Imminent Advent Research Articles

Exploring the intersection of neuroscience and the soul: Understanding the mysteries of the mind

Over the past five decades, scientific progress has underscored the imperative of integrating diverse fields of human inquiry, highlighting their interdependence. Thus, the segregation of humanities from neuroscience appears ludicrous, akin to a jest played upon rational thinkers. With the imminent advent of the human genome project, biotechnology is forging ahead, offering prospects for significant advancements in organ regeneration. While macro evolution may have concluded, micro-evolution persists within the realm of the brain. Neural Darwinism evolves continuously as long as consciousness and memory endure. Amidst diverse internal physiological mechanisms and external stimuli, an alternative theory to preprogrammed directionalism emerges, positing three mechanisms: developmental variation and selection, experiential selections, and reentrant signaling. Reentrant signaling reorients and correlates external inputs, preceding the development of consciousness and psychic evolution. Cholinergic and aminergic neuro-modelling systems emerge as fitting value systems. The primary function of consciousness lies in unifying the myriad categorizations inherent in perception into a cohesive SCENE. Evolution further entails the capacity of reentrant signaling to be guided by a value system, presenting abundant choices. With trillions of neurons and connections, freedom of choice may yield either enlightenment or tyranny. Intriguingly, the evolutionary progression toward worship has shifted from external environments to internal contemplation. Neuroscience stands poised as the next frontier in unraveling the mysteries of the mind and soul, representing the next stage in human understanding and evolution.

Gamifying programs / Juegos de programas: gamificación en el desarrollo y futuro de la Inteligencia Artificial

Play has been crucial in the evolution of our species, and has held a most important role in the development of our electronic scions as well. As the boundaries between human and machine become increasingly blurred, so do those between work and play and between life and games. The imminent advent of virtual reality as the favoured landscape for human interaction and the zest with which gamification has inherited the aims and strategies of prescriptive psychology are examples of how games will become a ferocious shaping force for our culture. Current trends lead us to believe that intelligent programs, reared in the playing of games like chess and checkers in their distant infancy, may now themselves become architects and providers of the games that will assuage an infantilized humankind.

Learning-based Protocol for Routing in Quantum Networks

With the imminent advent of quantum communications head-on and its landing in what is going to be called the Quantum Internet, it is essential to research different ways of how it could be done in its most efficient way. In this work, we propose a game theory based self-adaptive system that, by accumulating reward, manages to learn how to minimize the latency of packets that are sent in a congested quantum network. To begin with, we study under which circumstances the quantum protocol outperforms its classical equivalent. First, analyzing the minimum number of packets moving through the network as a function of the size of the network necessary for guaranteeing an improvement in the quantum protocol. Then, studying the minimum size of the network based on the number of nodes needed to ensure the aforementioned advantage. Furthermore, taking advantage of the concepts of non-cooperative games and reinforcement learning, a protocol is designed and the behavior of a network with quantum nodes is evaluated. In order to analyze this protocol, different algorithms and scenarios are tested by measuring their efficiency and adaptability.

