Best of the Blogroll 2021

Here's to the new year. I'd like to recognize the Christian blogs that I read, linking to my favorite (entirely subjective) post(s) of the year. These are posts I have found intriguing, uplifting, edifying -- or an excellent lead on primary sources. 

• Common Denominator - Ken Schenck starts with the question that many of us have probably asked ourselves privately: Why were the wise men the only ones who seemed to notice the star? He continues from there with some other observations along those same lines on the first epiphany in his sermon-starter post Hidden In Plain Sight. 
• Conciliar Post - In his piece In Praise of the Holy Angels, Brian Rebholz discusses the edifying benefit of affirming the existence of angels. "Angels reveal that [the] ordinary world is extraordinarily sacred."
• Dr Claude Mariottini - Dr Mariottini might despair of my choice but I enjoyed the posts about some archaeological finds, including New Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments and possibly the oldest woven basket to survive intact (estimated age 10,000 years). When I hear things like that, I always wonder what the scribe or weaver would have thought if they had known. 
• Forward Progress - Michael Kelly reflects on Thanksgiving: The Foundation of Christian Thanksgiving is the Character of God. 
• Glory To God For All Things - Fr. Freeman writes on Healing the Heart about discernment about the battle for good or evil within our own hearts. He reposts a reflection on how Jesus reveals God's goodness, as the clarifying view for all exegesis on the character of God. And his reflections on Thanksgiving also caught my eye, as he contrasts the modern mind-set with the unique kind of gratitude -and-communion to which Christians are called. 
• Meta's Blog - Joseph Hinman provides a fresh, brief review of the Transcendental Signifier argument for the rationality of belief in God. The linked version also contains a critique of modern philosophy for things it fails to address in its worldview. 
• The Pocket Scroll - MJH announces his upcoming course in the Historical Context of the 7 Ecumenical Councils. (While I doubt he takes write-in requests, I'd love a monograph on the background of some of the earlier councils in the ante-Nicene era.) 
• Reading Acts - Philip Long provides a valuable service in regularly helping organize the Biblical Studies Carnival, such as the most recent one for December 2021. 
• Roger Pearse - In his continuing coverage of ancient texts and translations -- and sometimes original contributions to his field -- he mentioned an exciting rediscovery of the Chronicon of Eusebius in Armenian. 
• Sun and Shield - Martin LaBar frequently posts material on prayer from CCEL in digestible devotion-sized excerpts. Here is a recent favorite on prayer and fellowship in Christ.  
• Undivided Looking - Aron Wall had an interesting discussion on Christian Conscience and the Secular Workplace. 
• Weedon's Blog - Pastor Weedon is a regular source of edifying devotions. How best to recognize that work? Probably a link to his newly-published book of advent devotions, Isaiah 'Twas Foretold It. 

Thank you to all who use their space online to bring more fellowship, honesty, humility, and light to public discourse!