10
Patient Safety Culture in hospitals.
Student’s Name
Course
Instructor’s name.
Institutional Affiliation
September 24, 2021.
Patient Safety Culture in hospitals.
Introduction.
Patient safety is an issue of global public health concern. It refers to preventing patients from harm by implementing a care system that contains errors and learns from medical errors to build a safety culture involving healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare organizations. The safety of patients is critical in care quality. Many patients worldwide have suffered injuries, disabilities, and death due to medical errors or unsafe care. Patient safety culture can be defined as healthcare organizations' values about what is essential and how to operate to protect patients. To achieve a safe culture, organizations and their members must understand the values, norms, and beliefs about essential and attitudes and behaviors related to patient safety (Ali et al., 2018).
To achieve a culture of safety, organizations should emphasize addressing disparities in the quality of care because the current challenges may worsen the efforts to narrow the gap. The key issues in establishing and providing accessible, responsive, and effective health systems are quality and safety. Poor quality and unsafe patient care increase mortality and morbidity rates throughout the world. About 75% of the healthcare delivery gaps are preventable, and approximately 10% of inpatient admission result from preventable patient harm (Amiri et al., 2018).
Patient safety cultures with strong collaboration and leadership drive and prioritize safety (Wu et al., 2019). Strong leadership and commitment from manger are essential because their attitudes and actions influence the wider workforce's behaviors, perceptions, and attitudes. The other important aspects of patient safety culture include; effective communication, mutual trust, shared views on the importance of patient safety, engaging the healthcare workforce, acknowledging mistakes, and having a system that recognizes, responds, and gives feedback on adverse events (Alquwez et al., 2018). Patient safety culture is influenced by burnouts, hospital characteristics, communication, position, work area, commitment to the patient safety program, leadership, and patient safety resources and management.
Thesis statement.
Patient safety culture focuses on safety in health care by emphasizing the prevention, reporting, and investigation of medical errors that may cause patients' adverse effects, thus reducing harm by implementing necessary measures. Several factors are affecting the culture of patient safety in hospitals. This paper highlights patient safety culture and the factors affecting patient safety culture in public hospitals.
Body.
Patient safety culture encompasses shared values and beliefs about healthcare delivery system, training and education of healthcare workers on patient safety culture, commitment from leaders and managers, ope ...
1EU HCM505 - 146Research Methodology in Health CriAnastaciaShadelb
1
EU HCM505 - 146
Research Methodology in Health
Critical Thinking Assignment: Research Paper_ Module 12
130 Points
/
Saami Comment by Dale Gooden: Hello Saleh,
Thank you for the hard work on this submission. I enjoyed reading it and have provided my feedback below.
Warmly,
Dr. Gooden
November 26, 2021
Patient Safety Culture in hospitals.
Introduction. Comment by Dale Gooden: You provided a solid introduction, background, and overview of the central theme of your research.
Patient safety is an issue of global public health concern. It refers to preventing patients from harm by implementing a care system that contains errors and learns from medical errors to build a safety culture involving healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare organizations. The safety of patients is critical in care quality. Many patients worldwide have suffered injuries, disabilities, and death due to medical errors or unsafe care. Patient safety culture can be defined as healthcare organizations' values about what is essential and how to operate to protect patients. To achieve a safety culture, organizations and their members need to understand the values, norms and beliefs about the essential attitudes and behaviors associated with patient safety (Ali et al., 2018).
To achieve a culture of safety, organizations should emphasize addressing disparities in the quality of care because the current challenges may worsen the efforts to narrow the gap. Quality and safety are key issues in establishing and delivering accessible, responsive and effective healthcare systems. Poor quality and unsafe patient care increase mortality and morbidity rates throughout the world. About 75% of the healthcare delivery gaps are preventable, and approximately 10% of inpatient admission result from preventable patient harm (Amiri et al., 2018).
Patient safety cultures with strong collaboration and leadership drive and prioritize safety (Wu et al., 2019). Strong leadership and commitment from manger are essential because their attitudes and actions influence the wider workforce's behaviors, perceptions, and attitudes. Other important aspects of the patient safety culture are; effective communication, mutual trust, shared views on the importance of patient safety, engaging the healthcare workforce, acknowledging mistakes, and having a system that recognizes, responds, and gives feedback on adverse events (Alquwez et al., 2018). Patient safety culture is influenced by burnouts, hospital characteristics, communication, position, work area, commitment to the patient safety program, leadership, and patient safety resources and management.
Thesis statement. Comment by Dale Gooden: Include a research question supported with peer-reviewed references to improve your grade.
Patient safety culture focuses on safety in health care by emphasizing the prevention, reporting, and investigation of medical errors that may cause patients' adverse effects, thus reducing harm by implementing n ...
Closing the Gap Toward a Culture of Safetycourtemanche
In its landmark 1999 publication, To Err Is Human, the Institute of Medicine defined patient safety as “freedom from accidental injury.” In 1999, estimated deaths from medical errors in United States hospitals were 98,000 per year thus the expectation to be free from accidental injury was more than a reasonable expectation for those accessing the health care system.
Importance of teamwork communication in nursing practiceAhmed Alkhaqani
In today’s healthcare system, the delivery process includes many interfaces and patient handouts between several health professionals with further education and professional training levels. As a health care science, nursing focuses on serving the needs of humans as biopsychosocial and spiritual beings. Its practice requires scientific knowledge and interpersonal, intellectual, and technical abilities and skills. This means a composition of knowledge, clinical work, and interpersonal communication. Communication is an essential element of nursing in all fields of activity, including prevention, treatment, therapy, rehabilitation, education, and health promotion. Moreover, the nursing process as a scientific method of exercise and implementation of nursing is achieved through dialogue, interpersonal environment, and specific verbal communication skills. Therefore, effective clinical practice involves several cases in which they must clearly communicate important information. Nurses are the heart of the fundamental strengthening of the health system and the basis of providing basic health services. They bring the care that is centered on people to communities where it is most needed, which helps improve overall health results and the cost-effectiveness of the service. Nurses are generally the first responders to complex humanitarian crises and disasters, community protectors, advocates, communication and coordination experts. Nurse communication skills are crucial but difficult to master them.
patient safety and staff Management system ppt.pptxanjalatchi
Patient Safety is a health care discipline that emerged with the evolving complexity in health care systems and the resulting rise of patient harm in health care facilities. It aims to prevent and reduce risks, errors and harm that occur to patients during provision of health care.
patient safety and staff Management system ppt.pptxanjalatchi
What is Patient Safety? Patient Safety is a health care discipline that emerged with the evolving complexity in health care systems and the resulting rise of patient harm in health care facilities. It aims to prevent and reduce risks, errors and harm that occur to patients during provision of health care.
Patient Safety First - Ensuring Quality and Security in Hospital Environments...Info Global Data
In hospital environments, ensuring patient safety, maintaining quality care, and upholding security are of paramount importance. With advancements in medical technology, evolving regulations, and the need for effective communication, hospital administrators and healthcare professionals rely on valuable resources to stay informed and collaborate with industry experts. The Hospital Mailing List serves as a critical tool for connecting healthcare professionals, administrators, and vendors, enabling them to exchange knowledge, share best practices, and address challenges related to patient safety, quality care, and security in hospital settings. In this article, we will explore the significance of the Hospital Mailing List in promoting patient safety, ensuring quality care, and upholding security standards within hospitals.
1EU HCM505 - 146Research Methodology in Health CriAnastaciaShadelb
1
EU HCM505 - 146
Research Methodology in Health
Critical Thinking Assignment: Research Paper_ Module 12
130 Points
/
Saami Comment by Dale Gooden: Hello Saleh,
Thank you for the hard work on this submission. I enjoyed reading it and have provided my feedback below.
Warmly,
Dr. Gooden
November 26, 2021
Patient Safety Culture in hospitals.
Introduction. Comment by Dale Gooden: You provided a solid introduction, background, and overview of the central theme of your research.
Patient safety is an issue of global public health concern. It refers to preventing patients from harm by implementing a care system that contains errors and learns from medical errors to build a safety culture involving healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare organizations. The safety of patients is critical in care quality. Many patients worldwide have suffered injuries, disabilities, and death due to medical errors or unsafe care. Patient safety culture can be defined as healthcare organizations' values about what is essential and how to operate to protect patients. To achieve a safety culture, organizations and their members need to understand the values, norms and beliefs about the essential attitudes and behaviors associated with patient safety (Ali et al., 2018).
To achieve a culture of safety, organizations should emphasize addressing disparities in the quality of care because the current challenges may worsen the efforts to narrow the gap. Quality and safety are key issues in establishing and delivering accessible, responsive and effective healthcare systems. Poor quality and unsafe patient care increase mortality and morbidity rates throughout the world. About 75% of the healthcare delivery gaps are preventable, and approximately 10% of inpatient admission result from preventable patient harm (Amiri et al., 2018).
Patient safety cultures with strong collaboration and leadership drive and prioritize safety (Wu et al., 2019). Strong leadership and commitment from manger are essential because their attitudes and actions influence the wider workforce's behaviors, perceptions, and attitudes. Other important aspects of the patient safety culture are; effective communication, mutual trust, shared views on the importance of patient safety, engaging the healthcare workforce, acknowledging mistakes, and having a system that recognizes, responds, and gives feedback on adverse events (Alquwez et al., 2018). Patient safety culture is influenced by burnouts, hospital characteristics, communication, position, work area, commitment to the patient safety program, leadership, and patient safety resources and management.
Thesis statement. Comment by Dale Gooden: Include a research question supported with peer-reviewed references to improve your grade.
Patient safety culture focuses on safety in health care by emphasizing the prevention, reporting, and investigation of medical errors that may cause patients' adverse effects, thus reducing harm by implementing n ...
Closing the Gap Toward a Culture of Safetycourtemanche
In its landmark 1999 publication, To Err Is Human, the Institute of Medicine defined patient safety as “freedom from accidental injury.” In 1999, estimated deaths from medical errors in United States hospitals were 98,000 per year thus the expectation to be free from accidental injury was more than a reasonable expectation for those accessing the health care system.
Importance of teamwork communication in nursing practiceAhmed Alkhaqani
In today’s healthcare system, the delivery process includes many interfaces and patient handouts between several health professionals with further education and professional training levels. As a health care science, nursing focuses on serving the needs of humans as biopsychosocial and spiritual beings. Its practice requires scientific knowledge and interpersonal, intellectual, and technical abilities and skills. This means a composition of knowledge, clinical work, and interpersonal communication. Communication is an essential element of nursing in all fields of activity, including prevention, treatment, therapy, rehabilitation, education, and health promotion. Moreover, the nursing process as a scientific method of exercise and implementation of nursing is achieved through dialogue, interpersonal environment, and specific verbal communication skills. Therefore, effective clinical practice involves several cases in which they must clearly communicate important information. Nurses are the heart of the fundamental strengthening of the health system and the basis of providing basic health services. They bring the care that is centered on people to communities where it is most needed, which helps improve overall health results and the cost-effectiveness of the service. Nurses are generally the first responders to complex humanitarian crises and disasters, community protectors, advocates, communication and coordination experts. Nurse communication skills are crucial but difficult to master them.
patient safety and staff Management system ppt.pptxanjalatchi
Patient Safety is a health care discipline that emerged with the evolving complexity in health care systems and the resulting rise of patient harm in health care facilities. It aims to prevent and reduce risks, errors and harm that occur to patients during provision of health care.
patient safety and staff Management system ppt.pptxanjalatchi
What is Patient Safety? Patient Safety is a health care discipline that emerged with the evolving complexity in health care systems and the resulting rise of patient harm in health care facilities. It aims to prevent and reduce risks, errors and harm that occur to patients during provision of health care.
Patient Safety First - Ensuring Quality and Security in Hospital Environments...Info Global Data
In hospital environments, ensuring patient safety, maintaining quality care, and upholding security are of paramount importance. With advancements in medical technology, evolving regulations, and the need for effective communication, hospital administrators and healthcare professionals rely on valuable resources to stay informed and collaborate with industry experts. The Hospital Mailing List serves as a critical tool for connecting healthcare professionals, administrators, and vendors, enabling them to exchange knowledge, share best practices, and address challenges related to patient safety, quality care, and security in hospital settings. In this article, we will explore the significance of the Hospital Mailing List in promoting patient safety, ensuring quality care, and upholding security standards within hospitals.
Although the culture of safety is a serious business, it does not have to be implemented with a grim face. Joy and spirit of care giving are also linked to patient safety. Joy comes from witnessing successful patient outcomes and seeing a patient and family experience their healing journey.The use of emoticons to convey information saturates our wired world. One of the more popular emoticons is the smile. The smile is ubiquitous throughout computer generated communication such as emails, texts and social networking applications. Could we parlay its popularity in our patient safety efforts? We surmised that a healthcare provider, who is trained in the SMILE culture of safety model, would more easily recognize our culture of safety framework when this emoticon was used as a part of their daily communicating life.
Simple and Safe Approaches Towards Patient SafetyEhi Iden
A conference presentation on simple approaches and steps in achieving and managing patient safety in health. It talks about team approach, mutual support, just system, leadership commitment, complications of blame game and case study of the popular Kimberly Hiatt story.
Nursing Practice - Nursing Health & EnvironmentCINPSInstitute
Nursing Health & Environment" is a comprehensive blog that delves into the vital aspects of nursing, focusing specifically on the interconnectedness between nursing, health, and the environment. This blog explores the multifaceted role of nurses in promoting and maintaining the well-being of individuals, families, and communities, while also addressing the influence of the environment on health outcomes. From discussing evidence-based nursing interventions and best practices to examining the impact of environmental factors on health, this blog aims to provide valuable insights and resources for both aspiring and seasoned nurses. Whether you are seeking information on the latest advancements in nursing practice or exploring the relationship between health and the environment, this blog offers a wealth of knowledge to enhance your understanding and practice in the field of nursing.
Running head: HEALTHCARE 1
HEALTHCARE 3
Healthcare
Yahima Montero
Chamberlain University
NR 534 Weeek 5
Healthcare
The Analysis
The paper explores and analyses how the culture and climate of at my workplace, Cleveland Hospital influence the provision of quality care services. The creation of a sustainable healthcare work environment in which workers and patients feel engaged, loyal, and satisfied remain as priorities of any organization. My organization culture makes the broader construct that covers every aspect of employees at work. The climate within the organization involves our shared perceptions among employees on the organization’s procedures, practices, policies, and the nature of the rewarding system. The summary of the assessment findings on my organization’s physical environment, organizational power and structure, social environment, environmental safety, professional and personal support, organizational communication, and organizational taboos form the critical aspects of the paper.
Cleveland Hospital Organizational Culture and Climate Analysis
Summary of Assessment Findings
Physical Environment: How I experience the work environment at any given time, how it feels to work in the organization and to perform in the organization’s culture influences my mood. Within the facility, families visiting their patients have a well-furnished waiting bay with television in which they first rest before being allowed to see their patients. Those with cars can access marked parking lots that are enough. Since the organization is Christian-based, it has a chapel in which patients’ families can gather and pray for their loved ones undergoing medical treatment.
Environmental Safety: As workers, we share values and beliefs that influence our behavior within the organization. It is through these share aspects in which the organization has identified to provide safety measures since the organization believes that healthy workers are essential assets in performance. As a result, environmental safety measures such as safety stickers on elevators, stairwells, passageways, and hallways are maintained. These stickers remind workers and other people that safety at the workplace is critical and that they should observe safety measures.
Social Environment: The organization has maintained its annual event at the end of the year in which all workers and other senior employees converge to celebrate the achievements of that year. These internal social events have helped in strengthening interdepartmental socialization and making the organization one big family. As a result, the shared assumptions, values, and beliefs of the organization get enhanced to propel the achievement of goals and realization of the vision.
Organizational Power Structure: Board of directors manages the facility. The executive management of the organization oversees daily operations. The chief executive officer remains the top boss responsible for all activi ...
· Analyze how healthcare reimbursement influences your nursing praLesleyWhitesidefv
· Analyze how healthcare reimbursement influences your nursing practice.
Health care is significantly changing with time, and one of these changes is how health care facilities and providers are compensated for offering service. One of these ways is through reimbursement. Health care reimbursement is the payment given to a health care facility or a health care provider for offering medical service to a patient (Torrey, 2020). This cost is often covered by a patient’s health insurer or a government payer. In health care reimbursements are beneficial because they discourage DNP-prepared nurses from establishing their own independent practices. This is because at their own practices they would receive less reimbursement under their own number than under that of a physician. If the reimbursement rates were equal more DNP-prepared nurses would establish their own practices and this would increase competition.
Due to healthcare reimbursement, models that emphasize cost-effective decisions by DNP-prepared nurses are developed. These decisions are offer patients with quality medical care rather than sacrificing the patient service quality. Innovations such as price transparency tools as well as patient engagement apps help the nursing practice during the implementation of healthcare reimbursement. The patient outcome as well as the low-cost care provided by health care providers has an influence on the reimbursement received. Health care reimbursement tends to motivate health care providers because they earn more when the care they provide is of high quality as well as low cost.
DNP- prepared Nurses' role helps Nurse Practitioners to prepare for the advancement they will encounter in their nursing career in health care. This enables them to be more competent and have more knowledge when offering quality health care. The main goal of the health care reimbursement system is to pay health care providers based on their performance. This means that being more advanced and competent is beneficial for a DNP in order to provide high-quality care to patients. This simply means that if they offer high-quality care, the reimbursement will reflect this and they will be paid more. And if they are not competent, then the reimbursement will be vice versa.
2- Examine how the value-based insurance design (VBID) influences clinical outcomes and cost issues.
The aim of value-based insurance design is to increase the quality of health care while decreasing the cost by using financial incentives to promote cost-efficient health care services and consumer choices. In order to remove roadblocks as well as maintain and improve a person’s health, health benefit plans can be developed. These plans tend to save money by reducing future expensive medical procedures. They do this by covering treatments such as prescribed drugs at a low cost or no cost, preventive care as well as wellness visits (Lexchin, 2020).
The healthcare industry is making a shif ...
11Getting Started with PhoneGapWHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTERSantosConleyha
11
Getting Started with PhoneGap
WHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTER?
! History of PhoneGap
! Di! erences between HTML5 and PhoneGap
! Getting a development environment set up
! Implementing the Derby App
PhoneGap is an open source set of tools created by Nitobi
Solution
s (now part of Adobe)
that enables you to create mobile applications for multiple devices by utilizing the same code.