Evaluating the performance of post-quantum secure algorithms in the TLS protocol

Aim: The imminent advent of large-scale quantum computers within the next years is expected to highly affect the security of several cryptosystems that are now considered secure; this mainly holds for classical, long-established, public key cryptographic algorithms such as RSA and elliptic curve cryptography. Apparently, any security protocol that relies on such ciphers, including the transport layer security (TLS) protocol which constitutes a somewhat de facto standard for the security on the web, will not be considered secure in the post-quantum era. To alleviate the security risks stemming from quantum computing, several proposals have been submitted to the relevant procedure initiated by NIST towards evaluating and standardizing one or more quantum-resistant public-key cryptographic algorithms. This paper focuses on embedding post-quantum secure cryptographic algorithms into the TLS protocol to analyze its performance. More precisely, the paper aims to analyze whether this transition to post-quantum secure algorithms will have a significant impact on the user experience due to the possible increase of client--server communication times. Methods: Having as the starting point several important works in the field, several experiments were carried out, using combinations of cloud and local virtual machines per case and considering all the post-quantum cryptographic algorithm finalists for key exchange from the third round of the ongoing NIST process, for various cryptographic as well as network parameters. Results: Our results exhibit that, for key exchange in TLS, the best performance among the post-quantum secure ciphers is achieved by the Saber and CRYSTAL-Kyber variants for all security levels, regardless of the underlying computing power. The performance is comparable to that of the corresponding one achieved by a classical elliptic curve algorithm for key exchange for both RTT and packet loss ratio — i.e., the network parameters seem to have the same effect on post-quantum secure algorithms as in the case of a conventional elliptic curve algorithm. However, the effect of the network parameters on the performance is more crucial than the effect of the underlying chosen ciphers. Conclusion: According to the experiments, we conclude that there exist very promising algorithms that could be utilized in TLS in the near future, which may behave even better than the conventional elliptic curve algorithms for key exchange. It should also be pointed out that NIST announced on 5 July 2022 (i.e., after the completion of our research experiments) that, for general encryption used when we access secure websites, the CRYSTALS-Kyber algorithm has been selected, having as one of its advantages the speed of operation. Hence, the results of our paper are fully in line with the progress of the NIST process. Taking into account that the NIST process is still ongoing (now in its fourth round) with the aim to select more algorithms, as well as that some algorithms may be standardized outside NIST, it becomes evident that our results provide very useful insights on performance aspects of the post-quantum secure algorithms.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE “MARITIME AUTONOMOUS SURFACE SHIPS” (MASS)

Autonomous ships are already a reality. They are on the agenda of international law and international society in general. In a short time, it will also be a reality in all the world’s oceans. Thus, international organizations, States and international society need to be prepared for these autonomous ships. They will bring new challenges to the law of the sea and international maritime transport. One of these challenges is just what are the environmental impacts that these “Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships” (MASS) will bring with them. That is, what are the consequences for the marine environment of these autonomous ships? This is precisely the objective of this article: to understand the environmental impacts of MASS and what are the new challenges that humanity will have to face the imminent advent of these ships. In this sense, it will be demonstrated what the advantages and disadvantages of these vessels for the environment are and, in particular, what care the world needs to take to protect and preserve the marine environment due to the advent of these new technologies.

Autonomous Vehicles and the Attribution of Moral Responsibility

With the imminent advent of autonomous vehicles (AVs) comes a moral dilemma: How do people assign responsibility in the event of a fatal accident? AVs necessarily create conditions in which “drivers” yield agency to a machine. The current study examines how people make attributions of blame and praise in this context. Varying the features of AV technology affected how responsible a “driver” (who purchased the vehicle) is perceived to be following a deadly crash. The findings provide support for agency and commission as crucial bases of moral judgment. They also raise questions about how morally contradictory actions are perceived and underscore the need for research examining how moral responsibility is distributed among multiple potentially culpable agents. Pragmatically, these findings suggest that regulating (or declining to regulate) how AVs are programmed may strongly influence perceptions of moral and legal culpability.

Support vector machine classification of strong gravitational lenses

The imminent advent of very large-scale optical sky surveys, such as Euclid and LSST, makes it important to find efficient ways of discovering rare objects such as strong gravitational lens systems, where a background object is multiply gravitationally imaged by a foreground mass. As well as finding the lens systems, it is important to reject false positives due to intrinsic structure in galaxies, and much work is in progress with machine learning algorithms such as neural networks in order to achieve both these aims. We present and discuss a Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm which makes use of a Gabor filterbank in order to provide learning criteria for separation of lenses and non-lenses, and demonstrate using blind challenges that under certain circumstances it is a particularly efficient algorithm for rejecting false positives. We compare the SVM engine with a large-scale human examination of 100000 simulated lenses in a challenge dataset, and also apply the SVM method to survey images from the Kilo-Degree Survey.

