Individualism, Communitarianism and Consensus

There is a contemporary conflict between individualistic andcommunitarian conceptions of rationality. Robert Goodin describes it asa conflict between an enlightenment individualistic conception of a``sovereign artificer'' and ``a socially unencumbered self'' ascontrasted with the communitarian conception of a ``socially embeddedself'' whose identity is formed by his or her community. Should wejustify and explain rationality individualistically or socially? This isa false dilemma when consensus is reached by a model articulated byKeith Lehrer and Carl Wagner. According to this model, the consensusresults from the positive weights individuals give to others and use tocontinually average and, thus, aggregate their allocations. Aggregationconverges toward a consensus in which the social preference and theindividual preferences become identical. The truth of communitarianismis to be found in the aggregate and the truth of individualism in theaggregation. The original conflict dissolves in rational consensus.     

细菌感染性疾病中的对立统一规律与Quorum Sensing系统

引起人类细菌性感染的病原菌可以分为条件致病菌和非条件致病菌,不同性质的细菌引起的感染决定了感染矛盾的特殊性,对于不同质的矛盾,只有用不同质的方法才能解决。抗生素的发明和使用为人类控制感染性疾病的同时,这种单纯的“对抗”的解决方法也引出了一些新的矛盾。因此,细菌感染矛盾的特殊性决定我们不能采用千篇一律的“对抗斗争”形式,而必须寻求一种特殊的解决方式。对QS系统的研究发现在细菌表现致病性过程中发挥重要作用,通过QS系统减弱细菌的致病性而不杀死细菌的“抗致病性药物”来治疗感染成为一种新的抗感染思路,这种“抗致病性”概念使我们抗感染的态度从与细菌“对抗”转变为“共生”,因而QS系统可以为这种特殊矛盾提供一个合理的解决方式。     

Resisting the therapeutic reduction: on the significance of sin.

Sin-talk, though politically incorrect, is indispensable. Placing human life under the "hermeneutic of sin" means acknowledging that one ought to aim flawlessly at God, and that one can fail in this endeavor. None of this can be appreciated within the contemporary post-Christian, mindset, which has attempted to reduce religion to morality and culture. In such a secular context, the guilt-feelings connected with the recognition of sin are considered to be harmful; the eternal benefit of a repentance is disregarded. Nevertheless, spirituality appears to have therapeutic benefits. Therefore attempts are made to re-locate within healthcare a religion shorn of its transcendent claims, so as then to harvest the benefits of a spirituality "saved from sin". This reduction of religiosity to its therapeutic function is nourished by a post-modern constructivist construal of religion. This article critically examines the dis-ingenuity marring such recasting, as well as the incoherence of related attempts to reduce transcendence to solidarity, and to re-shape the significance of religious rituals.     

FIRST PERSON PLURAL: SELF‐UNITY AND SELF‐MULTIPLICITY IN THEOLOGY'S DIALOGUE WITH PSYCHOLOGY

In contradistinction to the contemporary human sciences, recent theological accounts of the individual‐in‐relation continue to defend the concept of the singular continuous self. Consequently, theological anthropology and the human sciences seem to offer widely divergent accounts of the sense of self‐fragmentation that many believe pervades the modern world. There has been little constructive interdisciplinary conversation in this area. In this essay I address the damaging implications of this oversight and establish the necessary conditions for future dialogue. I have three primary objectives. First, I show how the notion of personal continuity acquires philosophical theological significance through its close association with the concept of personal particularity. Second, through a discussion of contemporary accounts of self‐multiplicity, I clarify the extent of theological anthropology's disagreement with the human sciences. Third, I draw upon narrative accounts of identity to suggest an alternative means of understanding the experiential continuity of personhood that maintains the tension between self‐plurality, unity, and particularity and thereby reconnects philosophical theological concerns with human‐scientific analyses of the human condition. Narrative approaches to personhood are ideally suited to this purpose, and, I suggest, offer an intriguing solution to understanding and resolving the problem of self‐fragmentation that has caused recent theological anthropology so much consternation.     

