". . . being dead, yet speaketh." Bible

My wife saw a quote from a previous post of mine, which said this:

"I am constantly struck by the strangeness of reading works that seem addressed, personally and intimately, to me, and yet were written by people who crumbled to dust long ago." (source)

She told me that she wanted to know some of the statements that seem addressed to me. In other words, who speaks to me, though dead? (Hebrews 11:4, KJV, says "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.")

So, here's the first installment, my top ten, as it were, quotations from the Bible. All quotations are from the ESV. (I am grateful that this version of the Bible is available on the web, and that they allow use in blogs, provided the version is cited as I have done -- with a link like the previous sentence, and links to specific passages.)

I have already posted about the significance of some of my choices. To read about why I think the first three choices speak to me, and are important, as relating to a view of science, see here.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (See also this post, about why a doctrine of origins is important.)

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above [text note: "expanse"] proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge. (See also this post, about not seeing God revealed in nature.)

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him [Text note: by means of; or in. Text notes give possible alternate readings.] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.


Psalm 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly. (See also this post, about the title of this blog.)

Matthew 22:35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus [Text note: "which was also in Christ Jesus"] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, [Text note: "bondservant"] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Hebrews 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost [Text note: Or at all times (that is, completely)] those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (See also this post, on the significance of this verse. This verse is featured at the top of this blog.)

1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our [text note: "your"] joy may be complete. 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

This was a fair amount of work, but, I believe, it was more than worth it. I thank my wife for the suggestion. This one is goes into my list of "Important (I think) posts," (See near top right of this page).

I recognize that there are serious dangers in such an exercise, the main one, I suppose, being that one who does it might ignore other Bible passages.

Thanks for reading.

If any of you would like to produce a similar compilation, I would appreciate hearing about it in a comment, but that, of course, is up to you. Thanks in advance.

In the second installment of a series of three, I posted some important quotations from three of my favorite dead authors of fantastic (and other) literature, C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, and J. R. R. Tolkien. In the third, and, I believe, last, I posted some important quotations from scientists, including Darwin, Newton, Einstein, Copernicus, and Watson and Crick.

* * * * *

Added July 3, 2007, an eleventh passage:

Psalm 136:4 to him who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
5 to him who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;

Thanks for reading!

Brother Lawrence on using the Web

The Practice of the Presence of God, about Brother Lawrence of the Cross, written in the late 1600's, is a short book, available in several places on the web, including here. It details how Brother Lawrence found ways to be in constant communion with God in his daily tasks. I have read that the book is the second most widely read, after the Bible. I don't know if that is true. Brother Lawrence never heard of the Internet, of course, but it strikes me that I need to practice God's presence in my activity on the web. Here's an excerpt, which, if I substitute appropriately, is a guide to doing that. May I do so.

He noted that in the beginning of his novitiate he spent the hours appointed for private prayer in thinking of God so as to convince his mind and impress deeply upon his heart the Divine existence. He did this by devout sentiments and submission to the lights of faith, rather than by studied reasonings and elaborate meditations. By this short and sure method he exercised himself in the knowledge and love of God, resolving to use his utmost endeavor to live in a continual sense of His Presence, and, if possible, never to forget Him more.

When he had thus, in prayer, filled his mind with great sentiments of that Infinite Being, he went to his work appointed in the kitchen (for he was then cook for the community). There having first considered severally the things his office required, and when and how each thing was to be done, he spent all the intervals of his time, both before and after his work, in prayer.

When he began his business, he said to God with a filial trust in Him, "O my God, since Thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to Thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech Thee to grant me the grace to continue in Thy Presence; and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance. Receive all my works, and possess all my affections." As he proceeded in his work, he continued his familiar conversation with his Maker, imploring His grace, and offering to Him all his actions.

When he had finished, he examined himself how he had discharged his duty. If he found well, he returned thanks to God. If otherwise, he asked pardon and, without being discouraged, he set his mind right again. He then continued his exercise of the presence of God as if he had never deviated from it. "Thus," said he, "by rising after my falls, and by frequently renewed acts of faith and love, I am come to a state wherein it would be as difficult for me not to think of God as it was at first to accustom myself to it."

Thanks for reading. Practice the Presence of God.