Crucified and Resurrected: Restructuring the Grammar of Christology by Ingolf U. Dalferth

Reviewed by: Crucified and Resurrected: Restructuring the Grammar of Christology by Ingolf U. Dalferth Mark Mattes Crucified and Resurrected: Restructuring the Grammar of Christology. By Ingolf U. Dalferth. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011. xix + 325 pp. Originally published in German in 1994, this book, a foray into Christology by an internationally recognized scholar, merits widespread attention. Dalferth shares many affinities with the rich theological thinking of the Tübingen systematician, Eberhard Jüngel, with whom he had studied and whose own complex theology interweaves a Barthian approach to God, where God is self-revealing as the triune life, a Bultmannian approach to anthropology, where human authenticity is established through a decision for or against God in the face of existential awareness, and a Lutheran highlighting of cross and resurrection as the primary paradigm for understanding Christian existence. The major shift in Dalferth’s Christology [End Page 243] in contrast to traditional two-nature Chalcedonian Christology is to center Christology in Jesus’ resurrection and not the incarnation. For Dalferth, this stance is more faithful both to Scripture and a contemporary outlook as opposed to the substance metaphysics assumed in the Chalcedonian creedal formation. The book begins with the critique of the incarnation postulated by the 1970’s “Myth of God Incarnate” theologians, such as John Hick, and then moves to the motif of “cross and resurrection” as the proper basis for outlining Christology, the trinity, and the nature of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. Dalferth appreciates Hick’s conviction that belief in the saving efficacy of Jesus Christ is not reducible to belief in the incarnation (3), but he discredits Hick’s overall approach to Christ because it is “Pelagianizing” (21). In contrast to “substance metaphysics,” Jesus is best understood in his role of disclosing the “nearness of God”; God’s “imminent advent” is the field on which to recognize the meaning of Jesus (25). Jesus’ entire ministry was for the sake of this mission and for it he sacrificed his life. Even so, his resurrection shows that God’s love is stronger than death. God, not death, has the last word in Jesus’ story (26). Indeed, because Jesus has been raised to eternal life, the compassionate reign of God has dawned (26). The saving significance of Jesus for believers is that faith in Jesus as the “mediator of God’s life-giving presence” will allow them “to participate in Jesus’ resurrection to continuous fellowship with God” (28). Theologically, Jesus’ resurrection discloses God’s nature to be “inexhaustible creative love” (33). In the cross the “Son of God” makes himself like us mortals and in so doing makes us mortals like him (42). Hence, God’s divinity is disclosed not as “omnipotent self-preservation” (as the normative Christian tradition would have us believe) but as gratuitous self-abasement (46) for humanity’s welfare. Jesus’ behavior in his earthly ministry, such as his placing himself above God’s law, his exercising eschatological functions, his controlling demons, and his forgiving sinners, exercises rights that belong to God alone (103). Jesus is not only human but divine in that in all he says and does he defines the “reign of God” (126). Dalferth finds the substance ontology and the realist semantics of traditional two-natures Christology problematic for the modern world (142). As an alternative, he posits God as in a process of “self-definition” [End Page 244] (as love for the world) (158) in which the cross itself is most definitive of God’s life because it indicates the “risk” which God will take to reach out to rebellious, self-deifying humans (160). Dalferth is wary of “penal substitution” language as the way to describe Jesus’ atoning death. He notes that we must be careful not to confuse four models of atonement (which grow out of different and not always commensurable contexts): (1) cultic, centered on the language of sacrifice, (2) juristic, centered on covenant, (3) political, centered on freedom from captivity, and (4) personal, centered on fellowship. In a word, Jesus’ death enacts our own unavoidable death (275). Jesus death is “for us” in that his entire life was one of “surrender” on behalf of sinners (252). Those for whom Christology must come...

An Introduction to German Pietism: Protestant Renewal at the Dawn of Modern Europe. By Douglas H. Shantz. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. xviii + 497 pp. $70.00 cloth; $35.00 paper.

