Fundamental Reformers: A New Aggregate Feed

Update: Due to problems with Blogdigger not being able to read some of the feeds properly, I have switched to using just the Xfruits.com aggregator/aggregate feed. I like the look of this aggregator the best, anyway. The only drawback is that sometimes when you click on a link from the RSS listing on my sidebar (under the section “Fundamental Reformers”), you do not get to the post listed. Other than that the aggregator works great and updates very quickly (faster than Blogdigger did).

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RSS & WordPress

One of the great features that WordPress.com offers is the ability to have RSS feeds listed on your sidebar. You can display up to 10 entries at a time for up to 9 different RSS feeds. This makes it possible for you to design your blog as a great one-stop place for information: the blog functioning as both a blog and a mini RSS reader.

I have incorporated this feature into my blog by providing the latest posts from Sharper Iron’s filings (General Christian web news), Between 2 Worlds (Reformed web news), and Reformation Theology(great Reformed articles). But I have been looking for some way to also include an RSS feed which draws from the posts of several blogs which would be more directly related to the overall theme of my blog. After much searching, I have finally found a way to do this–and it’s free!

I have actually found two solutions. Xfruits.com was my first discovery, and then this made me think of Blogdigger Groups. Xfruits.com allows you to consolidate multiple RSS feeds into one single RSS feed, and Blogdigger allows you to create a group of blogs and provides you with a RSS feed from that group. Xfruits.com presents all the posts in their entirety (the last 100 of them), while Blogdigger gives the posts in an excerpt format. Of the two, Blogdigger seems the most usable for the reader, although the other is more pleasing to the eye. Either service now allows me to create my own aggregate feeds.

My New Aggregator (& Aggregate Feed)

So without further ado, let me announce my new aggregate feed: Fundamental Reformers. This feed incorporates my own posts along with those of 10 other blogs which are reforming fundamentalism (see list below). Obviously the views of each blog and author are not identical, and I am sure each of the 10 blogs disagrees with some of my views as I do theirs. But each of these blogs has contributed toward reforming fundamentalism in my opinion. And each of them produce worthwhile posts. My point in providing this aggregator is to bring attention to the good posts that are often written on these blogs which would be of interest to me and my readers. For anyone who is struggling with certain aspects of fundamentalism, or for those looking for some kind of direction or help, and for others who want to continue to interact with what others are writing, this aggregator will prove a great source of information with everything all in one place.

How it works

Before I list the blogs included, let me point out how you can use this aggregator. To do that I must first explain how it works. The aggregator takes all of the feeds from the blogs and lists them in chronological order just as a RSS Reader (like Bloglines or Google Reader) would. It gives an excerpt of the entire post, points out who the author is and links to the actual post and its blog. The aggregator lists the last 200 or so posts from all these blogs.

Using the aggregator is as simple as going to it and reading it. You can also link to it from your blog. You can even use this button for it: (just right click it and save it, then use it!) You can also subscribe to the aggregator feed from a RSS reader (again, like Bloglines, Google Reader, Feedburner, etc.). Now I must note that since I am using primarily Blogdigger’s service, there is one link for the aggregator and a separate link which is the actual RSS feed for the aggregator. If you prefer to try Xfruits.com‘s feed which shows the last 100 posts in their entirety (and acts more like a good RSS reader than an aggregator) you can use this link. The Xfruit.com feed is more pleasing to the eye while the Blogdigger feed is more user friendly for navigating through the feed. Each has its benefits, but at the end of the day I’ll go with Blogdigger and let you all pick which you want to use. They are both free for me, so I’ll keep them both updated as the list of blogs grows (if it does).

As for my blog, I am using the button to link to the Blogdigger page from the “About Me” and “Buttons & Etc.” sections of the sidebar. I am also linking to it from the “Bobspotted Blogs” section. And you can find the last 10 entries from the blogs in the list (minus my own blog, of course) in the “Fundamental Reformers” section. Just below that in the “Subscriptions & Feeds” section you find links to the RSS feed from Blogdigger for the group as well s the Xfruit.com version of the feed.

The List

Now finally, let me list the blogs. I may add more blogs in the future, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to pass them on.

• Big Orange Truck
• Bowing Down
• Bread and Circuses
• Extreme Fundamental Makeover
• Murg
• Neo Fundamentalist
• Paleoevangelical
• Ryan Debarr.Com
• The Misadventures of Captain Headknowledge
• The World from Our Window

∼striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God∼ Eph. 4:3,13 “¢ Rom. 15:5-7