The Scriptorium Daily

Category: Misc.

  • High Table: Luther

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    Melissa Schubert
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    Our reading assignment: Martin Luther’s “Theses for the Heidelberg Disputation,” “Two Kinds of Righteousness,” and “The Freedom of the Christian” from Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings. Faculty training at the Torrey Honors Institute puts our pedagogy to the test. We call our semesterly training meetings “High Tables.” Nothing as lofty as it sounds, we read…

  • Today Abraham Ibn Ezra Died (1164)

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    Fred Sanders
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    Abraham Ibn Ezra was a medieval Jewish commentator on the Old Testament. His commentaries are a bizarre combination of unconstrained creativity and extreme jot-and-tittle conservatism. He also wrote poetry and is highly regarded as a philosopher. His way of talking about any subject is often so cryptic that it demands an active interpreter. One of…

  • ASK

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    Jamie Campbell
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    Each new year is unsullied. It is time and space that, to our knowledge, no humans have traversed or occupied. We make plans, set goals, and create resolutions for the 31,536,000 seconds (give or take a few seconds) that we believe must be better than those in the preceding year. We are never satisfied with…

  • Scriptorium’s Greatest Hits 2008

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    Fred Sanders
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    Scriptorium Daily has been an active and successful web publication in 2008. We’ve added more bloggers to the team, and together we’ve posted with a regularity that almost justifies our name. Our hit counts, subscriptions, and e-mails suggest that lots of people are appreciating what we do here, which is nice, since so much of…

  • Make Your Own Calvin Mask!

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    Fred Sanders
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    A student brought one of these to me after the PCUSA’s general assembly last summer, and I have been using it to frighten children ever since. But I didn’t realize until today that the Calvin cut-out mask was also available on the web so that everybody can make their own Unintentionally Terrifying Calvin mask to…

  • The Magic Key of Playmobil

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    Fred Sanders
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    Playmobil makes great little cartoons of their toys in action. The english-language site is good, but true Playmobil fans know to keep an eye on the German site, playmobil.de, which is more up to date. The latest thing there is the Ancient Egypt line of toys, and there’s a great cartoon called The Magic Key.…

  • The God Question

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    Scriptorium Admin
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    J.P. Moreland, 2008. I am delighted to have this opportunity to discuss my most recent book—The God Question. Let me explain a bit about why I am so passionate about it. In a way, it is my attempt to provide an alternative to the wave of books recently produced by the so-called New Atheists. But,…

  • Popular Mechanics 1905

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    Fred Sanders
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    If you’re like me, you’re about 100 years behind the curve on understanding technology. Sure, you can make all the latest electronic doo-dads beep and hum and chug, but when you have to actually explain their functioning, you start sounding superstitious. “I touch the magic spot twice, and the machine knows what I want somehow,…

  • White Lab Coat Syndrome

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    Fred Sanders
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    “Have you ever heard of the ‘white lab coat syndrome,’ Dave? It’s what happens when people like you step outside their area of expertise. You’re a scientist, so you have authority only when you speak as a scientist. But when you speak as a sociologist or a political psychologist, you have no more authority than…

  • Why Professors Blog

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    Fred Sanders
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    Professors are people with full-time jobs teaching students, researching subjects, and publishing their findings. Why would they add to this schedule something that is not a part of their job description: blogging? The question is not merely, ahem, academic. There are plenty of professors who have been blogging for as long as there have been…

  • The Prodigal Holiday

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    Melissa Schubert
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    I will be bringing (among other things) dessert number four to our Thanksgiving feast. I may make a pear tart. It’s strategic, making a light and fruity dessert number four. How else should I expect it to be eaten, after the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and a big fat et cetera, in competition with whatever chocolate…

  • Rousing Your Priorities

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    Paul Spears
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    As of right now (November 16, 2008) my house is permeated by the smell of smoke. With all of the windows closed and the air filter running it is still impossible to filter out the smoke smell. Smoke is one of those smells that you never get used to. It continually sets off alarms in…