We were Chosen as a Family: Parents’ Evolving Use of Religion when Their Child has Cystic Fibrosis

Parental coping with new CF diagnoses often includes religion; however, little is known about how the use of religion changes over time. Longitudinal grounded theory method, in which parents were interviewed twice the 2 years after their child’s diagnosis, was used. Parents constructed the meaning that parenting a child with CF is their vocation, in accordance with “God’s plan.” A shift from isolation to an outward focus and reentry into the community was clear. The use of faith evolved over time and continues to be a source of support and hope for parents. Clinical implications of parental religion are discussed.     

The Discipline of the “Norm:” A Critical Appreciation of Erwin Strauss

As a practicing physician (psychiatrist), scientist (neurologist) and philosopher, Erwin Straus developed a body of writing which, falling within the phenomenological tradition, is highly original and insightful. His unusual combination of work from these three areas constitutes one of the most important attempts to provide what has been called a new Paideia. Regarding this unique blend of perspectives and concerns as quite natural, he conceived his work variously as a medical anthropologyrdquo; or phenomenological psychology. In the end, he was both a pioneer and a rebel: starting from psychiatry, he proceeded boldly straight into phenomenological philosophy, illuminating significant aspects of human life: if we would understand the norm, we must begin with the disruptions, as failures of existential projects; that is, as forms of human life - which was ultimately at the heart of his life-long epistemic and therapeutic concerns.     

A Review of “The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Religion”

Online and distance learning are delivery modes in theological education that prompt questions about a library's ability to serve non-resident or occasionally resident students. This bibliometric study of 23 Doctor of Ministry theses completed at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary between 2006 and 2010 includes data about the kind of resources that are being used by distance students. The data is analyzed longitudinally and also by overall sample. Percentages of items cited that are in the library holdings either in hard or e-versions are also provided. Preliminary recommendations are made about how the library might adapt to serve the research needs of distance students.     

“A new book in Jewish affairs begins”: Maurice de Hirsch and the waning power of Jewish philanthropy at the Fin-de-Siècle

This article looks at Jewish responses to the death of the banker, railroad entrepreneur, and philanthropist Maurice de Hirsch in 1896, the same year that Theodor Herzl published his Jewish State. Examining printed eulogies and obituaries that appeared in Jewish newspapers, from Eastern Europe to France, and from Germany to the Ottoman Empire, the article demonstrates how contemporaries understood the passing of Baron Hirsch as the end of a golden age of Jewish philanthropy. While they celebrated the legacy of the late benefactor, the leaders of Jewish public opinion across Europe realized that the challenges that began to undermine the liberal order established in the century of emancipation were calling for a political response that philanthropy could no longer offer.     

The “Jewish Knight” of Slobodka honor culture and the image of the body in an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish context

Scholarship on Ultra-Orthodox Jewish thought has traditionally assumed that the views of these communities derive from a struggle against the Jewish Enlightenment and Zionism, as well as against any values they identify as “modern.” This article challenges that assumption. Beginning with an examination of Ultra-Orthodox sources that present an image of the religious leader as the “ideal Jew,” the author then focuses on sources concerning the founder of the Slobodka Yeshiva in Lithuania. This rabbi intended his students to internalize “modern” norms found in the European honor culture of his time, while translating them into the language of Jewish Ultra-Orthodoxy. The author chooses to present his argument by tracing the image of the body in the Slobodka method, since it is precisely through the nexus of the body that Ultra-Orthodox Judaism was segregated from general European society and culture.     

“The Vietnamese have a better understanding of yidishkeit than the Jewish Federation officials”: A senior day center in historical perspective

ABSTRACT

In 2011, a Jewish-sponsored senior center that had served older Jews and non-Jews for decades was forced to close. This article describes the meaning of the senior center to its participants and the impact of its closing on its members. The closing of the center raises larger questions about the potential role of older adults in the life of the larger community and how the loss of such institutions can inhibit the ability of older adults to contribute to and enrich the lives of all members of their communities.     

The Origin of the Concept of “Allgemeinbildung” in 18th Century Germany

The German theory of education refers mainly to what is called Bildung. The historical sense of Bildung is not cultivaion, but cultivation for inwardness. This concept has two sources, the neo-platonic inner soul on one hand, pietistic piety on the other hand. The article shows that these sources had been part of European discussions before the development of national cultures after 1750. So the German concept of Bildung, famous for the German Sonderweg in culture and politics, had been composed out of non-German sources. The nationalizaiton of inwardness began at the end of the 18th century and was established in 19th century German Higher Education.     

The Sayings of Jesus in Family Guy: A Pastoral Reading of “I Dream of Jesus”

This essay offers a pastoral reading of an episode of the cartoon Family Guy. The episode is titled ??I Dream of Jesus.?? In doing so, I explore six sayings of Jesus in this episode, and I identify nine theological themes that are raised by these sayings. On the basis of this pastoral reading of ??I Dream of Jesus,?? I argue that Family Guy can be used as a source for theological reflection, and I suggest, in closing, that the show might be a practical way for combating biblical and theological illiteracy among youth and young adults. This article also contains a table that can be useful for creating Sunday School or youth group lessons based on this episode. It is worth pointing out that this essay was written for the ??Group for New Directions in Pastoral Theology.?? The ??group?? was formed to celebrate the career of Donald Capps on the occasion of his retirement from Princeton Theological Seminary. The theme for the conference this year was the sayings of Jesus. While the choice of focusing on a contemporary cartoon for such an occasion may seem odd or quirky, the author does so to demonstrate the unique freedom that pastoral theologians enjoy with regard to what Robert Dykstra calls ??the acceptable latitude of inquiry?? in pastoral theology. Another way of putting this is to say that both the Apostle Peter and the animated Peter can serve as resources for theological reflection.     

