Search results for ""Johannes""

Two thousand years ago, according to the Bible, a star rose low in the east and stopped high above Bethlehem. Was it a miracle, a sign from God to herald the birth of Christ? Was there a star at all, or was it simply added to the Bible to fulfill the Old Testament prophecy concerning the birth of the Messiah? Or was the Star of Bethlehem an actual astronomical event? For hundreds of years, astronomers as prominent as Johannes Kepler have sought an answer to this last baffling question. In The Star of Bethlehem, Mark Kidger brings all the tools of modern science, years of historical research, and an infectious spirit of inquiry to bear on the mystery. He sifts through an astonishing variety of ideas, evidence, and information--including Babylonian sky charts, medieval paintings, data from space probes, and even calculations about the speed of a camel--to present a graceful, original, and scientifically compelling account of what it may have been that illuminated the night skies two millennia ago. Kidger begins with the stories of early Christians, comparing Matthew's tale of the Star and the three Magi who followed it to Bethlehem with lesser-known accounts excluded from the Bible. Crucially, Kidger follows the latest biblical scholarship in placing Christ's birth between 7 and 5 B.C., which leads him to reject various phenomena that other scientists have proposed as the Star. In clear, colorful prose, he then leads us through the arguments for and against the remaining astronomical candidates. Could the Star have been Venus? What about a meteor or a rare type of meteor shower? Could it have been Halley's Comet, as featured in Giotto's famous painting of the Nativity? Or, as Kidger suspects, was the Star a combination of events--a nova recorded in ancient Chinese and Korean manuscripts preceded by a series of other events, including an unusual triple conjunction of planets? Originally published in 1999. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

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Comparing and contrasting the reality of subjectivity in the work of history's great scientists and the modern Bayesian approach to statistical analysis Scientists and researchers are taught to analyze their data from an objective point of view, allowing the data to speak for themselves rather than assigning them meaning based on expectations or opinions. But scientists have never behaved fully objectively. Throughout history, some of our greatest scientific minds have relied on intuition, hunches, and personal beliefs to make sense of empirical data-and these subjective influences have often aided in humanity's greatest scientific achievements. The authors argue that subjectivity has not only played a significant role in the advancement of science, but that science will advance more rapidly if the modern methods of Bayesian statistical analysis replace some of the classical twentieth-century methods that have traditionally been taught. To accomplish this goal, the authors examine the lives and work of history's great scientists and show that even the most successful have sometimes misrepresented findings or been influenced by their own preconceived notions of religion, metaphysics, and the occult, or the personal beliefs of their mentors. Contrary to popular belief, our greatest scientific thinkers approached their data with a combination of subjectivity and empiricism, and thus informally achieved what is more formally accomplished by the modern Bayesian approach to data analysis. Yet we are still taught that science is purely objective. This innovative book dispels that myth using historical accounts and biographical sketches of more than a dozen great scientists, including Aristotle, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, William Harvey, Sir Isaac Newton, Antoine Levoisier, Alexander von Humboldt, Michael Faraday, Charles Darwin, Louis Pasteur, Gregor Mendel, Sigmund Freud, Marie Curie, Robert Millikan, Albert Einstein, Sir Cyril Burt, and Margaret Mead. Also included is a detailed treatment of the modern Bayesian approach to data analysis. Up-to-date references to the Bayesian theoretical and applied literature, as well as reference lists of the primary sources of the principal works of all the scientists discussed, round out this comprehensive treatment of the subject. Readers will benefit from this cogent and enlightening view of the history of subjectivity in science and the authors' alternative vision of how the Bayesian approach should be used to further the cause of science and learning well into the twenty-first century.