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)An Introduction to Pietism: Protestant Renewal at Dawn of Modern Europe . By Douglas H. Shantz . Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press , 2013. xviii + 497 pp. $70.00 cloth; $35.00 paper.Book Reviews and NotesPietism, Douglas Shantz concludes, originated as a seventeenth-century urban phenomenon that owed its capacity to generate a host of activities within to a paradigm. Ranging from intensely personal conversions or re-births that followed hard (for some) on heels of a harrowing struggle for repentance, movement's members produced conventicles of like-minded whose communal focus flowed from a determination to be Biblically literate, sober in behavior, and watchful for end times. Imminent advent helped spur hopes for internal European renewal of education, orphanages, and poor relief but spread to ambitious international missions intent on converting both Jews and non-Christians (7). Given utopian aspirations, students will hardly wonder at difficulty scholars have faced in defining pietism, as well as inevitable disappointment that dogged it.In four sections, Schantz introduces readers to movement and how it has been treated (and ignored) especially in Anglophone world. Explaining urban Holy Roman Empire context that produced first renewal cells, he provides a selective social and cultural analysis of movement's Central European impact and how it found expression in North America, South India, and Labrador. Finally, book assesses movement and modernity.Schantz announces forthrightly: German represents a key, but forgotten, strand of religious DNA of North American Christianity (1). By stitching together different definitions and analyses of movement by and Dutch scholars Johannes Wallmann, Hartmut Lehmann, Fred van Lieburg, and Martin Gierl, Schantz skillfully integrates older historiography with newer research trends that include both theological and socio-cultural analyses of what pietism may have meant and how long it endured, if at all. No other comprehensive survey of in English has emerged since work of transplanted Wurttemberger F. Ernest Stoeffler in 1960s. Schantz's narrative provides most accessible summary of movement's many facets and his own assessment.Schantz offers an homage to posthumously published judgment of late Carl Hinrichs, that with church music, Pietism was one of the two great creations of Protestantism (Preusentum und Pietismus: Der Pietismus in Brandenburg-Preusen als religios-soziale Reformbewegung [Gottingen: Vandenhoeck u. Ruprecht, 1971], 17). The author seems to share Hinrichs's perspective, especially given book's title about modern Europe. Schantz acknowledges pietism's failures and shortcomings but reaffirms paradigm that was marked by experience of renewal and new birth, conventicle gathering for mutual encouragement, successful mission to world, and millennial reign of Christ on earth (279). These characteristics have remained identifying markers of Anglophone Evangelicalism down to present. …

Meson Spectroscopy at JLab@12 GeV

Meson, being the simplest hadronic bound system, is the ideal "laboratory" to study the interaction between quarks, to understand the role of the gluons inside hadrons and to investigate the origin of color confinement. To perform such studies it is important to measure the meson spectrum, with precise determination of resonance masses and properties, looking for rare qq̄ states and for unconventional mesons with exotic quantum numbers (i.e. mesons with quantum numbers that are not compatible with a qq̄ structure).With the imminent advent of the 12 GeV upgrade of Jefferson Lab a new generation of meson spectroscopy experiments will start: "Meson-Ex" in Hall B and "GLUEX" in Hall D. Both will use photo-production to explore the spectrum of mesons in the light-quark sector, in the energy range of few GeVs.

God, Nations, and Deterrence: The Impact of Religion on Deterrence

This article discusses the influence of religion on deterrence. Faith may increase risk propensity and lower the legitimacy of being deterred. Anticipation of divine intervention, reward or punishment, adherence to an apocalyptic ideology, or (in the Shiite world) to believe in the imminent advent of the Hidden Imam reduces susceptibility to deterrent threats. Religious motivation can, however, be potentially exploited to enhance deterrence. Superstitions can induce courage and self sacrifice but may also induce fear and mass hysteria. Prophecies too are a two-edged sword; believers, who receive divine guarantees that a certain event will not happen, may lose faith in the face of the occurrence of that event.

Exact Vortex Nucleation and Cooperative Vortex Tunneling in Dilute Bose-Einstein Condensates

With the imminent advent of mesoscopic rotating Bose-Einstein condensates in the lowest Landau level regime, we explore lowest Landau level vortex nucleation. An exact many-body analysis is presented in a weakly elliptical trap for up to 400 particles. Striking non-mean-field features are exposed at filling factors >>1. For example, near the critical rotation frequency pairs of energy levels approach each other with exponential accuracy. A physical interpretation is provided by requantizing a mean-field theory, where 1/N plays the role of Planck's constant, revealing two vortices cooperatively tunneling between classically degenerate energy minima. The tunnel splitting variation is described in terms of frequency, particle number, and ellipticity.

All together now?

The imminent advent of a global exchange is unlikely to be a panacea for the financial ills that currently beset European biotech.

