iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Arrived home to find my copy of The Oxford Handbook of Baptist Studies awaiting! Writing my chapter, on Baptists in Continental Europe, was quite a nut to crack (only so many words for a vast region of complex histories), but a satisfying result. Looking forward to reading my colleagues' chapters.

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

The Rainy Hall at the New College looked even better by the evening, when we indulged in some African singing, and even some dancin'. A lovely day spent at the Yale-Edinburgh conference,

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

The weather in Glasgow this Easter, post Storm Dave, was quite something: a breathtaking sunrise, then some sunshine, then hail, then proper sleety snow which kept falling for most of the Easter service at our church, then bright and warm sunshine, then...

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

One of my PhD students defended his dissertation today, and did it wonderfully. A joyous thing, to be a doktormutter! And in the Dutch tradition, I got to do the Laudatio. A good day with much to give thanks for!

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Was talking to one of the Taiwanese scholars who did his doctoral studies in Aberdeen. What did he miss most about Scotland, I asked, now that he's back in Taiwan. Immediate response: "The weather!"

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Valentine's is gone, but tomorrow I'm delivering a lecture on happiness & romantic love, and how the link between the two has been shaped by the birth & development of the Victorian romantic novel. This popped on my screen today and is a good illustration: www.theguardian.com/books/pictur...

theguardian.com

Tom Gauld on the modern romance novel – cartoon

A most advantageous match …

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Hmm. If I had nothing much to think or write about at the moment, this could be interesting to explore. From an article on Moltbook - a social network for AIs - that appeared in The Conversation a few days ago.

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Out in May! My chapter is on Baptists in Continental Europe. Looking forward to reading the others!

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Here’s what I’m pondering during this Advent time... How easily we miss what we don’t expect. Extraordinary things can pass right under our noses while we rush from one day to the next, heads down, hearts distracted. (1)

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Wishes. At a shop in Glasgow. Didn't take much - just a space among all the goods to be sold during this long commerce Xmas season. Hundreds of the 'wish stars'. It often strikes me how readily people talk about or express their wishes, desires, and dreams. (1)

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

One of the delights of travelling and staying in non-hotel type of places are the books I encounter on various shelves. During my recent visit to Ethiopia, I had the pleasure of spending some time with Dorothy Sayers. Not the most contextual reading perhaps, but such good fun!

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

I'm always reluctant to push my books, but 50% off from the publisher is a good deal if anybody's looking. The code is CONFSHIP + select Media Mail for 50% off and free shipping. wipfandstock.com/9781532635564/singleness-and-marriage-after-christendom/

wipfandstock.com

Singleness and Marriage after Christendom- Wipf and Stock Publishers

Momentous change is taking place in Western societies and churches. Singleness is on the rise, along with growing interest in different pathways to human hap...

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Re-reading John O'Donoghue's Anam Cara: "To be holy is to be home, to be able to rest in the house of belonging that we call the soul."

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

soundcloud.com/user-7654815... A few weeks, while at Northumbria Community retreat, I shared this simple song. The folks there asked me to record it, and this weekend I finally did it. The song itself weaves together several cultures and languages. I took a Latvian (1)

soundcloud.com

Receive our thanks Saranam

Words: Madeleine L’Engle, House Like a Lotus (Farrar, Straus & & Giroux, 1984). Based on a missionary hymn by D.T.Niles. Northumbria Community, Celtic Daily Prayer, Meditations for Each Day of the Mon

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

One of the memories of the last week: www.facebook.com/share/p/16xe...

facebook.com

Redirecting...

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Love this rendering from Psalm 19 by Eugene Peterson: "Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work; Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin." Psalm 19:13 (MSG)

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Resting between a podcast recording and an evening talk, I'm in what is apparently called a 'cry room', for parents with wee ones who are crying, restless, or need feeding or calming. I'm thinking it would be great to have adult cry rooms, too.

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

It was good to be part of the 23rd Baptist World Congress in Brisbane. I have enjoyed my last talk-on worship and arts-the most, perhaps because it was the closest to my general teaching, ministry & research interests.