PhoneGap is a hybrid mobile application framework that allows the use of HTML, CSS,
and JavaScript to write applications that are based on the open standards of the web. These
applications also have access to the native functionality of the device. PhoneGap has been
downloaded more than 600,000 times, and more than 1,000 apps built with PhoneGap are
available in the respective app stores, which makes PhoneGap a viable solution for creating
cross-platform mobile apps.
HISTORY OF PHONEGAP
PhoneGap was started at the San Francisco iPhone Dev Camp in August 2008. iOS was shaping
up to become a popular mobile platform, but the learning curve for Objective-C was more work
than many developers wanted to take on. PhoneGap originally started as a headless browser
implementation for the iPhone. Because of the popularity of HTML/CSS/JavaScript, it was a
goal that this project use technologies with which many developers where already familiar.
Based on the growing popularity of the framework, in October 2008 Nitobi added support
for Android and BlackBerry. PhoneGap was awarded the People’s Choice award at the Web2.0
Expo Launch Pad in 2009, which was the start of developers recognizing PhoneGap as a
valuable mobile development tool. PhoneGap version 0.7.2 was released in April 2009, and
was the fi rst version for which the Android and iPhone APIs were equivalent.
c11.indd 309c11.indd 309 28/07/12 6:08 PM28/07/12 6:08 PM
310 " CHAPTER 11 GETTING STARTED WITH PHONEGAP
In September 2009 Apple approved the use of the PhoneGap platform to build apps for the iPhone
store. Apple required that all PhoneGap apps be built using at least version 0.8.0 of the PhoneGap
software. In July 2011, PhoneGap released version 1.0.0.
WHY USE PHONEGAP?
PhoneGap enables you to leverage your current HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skill sets to create a mobile
application. This can greatly speed up development time. When you develop for multiple platforms
using PhoneGap, you can reuse the majority of the code you have written for the mobile project, further
reducing development costs. It isn’t necessary to learn Java, C#, and Objective-C to create an applica-
tion with PhoneGap that can target iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone 7.
If you fi nd native functionality missing from PhoneGap, you can extend the functionality of the
PhoneGap platform using native code. With the PhoneGap add-in structure, you can create an add-in
using the native language of the device and a JavaScript API that will call the native plug-in you
created. Cross-platfo ...
11Proposal Part One - Part 1 Influence of Internet on TourismSantosConleyha
11
Proposal Part One - Part 1: Influence of Internet on Tourism Industry
Research Proposal: Influence of Internet on Tourism Industry
Introduction
The tourism industry has been among the best-valued sectors within the nation to generate massive revenue for the government. Besides, the industry is considered among the earliest since it started several decades ago. For an extended period, the industry uses Integrated Marketing Communications to promote their various products and services to the entire world. The introduction of technology in the industry leads to improvements in the sectors. Most individuals without extensive information on the tourism industry can access the data in their comfort zones. It implies that IT and internet technology play a significant role in ensuring effective strategy due to its existence globally.
Most European countries have tried to promote and implement internet technology in ensuring satisfactory delivery of products and services (Kayumovich, 2020). Since it has a custom within the tourism and hotel industry to provide intangible products and services, including but not limited to services alongside comfort, the internet has been an effective method of delivering its messages to the targeted customers. Also, through internet technology, the industry has achieved more customers in the global market, including the European market. The promotion of branding within the European tourism industry has been effective due to the introduction and implementation of internet technology. Thus, the internet is believed to significantly influence the tourism industry in various sectors, including but limited to infrastructure, travel, alongside the marketing sector. Before introducing the internet alongside the IT, travelling of customers was dangerous and unpleasant since travellers had constraint understanding of locations they were visiting.
As a result, the existing vacationers of time had limited knowledge of the cultures and terrain alongside the climate change and patterns necessary to stimulate the travelling issues. Therefore, tourism sectors, including but not limited to tour companies, travel agencies and other like hotels, had developed strategies necessary to promote booking and reservation processes (David-Negre et al. 2018). However, several decades ago, popular sites were visited by tourists. It implies that the tourism sectors within the local or remote area faced challenges of securing sufficient clients as people were could not define the destination. Also, shortage of information on a particular region leads to reduced travelling by visitors. The research involved the utilization of relevant literature review on the subject matter to provide factual information. Therefore, the report offers adequate information on the influence of the internet on the tourism industry. This research would give me the stage to show my finding and view and also propose how the internet can be leveraged to an extend i ...
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Although the culture of safety is a serious business, it does not have to be implemented with a grim face. Joy and spirit of care giving are also linked to patient safety. Joy comes from witnessing successful patient outcomes and seeing a patient and family experience their healing journey.The use of emoticons to convey information saturates our wired world. One of the more popular emoticons is the smile. The smile is ubiquitous throughout computer generated communication such as emails, texts and social networking applications. Could we parlay its popularity in our patient safety efforts? We surmised that a healthcare provider, who is trained in the SMILE culture of safety model, would more easily recognize our culture of safety framework when this emoticon was used as a part of their daily communicating life.
Simple and Safe Approaches Towards Patient SafetyEhi Iden
A conference presentation on simple approaches and steps in achieving and managing patient safety in health. It talks about team approach, mutual support, just system, leadership commitment, complications of blame game and case study of the popular Kimberly Hiatt story.
Nursing Practice - Nursing Health & EnvironmentCINPSInstitute
Nursing Health & Environment" is a comprehensive blog that delves into the vital aspects of nursing, focusing specifically on the interconnectedness between nursing, health, and the environment. This blog explores the multifaceted role of nurses in promoting and maintaining the well-being of individuals, families, and communities, while also addressing the influence of the environment on health outcomes. From discussing evidence-based nursing interventions and best practices to examining the impact of environmental factors on health, this blog aims to provide valuable insights and resources for both aspiring and seasoned nurses. Whether you are seeking information on the latest advancements in nursing practice or exploring the relationship between health and the environment, this blog offers a wealth of knowledge to enhance your understanding and practice in the field of nursing.
Running head: HEALTHCARE 1
HEALTHCARE 3
Healthcare
Yahima Montero
Chamberlain University
NR 534 Weeek 5
Healthcare
The Analysis
The paper explores and analyses how the culture and climate of at my workplace, Cleveland Hospital influence the provision of quality care services. The creation of a sustainable healthcare work environment in which workers and patients feel engaged, loyal, and satisfied remain as priorities of any organization. My organization culture makes the broader construct that covers every aspect of employees at work. The climate within the organization involves our shared perceptions among employees on the organization’s procedures, practices, policies, and the nature of the rewarding system. The summary of the assessment findings on my organization’s physical environment, organizational power and structure, social environment, environmental safety, professional and personal support, organizational communication, and organizational taboos form the critical aspects of the paper.
Cleveland Hospital Organizational Culture and Climate Analysis
Summary of Assessment Findings
Physical Environment: How I experience the work environment at any given time, how it feels to work in the organization and to perform in the organization’s culture influences my mood. Within the facility, families visiting their patients have a well-furnished waiting bay with television in which they first rest before being allowed to see their patients. Those with cars can access marked parking lots that are enough. Since the organization is Christian-based, it has a chapel in which patients’ families can gather and pray for their loved ones undergoing medical treatment.
Environmental Safety: As workers, we share values and beliefs that influence our behavior within the organization. It is through these share aspects in which the organization has identified to provide safety measures since the organization believes that healthy workers are essential assets in performance. As a result, environmental safety measures such as safety stickers on elevators, stairwells, passageways, and hallways are maintained. These stickers remind workers and other people that safety at the workplace is critical and that they should observe safety measures.
Social Environment: The organization has maintained its annual event at the end of the year in which all workers and other senior employees converge to celebrate the achievements of that year. These internal social events have helped in strengthening interdepartmental socialization and making the organization one big family. As a result, the shared assumptions, values, and beliefs of the organization get enhanced to propel the achievement of goals and realization of the vision.
Organizational Power Structure: Board of directors manages the facility. The executive management of the organization oversees daily operations. The chief executive officer remains the top boss responsible for all activi ...
· Analyze how healthcare reimbursement influences your nursing praLesleyWhitesidefv
· Analyze how healthcare reimbursement influences your nursing practice.
Health care is significantly changing with time, and one of these changes is how health care facilities and providers are compensated for offering service. One of these ways is through reimbursement. Health care reimbursement is the payment given to a health care facility or a health care provider for offering medical service to a patient (Torrey, 2020). This cost is often covered by a patient’s health insurer or a government payer. In health care reimbursements are beneficial because they discourage DNP-prepared nurses from establishing their own independent practices. This is because at their own practices they would receive less reimbursement under their own number than under that of a physician. If the reimbursement rates were equal more DNP-prepared nurses would establish their own practices and this would increase competition.
Due to healthcare reimbursement, models that emphasize cost-effective decisions by DNP-prepared nurses are developed. These decisions are offer patients with quality medical care rather than sacrificing the patient service quality. Innovations such as price transparency tools as well as patient engagement apps help the nursing practice during the implementation of healthcare reimbursement. The patient outcome as well as the low-cost care provided by health care providers has an influence on the reimbursement received. Health care reimbursement tends to motivate health care providers because they earn more when the care they provide is of high quality as well as low cost.
DNP- prepared Nurses' role helps Nurse Practitioners to prepare for the advancement they will encounter in their nursing career in health care. This enables them to be more competent and have more knowledge when offering quality health care. The main goal of the health care reimbursement system is to pay health care providers based on their performance. This means that being more advanced and competent is beneficial for a DNP in order to provide high-quality care to patients. This simply means that if they offer high-quality care, the reimbursement will reflect this and they will be paid more. And if they are not competent, then the reimbursement will be vice versa.
2- Examine how the value-based insurance design (VBID) influences clinical outcomes and cost issues.
The aim of value-based insurance design is to increase the quality of health care while decreasing the cost by using financial incentives to promote cost-efficient health care services and consumer choices. In order to remove roadblocks as well as maintain and improve a person’s health, health benefit plans can be developed. These plans tend to save money by reducing future expensive medical procedures. They do this by covering treatments such as prescribed drugs at a low cost or no cost, preventive care as well as wellness visits (Lexchin, 2020).
The healthcare industry is making a shif ...
11Getting Started with PhoneGapWHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTERSantosConleyha
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Getting Started with PhoneGap
WHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTER?
! History of PhoneGap
! Di! erences between HTML5 and PhoneGap
! Getting a development environment set up
! Implementing the Derby App
PhoneGap is an open source set of tools created by Nitobi
Solution
s (now part of Adobe)
that enables you to create mobile applications for multiple devices by utilizing the same code.
PhoneGap is a hybrid mobile application framework that allows the use of HTML, CSS,
and JavaScript to write applications that are based on the open standards of the web. These
applications also have access to the native functionality of the device. PhoneGap has been
downloaded more than 600,000 times, and more than 1,000 apps built with PhoneGap are
available in the respective app stores, which makes PhoneGap a viable solution for creating
cross-platform mobile apps.
HISTORY OF PHONEGAP
PhoneGap was started at the San Francisco iPhone Dev Camp in August 2008. iOS was shaping
up to become a popular mobile platform, but the learning curve for Objective-C was more work
than many developers wanted to take on. PhoneGap originally started as a headless browser
implementation for the iPhone. Because of the popularity of HTML/CSS/JavaScript, it was a
goal that this project use technologies with which many developers where already familiar.
Based on the growing popularity of the framework, in October 2008 Nitobi added support
for Android and BlackBerry. PhoneGap was awarded the People’s Choice award at the Web2.0
Expo Launch Pad in 2009, which was the start of developers recognizing PhoneGap as a
valuable mobile development tool. PhoneGap version 0.7.2 was released in April 2009, and
was the fi rst version for which the Android and iPhone APIs were equivalent.
c11.indd 309c11.indd 309 28/07/12 6:08 PM28/07/12 6:08 PM
310 " CHAPTER 11 GETTING STARTED WITH PHONEGAP
In September 2009 Apple approved the use of the PhoneGap platform to build apps for the iPhone
store. Apple required that all PhoneGap apps be built using at least version 0.8.0 of the PhoneGap
software. In July 2011, PhoneGap released version 1.0.0.
WHY USE PHONEGAP?
PhoneGap enables you to leverage your current HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skill sets to create a mobile
application. This can greatly speed up development time. When you develop for multiple platforms
using PhoneGap, you can reuse the majority of the code you have written for the mobile project, further
reducing development costs. It isn’t necessary to learn Java, C#, and Objective-C to create an applica-
tion with PhoneGap that can target iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone 7.
If you fi nd native functionality missing from PhoneGap, you can extend the functionality of the
PhoneGap platform using native code. With the PhoneGap add-in structure, you can create an add-in
using the native language of the device and a JavaScript API that will call the native plug-in you
created. Cross-platfo ...
11Proposal Part One - Part 1 Influence of Internet on TourismSantosConleyha
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Proposal Part One - Part 1: Influence of Internet on Tourism Industry
Research Proposal: Influence of Internet on Tourism Industry
Introduction
The tourism industry has been among the best-valued sectors within the nation to generate massive revenue for the government. Besides, the industry is considered among the earliest since it started several decades ago. For an extended period, the industry uses Integrated Marketing Communications to promote their various products and services to the entire world. The introduction of technology in the industry leads to improvements in the sectors. Most individuals without extensive information on the tourism industry can access the data in their comfort zones. It implies that IT and internet technology play a significant role in ensuring effective strategy due to its existence globally.
Most European countries have tried to promote and implement internet technology in ensuring satisfactory delivery of products and services (Kayumovich, 2020). Since it has a custom within the tourism and hotel industry to provide intangible products and services, including but not limited to services alongside comfort, the internet has been an effective method of delivering its messages to the targeted customers. Also, through internet technology, the industry has achieved more customers in the global market, including the European market. The promotion of branding within the European tourism industry has been effective due to the introduction and implementation of internet technology. Thus, the internet is believed to significantly influence the tourism industry in various sectors, including but limited to infrastructure, travel, alongside the marketing sector. Before introducing the internet alongside the IT, travelling of customers was dangerous and unpleasant since travellers had constraint understanding of locations they were visiting.
As a result, the existing vacationers of time had limited knowledge of the cultures and terrain alongside the climate change and patterns necessary to stimulate the travelling issues. Therefore, tourism sectors, including but not limited to tour companies, travel agencies and other like hotels, had developed strategies necessary to promote booking and reservation processes (David-Negre et al. 2018). However, several decades ago, popular sites were visited by tourists. It implies that the tourism sectors within the local or remote area faced challenges of securing sufficient clients as people were could not define the destination. Also, shortage of information on a particular region leads to reduced travelling by visitors. The research involved the utilization of relevant literature review on the subject matter to provide factual information. Therefore, the report offers adequate information on the influence of the internet on the tourism industry. This research would give me the stage to show my finding and view and also propose how the internet can be leveraged to an extend i ...
11Social Inclusion of Deaf with Hearing CongreSantosConleyha
11
Social Inclusion of Deaf with Hearing Congregants within a Ministerial Setting Comment by Stumme, Clifford James (College Applied Studies & Acad Succ): As you review this sample student paper, please keep in mind that there are some flaws in this paper (as with any piece of writing). However, it is one of the best INDS 400 research proposals received to date, so it is an excellent reference point.
Sample Student Comment by Stumme, Clifford James (College Applied Studies & Acad Succ) [2]: Also, remember that what you are looking at is an example of the overall research proposal, not just the literature review. If you are working on your literature review, refer to the portion marked “literature review” and remember that within that literature review portion, there is a unique introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. The first paragraph is the introduction for the proposal as a whole, which is different from the kind of introduction you should write for the literature review itself. Also remember that while this research proposal has an abstract, you do not need one for the literature review.
Liberty University
INDS 400: Knowledge Synthesis for Professional and Personal Development
January 3, 2020
Abstract Comment by Stumme, Clifford James (College Applied Studies & Acad Succ) [2]: Notice how the abstract gives a brief overview of the elements of the research proposal without arguing or getting ahead of itself by predicting results.
Culture can influence how people interact and the level of inclusion of different cultures in a particular setting.While numerous studies have been conducted examining deaf studies and deaf culture, there is a curious lack of research that has specifically considered the level of inclusion of deaf people in evangelical hearing churches. This research proposal includes an interdisciplinary including a literature review that examines a handful of studies on interactions among deaf and hearing populations to consider challenges of hearing and deaf integration. Examining these diverse perspectives, including Catholic ministry, disability ministry and deaf culture, provides a fresh interdisciplinary perspective to approach the challenges of deaf inclusion in ministerial settings. It was found through this literature review that a gap in scholarly research exists in this area. As further research would be necessary to address this gap, the goal of this research proposal is to conduct a qualitative study for further research by petitioning deaf perspective through online interviews utilizing the social media platform of Facebook. Although a low budget would be necessary, the implications of this research would provide a platform to open community conversation to address challenges and provide ideas on integration of deaf and hearing congregants in evangelical hearing churches. Examining deaf perspectives may provide additional information for fellowship, growth and exposure to the Gospel for deaf congr ...
11Mental Health Among College StudentsTomia WillinSantosConleyha
11
Mental Health Among College Students
Tomia Willingham
Sophia Learning
Eng 215
March 14, 2021
Introduction
Going to college can be demanding for many people. In addition to managing academic insistence, many students have to cope with their families' complex separation tasks. At the same time, some of them continue to deal with a lot of many family duties. Mental health experts and advocates contend that it is an epidemic that colleges need to investigate further. Depression, anxiety disorders are some of the significant mental health issues that affect college students. The effects of suicidal ideas on university students' academic achievement have not been explored, yet mental health conditions are associated with academic achievement (De Luca et al., 2016). A novel coronavirus has worsened the situation of mental health. Even before the onset of this virus, there was concern from mental health policymakers in America because of the rising mental health challenges. They claimed a need for additional aid for struggling university students and the capability for these institutions to provide it. Regrettably, many university students with mental health conditions do not seek and receive the necessary treatment. The primary reasons for not pursuing help include thinking that the challenge will get better with time, stigma from their peers and no time to seek the treatment because of a busy schedule (Corrigan et al. 2016). Without this treatment, college students experiencing medical conditions most of the time get lower grades, drop out of college, immerse themselves into substance abuse, or become unemployed. Because these mental health conditions are invisible, they can only be seen through academic performance or social behavior change. Should universities strike a balance between mental health conditions and academics? This review will conclude that the mental health condition of university students and scholars should be balanced. Comment by Dr. Helen Doss: You need to answer this question and present the answer as the thesis at the end of this paragraph. Comment by Dr. Helen Doss: This is not a review essay—it is an argumentative or persuasive essay. Comment by Dr. Helen Doss: What does this mean—should be balanced? By what? For what? And, by whom? Comment by Dr. Helen Doss: This paragraph is too long. See: https://www.umgc.edu/current-students/learning-resources/writing-center/writing-resources/parts-of-an-essay/paragraph-structure.cfm
Effects of not Balancing Mental Health and Academics
There are consequences of not balancing mental health and academics in higher learning institutions, mainly if they do not receive any treatment. For example, if depression goes untreated, it raises the chances of risky behavior like substance abuse. The condition affects how students sleep, eat, and it also affects how students think. Also, students cannot concentrate in class, and they cannot make rational decisions. By lack of concent ...