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Now in paperback!Blacks in the Dutch WorldThe Evolution of Racial Imagery in a Modern Society Allison BlakelyExamination of the development of racial attitudes and color prejudice."In Blacks in the Dutch World Blakely provides scholars with a valuable record—in word and image—of the complex interaction between Dutch history and black history even as it examines, sensitively and persuasively, some of the intricate combinations of factors which are involved in color bias and its cultural expression." —Catherine Levesque, New West Indian Guide/Nieuwe West-Indische Gids". . . provocative and exceptionally well written—a significant contribution to the history of Dutch overseas expansion." —Johannes Postma, Journal of Interdisciplinary History"This is a very interesting, well-written, and thoroughly researched study based on a great variety of sources." —ChoiceBlacks in the Dutch World examines the interaction between Black history and Dutch history to gain an understanding of the development of racial attitudes. Allison Blakely reveals cracks in the self-image and reputation of Dutch society as a haven for those escaping intolerance. Pervasive images of "the Moor" and "the noble savage" appear in Dutch art and popular culture; and "Black Pete" is a servant to Santa Claus in Dutch Christmas tradition. These and many other cultural artifacts reflect the racial stereotyping of Blacks that existed in the Dutch world through the time of slavery and servitude, and then freedom.Blakely weighs the proposition that factors unique to the modern period have contributed to the creation of this racial imagery in Dutch folklore, art, literature, and religion. By viewing evolving images of Blacks against the backdrop of Western expansion, the agricultural, scientific, and industrial revolutions, and the advent of modern secular doctrines, Blakely discovers that humanism and liberalism, hallmarks of Dutch society since medieval times, have been imperfect guardians against racial bias.Allison Blakely, Professor of European History and Comparative History at Howard University, is author of Russia and the Negro: Blacks in Russian History and Thought, winner of an American Book Award.Blacks in the Diaspora—Darlene Clark Hine, John McCluskey, Jr., David Barry Gaspar, general editorsMarch 2001 (cloth 1994)352 pages, 119 illus., intro., notes, index, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4 cloth 0-253-31191-8 $45.00 L / £34.00paper 0-253-21433-5 $22.95 s / £17.50

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A Legacy of Preaching, Volume One--Apostles to the Revivalists explores the history and development of preaching through a biographical and theological examination of its most important preachers. Instead of teaching the history of preaching from the perspective of movements and eras, each contributor tells the story of a particular preacher in history, allowing the preachers from the past to come alive and instruct us through their lives, theologies, and methods of preaching.Each chapter introduces readers to a key figure in the history of preaching, followed by an analysis of the theological views that shaped their preaching, their methodology of sermon preparation and delivery, and an appraisal of the significant contributions they have made to the history of preaching. This diverse collection of familiar and lesser-known individuals provides a detailed and fascinating look at what it has meant to communicate the gospel over the past two thousand years. By looking at how the gospel has been communicated over time and across different cultures, pastors, scholars, and homiletics students can enrich their own understanding and practice of preaching for application today. Volume One covers the period from the apostles to the revivalists and profiles thirty preachers including: Paul by Eric Rowe Peter by David R. Beck Melito of Sardis by Paul A. Hartog Origen of Alexandria by Stephen O. Presley Ephrem the Syrian by Jonathan J. Armstrong Basil of Caesarea by Jonathan Morgan John Chrysostom by Paul A. Hartog Augustine of Hippo by Edward L. Smither Gregory the Great by W. Brian Shelton Bernard of Clairvaux by Elizabeth Hoare Francis of Assisi by Timothy D. Holder Saint Bonaventure by G. R. Evans Meister Eckhart by Daniel Farca? Johannes Tauler by Byard Bennett John Huss by Mark A. Howell Girolamo Savonarola by W. Brian Shelton Martin Luther by Robert Kolb Ulrich Zwingli by Kevin L. King Balthasar Hubmaier by Corneliu C. Simu? William Tyndale by Scott A. Wenig John Calvin by Anthony N. S. Lane William Perkins by Dwayne Milioni Richard Baxter by Simon Vibert John Owen by Henry M. Knapp John Bunyan by Larry Steven McDonald Matthew Henry by William C. Watson and W. Ross Hastings François Fénelon by Martin I. Klauber Jonathan Edwards by Gerald R. McDermott John Wesley by Michael Pasquarello III George Whitefield by Bill Curtis and Timothy McKnight Volume Two, available separately, covers the period from the Enlightenment to the present day and profiles thirty-one preachers including Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Karl Barth, John Stott, Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Graham, and more.