Democratic Prospects in Central Asia

paradoxically often has strengthened authori tarian rule, not liberalism or democracy.1 Fur thermore, if we are honest with ourselves, we must realize that the demand to democratize the former Soviet Union as a whole, and Central Asia in particular, amounts to a call for a revo lutionary transformation of those areas, espe cially when perceived from local capitals. That transformation will probably not be a quick nonviolent one unless its advocates and leaders take special care. These bleak conclusions apply equally to issues of either economic or political democra cy. Arguably, one also plausibly could contend that whatever impetus for democratization, or at least for liberalization that ultimately concludes with some recognizable form of democratiza tion, must inevitably come from outside the region, as internal forces are too weak to make the necessary transition without foreign assis tance. But whatever external impetus might develop, it cannot offer genuine democracy on its own. It only can stimulate, support, or at best galvanize existing, even latent, domestic impulses for reform in politics and economics. Neither is this assessment confined to Cen tral Asia, for nowhere in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Russia, do we see genuine democracy or its imminent advent upon the scene.2 Moreover, Russia's democratic deficits in Russia relate strongly to Central Asia. They impel Russia's elites to sup port Central Asian dictators for classic reasons of state, not least the idea that this will some

Genetic risk factors for cerebral infarction using data from a large‐scale genetic epidemiological study: the Ohasama Study

Background: With the imminent advent of an extremely aged society, there will be an increasing requirement for the prediction, early detection and treatment of cerebral infarction. Involved in the etiological mechanisms of cerebral infarction are a number of complex genetic and environmental factors related to the onset and progression of hypertension and arteriosclerosis. Elucidation of the significance of the various risk factors will require definite identification of phenotypes using large numbers of subjects.Methods: The present study was conducted as part of a cohort study with subjects from the general population of a rural community (the Ohasama Study). Blood pressure (BP) patterns were assessed through random home‐based and clinical measurements, as well as 24 h ambulatory BP monitoring. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was carried out in some subjects in order to detect asymptomatic cerebral infarcts, the maximum intima–media thickness was determined by carotid high‐resolution ultrasonography, and cognitive function was assessed using the mini mental state examination. Correlation analysis of these parameters and the candidate hypertensive genotypes was then performed.Results: Significant associations were seen between (i) gene polymorphisms in the renin–angiotensin system and asymptomatic cerebral infarction and the non‐dipper pattern of circadian blood pressure variation; and (ii) endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene polymorphism and arterial pressure, lacunar score and cognitive function. An association was seen between the endothelin‐1 polymorphism and hypertension, but only in obese subjects.Conclusion: There are interactions between genes and the environment in the etiology of cerebral infarction.

ファーティマ朝初期のイスマーイール派運動における思想家ラーズィーの位置 -その『訂正の書』<i>Kitab al-Islah</i> からの一視点-

Kitab al-Islah (The Book of Correction) by Abu Hatim al-Razi, a leading Isma'ili da'i or missionary in Iran of his time, has been regarded as an important text of the Isma'ili movement of the 4th A. H./10th C. E. century. This is because, by attacking the work of his correligionist Muhammad al-Nasafi, the now-lost Kitab al-Mahsul (The Book of Product), al-Islah contains one of the earliest Isma'ili Neoplatonist expositions.In addition, we would suggest that the discourses interpreting the Qur'anic and Biblical tales of the prophets in Kitab al-Isah can be utilized as materials that shed light on one aspect of al-Razi's life history —that is, his missionary activities— and reflect the religiopolitical situation of his time. This suggestion is based on the fact that some Isma'ili thinkers of the 4th/10th century interpreted the Qur'anic tales of the prophets as providing paradigmatic patterns for explaining historical events of the recent past. W. Madelung also apparently based his approach to thought on religiopolitics of the time as seen in al-Islah on this fact, but he did not clarify his theoretical base.As an example of the material that can be viewed in this way, a passage can be cited from al-Islah that interprets the Qur'anic story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (the 27th surah of the Qur'an). According to this interpretation, Solomon was the legitimate deputy of the hidden imam of his time, and the Queen was the dissident leader of those who recognized only the authority of the hidden imam. Thus al-Razi was critical of the Qarmatian idea of the imminent advent of the hidden seventh imam as the Qa'im. Yet since he does not name anyone as the current imam of the 'Alid lineage, al-Razi does not fully recognize the authority of the Fatimids. It can thus be inferred that al-Razi took a rather in-between religiopolitical stance towards the Fatimids and the Qarmatians. Our research also raises the possibility of the existence of a non-Fatimid, non-Qarmatian, Isma'ili group during the first half of the 4th/10th century.

