THE RHYTHM OF GOD'S ETERNAL MUSIC: ON ANTJE JACKELÉN'S TIME AND ETERNITY

Antje Jackelén's book Time and Eternity is a thorough and carefully presented theology of time and, by its very essence, an incomplete and open thought model because time will always be dynamic and relational. This approach is an excellent example for the dialogue between science and religion because it uses resources not tapped in the dialogue so far: hymn‐books stemming from Germany, Sweden, and the English‐speaking world published between 1975 and 1995. They are taken as resources for a critical investigation on the meaning and importance of the notion of eternity for the interdisciplinary dialogue, which is characterized not as a synthesis but as holding a beneficial tension, or “eutonia.” I suggest that this approach can be taken even further by merging it with a model of time developed by the German mathematician A. M. Klaus Müller: The crossing over of time modes in a relational matrix of time also gives clear insights into the time of God not only as futurum—time as extrapolation of the past and present—but also as adventus—time which is to come.     

Examining the Effects of Skill Level and Reading Modality on Reading Comprehension

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of reading skill and reading modality (oral versus silent) on reading comprehension. A normative sample of sixth-grade students (N = 74) read texts aloud and silently and then answered questions about what they read. Skill in word reading fluency was assessed by the Test of Word Reading Efficiency, Second Edition (Torgesen, Wagner, & Rashotte, 2012), and students were identified as either normal or at-risk readers based on those scores. A 2 (reading skill) X 2 (reading modality) mixed factorial ANOVA was conducted. Results revealed that both normal and at-risk readers demonstrated better comprehension of text read orally as compared to text read silently. The middle school curriculum requires independent silent reading, yet students may enter middle school without the literacy skills they need to be successful. These findings suggest that students transitioning to middle school may benefit from additional pedagogical support in silent reading comprehension.     

RALPH WENDELL BURHOE AND BEYOND: PROPOSALS FOR AN AGENDA

Abstract. This paper deals with Ralph Wendell Burhoe's scientific theology and his theory of altruism. Its task is a critical examination of some of the main aspects of Burhoe's approach within the dialogue between science and theology; its goal is to enhance his vision. In the first part I argue that Burhoe's concept of God can be related to the Christian concept of a God of love through his theory of altruism. The second part deals with Burhoe's way of yoking religion and science. I apply insights of evolutionary epistemology as well as Philip Hefner's fruitful suggestion that Burhoe's enterprise is unavoidably metaphysical. In the last part, I investigate Burhoe's philosophy of science and the dominant role of Western culture, including the Judeo-Christian tradition, in Burhoe's thought. Incorporation of a more critical attitude toward science within Burhoe's positivistic approach is suggested.     

Examining the Effects of Reading Modality and Passage Genre on Reading Comprehension in Middle School Students

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of reading modality (oral versus silent) and passage genre (narrative versus expository) on the reading comprehension of middle school students. A normative sample of sixth- and seventh-grade students (n = 175) read narrative and expository texts from the Qualitative Reading Inventory, Fifth Edition (QRI-5; Leslie &; Caldwell, 2011 Leslie, L., &; Caldwell, J. A. (2011). Qualitative Reading Inventory (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education. [Google Scholar]) aloud or silently and then answered questions about what they read. General reading skill was assessed by the Test of Silent Contextual Reading Fluency, Second Edition (TOSCRF-2; Hammill, Wiederholt, &; Allen, 2014 Hammill, D. D., Wiederholt, J. L., &; Allen, E. A. (2014). Test of Silent Contextual Reading Fluency, second edition. Austin, TX: PRO-ED. [Google Scholar]). A 2 (passage genre) X 2 (reading modality) mixed between-within subjects ANOVA was conducted separately by grade. Findings suggest that text genre influenced reading comprehension across both sixth- and seventh-grade students. Expository text was more challenging than narrative text in terms of students' understanding. Importantly, reading modality was not found to influence the reading comprehension of seventh-grade students and only approached significance for the sixth-grade students. These results suggest that although students may have effectively transitioned to being independent silent readers, additional pedagogical support may be required to develop effective strategies for understanding expository text.     

The Heritage of Ralph Wendell Burhoe for the Dialogue between Science and Theology: A German Perspective

This paper begins with some reflections on my personal experiences with Ralph Wendell Burhoe during visits to the Chicago Center for Religion and Science. I learned to know Burhoe as an interested and kind person with enormous intellectual power. In this paper I argue that integration of different concepts was the chief focus of his thinking, expressing both an ethical and a dogmatic concern. If his theory of altruism contributes to the scientific investigations into the problem of trans-kin altruism, then his vision of a scientific theology gains credibility. Such an integration is made plausible through the interpretation of altruism in light of Christian love. In fact, Burhoe's neonaturalistic approach may be a fertile resource for the dialogue between science and theology in Germany, and serve as an exemplar of Burhoe's important impact on this dialogue in general.