This study is an exploration of the link between the Holy Spirit and healing in Africa from a Reformed perspective. It is meant as a contribution to the development of Reformed contextual perspectives on healing in Southern Africa, and investigates whether a pneumatological exploration, sensitive to multi-layered understandings of health, could open productive avenues for Reformed theology in Southern Africa. The exploration consists of two parts. The first part is based on interdisciplinary research, and gives an overview of African health concepts that are influential in Southern Africa. The exploration starts with the struggle to find an appropriate definition of health, resulting in the understanding of health as a social construct. This means that oneâs social context determines oneâs understanding of health. The approach of social constructivism is non-essentialist and inherently open to the contextual, social and subjective nature of health. As such, social constructivism provides the epistemological frame for this thesisâ understanding of health and healing in the African context. Social constructivism implies that there are multiple understandings of health in a society. When a health concept occurs in a systematic or coherent pattern of ideas and practices, this coherent structure can be characterized as a health discourse. In Southern Africa, various health discourses can be identified: (1) the African traditional healing or the ngoma discourse; (2) the missionary medicine discourse; (3) the HIV/AIDS discourse; and (4) the church-based healing discourse. Each African health discourse is determined by a specific notion which characterizes the way health is interpreted according to that particular health discourse. The notions that have been identified are: (1) relationality; (2) transformation; (3) quality of life; and (4) power. In the second part of the study, the relationship between African health discourses and Reformed theology is developed on the basis of a pneumatological focus, which begins with an account of pneumatological approaches, developed by Reformed theologians (Calvin, Kuyper, Barth, Van Ruler, Moltmann, Welker, Veenhof and Van der Kooi), and a description of the Heidelberg Catechismâs pneumatology. The overview of Reformed pneumatologies suggests that most key ideas of the African health discourses correlate with specific motifs of the Reformed pneumatological matrix. Only the motif of power seems to be underdeveloped in Reformed thought. Four pneumatological sketches of healing are offered. These sketches are fragments of language about God and healing, because the suggestion of a grand narrative about God and healing should be avoided. This study seeks to appreciate aspects such as contextuality, nonessentialism, diversity, non-closure and particularity. The implication is that the four pneumatological sketches may be contradictory but cannot be mutually exclusive: that is, each fragment refers to the diverse ways of the Spirit who brings healing in human life. The four sketches show that Reformed language about Spirit and healing can be developed on the basis of the motifs of relationality, transformation, quality of life and power. It is proposed that Reformed pneumatological perspectives on healing include (1) the retrieval of the identification of the Spirit as the bond of love and as ecstatic God who communicates Godâs relational life to creation; (2) the focus on the disorienting and counter-cultural ways of the Spirit of adoption; (3) the biblical idea that the Spirit, the breath of life, redefines the vulnerability of human life as quality and beauty; and (4) the development of the idea that the Spirit redefines power and gives resurrection life after non-survival, even in this life.

<p> Bamboo corals are a family (Isididae Lamouroux, 1812) of cnidarian anthozoans in the subclass Octocorallia. They are distinct and easily recognizable because of their unique articulating skeleton, which alternates internodes of calcium carbonate with proteinaceous sclerite (microscopic skeletal elements)-free nodes, and which is currently the primary synapomorphy for the family. Isididae is further divided into four subfamilies (Circinisidinae, Isidinae, Keratoisidinae, Mopseinae) based on several characters, including sclerite shape, size, and placement, and skeleton morphology. The deep-sea bamboo corals are classified in the most morphologically diverse subfamily, Keratoisidinae Gray, 1970. Currently, there are eight genera within the subfamily, and they are primarily distinguished based on branching pattern. Members of the subfamily are found worldwide and at depths greater than 200 m. I use genetic data to evaluate the monophyly of the Isididae, the relationships of the subfamilies to each other and other octocorals, and the monophyly of the genera within the Keratoisidinae. One genus, <i>Acanella,</i> is a genetically monophyletic group with a distinct polyp morphology with needle-like sclerites running obliquely up the polyp body. Additionally, I propose an evaluation of the taxonomic ranks of the bamboo corals at the family, subfamily, genus, and species levels based on morphological characters, mitochondrial genome arrangement, and <i> mtMutS</i> haplotypes. Re-description and classification is needed at every taxonomic level to fully describe and capture the morphological and genetic diversity observed.</p>