Sunspots 81

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Politics: Charles Colson wrote "Our message is not, We put you in office, now pay up; but rather, This should be done because it is right, it is a principle that undergirds any well-ordered civil society," and "This is why it is so crucial not to allow ourselves to be tucked into any party's hip pocket, or cast as just another political interest group in the ideological struggle."

Computing: An article reports that Tim Berners-Lee, who probably best deserves the title, inventor of the Internet, has called for studying it socially, economically, and psychologically. It's not just a computer network. He's right about that.

There's a Six Word Story group in Flickr. The idea is to post a photo, and a six word story that goes along with it. * (see below for another Six Word Story item)

Science: P. Z. Myers on Jonathan Wells (author of Icons of Evolution), who, says Myers, misunderstands and/or distorts the embryonic evidence for common descent.

Mathematicians on how to cut a cake (or divide other items) fairly.

Literature: A good post on Why I Read Fantasy. She says "Best of all, fantasy novels are almost always about great heroes, which I see as illustrative of our Lord, the greatest hero of all."

Heard, and read, on The Writer's Almanac for November 7th , this quotation from Stephen Greenblatt: "I am constantly struck by the strangeness of reading works that seem addressed, personally and intimately, to me, and yet were written by people who crumbled to dust long ago."

Christianity: Jan argues that Christians, like others, have an erotic imagination. She also remarks that our art doesn't reflect that, although there's some that does in the Bible.

Patricia, at Intellectuelle, has posted that not just men like Ted Haggard (whatever he did), but women may be tempted toward wrongful sexual behavior.

*Commenter John Dekker told me about a blogger who is compiling six word summaries of all the books of the Bible, and taking suggestions. (In my last Sunspots , I mentioned six word science fiction stories by well-known authors.) This week's Christian Carnival is here. (For information on locating these Carnivals, see here.)

When I don't tell where I found an item above, I either found it directly, or was probably pointed to it by the Librarian's Internet Index, SciTech Daily, or Arts and Letters Daily. All of these sources are great.

Thanks for reading! Keep clicking away.

Image source (public domain)

"One Night With the King" -- yes, there is a Hathach

In a previous post, I questioned any telling of the story of Esther without mentioning the role of Hathach, who speaks what many people think of as the most important lines in the Book of Esther. At the time, I was relying on the IMDB listing of the cast (See previous post for link) and Hathach was not listed as one of the characters. I was disappointed.

Well, now I have seen the movie. I hope it isn't giving away too much of the plot to any of the infinitesimally small fraction of the inhabitants of this planet who use the Internet, read this blog, and will have a chance to see "One Night With the King." and plan to see it, to say that there is a Hathach in the movie, after all, and that he does speak those lines to Esther. Like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and Esther herself, Hathach is presented as having both a Jewish and an Mesopotamian name. Perhaps the original Hathach was Jewish by birth. Perhaps not.

I thank Claw of the Conciliator (See Some of the feeds I subscribe to, on the right, for a link) for pointing me to a review of the movie by Ben Witherington. Having seen the movie, I mostly agree with him. I thought that Tiffany Dupont had tremendous appeal as Esther.

* * * * *

Addendum, November 8th: When I originally posted this, I hadn't included a link to the movie's web site. (Duh . . .) I have now done so. On visiting the site, I was surprised to see that the only actors mentioned on its front page are Dupont, Omar Sharif, and Peter O'Toole. Dupont had the main role. O'Toole had a very brief part, what I think is called a cameo appearance. Sharif did well in a supporting role. John Rhys-Davies, as Mordecai (aka Gimli in the Tolkien movies), had almost as much screen time as Dupont, and did his job well. I'm surprised that he wasn't mentioned on the front page.

I should have also said that the film was free of objectionable language and gratuitous (or any other kind of) sex and of gratuitous violence. There was a little violence, but it wasn't lovingly caressed (or hugged and fondled) as it sometimes is in the movies.

I should have also said "Thanks for reading!"

A Model for Christian political blogging: Philiphronos

Laura, at Pursuing Holiness, posted a challenge to those who blog about political issues, and claim to be Christians. She quotes from I Peter 3:14-16, which includes: "However, make your defense with gentleness and respect." (I'm not sure which version she is using.) Then, she says:

If we are called to make our defense of our faith with gentleness and respect, how much more should we do so with respect to minor issues like the politics of our nation or any of the temporary governments of this world?

