Preachers and Prophets: Using Film to Teach American Religious History

Abstract. Can students learn religious history from movies? While using film as text is likely to attract students’ interest, will such a course be able to negotiate the complex intertwining of film with religion and history to provide students with more than mere entertainment? Will students respond to a challenge to move beyond a movie's surface visual experience to address the core lessons history posits: it's not always been this way, we are the product of what has come before us, I/we are being called to change? This article discusses one attempt to answer these questions and examines both the opportunities and difficulties of using movies to teach religious history.     

Taming the Imams: European Governments and Islamic Preachers since 9/11

The bombings in Madrid (2004) and London (2005) and the murder of the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004 alerted European governments to their susceptibility to terrorism perpetrated by unassimilated Muslim immigrants. Whether they had pursued multicultural immigration policies or regulated their immigrant communities closely, European countries began adopting stricter measures in the attempt to contain—if not transform—'radical' Islam. There appears to be a convergence toward a rigid model that includes highly-visible deportations, demonstrations of support for pro-government Muslim leaders, and infiltration of mosques and Muslim communities, as well as sponsoring or endorsing programs to train Euro-friendly imams. This study examines the development and diversity of such policies as they affect imams in various European countries with special reference to immigration policy, domestic surveillance and education programs in France, Britain and the Netherlands.     

A United Methodist approach to end-of-life decisions: intentional ambiguity or ambiguous intentions.

The position of the United Methodist Church on end-of-life decisions is best described as intentional ambiguity or ambiguous intentions or both. The paper analyzes the official position of the denomination and then considers the actions of a U.M.C. bishop who served as a foreman for a trial of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. In an effort to find some common ground within an increasingly divided denomination, the work concludes with a consideration of the work of John Wesley and his approach to human death.     

Relocation and Well-Being in United Methodist Clergy and Their Spouses: What Pastoral Counselors Need to Know

The well-being of relocated, male Florida Annual Conference United Methodist clergy and clergy spouses (N = 124) was compared with that of nonrelocated male United Methodist clergy and clergy spouses (N = 153). Results revealed no significant differences in well-being between relocators and nonrelocators. Clergy spouses exhibited significantly lower well-being than did clergy. Perceptions of relocation, stress level, and coping resources were significant predictors of clergy well-being. However, only stress level and coping resources predicted spouse well-being. Qualitative analysis of participants' responses revealed that pastoral counselors should address issues such as grief, powerlessness, loneliness, and clergy family reluctance to seek counseling services.     

Foot Position Tends to be Sensed as More Medial Than the Actual Foot Position

ABSTRACT

Participants placed different parts of their foot as close as possible to a target line without stepping onto it while wearing modified goggles that obscured their view of their feet. Once they felt that their foot was appropriately placed, the distance between their foot and the target line was measured. Participants tended to step 20–30 mm over the target line when asked to place the most lateral part of their foot near the target line and tended to place their foot 20–30 mm away from the target line when asked to place the most medial part of their foot near the target line. These results indicate that the placed feet shifted more laterally than sensed, which may explain unexpected tripping during walking.     

Lay Disease Representations and Responses to Victims of Disease

This research extends current understanding of lay disease representations by examining the cognitive organization of disease information and the categories used in thinking about disease. In addition, the implications of these categories for people's responses to disease victims are explored. In the first study, subjects were asked to rate 22 diseases on a series of 18 bipolar scales and then to indicate how willing they would be to interact with a person who had one of 12 diseases. The results indicated that the primary dimensions used to categorize diseases were the extent to which the diseases were perceived to be contagious and serious/life threatening. Further, subjects' responses to disease victims were a direct function of the extent to which the disease was perceived to be contagious. Little apparent distinction was made between different types of contagious diseases. A second study then examined people's understanding of the concept of contagious disease. The results indicated that subjects tended to have a relatively simple and straightforward understanding of contagion. Subjects perceived flu, cold, and chicken pox to be the most typical of their concept of contagious disease as a category. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding disease representations as well as understanding the fear of persons with AIDS.     

Virtues in Foot and Geach

Books reviewed in this article:
Philippa Foot, Natural Goodness.
Peter Geach, Truth and Hope     

历史的轮回——关于马蹄内翻足的治疗体会

先天性马蹄内翻足是一种儿童先天性疾病,畸形非常复杂,治疗方式多种多样,从简单的手法矫形（Ponseti方法）到各种复杂的手术松解,再回到简单的手法矫形,治疗的理念发生了颠覆性的改变,从长期随诊结果来看,简单的手法矫形（Ponseti方法）是治疗先矢性马蹄内翻足的首选方法。