Grace Dynamics

We were created to enjoy relationships, and yet live in a very competitive world. So, we seek significance and security through performance, possessions, position, power and the like. Continuously struggling just to make it or striving to reach and stay at the top of the heap, the top of the ladder or any other figure for success has a way of making life complicated robbing us of the most important things in life. Grace Dynamics will help you to simplify your life and realize your destiny by understanding and embracing Gods grace.

Big data and human-computer information retrieval (HCIR) are changing IR. They capture the dynamic changes in the data and dynamic interactions of users with IR systems. A dynamic system is one which changes or adapts over time or a sequence of events. Many modern IR systems and data exhibit these characteristics which are largely ignored by conventional techniques. What is missing is an ability for the model to change over time and be responsive to stimulus. Documents, relevance, users and tasks all exhibit dynamic behavior that is captured in data sets typically collected over long time spans and models need to respond to these changes. Additionally, the size of modern datasets enforces limits on the amount of learning a system can achieve. Further to this, advances in IR interface, personalization and ad display demand models that can react to users in real time and in an intelligent, contextual way. In this book we provide a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to Dynamic Information Retrieval Modeling, the statistical modeling of IR systems that can adapt to change. We define dynamics, what it means within the context of IR and highlight examples of problems where dynamics play an important role. We cover techniques ranging from classic relevance feedback to the latest applications of partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) and a handful of useful algorithms and tools for solving IR problems incorporating dynamics. The theoretical component is based around the Markov Decision Process (MDP), a mathematical framework taken from the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that enables us to construct models that change according to sequential inputs. We define the framework and the algorithms commonly used to optimize over it and generalize it to the case where the inputs aren't reliable. We explore the topic of reinforcement learning more broadly and introduce another tool known as a Multi-Armed Bandit which is useful for cases where exploring model parameters is beneficial. Following this we introduce theories and algorithms which can be used to incorporate dynamics into an IR model before presenting an array of state-of-the-art research that already does, such as in the areas of session search and online advertising. Change is at the heart of modern Information Retrieval systems and this book will help equip the reader with the tools and knowledge needed to understand Dynamic Information Retrieval Modeling.

If you've ever felt challenged as a Christian to say what you believe about life after death, you will find intelligent proposals here. Fr. Grogan's deep knowledge of the current scholarship on subjects like judgment, heaven, hell and purgatory is matched by his skill at clearly presenting insights through stories and examples. This book begins with the idea that every inhabitant of this planet contributes to the shaping of God's project - the life of the world to come - and it emphasizes that the relationships between God and ourselves endure eternally. Rooting everything in this sense of ongoing relationship, Grogan poses and responds to questions such as: Could hell be empty? Can knowledge of the future transform the present? What will it be like to be fully alive? What will we do in heaven? He also makes a clear call to engage with God now in transforming our present relationships, so that everyone may become more truly/fully alive. This is the Christian gift to the world. "The next time anyone asks me about heaven, hell, purgatory, limbo, or anything related to what awaits us after our earthly lives have ended, I will recommend this excellent new book. Father Grogan's approach is wise without being preachy, scholarly without being overly academic and hopeful without being naive. He covers almost any question that a Christian might have about the 'last things' and does so by taking those concerns seriously, answering them carefully and grounding them in Scripture and tradition. Highly recommended." James Martin, SJ, author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything Eternal paradise, eternal torment... is there more to the Christian afterlife than these concepts? ... Father Brian Grogan discusses questions surrounding the afterlife, exploring many ideas that aren't normally presented surrounding the ideas of fate, our lives, and what ultimately lies ahead of us as human beings. Where to From Here is a fascinating read and addition to Christian and spirituality collections. The Midwest Book Review Read full review at Midwest Book Review Fr. Brian Grogan, SJ takes a fresh and intelligently satisfying approach to such well-worn topics as the general judgment, heaven, hell, and purgatory ... [He] offers a fresh and hopeful look at the Christian vision of life after death and is an excellent choice for group discussions on life after death. Liguorian