Indeed.

A good plan. I don't think I major in politics here at Sun and Shield, but it comes up occasionally. I hope I have followed this pattern, and I intend to do so from now on.

Laura, who is working in conjunction with another blogger, invites other bloggers to join them in various ways, for example by adding the Philiphronos blog to your blogroll. Instructions (which may not work for all blog platforms) are included.

I thank Bonnie, of Intellectuelle, for the link to this material.

Thanks for reading.

Diary of an Old Soul, Nov 5 - 11

5. "Wake, thou that sleepest; rise up from the dead,
And Christ will give thee light.*" I do not know
What sleep is, what is death, or what is light;
But I am waked enough to feel a woe,
To rise and leave death. Stumbling through the night,
To my dim lattice, O calling Christ! I go,
And out into the dark look for thy star-crowned head.

6. There are who come to me, and write, and send,
Whom I would love, giving good things to all,
But friend--that name I cannot on them spend;
'Tis from the centre of self-love they call
For cherishing--for which they first must know
How to be still, and take the seat that's low:
When, Lord, shall I be fit--when wilt thou call me friend?

7. Wilt thou not one day, Lord? In all my wrong,
Self-love and weakness, laziness and fear,
This one thing I can say: I am content
To be and have what in thy heart I am meant
To be and have. In my best times I long
After thy will, and think it glorious-dear;
Even in my worst, perforce my will to thine is bent.

8. My God, I look to thee for tenderness
Such as I could not seek from any man,
Or in a human heart fancy or plan--
A something deepest prayer will not express:
Lord, with thy breath blow on my being's fires,
Until, even to the soul with self-love wan,
I yield the primal love, that no return desires.

9. Only no word of mine must ever foster
The self that in a brother's bosom gnaws;
I may not fondle failing, nor the boaster
Encourage with the breath of my applause.
Weakness needs pity, sometimes love's rebuke;
Strength only sympathy deserves and draws--
And grows by every faithful loving look.

10. 'Tis but as men draw nigh to thee, my Lord,
They can draw nigh each other and not hurt.
Who with the gospel of thy peace are girt,
The belt from which doth hang the Spirit's sword,
Shall breathe on dead bones, and the bones shall live,
Sweet poison to the evil self shall give,
And, clean themselves, lift men clean from the mire abhorred.

11. My Lord, I have no clothes to come to thee;
My shoes are pierced and broken with the road;
I am torn and weathered, wounded with the goad,
And soiled with tugging at my weary load:
The more I need thee! A very prodigal
I stagger into thy presence, Lord of me:
One look, my Christ, and at thy feet I fall!

The above is excerpted from George MacDonald's A Book of Strife in the Form of The Diary of an Old Soul (Public Domain, 1880). For further information see this post. These are the entries for/from November 5 through November 11.

*Ephesians 5:14 (KJV)

Movie about Esther -- no Hathach?

I haven't seen "One Night With the King," which is currently showing in some theaters, and is about the story of Esther. We may see it. The Christianity Today review indicates that the movie probably puts too much peripheral material into the story, rather than concentrating on what actually happened. (The reviewer does recognize that lots of interesting things that really must have happened aren't in the Bible.) The review indicates that the production company is Christian, and gives them good marks for production values/artistic merit.

One thing I was interested in is whether Hathach, the eunuch, is part of the movie's story. Apparently, based on the IMDB cast list, he isn't. That's interesting, because, although most Christians (and probably Jews) don't seem to realize it, he played a critical part in the story, according to the Bible.

Thanks for reading.

Why I plan to vote

Veracity published an interesting post, in which she argues that Christians should not vote, if they are not convinced that one of the candidates is a good one. I'm not clear as to whether she thinks it's OK to vote for some offices, but not for others, but I suppose she would allow that.

As I say, it was interesting, but I'm not convinced. Her opening sentence was the oft-used phrase: "I don't think any candidate is good, so I will vote(choose) the lesser of two evils." She went on to argue, scripturally, that Christians should not do evil.

I don't think Christians should do evil, either, but I would like to respectfully differ with the common phrase. It doesn't state the situation correctly. Being able to vote in the first place is good. (See recent votes in Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Many people, some of them Christians, believed strongly that the very opportunity to vote was a great good.) So good that voting for Jones, who agrees with me on, say, 2 out of 6 issues where I believe there is some sort of scriptural mandate, over Smith, who only agrees with me on one, means that voting for Jones is better than voting for Smith, and is good.

