and Renewal in the Search for Identity.
Bomford, Rodney. The Symmetry of God.
Fisher, James. The Uninvited Guest. Emerging from Narcissism towards Marriage.
Rutzky, Jacques. Coyote Speaks: Creative Strategies for Psychotherapists Treating Alcoholics and Addicts.     

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article
Truth and Truthfulness: An Essay in Genealogy by Bernard Williams
Law and Theology in the Middle Ages by G.R. Evans
Dominikus - En Europeers Liv På 1200-Tallet by Per Bjørn Halvorsen OP.
A Theology of Compassion: Metaphysics of Difference and The Renewal of Tradition by Oliver Davies
Abortion and Martyrdom. The Papers of the Solesmes Consultation and an Appeal to the Catholic Church, edited by Aidan Nichols OP     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: Jochen Eber, Einheit der Kirche als dogmatisches Problem bei Edmund Schlink Mark R. Kowalewski, All Things to All People: The Catholic Church Confronts the AIDS Crisis Paul MacLean and Douglas Cowling, Sharing the Banquet: Liturgical Renewal in Your Parish Alister McGrath, Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity     

Prevalence of renewal of problem behavior during context changes

Renewal is defined as the reemergence of a previously eliminated behavior following a context change. Determining the prevalence of this effect in clinical practice would allow clinicians to better anticipate the reemergence of problem behavior, such as when a patient is discharged from a treatment facility to return to their home. The current consecutive, case-series analysis determined the prevalence and magnitude of renewal when implementing behavioral treatments for problem behavior. Across 182 context changes, renewal was observed 77 times (42.3%). In the first session following the context change, problem behavior rates increased by a factor of 3 and then decreased across successive sessions. These results indicated that renewal effects may be common, but are also transient and return to rates observed before context changes.     

TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY AFTER AND WITH—BUT NOT AGAINST—AQUINAS?

Gilles Emery, Trinity in Aquinas , O.P. (Ypsilanti, Michigan: Sapientia Press, 2003), ix +361 pp.
Matthew Levering, Scripture and Metaphysics: Aquinas and the Renewal of Trinitarian Theology (Malden, Massa-chusetts: Blackwell, 2004), x +254 pp
Timothy L. Smith, Thomas Aquinas' Trinitarian Theology: A Study in Theological Method (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2003), xiii +258 pp.     

Renewal of cue-elicited urge to smoke: implications for cue exposure treatment

The effects of cue exposure therapy are limited, because renewal after extinction is an important source of relapse. In this study, 33 smokers were exposed to a cue predicting smoking availability and a cue predicting smoking unavailability in one context (acquisition context A). Following extinction in another context (extinction context B), a test for renewal took place in the original acquisition context A (i.e. ABA renewal). Urge to smoke was measured using a Visual Analogue Scale. Renewal of differential conditioned urge responding occurred when participants were tested in the acquisition context, while differential urge responding remained extinguished when tested in the extinction context. This experiment provides evidence that ABA renewal occurred in smokers. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Contextual specificity of extinction of delay but not trace eyeblink conditioning in humans

Renewal of an extinguished conditioned response has been demonstrated in humans and in animals using various types of procedures, except renewal of motor learning such as eyeblink conditioning. We tested renewal of delay and trace eyeblink conditioning in a virtual environment in an ABA design. Following acquisition in one context (A, e.g., an airport) and extinction in a different context (B, e.g., a city), tests for renewal took place in the acquisition (A) and extinction context (B), in a counterbalanced order. Results showed renewal of the extinguished conditioned response in the delay but not trace condition.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: R.J. Berry, God's Book of Works: The Nature and Theology of Nature Theodore G. Stylianopoulos, The Way of Christ: Gospel, Spiritual Life and Renewal in Orthodoxy John Binns, An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches Hans‐Martin Barth, Dogmatics: The Protestant Faith in the Context of World Religions: A Textbook     

The phases of renewal: Steps to integration of the self in psychotherapy

This is a study of the psychology of self-renewal. The myth of Psyche is examined since it is among the finest rebirth stories antiquity has left us and can be read as representative of the renewal process in general. The story as such, points to a number of psychological states of being necessary for the self to pass through if change is to occur. Renewal can be understood as a series of ontological situations, and these can be structurally considered in terms of phases. This in turn, provides a general theoretical framework for a psychological analysis of self-renewal. The phases of renewal, derived from the Latin, are:immanence, obstruence, descendence, experience, ascendence, emergence andtranscendence. The case of Lee is used to illustrate the process of integration of self in psychotherapy.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Amos Yong, The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh: Pentecostalism and the Possibility of Global Theology James F. Puglisi (Ed.), Liturgical Renewal as a Way to Christian Unity Pamela Cooper‐White, Shared Wisdom: Use of The Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling Philip Sheldrake, Editor, The New SCM Dictionary of Christian Spirituality Björn Rymann with Aila Lauha, Gunnar Heiene, Peter Lodberg, Nordic Folk Churches: A Contemporary Church History     

Further evidence of renewal in automatically maintained behavior

Renewal is a relapse phenomenon that refers to the recurrence of a previously reduced behavior following a change in stimulus conditions. Muething et al. (2022) examined the phenomenology of renewal among individuals with automatically maintained challenging behavior treated at an outpatient clinic. We replicated their findings by retrospectively examining renewal across various topographies of automatically maintained behavior treated at an inpatient hospital, and we extended their work by also examining differences across subtypes of automatically maintained self-injurious behavior. The prevalence of renewal was comparable to that observed by Muething et al., supporting the notion that automatically maintained challenging behavior is susceptible to relapse phenomena. Furthermore, renewal was twice as likely to occur for individuals with Subtype 2 versus Subtype 1 self-injurious behavior, providing additional evidence of behavioral differentiation between subtypes. Our findings suggest that even after apparent stability in treatment, practitioners should remain vigilant for the recurrence of automatically maintained behavior during generalization.