Church Attendance,Problems of Measurement,and Interpreting Indicators: A Study of Religious Practice in the United States, 1975–2010

Church attendance is usually measured in surveys by asking a direct question about frequency of churchgoing over a preset period of time, which is typically a year. Different studies have cast doubt over the validity of this indicator as it tends to overestimate actual attendance to a significant degree. The aim of this article is to compare data on church attendance provided by two different types of research conducted in the United States between 1975 and 2010: survey data (GSS) and data obtained from time use surveys (ATUS). This comparison has three main objectives: (1) to confirm the hypothesis that survey data tend to overestimate actual attendance; (2) to show that this overestimation is not constant over time and space, but tends to vary in an erratic and unpredictable way; and (3) to demonstrate that data provided by time use surveys are more reliable than the frequencies of churchgoing provided by traditional surveys when the objective is to identify trends in religiosity in a population.     

Losing hope: mental health and religious service non-attendance in Australia

Religious beliefs and practices are related to mental health. Many individuals report a religious affiliation, but do not have specific religious beliefs or practices such as attending religious services. These non-attendees are often assumed to resemble the non-religious, but are poorly studied. This study explored the demographic characteristics and mental health outcomes associated with being a non-attendee using data from a nationally representative Australian sample. Non-attendees were more likely to be non-Christian than attendees at religious services. They had worse mental health than both non-religious individuals and attendees, especially compared to the non-religious. Whether non-attendance is a result of or cause of poor mental health outcomes is not clear and deserves further investigation. Non-attendees clearly differed in our sample from both non-religious individuals and attendees. Our results do not support the hypothesis that individuals who report a religious affiliation, but are not actively religious, are similar to non-religious individuals.     

The unity of the Church according to Calvin and its meaning for the churches in Indonesia

Since the founding of the Council of Churches in Indonesia (DGI), which later changed its name to the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), a recurring question has been asked about what kind of unity the DGI/PGI intends to achieve. This issue was discussed by the General Assemblies, from the first in 1950 until the 10th in 1984, with various ideas being put forward. Some underscored the unity of structural organisations, whereas others emphasised our spiritual unity in Christ. It was only at the 10th General Assembly held in 1984 at Ambon that Indonesian churches discovered the answer they had been seeking all that time. The unity they sought was a shared understanding of Christian doctrine, mutual recognition and acceptance, and co-operation in working together to carry out their task and calling in Indonesia. In this respect, I believe that the view of Indonesian church unity conforms to Calvin’s concept which does not stress organisational unity but rather spiritual oneness, oneness in Christ, and oneness in the basic principles of the faith, in recognising each other as having the true preaching of the Word and administration of the sacraments. It is this kind of unity which has been expressed in the Five Documents of Church Unity (LDKG), later called Documents on Church Unity (DKG). The churches of Indonesia can learn much from the view of church reformer John Calvin.     

Christianity in the world of Japan’s religions: reception,incorporation, separation

This article traces three key themes in the encounter of Christianity with Japanese culture: namely, reception, incorporation and separation. It argues that these three can also be traced in the much longer engagement of Buddhism with Japan, and that their complex interaction is a helpful way of understanding the tension of inner and outer in Japanese Christian experience.     

For the church community after COVID‐19

COVID‐19 is changing everyday life. COVID‐19 is also changing the look of the church. The church is a community of people who gather for worship, fellowship, and sharing. However, due to the coronavirus, the church is no longer able to gather and worship together. Moreover, because of the coronavirus, social distancing with as little as possible face‐to‐face contact has been recommended worldwide. If this situation is prolonged, the church community interactions will have difficulty in surviving. Therefore, this article seeks ways to maintain and strengthen the church community in and after the coronavirus era through insight into speech act theory.