There is some scripture which backs up this position. Romans 13 says that "For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." (ESV, verse 1b) Surely Paul, who lived under a Roman dictatorship, knew something of the faults of that particular government. But he implied that there was some good in it, and, in fact, in all governments. I'm not sure what to make of some current regimes, such as the one in Sudan, related to this verse, but most governments, even if imperfect, even if they don't allow voting, have some good about them.

The Gettysburg Address, by perhaps the greatest President of the United States, says that that country's government is "of the people, by the people, for the people." The Declaration of Independence of the United States said that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed . . ." I know that neither the Gettysburg Address, nor the Declaration of Independence, have the force of Scripture, but they are important, and many would say that they are derived from Judeo-Christian ideals. If I am governed by persons and institutions that ultimately require my consent, if government is by the people, and if governments are ordained by God, then I think I have some duty to inform myself about the issues and the candidates, and vote.

Must I vote for every office? I would not say so. But I believe that most citizens have a duty to inform themselves about the issues and the candidates, and prayerfully vote for those they think most consistent with their best understanding of what is right.

Will Christians always make the right decisions when voting? Of course not. Those of us who have the privilege of voting on pastors or church officers sometimes find that it seems we, personally, or as a congregation, haven't made a good choice. But that does not excuse the duty to do our best.

Do Christians always have God's view of the issues, or the candidates? Again, no. I need no further evidence for this than that sincere Christians disagree about issues, or candidates. One thinks that abortion is the only issue. Another is concerned about world peace, or alleviating poverty, both scriptural principles.

Is voting the main way Christians should try to change the world? Certainly not. Christians should demonstrate Christlikeness, and create a hunger for it in the hearts of others. That's the best way to change the world. But it's not the only one.

For what it's worth, I plan to vote. I pray that I am voting as God wants me to, and that He will oversee the result.

Thanks for reading.

P. S., about half an hour later: This is another way of saying that I'm thankful that I can vote.

Sunspots 80

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Politics:
A Slate article, claiming that the US is now using torture, and that torture has a devastating effect on the military and police of countries that use it.

Science:
He Lives is at it again, criticizing William Dembski and the Intelligent Design movement, because Dembski is at it again. Quote from He Lives: "If you are worried that scientific research can undermine your faith, then I suggest you work on strengthening your faith instead of attacking the researchers." Well said!

Some speculations on the function, if any, of brilliant fall leaf colors. No firm conclusion.

Article in Discover on "How to Build an Invisibility Cloak." (It's not been done yet, but there's progress)

Asian Elephants join humans, chimpanzees and dolphins in demonstrating self-awareness.

Literature:
Jan on what makes Christian art (including literature). She's got four simple rules, including (are you ready for this one?) #4. Non-Christians can make Christian art. Mark Daniels follows up on that theme. Writes Daniels: "Any artistic expression that acknowledges the realities of life is far more likely to be Christian or to have Christian implications than some of the bland banalities that pass for 'Christian art' these days."

E Stephen Burnett has posted the third of three posts on Christian speculative fiction. Among other things, he talks about the Harry Potter series.

A few dozen six word stories by authors of fantastic fiction, in Wired.


This week's Christian Carnival is here. (For information on locating these Carnivals, see here.)

When I don't tell where I found an item above, I either found it directly, or was probably pointed to it by the Librarian's Internet Index, SciTech Daily, or Arts and Letters Daily. All of these sources are great.

Thanks for reading! Keep clicking away.

Image source (public domain)

Boo!

Garrison Keillor, at the Writer's Almanac, has a couple of paragraphs about today's holiday/celebration/abomination/whatever it is. As always, Keillor is worth reading or listening to.

Pumpkins are members of the Cucurbitae family of flowering plants, along with squash, cucumbers, melons, and others.

Here's my post on the color orange, and here's my post on the color black, both from over a year ago.

Thanks for reading!

* * * * * *

Addendum: A couple of hours later:

I should have pointed out that, on this date in 1517, Martin Luther wrote his 95 theses, which were, I guess, the beginning of Protestantism.

