With the revolutions in Eastern Europe precipitating a radical transformation of the Cold War which has dominated East-West relations for the past half century, there is a need and an opportunity to examine anew the processes and structures of modern warfare. By constructing a model of the Cold War as an addictive system in which the Americans and the Soviets have cooperated as “nuclear” codependents in the addictive process of the arms race it may be possible to gain a more realistic (dynamic and systemic) understanding of the forces driving global militarism as well as some insights into the dangers which lie ahead as the United States attempts to withdraw and recover from this reality.

The Bible has two different ways of speaking about two objects of God's love: Israel and Zion. Israel is masculine, and Zion/Jerusalem is feminine. The difference between the two is more visible in Hebrew which distinguishes masculine and feminine in the verbs as well as in the adjectives. Neglect of this gender distinction by calling Israel “she” leads to distortion of biblical speech and thought, and to misunderstanding the Bible's image for the relation between God and Israel. Recognition of biblical usage and its gendered expression ought to precede theological reflection.

Momentary divine instigations or seeds of love, liberty, and self-realization are showered down upon us inviting us to contemplation, conversion, and commitment. Contemplation knows God as the source of these instigations, and also knows them as a flow of opportunities by which we may respond to God in love. Merton calls these instigations “missions,” or “seeds of contemplation.” They are identical to Whitehead's “initial aims.” Whitehead's distinction of the “initial aim” and the “subjective aim” is important: each moment of emergent human existence is constituted by the tension of these two aims. The “initial aim” is taken in by the newly forming subject and redirected somewhat; that is, the new actual entity modifies the freedom it receives with the freedom of its own subjective decision. The new project designed by the actual entity out of the “initial aim” is called the “subjective aim.” The initial aim is the spark of givenness from God by which the new entity originates, and the subjective aim is the appropriation and redirection of this energy on the part of the new actual entity. The reality of contemplation involves attention to the initial aims, while conversion is concerned with the process by which the initial aim becomes the subjective aim.

John Henry Newman's thoughts about education extend far beyond that philosophy of university education which is developed in his famous Idea of a University. He was acutely aware that the relationship between teachers and learners is fundamentally a social relationship, and one that can take various social forms. What he most admired was a highly personal and deeply sympathetic relationship, and what he most feared was its replacement by impersonal institutional structures. His convictions in this regard have deep roots in his personal experience, as well as in his interpretation of history and theology. To examine those roots both enlarges one's appreciation of Newman's educational wisdom and sharpens one's insight into his complex personality.