Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

…or, Something to keep you busy over the weekend…

…or, The Past Fortnight in the Theoblogosphere.

Sorry for the radio silence this past week. It is mid-semester reading week here at PTS and, while that usually means an uptick in my productivity, childcare responsibilities have reversed the trend this year. On the plus side, I got some quality time with my boy. But the rest of the theo-blogosphere kept things ticking along in my absence. Here is some of the stuff I found particularly interesting.

• “A Re-Reading Guide to Schleiermacher” - Evan Kuehn reflects on what it means to read Schleiermacher’s Glaubenslehre in light of his letters to Lücke. I suspect that I could guess the transmission history whereby this approach was bequeathed to Evan.
• “Doodlings” - Kim Fabricius is up to more his usual playfulness. One of my favorites from this batch: “If the eucharist makes the church, perhaps we need a different vintage.”
• “A Theology of Taxation” - Richard Murphy offers meaty food for thought: “progressive taxation based on the ability to pay is a…necessary part of a theology of taxation. We do have a duty to provide for those less well off than ourselves and in part that is expressed through accepting and paying progressive taxation.”
• “Letter from Barth to Bromiley” - Kait Dugan reflects on the (in)famous letter from Barth to Bromiley concerning his unwillingness to engage in dialog with (certain) American evangelicals.
• Another Special Journal Issue on TF Torrance - This time it is the Theology in Scotland journal, associated with the University of St. Andrews school of divinity. The link will give you article abstracts but you'll have to make your own way if you want to read them in full.
• "Semper Reformanda" - Darren Sumner, our current PTS plant at Aberdeen, gives some thoughts on this great Reformational principle. The punchline: "The reason we are theologically Protestant, and not Catholic or Eastern Orthodox, is because we believe that our doctrines themselves are not sacred -- that the speech of the church is not equal to the Word of God."
• "A Guide to Grading Exams" - This guide has literally saved me days of my life!
• "Densil Morgan, Barth Reception in Britain" - More Kim, he's been busy.
• "Our Churches as Self-Obsessed Teenagers" - Friend of the blog and all around neat guy, Jason Ingalls, has a discussion with his wife.
• "Damaging Ambiguity in Modern Worship" - For the record, I like a good hymn, and my brother is particularly good at updating old hymn music while keeping the beloved melody intact.
• "How to Use a Journal Article" - A helpful tip for using your research time more effectively. Point #4 is especially important, I believe, and could stand to be a bit higher up on the list.
• "Church-as-polis OR Church-as-mission" - Nathaniel Maddox reflects on ecclesiology in conversation with Nate Kerr's book, Christ, History and Apocalyptic.