Chance and 20th Century physics, 2

The previous post on this topic is here. In it, I discussed the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, and quantum physics in general. Some thinkers have believed that the unpredictability of sub-atomic particles is the explanation for free choice in the human brain.

Albert Einstein, who was, of course, one of the pillars of twentieth century physics, including quantum physics, is renowned for many things. One of them is that he said something like "God does not play at dice." (in German) Another is his long argument with Neils Bohr, another of the titans of twentieth-century physics, about quantum physics. (The Wikipedia article on Bohr includes a photo of Einstein and Bohr, engaged in this long argument.) These facts are often taken to mean that Einstein believed that everything can be predicted, at least in principle, or that he disbelieved in quantum physics. Apparently this is not completely correct.

I have recently read a book which deals with the subject of Einstein, indeterminacy, Bohr, and quantum physics, Einstein Defiant: Genius versus Genius in the Quantum Revolution, by Edmund Blair Bolles. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press, 2004. (The two geniuses are Bohr and Einstein.) Bolles puts Einstein's saying this way: "I, at any rate, am convinced that He is not playing at dice." Quote is from p. 252. Bolles' source is Max Born's Born-Einstein Letters, translated by Irene Born. New York: Walker Publishing, 1971. Bolles says that the statement was in a letter to Born, also an important physicist.

Bolles argues that what Einstein really meant was that indeterminacy, or unpredictability, does not imply that there are not real causes, even for the actions of sub-atomic particles. Some of his colleagues were, it seems, willing to believe that all we could do is predict these actions statistically, not individually, and that what happened to an individual particle was simply a matter of chance. Einstein apparently agreed, except that he would not have agreed with the last clause. He believed that, if we could just perceive them, there are real influences, even on sub-atomic particles.

I suppose that Einstein's view, if correct, means that quantum uncertainty cannot be the foundation of human free will.

Thanks for reading.

Thanks for 40 years

We have been married 40 years, as of today, and we thank God for the privilege.

Diary of an Old Soul, October 29 - November 4

29. What though things change and pass, nor come again!
Thou, the life-heart of all things, changest never.
The sun shines on; the fair clouds turn to rain,
And glad the earth with many a spring and river.
The hearts that answer change with chill and shiver,
That mourn the past, sad-sick, with hopeless pain,
They know not thee, our changeless heart and brain.

30. My halting words will some day turn to song--
Some far-off day, in holy other times!
The melody now prisoned in my rimes
Will one day break aloft, and from the throng
Of wrestling thoughts and words spring up the air;
As from the flower its colour's sweet despair
Issues in odour, and the sky's low levels climbs.

31. My surgent thought shoots lark-like up to thee.
Thou like the heaven art all about the lark.
Whatever I surmise or know in me,
Idea, or but symbol on the dark,
Is living, working, thought-creating power
In thee, the timeless father of the hour.
I am thy book, thy song--thy child would be.

NOVEMBER 1. THOU art of this world, Christ. Thou know'st it all;
Thou know'st our evens, our morns, our red and gray;
How moons, and hearts, and seasons rise and fall;
How we grow weary plodding on the way;
Of future joy how present pain bereaves,
Rounding us with a dark of mere decay,
Tossed with a drift Of summer-fallen leaves.

2. Thou knowest all our weeping, fainting, striving;
Thou know'st how very hard it is to be;
How hard to rouse faint will not yet reviving;
To do the pure thing, trusting all to thee;
To hold thou art there, for all no face we see;
How hard to think, through cold and dark and dearth,
That thou art nearer now than when eye-seen on earth.

3. Have pity on us for the look of things,
When blank denial stares us in the face.
Although the serpent mask have lied before,
It fascinates the bird that darkling sings,
And numbs the little prayer-bird's beating wings.
For how believe thee somewhere in blank space,
If through the darkness come no knocking to our door?

4. If we might sit until the darkness go,
Possess our souls in patience perhaps we might;
But there is always something to be done,
And no heart left to do it. To and fro
The dull thought surges, as the driven waves fight
In gulfy channels. Oh! victorious one,
Give strength to rise, go out, and meet thee in the night.

The above is excerpted from George MacDonald's A Book of Strife in the Form of The Diary of an Old Soul (Public Domain, 1880). For further information see this post. These are the entries for/from October 29 through November 4.

