The Graduate Scrawl

Ethan

It seems like every seminary student on the planet has a theology blog these days, and I don’t doubt they also all following twenty or so theology blogs as well. It’s quality, not quantity, that’s needed in the theological blogosphere, and I’m willing to do my part by recommending a couple of excellent blogs here.

I believe I’ve mentioned Australian theology professor Ben Myers’ blog in this space before (www.faith-theology.com). His blog is pretty comprehensive. There are book reviews, in-depth treatments of theological issues, stories and poems, jokes, sermons, meditations, and so on and on. The only real constant is the consistent quality and good-naturedness of all of the above. Following Faith and Theology is a good way to keep abreast of a number of theological topics, as well as to maintain the kind of good humor and bonhomie that the discipline requires.

My friend (and former classmate at Toccoa Falls College) Carson Clark has been blogging for some time at www.carsontclark.com. I’ve enjoyed watching him develop, both as a thinker and as a writer, to the extent that he’s now reached often dizzying heights of erudition and grace. He’s always informative, always rigorous, and always ready to engage readers personally in the comments section. His blog covers a broad range of theological and ecclesiastical issues, usually from his own personal experience. (One of his blog entries, “A Dyslexic’s Musings on Most Seminaries’ Biblical Languages Requirement,” appeared in the Scrawl last semester.) He’s also (I’m especially pleased to say) an Anglican.

Rory

Many of you have already discovered this by now, but if you haven’t, my endorsement this week is Spotify. It’s a free music streaming application (paid for by occasional ad interruptions, like normal radio only less annoying and long, and by banner ads within the app itself) that allows you to search an enormous music database and listen through whole albums. You can also create playlists and – perhaps the most innovative part of the app – see what friends are listening to through Facebook integration. It’s a great way to discover new music, and if you can get over the advertising (which happens maybe every two or three songs) it’s a great way to hear music of your choice for free. There has been opposition to Spotify by some bands (notably Coldplay and the Black Keys) because the pay-per-stream model isn’t the most lucrative and they’re worried that these services can kill album sales; for now, though, most seem to be happily jumping on board, with great consequences for those of us who write research papers.

Jaye

I have a fish tank. When I didn’t live in a dorm, I used to have soft, fuzzy pets, but now the closest I’m able to get is a little 5-gallon tank full of aquatic plants, a snail named Herodotus, two cardinal tetras named after Assyrian kings (they ate their babies last semester, darned Assyrians), and a little glass tetra named Suppiluliuma. Didn’t catch that last one? Perhaps you need to spend more time in the Old Testament Department, my friend. It’s where all the obscure Hittite kings hang out. So what this all means for you is that I’m endorsing the sweet, sweet pleasure that is having a fish tank. Sometimes, if I’ve been spending too much time alone or have been up too late at night, I can almost imagine that the gang (that’s my fish) are looking at me with love and recognition in their little fishy eyes. Yes, yes, I know that fish have an attention span of something like 6 seconds, and they’ve really only forgotten that I just fed them 2 minutes ago, and now they want to be fed again, but it still makes me feel like they have enough sentience to know who I am. Fish. Stare at the tank for 5-10 minutes during a super heavy study session. It’s the most relaxing study break you’ll ever take. I think.