The Wycliffe Blog - Vestigia Dei
Vestigia Dei – is a Latin term meaning “traces of God.” As a theological term it is associated with natural theology – that is, the view that there are vestiges of God within creation. We’ve chosen this term as the title of the Wycliffe College blog because our hope is that through these writings, readers might glimpse evidences for God as our writers interact with the wider world.
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Jesus, Judaism, and Two Wycliffe ProfessorsBy Alan L. Hayes As someone who has spent several decades in Church-land, I've heard literally thousands of sermons, homilies, and meditations. Too often, I hear preachers representing Jesus as someone who was uncomfortable with Judaism. They talk as if the Messiah of Israel corrected, rejected, or distanced himself from Judaism, in whole or in part. That's a historical and theological mistake. Here are some examples of what they say. If the gospels show... |
Tue, October 04, 2022 |
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As retirement draws closer, Radner reflectsBy Ephraim Radner I’ll be retiring next summer. People ask me “why now?”. Lots of reasons, probably: let someone younger have a place at the faculty table; family responsibilities; health; fatigue; out of synch with the culture; “work is done,” “new things to do,” generational stage of life; and so on. These are not just “my reasons,” but the kinds of reasons one is likely to hear from many others in my position.... |
Tue, September 27, 2022 |
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The pastoral practice of creating listsBy Annette Brownlee As Wycliffe College Chaplain, I spend a lot of time creating lists. I consider doing so a critical part of any pastoral practice. Whether an accurate list of the families in a congregation, including their children, names and grades in school, or a list of seniors indicating who lives alone together with the names of their next of kin, such lists are an indispensable tool in exercising care for others.... |
Fri, September 23, 2022 |
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Spelling GraceBy Nate Wall A month ago Frederick Buechner died at age ninety-six. During that windfall of years, in which he served as a high-school chaplain, was ordained a Presbyterian minister, raised a family, and worked his unusually enchanted way with words, Buechner wrote a book that I read again each year. It came to me as a gift from a dear friend. It’s called The Alphabet of Grace. Imagine Augustine’s Confessions—that... |
Wed, September 14, 2022 |
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Rebuilding communityBy Stephen Andrews Many positive things can be said about the benefits of online education. While in-person classes were largely suspended over the last two years because of the pandemic, students did not have to suspend their lives or learning. Wycliffe students were still able to proceed in their programs. In fact, among the 53 who walked across the graduation stage last May, there were some who obtained their degrees without ever having... |
Mon, September 12, 2022 |
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Q&A with Lissa Wray Beal: The power of the Word of GodBy Wycliffe Communications On August 1, 2022, Lissa Wray Beal joined the faculty of Wycliffe College as Professor of Old Testament. In the early days after her move to Toronto, she took time to participate in a conversation with Communications Director Patricia Paddey. An edited version follows.
Q: Tell us about your faith journey. LWB: I grew up in a family of church attenders. My dad always had a very quiet but... |
Fri, August 19, 2022 |
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Embracing less certainty, more dependanceBy Melissa Ytsma Over the past few months, I’ve had the absolute privilege of completing my Summer Parish Internship in İzmir, Türkiye (the new official name for Turkey). I was given the opportunity to immerse myself in the lives of the local believers; from going on camping trips to helping run a weekly English Club to facilitating a Bible study, I learned what it is like to live out your faith in a... |
Mon, August 15, 2022 |
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The benefits and challenges of an international internshipBy Wycliffe Communications Gwen Allison has finished her first year in the MDiv program at Wycliffe College. She is a candidate for ordination with the Anglican Church of Canada in the Diocese of Rupert’s Land. When a ministry opportunity came for her husband in Vienna, Austria this summer, Gwen seized the chance to find her own internship placement with a church there—Christ Church Vienna. In this Q&A, she shares her experience.
What... |
Wed, August 10, 2022 |
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Ridding the world of AngelasBy Jeremy McClung Wycliffe PhD candidate Jeremy McClung’s presentation “Ridding the World of Angelas" was recently declared the winner of the Toronto School of Theology’s inaugural Three Minute Thesis competition. 3MT® is an internationally recognized research communication competition that started in 2008 at the University of Queensland in Australia. Since then it has gained popularity, with over 600 universities in 65 countries holding annual competitions. 3MT challenges graduate students to concisely summarize the content and significance of... |
Tue, May 03, 2022 |
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The place of online learning in theological educationBy Peter Robinson At the beginning of March, the Angus Reid Institute ran a poll surveying those who were anticipating a return to work. The poll revealed that after two years of working at home many employees aren’t sure that they want to return to the office. This is particularly true in cities like Toronto where during COVID many people moved further and further out of the city in a desire to find... |
Mon, April 18, 2022 |