11From Introductions to ConclusionsDrafting an EssayIn this chapSantosConleyha
11From Introductions to ConclusionsDrafting an Essay
In this chapter, we describe strategies for crafting introductions that set up your argument. We then describe the characteristics of well-formulated paragraphs that will help you build your argument. Finally, we provide you with some strategies for writing conclusions that reinforce what is new about your argument, what is at stake, and what readers should do with the knowledge you convey
DRAFTING INTRODUCTIONS
The introduction is where you set up your argument. It’s where you identify a widely held assumption, challenge that assumption, and state your thesis. Writers use a number of strategies to set up their arguments. In this section we look at five of them:
· Moving from a general topic to a specific thesis (inverted-triangle introduction)
· Introducing the topic with a story (narrative introduction)
· Beginning with a question (interrogative introduction)
· Capturing readers’ attention with something unexpected (paradoxical introduction)
· Identifying a gap in knowledge (minding-the-gap introduction)
Remember that an introduction need not be limited to a single paragraph. It may take several paragraphs to effectively set up your argument.
Keep in mind that you have to make these strategies your own. That is, we can suggest models, but you must make them work for your own argument. You must imagine your readers and what will engage them. What tone do you want to take? Playful? Serious? Formal? Urgent? The attitude you want to convey will depend on your purpose, your argument, and the needs of your audience.◼ The Inverted-Triangle Introduction
An inverted-triangle introduction, like an upside-down triangle, is broad at the top and pointed at the base. It begins with a general statement of the topic and then narrows its focus, ending with the point of the paragraph (and the triangle), the writer’s thesis. We can see this strategy at work in the following introduction from a student’s essay. The student writer (1) begins with a broad description of the problem she will address, (2) then focuses on a set of widely held but troublesome assumptions, and (3) finally, presents her thesis in response to what she sees as a pervasive problem.
The paragraph reads, “In today’s world, many believe that education’s sole purpose is to communicate information for students to store and draw on as necessary. By storing this information, students hope to perform well on tests. Good test scores assure good grades. Good grades eventually lead to acceptances into good colleges, which ultimately guarantee good jobs. Many teachers and students, convinced that education exists as a tool to secure good jobs, rely on the banking system. In her essay “Teaching to Transgress,” bell hooks defines the banking system as an “approach to learning that is rooted in the notion that all students need to do is consume information fed to them by a professor and be able to memorize and store it” (185). Through the banking s ...
11Groupthink John SmithCampbellsville UnivSantosConleyha
1
1
Groupthink
John Smith
Campbellsville University
BA611 – Organizational Theory
Dr. Jane Corbett
January 17, 2021
Definition
Groupthink is a pattern of thought characterized by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent, and conformity to group values and ethics.
Summary
Valine (2018) discussed how powerful an effect groupthink can have on community and peers. It followed two case studies about JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, which explains how many sources and credentials the author has used. The focus of the article is that circumstances have occurred inside these companies which were able to affect the entire economy as well. Groupthink is usually followed by irrational thinking and decision making which completely ignores alternatives and constantly goes for the primary decision. The large difference between group and groupthink is that the group consists of members of various backgrounds and experiences, while groupthink usually has members of similar ones. Further, there is no way for groupthink to recover from bad decisions mainly because all members have a similar understanding and point of the view towards a certain topic. The illusion of invulnerability is the main characteristic related to groupthink, where teammates ignore the danger, take extreme risks, and act highly optimistic.
Discussion
Groupthink is characterized by incorrect decisions that groups make mainly due to mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment. Many conditions can cause groupthink to occur, and the most frequent ones are collective rationalization, belief in inherent morality, stereotyped views of out-groups, direct pressure on dissenters, and self-censorship.
The collective rationalization explains how different warnings are against the group thinking, so and where those opinions can create a misunderstanding. Belief in inherent morality points out that members ignore the ethical and moral consequences of decisions because they believe the correctness of their cause. The stereotyped views of out-groups are the characters to create a negative feeling about opposition outside the group environment. The direct pressure on dissenters is where team leaders discuss all members that have different opinions and philosophies than the group’s commitments and agreement. Lastly, the self-censorship is where teammates keep their thoughts and opinions without expressing them to others.
The case study about the London Whale explains how JPMC, one of the largest banks in the world, has lost 6.5 billion dollars due to bad and poor investment decisions. Everything occurred in April and May of 2012, where larger trading loss happened in Chase’s Investment Office throughout the London branch. The main transaction that affected Morgan Chase was credit default swaps (CDS) and it was shown that famous trader Bruno Iksil has gathered significant CDS position in the market at that time. Following this case, the internal control has risen o ...
11Sun Coast Remediation Research Objectives, Research QueSantosConleyha
11
Sun Coast Remediation: Research Objectives, Research Questions, and Hypotheses
4
Sun Coast Remediation
Unique R. Simpkins
Southern Columbia University
Course Name Here
Instructor Name
11-2-2021
Research Objectives, Research Questions, and Hypotheses
Based on the information amassed by the former health and safety director, the organization needs to pursue safety-related programs or initiatives to ensure employees' health. It is an appropriate approach to help the firm and the employees achieve goals and inhibit costs arising from injuries and illnesses while on duty. The completion of this task will provide managers with practicable insights on the approach to enhance safety and protect the firm from losses. This task accounts for the objectives, questions, and hypotheses of the research based on the provided statement of the problem.
RO1: Explore the correlation between the size of the Particulate Matter (PM) and the health of the employee.
RQ1: Is there a correlation between the size of the Particulate Matter (PM) and the health of the employee?
Ho1: There is no statistically significant evidence connecting the size of the Particulate Matter (PM) and the health of the employee.
Ha1: There is statistically significant evidence connecting the size of the Particulate Matter (PM) and the health of the employee.
RO2: Establish whether safety training is feasible in decreasing the lost-time hours.
RQ2: Is safety training feasible in decreasing the lost-time hours?
Ho2: There is no statistically significant evidence linking safety training and reduction in lost-time hours.
Ha2: There is statistically significant evidence linking safety training and reduction in lost-time hours.
RO3: Establish the effectiveness of predicting the decibels (dB) levels before the employee placement on determining the on-site risk.
RQ3: Is predicting the decibels (dB) levels before the employee placement on determining the on site risk effective?
Ho3: There is no statistically significant relationship between predicting the decibels (dB) levels before the employee placement and effective determination of the on-site risk.
Ha3: There is a statistically significant relationship between predicting the decibels (dB) levels before the employee placement and effective determination of the on-site risk.
RO4: Establish whether the revised training program is more practicable than the initially adopted initiative.
RQ4: Is the revised training program is more practicable than the previously adopted initiative?
Ho4: There is no statistically significant proof that the new training program is more feasible than the old program.
Ha4: There is statistically significant proof that the new training program is more feasible than the old program.
RO5: Determine the blood lead levels variation before and after exposure at the end of the remediation service.
RQ5: Do the blood lead levels before and after exposure at the end of the remediation service va ...
11Me Talk Pretty One Day # By David Sedaris From his bSantosConleyha
11
Me Talk Pretty One Day # By David Sedaris
From his book Me Talk Pretty One Day
At the age of forty-one, I am returning to school and have to think of myself as
what my French textbook calls Ba true debutant.D After paying my tuition, I was issued
a student ID, which allows me a discounted entry fee at movie theaters, puppet shows,
and Festyland, a far-flung amusement park that advertises with billboards picturing a
cartoon stegosaurus sitting in a canoe and eating what appears to be a ham sandwich.
IFve moved to Paris with hopes of learning the language. My school is an easy
ten-minute walk from my apartment, and on the first day of class I arrived early,
watching as the returning students greeted one another in the school lobby. Vacations
were recounted, and questions were raised concerning mutual friends with names like
Kang and Vlatnya. Regardless of their nationalities, everyone spoke what sounded to
me like excellent French. Some accents were better than others, but the students
exhibited an ease and confidence that I found intimidating. As an added discomfort,
they were all young, attractive, and well-dressed, causing me to feel not unlike Pa Kettle
trapped backstage after a fashion show.
The first day of class was nerve-racking because I knew IFd be expected to
perform. ThatFs the way they do it here # itFs everybody into the language pool, sink or
swim. The teacher marched in, deeply tanned from a recent vacation, and proceeded to
rattle off a series of administrative announcements. IFve spent quite a few summers in
Normandy, and I took a monthlong French class before leaving New York. IFm not
completely in the dark, yet I understood only half of what this woman was saying.
BIf you have not meimslsxp or lgpdmurct by this time, then you should not be in
this room. Has everyone apzkiubjxow? Everyone? Good, we shall begin.D She spread
out her lesson plan and sighed, saying, BAll right, then, who knows the alphabet?D
It was startling because (a) I hadnFt been asked that question in a while and (b) I
realized, while laughing, that I myself did not know the alphabet. TheyFre the same
letters, but in France theyFre pronounced differently. I know the shape of the alphabet
but had no idea what it actually sounded like.
BAhh.D The teacher went to the board and sketched the letter a. BDo we have
anyone in the room whose first name commences with an ahh?D
12
Two Polish Annas raised their hands, and the teachers instructed them to present
themselves by stating their names, nationalities, occupations, and a brief list of things
they liked and disliked in this world. The first Anna hailed from an industrial town
outside of Warsaw and had front teeth the size of tombstones. She worked as a
seamstress, enjoyed quiet times with friends, and hated the mosquito.
BOh, really,D the teacher said. BHow very interesting. I thought that everyone
loved the mosquito, but here, in front of all the world, you claim to ...
11Program analysis using different perspectivesSantosConleyha
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Program analysis using different perspectives
Student's Name
Institution
Course
Professor
Date
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………
Program Description/ Analysis of a Classical Liberal perspective…………………………
Program Description/ Analysis of a Radical perspective……………………………………
Program Description/ Analysis of a Conservative perspective……………………………..
Program Description/ Analysis of a Mordern Liberal perspective...………………………
Comparisons of four perspectives……………………………………………………………
Assessment and modifications of the perspectives………………………………………….
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..
Introduction
Program analysis using different perspectives
In a political economy, policies and programs are essential tools that assist in understanding the ongoing struggle for equality and social justice. Although both have an underlying difference, they serve an almost similar purpose. Essentially, understanding the goal of any program or policy can be achieved by analyzing the contending perspectives (Harvey, 2020). This involves the intentional bringing of different perspectives in contrast. They help examine core economic problems or concepts from an orthodox perspective, and others criticize it from a heterodox perspective. The perspectives are essential since both the heterodox and orthodox positions can be examined and reach a consensus.
In the United States, there has been a rise in spending on prescription drugs, which has led to the introduction of a Build Better Program. One proposal is driving down the cost of prescription drugs by allowing Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers over price; starting in 2025-ten drugs (plus insulin) would be on the table the first year, growing to 20 by 2028 (The White House, 2021). Although members of Congress have accepted the proposal, there is a need to analyze it using the different contending perspectives. This paper explores the proposal using the Classical Liberal, The radical, the Conservative Perspective, and the Modern Liberal Perspective. Individuals have the right to pursue their happiness, and proponents of the different political economy perspectives should work hand-in-hand to promote human development within society.
Analysis by Perspective
The Classical Liberal
The political philosophy and ideology belonging to liberalism emphasize securing citizens' freedom by limiting government power. Today, the proponents hold various thoughts and Perspectives, one being Neo-Austrian economics (Clark, 2016). Essentially, the program's main aim is to reduce the overall cost of prescription drugs. From the Perspective of Neo-Austrians, humans are self-interested. They can act autonomously by utilizing their capacity to discover an efficient means of satisfying their desires and basic needs (Harvey, 2020). Also, the government is created by the people to protect their natural rights. At the same time, justice requires safeguarding the people's rights established by the c ...
11Factors that Affect the Teaching and Learning ProcessSantosConleyha
11
Factors that Affect the Teaching and Learning Process
Lua Shanks
Dr. Thompson
Valley State University
10-6-2021
Factors that Affect the Teaching and Learning Process
Contextual Factors
The efficacious teaching and learning processes are important in generating the desired academic outcomes for students. Such processes entail the transformation and transfer of knowledge from the educators to students. It requires a combination of different elements within the procedure, in which an instructor determines and establishes the learning goals and objectives, and designs teaching resources. Thereafter, teachers implement the learning strategy that they will utilize to impart intellectual content into students. However, learning is a cardinal factor that an educator musty take into account while overseeing the process of knowledge acquisition and retention. Many factors play an important role in shaping the process of teaching and learning. Contextual factors, for instance, are associated with a particular context and characteristic that is distinct to a specific group, community, society, and individual. Such factors may take the form of a child’s educational, community, as well as classroom settings.
Community, District, and School Factors
Armstrong School District is a major public learning institution that occupies a geographical area of approximately 437 square miles. Located in Pennsylvania, it forms one of the 500 public school districts in the state, and hosts teachers and students from diverse racial, ethnic, and ethnic backgrounds. As a consequence, the institution partners with families, community leaders, and teachers to improve students’’ capacity to acquire knowledge ahead of their graduation. The community refers to the urban or rural environment in which both the teachers and learners operate. These may include the teacher and students’ ethnic, racial political or social affiliations that affect learning or knowledge acquisition. Additionally, parents and community members play an integral role in ensuring the quality of education in schools. They for, example, collaborate with teachers and school administrators to develop the most effective ways of improving their students’ learning outcomes. Indeed, community involvement in schooling issues is potentially a rich area for innovation that has immense benefits that far exceeds its limitations. Considering that governments are constrained in offering quality education due to contextual issues such as remoteness, bureaucracy, corruption, and inefficient management, community factors are pivotal in bridging the gap between government initiatives and community needs. This helps to adjust the child’s familial obligations to family interests, thereby shifting towards ways of mobilizing a sense of community by strengthening trust and relationships between community members, parents, governments, as well as teachers and school leaders. Other important community factors that af ...
11
Criminal Justice: Racial discrimination
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Instructor’s Name:
Course Code:
Due Date:
Racial discrimination
Abstract
When there is justice in society, every person feels satisfied with the way legal actions are carried out in the community. Unfortunately, there are several instances of racial discrimination in the United States. Most of the racial discrimination in the United States ate directed towards black people. Although everyone is required to have equal treatment in the United States, achieving zero discrimination has always been difficult.
Understanding racial discrimination in the USA is vital as it makes it easy for one to identify ways to eliminate the criminal injustices resulting from racial discrimination. This will be essential since it will help to eliminate racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.
Introduction
When there is justice in society, every person feels satisfied with the way legal actions are carried out in society. The criminal justice community is when people are not discriminated against based on their skin color. Laws applicable are carried out uniformly such that every person is treated equally. When the laws are applied equally to every individual, it increases the trust in the criminal justice system. However, when there are biases in applying the laws, the criminal justice system becomes compromised. According to Kovera (2019), there are many disparities in the criminal justice system as black people are discriminated against by police officers based on their race. As a result, black people suffer more as compared to white people when they violate similar laws.
There is a lot of disparity in the criminal justice system of the United States. Many people suffer as a result of racial discrimination in the United States. People are discriminated against a lot in the administration of the policies. According to Donnel (2017), there is racial inequality in how criminal justice is carried out in policymaking. The criminal justice system discriminates against people based on their race. For example, police officers harass black people for minor mistakes which white people are left to walk freely even after making similar mistakes. Black people suffer because of the color of their skin.
Hypothesis/Problem Statement/Purpose Statement
Racial discrimination affects the outcomes of the criminal justice system adversely. How does racial discrimination affect the judicial criminal justice system? The study aims to identify ways in which criminal justice racial discrimination is practiced in the United States. It will also provide insights on the racial discrimination cases, which are helpful in the development of policies that can be helpful in the elimination of racial discrimination in society hence promoting equality among the citizens.
Literature Review and Definitions included in the research
According to Hinton, Henderson, and Reed (2018), there is mu ...
11Communication Plan for Manufacturing PlantStudSantosConleyha
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Communication Plan for Manufacturing Plant
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Instructor
Course
Date
Communication Plan of a Manufacturing Plant
Background
In manufacturing companies, organization employees are at the centre of an organization. Most of them are at the front lines with the ability to change strategy into results. At the culmination of the day, the plant employees have the responsibility of ensuring that the operations are conducted smoothly, a product reaches consumers timely, and quality products are manufacture with the appropriate specifications. However, despite the primary role they play, manufacturing plants are disjointed (Adejimola, 2008). That disengagement is embodied with a hefty price which is paying a negative role in the performance of manufacturing plants just as they are being challenged to increase their efficiency and effectiveness to the company compared to previous years. To realize rapid growth around the globe, the manufacturing industry is attempting to standardize operations and continuously leverage operations. Such kind of effort needs a company to possess highly invested employees (Obiekwe, O& Eke, 2019). For this reason, natural communication naturally is primary on the path to more highly engaged and motivated employees. However, it can sometimes be challenging to plant employees due to natural challenges that accompany workplace. Some may not frequently be on Smartphone’s or emails, or they may be having various shifts to manage, and the environment may be less conducive, which makes it challenging for them to have one-on-one conversations.
Policies for Oral, Written, and Non-Verbal Communications
Interpersonal communication in a manufacturing plant is the way employees or people communication with others. It may involve a group of p-people, another person or the members of the public. In some instances, it may encompass non-verbal, written or non-verbal communication. In the manufacturing industry, when an individual is communicating with others, they need to consider the person they are talking to, the type of information they want to deliver and the most appropriate and relevant form of communication change. In some instances, such issues may be determined by the information an individual wants to communication (Obiekwe, O& Eke, 2019). At all times, it is required that the staff members remain polite, respectful to both the clients and one another. At no time should they sear, raise their voice, speak in a way belittling another.
Cultural awareness is also another essential element when communicating in a cultural plant. All individuals working in the plant need to recognize that individuals emerge from varying backgrounds and cultures, and they also accompany various attitudes, different values and beliefs (Obiekwe, O& Eke, 2019). All staffs in the plant need to exercise non-judgmental communication remain respectful and are tolerant of the differences prevalence ...
