Religious Attributions of Responsibility: A Review of Empirical Literature and Development of an Instrument

A critical review of the religious attribution literature is presented. Two overriding critiques are that the field lacks adequate instruments to measure religious attributions, and that attributions related to problem cause are confused with attributions about problem solution. Consequently, an instrument was developed to measure religious attributions of responsibility for problem cause and solution. An exploratory, principal-axis factor analysis conducted on data generated by 457 university students revealed the theorized factors of cause and solution. High internal consistency and test—retest reliability were obtained. A subsequent confirmatory factor analysis on a separate sample of 179 students provided evidence of construct validity for the instrument. Research questions are presented that would advance current understanding of religious attributions, and limitations of the instrument are noted.     

HOW AFRICAN AMERICAN MOTHERS ASSIST THEIR EARLY ADOLESCENT DAUGHTERS WITH READING TASKS

Three African American mothers and their daughters participated in three, 30-minute reading sessions. During each session, daughters read narrative text for 15 minutes and expository text for the other 15 minutes. Categories of interaction emerged from those reading sessions. Results revealed nine mother interaction reading categories and seven daughter interaction categories. Irrespective of the type of reading, the categories were linked to the transmission, maturational, and transactional points of view. Implications provide suggestions for helping parents develop reading experiences that foster positive reading behaviors for their children.     

IS GOVERNMENT SUPEREROGATION POSSIBLE?

Governments are subject to the requirements of justice, yet often seem to go above and beyond what justice requires in order to act in ways many people think are good. These kinds of acts – examples of which include putting on celebrations, providing grants to poets, and preserving historic architecture – appear to be acts of government supererogation. In this paper, I argue that a common view about the relationship between government, coercion, and justice implies that most such acts are not supererogatory, but wrong. Many will find that conclusion unattractive, but rejecting the common view that implies it raises problems, too.     

Speculating about Divinity? God's Immanent Life and Actualistic Ontology

This article argues that counterfactual statements concerning God's life in himself are both theologically informative and genuinely warranted by Karl Barth's notion of God's 'being-in-act' as presented in § 28.1 of the Church Dogmatics. To this end, the proposed reading aims to mitigate recent emphases on divine Entscheidung as the primary category for construing Barth's theological ontology. Without offering a resolution to alleged 'tensions' in Barth's doctrine of God, the author nevertheless suggests that there are good reasons to prefer certain streams of Barth's thought to others, with the notion of God's love offered as a test case.     

Just War Theory, the Authorization of the State, and the Hermeneutics of Peoplehood: How John Howard Yoder can save Oliver O'Donovan from himself

Abstract:  The different responses of Oliver O'Donovan and John Howard Yoder to the question of the political implications of the New Testament's proclamation of the lordship of Jesus Christ are reducible to their different analyses of how the cross defines the meaning of the mediatorial and representative roles which met in him. Furthermore, this difference grounds their very different responses to the question of what form the Christian counter-praxis of peace must take in the face of conflict. This article will argue that O'Donovan's authorization of secular authority to mediate God's judgements is the product of an ontology that rules out beforehand both the possibility that Jesus' death is decisive for understanding his mediatorial representation and, as a result, the possibility that the task set before the church is to model alternatives to the state based on its acquaintance with its own practices of reconciliation and discernment.     

Differences in relationship investments between gay and heterosexual men

Previous Investment Model research found that investments are a weaker predictor of relationship commitment for gay men compared with heterosexual men. The present study examined whether this effect is characteristic of investments in general or whether it is specific to certain types of investments. Results indicated that tangible investments significantly predicted commitment among heterosexual men, but not among gay men. In contrast, intangible investments predicted commitment regardless of sexual orientation. Furthermore, adding measures of tangible and intangible investments to the traditional Investment Model variables significantly increased explained variance in commitment for both gay and heterosexual men. These findings highlight the importance of reevaluating how relationship investments are conceptualized and suggests that not all investments are equally consequential across different romantic involvements.     

Impact of Group Settings and Gender on Meals Purchased by College Students

This study examines the impact of social context and perception of weight on calories purchased by college students in a natural setting. Not only did women in mixed‐gender groups purchase fewer calories than did women in same‐gender groups, but significant interaction effects exist among the gender composition of groups, perception of being overweight, and gender of respondents. Men modified calories purchased across mixed‐gender and same‐gender groups, purchasing more when in mixed‐gender groups. The study helps address theoretical and methodological gaps in prior research and frames the findings in terms of variation of gender salience across social relational contexts.