Jane Langton: goodness in fantasy

Jane Langton's The Fledgling was a 1981 Newbery Honor book. It is set in modern Concord, Massachusetts, where Thoreau became famous. Georgie is a girl of about 8 or 9 who loves geese, and wants to fly. She develops a relationship with a goose, and flies. It's a good read, for youngsters, or adults. It's about wanting to fly, and wishes. But the book is also about character, or goodness. Here's Langton's contrast of Eleanor, Georgie's step-cousin, who is being raised by Georgie's mother, Aunt Alex, and her stepfather, with Georgie:

How different they are, thought Aunt Alex, Eleanor and Georgie. Altogether different. And it isn't just that Georgie is younger. Georgie is different from Eleanor all the way through, from the inside out. Why, look at her, right now. She doesn't even know that she exists. She's just eyes and ears, that's all she is, just looking and listening. She doesn't think about herself at all. The world outside her rushes into her, and that's what she becomes. She doesn't think to herself, "This is me, Georgie." Instead she pulses with the sunrise and the rain and the geese flying over the house. She's in them, not outside them. She's more like a bird or a flower than a girl named Georgie.Whereas, Eleanor! Oh, Eleanor! Just look at Eleanor! Eleanor is all Eleanor! And everything outside Eleanor becomes Eleanor too -- sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts! She sucks us all in! There isn't anything else but Eleanor in all the world! Jane Langton, The Fledgling. New York: Harper, 1980. pp. 117-8 Aunt Alex is Georgie's mother. Eleanor is her husband's niece, and the two of them are raising Eleanor and Eddy. Georgie is her husband's stepdaughter.

A nosy woman has moved into the house next door. Alex's husband can't understand why she keeps coming around so much. Alex understands:
One day when Uncle Freddy was protesting a new Prawnish assault, yet another rap on the glass, some further pressure from next door, Aunt Alex had explained to him fiercely. "It's your goodness that attracts her, that's what it is. She can't stand it. She has to poke it and pinch it and squeeze it and try as hard as she can to squash it entirely. Only she can't. And it drives her mad. Jane Langton, The Fledgling. New York: Harper, 1980. pp. 119-120.

Langton is also the author of "The Weak Place in the Cloth: A Study of Fantasy for Children" (Fantasists on Fantasy, edited by Robert H. Boyer and Kenneth J. Zahorski. New York: Avon Books, 1984. pp. 163-179. Originally published in The Horn Book Magazine, October and December 1973, pp. 433-441). In this, Langton says that fantastic worlds "on the other side of the cloth" may be reached in eight different ways. Langton, herself, in this work of fantasy, uses one of her methods, a magic being which breaches the cloth between the real and the fantastic. That magic being is a goose.

Thanks for reading.

Prayer: Conversing with God

Christianity Today recently published a list of "The Top 50 Books that have Shaped Evangelicals." They say that the list is still under debate. The top book is Prayer: Conversing with God, by Rosalind Rinker. It was originally published in 1959, but has been through several printings since. I had never read it. The book is out of print, but good libraries should have it, and used copies are available on-line, for example from Amazon's affiliated sellers. The book is small in format, and brief, only 72 pages, plus an appendix.

I read the book. I can't say that it changed my life, but it is a great book. Probably one reason that it hasn't changed my life is that, as CT indicated by the listing, it has shaped evangelical thinking. How? Probably in two ways: taking the King James English out of many people's prayers, and in introducing conversational prayer. (Rinker is not violently opposed to KJV English, but says that it's not natural, and that use of it in the twentieth century is mostly pretty ignorant of the actual use of "Thee" centuries ago.)

Conversational prayer is unstructured group prayer, compared to praying around a circle, another common method. Rinker contends that conversational prayer is more open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and more involving, than other methods.

I think Rinker is correct here.

Something that, I hope, did change my prayer life, is Rinker's idea that we pray for things we don't really believe that God can do. It might be better to pray for smaller, more believable things, in step-wise fashion. She gives an example of a Christian couple who moved into a new place. They prayed that the husband would meet the man next door today. He did. The next day, they prayed that he would find out what the man was interested in, during the next day or two. It was football, and they prayed for free tickets for two. Then they prayed that the husband could discuss Christ on the way home from the game, and then they prayed that the couple would accept an invitation to ask them over for a visit and Bible study, and then that they would accept Christ as savior. All these prayers were answered, thus, one step at a time, over a few weeks. Probably, if they had just prayed that they would have a Christian influence in their community, or for their neighbors, nothing much would have happened. (pp. 61-2)

Sunspots 79

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Politics:
Nothing interesting to someone else, but a LOT of attack ads.