11CapitalKarl MarxPART I. COMMODITIES AND MONEYCHAPTER I. SantosConleyha
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Capital
Karl Marx
PART I. COMMODITIES AND MONEY
CHAPTER I. COMMODITIES
Section 1. The two factors of a commodity: use-value and value (the substance of value and the magnitude of value)
The wealth of those societies in which the capitalist mode of production prevails, presents itself as “an immense accumulation of commodities,”1 its unit being a single commodity. Our investigation must therefore begin with the analysis of a commodity.
A commodity is, in the first place, an object outside us, a thing that by its properties satisfies human wants of some sort or another. The nature of such wants, whether, for instance, they spring from the stomach or from fancy, makes no difference.2 Neither are we here concerned to know how the object satisfies these wants, whether directly as means of subsistence, or indirectly as means of production.
Every useful thing, as iron, paper, &c., may be looked at from the two points of view of quality and quantity. It is an assemblage of many properties, and may therefore be of use in various ways. To discover the various uses of things is the work of history.3 So also is the establishment of socially-recognised standards of measure for the quantities of these useful objects. The diversity of these measures has its origin partly in the diverse nature of the objects to be measured, partly in convention.
The utility of a thing makes it a use-value.4 But this utility is not a thing of air. Being limited by the physical properties of the commodity, it has no existence apart from that commodity. A commodity, such as iron, corn, or a diamond, is therefore, so far as it is a material thing, a use-value, something useful. This property of a commodity is independent of the amount of labour required to appropriate its useful qualities. When treating of use-value, we always assume to be dealing with definite quantities, such as dozens of watches, yards of linen, or tons of iron. The use-values of commodities furnish the material for a special study, that of the commercial knowledge of commodities.5 Use-values become a reality only by use or consumption: they also constitute the substance of all wealth, whatever may be the social form of that wealth. In the form of society we are about to consider, they are, in addition, the material depositories of exchange-value.
Exchange-value, at first sight, presents itself as a quantitative relation, as the proportion in which values in use of one sort are exchanged for those of another sort,6 a relation constantly changing with time and place. Hence exchange-value appears to be something accidental and purely relative, and consequently an intrinsic value, i.e., an exchange-value that is inseparably connected with, inherent in commodities, seems a contradiction in terms.7 Let us consider the matter a little more closely.
A given commodity, e.g., a quarter of wheat is exchanged for x blacking, y silk, or z gold, &c.—in short, for other commodities in the most different proportions. Ins ...
1
1
Criminal Justice System
Shambri Chillis
June 11, 2022
Criminal justice system
The criminal justice system is essential to identify and prevent crimes in the community. Various functions of the criminale system now adhere to the development of technology. Modern technology helps the criminal justice system in different ways. It has made the job easier and has assisted in the prevention of crimes.
Role of criminal justice practitioners in the technology development
The Ccriminal justice practitioners are responsible for identifying and analyzing different crimes in the community. They are responsible for developing and implementing the technology in the criminal justice system because they can use it for different purposes. They can introduce the new trends in the criminal justice system like the officers can collect and gather the data through the technology. Human error can be reduced through it. The dataset can be maintained, and it is also essential for criminal justice practitioners to develop the technology to locate the criminals and track their local places through GPS. The technology cannot be developed untill the criminal officers implement it in the routine. The criminal system now has to use robots and cameras that help them get information about the criminals. The practitioners can also implement the technology by guiding the juniors to use it. The training is needed to make them understand the use of advanced technologies and to ensure that they use them in the right direction. The high-performance computer and internet systems are also essential for developing the technology, and it has been seen that the future will be bright regarding implementing technology (John S. Hollywood, 2018).
Controversial issues criminal justice policymakers face when considering an expansion in the use of DNA in criminal justice
Tthere are various controversial issues that criminal justice policymakers must consider while using DNA in the criminal justice system. The first thing that is criticized during the use of DNA is the fundamental human error, and iIt has been observed that there can be errors in the investigation, and people have to suffer. The issue in technology is also referred to as the error in using DNA because it might be possible that the results do not come correct at the first attempt. It involves several people who are not linked to the crimes but have to go for the fingerprinting tests by courts. However, DNA technology in criminal justice is highly advanced and has multiple benefits compared to disadvantages, but it has always faced significant controversy in the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system has to make sure that if DNA technology is being used, it must be error-free. The controversy has two opinions. There are two schools of thought regarding the use of DNA. One of the classes of experts thinks that DNA can be used to catch the different criminals. It is helpful in the family c ...
11American Government and Politics in a Racially DividSantosConleyha
1
1American Government
and Politics in a Racially
Divided World
chap ter
In 2016, Gov. Jack Markell signed a long-awaited resolution officially apologizing for the state’s role
in slavery. The apology for slavery illustrates the long and sometimes painful history of the United
States’ struggle with race, from the time of Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner, to President Barack
Obama, the first Black president of the United States.
01-McClain-Chap01.indd 1 11/24/16 8:34 PM
08/20/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000562545 (Anthony Ratcliff) - American
Government in Black and White
2 CHAPTER 1: AmericAn Government And Politics in A rAciAlly divided World
intro
D
ecember 6, 2015, marked the 150th anniversary of the abolish-
ment of slavery, when the U.S. Congress ratified the Thirteenth
Amendment to the Constitution. There were numerous events
recognizing the end of slavery, including an official White House event
presided over by President Obama. On February 11, 2016, Delaware
joined eight other states to formally apologize for slavery when Gover-
nor Jack Markell (D) signed the state’s joint resolution. Delaware’s reso-
lution acknowledged its participation in 226 years of
slavery first of both Native Americans and Africans in
the mid-1600s; by the close of the 1700s its entire
slave population was of African descent. The resolu-
tion also included acknowledgments that Delaware
criminalized humanitarian attempts to assist slaves
and that in later times Delaware passed and enforced
Jim Crow laws to deny the rights of African American
citizens for much of the twentieth century.1
On July 29, 2008, the U.S. House of Representa-
tives passed a nonbinding resolution, introduced and
championed by Representative Steven Cohen (D-TN),
which offered a formal apology for the government’s
participation in African American slavery and the
establishment of Jim Crow laws. The resolution said, in part, “African
Americans continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim
Crow—long after both systems were formally abolished—through
enormous damage and loss, both tangible and intangible, including the
loss of human dignity and liberty, the frustration of careers and profes-
sional lives, and the long-term loss of income and opportunity.”2
On June 18, 2009, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a similar reso-
lution apologizing to African Americans for slavery and Jim Crow. The
Senate resolution said explicitly that the apology could not be used in
support of reparations (or compensation for past wrongs).3
The story of apologies for slavery is a complex one that highlights some of the
underlying dilemmas that face the U.S. political system—how to reconcile its stated
principles of how individuals should be treated with how the government actually
treats and has treated individuals. The apologies are intended to acknowledge the
nation’s complicity in a destructive and immoral institution, at ...
11Cancer is the uncontrollable growth of abnormal cellsSantosConleyha
1
1
Cancer is the uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells in the human body. It is defined by a malfunction in cellular mechanisms that control cell growth. Cells evade checkpoint controls and begin growing uncontrollably which resulting in an increase in abnormal cells, cancer cells. These cancer cells form a mass tissue known as a tumor. In the United States of America, cancer has been determined to be among the leading causes of mortality rates after cardiovascular conditions, where one in every four deaths is caused by cancer. The most common types of cancer include prostate cancer, lung cancer, and breast cancer. Risk factors for cancer include excess smoking, radiation exposure, genetics, and environmental pollution. Colon cancer, or colorectal cancer, affects the distal third of the large intestine, the colon, as well as the rectum, chamber in which feces is stored for elimination. Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of death in cancer-related issues in the United States in both males and females (Beadnell et al., 2018). This essay explores the physiology and pathophysiology of colon cancer.
Polyps are tissue growths that generally look like small, flat bumps and are generally less than half an inch wide. They are generally non-cancerous growths that can develop with age on the inner wall of the colon or rectum. There are several types of polyps, such as hyperplastic. They are common and have a low risk of turning cancerous. Hyperplastic polyps found in the colon will be removed and biopsied. Pseudo polyps also referred to as inflammatory polyps, usually occur in people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease and are unlike other polyps. This type of polyp occurs due to chronic inflammation as seen in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. However, a polyp cells which can turn out to be malignant. Villous adenoma or tubulovillous adenoma polyps carry a high risk of turning cancerous. They are sessile and develop flat on the tissue lining the organs. They might blend within the organ, making polyps not easily identifiable and difficult to locate for treatment. Adenomatous or tubular adenoma polyps have a high chance of being cancerous. When a polyp is found, it must be biopsied, and then will regular screenings and polyp removal will follow.
An adenocarcinoma is a cancer formed in a gland that lines an organ. This cancer impacts the epithelial cells, which are spread throughout the human body. Adenocarcinomas of the colon and rectum make up ninety-five percent of all colon cancers (Chang, 2020). Colon adenocarcinomas usually begin in the mucous lining the spread to different layers. Two subtypes of adenocarcinomas are mucinous adenocarcinoma and signet ring cells. Mucinous adenocarcinomas contain about sixty percent mucus which can cause cancer cells to spread faster and become more hostile than typical adenocarcinomas. Signet ring cell adenocarcinoma is responsible for less than one percent of all colon cancer. It is g ...
11SENSE MAKING Runze DuChee PiongBUS 700 LSantosConleyha
1
1
SENSE MAKING
Runze Du
Chee Piong
BUS 700 Leadership and Creative
Solution
s Implementation
Feb 14th 2021
SENSE MAKING
Sensemaking refers to an action or a process of making sense where meaning is given to something. Sensemaking is a process through which individuals give meaning to their collective experiences. Sensemaking is also a process of structuring the unknown by inserting stimuli into some framework kinds to enable individuals to understand or comprehend, attribute, to extrapolate and predict the meaning of something. Sensemaking is an activity that allows people to turn the ongoing complexity in the entire world into a situation that can be understood. Sensemaking Therefore, Sensemaking requires articulating the unknown because, in many cases, trying to put meaning to something strange is the only means by which one can understand it. For instance, the occurrence or the origin of COVID-19 in the entire world has been a phenomenon that has disturbed the heads of many trying to understand what it is, where it came from, who caused it, how it can be prevented and how it can be cured. In attempting to understand COVID 19, people came up with the explanations of what it is, what caused it, and that is where the scientists realized that this is a disease that is caused by a virus known as Coronavirus, since the condition merged in the year 2019, the virus was given the name coronavirus 19, and the disease it caused known as COVID 19. This is how sensemaking enables individuals to give meaning to something that can be understood easily by individuals.
The organization that I am familiar with that has experienced a current change in its operations is Starbucks. Starbucks is an American company that is known for its production and sell of coffee products. It was started in 1971 as a coffee selling company where it was majorly involved in roasting, marketing and selling coffee globally. It has more than 300 stores all over the world selling coffee. This organization has sold coffee within its stores since its initiation. However, because of the corona's onset, the management of this organization decided to change its operation to accommodate the changes in the environment depending on the restrictions imposed on businesses by the ministries of health all over the world. Starbucks company reacted to the industry changes brought about by COVID 19, where businesses were required to close their doors to enhance the measures of curbing the spread of coronavirus disease. Thus, the company embraced technology where it introduced Starbucks-pick up only stores that replaced the over 300 stores globally. The new stores required that no one could sit in as they take their coffee. Instead, everyone would be allowed only to take their orders from the store and to avoid congesting people in one place. Starbucks introduced Starbucks pick-up stores that use technology to supply coffee to customers. The business submitted a mobile app ...
119E ECUTIVE BAR AININ CEOS NE OTIATIN THEIR PAWITH EMSantosConleyha
119
E ECUTIVE BAR AININ : CEOS NE OTIATIN THEIR PA
WITH EMPLO EES OR CORPORATE E ICIENC
By Nathan Witkin
I INTRODUCTION
Rising executive pay is a significant problem that points to a structural
flaw in American corporations. This article presents a solution to that flaw
through which Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) negotiate their pay in
company resources with lower-paid employees. Exploring this solution also
unearths an explanation for capitalism s apparent drive toward inequality and
examines the historical development of corporations and trade unions in the
United States.
The problem is that managers and corporate directors will raise pay at the
top so long as that pay-setting process does not consider the pay of average-
and low-wage workers. The solution is that CEOs and other top executives
negotiate their pay in company resources with employees in a process that
determines the pay and bonuses of both sides. Microeconomic theory indicates
that confronting the tradeoffs of raising executive compensation with other
potential corporate expenditures—by negotiating this compensation with
workers from different parts of the company—will make executive
compensation more efficient.1 Also, historical analysis indicates a pattern in
which executive compensation became aligned with public interest only during
the period in which workers had significant power to negotiate their wages and
Master of Public Policy Candidate at eorgetown University s McCourt School of Public
Policy J.D., The Ohio State Moritz College of Law. The Author is an independent researcher,
originator of a variety of social innovations (co-resolution, interest group mediation, consensus
arbitration, dependent advocacy, the popular tax audit, the hostile correction, a partnership
between citizen review boards and community policing, and a two-state/one-land solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict), and author of several ambitious theories (the shift in sovereignty
from land to people under international treaties, the use of impact bonds as a solution to climate
change, and resistance to the accelerating expansion of the universe as the cause of gravitation).
He is also a former solo-practitioner in criminal and family law.
1 N. RE OR MAN IW, PRINCIPLES O MICROECONOMICS ( th ed. 2012) (describing the first
principle of microeconomics as centered on trade-offs). Many basic microeconomic models
involve trade-offs between potential allocations of resources to achieve efficiency. See DAVID
BESAN O RONALD R. BRAEUTI AM, MICROECONOMICS 20 07 (5th ed. 201 ).
120 KAN. J.L. & P B. POL’Y Vol. I :1
benefits. This is not to say that the solution to executive compensation is a
return to unions, which developed as a separate organizational structure with
their own flaws and inefficiencies. Rather, a corporation that synthesizes the
inputs of all its employees will be able to maximize efficiency and
productivity, producing profits for shareholders and growth for the overall
econ ...
11CALIFORNIA MANAGEMENT REVIEW VOL. 51, NO. 4 SUMMER 2009 CMR.BERKELEY.EDU
The Emergence and
Evolution of the
Multidimensional
Organization
J. Strikwerda
J.W. Stoelhorst
“In terms of its impact, not just on economic activity, but also on human life as a
whole, the multidivisional organizational design must rank as one of the major
innovations of the last century.”—John Roberts1
T
he multidivisional, multi-unit, or M-form, is widely acknowledged
as the most successful organization form of the twentieth century.2
Firms that employ the M-form organize their activities in separate
business units and delegate control over the resources needed to
create economic value to the managers of these units. This organization form is
widespread, is central to the “theory in use” of managers, and serves as the basis
of most accounting systems. However, the organization of productive activities
in many contemporary firms violates the principle that is central to the M-form:
that business units are self-contained. The quest for synergies that has been high
on the corporate agenda since the late 1980s has resulted in the widespread
adoption of corporate account management, shared service centers, and matrix
organizations. As a result, most business units now depend at least in part on
resources that are controlled by other units. This raises fundamental questions
about the status of the M-form in contemporary firms.
Questioning the status of the M-form is not merely a theoretical fancy,
but is high on the agenda of managers as well. In this article, we report on
research that was commissioned by the Foundation for Management Stud-
ies, a Dutch organization of management executives. These practical men and
women shared a fundamental uneasiness about structuring their organizations.
On the one hand, many of them experienced problems with the M-form: high
employee costs, internal battles over resources, lack of standardization, lack of
cooperation, and loss of market opportunities. On the other hand, they did not
The Emergence and Evolution of the Multidimensional Organization
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY VOL. 51, NO. 4 SUMMER 2009 CMR.BERKELEY.EDU12
see any viable alternatives to the multi-unit organization form. The need to
exploit synergies across business units was widespread, but it was unclear which
organizational designs are most appropriate to achieve this. This led to a research
project to explore the ways in which leading Dutch organizations, including
subsidiaries of foreign multinationals, have adapted the M-form to better exploit
synergies across business units.
As we expected, the results of the study vividly illustrate the fundamen-
tal tension between the need for contemporary firms to exploit synergies and
their need for clear accountability. However, an additional and unexpected
finding was that a number of firms in the study have evolved an organiza-
tional form that signals a new way of res ...
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
Honest Reviews of Tim Han LMA Course Program.pptxtimhan337
Personal development courses are widely available today, with each one promising life-changing outcomes. Tim Han’s Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course has drawn a lot of interest. In addition to offering my frank assessment of Success Insider’s LMA Course, this piece examines the course’s effects via a variety of Tim Han LMA course reviews and Success Insider comments.
Macroeconomics- Movie Location
This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
Welcome to TechSoup New Member Orientation and Q&A (May 2024).pdfTechSoup
In this webinar you will learn how your organization can access TechSoup's wide variety of product discount and donation programs. From hardware to software, we'll give you a tour of the tools available to help your nonprofit with productivity, collaboration, financial management, donor tracking, security, and more.
Embracing GenAI - A Strategic ImperativePeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Francesca Gottschalk - How can education support child empowerment.pptxEduSkills OECD
Francesca Gottschalk from the OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation presents at the Ask an Expert Webinar: How can education support child empowerment?
10Patient Safety Culture in hospitals.Student’s NameCo
1. 10
Patient Safety Culture in hospitals.
Student’s Name
Course
Instructor’s name.
Institutional Affiliation
September 24, 2021.
Patient Safety Culture in hospitals.
Introduction.
Patient safety is an issue of global public health concern. It
refers to preventing patients from harm by implementing a care
system that contains errors and learns from medical errors to
build a safety culture involving healthcare workers, patients,
and healthcare organizations. The safety of patients is critical in
care quality. Many patients worldwide have suffered injuries,
disabilities, and death due to medical errors or unsafe care.
Patient safety culture can be defined as healthcare
organizations' values about what is essential and how to operate
to protect patients. To achieve a safe culture, organizations and
their members must understand the values, norms, and beliefs
2. about essential and attitudes and behaviors related to patient
safety (Ali et al., 2018).
To achieve a culture of safety, organizations should emphasize
addressing disparities in the quality of care because the current
challenges may worsen the efforts to narrow the gap. The key
issues in establishing and providing accessible, responsive, and
effective health systems are quality and safety. Poor quality and
unsafe patient care increase mortality and morbidity rates
throughout the world. About 75% of the healthcare delivery
gaps are preventable, and approximately 10% of inpatient
admission result from preventable patient harm (Amiri et al.,
2018).