Utilizing resources from Martin Luther and the Lutheran tradition, this study offers an understanding of the gospel as promise as key to addressing the challenge of relating the missio Dei to a generous, constructive approach toward the religious other. In its construction of a Lutheran missiology, it retrieves and reappropriates four resources from the Lutheran tradition: the gospel as promise, the law/gospel distinction, a theology of grace as promise of mercy fulfilled, and a theology of the cross utilizing the hiddenness of God. The law of God as accusing yet webbing humanity to its Creator; the gospel as the comforting promise of mercy; and the hiddenness of God as mystifying form the overarching framework within which the Lutheran missiology presented here seeks to engage the religious other by dialectically relating gospel proclamation and dialogue. Such a view of "mission shaped by promise" offers the paradox of God being both revealed and hidden in the cross as a distinctive contribution to an interreligious dialogue centered on the ambiguity and hiddenness of God.

The Dynamics of the Liturgy is a constructive critique of the post–Vatican II liturgical reform through the lens of Joseph Ratzinger's liturgical and sacramental theology—written by a former student of the great pope emeritus. For Ratzinger, liturgy is the oxygen of the sacraments, and his sacramental theology, still largely unknown, is the key to understanding his theology of liturgy. This work highlights the specifically ritual dimension of liturgy, and the significance this has for Pope Benedict XVI's proposed "reform of the reform". Father Vincent Twomey warns that the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Roman Rite—which Pope Benedict XVI had promoted to enrich liturgical practice—are dangerously drifting apart rather than, as the pope emeritus intended, complementing each other as part of an authentic renewal of the liturgy.

Did Christ atone for the sins of humanity on the cross? Does God desire all people to be saved and direct his grace toward all people for that purpose? There are some Christians following a deterministic paradigm who believe this is not true. They believe God has predestined some people for heaven and many, or even most, for hell. The rising tide of Calvinism and its "TULIP" theology needs to be respectfully answered. Grace for All: The Arminian Dynamics of Salvation features a distinguished international panel of scholars to examine this controversy. These writers address issues such as election, free will, grace, and assurance. They make compelling scriptural arguments for the universality of God's grace, contending that Christ atoned for the sins of all people and that God sincerely offers forgiveness for all through Christ. This book strives to uncover the biblical position on salvation. We hope the reader will enjoy this stimulating series of articles on the Arminian perspective and that it will spur further writing and discussion. Grace for All: The Arminian Dynamics of Salvation is an updated and revised version of Grace Unlimited, a 1975 collection of scholarly articles assembled by the late Clark H. Pinnock of McMaster Divinity College. The Contributors: David J.A. Clines Jack Cottrell Vernon Grounds William G. MacDonald I. Howard Marshall Roger Olson Grant Osborne Robert Picirilli Clark Pinnock J. Matthew Pinson Vic Reasoner Glen Shellrude James D. Strauss John D. Wagner Steve Witzki

The doctrine of grace, concerning the healing, freeing, and empowering presence of the Spirit in human life, is central in Christianity. This readable, yet in-depth, historical and interpretive study retraces the long trajectory of the theology of grace as thinkers grappled with the mystery that envelops the interplay between God's life with us and our common life together. Retrieving the rich symbols of the Christian past and reinterpreting them within their own cultural context, theologians in different eras shaped the development of a Christian anthropology that plays upon all the registers of the greatness and misery of the human condition. The presuppositions, questions, and benchmark anthropologies of early Christianity, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Trent, and Rahner are critically analyzed in light of recent historical studies and in light of a new climate of ecumenical convergence. The exploration ends by probing the anthropology of contemporary liberation theologies that mark another turning point in the tradition by breaking grace out of the realm of privacy and into the sociopolitical arena.

A leading pastoral theologian re-imagines Catholicism for a new millenium.

Most people think of weakness as purely negative, but true Christianity embraces weakness as a way of life. In this collection of meditations on 2 Corinthians, renowned Bible scholar and theologian J. I. Packer reflects on the central importance of weakness for the Christian life. He exhorts readers to look to Christ for strength, affirmation, and contentment in the midst of their own sin and frailty. Now in his mid-eighties, Packer mediates on the truths of Scripture with pastoral warmth and exegetical care, drawing on lessons learned from the experience of growing older and coming face-to-face with his own mortality. Overflowing with wisdom gleaned from a life of obedience to Christ and dependence on his Word, this encouraging book ultimately directs readers to the God who promises to be ever-present and all-sufficient.