The Biblical Institute

As network programmability promotes increasingly intelligent hosts, NICs, and switches, we argue that the next frontier lies in making the cables themselves smarter. By embedding lightweight, wire-speed processing directly within transceivers, we enable precise, low-latency, and energy-efficient network functions, providing a modular and cost-effective path to extend the life of legacy infrastructure and to fundamentally rethink where intelligence belongs in the data plane. To concretize such vision, this paper introduces FlexSFP, a programmable variant of the standard SFP+ transceiver, embedding lightweight FPGA-based logic for in-line packet processing. Driven by both technical and economic considerations, FlexSFP offers a compelling "cheap path" alongside host CPUs and SmartNICs, enabling targeted acceleration where cost, power, and deployment flexibility are critical. We explore practical use cases, such as per-port firewalling, in-line telemetry, and retrofitting legacy switches, and outline a feasible architecture and programming model.

The article aimed to investigate and describe the biblical identity of the Churches of the Reformation Heritage (CRH) in the Republic of Croatia from 1990 to 2020. The author utilized sources such as newspapers, magazines, books, and social media published by the CRH during the relevant period, as well as personal observations of how CRH believers identified themselves, biblical texts, and his own long-term experience as a CRH member and an associate of CRH’s educational and research institutions. The biblical identity of the CRH is based on the fundamental common belief that the Bible is the Word of God and, therefore, the supreme authority for faith and life, which includes the identity that God gives to those who accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. The believers in CRH identified themselves, based on the New Testament texts, as born-again, consciously baptized, “in Christ,” saved, converted, God’s children and God’s family, Christ’s disciples, saints, Biblical or New Testament Christians, and as God’s, that is, Christ’s church. Biblical identity was primarily shaped through participation in local church activities, where the Bible was taught and studied, as well as through personal Bible reading and study. Certain deviations from biblical identity are also described.

Suvremeno proučavanje povijesti hrvatskoga biblijskog prevoditeljstva umnogome se usredotočuje na nekoliko vrsnih biblijskih prevoditelja koji su nas umnogome zadužili u biblijsko-prevoditeljskoj baštini. No, ponekad je to i nauštrb nekih naših hrvatskih biblijskih prevoditelja koji su zanemareni, a o njihovu se djelu i vrlo vrijednom doprinosu vrlo malo, ili tek usputno, govori, piše ili zna. Jedan od takvih je i fra Silvije Grubišić, jedan ne samo vrijedan, nego i važan čimbenik u hrvatskom biblijsko-prevoditeljskom djelu. O Grubišićevu prijevodu Staroga zavjeta vrlo je malo, a ponekad i samo uzgred spomenuto. O kritičkim, jezičnim i tekstualnim analizama toga pri- jevoda nema ni govora. Ovim se člankom nastoji ukazati na iznimnu vrijednost biblijskoga prevoditeljskog djela fra Silvija Grubišića. Grubišićev je prijevod Staroga zavjeta vrlo osebujan, atipičan, zasigurno originalan. Valja stoga istaknuti te posebnosti, djelomice ih i tekstualno analizirati te tako do- prinijeti da se čuva i očuva bogata hrvatska biblijsko-prevoditeljska baština.

This article addresses Ishmael’s place vis-à-vis Isaac within the framework of the Abrahamic covenant. The study addresses some essential aspects of the Abrahamic covenant that are related to the promises, unity, and conditionality of the covenant. Then, it undertakes a close examination of Isaac in the context of the promises and blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. And finally, it examines Ishmael’s role in the Abrahamic covenant and his characterization vis-à-vis Isaac. Clearly, the Bible by no means regards Ishmael out of the purview of the covenant blessings. No people group has special privileges or priorities to the exclusion of others when it comes to salvation. Jesus is the true seed of Abraham.

The Cape Town Commitment: A Confession of Faith and a Call to Action is one of the significant documents of evangelical Christianity that briefly addresses many important topics; one of such topics is discipleship. This article traces the theme of discipleship in the document and offers a theological reflection on the content and form of discipleship for contemporary evangelical Christianity. After the first part where the topic of discipleship is addressed, the article continues to offer a theological reflection on the topic of discipleship. Hence, the second part discusses the content and the form of discipleship. While the third part explains the importance of discipleship arguing that discipleship (Matthew 28) is the channel through which God realizes the return of the original creational blessing that was promised to Abraham in Genesis 12. In the conclusion it is pointed out that if we want to take the topic of discipleship from The Cape Town Commitment seriously, the following is needed: a) to understand that discipleship is not an after-school or extracurricular activity but a channel through which God wants to spread his redemptive blessing to all nations; b) in our local churches and academic institutions we need to return teaching by example, because various church or educational activities are part of the discipleship but they are not a supplement for teaching by example; c) to redeem the term “Christian” in a way that this term is only used for those who are “disciples.”

