Evaluating sermons: The function of grades in teaching preaching

What are grades doing in a homiletics classroom? This article traces the function of grades through the broader history of the educational system in the United States and then makes suggestions for how grades can be used more effectively in teaching preaching. Beginning in the nineteenth century, teachers used grades to rank and motivate students, as well as communicate across institutions. With the more recent assessment movement, educators have conceptualized grading as the larger process of evaluating the success of learning objectives. The commission on accreditation for the Association of Theological Schools does not view grades as part of its assessment, but it evaluates theological schools on whether they achieve intended learning outcomes. Theological educators need to be able to evaluate whether their teaching fulfills their schools' mission and learning objectives. For homiletics, the author measures learning through pre‐ and post‐preaching feedback and incorporates professor‐ and student‐crafted rubrics.     

The foolishness of preaching

Journal of Religion and Health -     

The Epistemological Roots of Ecclesiastical Claims to Knowledge

In theoretical matters, ecclesiastical claims to knowledge have lead to various conflicts with science. Claims in orientational matters, sometimes connected to attempts to establish them as a rule for legislation, have often been in conflict with the justified claims of non-believers. In addition they violate the Principle of Autonomy of the individual, which is at the very heart of European identity so decisively shaped by the Enlightenment. The Principle of Autonomy implies that state legislation should not interfere in the life of individual citizens, as long as his or her actions do not violate the rights of others. This paper—using the example of the theory of evolution—rejects ecclesiastical claims to theoretical knowledge as completely unfounded and preposterous. In the case of orientational knowledge—using the example of euthanasia—ecclesiastical claims to (universalizable) knowledge are shown to be unfounded as well. The Church’s position with respect to euthanasia and a range of other bio-ethical topics, such as pre-marital sex, contraception, abortion, indissolubility of marriage, and homosexuality, rests on a very peculiar ethical position. This ethical position is the natural right theory, which—far from being universalizable—is shared by very few people. Among other things, this position presupposes the belief in God as the creator of nature, and the assumption that ethical norms can be derived from this premise. Thus ecclesiastical knowledge claims, cannot be justified in a way which could be reasonably supposed to be universally acceptable. Kant (see the quote) was the first to require this sort of justification. Claims that fail to implement Kant’s stipulations should be eliminated by what I would like to call “Kant’s razor”.     

Projecting pastoral care in revival preaching: Billy Graham

Conclusion How may the evangelist project pastoral care in his preaching? This discussion sought to delineate some of the answers to this question. However, these cannot become answers for any herald of the Gospel unless he exercises an honest, sustained, self-critical probe into the inter-relatedness of his own being, attitudes toward congregants, and preaching. Erich Fromm asserts: There is no concept of man in which I myself am not included.²⁹ Likewise, there is no discussion of preaching or of a preacher in which each minister should not include himself-self-evaluatively, perhaps confessionally.     

Religion–state relations and public opinion: norms,institutions and social consensus

ABSTRACT

Are levels of religion–state regulation associated with cross-national variation in attitudes related to the place of religion in public life? Data sources measuring both the institutional relationship between religion and state and public opinion on the political role of religion have significantly improved in recent years, but scholars have just begun to examine relationships between political institutions and public attitudes. This contribution tests several potential examples of such links by exploring the relationship between religion–state institutions and norms of religion and politics, both between and within countries. The contribution first develops theoretical expectations regarding the institutional correlates of public opinion, then conducts initial tests of these expectations by blending data from the Religion and State project with comparative survey data drawn from Waves 4 and 5 of the World Values Survey. Analysis demonstrates modest links between institutions and aggregate public views, a relationship between institutions and social consensus, and, most robustly, consistent variation in institutional effects across political regime type.     

Chromatic induction as a function of luminance relations

Chromatic induction by red, green, and blue surround was studied as a function of surround/test field luminance ratio using a compensation method. Luminance ratios from 0.01 to 28.7 were used. The number of subjects was 8–10 in the three experiments. The results show maximum induction to appear at a luminance ratio around 1.0 when varying the test field luminance (Experiment 1) and at higher ratios when varying the surrounding luminance (Experiments 2 and 3). This difference is discussed in relation to the Kirschmann-Kinney controversy (Kirschmann, 1890; Kinney, 1962) and in relation to an earlier study using a magnitude estimation method (Bergström & Derefeldt, 1975).     

Laterality of cerebral function: relations with anxiety, repression, and perception

Based on two factor analyses of data from 67 right-handed undergraduates, a laterality quotient based on forward memory spans, spatial minus digit, divided by their sum, was devised. The hemispheric balance factor for which this quotient served as the principal marker had significant positive loadings by the laterality quotient for the Edinburgh Handedness Questionnaire and by a measure of repressive tendencies, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Scores from this factor were positively related to global as opposed to analytic perception as measured by the Navon tachistoscopic task. This factor was unrelated to the trait anxiety and working short-term memory factors which also emerged. Trait anxiety was negatively related to global perception. The results raise the possibility that greater degrees of right-handedness may be related to the release of the nondominant right hemisphere from inhibition and that working short-term memory may not be lateralized.     

