Thomas E. Jenkins – författare

It is a truism that modern theology is mostly dull and irrelevant to religious life. In this book, Thomas Jenkins maintains that theology became boring because the depiction of God as a character in theology became boring. To a large extent, theologians have fashioned the character of God according to their own notions of character, and especially from notions derived from contemporary literature. In the early 19th century, American theologians depicted God in terms of the serene benevolence of neoclassicism, and the effusive sympathy of sentimentalism. These styles persisted in theology long after they lost favour in the larger culture, where the romantic character had come to be seen as most admirable and interesting. Jenkins considers why it proved difficult for theologians to adopt a romantic characterization of God, and how this hurt theology.

Educated people have become bereft of sophisticated ways to develop their religious inclinations. A major reason for this is that theology has become vague and dull. In The Character of God, author Thomas E. Jenkins maintains that Protestant theology became boring by the late nineteenth century because the depictions of God as a character in theology became boring. He shows how in the early nineteenth century, American Protestant theologians downplayed biblical depictions of God''s emotional complexity and refashioned his character according to their own notions, stressing emotional singularity. These notions came from many sources, but the major influences were the neoclassical and sentimental literary styles of characterization dominant at the time. The serene benevolence of neoclassicism and the tender sympathy of sentimentalism may have made God appealing in the mid-1800s, but by the end of the century, these styles had lost much of their cultural power and increasingly came to seem flat and vague. Despite this, both liberal and conservative theologians clung to these characterizations of God throughout the twentieth century. Jenkins argues that a way out of this impasse can be found in romanticism, the literary style of characterization that supplanted neoclassicism and sentimentalism and dominated American literary culture throughout the twentieth century. Romanticism emphasized emotional complexity and resonated with biblical depictions of God. A few maverick religious writers-- such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, W. G. T. Shedd, and Horace Bushnell--did devise emotionally complex characterizations of God and in some cases drew directly from romanticism. But their strange and sometimes shocking depictions of God were largely forgotten in the twentieth century. s use "theological" as a pejorative term, implying that an argument is needlessly Jenkins urges a reassessment of their work and a greaterin understanding of the relationship between theology and literature. Recovering the lost literary power of American Protestantism, he claims, will make the character of God more compelling and help modern readers appreciate the peculiar power of the biblical characterization of God.

Written in a lively and accessible style, Antiquity Now opens our gaze to the myriad uses and abuses of classical antiquity in contemporary fiction, film, comics, drama, television - and even internet forums. With every chapter focusing on a different aspect of classical reception - including sexuality, politics, gender and ethnicity - this book explores the ideological motivations behind contemporary American allusions to the classical world. Ultimately, this kaleidoscope of receptions - from calls for marriage equality to examinations of gang violence to passionate pleas for peace (or war) - reveals a 'classical antiquity' that reconfigures itself daily, as modernity explains itself to itself through ever-expanding technologies and media. Antiquity Now thus examines the often-surprising redeployment of the art and literature of the ancient world, a geography charged with especial value in the contemporary imagination.

Written in a lively and accessible style, Antiquity Now opens our gaze to the myriad uses and abuses of classical antiquity in contemporary fiction, film, comics, drama, television - and even internet forums. With every chapter focusing on a different aspect of classical reception - including sexuality, politics, gender and ethnicity - this book explores the ideological motivations behind contemporary American allusions to the classical world. Ultimately, this kaleidoscope of receptions - from calls for marriage equality to examinations of gang violence to passionate pleas for peace (or war) - reveals a 'classical antiquity' that reconfigures itself daily, as modernity explains itself to itself through ever-expanding technologies and media. Antiquity Now thus examines the often-surprising redeployment of the art and literature of the ancient world, a geography charged with especial value in the contemporary imagination.

