A couple of days ago I marked the second anniversary of this blog. Over the last two years I have posted 252 posts on all kinds of topics, using a variety of styles. I have no way of tracking which have been most popular or most read. But here are ten that I have enjoyed the most. They are in no particular order.

1. This first post was not written by me, but by one of our students at Vose Seminary: good stuff! Gunkel, Bultmann and Barth Walk into a Bar

2. The second post came from reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice again. This time I read the two critical introductions that accompany the novel in the Penguin Edition, and discovered that being a reader always involves interpretation – whether of Jane Austen or of Scripture: On Being a Reader, Even of Scripture

3. My studies in Psalms 9-11 were particularly insightful for me. My reflections here became the basis of a paper I later presented at ANZATS. An Ethics of Presence and Virtue Part 1 and Part 2

4. I include a little auto-biographical info in this one, and reflect on one of my adolescent heroes: We are All Bohemians Now

5. Our students at Vose are a constant source of inspiration and provocation (in a good and useful way). This post had its genesis in a Facebook discussion on the “Vose Students” page. Facebook theology is a good thing: Alive & Powerful: The Old Testament as the Word of God?

6. Eberhard Busch is a renowned Barth scholar and biographer. His large biography of Barth is not really a biography as much as an exposition of Karl Barth’s remarkable life. I read it from cover to cover for the first time during my sabbatical and recorded my reflections in three parts: Karl Barth – A Remarkable Life Part 1, and Part 2, and Part 3.

7. I have written a number of formal reviews of books on the blog. This one was one of the better reviews. It is to be published in Colloquium  some time this year: Book Review: Reformed Theology (Allen)

8. Another book I read during my sabbatical, or at least started then, was Roger Olson’s The Journey of Modern Theology. This is a big and well-written exposition of the major shifts and trends in theology from the eighteenth century to the present. Olson uses the image of a “ghost” to describe the powerful and ongoing influence of Hegel in modern theology. I discuss it in “No Worldless God!” The Ghost of Twentieth-Century Theology

9. Recently a student who enjoyed one of my units in theology also complained: Theology is too Hard! This was my response to him.
10. Other posts from time to time include a little humour, criticism of various theological positions, some social comment, notable quotes, book notes, etc. One of the things I have enjoyed is discovering some poetry. I haven’t included much of it here, but here are a few examples: Preaching the Atonement with John Donne; or at Christmas, An Advent Poem, or finally, An (Unrequited) Love Poem.

Hope you enjoy revisiting some of these!