The end of my hiatus, the start of a new year

2007 is over and with the new year comes new blog posts. I had a very busy and occasionally stressful end of the year, with applications for Ph.D. programs due in December on top of my other course work. I have to admit: I enjoyed not blogging for awhile. But I have issues I want to discuss, movies to review, books to evaluate, and heresies to expose (or promote!). In any case, The Fire and the Rose is back. Here are things to look forward to this year:

• The First Annual Balthasar Blog Conference on “theological exegesis” will occur on March 9-16. We have a stellar line-up of contributors. If you are interested in writing an official response to any of the essays, please let me know.
• The completion of the following series: The Spirit of the Lord, Paul among the Evangelicals, and (yes, finally) Why I Am a Universalist.
• The continuation of my ongoing series on Problems in Ecclesiology Today (or PET).
• Discussion of patristic theology, particularly that of Cyril of Alexandria, Maximus the Confessor, and John of Damascus.
• The continuation of my summary/discussion of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the blog dedicated to the RCIA program which I lead at Princeton University.
• Many more reviews of recent films, including The Golden Compass, No Country for Old Men, and The Bourne Ultimatum.