The creation of the planet Earth together with the flora and fauna culminates with the process of creating man in the image of God. But that image man defiled with sin. This has resulted in the separation of creation from the Creator and the creation of various crises, including ecological crises. Accordingly, the topic of ecology is increasingly relevant in our time, and many representatives of the Protestant and Evangelical Christian Churches throughout history have spoken about the importance of ecology. In our time, that topic was discussed 2010. at the Third Lausanne Congress for the Evangelization of the World in Cape Town. Since the congress gathered a large number of representatives of evangelical churches around the world, the position presented in the form of a document is also a view of ecology from the prism of evangelical Christianity. Since the love of God, among other things, is expressed in the love of God’s creation, this article first analyzes the relationship between theology and ecology. After that, the discussion is about how the biblical record of creation should inform and shape the relationship of evangelical Christians toward the Earth. The third part of the article deals with the issue of “ecological footprint” at the world level but also looks at where is Croatia in all this. The fourth part of the article brings an overview of ecology from the prism of Protestant and evangelical churches, while the fifth part discusses the challenges of today and offers two directions: one is materialistic-humanistic, and the other is Protestant-evangelical. The article concludes that Christians as children of God are called to do the will of the Heavenly Father and to be the example and light in today’s egocentric world. Ecological crises are directly correlated with the crisis of morality, but equally, all activities carried out to preserve the environment without changing human nature and consequently his habits, achieve only short-term results without fundamental changes. Only by changing man himself and his repentance can he become responsible in his ethical approach to the environment that surrounds him.

U radu se govori o istaknutom anabaptističkom reformatoru Balthasaru Hubmaieru koji je svojim djelima dao značajan doprinos razvoju ranoga anabaptističkog pokreta. 2018. godine se prisjećamo 490. godišnjice njegove smrti spaljivanjem na lomači zbog vjerskih uvjerenja. U radu se predstavlja Hubmaierova biografija i daje pregled njegova stvaralaštva. Posebna pažnja posvećuje se njegovu prvom radu koji sadrži 18 teza, iz lipnja 1524., pod nazivom “Achtzehn schluß rede so betreffende ein gantz Cristlich leben“. U tezama je vidljiv Hubmaierov pogled na teologiju, ekleziologiju i pastorologiju na početku njegova reformacijskog djelovanja.

Dokters zijn in alle culturen bekend en gewaardeerd. Huisartsen verkeren daardoor in een unieke positie om niet alleen allochtone patienten, maar ook hun familie bij te staan. Oog voor de familie is in twee opzichten van belang. Ten eerste speelt de familie door de vaak hechte verbanden in allochtone kring bij de behandeling een cruciale rol als samenwerkingspartner. Ten tweede zijn degenen die thuis voor de patient zorgen, meestal de vrouwen, vaak nog zwaarder belast dan autochtone mantelzorgers. Soms worden zij daardoor zelf patient. Door hun positie als autoriteit kunnen huisartsen families ertoe bewegen om mee te werken aan de behandeling en om andere vormen van professionele ondersteuning te accepteren. Als zij deze rol op zich nemen, moeten huisartsen een aantal interculturele communicatieproblemen overwinnen en bruggen bouwen. De extra inzet valt op te brengen met steun van andere beroepskrachten, zoals allochtone zorgconsulenten. De ontwikkelde vaardigheden en samenwerkingsrelaties komen ook van pas in de omgang met autochtonen in een achterstandssituatie.

A study was conducted to determine the effects of long-term vegetable production on some organic matter (OM) chemical properties in an organic soil located near Cloverdale, British Columbia. Producers in this area are concerned about yield reduction and some feel this is due to changes in the soil quality. Paired soil samples were collected from two transects: one in a 40-yr-old vegetable field, and the other in an adjacent fence row. The transects were positioned in order to collect samples from a relatively deep organic deposit and from a shallow deposit where a ridge of mineral subsoil had been exposed. Initial analysis showed that cultivation had changed some chemical properties only in the plow layer. The exception was pH which was higher throughout the sample depth of the cultivated transect. Organic matter loss from the cultivated field was estimated 28% by weight, based on ash accumulation. In the cultivated deep organic section (west of the ridge) OM and C contents were reduced by 7.1 and 5.6% respectively, whereas on the cultivated ridge OM, C, N and S contents and the amount of C, N and S mineralized were reduced by 43.3, 41.6, 43.4, 25.9, 42.8, 60.8 and 52.5%, respectively. On an ash-free basis there were no changes in the deep organic section. In the ridge, the OM sulphur content had increased and the amount of N and S mineralized were decreased compared with the uncultivated transect. In the cultivated surface layer, increased S content in the OM was caused by incorporation of a S-rich subsurface layer during tillage operations. Increases in P content in the cultivated transect were attributed to P fertilization. Within the cultivated transect, C, N and S contents in the exposed mineral ridge were 48, 48, and 44%, respectively, lower than in the deep organic surface layer on the west side of the ridge. The C:N ratios were unchanged at about 16. The chemical stability of the OM was attributed to its well-decomposed nature. At this particular site, the degradation due to excessive cultivation was manifested mainly in OM loss, rather than in changes in OM quality. The main concern of producers is to reduce or prevent further loss of soil OM. Key words: Humisol, organic soil, cultivation, mineralizable C, N and S, incubation