Patient safety cultures with strong collaboration and leadership
drive and prioritize safety (Wu et al., 2019). Strong leadership
and commitment from manger are essential because their
attitudes and actions influence the wider workforce's behaviors,
perceptions, and attitudes. The other important aspects of
patient safety culture include; effective communication, mutual
trust, shared views on the importance of patient safety,
engaging the healthcare workforce, acknowledging mistakes,
and having a system that recognizes, responds, and gives
feedback on adverse events (Alquwez et al., 2018). Patient
safety culture is influenced by burnouts, hospital
characteristics, communication, position, work area,
commitment to the patient safety program, leadership, and
patient safety resources and management.
Thesis statement.
Patient safety culture focuses on safety in health care by
emphasizing the prevention, reporting, and investigation of
medical errors that may cause patients' adverse effects, thus
reducing harm by implementing necessary measures. Several
factors are affecting the culture of patient safety in hospitals.
This paper highlights patient safety culture and the factors
affecting patient safety culture in public hospitals.
Body.
Patient safety culture encompasses shared values and beliefs
3. about healthcare delivery system, training and education of
healthcare workers on patient safety culture, commitment from
leaders and managers, open commutation concerning medical
errors and patient injury, a system of detecting and
investigating near misses and medical errors, and establishment
of a just culture. The organization's leadership should be
committed to developing and implement a culture of safety.
However, developing and implementing a culture of safety
should not be made at the expense of reducing the sense of
professional responsibility. Healthcare workers should be
adequately prepared to perform their duties. They should be
aware of their environment to eliminate distractions. In
addition, they should be vigilant in detecting hazardous
situations to prevent the occurrence of such cases.
Patient safety culture consists of psychological, behavioral, and
organizational components. The psychological component is
what individuals think, including their opinions, values,
attitudes, and beliefs. A safety culture requires that employees
should be trained on what safety entails. Safety should always
be the first goal in every health care organization. Most
organizations achieve patient safety by conducting safety
meetings and training healthcare workers. To achieve a
sustained improvement in safety, culture-specific measures,
such as executive work rounds, teamwork training, and creating
safety teams should be implemented. Other methods include;
structured response and rapid response teams, which can
effectively eliminate rigid unsafe culture in healthcare.
Factors influencing patient safety culture.
Burnout.
Different factors, including ineffective teamwork, psychological
and physical overload of health professionals, and unsuccessful
organizational processes, influence a patient safety culture.
Burnout impairs healthcare processes, teamwork, and personal
characteristics. Patient safety is one of the critical challenges in
healthcare today, and in many cases, it depends on healthcare
professionals because they are responsible for providing safe
4. and quality care. To achieve safety in healthcare, healthcare
professionals should be trained since most safety issues arise
from the psychological health of care providers, poor
communication, training, and lack of teamwork. Healthcare
workers should be trained on clinical practice guidelines, better
working conditions, adverse events and new technologies used,
infection prevention guidelines should be provided, and
emotional and psychological support offered to health
professionals.
Healthcare professionals’ wellbeing, anxiety, depression, and
burnout determine the patient-provider relationship and the
quality of care provided: poor wellbeing and high levels of
burnout result in poor patient care and outcomes. Burnout is
directly related to workplace conditions and is caused by
occupational stress mainly arising from the interaction with
other people. Concerning the expected risks, healthcare
professionals get exhausted during working hours, and therefore
they may fail to perform to standards, thus compromising safety
and quality of health.
Patient safety permeates cuts across individual, social, and
organizational factors which depend on human resources.
Burnout depends on characteristics such as human interaction
and physical, organizational factors. Adverse events are
complications that arise from patient care, caused by errors that
are not associated with the natural history of the disease.
Complications occurring as a result of medical errors are
referred to as avoidable adverse events.
Patient safety culture is essential in reducing and preventing
errors. According to the Joint Commission, safety culture is a
collection of values, beliefs, attitudes, competencies,
perceptions, and patterns of the behavior determining the
organization’s commitment to patient safety and quality of
care. A patient safety culture encourages employees to report
near misses and medical errors. Leaders need to implement and
support an environment where employees can speak up to learn
from unsafe conditions, adverse events, and close calls. Leaders
5. can achieve a patient safety culture by encouraging a non-
punitive and transparent approach to reporting. A just culture
that minimizes individual blame and focuses on reducing faults
causing adverse events improves patient safety culture.
Communication
Effective communication is essential when engaging and
providing care for patients. Communication is paramount for
better decision-making and the successful provision of patient-
centered care. Effective communication is essential throughout
the interaction between the provider and the patient as it
ensures that patients and families take part and make informed
decisions concerning their health. Communicati on is important
during diagnosis, assessment, treatment, and follow -up. Poor
communication can expose patients to harm. During a diagnosis
process in the emergency department, 23% of the patients were
not informed about their health. A quarter of them did not
understand the procedure to follow after leaving the emergency
department. Lack of such communication causes harmful
consequences and adverse events.
Effective communication and teamwork promote patient safety
culture. Constant communication between leaders and
healthcare workers improves patient safety culture. Breakdown
in communication between the healthcare provider and the
patient, caregiver, or family contributes to errors and adverse
events. Timely communication of patient progress and discharge
summaries are some of the patient safety culture components.
Poor communication from healthcare provides the leading cause
of medical errors. Inadequate communication contributes to
diagnosis-related malpractice claims.
Leadership
Effective leadership is important in healthcare to foster a
culture of patient safety (Carvalho et al., 2017). Healthcare
organization leaders encourage others to speak up, communicate
issues, and increase safety by promoting an environment of
psychological safety. Leaders can make timely decisions to
protect patients and healthcare workers. Eventually, leaders
6. promoting a positive organizational climate contribute to
employee job satisfaction, reduced medical errors, decreased
burnout, and generally to an improved culture of safety.
Influential leaders use a solid vision to inculcate a sense of
purpose and set the organization’s culture. Leadership
determines the organizational priorities and allocates resources
toward vital safety initiatives.
Leaders must develop and implement strategies that eliminate
intimidating behaviors in the organization (Gutberg & Berta,
2017). Tolerating unprofessional conduct within the
organization undermines patient safety. Lack of a system that
openly addresses such behaviors allows such employees to act
unprofessionally, and that kind of culture can be passed to new
employees. Timely action against such behaviors improves staff
retention and satisfaction, improves patient safety, enhances
reputation, risk-management experience, and creates a better
work environment.
Psychological Safety.
Psychological safety believes that an individual will not be
punished for speaking up or making an error. Psychological
safety is an essential component of patent safety culture and is
associated with burnout and patient safety. It encourages
creativity, transparency, speaking up, and courage when giving
your opinion. A psychologically safe environment allows
providers to discuss matters related to work-life balance, which
improves their wellbeing. To create psychological safety,
leaders should foster an environment where employees feel safe
communicating issues to patient care. Influential leaders
develop a sustainable communication and feedback mechanism
in the organization (Farokhzadian et al., 2018). This increases
the ability to react constructively to patient problems and accept
feedback from care providers. It will be challenging to achieve
a patient safety culture without open communication because
healthcare workers may fear reporting near misses and errors,
thus compromising patient safety.
Collaborative Teamwork
7. Teamwork among employees is essential for a patient safety
culture (Danielsson et al., 2017). Leaders should nurture the
skills of their employees to promote better patient care. Leaders
should also demonstrate a positive attitude which can be
contagious over time. If leaders work together with healthcare
workers, workers are empowered to provide high-quality safety.
Sharing data metrics is an example of collaborative teamwork.
Healthcare workers are more likely to comply with the demands
of workplace objects when they are well informed of why they
should do it (Smith et al., 2017). Collaborative partnership and
effective communication are vital in aligning with a common
goal.
Conclusion.
Enhanced patient safety can only be achieved through adopting
a culture of safety. Patient safety culture is an integrated pattern
of organizational and individual behavior, based on shared
values and beliefs, that constantly seeks to minimize patient
harm resulting from care delivery processes. Patient safety
should be a critical concern for all healthcare organizations and
healthcare workers. It is influenced by communication, the
wellbeing of healthcare workers, teamwork, availability of
resources, and working environment. Patient safety culture can
be referred to as a just culture because it entails providing care
with fairness. The two essential strategies for patient safety care
are; a system within which care providers report near misses
and injuries without blame, relation, or humiliation, and an
open and comprehensive reporting creating an environment that
is reliable in avoiding injuries and near misses (Lawati et al.,
2018).
References
Ali, H., Ibrahem, S. Z., Al Mudaf, B., Al Fadalah, T., Jamal, D.,
& El-Jardali, F. (2018). Baseline assessment of patient safety
culture in public hospitals in Kuwait. BMC Health Services
Research, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-2960-x
Alquwez, N., Cruz, J. P., Almoghairi, A. M., Al-otaibi, R. S.,
8. Almutairi, K. O., Alicante, J. G., & Colet, P. C. (2018). Nurses’
perceptions of patient safety culture in three hospitals in Saudi
Arabia. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 50(4), 422-
431. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12394
Amiri, M., Khademian, Z., & Nikandish, R. (2018). The effect
of nurse empowerment educational program on patient safety
culture: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Medical
Education, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1255-6
Carvalho, R. E., Arruda, L. P., Nascimento, N. K.,
Sampaio, R. L., Cavalcante, M. L., & Costa, A. C. (2017).
Assessment of the culture of safety in public hospitals in
Brazil. Revista Latino-Americana de
Enfermagem, 25(0). https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-
8345.1600.2849
Danielsson, M., Nilsen, P., Rutberg, H., & Årestedt, K. (2017).
A national study of patient safety culture in hospitals in
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Farokhzadian, J., Dehghan Nayeri, N., & Borhani, F. (2018).
The long way ahead to achieve an effective patient safety
culture: Challenges perceived by nurses. BMC Health Services
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Gutberg, J., & Berta, W. (2017). Understanding middle
managers’ influence in implementing patient safety
culture. BMC Health Services
Research, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2533-4
Lawati, M. H., Dennis, S., Short, S. D., & Abdulhadi, N. N.
(2018). Patient safety and safety culture in primary health care:
A systematic review. BMC Family
Practice, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-018-0793-7
Smith, S. A., Yount, N., & Sorra, J. (2017). Exploring
relationships between hospital patient safety culture and
consumer reports safety scores. BMC Health Services
Research, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2078-6
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13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
F. TITLE OF APPENDIX F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
G. TITLE OF APPENDIX G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
H. TITLE OF APPENDIX H . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
46
HOW A PHILOSOPHICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE TEXT OF
MARK 4:35-41 ILLUMINATES AN UNDERSTANDING OF
DIVINE AUTHORITY IN THE PERSON OF JESUS
by
MOISES A. ROBLETO
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty
of the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology
at Mercer University
in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES
Atlanta, GA
14. 2021
HOW A PHILOSOPHICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE TEXT OF
MARK 4:35-41 ILLUMINATES AN UNDERSTANDING OF
DIVINE AUTHORITY IN THE PERSON OF JESUS
by
MOISES A. ROBLETO
Approved:
_____________________________________________________
_ Date _____________
Dr. Jeffrey Willetts, Ph.D.
Faculty Supervisor for Thesis
_____________________________________________________
__ Date ____________
Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford, Ph.D.
Faculty Advisor for Thesis
_____________________________________________________
__Date _____________
Karen G. Massey, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Masters Degree Programs, School of Theology
_____________________________________________________
__Date _____________
C. Gregory DeLoach, D.Min.
Dean, School of Theology
15. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As with any project I have completed, many have been
responsible for my success. I wish first to thank the faculty of
the School of Theology at Mercer University. I would like to
certainly lend my appreciation to my thesis advisor, Dr. Jeffrey
Willetts a true Christian Philosopher of Religion for his time
and assisting or directing my path writing this essay and, Dr.
Lloyd Allen, a man whom I respect and admire deeply. Sincere
appreciation and with deep gratitude to my Old Testament
teacher Dr. deClaisse-Walford, this essay would have never
been completed without her input and professionalism and help
since the beginning of my academic endeavor.
While on the other hand, not directly related to my success in
academic life and business endeavors I would also like to thank
all that did not believe in me, especially my high school teacher
that told me I would never amount to anything. (Thank you so
much for being the impetus in all the good things I do)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii
ABSTRACT vi
CHAPTER ONE 1
INTRODUCTION TO MODERNITY AND THE BIBLE 1
CHAPTER
16. TWO.......................................................................................
...................................................4
Christian Scholars and their Philosophical Attempts to Preserve
Traditional Readings of the Bible 4
Modern Sensibilities And Skeptical Understanding of the
Gospels 9
Ehrman’s Skepticism 11
CHAPTER THREE 25
METHODOLOGY 25
The Research Questions of this Project: Focused to Provide an
Illumination of Divine Authority in the Person of Jesus of
Nazareth 25
CHAPTER FOUR 28
RESULTS 28
The reliability of the Gospels is based on claims that are rooted
in history. As a New Testament historian, Dr. Craig approaches
the Gospels not as inspired Holy Scripture, but merely as a
collection of ancient writings dated during the first century C.E.
Our surprise as seminary students is that the majority of secular
and Christian scholars accept as historical facts events
mentioned in the Gospels. 28
The Reliability of Jesus's Miracles as Indicated in the New
Testament 32
CHAPTER FIVE 37
DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 37
Discussion: Gareth Moore’s Philosophical Assessment of the
Text in Mark 4:35-41 37
The Miracle in Mark 4:35-41 39
Importance of the Study 49
Conclusion: Confirming the Activity of God 49
ABSTRACT
17. MOISES A. ROBLETO
HOW A PHILOSOPHICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE TEXT OF
MARK 4:35-41 ILLUMINATES AN UNDERSTANDING OF
DIVINE AUTHORITY IN THE PERSON OF JESUS
Under the direction of JEFFREY WILLETS, Ph.D.
Explicitly or implicitly and whether we like it or not, there are
problems which arise when modern Christians read the Bible as
a Christian text, as part of their religious practice. The focus of
this study will be on the philosophical problems caused by the
historical distance between the Biblical world and ours. Those
problems arise when a modern lens is applied to an ancient
religious text. In this thesis, I will give particular focus to the
ways that conceptual confusions arise in understanding the text
by providing a philosophical analysis of the concept of miracles
in Mark 4:35-41 and how this Biblical account in the life of
Jesus and his disciples illuminates the concept of divine
authority. I will show how modern assumptions can distort
readings and meanings of the text. I will also show how the
reading of the text may be freed from these confused
assumptions by making a philosophical assessment of the
concept of miracles to support the claim of Jesus’ divinity.
There are many philosophical questions to be asked about what
we find in the text of Mark 4:35-41 regarding a miracle
performed by Jesus and how we can ascribe sense to it as
twenty-first century readers of the Bible. The stated purpose for
undertaking this inquiry was to study the concept of “Divine
Authority” this was accomplished by means of a thorough study
of leading postmodern scholars own published writings, and
lectures, giving special consideration to the work in Philosophy
of Christianity by Gareth Moore. How are we to understand the
story of Jesus calming a storm? Such writings tended and
clarified what we find in the story of a Storm Stilled. The story
is not told in causal terms, it is not a matter of cause and effect,
in fact, the story is told as one simple command and nature
18. obeys. And so in this essay I respond to the disciples question,
not “How did he do it” but, the real question, “What sort of a
man is this, that even the winds and sea obey him?”
v
CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION TO MODERNITY AND THE
BIBLE
Explicitly or implicitly and whether we like it or not, there are
problems which arise when modern Christians read the Bible as
a Christian text, as part of their religious practice. The focus of
this study will be on the philosophical problems caused by the
historical distance between the Biblical world and ours. Those
problems arise when modern lens are applied to an ancient
religious text. In this thesis, I will give particular focus to the
ways that conceptual confusions arise in understanding the text
by providing a philosophical analysis of the concept of miracles
in Mark 4:35-41, and how this Biblical account in the life of
Jesus and his disciples illuminates the concept of divine
authority. I will show how modern assumptions can distort
readings and meanings of the text. Moreover, I will show how
the reading of the text may be freed from these confused
assumptions by making a philosophical assessment of the
concept of miracles to support the claim of Jesus’ divinity.
There are many philosophical questions to be asked about what
we find in the text of Mark 4:35-41 regarding a miracle
performed by Jesus and how we can ascribe sense to it as
twenty-first century readers of the Bible.
One of the most important questions that the world has
19. continuously grappled with is: Who is Jesus? Answering the
question forms the task of what is referred to as Christology,
which describes the study of the person of Christ. Moreover, the
subject of Christology describes a branch of theology that
explicitly deals with Christ’s person both human and divine.
There is no seminary student who is not under some obligation
to study who Jesus is. The Christian
Scriptures are foundational to that understanding and the
Gospels are central to this knowledge.
However, assessing the sense of the Gospels for Christian
understanding is full of difficulties including the gap between
modern and ancient forms of understanding.
The Gospel of Mark is the earliest of the four gospels within the
New Testament and as such, perhaps, the most authentic of the
four Gospels.[footnoteRef:1] This fact and that it survives at
all is important to me. I find the book of Mark appealing
because it not only shows the humanity of Jesus, but also
represents Him as one with divine authority. According to
accounts within the Gospels themselves, Jesus taught uniquely,
and when He spoke, His disciples somehow knew He had an
authority that was unlike any other prophet sent before him.
During my studies of the Old Testament, time and again I have
seen that God is not to be construed as the name of a person or a
thing. And yet in the Gospels, there is a clear indication that the
person of Jesus is one in whom we may recognize the divine.
The focal point of this research will be the passage of The
Gospel of Mark 4:35-41: [1: Peter M Head, “Christology and
the Synoptic Problem, an Argument for Markan Priority,”
Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series (New
York: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 5]
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us
go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took
him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other
boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke
over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the
20. stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to
him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”He got up, rebuked
the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind
died down and it was completely calm.He said to his disciples,
“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were
terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and
the waves obey him!”[footnoteRef:2] [2: All scripture citations
are from New International version (NIV) unless otherwise
noted.
]
When this passage is analyzed, there are difficulties of
understanding the text and that is the kind of challenges
contemporary Christians face, which makes the understanding
of the Bible hard. We see that the ideas underneath the
disagreements are philosophical. And the question is whether
those underlying assumptions by modern scholars are not
themselves part of the confusion in understanding the biblical
text. My goal, through grammatical philosophical analysis, is to
analyze and clarify how to read the biblical text in order to
avoid the problems certain modern readings inevitably create.
