(jump to the book announcement)
As I’m sure some of you have noticed…
The theological papers have come to a temporary halt. I explained why to a reader a few days ago. I have been meaning to explain my absence to the rest of you, and apologize for not doing so sooner.
Due to my schedule of work, school, and personal life, I am not able to produce unique content for this website outside of what I write for my school assignments. My fall semester ended in the middle of December 2011, we closed the year with a closer look at the Significance of Christmas, and then things seemed to come to an abrupt halt. This was due to a large work project (thankful for this!) that came my way, and then school starting up again just last Monday. So, that should explain to you my absence and why you have not had any juicy theological topics to chew on.
What does this mean for this Winter/Spring?
Good question. Glad you asked 🙂
In the next seven weeks (Winter) there are at least three papers that I will publish here:
- Paul’s Journey to Rome – I will be working on this paper for the next seven week’s. Details will come as I develop my research on the topic.
- The Christology Debate: What does it mean that Christ “emptied himself” in the incarnation? Did he lay aside certain attributes of deity in order to become human, or did he retain all attributes of deity while in human flesh?
- The Providence Debate: In the realm of God’s providence, there are numerous variables and nuanced positions. Consider the two broader views—the Arminian and the Calvinist views—and evaluate the merits of each as to whether or not there might be alternatives views that incorporate both perspectives. Remember that this debate has less to do with the soteriological issues and more to do with God’s control over the happenings that occur in the world in which humans live and make daily choices.
That covers the my Winter classes (a study on Acts and Theology 350). Spring brings with it two new classes, Theology of Missions, and History of Life. I expect to have a few projects from the Missions class that will be published here and am not sure what to expect from the latter class.
A Super Secret Project not so Secret Any Longer!
On Friday I published a post with a few pictures hinting at something I am working on. I am here to tell you that I am going to take the theological papers that I published last year and put them into one binding, electronic, of course, and maybe print depending on the response I receive this year. With the Apple event last week came the software to create and publish interactive books in the iBook store. That announcement gave me a solid kick prompted me to start the project of publishing my articles in a more “official” manner this year.
The working title is: Theological Topics for Every Christian to Think About: A Collection of Essays.
As of now it will contain all of the theological articles published here last year. The iBook edition will contain much more than the text. You will find images (of important figures behind the theological issues), videos (of men wiser than myself expanding the theological topic at hand), quizzes (to help you review the theological topic), and a complete glossary containing terms and definitions (obviously). I will also be editing and updating each essay as well as providing in-text access to the numerous scriptural references within the essays. My hope would also be to include several other authors in the project.
I will also work on publishing a Kindle edition and a generic epub edition for those of you who do not yet own an iPad or iPhone.
Those are all of the details I have now, or at least have thought through enough to share with you. As I continue working on this I will update you with screenshots and maybe videos so that you can see what to expect (with the iBook version). I hope that this will prompt you to buy an iPad and also excite you all over again about studying these and other theological and biblical topics.
Your help is requested but not required
There are a few ways you can help. 1) I do not have anything lined up just yet, but in a few weeks I may have a place setup for you to donate to this project (this might be at Kickstarter, but it may be my own creation as-well). 2) If you would like to be kept in the loop in a more direct way about this project please take a moment to complete the short form below. 3) Finally, if you have a network of friends and family that would like to be kept in the loop of this project, please share it with them!!
Aaron Aiken 