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Jacob W. Torbeck

@jacobtorbeck.bsky.social
900 followers 400 following 758 posts

Professor of Theology, Religions, Philosophy, and Ethics | Mysticism & Spirituality | Attention, Memory, and the Divine Ideas

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Reposted by Jacob W. Torbeck
Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social · 13h
That time someone dumped a toy house on the cemetery wall and, when I crouched a bit, some ✨ Hollywood Magic ✨ occurred.
A plastic dolls house sitting on a wall, taken from an angle which makes it look as if it might be one of the houses on the street.
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Anne M. Carpenter @catholickungfu.bsky.social · 8h
The effect of media companies absorbing kinds of media to be All Media Companies and other market type things is that Word on Fire often seems like the only Catholic publishing company (the Paulists are so mad at me right now) and that’s horrible because Word on Fire sucks.
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 18h
Added two more trading card sets to the dragon quest binder. Small pictures of heroes and monsters continue to be my escape from the world. 🐉🃏 #dragonquest
Dragon Quest: Legend of Abel trading cards from ~1991. Dragon Quest 35th anniversary (part 2) cards, from 2021-2022.
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 19h
We love material culture <3
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 19h
The look on Catholic conservatives’ faces, too.
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Charles, OFM Cap. @frcharles.bsky.social · 20h
Look about you and see how full the world is of priests, yet in God’s harvest a laborer is rarely to be found; for although we have accepted the priestly office, we do not fulfil its demands. ~ Pope St. Gregory the Great (Office of Readings)
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Inspirational Skeletor @skeletorinspires.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I hope someone loves you on purpose today. Sara Skeletor, who definitely has someone who loves him on purpose.
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
… has answered the question “who do you say that I am?” (And what is the evidence?) …and how they’ve focused on related questions of soteriology, ecclesiology, sacramentality, and so on. Is this what you were asking about, or no?
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Mostly we are looking at a survey of christological approaches and moments right now — we’ll do deep dives into four after midterm. The premise of our work thus far has been how each grouping (biblical authors, the early church & creeds, European theology, the quest for the historical Jesus, etc…)
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
100%.
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
On the car stereo rotation:
OP holding up the Labyrinth soundtrack on CD.
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
My Christology students are diving into contextual christologies over the next two weeks, and we were discussing the importance of culture in reception. A student replies: “wait, so… doesn’t that also apply to European reception of Christianity?” We love when it clicks for them. 😇
static.klipy.com
Saint Young Men Bleeding
ALT: Saint Young Men Bleeding
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Rich Raho @richraho.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
In letter on immigration by Denver’s Catholic, Lutheran, & Episcopalian Bishops, faith leaders say: “At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit did not erase the languages and cultures of the peoples gathered in Jerusalem. Instead, the Spirit created communion among them.” www.denvercatholic.org/pilgrim-peop...
denvercatholic.org
Denver Bishops Issue Joint Letter on Migration with Local Christian Leaders
In observance of Mother Cabrini Day, the Archdiocese of Denver’s Archbishop James R. Golka and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodríguez, along with fellow Christian leaders from across Colorado, have released...
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Anne M. Carpenter @catholickungfu.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Something that hasn't left my brain is a thing my colleague told me about St. Oscar Romero: for the disappearances, he created a legal aid office to just track as much info as they could, so that one day people could look back and figure out what happened. Proved invaluable.
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The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory @jcrt.org · 04/10/2026
#ICYMI Trauma In Emmanuel Levinas’ Writing Body, Part 1 (Magdalena Sedmak) #acrel #aarsbl jcrt.org/religioustheory/posts/trau…
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Christopher Hale @christopherjhale.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
We stand with Pope Leo XIV.
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Jonathan Heaps @jonathanrheaps.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
As I note here, the Great Depression, European fascism, and nuclear weapons loomed large for Lonergan's philosophical project: www.commonwealmagazine.org/heaps-jonath...
commonwealmagazine.org
Things Will Get Better Before They Get Worse
For Bernard Lonergan, the drama of human history is—even right now, even in the United States—in the process of being redeemed by God through grace.
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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
OH MY GOD CLERGY PLEASE STOP WITH THE AI SLOP IT IS SUCH AN UGLY LOOK
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Jonathan Heaps @jonathanrheaps.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
You made today a special day, just by being you. There’s no one else in the whole world just like you. People can like you (& God loves you) just the way you are.
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Gwen C. Katz @gwenckatz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Things Gavin Newsom has vetoed this week: -A ban on secretly recording people with smart glasses -A ban on ICE agents working for the state government -A ban on websites selling your data -A bill giving native tribes more say over water rights -A bill protecting transgender healthcare providers
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Jordan Haynie Ware @godwelcomesall.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Somebody marked on the door of the cathedral “hey god ya man’s hungry holla back” and I have never heard a more honest prayer
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The art on this card is one of the reasons I got into Magic in 1994.
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I also played *so much* NWN in college!
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Oh hey, since we’re talking about it, 9 games that shaped me. There’s a strong theme…
9 games that shaped me: dragon warrior, Zelda, castlevania, Chrono trigger, ff7, ocarina of time, Baldur’s gate, NWN, WoW
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
...mine usually feels like I'm dragging the students along with me. What strategies are you theology peeps using to help the first-years lock in and love the learning they're doing?
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Over the past few years, I've really noticed that my favorite things to teach are introductory-level ethics and upper-level mystical and systematic theology. I think this is partially due to student engagement... Does anyone teach an intro-level theology course that they think goes swimmingly?
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Just a bit of encouragement for the day:
An image from a Fred Rogers calendar that says “there’s never been anyone exactly like you before, and they never will be again. Only you. And people can like you exactly as you are.”
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Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
AP Stylebook warns against anthropomorphizing AI systems: “Avoid language that gives them human characteristics… Instead, explain what a system does, how well it performs, who built it and who could be affected by it.”
APStylebook @APStylebook
X.com
Artificial intelligence systems do not think, feel, want or understand. Avoid language that gives them human characteristics. This is called anthropomorphizing, when we ascribe human traits, emotions or behaviors to non-human things, such as animals or inanimate objects.
Instead, explain what a system does, how well it performs, who built it and who could be affected by it.
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Ron Foster @ronmfoster.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
YOU’RE LISTENING TO SISYPHUS FM, THE HOME OF NON-STOP ROCK!
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Charles Pulliam-Moore @charlespulliam.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The Emma Frost x Miss Piggy comic has hit the internet and it's so, so, so much more magnificent than I ever could have hoped for
Emma Frost: "Emma Frost, darling. I'm a telepath. May I read your mind to ascertain if you're telling the truth?"