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Die Sprache und die Bilder der Gewalt in der Bibel, insbesondere im Alten Testament, werden von vielen Lesern in theologischer Wissenschaft und kirchlicher Praxis als anstößig wahrgenommen. Der Verfasser ordnet die Gewaltzüge im Wesen Gottes wie auch die gewaltverherrlichenden Szenen in den Kontext der Zeit ein und kommt so zu einem adäquaten Gottes- und Menschenbild sowie zu entsprechenden ethischen Grundsätzen. So erweist sich das Gesicht Gottes als ambivalent, aber mit einem deutlichen Zug zu umfassender Gnade, je universaler, desto mehr, bis es im NT im Bild Jesu Christi und in seiner Reich-Gottes-Verkündigung bestimmend wird. Das Wesen des Menschen ist geprägt teils von seiner Bestimmung zur Freiheit, teils von seiner Bestimmtheit durch die Sünde; das Sollen realisiert sich im AT im Mitgehen des Menschen bzw. des Volkes mit seinem Gott in Treue und Vertrauen, im NT in der Verwirklichung des neuen, in Christus geschenkten Seins. Der hermeneutische Zugriff auf die relevanten Texte erfolgt, wo möglich, unter drei Fragestellungen: Was sagen sie zu dem Thema 1. So ist Gott? 2. So ist der Mensch? bzw. So ist Israel? 3. So soll der Mensch sein? bzw. So soll Israel sein? Dabei sieht der Verfasser das Wesen Gottes in seiner Ambiguität beschrieben, das sich in der Geschichte zerstörend oder aufbauend auswirkt mit einer universell-heilvollen Tendenz; das Wesen des Menschen bzw. Israels im Spannungsfeld von Bestimmung zum "Sohn" und der Bestimmtheit durch die Sünde mit dem Ziel einer neuen Knechtsgemeinde; das Handeln des Menschen bzw. Israels bestimmt von der Entscheidung für oder gegen den Bund mit der Erwartung einer neuen Zeit, in der die Entscheidung ins Herz geschrieben ist. Der tendenziell auf Gewaltreduktion, Verständigung und Versöhnung gerichtete rote Faden im AT wird – nicht ohne Rückschläge (Joel, Nahum, Obadja) – zum Webmaterial eines roten Teppichs des Friedens Gottes mit den Menschen und untereinander im NT. Die Bedrohtheit der Bestandsgarantie der Schöpfung (Offenbarung des Johannes) gibt die geschichtliche und kosmische Realität wider, die Bestandsgarantie selbst aber (Gen 8,21f) führt zu der Gewissheit, dass uns nichts scheiden kann von der Liebe Gottes in Jesus Christus (Röm 8,38) und dass wir befähigt sind zu einem Leben im Geist der Liebe, des Friedens und der Versöhnung (Mt 5 – 7; Röm 12 – 15). Der Verfasser weiß sich einer biblischen Theologie verpflichtet, die Kontinuität und Diskontinuität beider Testamente gleichermaßen profiliert, sie aber auch zusammengehalten weiß durch eine Entwicklungsgeschichte und durch den einen erwählenden und so in der Geschichte handelnden Gott. Ein besonderes Augenmerk gilt der „archäologischen" Schichtung der Texte, in der gelegentlich ein Diskurs zum Thema Gewalt durch die Zeiten hindurch sichtbar wird.