In other words, what does it mean that Jesus, in the Gospel of
Mark, is doing impossible things, things not possible for a mere
human? What does it mean that Jesus can command nature, and
nature obeys?
First, the philosophical approach to the question will be
grammatical rather than analytic or hermeneutical. This
approach was pioneered by the twentieth century philosopher
Ludwig Wittgenstein, and has been further developed in the
philosophy of religion by such figures as D.Z. Phillips, Peter
Winch, Norman Malcolm, Rush Rhees, Gareth Moore, and
Stephen Mulhall. Secondly, for the last two centuries the
subject of the reliability of the Gospel of Mark has found no
rest. The size of this paper does not permit to include a
comprehensive examination of all opinions on this topic. This
21. inquiry will focus its reflection on Mark 4:35-41 only. There
are many accounts in the Gospels of miracles performed by
Jesus. I am focusing on Mark 4:35-41 primarily because Mark
is the earliest of the Gospels, and therefore more reliable
historically, and because this particular account in Mark is a
good example of the relationship between the person of Jesus
and the miraculous.
60
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATUREChristian Scholars and
their Philosophical Attempts to Preserve Traditional Readings
of the Bible
This next chapter successfully examines the thoughts and
perceptions of William Lane Craig on the credibility of the
miracles performed by Jesus in the New Testament. One of the
most important tools of communication for modern philosophers
is the way they understand traditional readings of the biblical
text. A believe in Jesus as Christ-the Messiah-separate church,
synagogues, Christians and Jews.[footnoteRef:3] For more than
2000 years, billions of people have believed that the teachings
of Jesus provide them salvation in this world and in the
hereafter as well. The teachings of Jesus have been translated to
almost all major languages, and people believing in his faith are
present in all parts of the world. Christianity is today the
biggest religion in the world, with 2.4 billion followers. It is not
just the biggest religion of today, but it has remained as one of
22. the key religions throughout history since its inception. For the
past 2000 years, it has been expanding from one region to
another and became a source of meaning and enlightenment for
billions of people throughout this time. “Even the most critical
historian can confidently assert that a Jew named Jesus worked
as a teacher and wonder-worker in Palestine during the reign of
Tiberius, was executed by crucifixion under the prefect Pontius
Pilate and continued to have followers after his
death.”[footnoteRef:4] And this is not just because of his
teachings, but also his miracles from which people and students
of the Bible even today find inspiration. [3: Amy-Jill Levine,
The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the
Jewish Jesus (New York: HarperCollins, 2016), 17] [4: Luke
Timothy Johnson, The Real Jesus: The Misguided Quest for the
Historical Jesus and the Truth of the Traditional Gospels (San
Francisco: HarperCollins, 1996), 123.]
The teachings, miracles, stories, words, and deeds of Jesus have
been recorded in four key Gospels, The writings of Mathew,
Mark, Luke and John, and they have passed on from generation
to generation. The Gospels acted as the main source of
information, but the perception and comprehension of Gospels
have changed and evolved over time. The historical study of the
Bible started as the Gospels perceived as supernatural histories
before the age of enlightenment. The masses believed the
stories shared in the Gospel without any critical analysis. They
believed that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and that he
died, and God raised him from death. During the enlightenment
phase, the perception about the Gospels changed. Theologians
of the enlightenment began to critically analyze the teachings
and miracles of Jesus presented in the Gospels and the quest for
the historical Jesus continues. Under this perception, scholars
provided logical rationale and reason for the stories, deeds, and
actions mentioned in the Gospels. This process continued till
1835 when "The Life of Jesus Critically Examined" by David
Friedrich Strauss was published. Then a new era started a type
23. of historical guide to the life of Jesus with attention to
historical authenticity of the Gospels. As perceptions about the
Gospels changed, the perception of Jesus also changed. Today,
questions are raised about the possibility of Jesus born of
Virgin Mary and his resurrection after death. The miracles of
Jesus are questioned even by the brightest minds of today.
William Lane Craig is one of the most influential philosophers
who openly questions the credibility and reliability of the
miracles performed by Jesus. He claims that most of the stories
about miracles of Jesus are legendary and are addressed only by
legends. Still, he gives the benefit of the doubt that Jesus
carried out these miracles as he understands the miracles
a result of divine and supernatural causality.[footnoteRef:5]
Craig claims that when historians critique the four primary
sources of the life of Jesus; even the most doubtful person
cannot fail to believe that Jesus cast out demons and healed the
sick through his miracles, as the synoptic Gospels presuppose
Jesus as a miracle worker. Craig believes that the resurrection
hypothesis, in turn, is dependent on the existence of God, so his
argument begins addressing the criteria of credibility which
enables readers to develop a specific interest in the preaching
and teachings of Jesus as a historical event. In this light,
Christian scholars ended up linking Jesus to these miracles such
as casting out demons and treating the sick[footnoteRef:6] But
most believers today recognize that this idea of mythological
leverage is traditionally inappropriate. On the other hand,
Christian fundamentalist strongly oppose modern scholarship,
and biblical criticism. The extraordinary life of Jesus as a
miracle worker is only necessarily an indication that a person is
divine. [5: William Lane Craig, “Rediscovering the Historical
Jesus: The Evidence for Jesus,” Reasonable Faith 2019,
https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/scholarly-
writings/historical-jesus/rediscovering-the-historical-jesus-the-
evidence-for-jesus/ (accessed August 27, 2020).
] [6: Ibid.
]
24. Dr. Craig states that the focus of discussion around the
reliability of the Gospels, and miracles of Jesus is misplaced. It
is not just the number of manuscripts or age of manuscripts
which dictate the authenticity, but it is also the rationale behind
these miracles which prove its correctness.[footnoteRef:7] All
the manuscripts from the 1st century and 21st century carry the
same stories, actions, words, and deeds of Jesus. Despite the
general belief by Barth Erhman that the manuscripts have been
corrupted or changed and a contrast between the first
manuscripts available to them and today's manuscripts show
that there is not even a single difference in doctrine or theology.
Furthermore, in the New Testament, there are approximately
140,000 words, and among this number, only 14,000 words are
not authentic or do not have sufficient evidence to prove their
authenticity. [7: Levine, The Misunderstood Jew, p.17]
This number is very minimal and presents only 1% of the total
word count. In other words, there exists substantial proof for
the remaining 99% of words. This means that not only is the
New Testament available today for preaching is as accurate as
its first-ever available version, but it also contains the
information which has been authenticated by sufficient
sources.[footnoteRef:8] There exists a distinctive feature
between Dr. Craig's work and the work of Friedrich Strauss.
David Friedrich Strauss, in his book "The Life of Jesus
Critically Examined," stated that the stories, words, deeds and
miracles explained in the gospels are not actual stories but
myths. He provided a unique understating of myth. He said that
myth does not have a physical existence, but it is also true.
Strauss said that these miracles attached to Jesus's name did not
happen, but it does not mean that his early followers
misunderstood natural events as supernatural miracles. In his
opinion, these miracles and stories are created to convey the
attributes and abilities of Jesus. Similarly, Dr. Craig says that a
miracle is an event that the natural causes at a time and place
25. cannot produce at that time and place. In other words, they
reflect the life of Jesus, his abilities, powers, and divine nature.
They do not have to be historically proven because they are not
presentations of history. History might state something different
because there are other accounts of the past, but the Gospels are
a primary source of information about Jesus, his life, and his
teachings. Another perspective shared by Dr. Craig is that the
miracles of Jesus have more connection with faith than
scientific reasoning. For example, Jesus’ birth might seem
biologically impossible, but in terms of faith and belief it is
entirely possible. If one believes that God exists and he is the
creator of this world, then logically we can infer that a powerful
God who is capable of creating the universe can also create a
human life without male intervention. What difference does it
make for God to give life a chance in the womb of a virgin
woman? [8: William Craig, “#10 Establishing the Gospels’
Reliability,” Reasonable Faith June 5 2007,
https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/question-
answer/establishing-the-gospels-reliability (accessed August 27,
2020).
]
Similarly, the death and resurrection of Jesus are differentiated
perspectives in Mark and John's gospels. And since both are
contradictory, it indicates that only one story is accurate, But
Dr. Craig says that neither of the two is correct or
incorrect.[footnoteRef:9] It is not the way the story is told; It is
whatthe story told. Both stories accept Jesus left his home and
went to Jerusalem for his last meal. There, Jesus had
discussions with his followers, after which he was arrested and
crucified the next day. This process has some ambiguities
because of two distinct versions, but Craig argues that the spirit
of the story is more important than its structure. The order of
story could vary, but the spirit or soul remained intact. Dr.
Craig states that the fundamental truth of Christianity is
dependent on the general reliability of the
26. Gospel.[footnoteRef:10] He believes that the Gospels presents
four facts that can be demonstrated historically. Dr. Craig
writes in his published work that historian can examine the
historical grounds for belief in Jesus’s resurrection focusing
number one in the honorable burial by Joseph of Arimathea,
number two the empty tomb, his post mortem appearances, and
the origin of the disciples’ belief in his
resurrection.[footnoteRef:11] According to Dr. Craig the
resurrection accounts are the best proof Christian have to claim
that God has revealed himself decisively in Jesus. The
resurrection is God’s vindication of Jesus’s radical claims to
divine authority.[footnoteRef:12] [9: William Lane Craig,
“Rediscovering the Historical Jesus: The Evidence for Jesus,”
Reasonable Faith 2019,
https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/scholarly-
writings/historical-jesus/rediscovering-the-historical-jesus-the-
evidence-for-jesus/ (accessed August 27, 2020).
] [10: Ibid.] [11: William Craig, “#10 Establishing the
Gospels’ Reliability,” Reasonable Faith June 5 2007,
https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/question-
answer/establishing-the-gospels-reliability (accessed August 27,
2020).
] [12: William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth
and Apologetics, 3rd ed. (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 15.
]
Modern Sensibilities And Skeptical Understanding oOf tThe
Gospels
Bart Ehrman writes, “There are few things more dangerous than
inbred religious certainty.”[footnoteRef:13] Every religion
follows a unique pattern for recording and propagating the
primary teachings, which can be interpreted as per the
requirements of the respective era. Some religions have their
whole teachings in a secured recorded manner, while others still
struggle to find lost parts or confirm the authenticity of current
teachings. This issue is more common in older religions that
were founded when there were no proper tools for writing and
27. recording. Even if there were sufficient tools, the key people
did not think of recording it. For most monotheistic religions,
the recording phase started much later than the initial date of
teachings. Although maximum efforts were done to reach out to
the authentic sources and record only those teachings, practices,
values, and laws that are backed by sufficient evidence, to this
day, many arguments exist questioning the authenticity of these
teachings. These controversies around teachings exist in all
Semitic religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. [13: Bart
D Ehrman, Jesus Before the Gospels (New York: Harper One,
2016), 128.]
In Christianity, the main arguments surrounding the authenticity
and reliability of teachings exist because of differences between
primary sources of information: The synoptic Gospels of Luke,
Mark, Matthew. Another primary source is the Gospel of John,
which contains the highest Christology. The phenomenon of
synoptic Gospels exists because the Gospels of Luke, Mark, and
Matthew share the same stories, teachings, and in most cases,
with the same words in same order. On the contrary, the Gospel
of John has very distinctive content, stories, words, and
theology. This chapter will explore different opinions on the
reliability of Gospels with a special focus on authenticity and
unreliability of gospels under the light of the work of Bart
Ehrman. When world-class biblical scholar Bart Ehrman first
began to study the texts of the Bible in their original languages,
he began to discover the multitude of mistakes and intentional
alterations that had been made by earlier translators. In his
published work, Ehrman tells the story behind the mistakes and
changes that ancient scribes made to the New Testament and
shows the great impact they had upon the Bible we study in
seminary. He frames his account with personal reflections on
how his study of the Gospels in their original Greek
manuscripts made him abandon his faith.
The Gospels of the New Testament are the most inspiring,
powerful, moving, and beautiful books for seminary students.
28. Their stories about Jesus of Nazareth’s deeds and words are a
major source of knowledge for those who seek guidance from
God through Jesus. They have defined moral, ethical, and social
laws for generation after generation. The Gospels have been the
most important source of information and teachings in the
Christian tradition for almost the last two thousand years,
including information regarding creation, morality, a loving
God, mankind in need of a savior, and Jesus coming to the
world in a particular time in history. The scope of these books
is so extensive that they remain equally crucial for civilizations
and for individual lives. Despite their evident significance
throughout history, there is not sufficient evidence that the
books are historically accurate. “There were some books, such
as the Gospels, that had been written anonymously, only later to
be ascribed to certain authors who probably did not write them.”
[footnoteRef:14] [14: Mitchell Reddish, An Introduction to
the Gospels (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2011), 13.
]
Ehrman’s Skepticism
Erhman argues that we do not possess any original copies of the
Gospels; all we have are copies that contain mistakes and
changes made to the original manuscripts.[footnoteRef:15]
There is no denying that they include valuable information that
is historically very significant about the life and death of Jesus,
but the content of the books is also non-historical as well. This
opinion about non-historical content is shared by critical
scholars across the globe. And finally Erhman insists that as a
historian all miracles performed by Jesus cannot be accounted
as historical events due to their incomprehensible supernatural
nature. [15: Ehrman, Jesus Before the Gospels, 128.
]
The Gospels remained a significant part of the lives of masses
throughout history, but their understanding and comprehension
of these religious books varied from time to time and from
civilization to civilization. According to Ehrman, the overall
29. comprehension of the Gospels can be divided into three eras:
Gospels as supernatural histories; Gospels as natural histories;
and Gospels as non-historical myths.[footnoteRef:16] The first
era of understanding, the Gospels as supernatural histories, was
the duration of time from the 1st century to 17th century, from
the beginning of the Christian faith until the bloody wars which
decimated the population in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries. This was a stage where scholars studying the Bible
believed and stated that the teachings and stories mentioned in
the Gospels were, in fact, supernatural histories. This era was
the comprehension of the gospel before humanity reached the
Enlightenment period. Before the advent of the 18th century,
the general belief of scholars termed this era as supernatural
history because only it provided them with a possible
explanation of the stories and miracles mentioned in the
gospels. They believed that the books are based on supernatural
events, and that is why they include stories about remarkable
and miraculous happenings, such as Jesus calming a storm,
commanding nature as God does. The gospels are full of miracle
stories from the birth of Jesus until his resurrection. From start
to end, the Gospels are filled with miracles and magical events
for which the human mind has no explanation, so postmodern
scholars believed them to be supernatural stories. Scholars
called them supernatural but believed them in full spirit. They
were convinced that these events happened with the help of
God, with the exception of the miracle with the storm where
Jesus does not ask for help and calms the wind and waves on his
own. [16: Bart Ehrman, Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the
New Millennium (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999),
15.
]
Furthermore, the second phase of understanding named “The
30. Gospels as natural histories” was the era of enlightenment.
During this time, scholars looked and perceived things very
differently, and they broke free from the previous restrictions
imposed by the Church, and they created a rational way of
seeing and analyzing things. During this phase, the emphasis
remained on the possibility of all human reasons for
comprehending the world and the nature and origins of life in it.
During this time, scholars found scientific and rational reasons
for the miracles that happened during the lifetime of Jesus. For
example, the crucifixion and resurrection were explained by
Paulus as the body of Jesus going into a coma because of severe
stress. Later, he came out of the coma, which has been
perceived as given a new life after death.[footnoteRef:17] [17:
Joseph W. Bergeron, "The Crucifixion of Jesus: Review of
Hypothesized Mechanisms of Death and Implications of Shock
and Trauma-induced Coagulopathy,” Journal of Forensic and
Legal Medicine 19.3 (2012): 113-16.
]
The third phase, named 'The Gospels as non-historical myths,'
started in 1835-36 when David Friedrich Strauss published his
book 'The Life of Jesus Critically Examined.' This publication
initiated the third stage of gospels' comprehension. He argued
that both previous comprehensions were not right and that
gospels were neither supernatural histories nor natural histories;
in fact, they are not histories at all. He presented the argument
that the gospels were actually myths; the stories mentioned in
them never happened. They were created by human minds and
presented to the rest of the world as reality.[footnoteRef:18]
Here the understanding of myth is crucial. Friedrich explained
myth is something that never happened, but usually the main
character in a myth is a god, or supernatural
humans.[footnoteRef:19] In other words, the miracles
mentioned in the gospels never happened, but the message they
want to communicate about Jesus is true. The stories were
created to tell the world truth about Jesus. [18: Ehrman, Jesus:
31. Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium, 15.
] [19: Reddish, An Introduction to the Gospels, 13.
]
Erhman argues the stories mentioned in the gospels are
historically inaccurate, but they attempt to convey and
communicate a true comprehension of Jesus.[footnoteRef:20] It
is certain that some information mentioned about Jesus in
gospels is correct, but their order and additional information are
not. For example, the incident of Jesus leaving his home, going
to the city of Jerusalem and having a Passover meal (the last
supper) is, in fact, true. It is true that this meal and meeting
enraged the Roman authorities, and they ordered the arrest of
Jesus; the details about where the meal was prepared, who
prepared it, where Jesus met his followers when he was
arrested, and when he was crucified are all different. The major
differences exist in the versions explained in the Gospel of John
and in the Gospel of Mark. The two primary sources have
distinctive differences, and their versions of the story contradict
each other. John's version is theologically correct but
historically inaccurate, while on the other hand, Mark presents a
theologically incorrect but historically accepted version. This
does not mean that the miracle of Jesus calming the storm
occurred. Either one of these versions is correct, and the other
is not, or it is possible that neither of the two versions is
correct. Perhaps something else happened, maybe it stopped
raining or the whole story was a fabrication. But the two Gospel
authors perceived them in different ways and then explained in
their own unique manner.[footnoteRef:21] [20: Ehrman, Jesus
Before the Gospels, 128.] [21: Bart Ehrman, “Ehrman &
Licona: Are the Gospels Historically Reliable? Part 1” The Bart
Ehrman Blog: The History & Literature of Early Christianity,
March 18, 2018, https://ehrmanblog.org/ehrman-licona-are-
gospels-reliable-part-1 accessed March 18, 2021.
]
32. Furthermore, the stories mentioned in the Gospels might have
higher religious and theological significance, but they are
historically inaccurate. The life of Jesus was influenced and
impacted by the culture and values of that time. His birth, life,
and death, including the miracle of the storm, are all influenced
by the traditions of his time, but some accounts in the Gospels
present stories that do not relate to the traditions of that time,
which indicates that these stories are historically inaccurate.