This thesis addresses the fundamental problem of whether Jesus Christ can still be thought to be that very decisive, absolute and unsurpassable revelation of God. And you may rightly ask: If this is the case, then what has gone so drastically wrong about that which was taken for granted for so long in the Christian world? The truth of the matter is that today Christianity is remembered mostly by its systematic destruction of the other-me than by its perennial preaching of love of neighbour. Yet only yesterday Christianity seemed to make the whole world go round as âthe only reliable religionâ capable of answering adequately the very deep spiritual recesses of the human heart and human finitude in general. Today that privileged position has drastically changed. Christianityâs traditional bold claim of being a unique kairos moment in human affairs, in which Godâs self-communication cannot be surpassed in anyway by any other religion, is seriously challenged. But lovers of this religion or this âNew Way of Lifeâ, with their immense faith; and in their hope against hope, refuse to throw in the towel no matter the cost. They are now doing their level best to save authentic Christianity from the systematic and rigorous onslaught, which opposes the Christ event as a âvery specia l and absoluteâ theological locus classicus in human affairs. While these concerned, honest and committed Christians try to restore the healing face of the Christian faith, critics of religion (with their many faces), especially those of the Democratic Rule, give them sleepless and anxious nights. Indifference among the latter towards âwho Jesus Christ isâ is well pronounced; while confusion, divisions and scandals among the former about how Jesus Christ ought to be understood, are today well documented and are making headlines on regular intervals in the media and even within churches themselves. This research joins these lovers of Christianity by proposing an alternate route in answering the perennial double question: âWho do people say that I am?â and âWho do you say that I am?â (cf. Mk 8:27-30). This alternate route is built on Godâs Promises to Abraham without whom the universal uniqueness of Jesus the Christ = the Messiah would be concealed, disfigured and seriously betrayed. Godâs Promises to humanity through Abraham are the historical theological foundation of human salvation in all its mysterious beauty. And within this amazing mystery of Godâs Plan of our salvation, Sarah, Hagar, Mary, and Khadija 1 , equally play a crucial role. In addressing this problem of Jesusâ uniqueness in the totality of human history, this thesis contrasts and juxtaposes three pillars of authentic revelation namely, the reality of our fallen human nature, the incarnation of the Christ = the awaited Messiah in Jesus of Nazareth, and Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), to date, as the last Witness (Prophet) of Godâs revelation. These trinitarian pillars of our salvation are firstly pressed and shaken together, and are then put into a serious healing tension with each other for the enrichment of all peoples of the human race. The thesis argues strongly that the universal salvific truth lies in the fact that the theological watershed of human salvation has already been sealed irreversibly between Godâs covenant with Abraham and Godâs covenant with humanity at Pentecost; and that Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) is the last reliable Testament/Witness of this universal, historical truth. Constantinian Christianity, in its many faces, is here held responsible for corrupting this universal truth up to our own time. Byzantine, papal and colonial evangelism will go down in history as the most heretical and corruptive Christian traditions that have ever emanated from that Constantinian Christianity. This thesis concludes by calling all Christians of goodwill from Orthodox, Protestant and Roman catholic communities firstly to authentic acceptance of Kubler-Ross, and then repentance of John the Baptist in order to stop the further corrupting of Jesusâ name where it is still being used to mean anything, everything and nothing today and beyond. The sin of Supersessionism, the sin of Hagarism and the sin of ecclesiastical timocracy (idolatrous sin of seeking first the kingdom of the Church), are here exposed as heresies and setbacks in the universal enrichment of all peoples of the human race. These are sins that have systematically concealed, disfigured and seriously betrayed (like Judas) the true universal meaning of âwho Jesus of Nazareth really isâ concerning the salvation of every human being from primordia l time of the Fall to our generation of today and beyond.

