Anabaptist in Italy

I was asked by my adviser to present a paper on the Italian Anabaptists at this year's SWBTS Anabaptism and Contemporary Baptists Conference. I was honored to be presenting in the company of some great scholars who have studied the Anabaptists: Friesen, Patterson, Yarnell, and Caner, just name a few. If you did not get the opportunity to come, but have an interest in the Anabaptists, you can find the audio of the conference here.

This paper also gave me the opportunity to start researching the topic that will end up being my dissertation topic: Italian Anabaptism. I was originally set against doing a historical thesis, but over time I have seen some of the benefits of doing a thesis in historical theology and have develop an interest in this topic. I am looking forward to the next year of research and writing (but before I get there, I have to study and pass my comprehensive exams).

Copycat Duke's Mayo recipe

As some of you know, Cindy has some food allergies. This has caused us to have to make a lot of things from scratch; mayo is one of them. While on the east coast, we both loved the taste and kick of Duke's mayo, and therefore when I set about to make home made mayo, I decided to try to imitate that taste. Here is the recipe I have come up with so far. It is not perfect, but it gets close. Let me know if you can improve on it.

200g oil (I use 100g of light sunflower oil + 100g of light olive oil - Update: I now only use 200g of light sunflower oil)

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

½ tsp (2 x ¼ tsp) salt

¼ tsp dried mustard

¼ tsp paprika

2 egg yolks

To make it, I use the technique found here (for making mayo, a stick blender is a lifesaver, but you can do it the old fashion way if you want). Put all the ingredients in the jar. Set the stick blender to speed 1. Place the end of the blender at the bottom of the jar, over the two yolks. Pulse beat the mixture 4 times. Continuously beat the mixture until all the oil is incorporated; you will have to pull the blender up from the bottom some. Set the stick blender to speed 9. Continuously beat the mixture until it is as thick as desired. Enjoy!

Through a passage vs. Topical

I saw a picture similar to this one in a friend's textbook. I thought that it graphically made a very important point: preaching through a passage, if done well, is most likely going to present the original author's point. Preaching topically, which often boils down to picking thoughts from different authors, is most likely going to present the preacher's own point instead of the original authors' intended points, which is a problem since ultimately, when we teach or preach, we are to present's God's truth, not our ideas.