As an extension of a concept known as tawheed,* nothing lies outside of The Jurisdiction of Divine Intervention; nor is God the deist’s watchmaker, winding up reality and watching various Newtonian-like mechanized processes play themselves out. Once this latter deist notion is embraced, and given a particular subtle type of human propensity for self-exaltation (a type which is by definition not...

If God did not exist – people would invent one! The development of human civilization requires mechanisms promoting cooperation and social order. One of these mechanisms is based on the idea that everything we do is seen and judged by God – bad deeds will be punished, while good ones will be rewarded. The Information Age has now fueled the dream that God-like omniscience and omnipotence can be ...

Philosophers and theologians have advanced a variety of arguments for God’s existence. Th e arguments vary along a number of dimensions. Some are a priori; some are a posteriori. Some depend on a particular defi nition of God; others are more general. But they have features in common. Th ey are independent of any particular religious tradition, depending on nothing more than a generally classic...

Is the Christian doctrine of the Trinity consistent with a very strong version of the thesis of divine simplicity? Yes, so long as the simple divine nature is a relational nature, a nature that could be characterized in terms of such relations as knowing and loving. This divine nature functions simultaneously as agent, patient, and action: as knower, known and knowledge, and lover, beloved, and...

A1 Either a property or its negation is positive, but not both: ∀φ[P (¬φ)↔ ¬P (φ)] A2 A property necessarily implied by a positive property is positive: ∀φ∀ψ[(P (φ) ∧ ∀x[φ(x)→ ψ(x)])→ P (ψ)] T1 Positive properties are possibly exemplified: ∀φ[P (φ)→ ♦∃xφ(x)] D1 A God-like being possesses all positive properties: G(x)↔ ∀φ[P (φ)→ φ(x)] A3 The property of being God-like is positive: P (G) C Possib...

Control beliefs and spirituality appear to be important factors in recovery from alcoholism. However, the integration of these two constructs has received little attention, and the relationship of spiritually related control beliefs to recovery remains unclear. Currently no measures exist to specifically assess these beliefs. To address this need, the Alcohol-Related God Locus of Control scale ...

Thymidine kinase 1 (TK), which is involved in the synthesis of DNA precursors, is only expressed in S-G2 cells. Serum TK levels correlate to the proliferative activity of tumor disease. Determinations of TK levels have so far relied on radio enzyme assay (REA) and experimental ELISA methods, which have limited the clinical use of this biomarker, although recent studies in dogs with malignant ly...

BACKGROUND Measurements of cardiac troponins are currently used as the standard for the detection of myocardial injury. None of the current assays complies with the new requirements on assay imprecision as proposed by the European Society of Cardiology/American College of Cardiology. Our aim was to evaluate the clinical and analytical performance of the Liaison cardiac troponin I (cTnI) assay. ...

OBJECTIVE . We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention, targeting staff-patient communication, in improving emergency department patient satisfaction. METHODS We undertook a pre- and post-intervention study in a university-affiliated emergency department, over a 12-month period. The intervention included communication workshops, a patient education film, and a patie...

Congenital toxoplasmosis is a worldwide health problem, and different screening strategies exist. Testing of toxoplasma-specific antibodies in infants identifies congenital toxoplasmosis during the first year of life. However, experience with commercial available immunoassays is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate both the performance and analytical characteristics of the Liaison dia...