The new interest in spirituality forms the background to this research. In step with prominent scholars in the field of spirituality the following working definition for spirituality has been adopted: âSpirituality is an experience in the presence of the Creator and the dynamic transforms usâ. The spirituality of various religious traditions has been described. Black Hebrew Pentecostalism is one rich tradition that has been hidden from the view of scholars. This research is an attempt to address this issue. The research problem enquires whether there are unique features to this religious tradition and its corresponding spirituality. Two communities in New York (USA) have been selected for research purposes. Methodologically, literature and empirical research approaches have been employed. A specific contribution has been made to the discipline of spirituality by mapping a qualitative method for studying the spirituality of a religious tradition. In conversation with major scholars a unique set of constituent dimensions for spirituality has been identified; when used as questions during empirical research this could disclose the main feature of spirituality. In studying the two communities of Temple El Shaddai and Gideon Knights Freedom Church of Jesus Christ specific attention was given to the following issues: contextual background, distinctive spiritual features, normativity and authority, theological views, notions of transcendence, distinctive morality, the dynamics of the divine-human relationship and its impact on spirituality. To determine synthetically the profile of the spirituality of Black Hebrew Pentecostalism not only the research results of the two communities were compared, but two additional research strategies were employed: the study of related spiritualities (e.g. that of the Lemba communities, Pentecostalism, Traditional Africa and African-Americanism) and the use of various religious typologies. These help highlight the main and unique elements of Black Hebrew Pentecostal spirituality. The research has disclosed that this religious tradition has unique features that have resulted in a unique spirituality. Here are some of the main constituent elements: o Black Hebrew Pentecostalism integrated the perspectives of two religious traditions â Judaism and Christianity - to form a unique tradition of its own. The faith and concomitant spiritual practices are experienced as coherent. o A string focus on social identity accompanies this spirituality. Without social realities like racism this spirituality cannot be appreciated. o Identity markers like symbolism, ritual, theological conviction and ethical practice functions strongly to determine and maintain spiritual identity. o Normativity and authority which inevitably influence spirituality are located in both the leader of the community and the Bible. o Time-cycles function prominently especially concerning the honoring of the Sabbath and Old Testament Feasts. o Morality and strict moral codes are intimately intertwined with spiritual experiences. o The naming of the divine is exceptionally critical and is another outstanding characteristic of this spirituality. o Spiritual maturity can be defined in terms of power and this is related to the social identity of the tradition. o The spirituality integrates the life of followers and supports them to cope with existential challenges. This research has made contributions, not only to the general corpus of knowledge of this religious tradition, but also to the academic discipline of spirituality.

i. Since the Enlightenment scientific development has led to a world view that can be described in a mechanical way. In a modernistic world, processes in creation were described in a deterministic way, while causality moved Godâs involvement in creation to deism. The uncovering of the quantum world and the insight that creation also displays a contingent character in different areas, brought about a new cosmology and made the question about divine action more relevant. The problem was that science could not understand and declare happenings in creation, solely from a physical point of view. In the post-modern world, reformed theology professes God as acting in both a transcendental and immanent way. A new cosmology required a reformulation of the traditional doctrine of Providence and testimony concerning divine agency. Polkinghorne, as a prominent scientist/theologian suggests that a Trinitarian God is acting in the cosmos and that both science and religion co-operate in a complementary way to display Godâs divine action. This proposal could be promising for reformed theology. ii. The core question in this study is: can Polkinghorneâs understanding of how God acts in the world, contribute to the broadening of a traditional doctrine of Providence? To answer this question, there must be a clear understanding concerning the relationship between science and religion. iii. The question of how God acts and Polkinghorneâs eventual contribution is derived from these different models. The present debate necessitates a new relationship between science and religion, as traditional approaches failed to appreciate the unity in creation. iv. Polkinghorneâs proposal on how God acts, links with other more recent models, which focus on an inter-disciplinary approach. This approach benefits from the insight obtained from both the physical and human sciences. v. This broad review leads to Polkinghorneâs cosmological proposal. His epistemology is based on critical realism that utilizes the concept of dual- aspect monism in order to defend an anti-reductionistic perspective on reality. This metaphysical outlook enables him to revaluate the physical reality from a Trinitarian confession of eschatological hope. vi. Polkinghorne suggests a complementary relationship between science and religion, where both disciplines can function harmoniously. Theology as equal partner of science answers the meta questions that transcend scientific observation. vii. Polkinghorne professes a Trinitarian God that is personally involved in his creation, in such a way, that His temporal and kenotic nature comes to the fore. This transcendental/immanent act of Godâs self-revelation, culminates in the incarnation of Jesus Christ as the Resurrected. viii. Acts of God are recognizable in a Natural Theology that respects the relationship with science. God acts holistically within an open cosmos that has been intelligently designed and is anthropically balanced. The conveyance of divine knowledge takes place within complex systems, like the chaos theory, which is an interaction