Recent developments in medical applications of SIMS microscopy

The purpose of this review is to present the recent developments in the medical applications of SIMS microscopy. This technique is one of the microanalytical mass spectrometry methods which allow in theory the detection of all the elements of the Mendeleiev table as well as the separation of stable and radioactive isotopes. It is based on a phenomenon whereby a biological sample surface is sputtered by bombardment with an energetic ‘primary ion’ beam. Part of the sputtered matter is ionized and the resulting ‘secondary ions’ are characteristic of the atomic composition of the analyzed area. These secondary positive or negative ions are collected and separated in a mass spectrometer at low or high mass resolution, which is dependent on both the element studied and its concentration. An analytic image which conserves the tissue distribution of the selected element is displayed on a fluorescent screen linked to an image processing system. Local elemental concentration can also be measured. Results are highly dependent on the techniques used for sample preparation which should preserve both the chemical and the structural integrity of the tissue. Further, the ionic images must be correlated with corresponding images of the same areas of the serial sections observed in photonic microscope. With our SIMS microscope (lateral resolution ≈0.5 μm, and mass resolution 300 to 12,000) we have demonstrated that this microscopic imaging technique is suitable for physiopathological studies. We revisited thyroid iodine metabolism by mapping chemical elements such as 32S and 127I, characteristic of hormonal physiology. Newly organified iodine (radioiodine) can be evaluated in relation to previously stored iodine ( 127I) in a given follicle, thus allowing an appraisal of glandular adaptation to aging and iodine overload. Another area in which SIMS can be used in medicine, is for the localization of drug markers in tumor tissue (e.g. fluorine-5-fluouracil, iodine in iododeoxyrubicin). This could facilitate the evaluation of the intratumor drug concentration at the onset of the treatment. Likewise, SIMS can be used to localize radiopharmaceuticals used in diagnosis (e.g. technetium) and therapy ( 131I of metaiodobenzylguanidine). This would permit a better evaluation of the radiation dose delivered to tissue. Further prospects are within reach with the imminent advent of higher lateral resolution (0.05 μm) SIMS microscopes.

Antichrists and Antichrist in Joachim of Fiore

Conversations with Calabrian abbot Joachim of Fiore (c. 1135-1202) had a way of turning to imminent advent of Antichrist: was coming very Joachim might say, or was already born in Rome, or the age culminating in Antichrist's persecutions will begin in a mere four years.1 It is hence not surprising that Joachim became most famous in his own lifetime as a prophet of Antichrist. But how exactly did Joachim's warnings concerning Antichrist's imminent advent fit in with his overall view of history of salvation? Joachim's contemporaries had more difficulty in understanding this larger issue than they had in grasping his urgent message that Antichrist was coming soon, and central questions concerning nature of Joachim's Antichrist thought still have not been resolved by modern scholarship. Above all, two problems of interpretation remain outstanding: (1) Given certainty that Joachim actually believed in coming of many Antichrists, which of these several was for him real and true one? (2) Given that Joachirn's real and true Antichrist can indeed be identified, how did his conception of this eschatological villain compare with that of prior medieval tradition? In seeking to answer both questions I hope to show concurrently that Joachim's Antichrist theology was enormously innovative, daring, and subtle, as his thinking was in so many other regards.