Can Life Be Evaluated? The Jewish Halachic Approach vs. The Quality of Life Approach in Medical Ethics: A Critical View

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of requests formercy killings by patients and their relatives. Under certain conditions,the patient may prefer death to a life devoid of quality. In contrast to thosewho uphold this quality of life approach, those who hold the sanctity oflife approach claim that life has intrinsic value and must be preservedregardless of its quality. This essay describes these two approaches,examines their flaws, and offers a golden path between the two extremepositions.We discuss the halachic and the secular views, arguing for a balancebetween the sanctity of life and the quality of life. We argue that, indeed,such a balance exists in practice, and that life is important, but it is not sacred. Life can be evaluated, but quality of life is not the solecriterion.     

“The House of Hannover”: Gezeirot Tah in Modern Jewish Historical Writing

This essay traces the development of modern Jewish historiography on the events of 1648–1649. It focuses mainly on treatments of the events in single-volume and multi-volume general histories of the Jews, and on entries in encyclopedias. Immediate historical memory, as exemplified by the Hebrew chronicles and liturgical poetry composed soon after the events, was transformed into history in the writings of the modern Jewish historians of the 19th and 20th centuries. In the process, the chronicle of Nathan Hannover dominated modern perceptions, for the most part uncritically accepted, albeit not on all counts. The major features of the modern historiography of the Gezeirot Tah ve'Tat are surveyed by discussing the causes of the attacks, their results, the number of victims, and the ways in which all three were incorporated in the larger Jewish historical scheme. Recently, some long-held approaches and conclusions have been revised, which suggests directions for future research. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

“A new and modern golden age of Jewish culture”: shaping the cultural politics of transnational Jewish antifascism

The Holocaust and a worldwide Jewish enthusiasm and support for the Red Army’s defeat of the German Army on the Eastern Front led to a greater sense of international Jewish consciousness and solidarity often tied to an antifascist politics. Utilizing a transnational lens, I explore how Jewish antifascists of the immediate post-war period proffered a novel cultural politics as a means of addressing ongoing international issues of post-Holocaust Jewish survival in a dangerous and politically uncertain modernity. I examine three Jewish left magazines of the late 1940s that were involved in a loose international antifascist progressive Jewish network and ideological framework. These magazines Jewish Life (USA), New Life (UK) and Unity (Australia) represented similar antifascist politics and cultural outlooks in the USA, Britain and Australia, respectively. They have received little sustained scholarly attention previously. I analyse their vision of diverse multilingual Jewish cultures which were to be promoted and developed in any country where Jews lived and in whatever language they spoke. Their cultural vision represented antifascist values against bourgeois or nationalist Jewish culture and broadly reflected a pro-Soviet, progressive and Jewish internationalist, Popular Front politics and worldview.     

“A Singular Contribution to the Field of Religion and Aging”: Aging,Spirituality, and Religion: A Handbook

This study investigated the relative effects of structured group reminiscence on 34 seniors who were more or less religious. While similar in age, education, and self reported health, the more religious group (n = 21) reported a significantly higher level of intrinsically motivated religion (t(32) = 4.18, p < .001)     

Coping with the Media at the Vancouver Winter Olympics: “We All Make a Living Out of This”

The purpose of this study was to examine the journalist-athlete relationship at a major competitive event to better understand how the media may be perceived as a source of strain and how elite athletes cope with the media demands. Ten participants were interviewed after the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. Intrusive questioning may negatively affect and influence the athlete's preparation for events. The use of coping strategies to deal with the media demands and reporting becomes important. In addition, the team support personnel should employ mastery motivational strategies to keep the athlete task involved.     

Replenishing the “Fountain of Judaism”: Traditionalist Jewish Education in Interwar Poland

The unexpected revitalization of Polish Jewish traditionalism—Hasidic and non-Hasidic—is particularly visible in the realm of education. During the interwar period, a combined influx of pious refugees from the Soviet Union and generous American Jewish philanthropy bolstered traditionalist Jewish elementary schools (hadarim) and yeshivot. At the same time, traditionalists reformed those hitherto sacrosanct institutions in hopes of competing with emergent secularist Jewish movements while preserving an ostensibly authentic cultural core. Polish Jewish traditionalism was subtly transformed in the process, presenting a striking contrast with its more rigid “ultra-Orthodox” counterpart in neighboring Hungary and offering a viable alternative to secularist Jewish subcultures within Poland. This article highlights the surprising durability and flexibility of Poland’s traditionalist Jewish communities during a period usually conceived as one of secularist Jewish growth and traditionalist decline.     

A History of “Behavior” and “Mind”: Use of Behavioral and Cognitive Terms in the 20th Century

The Psychological Record - If we assume that the terms used in a book tend to reflect its orientation, this provides a way to compare the relative trajectories of the influences of cognitivism and...