The Character of Theological Interpretation of Scripture

Recent proposals for reading Scripture have increasingly focused on the role of divine agency. Greater attentiveness to the complexity and place of divine agency results in an irruption in the relationship between theological hermeneutics and theological interpretation and a challenge to the dominant way of perceiving their relationship since the rise of modernity. Thus it is increasingly recognized that Scripture is not read like other books. The unique character of theological interpretation necessarily originates in the unique character of the God who speaks the Word of the holy canon of Scripture: the Trinity. Our methodological formulations and hermeneutical understandings of theological interpretation must go beyond the formal acknowledgement of divine causality that remains in these recent proposals to thick confessional and dogmatic reflections on the character of the Trinity and the practices of reading which faithfully reflect that character.     

Theological Exegesis as Exegetical Showing: A Case of Isaiah's Figural Potentiality

Theological exegesis demands engagement with the biblical text. Much of the current discussion regarding this topic tends to remain in the realm of theory and method without much ‘exegetical showing’. Taking a cue from Brevard Childs' understanding of the Old Testament as Christian Scripture, this article provides an example of theological exegesis with Isaiah as the focus text. The intertextual relationship between Isaiah 6 and 61 is engaged in its literary/canonical fixity. From this fixity, the figural potentiality of this intertextual relationship is explored in light of the two‐testament canon and its shared subject matter.     

Religion and HIV Risk Behaviors Among Married Men: Initial Results from a Study in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa

Although some scholars have identified religion as a possible protective factor in the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, evidence concerning the relationship between religion and AIDS behavior there remains sparse. Using a sample of married men from rural Malawi, we examine whether AIDS risk behavior and perceived risk are associated with religious affiliation or with religious involvement. Our analyses of data from the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project (2001) reveal substantial variation according to religious affiliation and religious involvement. Men belonging to Pentecostal churches consistently report lower levels of both HIV risk behavior and perceived risk. Regular attendance at religious services is associated both with reduced odds of reporting extramarital partners and with lower levels of perceived risk of infection.     

What Proportion of Adult Hispanics Are Catholic? A Review of Survey Data and Methodology

The proportion of Hispanics who are Catholic remains unclear, partly because of varying survey methods and limited understanding of how these variations affect estimates of Hispanic religious identification. We compare 12 national surveys conducted since 1990. Language use strongly predicts religious identification among Hispanics—more strongly than other indicators of assimilation—and evidence suggests English-only interviewing inflates Protestant identification. Additionally, identifying Hispanics through ancestry questions may inflate Catholic identification. We also explore effects of sampling bias, noncoverage bias, and weighting on religious identification. Analyses suggest that poststratification weighting is advisable, particularly for language use. However, weighting cannot fully substitute for extensive coverage of subpopulations such as recent immigrants and Spanish-only speakers. We conclude that 70 percent or slightly more is a reasonable estimate of the proportion of adult Hispanics who are Catholic, and 20 percent a reasonable estimate of the proportion who are Protestant or other Christian.     

Assessment of positive and negative relationship adjustment in marriage

This study was conducted to evaluate, in a probability sample of married individuals (N = 2,071), the psychometric properties of a measure of positive and negative relationship adjustment, based on perceived frequency of positive and negative partner exchanges or interactions. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support the presence of two correlated factors, and multigroup confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence for configural and metric invariance for gender, racial/ethnic, and age groups. The measure demonstrated good convergent validity in its association with another measure of relationship adjustment. Results support the use of this brief and easily administered measure to assess positive and negative aspects of relationship adjustment, particularly in situations in which the correlates of relationship adjustment are to be compared across demographic groups.     

Age and the Better‐Than‐Average Effect

People generally evaluate their own attributes and abilities more favorably than those of an average peer. The current study explored whether age moderates this better‐than‐average effect. We asked young (n = 87), middle‐aged (n = 75), and older adults (n = 77) to evaluate themselves and an average peer on a variety of trait and ability dimensions. On most dimensions, a better‐than‐average effect was observed for young, middle‐aged, and older adults. However, on dimensions for which older individuals have clear deficiencies (i.e., athleticism, physical attractiveness), a better‐than‐average effect was observed for young and middle‐aged adults, while a worse‐than‐average effect was observed for older adults. We argue that egocentrism accounts for these age differences in comparative self‐evaluations.     

THE MORAL SIGNIFICANCE OF GRATITUDE IN KANT'S ETHICS

In this essay, we examine the grounds, nature and content, status, acquisition and role, and justification of gratitude in Kant's ethical system, making use of student notes from Kant's lectures on ethics. We are especially interested in questions about the significance of gratitude in Kant's ethics. We examine Kant's claim that gratitude is a sacred duty, because it cannot be discharged, and explain how this claim is consistent with his insistence that “ought” implies “can.” We argue that for Kant a proper understanding of self‐esteem is importantly related to, if not necessary for, possession of the virtue of gratitude.     

The Tug-of-War Between Cash Flow and Institutional Values in a College-Seminary Merger

This case study documents the merger of a liberal arts college and a seminary, with particular attention to fiscal aspects of the venture. The interaction of Friends Regional University (FRU) with its seminary offers important theoretical lessons because of the interplay of three factors:1) FRU has a strong institutional context based on the evangelical Christian identity of the school. The undergraduate program was created more than one century ago as a Christ-centered opportunity for young people to integrate their faith and learning.2) From 1986, FRU had become more dependent on adult programming to meet its budgetary commitments. The adult programs also served to broaden institutional scope in the transition from college to university.3) Furthermore, throughout the history of FRU, the leadership had a strongly developed perceptual schema shaped by their evangelical Christian faith and lifestyles.

Tension between the institutional perspective and resource dependency was evident in how FRU dealt with its seminary during the time of the case study (1996–2002). The seminary was clearly Christian and had lost money each year for the past several years prior to 2003. In the perspective of the president, vice president for academic affairs, and the board, the seminary was categorized as an adult program and therefore should have been able to cover all its direct costs as well some indirect costs. The article reviews these issues and concludes with a discussion of how the difficulties created by the merger were negotiated.     

Prospective associations between marital adjustment and life satisfaction

Actor and partner effects for the 2‐year longitudinal associations between marital adjustment and life satisfaction were evaluated in a population‐based sample of middle‐aged and older adults (N = 1,385 couples). Results showed that (a) higher marital adjustment at baseline predicted higher life satisfaction at follow‐up, (b) higher life satisfaction at baseline predicted higher marital adjustment at follow‐up, (c) marital adjustment more strongly predicted life satisfaction than life satisfaction predicted marital adjustment for women, and (d) higher partner marital adjustment at baseline predicted higher life satisfaction at follow‐up. Results suggest that marital adjustment and life satisfaction influence one another in a bidirectional fashion and that the direction is predominantly from marital adjustment to life satisfaction in women.