Computing:
The Blueletter Bible (a free source, with several versions of the entire Bible available, including Greek, as well as public domain commentaries) now includes the ESV as one of their versions.

Science:
He Lives blog has again made a strong case that the Intelligent Design movement is not science.

Nature News reports on research that indicates that there are genetic factors that influence the success or failure of in vitro fertilization.

Slate offers the first installment of a quiz on how much you contribute to global warming. (Free membership needed)

Literature:
E Stephen Burnett has posted the second of three posts on Christian speculative fiction. In the second, he says that two of the best, Lewis and Tolkien, didn't worry about the message much, or at all, just about telling a good story. Burnett was unhappy with how Christians often treated the first Narnia movie.

Don't forget Project Gutenberg. They have just posted the full text of Sir Walter Scott's The Heart of Mid-Lothian, and have already posted thousands of other older works.

Christianity:
Understand, Christianity is all about Christ. . . . The whole movement is all about Jesus Christ. And the last thing Jesus told His followers to do before he hightailed back to heaven was to go and make disciples. . . .
Maybe it's my movie background, but I happen to think a person's last words are pretty important. I see them as the ending of a great movie or the crescendo of a great speech. Everything that comes before builds up to those final words. . . .
It doesn't take a nuclear physicist to figure out the Savior meant what he said. He said GO. . . . the last and obviously most important thing He told His followers to do was to go and make disciples of all the nations. Stephen Baldwin with Mark Tabb, The Unusual Suspect. New York: Warner Faith, 2006. pp. 168-9.

Sports:
Sara has an interesting idea on how to get on TV at sports events.


This week's Christian Carnival is here. (For information on locating these Carnivals, see here.)

When I don't tell where I found an item above, I either found it directly, or was probably pointed to it by the Librarian's Internet Index, SciTech Daily, or Arts and Letters Daily. All of these sources are great.

Thanks for reading! Keep clicking away.

Image source (public domain)

Diary of an Old Soul, October 22 - 28

22. Against my fears, my doubts, my ignorance,
I trust in thee, O father of my Lord!
The world went on in this same broken dance,
When, worn and mocked, he trusted and adored:
I too will trust, and gather my poor best
To face the truth-faced false. So in his nest
I shall awake at length, a little scarred and scored.

23. Things cannot look all right so long as I
Am not all right who see--therefore not right
Can see. The lamp within sends out the light
Which shows the things; and if its rays go wry,
Or are not white, they must part show a lie.
The man, half-cured, did men not trees conclude,
Because he moving saw what else had seemed a wood.

24. Give me, take from me, as thou wilt. I learn--
Slowly and stubbornly I learn to yield
With a strange hopefulness. As from the field
Of hard-fought battle won, the victor chief
Turns thankfully, although his heart do yearn,
So from my old things to thy new I turn,
With sad, thee-trusting heart, and not in grief.

25. If with my father I did wander free,
Floating o'er hill and field where'er we would,
And, lighting on the sward before the door,
Strange faces through the window-panes should see,
And strange feet standing where the loved had stood,
The dear old place theirs all, as ours before--
Should I be sorrowful, father, having thee?

26. So, Lord, if thou tak'st from me all the rest,
Thyself with each resumption drawing nigher,
It shall but hurt me as the thorn of the briar,
When I reach to the pale flower in its breast.
To have thee, Lord, is to have all thy best,
Holding it by its very life divine--
To let my friend's hand go, and take his heart in mine.

27. Take from me leisure, all familiar places;
Take all the lovely things of earth and air
Take from me books; take all my precious faces;
Take words melodious, and their songful linking;
Take scents, and sounds, and all thy outsides fair;
Draw nearer, taking, and, to my sober thinking,
Thou bring'st them nearer all, and ready to my prayer.

28. No place on earth henceforth I shall count strange,
For every place belongeth to my Christ.
I will go calm where'er thou bid'st me range;
Whoe'er my neighbour, thou art still my nighest.
Oh my heart's life, my owner, will of my being!
Into my soul thou every moment diest,
In thee my life thus evermore decreeing.