between chance and necessity. This is recognizable to man that developed self-consciousness through a process of evolution and implies a process of continuous unfolding, from and towards complexity. Man is working in cooperation with God, who sometimes works under exceptional circumstances in extraordinary ways, of which the resurrection of Christ is a testimony. ix. A reformed understanding of Providence is traditionally divided into three different areas of divine action, namely upholding, governance and co-operation. The Trinitarian God maintains and governs the whole cosmos which culminates in the incarnation and resurrection of Christ. That is the strength of this approach. The primary focus is soteriological. The shortcoming on the other hand, is a limited cosmological focus and an under- estimation of scientific insights. These are two elements that necessitate this study. x. The methodological interaction of scientific hypotheses in Polkinghorneâs proposal is definitely strange to a traditional, reformed perspective. The central focus and starting point of his approach, namely a Trinitarian relationship that expresses itself in the resurrection of Jesus, agrees however with a traditional view. He offers a definite contribution towards the reformed doctrine. His contribution can be summarized as follows: xi. Firstly, a complementary relationship between science and religion affirms that divine action is acknowledged holistically as continuous cosmological events. xii. Secondly, through a new Natural theology, science, as conversation partner of theology, reveals Godâs excellence in His continuing self-announcement in creation. xiii. Thirdly, dipolarity, as potential reformed theological construction, shows promise to base divine action on Godâs faithfulness. xiv. Fourthly, God acts in a Trinitarian way through the interaction of chance and necessity in creation. A reformed understanding is challenged to harmonize a contingent reality with the confession of a faithful God taking care of his creation every moment. xv. Fifthly, panentheism does have a limited value within the reformed theology. It challenges a reformed approach to further reflect upon Godâs immanent presence in the world. xvi. In conclusion: in the light of the quantum era the standpoint on Providence in the Articles of Faith needs to be reformulated.

What does the Bible say God did when He created the heavens and the earth? The study begins by investigating genres of creation texts and stating hermeneutical principles. The claims of ten creation theories are evaluated by Bible creation texts. The ten creation theories investigated are: pre-creation chaos, initial chaos, title or summary, young earth scientific creationism, theistic big bang, old earth day-age progressive creation, literary framework, creation revealed in six days, gap or ruin-restoration, and historical land (Eden/Promised Land) creationism. The most exegetically supported claims of the ten theories suggest a combined eleventh theory. Four diagnostic questions sort all eleven theories into groups. The questions are: Does the Genesis 1 text indicate the days were six daylight-evening-nighttime-morning-cycle days, or six long day-age geologic eras? Did God create orderly cosmos and unfinished earth during the beginning, or was there chaos God transformed into cosmos in the six days? Were the stated life kinds created once, or twice? Did God create the heavens and earth in the beginning, or in the six days? The eleven theories are evaluated by Bible creation texts related to the question, and theories with claims counter to the creation texts are progressively eliminated. Only the eleventh combined theory emerges. Finally the most exegetically supported claims of the ten theories are correlated into a fully described eleventh combined creation theoryâtwo-stage Biblical creation (2SBC). Stage one: In the beginning time (rÄ'shît inherently means a time period) God created the heavens and the earth; but at the end of that time, earth was declared uninhabitable, uninhabited, and darkened. The perspective of the apparent Narrator of stage two was established. Stage two: By eight command units involving six day-night-cycle workdays God made planet earth lighted, habitable, and inhabited. (The Bible neither explicitly affirms nor explicitly denies time passage between the days, so caution is urged with Payneâs proposal.) The tôledôt (colophon?) in Genesis 2:4a ends the two-part narrative. Since the length of the beginning time is unstated by the Bible, two-stage Biblical creation claims a Biblically undated universe and earth creation (UEC).

Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (Cox 1) is the barcode for many animal groups, protists, and macroalgae. Previously in fungi, the efficiency of Cox 1 as a genetic marker was only analysed in Penicillium subgenus Penicillium and Leohumicola spp. In this thesis, two species isolated from the intestinal tracts of caterpillars from Costa Rica, and two potential species complexes, P. sclerotiorum and P. oxalicum belonging to Penicillium subgenus Aspergilloides and Furcatum, were studied using the Genealogical Concordance Concept (Gee) recognition criterion and barcoding methods. Analyses with beta-tubulin (BenA), the nuclear internal transcriber spacer (ITS) region, Cox 1, translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1-alpha), and calmodulin (CaM) revealed that the Penicillium species isolated from Costa Rica are undescribed, and that P. sclerotiorum is a complex of seven phylogenetic species (including the Costa Rican species) that fit the prevailing morphological concept of P. sclerotiorum. The phylogenetic species were compared and newly discovered diagnostic morphological characters were used to create a taxonomic key to the species of the complex. The new species are formally described as P. guanacastense, P. mallochii, P. krugii, P. cainii, P. jacksonii and P. ciebiessum. Analyses of multiple strains of P. oxalicum revealed that it is a single phylogenetic species, despite having a world wide distribution, an unusually high degree of morphological variation, and a diversity of ecological roles. Cox1 proved to be a good barcode for identifying the selected Penicillium groups, and provided a species level resolution of 83.3%. ITS provided the same resolving ability. BenA (91.7%), TEF1-alpha (100%) and CaM (100%) provided a higher species level resolution than Cox1, but BenA, TEF1-alpha, and CaM were difficult to amplify or sequence for some Penicillium groups. A secondary barcode marker is suggested in addition to Cox1 for Penicillium.

