SCIENCE MEETS BIBLICAL EXEGESIS IN THE GALILEO AFFAIR

Abstract Although Galileo's venture into theology, as discussed by McMullin, is limited to Galileo's exegesis of Scripture, it can be seen as an important element in a broader role in theology, namely in ecclesiology and in the development of doctrine. From the Council of Trent, the Reformation Council, until today there has been a development in the Church concerning the manner in which Sacred Scripture should be interpreted and as to whether it can be said to be in conflict with our scientific knowledge of nature. Galileo made a significant contribution to this development. With his telescopic observations he was, in fact, undermining the prevailing Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day and was defending the birth of modern science against a mistaken view of Scripture. The Church of his time was not prepared to accept his contribution to this theological development. What does this history have to contribute to the challenges we face today in the interactions between science and religious belief?     

Old Testament and Church Ministries in Two Ecumenical Dialogues

Abstract: To understand any church institution as founded by Jesus, one must take account of its relationship to his work of bringing the Old Testament revelation and its institutions to their eschatological realization. A sample of the work of recent ecumenical dialogues (BEM and the international Lutheran– Roman Catholic document on church and justification) shows that their discussions of church institutions have failed to do this adequately. This failure has complicated the efforts at unity to which these dialogues intend to contribute. Attention to the Old Testament roots of church institutions can help ecumenical ecclesiology to focus better on some important issues.     

Threat Assessment in Schools: A Critique of an Ongoing Intervention

This paper critiques an attempt to apply the FBI threat assessment protocol to an incident involving a homicidal threat by a vocational high school student against the district's superintendent. The student who made the threat was treated in psychotherapy, and the school underwent a threat assessment process that highlighted many operational pitfalls common in assessing homicidal intent in adolescents. Psychotherapy was successful, the student returned to the vocational school, and eventually graduated. Recommendations based on mistakes and successes in performing an FBI-style, profiling approach to threat assessment are made.     

The Fibonacci Life‐Chart Method (FLCM) as a foundation for Carl Jung's theory of synchronicity

Since the scientific method requires events to be subject to controlled examination it would seem that synchronicities are not scientifically investigable. Jung speculated that because these incredible events are like the random sparks of a firefly they cannot be pinned down. However, doubting Jung's doubts, the author provides a possible method of elucidating these seemingly random and elusive events. The author draws on a new method, designated the Fibonacci Life‐Chart Method (FLCM), which categorizes phase transitions and Phi fractal scaling in human development based on the occurrence of Fibonacci numbers in biological cell division and self‐organizing systems. The FLCM offers an orientation towards psychological experience that may have relevance to Jung's theory of synchronicity in which connections are deemed to be intrinsically meaningful rather than demonstrable consequences of cause and effect. In such a model synchronistic events can be seen to be, as the self‐organizing system enlarges, manifestations of self‐organized critical moments and Phi fractal scaling. Recommendations for future studies include testing the results of the FLCM using case reports of synchronistic and spiritual experiences.     

Expanding coping goodness-of-fit: religious coping, health locus of control, and depressed affect in heart failure patients

The goodness-of-fit coping hypothesis posits that problem-focused (PF) coping is particularly helpful under high controllability conditions, while emotion-focused (EF) coping is more helpful in low controllability situations. However, little research has examined whether the goodness-of-fit hypothesis applies to religious coping, a distinct set of coping resources and efforts. Further, little goodness-of-fit research has been conducted in the context of life-threatening illness. We tested coping goodness-of-fit for PF and EF as well as religious coping resources and strategies in 202 congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. Multiple regression analyses examined the extent to which each type of coping, health locus of control (HLOC) regarding their CHF, and their interactions related to subsequent depressed affect. Neither religious coping efforts nor religious resources were related to depressed affect. However, when examined in conjunction with internal HLOC, active coping and organized religious commitment were related to less depression for those higher in internal HLOC, while daily spiritual experience was related to less depression for those lower in HLOC. These results partially support the goodness-of-fit hypothesis and indicate a need to consider the perceived controllability of situations when examining the associations of religious coping resources and activities on depressive symptoms in the context of illness.     

Intuitive Heuristics Linking Perfectionism, Control, and Beliefs Regarding Body Shape in Eating Disorders

A number of correlational studies have established a clear association between perfectionism, control and beliefs regarding body shape in eating disorders (EDs). The aim of this study is to test the effectiveness of the above- mentioned associations in exploring the presence of intuitive heuristics. Intuitive heuristics can be conceived as as mental shortcuts, cognitive processes that are highly susceptible to irrational biases. Forty one non clinical female controls and 27 in-patient females with an ED diagnosis participated in an experimental task that tested whether participants would show an intuitive rather than a logically based link between perfectionism in different domains (study, work, hygiene) and a thin body shape. In the healthy female participants the occurrence of proposed link was noted in the hygiene domain only, while ED participants showed this intuitive association in all the domains explored: study, work, and hygiene. The study confirms in clinical ED sample a wider employment of heuristics associating perfectionism and thinness that is based on purely intuitive irrational reasoning.     

Adherence, body mass index, and depression in adults with type 2 diabetes: the mediational role of diabetes symptoms and self-efficacy.

OBJECTIVE: Evidence indicates that depression is linked to the development and worsening of diabetes, but the mechanisms underlying this link are not well understood. The authors examined the hypothesis that diabetes-related symptoms mediate the effect of both behavioral adherence and body mass index (BMI) on depression. In addition, they examined whether a prior finding that self-efficacy mediates the effect of behavioral adherence and BMI on depression would replicate with a larger sample size (W. P. Sacco, K. J. Wells, C. A. Vaughan, A. Friedman, S. Perez, & R. Morales, 2005). Also, the relative contributions of diabetes-related symptoms and self-efficacy to depression were evaluated. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional design involving adults diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes (N = 99). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measure was depression (Patient Health Questionnaire: Nine Symptom Depression Checklist). Predictors of depression were diet and exercise adherence (Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Questionnaire), diet and exercise self-efficacy (Multidimensional Diabetes Questionnaire), diabetes symptoms (Diabetes Symptom Checklist), and BMI (based on height and weight data from medical records). RESULTS: Path and mediation analyses indicated that adherence and BMI each contributed to depression indirectly, via their effects on self-efficacy and diabetes-related medical symptoms. CONCLUSION: Results provide evidence consistent with two independent pathways by which BMI and adherence could increase depression in people with Type 2 diabetes. The first pathway indicates that the effects of higher BMI and poor adherence on depression are mediated by lower self-efficacy perceptions. The second pathway indicates that the effect of higher BMI on depression is mediated by increased diabetes symptoms.