have a coffee

RSS? Atom? Wondering what those links are all about? Well, they allow you to subscribe to this site, so that you will be notified whenever there is an update.

RSS and Atom are two technologies which are used for subscriptions to websites. If a site publishes an RSS or Atom feed, you can subscribe to that feed using an application called a feed reader. There are many feed readers available today, some free while others only offer certain basic features for free.

The principle of sola scriptura, theological truth derrived from the Scriptures, has continued straight from the days of the Protestant reformation into the Evangelical mainstream of today. With postmodern thinking, a multitude of interpretations and hermeneutical methods, as well as an ever-growing number of denominations and churches, the very principle that was meant to provide the certainty of theological truth has come under criticism. Scott McKnight (HT to Brad Anderson) has published a JETS article analyzing a recent wave of Envangelicals converting to Roman Catholicism (yes, you read correctly!). Among the characteristic complaints about Evangelicalism, the uncertainty stemming from a limited sola scriptura principle lists as number one.
I think, the article is a must read, and there is work set out for us to do. None of the deficiencies listed in McKnight's analysis is impossible to be overcome, and, I even think, Pentecostalism might already some (think of desire for healing, mystic encounters, ...). Of course, the sola scriptura angle is a major focus of the ongoing research for my Ph.D. dissertation.

Once more, it has been proven that modern technology is nice just as long as it lasts. Yesterday evening, my most-used tool, i.e. my laptop computer broke down. When I tried to switch it on, it would not show anything on the screen, just switch itself off again after about three seconds. I talked to customer service this morning and they think it might be a problem with the mainboard. Luckily, I still have warranty, so I sent it in this morning. I still have my old laptop that I can use for the while, but, sadly, a lot of my data is on the harddrive of the new one and can't be reached right now.
As if all of this weren't enough, my high-speed internet connection went on strike yesterday. Several calls to different hotlines didn't help in the least, and it took me until this morning to get it working again.
It's a strange feeling for someone like me, who is used to working with computers all the time. Suddenly, you're cut off from your data and your internet access, which, to me, is somewhat like the equivalent of being thrown back into the stone age. So now, I can just hope the computer company will be fast in its repairs and they read and remember my pleas to be careful about the data in my harddisk.

Blogs are a-buzzing with the latest theory on the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls, recently published by Israeli scholars Itzhak Magen and Yuval Peleg. Rejecting de Vaux's idea of an Essene monastery, Magen and Peleg sea Qumran as a simple settlement of potters and perfume makers, which happened to be next to a couple of caves, where the Jews hid contemporary writings from the Roman onslaught in 70 CE. I wonder what the implications for Biblical interpretation might be, if the DSS are not originally the writings of some obscure sect, but might turn out to be rather normal, mainstream Jewish writings.

History News Network