Intercepted Letters examines the phenomenon of epistolarity within a range of classical Greek and Roman texts, with a focus on letters as symbols for larger, culturally constructed processes of reading, writing, and interpretation. In addition, it analyzes how the epistolary form occasionally problematizes—for lack of a better word—the introduction of the technology of writing into cultures already heavily implicated in the authority of the spoken, or sung, word. The methods of intertextuality and reader-response theory that have so revolutionized other aspects of classical scholarship have not, in the main, been applied to epistolarity studies; studies of epistolarity have instead tended to focus on individual collections: Cicero's letters, Pliny's letters, Plato's letters. Epistolarity that occurs in larger narrative contexts (such as tragedy, oratory, and historiography) remains woefully under-theorized; moreover, a consistent thread in the introduction of epistolarity into non-epistolary contexts is that of a destabilizing or dislocating narrative device. Intercepted Letters argues that epistolarity has certain formal features that can be found evenoutside of epistolary collections, including the problematics of communication, an emphasis on authorial absence, a hypersensitivity to interpretation, and an implicit focus on power (who controls the voice?). These aspects are as integral to studies of epistolary episodes as sheep, flutes, shepherds, and amoebic poetry are to pastoral ones, and yet seem to be comparatively neglected, or else formulated as individual observances rather than a pattern. Intercepted Letters thus examines a number of epistolary tropes—in authors as wide-ranging as Euripides, Ovid, and the authors of the Historia Augusta—as it argues for the importance of epistolarity in analyzing the poetics of reading in the ancient world.

Learn how to design and implement successful aeration control systemsCombining principles and practices from mechanical, electrical, and environmental engineering, this book enables you to analyze, design, implement, and test automatic wastewater aeration control systems and processes. It brings together all the process requirements, mechanical equipment operations, instrumentation and controls, carefully explaining how all of these elements are integrated into successful aeration control systems. Moreover, Aeration Control System Design features a host of practical, state-of-the-technology tools for determining energy and process improvements, payback calculations, system commissioning, and more.Author Thomas E. Jenkins has three decades of hands-on experience in every phase of aeration control systems design and implementation. He presents not only the most current theory and technology, but also practical tips and techniques that can only be gained by many years of experience. Inside the book, readers will find: Full integration of process, mechanical, and electrical engineering considerationsAlternate control strategies and algorithms that provide better performance than conventional proportional-integral-derivative controlPractical considerations and analytical techniques for system evaluation and designNew feedforward control technologies and advanced process monitoring systemsThroughout the book, example problems based on field experience illustrate how the principles and techniques discussed in the book are used to create successful aeration control systems. Moreover, there are plenty of equations, charts, figures, and diagrams to support readers at every stage of the design and implementation process.In summary, Aeration Control System Design makes it possible for engineering students and professionals to design systems that meet all mechanical, electrical, and process requirements in order to ensure effective and efficient operations.

Learn how to design and implement successful aeration control systems

Combining principles and practices from mechanical, electrical, and environmental engineering, this book enables you to analyze, design, implement, and test automatic wastewater aeration control systems and processes. It brings together all the process requirements, mechanical equipment operations, instrumentation and controls, carefully explaining how all of these elements are integrated into successful aeration control systems. Moreover, Aeration Control System Design features a host of practical, state-of-the-technology tools for determining energy and process improvements, payback calculations, system commissioning, and more.

Author Thomas E. Jenkins has three decades of hands-on experience in every phase of aeration control systems design and implementation. He presents not only the most current theory and technology, but also practical tips and techniques that can only be gained by many years of experience. Inside the book, readers will find:

Full integration of process, mechanical, and electrical engineering considerations Alternate control strategies and algorithms that provide better performance than conventional proportional-integral-derivative control Practical considerations and analytical techniques for system evaluation and design New feedforward control technologies and advanced process monitoring systems

Throughout the book, example problems based on field experience illustrate how the principles and techniques discussed in the book are used to create successful aeration control systems. Moreover, there are plenty of equations, charts, figures, and diagrams to support readers at every stage of the design and implementation process.

In summary, Aeration Control System Design makes it possible for engineering students and professionals to design systems that meet all mechanical, electrical, and process requirements in order to ensure effective and efficient operations.