Psychospiritual Resiliency: Enhancing Mental Health and Ecclesiastical Collaboration in Caring for Those Experiencing Dissociative Phenomena

Trauma can oftentimes be a catalyst for changes in an individual’s religious and spiritual beliefs. Beliefs about the cause of the trauma, for instance, may include attributions of possessing spirits, and are to be found in an increasingly pluralistic and multicultural society. Such preternatural explanations may be referred to as dissociative identity disorder, possession form. Unwittingly, an overreliance on neurobiological explanations and relegation of cultural idioms of distress may diminish effective collaboration with ecclesiastical authorities. Concomitantly, ecclesiastical experts are confronted with bewildering posttrauma dissociative symptomatology, and may not be prepared as diagnosticians to rule out psychobiological explanations. In both instances, client care may be compromised. Noteworthy, the current investigation integrates the author’s participant observation research at the Vatican’s school of Exorcism in Rome, Italy.     

Executive function and theory of mind: Predictive relations from ages 2 to 4

Despite robust associations between children's theory of mind (ToM) and executive function (EF) skills, longitudinal studies examining this association remain scarce. In a socially diverse sample of 122 children (seen at ages 2, 3, and 4), this study examined (a) developmental stability of associations between ToM, EF, verbal ability, and social disadvantage; (b) continuity and change in ToM and EF; and (c) predictive relations between ToM and EF. Verbal ability and social disadvantage independently predicted changes in EF (but not ToM). Task scores improved with age and showed stable individual differences. The authors examined predictive relations between ToM and EF using partial correlations (controlling for age and verbal ability) and hierarchical regressions (that also controlled for social disadvantage and initial ToM and EF). The findings provide only partial support for the view that ToM is a prerequisite for EF but stronger support for the proposal that EF facilitates children's performance on ToM tasks.     

The capacity to forgive: An object relations perspective

Forgiveness is commended by Christianity, as well as other religious traditions, as one of the most central of virtues, so central that the New Testament links man's very salvation to his ability to forgive. However, mental health professionals have correctly pointed out that the mandate to forgive is often used by religious patients in the service of defenses such as reaction formation, undoing, and denial. The forgiveness ideal is often misunderstood as a command not to experience aggressive feelings.It is the thesis of this paper that the capacity for genuine forgiveness is central not only to spiritual development but to psychological development as well. It is suggested that Kernberg's object relations theory provides the best model for understanding the nature and importance of forgiveness. Mature forgiveness does not involve the elimination of negative feelings toward others (or oneself) but the integration of negative and positive self-object representations and their connected affect. Anger at the offending persons must then be tempered by appreciation for their concomitant good qualities and motivations or, at the very least, empathy for the flaws which prompted them to behave destructively. The result is a more realistic and balanced view of others (and oneself), a more genuine relationship to the full range of one's own inner experience, and a greater ability to respond constructively to frustrating persons and situations.This paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association in New York in August 1987. The author wishes to thank Mark Finn, Ph.D., and David Hamblin, Ph.D., for their valuable discussions in the development of the ideas in the paper. Address requests for reprints to Dr. Gartner, Dept. of Pastoral Counseling, Loyola College, 7135 Mistrel Way, Columbia, MD 21045.     

Bi-directional relations between behavioral problems and executive function: Assessing the longitudinal development of self-regulation

During childhood, the ability to limit problem behaviors (i.e., externalizing) and the capacity for cognitive regulation (i.e., executive function) are often understood to develop in tandem, and together constitute two major components of self-regulation research. The current study examines bi-directional relations between behavioral problems and executive function over the course of childhood and adolescence. Relying on a diverse sample of children growing up in low-income neighborhoods, we applied a random intercept cross-lagged panel model to longitudinally test associations between behavioral problems and executive function from age 4 through age 16. With this approach, which disaggregated between- and within-child variation, we did not observe significant cross-lagged paths, suggesting that within-child development in one domain did not strongly relate to development in the other. We also observed a moderate correlation between the stable between-child components of behavioral problems and executive function over time in our preferred model, suggesting that these two domains may be relatively distinct when modeled from early childhood through adolescence.     

Semantic classification in aphasia: A study of basic, superordinate, and function relations

Nonfluent and fluent aphasics were given classification tasks that required the aphasics to identify three kinds of relations: same basic level category, same superordinate level category, and same function. The subjects received the items in word and picture form. In addition the aphasics were required to name the items they were asked to classify. The results showed that the ability to classify is more disrupted in fluent aphasia than in nonfluent aphasia. Within fluent aphasia, the degree to which classification is disrupted is dependent upon the type of relation being tested. While the overall performance of the fluent aphasics was depressed in comparison to nonfluent aphasics, it was significantly more depressed on function relations. The ability to name an item had a significant effect on the ability to classify only for basic level items.