The Nature and Efficacy of Preaching according to St. Bernardine of Siena

THE NATURE AND EFFICACY OF PREACHING ACCORDING TO ST. BERNARDINE OF SIENA* The understanding which Bernardine of Siena (1380—1444) had of the important role of preaching in the life of the Church depended in large measure on a late medieval view of history. It is not easy for our minds, stamped with the thought-patterns of the modern era and dominated by the ideal of uninterrupted progress, to sympathize with and understand the late medieval mentality, saturated with and even haunted by the sentiment of the imminent end of the world.1 This feeling was focussed on the imminent advent of the Antichrist nearly everywhere in western Europe by the end of the fourteenth century.2 The all-pervasive anxiety about the Antichrist, so strange to our modern way of thinking, became especially acute during the Great Schism with its continual strife and political turmoil, with famine and pestilence following on the devastation of whole countrysides. Following a line of apocalyptic expectation influenced in large measure by the theories of Joachim of Flora (1202), the late medieval tendency was to identify the Antichrist with a particular historical personage.3 This led to wild speculations regarding his birth and possible whereabouts. * This article, based on the first part of doctoral dissertation "A Theology of Preaching according to St. Bernardine of Siena", is published as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Theology at the Alphonsian Institute Of Moral Theology, Lateran University, Rome. Abbreviations used are as follows: Opera for S. Bernardini Senensis Opera Omnia, 9 vols., Quaracchi-Florence, 1950—-1965; Seraphim for 5. Bernardini Senensis Quadragesimale Séraphin nuncupatum, Opera Omnia, Venice, 1591, vol. IV, parts 1—2 ; Sabatelli for La Fonte della Vita. Prediche scelte, ed. by G. Sabatelli, Florence, 1964; Banchi for Le Prediche volgari di S. Bernardino da Siena, dette della Piazza del Campo di Siena, l'anno 142J, 3 vols., Siena, 1880—1888. 1 Cf. M.-D. Chenu, "La fin du monde dans la spiritualité médiévale" in Lumière et Vie 11 (1953), I01—·??-62 E. Delaruelle, "L'Antéchrist chez S. Vincent Ferrer, S. Bernardin de Sienne et autour de Jeanne d'Arc" in L'Attesa dell'età nuova nella spiritualità alla fine del Medioevo (Todi, 1962), 37. 3 Joachim had identified six Antichrists during the history of Christianity : Herod, Nero, Constantius, Mahommed, Masmudi and Saladin, thus giving rise to the expectation of the seventh "qui proprie dicitur Antichristus ." The eight would come at the conclusion of the seventh age. Cf. H. de Lubac, Exégèse Médiévale, II, t. 2, (Paris, 1962), 546. 222LOMAN McAODHA O. F. M. The preachers of the period were not above using this popular anxiety and agation to further their missionary aims. This is evident in the case of St. Vincent Ferrer (f 1419)4 and more particularly in the crusade of his Italian confrère and follower, Manfred of Vercelli, who drew the fire of Bernardine during the latter's missionary tour of Lombardy around 1420.5 What Bernardine objected to most of all was the gross presumption which pretended to know more than God had revealed in Jesus Christ and which could only disillusion those who believed in these predictions.6 Although Bernardine's own ideas on the history of the Church do not figure prominently in either of his two great Lenten courses, De Christiana Religione and De Evangelio Aeterno, they are very much in evidence in the earlier Itinerarium Anni and in certain unfinished sermons which probably date from the same early period of his preaching viz., 1418—1425. 7 Following the traditional division of history into seven periods, Bernardine believed that his own era was placed towards the end of the sixth, and therefore penultimate, period of Church history. He did not profess to know, however, how long this sixth period would last and rejected all speculations about times or dates.8 On the contrary, it was his firm conviction that "grace or the presence of the Holy Spirit was more important for the disciples of Christ than any knowledge of future events."9 The beginning of the last age might be fast approaching but...

The clock paradox

Let us suppose that two clocks of identical construction are found to run in perfect synchronism while they are side by side, and that this synchronism is maintained even if one of the clocks, while remaining very near the other, is subjected to accelerations, however great. The clocks are then widely separated from one another with a relative velocity comparable with the velocity of light, and subsequently reunited. Are their readings necessarily identical? This question has caused controversy at intervals during the last fifty years. The controversy has been renewed recently when the apparently imminent advent of space travel has brought to the attention of a wider audience some of the striking predictions of the theory of relativity, concerning the possibility of “asymmetric ageing”. In this article the correctness of the result deduced by Einstein in 1905, that the two clocks will in general not agree, is defended from a number of points of view, including the experimental evidence. The effect of a permanent gravitational field on the clocks is also discussed, and questions concerning the rate of a clock in an Earth satellite and the ageing of space travellers in a gravitational field are shown to have unexpected and amusing answers.