<p> Modern biological research is currently canalized into two main modes of research: detailed, mechanistic descriptions, or big data collection and statistical descriptions. The former has the advantage of being conceptually tractable and fitting into an existing scientific paradigm. However, these detailed descriptions can suffer from an inability to be understood in the larger context of biological phenomena. On the other hand, the big data approaches, while closer to being able to capture the full depth of biological complexity, are limited in their ability to impart conceptual understanding to researchers. We put forward examples of an intermediate approach. The goal of this approach is to develop models which can be understood as abstractions of biological phenomena, while simultaneously being conducive to modeling and computational approaches. Firstly, we attempt to examine the phenomenon of modularity. Modularity is an ubiquitous phenomenon in biological systems, but its etiology is poorly understood. It has been previously shown that organisms that evolved in environments with lower levels of stability tend to display more modular organization of their gene regulatory networks, although theoretical predictions have failed to account for this. We put forward a neutral evolutionary model, where we posit the process of genome expansion through gene duplications acts as a driver for the evolution of modularity. This process occurs through the duplication of regulatory elements alongside the duplication of a gene, causing sub-networks to be generated which are more tightly coupled internally than externally, which gives rise to a modular architecture. Finally, we also generate an experimental system by which we can verify our model of the evolution of modularity. Using a long term experimental evolution setup, we evolve <i>E. coli</i> under fluctuating temperature environments for 600 generations in order to test if there is a measurable increase in the modularity of the gene regulatory networks of the organisms. This data will also be used in the future to test other hypotheses related to evolution under fluctuating environments. The second such model is a computational model of the properties of bacterial growth as a function of temperature. We describe a model composed of a chain of enzyme like actions, where the output of each enzyme in the chain becomes the substrate of the following enzyme. Using well known temperature dependence curves for enzyme activity and no further assumptions, we are then able to replicate the salient properties of bacterial growth curves at varying temperatures, including lag time, carrying capacity, and growth rate. Lastly, we extend these models to attempt to describe the ability of cancer cells to alter their phenotypes in ways that would be impossible for normal cells. We term this model the <i>phenotypically pliant cells</i> model and show that it can encapsulate important aspects of cancer cell behavior.</p><p>

<p> Taxonomic checklists are a fundamental and widely-used product of taxonomy, providing a list of recognized taxa within a taxonomic group in a particular geographical area. Series of taxonomic checklists provide snapshots of recognized taxa over a period of time. Identifying and classifying the changes between these checklists can provide information on rates of name, synonym and circumscription change and can improve aggregation of datasets reconciled to different checklists.</p><p> To demonstrate this, I used a series of North American bird checklists to test hypotheses about drivers of splitting rates in North America birds. In particular, I asked if splitting was predominantly undoing previous lumping that happened during the heyday of the modern synthesis. I found that bird species have been split at an accelerating rate since the 1980s. While this was partially the result of previously lumped species being resplit, most splits were unrelated to previous lumps and thus represent new discoveries rather than simply the undoing of previous circumscription changes. I also used a series of North American freshwater algal checklists to measure stability over fifteen years, and found that 26% of species names were not shared or synonymized over this period. Rates of synonymization, lumping or splitting of species remained flat, a marked difference from North American birds. Species that were split or lumped (7% of species considered) had significantly higher abundance than other species in the USGS NAWQA dataset, a biodiversity database that uses these checklists as an index. They were associated with 19% of associated observations, showing that a small number of recircumscribed species could significantly affect interpretation of biodiversity data.</p><p> To facilitate this research, I developed a software tool that could identify and annotate taxonomic changes among a series of checklists, and could use this information to aggregate biodiversity data, which will hopefully facilitate similar research in the future. My dissertation demonstrates the value of taxonomic checklists series to answer specific questions about the drivers of taxonomic change ranging from philosophical and technical changes to characteristics of species themselves such as their abundance.</p><p>