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This textbook evolves from the intersection between ‘Research’, ‘Educational Information Technologies’ and recent ‘Best Practices’. It offers diplomacy and erudite rhetoric in order to harvest from innovation projects and see how new professional needs for teachers are emerging day by day. The volume launches the compact background for the 21st century education that every teacher faces after being in charge for 3 or 6 years after pre-service training. ‘Sources for a better education’ refers to the deep understanding and to the incentives for encouraging teachers to leave the comfort zone and experiment the next steps into a further sophisticated professionalism, without the threat of feeling in a ‘Dilemma’.The first candidate for extending one’s teaching effectiveness is to tailor one’s teaching to the test to be expected. ‘Teaching to the Test’ is an understandable tactic, however it endangers the students’ full understanding of underlying concepts and analogies. The second candidate for professionalism is the deeper layer of knowledge on how curricular domains are related. In simpler terms: better teachers know how to ‘bridge’ topics and subjects so that students develop a deeper understanding on the patterns and structure in knowledge. The 21st century education prioritizes higher degrees of flexible-, divergent and abstract thinking, so that creative problem solving comes into reach. ICT tools for making prior knowledge explicit is a major example on how learners harvest upon prior knowledge, thinking and intuition. The third source for a better education is the courage to envisage one’s meta knowledge in order to see patterns in learning and understanding. The more conscious prior knowledge gets decompiled into genetic metaphors; the better future learning can be anticipated. The fourth asset for meta-cognitive skills is the wide spectrum of tools that the web offers for building knowledge infra-structures so that knowledge becomes transformed into problem solving skills; the availability of knowledge is no longer sufficient for finding creative and authentic solutions in future situations. This is the case for both students and teachers. By tradition, the bottom-up strategy from reproductive factual learning up to the levels of problem solving and creative thinking has been favoured. The ‘one-click away’ access to information on the web asks a more strategic attitude from learners and practitioners to cope with the periphery between known and unknown, so that a more effective meta-cognition develops. The fifth stimulus for more effective learning is the expanding impact of social media. Social media tend to intimidate learners with incomplete understanding to jump on biases as delivered through political and conspiracy agendas. This books aims at the challenge to build upon learners’ existential needs and developing interest for a longer-term learning perspective.“Renaissance man and philosopher Piet Kommers presents us with an interesting question: What makes education exciting? His book covers a range of lessons learnt through research and practice, covering philosophies and paradoxes, ranging from learning to learn to machine learning for learning. In 35 chapters he takes us on an exciting, comprehensive journey of just about every conceivable aspect of technology and education. This is a must-have for every 21st Century bookshelf!” By: Johannes Cronjé, professor of Digital Teaching and Learning in the Department of Information Technology at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa.“Piet Kommers has in 400 pages provided an overview of teaching based on practical experience. It is not a summary of pedagogic models, but a guide to important factors in how to motivate students and thus improve their learning. New technologies changes teaching, and we need to understand how application of such technologies can improve the learning. This book provides such knowledge and I wish I had it when I started teaching at university many years ago.” By: Jan Frick, Professor Business School, University of Stavanger, Norway."Piet Kommers delivers a very thorough book with a holistic perspective on Learning Technologies. This book is a result of many years of experience that the author has in Higher Education. It comprises lessons learned from the author´s professional career, including inputs from European Union research projects, as well as diversified interactions with a wide range of Peoples and Cultures. The result is a unique perspective that is a must-read for anyone interested in Learning Technologies, past, present, and future!" By: Pedro Isaias, associate professor at the Information Systems & Technology Management School of The University of New South Wales (UNSW – Sydney), Australia. “Distinguished Professor and Thinker Dr. Piet Kommers presents the academic community with a new horizon on education that reflects the current and future technology trends in the e-Learning and Fast Internet ubiquity. The Book discusses the current and most recent advances in research and application of most effective learning methods in conjunction with the future directions in machine learning in support of learning. The Book's 35 chapters present cutting-edge technologies and state-of-the-art learning methods in support of best educational practices and the student's best learning experience. The Book is most valuable asset to educator's community pursuing the mission of excellence in the Third Millennium!” By: Eduard Babulak, Professor, Computational Sciences, Liberty University, Lynchburg, USA."Well-known scientist, (e-)learning expert and philosopher Piet Kommers presents us with an interesting question: What makes education exciting? His book covers a range of lessons learnt through research and practice, covering philosophies and paradoxes, ranging from ‘learning to learn’ to ‘machine learning for learning’. In 35 chapters he takes us on an exciting, comprehensive journey of just about every conceivable aspect of technology and education. This is an interesting and useful publication for all educators as well as learners and must-have for every 21st Century bookshelf!" By: Eugenia Smyrnova-Trybulska, Dr. hab., associate professor, Institute of Pedagogy, Faculty of Art and Sciences of Education, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland.“The book presents a mosaic of assets reflecting the vast international experience in research and realization of learning technologies of the author, honourable professor of the UNESCO Chair in New information technologies in education for all, Piet Kommers. Describing various aspects of learning strategies, approaches, techniques and technologies in a concise way, he engages the readers into the mental construction of a "big picture" and makes them reconsider routine processes of teaching and learning. Exciting and thought-provoking reading for educators, researchers, and devoted learners.” By: professor Volodymyr Gritsenko, Director of the International Research and Training Centre for Information Technologies and Systems, National Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Head of the UNESCO Chair.

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