{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1","title":"Micro.blog - Joseph Mangina","home_page_url":"https://micro.blog","feed_url":"https://micro.blog/posts/manginajoe","_microblog":{"about":"https://micro.blog/about/api","id":"55492","username":"manginajoe","bio":"Theologian, professor, cyclist, turtle enthusiast","pronouns":"","is_following":false,"is_you":false,"following_count":12,"discover_count":0},"author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://avatars.micro.blog/avatars/2026/27/55492.jpg"},"items":[{"id":"95230252","content_html":"

Bonhoeffer and Niebuhr: manginaj.micro.blog

","summary":"","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/2026/08/05/bonhoeffer-and-niebuhr.html","date_published":"2026-08-05T12:00:28+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-05 12:00","date_timestamp":1785931228,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"95027145","content_html":"

The Apartment: manginaj.micro.blog

","summary":"","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/2026/08/01/just-watched-the-apartment-directed.html","date_published":"2026-08-01T12:56:03+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-01 12:56","date_timestamp":1785588963,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"94664183","content_html":"

Of Time and The Bear: manginaj.micro.blog

","summary":"","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/2026/07/25/all-fans-of-the-bear.html","date_published":"2026-07-26T00:39:49+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-26 00:39","date_timestamp":1785026389,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"94577375","content_html":"

And I—ever slow on the uptake—just realized that “forks” probably refers to metaphorical forks in the road, not just the physical forks Richie had to polish in the kitchen at Ever.

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My wife and I just finished watching season 5 of The Bear. And then, just for fun, went back and watched seasons 1 and 2, to trace the development of characters and storylines. Richie’s transformation is of course the most startling: the “Forks” episode in season 2 is justly famous. It has aspects of a...

manginaj.micro.blog","summary":"","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/2026/07/24/my-wife-and-i-just.html","date_published":"2026-07-24T11:28:17+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-24 11:28","date_timestamp":1784892497,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"94482682","content_html":"

This is by way of announcing the upcoming conference Evangelical, Catholic, and Reformed, honoring George Hunsinger on the occasion of his retirement from teaching. Just looking at the lineup of speakers makes me think this one will be a lot of fun (a word not often used to describe gatherings of academics).

\n","summary":"","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/2026/07/22/this-is-by-way-of.html","date_published":"2026-07-22T20:44:30+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-22 20:44","date_timestamp":1784753070,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"94183955","content_html":"

@ayjay What a cool comparison. For me, the pivotal point is: “Most of the work of each artist is focused on America and Americans, and considers — with genuine profundity in each case — the American quest for transcendent reality, what Pynchon calls the perception of ‘the far invisible.’” Mason & Dixon and The New World — now that’s a correlation. But now Alan, what do you think the key differences are, beyond the obvious one of genres? I would think that one is Pynchon’s verbal pyrotechnics. Is his wordplay, jokiness etc. a kabbalistic way into the transcendent, or a means for keeping it at bay? Malick is far more “earnest” by comparison, as you indicate.

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@eastbrad These are spectacular. Wish I was there (writing from a city currently enveloped in wildfire smoke, drifting down from Quebec)

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My almost namesake restaurant, 57th Street in Manhattan. For the record, “Mangina” really is related to mangia. In Sicily the name was Mangiaraccina, meaning “grape eater.” I’ve read that a lot of Sicilian surnames are related to occupations. So: vineyard worker?

\n\n

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“People are religious to the extent that they believe themselves to be not so much imperfect, as ill. Any man who is half-way decent will think himself extremely imperfect, but a religious man thinks himself wretched.” —Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value. A very Pascalian sentiment. See my comments here.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/2026/07/14/people-are-religious-to-the.html","date_published":"2026-07-14T12:14:44+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-14 12:14","date_timestamp":1784031284,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93603913","content_html":"

Postscript on Jenson: manginaj.micro.blog

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You Can't Unhear Robert Jenson: manginaj.micro.blog

","summary":"","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/2026/07/07/you-cant-unhear-robert-jenson.html","date_published":"2026-07-07T11:51:56+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-07 11:51","date_timestamp":1783425116,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93489894","content_html":"

I say “German” here, because most of the time what strikes me is the recycling of tropes from 19th century liberal Protestantism. But the point holds equally for ancient theology. If you want to be a Nestorian, fine. But then at least know you’re being a Nestorian.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/2026/07/05/i-say-german-here-because.html","date_published":"2026-07-05T19:52:00+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-05 19:52","date_timestamp":1783281120,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93489317","content_html":"

Note to my students: A lot of what one hears from the mainline pulpit nowadays consists of the unconscious repetition of views first stated by some smart German in the 19th century. Almost always, the German said them better. This is why we have courses in systematic and historical theology.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/2026/07/05/note-to-my-students-a.html","date_published":"2026-07-05T19:36:01+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-05 19:36","date_timestamp":1783280161,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93427676","content_html":"

Disclosure Day: manginaj.micro.blog

","summary":"","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/2026/07/04/my-son-and-i-went.html","date_published":"2026-07-04T14:00:20+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-04 14:00","date_timestamp":1783173620,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93380383","content_html":"

@ayjay Thanks, Alan. Your friend Austin Kleon’s latest sent me back to his Show Your Work, and I thought hey, that’s actually a good idea. So here I am … and not on Substack.

\n

Curious to know what people like Austin and Freddie deB. say about your policy, though. They obviously think they can escape the echo-chamber effect.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/manginajoe/93380383","date_published":"2026-07-03T16:52:56+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-03 16:52","date_timestamp":1783097576,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"93344993","content_html":"

@eastbrad I was toying with the idea of going on Substack, but for some reason hesitated to pull the trigger. Alan’s post helped me understand better why I was holding back. Seems like the right call.

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This hidden gem has to be the best café patio in Toronto. I love to sit here of a morning with coffee, croissant, and a good book. Cafe 23, Queen Street West.

\n\n

\n","summary":"","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/2026/07/02/this-has-to-be-the.html","date_published":"2026-07-02T12:57:19+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-02 12:57","date_timestamp":1782997039,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93279054","content_html":"

David Cayley, 1946-2026: manginaj.micro.blog

","summary":"","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/2026/07/01/david-cayley.html","date_published":"2026-07-02T00:00:10+00:00","author":{"name":"Joseph Mangina","url":"https://manginaj.micro.blog/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2026%2F27%2F55492.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"manginajoe"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-02 00:00","date_timestamp":1782950410,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}}]}