Miss Piggy: "But of course, darling I am an open book, a tell-all memoir."Emma Frost telepathically witnessing the entirety of Miss Piggy's life.Wolverine: "Frost? She legit?"
Emma Frost: "She's..She's... She's everything. And I would die for her."
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
This is absolutely delicious.
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
In my Christology course for upper-level undergrads last Friday, we were discussing the move from Chalcedon to later developments, and the board notes looked a lot like this. Synchronicity!
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Only one? ;) I'm crossing my fingers that her sword of protection is the bonus card... Even "Swords to Plowshares" would be a thematic choice (she's always turning her sword into whatever is needed).
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Thanks, Kristen! :)
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Peytral @peytral.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
reached the town of Bluesky
Young Man: They scamper hither and thon, japing and jesting and otherwise sowing discord. But their bodies are those of grown men and women, and must surely soon suffer the consequences.
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I had my nitpicks on the card design, but once again, the art is great - the skelcons were a deep cut I wasn’t expecting!
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Heck yes
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Jonathan Heaps @jonathanrheaps.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Headed to bed but just a quick reminder: You’re someone worth being on purpose and out loud. Folks have already got that other person you might be trying to be instead. And you might not know yet who desperately needs you just the way you are.
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Shivam Bhatt @shivambhatt.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This whole fucking story has been the Bhagavad Gita, with Vraska's Krishna saving Jace's Arjun. Like every part has been the search for meaning, the struggle with death, the notion of death as simply a state change, the struggle with Dharma and Karma. Damn.
You are who you chose to be. Not Jace Beleren, not the Guildpact, not the creator of a Multiverse, but a man who does what is right without glory." Her eyes are golden, beaming, and her face is as open as he's ever seen it. "I've never been more proud."
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
My students are either going to love me or hate me tomorrow… 🎭🏛️
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Working Families Party 🐺 @workingfamilies.org · 07/09/2026
This Labor Day, take 2 minutes to listen to the words of Mario Savio and Martin Luther King Jr.:
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Rich Raho @richraho.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
USCCB Labor Day Statement: “Pope Leo expressly acknowledges the great risks of AI for workers: de-skilling, surveillance, rigid and repetitive tasks, reduced agency and creativity, unemployment, job insecurity, concentrated power, and increased inequalities.”
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
(Probably already has!)
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
We need to make sure @shivambhatt.bsky.social sees this.
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Shaily Patel @vox-magica.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
“That the university is under attack and that the university is complicit with the very terms of engagement that place it under attack should not be seen as a contradiction.” well goddamn, this is an essay.
canadiandimension.com
The university is the crisis
The crisis of the university is its inability to be honest about the nature of its self-induced crisis. Its leaders or senior managers often share the perspectives of those who wish the university to ...
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I’m with you. I don’t love when the only option for a cool mechanic is from an IP I don’t like!
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I see your point - Sonic was my example (I don’t mind mechanical uniqueness) , but we could also just pick more thematically correct and color-identity accommodating cards to reskin and I’d be happier. Making Skeletor a reskinned Grixis commander and changing beast man to red, for example.
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Rudo Judo @rudojudo.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This is almost word for word how I feel, and pushes me towards doing some custom designs out of pique. Great piece
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I was initially really excited by news of the Masters of the Universe Magic cards... and then I read the cards. More of my thoughts on the MotU x Magic collaboration at Hipsters of the Coast: #mastersoftheuniverse #skeletor #secretlair #MagictheGathering www.hipstersofthecoast.com/2026/09/does...
hipstersofthecoast.com
Does the Masters of the Universe Superdrop have the Power?
Jake kept his passion for He-man burning bright into adulthood. But now that the cards are here, why don't they shine like his memory?
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Jacob W. Torbeck @jacobtorbeck.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
I put this on loop so many times, and never quite got there. Congrats!
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