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

Several days ago, visiting the Museum of Lithuania Minor, it was quite special to see a tablecloth which belonged to my Omama - my great-grandmother - and to read about her/see her photo. The tablecloth was special as it was used for the worship gatherings taking place in my family's house.

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

An important reminder to be very careful when interpreting surveys. The Quiet Revival's claim that men in the UK are now more likely to attend church than women is especially incredulous, and goes against all the research in the area so far. theconversation.com/is-there-rea...

theconversation.com

Is there really a religious revival in England? Why I’m sceptical of a new report

In Anglican and Catholic churches, average weekly attendance is down about 20% from pre-pandemic levels.

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

The latest issue of Theology in Scotland is out, and it's on language & faith! I've enjoyed editing the journal - and look forward to seeing it flourish in the coming years. ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/TI...

ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk

Vol. 32 No. 1 (2025): Language and Faith | Theology in Scotland

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

In the week the world bid farewell to Pope Francis, I found myself reflecting on the memories of meeting him through my work with the Third round of International Dialogue between the Baptist World Alliance and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity of the Roman Catholic Church.

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

This Sunday, the service we attended focused primarily on the Passion story — and it made me reflect again on life that feels forever caught in those long, hopelessly excruciating days between the crucifixion and the resurrection.

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

On this Day of the Lord, I'm finding refreshment and encouragement in these now not-so-new, but even more critically relevant, words of NT Wright: "Every act of love, gratitude, and kindness; every work of art of music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of [God's] creation;

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Suffering, human and non-human experience, and divine presence in the world: our topic for 2025/2 issue of Theology in Scotland. Call for contributions 👇: ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/TI...

ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk

Call for contributions: Autumn 2025 issue on theological perspectives on suffering and the problem of evil | Theology in Scotland

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

A wee intro to my book on Singleness and Marriage after Christendom, for those who are on Facebook www.facebook.com/share/v/18Ur...

facebook.com

Redirecting...

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Looking forward to being at the Baptist World Alliance Congress this summer, and seeing many friends old and new. Many good memories of a previous Congress I've attended, 20 years ago... When, of course, I was just a baby!

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Things I haven't thought of before, but which reminded me why I love linguistics: "Dr. Lina, according to the pronunciation of your name, [we] gave you a wonderful Chinese name, 莉娜 (Lì nà), the first word means jasmine flower, the second word means soft and beautiful. We hope you like the name."

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

A random observation on Dutch academic culture: students shake hands with you (a guest lecturer), and introduce themselves by name. I always find it really interesting: what our body language, room set up etc, imply about the student-teacher relationship/power dynamic.

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

So grateful for the life and impact of Jimmy Carter. I remember the Bible study he led for us at the Baptist World Alliance Congress, 20 years ago.... And visiting The Carter Center a few years ago, during my sabbatical, left a lasting impression on me.

condolence.jimmycartertribute.org

Visit the Official Jimmy Carter Condolence Book

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Theology in Scotland journal's themed issue on Reimagining Church and Society is out now - and the access is free! For an introduction, have a look at my editorial at ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/TI...

ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk

Theology in Scotland

Theology in Scotland is a journal of theology which is general in scope, but which is rooted in the Scottish theological tradition.

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

The new issue of Theology in Scotland is out! ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/TI...

ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk

Vol. 31 No. 2 (2024) | Theology in Scotland

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Well, hmm. Not sure this *quite* describes this category, dear bookshop at Cape Town airport.

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

"I sometimes pray not for self-knowledge in general, but for just so much self-knowledge at the moment as I can bear and use at the moment; the little daily dose." C.S.Lewis, Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

That's a little perturbing. I thought I was supposed to follow him?

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Lina Toth @linatoth.bsky.social · 14/09/2024

Working on the edits of 24/2 of Theology in Scotland, but already looking forward to next Spring's issue, on faith and language! First proposal just popped into my mailbox. Perhaps that's the theme you - or someone you know - would be interested in contributing? ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/TI...

ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk

Call for contributions: Spring 2025 issue on faith and language | Theology in Scotland

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