This is the same point presented by David Friedrich Strauss and
Ehrman as they argued that gospels are full of such stories that
cannot be correct under historical lenses.[footnoteRef:22] There
are a wide range of inaccurate historical stories, including the
one about Jesus' last meal and crucifixion, the Gospels presents
different accounts sometimes irreconcilable. This is not limited
to this one incident. Many stories mentioned in these gospels
contradict each other or contradict with the historical values of
that time. [22: Ibid.]
Another crucial point that raises the question on the reliability
and authenticity of gospels is that there is little to no
information about the authors of gospels. Even though
throughout history, the Gospels have been deemed as the most
significant source of information about the life of Jesus, and
they have been called by their authors "Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John," there is no information about the authors. The four
most crucial books of the largest religion in the world are
anonymous. The names of authors were never announced in
early manuscripts.[footnoteRef:23] The four Gospels with the
most important information about the life of Jesus of Nazareth
circulated anonymously for decades after they were
written.[footnoteRef:24] A general perception existed in history
that these four authors were followers of Jesus who eye-
witnessed his struggles and his life and then wrote these
versions of Jesus' life, but this is not true. The followers of
Jesus were illiterate villagers belonging to the lower class and
Aramaic speaking individuals.[footnoteRef:25] These books
33. were written by well trained and highly educated individuals
who had a very good grip on the Greek language. They were
probably elite Christians living in big cities and had never
witnessed the struggle of Jesus or even met
him.[footnoteRef:26] Their account of Jesus's life is dependent
on the stories they heard. Their source of information was not
written, but oral stories about Jesus's birth, deeds, words, death,
and then resurrection. There is enough evidence to support the
claim that scribes altered or changed the New Testament on
purpose to fit their agenda, they added and deleted information
not found in older manuscripts, in short, there are lots of
reasons to discredit the authenticity of gospels. Moreover, the
gospels were written some 40-65 years later between 70-95CE.
The difference of four to six decades is a long time, and in that
time, the stories changed generations and no true account was
available. Also, the intention behind these writings is unclear,
which raises questions on the authenticity of these accounts. In
brief, the integrity of authors is as crucial as the integrity of the
content. [footnoteRef:27] [23: Reddish, An Introduction to the
Gospels, 14
] [24: Bart D. Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical
Introduction to the Early Christian Writings (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2011), 76.
] [25: Acts 4:5-13.
] [26: Bart D. Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind
Who Changed The Bible (San Francisco: Harper Collins,
2007), 85.
] [27: Robert B. Stewart, Bart D. Ehrman and Daniel B.
Wallace in Dialogue (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Press,
2011).
]
The gospels are the biggest source of information about Jesus's
life, death, and resurrection, but their authenticity remains
questionable. The comprehension of the gospels passed through
three different phases, including Ehrman’s proposed 'Gospels as
34. supernatural histories,' 'gospels as natural histories' and 'gospels
as non-historical myths.' The last of these states that gospels are
non-historical myths because the stories mentioned in the
gospels never happened, but the message they want to
communicate about Jesus is true.[footnoteRef:28] The stories
were created to tell the world truth about Jesus. This is
supported by the analysis of stories in the light of history.
These stories might be theologically right, but they are
historically unauthentic. Furthermore, they were not written by
those who had first-hand knowledge of these events. The stories
were written by Greek Christians living in far away in big
cities, and they did not have first-hand knowledge of any of
these events.[footnoteRef:29] The authors of Mark, Mathew,
Luke, and John are anonymous, and their identities are never
revealed, which makes the integrity of writing ambiguous. [28:
Ehrman, Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium,
135.
] [29: Ehrman, New Testament, 81.
]
Ehrman wonders whether the New Testament's gospel has
historically accurate stories. He states that there is no historical
evidence of most of the teachings in the New
Testament.[footnoteRef:30] Ehrman doesn't blame Christians
for believing in the New Testament as he believes that
sometimes it is not easy to demonstrate what exactly happened
due to lack of evidence or lack of information.[footnoteRef:31]
Furthermore, it is not easy to keep records of everything that
happens daily, and that is nobody's fault. But this fact makes
Bart Ehrman doubt the preaching and miracles performed in the
New Testament, especially the passage in Mark 4:35-41,
claiming that miracles cannot be demonstrated historically.
Matthew 8:23-27 presents a similar but different account: [30:
D. B. Wallace, Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual
Criticism (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2019), 51.
] [31: R. W. Yarbrough, “The Epistle of John,” in The
35. Historical Reliability of the New Testament: Countering the
Challenges to Evangelical Christian Beliefs, ed. Robert B.
Stewart and Craig L. Blomberg (Nashville: B&H Academic
Publishing, 2016), 599.]
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves
swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went
and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he
got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was
completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind
of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Ehrman does not condemn the New Testament's Gospel despite
not having historical proof of the events that happened in the
New Testament.[footnoteRef:32] He compares the writers of the
New Testament to historians who do not share all the detailed
information about some of the historical events, but stil l get
their audience to believe in their accounts. Just like the New
Testament writers, historians cannot show all the aesthetic
sensitivities of what exactly happened. This means that the
Christian writers could just assume some of the things they
wrote in the New Testament. [32: D.P. Nystrom, “The
Historical Reliability of the New Testament” Journal of the
Evangelical Theological Society, 61 (2018): 381-84.
]
Based on the arguments about historians failing to record every
detail about the historical events, it is not fair to judge the
Christian writers based on their failure to present historical
facts about the Gospel in the New Testament.[footnoteRef:33]
Still, Erhman argues that secular historians do not have the
same religious beliefs as Christians. This means that the
historians in their historical proceedings cannot demonstrate
that Christian God existed in history as they do not show him
36. anywhere in their writings. Still, Christian historians share one
common trait that is the unified demonstrated facts that the New
Testament was written anonymously, all originals documents
have been lost or destroyed, and miracles of Jesus fall outside
of historical spectrum,[footnoteRef:34] as a non-believer and
historian Ehrman asserts is not appropriate to discuss what
probably happened in the past, especially supernatural events.
[33: C.L. Blomberg “The Formation of the Synoptic Gospels,”
in The Historical Reliability of the New Testament: Countering
the Challenges to Evangelical Christian Beliefs ed. Robert B.
Stewart and Craig L. Blomberg, (Nashville: B&H Academic
Publishing, 2016), 42.
] [34: . Yarbrough, “The Epistle of John” in The H, 599.]
Jewish Skepticism of Reliability of the New Testament
This section presents a case against the New Testament, as
highlighted by one of the leading Jewish scholars of our time
identified as Tovia Singer. It is nearly impossible not to
mention a leading Jewish scholar in this work to state the
importance of Jesus Jewishness. Modern scholars like Erhman
and Singer have rejected the idea of Jesus being the Messiah.
For
over two thousand years now, Christians have believed that
Jesus is the Messiah of the Jewish people and all the nations.
Both Tovia Singer and Bart Ehrman develop positions against
the New Testament and miracles allegedly performed by Jesus.
The most common position is that Jesus failed to fulfill
prophecy to the Jewish people, and this made them base their
values and beliefs on a national revelation or Torah. They
claimed that Jesus never fulfilled most of the promises he made
to Jewish people and as such, they could not believe that he was
their savior. Today, most Jewish branches uphold the idea that
Jesus is not their Messiah.[footnoteRef:35] [35: Yarbrough,
“The Epistle of John,” 599
]
37. Singer propones that the miracle recorded in Mark 4:35-41
probably never occurred. In recent decades, discussion of this
miracle presents a variety of problems and has moved in a
number of directions. According to Singer the miracle stories in
the New Testament are fabrications. He turns to the beginning
of Deuteronomy where the Torah addresses miracles: In
Deuteronomy 13:1-2, the Bible raises the question of how to
respond to a “prophet” who offers to show a miracle to support
his message.[footnoteRef:36] How are we to respond if, in fact,
the promised miracle comes to pass just as he predicted? Should
we then follow this “prophet” even if he encourages us to
worship other gods which our fathers did not know? “You must
not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer,” the
Almighty emphatically declares. “I did not send him,” says the
Lord.[footnoteRef:37] For Rabbi Singer miracles performed by
Jesus are just a test from God. This poses certain challenges
that modern readers of the text must face, such as the scientific
inquiry and criticism from Rabbi Singer, who believes that the
messianic age has not and cannot be here yet because prophecy
has not yet been fulfilled.[footnoteRef:38] For example: The
promise to establish the third temple is found in Ezekiel's book,
chapter thirty-seven[footnoteRef:39]Jesus also pledged to
spread God's word and bring people together in peace and
harmony worldwide. However, most Jews believe that Jesus
failed to fulfill all these promises. The Holy temple was
destroyed in the year 70 A.D and never rebuilt. [footnoteRef:40]
[36: Ibid.
] [37: Ibid.
] [38: Tovia Singer, Let’s Get Biblical: Why Doesn’t Judaism
Accept the Christian Messiah Volume 1 (Coppell, TX, USA,
RNVN Publishers, 2010).
] [39: Yarbrough, “The Epistle of John,” 368
] [40: Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, Vol 1: The
Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (San Francisco:
Harper One, 2010), 22.
]
38. No one has ever fulfilled the second coming of Messiah, and in
the Jewish tradition this means that there is no concept of the
second coming of someone who doesn't fulfill his or her
promises.[footnoteRef:41] Jews hold that Jesus did not meet his
Messianic prophecies and promises. This is not true of
Christians, as most of them still believe in the second coming of
Jesus Christ. And the fact that it has not happened yet does not
necessarily mean that it will not happen. Paul, the Pharisee from
Tarsus who became the church’s first great evangelist, confirms
this messianic view, albeit filtered through his understanding of
Jesus as the Christ, the anointed one. [41: Wallace, Myths and
Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism, 304.
]
The early believers and followers of Jesus were Jews who spoke
Aramaic and lived in Israel and practiced Judaism, which made
them conversant with the Hebrew teachings.[footnoteRef:42]
They believed that Jesus was their Messiah and longed to see
him come back for them. However, the Jewish leadership did
not think that Jesus was their Messiah and held different
perspectives. For Rabbi Singer claims of Jesus’s divinity or
miracles are false. He claims that Jesus never fulfilled most of
the promises clearly made to the Jewish people in the Jewish
Bible or Old Testament and as such, He could not believe that
Jesus was the Messiah.[footnoteRef:43] Today, most Jewish
branches uphold the idea that Jesus is not their Messiah. For
Singer, the reference that Jesus as being from the lineage of
King David is a contradiction since according to the Gospel of
Luke and Mathew Jesus was born to a virgin, and therefore be
unable to claim the right to Davidic line because tribal lineage
is traced exclusively through a person’s father clearly written in
Torah. [footnoteRef:44] [42: Ibid.] [43: Tovia Singer,
“The Jewish Response to a Christian Challenge”
https://outreachjudaism.org/about-us (Retrieved June 2, 2020.
] [44: Numbers 1:18.
39. ]
Another aspect that Singer criticizes is the miraculous
birth of Jesus by virgin mother. This virgin birth is described in
two books of the New Testament, namely Luke and Matthew.
However, Singer claims that these two books contradict the
details about the virgin birth of Jesus. For instance, the text of
Matthew states that Jesus was born to Mary, who was a virgin
wife to Joseph and had never had sex with her husband
before.[footnoteRef:45] The book of Luke only points out that
Mary was a virgin and gave birth to baby Jesus. The genealogies
in books contradict each other, these two statements are
controversial as they do not provide similar details of the
accounts or the events leading to the birth of Jesus by the
Virgin Mary, and there is contradiction in the two birth
narratives. Singer, alongside other Jewish biblical scholars, has
long debated against the virgin birth of Jesus. Most scholars
argue that no direct link displays information about this virgin
birth.[footnoteRef:46] They claim that this virgin birth is only a
myth. They explain that the Hebrew word for virgin is betulah
adding “when missionaries try to prove the virgin birth of Jesus,
they incorrectly quote Isaiah 7:14. The Hebrew word they
translate is “Almah” and not “betulah”.[footnoteRef:47] Singer
also argues that Luke and Matthew present different accounts of
the birth of Jesus. He also adds that Virgin Birth is not included
in the early sources of Jewish readings and teachings
documented in the Jewish Bible. As such, it is difficult for most
Jewish people to believe something that is not present in the
historical records of Judaism. Additionally, the scholar claims
that there is no written evidence from history to show that Jesus
was born to a virgin mother. Singer asserts that the notion of
virgin birth comes from the book of Isaiah that describes an
"alma" as the virgin that gives birth. The word Almah translates
to a young woman, but rabbi Singer claims that Christians
translated this word to virgin and accorded the birth of Jesus to
a virgin birth without strong evidence. This fact does not
40. necessarily mean that Mary was a virgin and gave birth to baby
Jesus as a virgin. Either way, other Jews think that maybe Mary
was an Almah and that is the reason why she gave birth to Jesus
despite being a virgin. Tovia Singer writes against the gospel of
the New Testament as he believes Jesus did not fulfill his
prophesies as he promised.[footnoteRef:48] [45: Yarbrough,
“The Epistle of John“381-84.
] [46: Nystrom, “Historical Reliability of the Gospels,” 235.
] [47: Singer, Let’s Get Biblical, 27.
] [48: Nystrom, “The Historical Reliability of the New
Testament,” 382.]
He claims that Jesus as Messiah separates the Jewish faith from
Christianity. This distinction is not the only one, but it’s the
most crucial. Prophecy to a perfect future is characterized by
peace and useful life in various books, including Jeremiah 31;
Isaiah 2; and Micah 4, among others. This was never fulfilled,
and since we live in chaos, war, and conflicts worldwide,
obviously the Jewish messiah has not yet come.
Singer believes that Paul invented Christianity and not Jesus as
most Christians believe.[footnoteRef:4 9] Paul was a supporter
of Jesus Christ, and he converted to Christianity after
oppressing the disciples of the same Christianity on his way to
Damascus. Jewish people believe that Paul was the principal
founder of Christianity.[footnoteRef:50] Then Singer turns his
attention to the New Testament he points out that Jesus never
claimed to be God or messiah, while in the real sense, the
apostle Paul was the principal founder of this religion. He gives
evidence of the seven books in the New Testament, all written
by the apostle. Jewish people believe that Paul developed
Christianity from his teachings as a missionary and an apostle,
and what he experienced as revelation of the resurrection of a
Messiah is not true.[footnoteRef:51] Upon receiving this vision,
Paul traveled to different countries within the Roman Empire to
spread the gospel about the returning of Jesus from death and
reappearing in the kingdom of God.[footnoteRef:52] However,
41. critics of Singer’s work contend that Paul did not develop any
religion, but he only advised people to transform their lives.
Time passed, and Jesus did not return. As a result, Jesus’s early
followers questioned Paul to validate his writings about the
coming of Jesus, which made him establish a Christian doctrine.
[49: Singer, Let’s Get Biblical, 27. ] [50: Nystrom,
“Historical Reliability of the Gospels,” 232.
] [51: Singer, Let’s Get Biblical,110. ] [52: Ibid]
According to Singer, The Catholic Church glued The New
Testament to Old Testament to make it more reliable, but to see
and hear Jesus in his historical context enriches and validates
the New Testament because “Jesus of Nazareth dressed like a
Jew, prayed like a Jew (and most likely in Aramaic), instructed
other Jews on how best to live according to the commandments
given by God to Moses, taught like a Jew, argued like a Jew
with other Jews, and died like thousands of other Jews on a
Roman cross. [footnoteRef:53] [53: Singer, Let’s Get Biblical,
132. ]
Singer believes that Catholic Church attached or glued the
New Testament to the Old Testament to make the story of Jesus
more reliable.[footnoteRef:54] The early Church fathers also
did this to demonstrate some of the events that led to Jesus'
time. [footnoteRef:55] Singer claims that the only reliable
evidence in the Bible is written in the Old Testament, Tanakh is
the word of God, and not the other way around, which is more
different than it is similar to the new synoptic Gospels. “The
assertion of Christianity is that God’s revelation to the Jewish
people and to others did not end with the canonization of the
Jewish scriptures, the Tanakh approximately 450
BCE.[footnoteRef:56] Christians insist that God’s revelations
did not end at that time but continue with the writings of the
New Testament. [54: Ibid.
] [55: Ibid.
] [56: Wallace, Myths and Mistakes, 33-34.
42. ]
Singer believes that Christians have a sole duty to survive and
defend God's word through evangelism and fight against the
enemy, Satan.[footnoteRef:57] He finds this notion
contradictory as the New Testament also states that the idea of
God's kingdom is in people's hearts and has nothing to do with
our surroundings. This teaching implies that what churchgoers
do outside of the church is not a concern to God. Ehrman and
Singer pose an immense problem since both see the Bible
simply as a work of ancient literature full of mistakes,
contradictions, historically unreliable, and not as part of their
religious practice. [57: Singer, Let’s Get Biblical,141.]
CHAPTER THREEMETHODOLOGY
To accomplish this work, this research will examine two
competing approaches to the question of the reliability of
miracle stories in the Gospels, particularly in Mark 4:35-4. I
will examine the philosophical assumptions driving the two
points of view in the discussion of the meaning of the miracle
story and how it functions, and what questions are appropriate
to that discussion. The research will then apply further
conceptual analysis to the two opposing views to clarify the
sense in which the miracle story informs the notion of divine
authority in the person of Jesus. The inquiry will be
grammatical and philosophical in character and will depend on
insights developed by philosophers in the grammatical,
contemplative tradition in the latter half of the twentieth
century.The Research Questions of this Project: Focused to
Provide an Illumination of Divine Authority in the Person of
Jesus of Nazareth
Chapter 1: How can philosophical assessments of the text of
Mark 4:35-41 aid in the understanding of the Divine Authority
in the person of Jesus? As discussed in the introduction, my
focus will be a philosophical understanding of the conceptual
problems generated by modern readings of the biblical text.
Specifically, what kind/s of problem does the historical and
43. cultural distance between ancient and modern/postmodern
readers present to an understanding of the notion of divine
authority in Mark 4:35-41?
Chapter 2: What kind of understanding informs modern
skeptical readings of the biblical text, with specific attention to
the work of Bart Erhman and his reading of the Gospels and
their historical reliability? This section will highlight
traditional modern concerns about the reliability of the Gospels’
accounts of miracles. It will show in what ways a highly
respected biblical historian raises skeptical questions about the
reliability of the Gospels as a basis for believing in miracles.
