Author Archives: David Rathel
Baptist Catholicity: An Introductory Bibliography
I briefly mentioned a few works on Baptist catholicity in my previous blog post. Here I offer a more detailed bibliography for those who are interested in the subject. Enjoy! I do not intend this list to be exhaustive; I … Continue reading
Posted in Baptist Catholicity
1 Comment
Baptist Catholicity: A Brief Intro
I recently read a Baptist theologian bemoan the fact that every systematic theology he read by a Baptist featured no serious engagement with the great tradition. This theologian further stated that every lecture he attended whilst a student at a … Continue reading
Posted in Baptist Catholicity
1 Comment
Reviewing Helpful Tools for Ph.D. Students: Evernote
For the next several blog posts I will concentrate on some of the tools that I have found helpful in the writing of my Ph.D. thesis. I begin here with Evernote. If you are not familiar Evernote, the software allows … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
3 Comments
John Gill, Andrew Fuller, and Adam: Briefly Assessing John Gill’s Remarks on Adamic Inability
Baptists today debate John Gill’s theological identity; specifically, was he or was he not a no-offer Calvinist? Several convictions constituted the no-offer Calvinist position, but one of the most interesting was a belief in Adamic inability. Here I explain Adamic … Continue reading
Posted in Thesis Research
Leave a comment
On Eating Big Elephants Slowly: How to Read A Lot of Books Without Exerting Yourself
I must confess that I am often embarrassed by what I have not read. I have not read Barth’s Church Dogmatics in its entirety. I have not read the Summa Theologica aside from key passages. I have not even finished works in the ANF to … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
A Letter to a Young Theologian: This is What I Wrote to the Me of 10 Years Ago (Part 2)
This post is a continuation of what I wrote last week. It describes a letter that I would write to the me of ten years ago. 6. Local church ministry is more difficult than you can imagine, but you must stick with … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
A Letter to a Young Theologian: This is What I Wrote to the Me of 10 Years Ago
I was listening recently to a podcast on productivity in which one of the contributors explained that it might be a good idea for his listeners to write a letter to their future selves. He thought that by doing so they could better plan … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
A Tomato and PhD Productivity: Using Pomodoro Technique to Increase Focus
I suspect that many of you have heard of the Pomodoro Technique. The premise is simple if you have not. You perform twenty-five minutes of concentrated work and then break for five minutes. You then take a longer fifteen-minute break … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
4 Comments
Parkinson’s Law and the PhD Student: An Important Rule for Perfectionists
Parkinson’s Law Parkinson’s law originally described the phenomenon that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” So, for example, if you schedule an entire day to clean out your toolshed, it will probably take you the entire day to clean out … Continue reading
Posted in PhD Productivity
1 Comment
How a Former Hippie Is Helping Me Write My PhD Thesis
Who is David Allen? Allen seems to have spent much of his early years floating through life with little purpose. He started a PhD at UC Berkley but did not finish. He held 35 different jobs before he reached the age of 35. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
David Rathel's Research Page 