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

which this year was on Popular, Grassroots, Folk and Pop Culture in World Christianity. And I had the joy of seeing one of our Langham scholars present some of her research!

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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

Until the day when, in the fullness of times, all that is good, all that is holy, all that is true, comes back from the dead and is never extinguished again.

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

Life can feel like that, and for a lot of people and communities across the world today it feels very much like winter. I'm thinking of them, on this Easter Monday, and praying for perseverance for us all in spotting and nurturing signs of life, in the company of the Risen Christ...

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

bright and warm sunshine, then some ominous wind and rain, then back to some sunshine... It made me think of living this side of the Resurrection: some signs and experiences of life renewed, mixed with winter reasserting itself, as if it never intends to give way to spring.

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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

This is not something mechanical, not an event we can summon at will; yet we may suddely (or slowly) discover that the extraordinary, the holy, the new-which-comes-in-Christ has entered our lives —whether for the first time or afresh. (6)

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

What a difference it can make to our lives! Not as a magic fix, but as an invitation to topen up to the signs of God-with-us. (5)

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

in the drudgery that has lost its purpose. But rarely does it happen quite where we expect, or how we expect. Which is why learning to wait attentively, humbly, and expectantly is so crucial. (4)

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

During every Christmas season—and what‘s much more important, every ordinary day—God’s breaking into our reality is just a heartbeat, just a breath, just a moment of noticing away. It can happen anywhere: in the midst of tragedy, in the dull ache of quiet resignation, (3)

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

Just like at the first Christmas, a world-changing birth can be dismissed as an inconvenience caused by an irresponsible travelling couple. Shepherds’ wonder can be shrugged off, their gullibility sneered at. A new star can remain unnoticed, its invitation unheeded. (2)

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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

Something quite poignant to think about from a Christian perspective, particularly at Christmas time - without resorting to 'correcting' the 'wrong' wishes, but rather, listening and engaging in conversations which could quickly lead to deep stuff... If we were willing to listen, that is. (2)

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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

..."She could think logically in metaphysics and therefore would deal efficiently in margarine." Indeed.

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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

Each verse ends with ‘Saranam’ - a word in Sanskrit, Tamil, and several other South and Southeast Asian languages meaning refuge, protection, or surrender.

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

(more specifically, a Curonian) folk tune of “Pūt, Vējiņi” (‘Blow, oh wind’) and slightly modified it. The lyrics are adapted from Madeleine L’Engle’s A House Like a Lotus, which I encountered via Northumbria Community’s Celtic Daily Prayer.

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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

Some interesting questions around working with what we have, and what it means to think about art in the broadest sense of the word, in the context of public worship.

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

I began with this wee wooden sculpture of the 'Pensive Christ', or 'The One Who Cares' - typical of Lithuanian traditional spirituality, but one Lithuanian Baptists don't generally engage with.

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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

The Case of Lithuanian Baptists”. In William L. Pitts, Jr. (ed.), Baptists and Revivals: Papers from the Seventh International Conference on Baptist Studies (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2018), 304-323.

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

Those gatherings are a whole special story and represent an important part of the religious history of the region. I've explored it in several articles, including “Revival Among the Aliens:

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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

But, in light of various other responsibilities, it's time to take off this particular 'hat', with much gratitude, and with my best wishes to the new editor, @drkatiecross.bsky.social

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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

And so, over the last week, I had been giving thanks for the life of this remarkable man, and now am praying for the Catholic Church as it prepares to elect its next leader.

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

Many years ago now, I visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore — little knowing that I was touching not only ancient history, but also history still to unfold.

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

Whatever the papal funeral may have required in terms of ceremony, his burial wishes were a beautiful illustration of his theological convictions: to be entombed in a niche that until now had been used to store candlestick holders, with no decoration and only a simple inscription, 'Franciscus'.

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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

But for now, I find myself simply standing with those who feel surrounded by betrayal, death, and the end of all hope.

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

I’m not even sure HOW we should celebrate Easter in 2025, when so much of the world is still in the agony of Holy Week. Yes, I know — proclaiming that Christ IS risen is part of how we resist evil and find strength in the face of despair.

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

And the lifeless body of Jesus lies buried in a borrowed tomb. And no — it doesn't feel like this all will end just a few days later, as great parts of the Christian world prepare to celebrate Easter.

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

The Empire has won, it seems. The evil one laughs in the face of those crying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Might makes right. Greed plunders the poorest — with pride and glee. War bombs and bulldozes over the homes of peace and justice.

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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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