Chapter 3: What kind of understanding informs modern
recovery readings of the biblical text, with special attention to
the work of William Lane Craig and his philosophical efforts to
preserve traditional readings of the biblical text? This section
will highlight how a highly respected Christian philosopher
attempts to recover the validity of the Gospel accounts of
miracles.
Chapter 4: How does Gareth Moore’s
grammatical/philosophical assessment of Mark 4:35-41 dissolve
the modern tension in reading the biblical text represented
negatively in Ehrman and positively in Craig, with particular
attention to the question of miracles and divine authority? In
this section I will look at how Gareth Moore’s philosophical
assessment of the miracle story in Mark 4:35-41 offers an
alternative reading of the biblical text, presenting a challenge to
the assumptions embedded in both Erhman and Craig.
Chapter 5: This chapter will summarize all the questions
raised from the philosophical perspectives in the interpretation
of the Bible. Also, the issues regarding the person of Jesus and
his life in reference to the book of Mark 4: 35-41 shall be
tackled. How does Moore’s grammatical, philosophical
approach suggest a better way to read the biblical texts, moving
toward a more coherent understanding of the biblical concept of
divine authority in the person of Jesus? In this section, I will
show how Moore’s alternative reading suggests an alternative
44. way of reading the bible, with attention to his work as the
central problem in the philosophy of religion, as an example of
a grammatical reading of divine authority. I will demonstrate
how a grammatical, philosophical reading relates the reading of
the stories of miracles in the Gospels with the divine authority
of Jesus.
Most of the comments discussed revolve around Christianity,
and mostly what I have learned in seminary. In this essay I
looked at problems that may torment the modern-day seminary
student of the Bible. There are many issues involved in reading
the Bible; one is to read it as a work of ancient literature. My
concern was with problems arising for Christian students from
reading the Bible as a specifically Christian book. Half of the
Bible, the part we students call “Tanakh” or the Old Testament
is also what Jewish students use. That is a part that I did not
cover in this essay, since there may be different problems that
arise for Jewish students reading the Jewish Bible today from
those that arise for Christian students reading the Christian
Bible or New Testament. I do not speak for other students, but
since I come from a Christian culture, as, I guess, do all my
classmates, my comments are only a small contribution to the
philosophy of Christianity and not religious philosophy.
CHAPTER FOURRESULTSThe reliability of the Gospels is
based on claims that are rooted in history. As a New Testament
historian, Dr. Craig approaches the Gospels not as inspired Holy
Scripture, but merely as a collection of ancient writings dated
45. during the first century C.E. Our surprise as seminary students
is that the majority of secular and Christian scholars accept as
historical facts events mentioned in the
Gospels.[footnoteRef:58] [58: D. B. Wallace, Myths and
Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism (Downers Grove:
Intervarsity Press, 2019), 16-19
]
Fact #1: After his crucifixion, Jesus was buried in a tomb by
Joseph of Arimathea.[footnoteRef:59] this fact is highly
significant because it shows the tomb or burial location was
known to Jews, in that case, the disciples could never have
proclaimed his resurrection in Jerusalem if the tomb had not
been empty.[footnoteRef:60] A respected scholar John A. T.
Robinson of Cambridge University writes.[footnoteRef:61]“the
burial of Jesus in the tomb is one of the earliest and best-
attested facts about Jesus.”[footnoteRef:62] [59: Luke 23: 50-
53.] [60: William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian
Truth and Apologetics, 3rd ed. (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008),
278.
] [61: Wallace, Myths and Mistakes, 33-34.] [62: John A. T.
Robinson, The Human Face of God (Philadelphia: Westminster,
1973), 131.
]
Fact #2: On the Sunday following the crucifixion, Jesus’s tomb
was found empty by a group of his women followers. The fact
that women testimony was discounted in first century Palestine
stands in favor of the women’s role in discovering the tomb.
Fact #3: On multiple occasions and under various
circumstances, different individuals and groups of people
experienced appearances of Jesus alive from the dead. The
appearance traditions in the Gospels provide multiple,
independent attestation of these appearances; this is one of the
most important marks of historicity. According to the Oxford
classical dictionary, historicity denotes actuality of past events,
46. authenticity, factuality, and focuses on true value of knowledge
claims about the past. [footnoteRef:63] [63: Simon
Homblower, “Historicity,” in The Oxford Classical Dictionary
(Danvers, Colorado, USA: Oxford University Press, 2012), 79.
]
Fact #4: The original disciples believed that Jesus was raised
from the dead despite having every predisposition to the
contrary. Jesus followers were Jews, and they found themselves
between a rock and hard place, first their leader and master was
dead. Jews had no belief in a dying, much less rising Messiah,
the reason Jews until this day do not acknowledge Jesus is
because the Messiah was supposed to overthrow Jews enemies,
not be killed, like Jesus was. They like us believed dead people
stayed dead, there was no belief in a risen Messiah, or any dead
person at the time. The significance of those facts gives us firm
faith in the existence of God and that He sent His message
through Jesus, there leaves no room for doubt. God is the
almighty and everything is under his power, if He is capable of
creating the universe in six days, He is capable of doing small
miracles as well.[footnoteRef:64] The facts about Jesus' arrest,
death, burial, and then empty tomb and resurrection can be
assessed and established separately. These stories might not
seem historically correct, but Jesus was a beacon of change. He
changed the world altogether and introduced the biggest
religion of the world which ruled and existed with full power
for 2000 years, and it is still prospering in Asia, Africa and
Latin America.[footnoteRef:65] That makes the Gospels
reliability significant. [64: Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian
Truth and Apologetics, 16.
] [65: Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, Vol 1: The
Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (San Francisco:
Harper One, 2010),43.
]
Jesus was capable of doing things that might not fall in the
47. general historic context. All the big names in the religious
world, from Buddha to Confucius and from Mohammad to Guru
Nanak challenged the status-quo, and they did not necessarily
comply with the historic traditions and
customs.[footnoteRef:66] heir teachings, words, and deeds were
different, and they did not mold their lives according to the
values and customs of their time. Instead, they brought new
values, customs, and concepts of right and wrong. They not only
followed these values themselves but propagated the message to
the masses. This was not just anybody that was resurrected from
the dead, but Jesus of Nazareth a man approved by
God.[footnoteRef:67] [66: Craig, Reasonable Faith, 33.
] [67: Acts 2:22
]
There is no denying that some differences exist in the accounts
mentioned in the Gospels of John and Mark, but these
differences only present two different perspectives, and they do
not mean that the actual event did not happen. It could mean
that an event happened, and two different individuals perceived
it in a different manner, and then these different percepti ons
reflected in their writings. The miracle in Mark 4:35-41 is
presented first chronologically using Markan priority, and then
the same account is described by another source Matthew 8:23-
27. The fact that the story of the storm is found twice in the
New Testament confirms it happened. One principle historian
take in consideration to establish the probability of an event or
saying is multiple early attestations, according to contemporary
scholarship, when two different sources providing the same
story can be used as enough historical evidence that an event
possibly occurred. [footnoteRef:68] Major critics point out that
Jesus's miracles are not reliable because they are not
historically correct, but the important question is: Is the written
record of history correct? The history of that time is not well
reported either. There are some books and historic recordings
which tell about the values, traditions and customs of that time
48. but raised questions just like questions are raised on the
authenticity of religious books including the Gospels and other
manuscripts. Since little evidence is preserved, the authenticity
of the manuscripts and books about the history of that time is
controversial. [68: Robert Stein, The Criteria for Authenticity
(Sheffield: JSOT Press, 2012), 198. 225- 63
]
Lastly, New Testament scholars claim that there exists a
difference of four to six decades between the actual happening
of events and their recording time.[footnoteRef:69] It is true
that the gospels were not written right away after Jesus's
resurrection, but this does not mean that their recording was all
incorrect. After the resurrection of Jesus, many stories were
attached to him but not all of them must have been included in
the Gospels, as it is stated by the critics like Erhman that the
gospels were written by trained and well-educated authors in
big cities.[footnoteRef:70] It remained the norm among
contemporary scholarship to credit the author of the Gospel of
Luke and book of Acts that while recording the historic events,
he also worked on its authenticity. This is the case with the
gospels of Mark, Mathew, and John as well. They did not write
all the stories they heard about deeds, actions, and words of
Jesus. They investigated it by tracking down the real records;
they checked the integrity of the person who is stating the story.
They looked into whether or not a person telling a story is
deemed as an honest person by his fellow men in society. It was
taken into account that the story is not narrated by just one
person and that multiple eyewitnesses existed for a single
miracle or story.[footnoteRef:71] Similarly, in some cases,
some eyewitnesses were interviewed, and their first-hand
knowledge was recorded. This is not unique to Gospels in
Christianity. This same process was achieved in Judaism, and
repeated in Islam as well when the hadith of Mohammad were
recorded in four main books of Sunnah.[footnoteRef:72] [69:
Pheme Perkins. The Synoptic Gospels and the Act of the
49. Apostles: Telling the Christian Story (Louisville, Westminster
John Knox Press, 2009) 241.] [70: Ibid.] [71: Stein, The
Criteria for Authenticity, 225-63.] [72: William Lane Craig,
The Son Rises: The Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of
Jesus (Wipf and Stock Publishers: Eugene, 2019), 14.
]
In short, it can be deduced that the time difference is not a
right medium basis on which the miracles of Jesus mentioned in
Gospels can be rejected. The most distinguishing factor about
Christianity is that Christians believe that God revealed himself
throughout history as presented in the Bible, at a particular time
and place in times of Palestinian Judaism. As the philosopher
William Lane Craig analyzes, the Christian faith comprises
different past experiences that define the faith through God's
Gospel and miracles performed by Jesus.The Reliability of
Jesus's Miracles as Indicated in the New Testament
Craig highlights five reasons that make him believe that most
Christians tend to assume that the miracles performed by Jesus
were reliable.[footnoteRef:73] First, he states that there was
inadequate time for the people during this time to obliterate the
historical facts surrounding the miracles of Jesus. This is
because the time interval between when the miracles took place
and the spreading of the Gospel was too short for the authors to
memorize all the happenings that led to the miracles. Secondly,
he states that the miracles were not analogous to the modern-
day and folk tales, especially living in an age of reason and
science. These tales do not show the historical events that led
to the narratives of Jesus' miracles. [73: Ibid.
]
Third, Craig highlights that the Jewish transmission of the
sacred traditions was highly reliable and established. The
ability to learn and remember all the information in large tracts
was considered a sophisticated skill for the people who oversaw
some of these miracles.[footnoteRef:74] The philosopher also
50. adds that great consensus has been established in the New
Testament scholarship that is closed to the genre of the
traditional biographies. [footnoteRef:75]Furthermore, the
generations were so highly sacred that they never dared to
question the reliability of these miracles. Instead, they would
have exercised the same care using the Gospels and the miracles
of Jesus. [74: Craig S. Keener, Christobiography: Memory,
History, and the Reliability of the Gospels (Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans, 2019), 107.] [75: Ibid.
]
The fourth reason for the assumption that the miracles
were reliable is that there were significant limitations on the
embellishment of the traditions about Jesus using criteria of
dissimilarity.[footnoteRef:76] These factors would naturally
implement on the facts that preserved the significance of Jesus
in believers' lives. Finally, Craig believes that most people
would assume the reliability of the miracles of Jesus because
the Gospel writers have a reliable track record of the historical
facts that led to these miracles' performance. Even the most
doubtful people can believe the miracles that Jesus performed
and exorcism recorded in the Gospels are
“Authentic.”[footnoteRef:77] He concludes that the only reason
one can deny that Jesus performed miracles is the assumption of
the existence of the supernatural powers during the time of
these happenings, which cannot be justified.[footnoteRef:78]
[76: Craig, “Rediscovering the Historical Jesus,”18.
] [77: William Lane Craig, “The Reliability of the Gospels,” in
The Good Book Blog: Talbot School of Theology Faculty Blog,
May 29, 2015, https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-
blog/2015/the-reliability-of-the-gospels Accessed August 27,
2020.
] [78: Ibid.]
According to Craig, the abundance and the age of the documents
51. that contain the Gospels is enough proof for their reliability, as
observed by the Christian faith.[footnoteRef:79] Craig agrees
that the New Testament is the best demonstration in
contemporary history in terms of manuscripts' closeness and the
number of the documents presented in an original
form.[footnoteRef:80] This notion proves that the writings in
the New Testament are 99 % similar as the original texts that
were written in the first century times. The philosopher also
adds that nearly 140,000 words in the New Testament resemble
the original texts' words, and only 1,300 still don't do the
same.[footnoteRef:81] As such, the Gospel in the New
Testament is 99% established according to Craig. This implies
that the readers are guaranteed the original texts in the Gospel
of the New Testament. [79: Craig, “ Establishing the Gospels’
Reliability,” 49.
] [80: . Keener,” Christobiography: Memory, History and the
Reliability of the Gospels”,51.
] [81: Craig “Reliability of the Gospels,” 2015.]
Craig claims that the gospels intend to bring out
humanity's history since the creation of heaven and earth. This
means that the gospels in the New Testament represent the
literary genre of the historical writings and preaching of
Jesus.[footnoteRef:82] They are highly incredible and not
fiction, mythological, or fable. The philosopher also adds that
great consensus has been established in the New Testament
scholarship that is closed to the genre of the traditional
biographies.[footnoteRef:83] Some of the things make the
Gospel of the New Testament to be credible. As such, the
Gospels' writers were attempting to inscribe a historical account
of people, events, and places that happened historically (Luke
3.1-3). [82:
William Lane Craig, “Rediscovering the Historical Jesus,”
Retrieved on June 21, 2021 from
https://www.cbn.com/special/apologetics/articles/T he-evidence-
for-jesus-part2.aspx
52. ] [83: Keener, ”Christobiography: Memory, History, and the
Reliability of the Gospels”, 82 -83.]
Craig also establishes the credibility of the Gospels of the
New Testament by determining the facts provided in the
Gospels.[footnoteRef:84] He addresses the criteria of
credibility, which enables readers to develop a specific interest
in the preaching and teachings of Jesus as a historical event.
Most scholars and philosophers engaged in the pursuit of the
historical teachings of Jesus have pronounced several strategies
of determining the reliability of the Gospels through the
authentic historical features” including “multiple attestations,
dissimilarity to the teachings of Christians, retention of
awkward materials, linguistic Semitisms, and rationality with
other original materials and traces of Palestinian
milieu.”[footnoteRef:85] It is misleading for scholars to address
these arguments as criteria, as they only focus on the
information's adequacy facts presented in the New Testament.
Craig highlights that this is a matter that is easy to
determine.[footnoteRef:86] [84: Craig, “Rediscovering the
Historical Jesus,” 88.
] [85: Ibid. ] [86: Craig, “Rediscovering the Historical
Jesus,” 111.]
Craig instead develops the criteria of dissimilarity that
amount to the statements about the influence of the Gospels on
Christians and readers using the likelihood of the different
sayings in Jesus's life.[footnoteRef:87] Some events that led to
the preaching of the Gospel and evidence of the events leading
to this preaching bring a meaningful knowledge to Christians
who believe in God's gospel. Craig confirms the credibility and
the reliability of the Gospels of the New Testament through his
criteria. It is indeed not shocking how the Gospel and the
miracles of Jesus can be established considering his
fundamental personal claims, arrest, burial in a tomb, and
finally, his resurrection. It is almost impossible to believe how
53. the disciples came to find out that Jesus had risen from the tomb
and that God had raised him from the dead. As N.T Wright a
British Christian scholars writes:” that is why, as a historian, I
cannot explain the rise of early Christianity unless Jesus rose
again, leaving an empty tomb behind him.”[footnoteRef:88]
Still, the philosopher gives solid reasons for believing that the
gospel and miracles performed by Jesus were credible based on
the historical facts presented in the New Testament. This makes
the gospels of Christ reliable documents and trustworthy
accounts of the life of Jesus in historical times. Therefore,
William Lane Craig conclusively analyzes that God has acted in
history, and Christians can confirm this through the gospels
included in the New Testament. [87: Ibid.
] [88: N.T. Wright, Christian Origins and the Question of God
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992), 26.
]
To conclude, Jesus’s miracles, including the miracle regarding
the storm in Mark 4:35, present stories, actions, and deeds of
Jesus that are as authentic and reliable as any other historic
content. Dr. Craig states that if one has a belief in God, then
there is no reason for not believing in his
miracles.[footnoteRef:89] If God can create the world in days,
he can definitely create small miracles in no time. Furthermore,
these miracles are the reason which tells that God can do
anything at any time to anyone. He is capable of everything. Dr.
Craig analysis gives us a clear picture of the dating of the
Christian sources, its assessment provides good grounds to
believe that the Gospels are and can be reliable historical
documents. [89: William Lane Craig, The Son Rises: The
Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus (Wipf and
Stock Publishers: Eugene, 2019), 14.]
54. CHAPTER FIVEDISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND
CONCLUSIONDiscussion: Gareth Moore’s Philosophical
Assessment of the Text in Mark 4:35-41
The topic “How a philosophical understanding of the text in
Mark 4:35-41 provides an illumination of divine authority in the
person of Jesus” is brought into focus in Gareth Moore’s work
in philosophy for theology. In the times in which we are living,
philosophy of religion has been focused in two things as we
seen in the previous chapters. Number 1; attacking the
reliability of the Gospels, and number 2, defending the Gospels
as historically reliable ancient works of literature. Gareth
Moore, O.P. who was a scholar in Biblical studies takes an
entire different approach and teaches us a better way in
understanding the Text.
The miracle story of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4:35-41 is
important because it seems to indicate that Jesus is a divine
figure. The story portrays Jesus doing what is impossible to a
mere human being, hence the story under scrutiny shows that he
is not a mere mortal.[footnoteRef:90] Jesus speaks and
immediately the storm subsides. If we are not to understand the
miracle story as cause and effect, how can we make sense of
this biblical account? In this chapter is where we discuss the
importance of Jesus speaking to nature and his divine authority.
The story is based on a command from a man and nature obeys.
How can we understand the story and also capture the clear
distinction of Jesus’ close followers in what they say? They are
not asking, how he calmed the storm, but “What sort of a man is
this?” Who is this man, that even the winds and sea obey him?
[90: Moore, Gareth. Biblical Concepts and Our World.
Claremont Studies in the Philosophy of Religion. Edited by D.
Z. Phillips and Mario von der Ruhr. (City published: Palgrave
Macmillan Press Name, 2004), 3.]
The disciples understood that it was not magic or power