The above is excerpted from George MacDonald's A Book of Strife in the Form of The Diary of an Old Soul (Public Domain, 1880). For further information see this post. These are the entries for/from October 22 through 28.

Sunspots 78

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Politics:
Ken Schenck, a professor of New Testament, on why he doesn't think present-day Israel should get any special privileges from Christians. Among other reasons, he says there are more Palestinian Christians than Israeli ones. He says that 85% of Israelis aren't even practicing Jews.

Review of Andrew Sullivan's The Conservative Soul in the New York Times Book Review (free log-in may be required) by David Brooks, who has some important things to say about what conservatism should be. (So does Sullivan, a Reagan/Thatcher conservative, who is more concerned with where the Republican Party has gone wrong.)

Computing:
OpenOffice, a free alternative to Microsoft Office, has a new release.

Science:
(I'm not sure this belongs in the Science category. Maybe philosophy. Anyway. . .) Review of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, probably the most widely-read critic of religion in English, in the New York Times Book Review (free log-in may be required). Jim Holt has some serious criticisms of Dawkins.

Literature:
Deborah Cullins Smith has written a splendid piece on writing fantastic (and other) literature that really appeals to non-Christians. She mentions Madeleine L'Engle as an example. Sample:
But if you choose to write fiction, particularly spec-fic, remember that the reader is buying your book to escape into another world. Create characters that will take the readers by the hand and coax them down Alice's rabbit hole. Build worlds that capture them so completely, they're ready to pack up the family space ship and fly away.

Christianity:
Bonnie, at Intellectuelle, on the role of church buildings in worship and congregational stewardship.

Some thoughts on praying in the Spirit .

This week's Christian Carnival is here . (For information on locating these Carnivals, see here.)

When I don't tell where I found an item above, I either found it directly, or was probably pointed to it by the Librarian's Internet Index, SciTech Daily, or Arts and Letters Daily. All of these sources are great.

Thanks for reading! Keep clicking away.

Image source (public domain)

Hiatus

We are traveling, and I probably won't have web access, or time, to post for a couple of weeks, more or less. I may get out a Sunspots, and another Diary of an Old Soul. Maybe not.

Thanks for reading.

Diary of an Old Soul, October 15 - 21

15. In youth, when once again I had set out
To find thee, Lord, my life, my liberty,
A window now and then, clouds all about,
Would open into heaven: my heart forlorn
First all would tremble with a solemn glee,
Then, whelmed in peace, rest like a man outworn,
That sees the dawn slow part the closed lids of the morn.

16. Now I grow old, and the soft-gathered years
Have calmed, yea dulled the heart's swift fluttering beat;
But a quiet hope that keeps its household seat
Is better than recurrent glories fleet.
To know thee, Lord, is worth a many tears;
And when this mildew, age, has dried away,
My heart will beat again as young and strong and gay.

17. Stronger and gayer tenfold!--but, O friends,
Not for itself, nor any hoarded bliss.
I see but vaguely whither my being tends,
All vaguely spy a glory shadow-blent,
Vaguely desire the "individual kiss;"
But when I think of God, a large content
Fills the dull air of my gray cloudy tent.

18. Father of me, thou art my bliss secure.
Make of me, maker, whatsoe'er thou wilt.
Let fancy's wings hang moulting, hope grow poor,
And doubt steam up from where a joy was spilt--
I lose no time to reason it plain and clear,
But fly to thee, my life's perfection dear:--
Not what I think, but what thou art, makes sure.

19. This utterance of spirit through still thought,
This forming of heart-stuff in moulds of brain,
Is helpful to the soul by which 'tis wrought,
The shape reacting on the heart again;
But when I am quite old, and words are slow,
Like dying things that keep their holes for woe,
And memory's withering tendrils clasp with effort vain?

20. Thou, then as now, no less wilt be my life,
And I shall know it better than before,
Praying and trusting, hoping, claiming more.
From effort vain, sick foil, and bootless strife,
I shall, with childness fresh, look up to thee;
Thou, seeing thy child with age encumbered sore,
Wilt round him bend thine arm more carefully.

21. And when grim Death doth take me by the throat,
Thou wilt have pity on thy handiwork;
Thou wilt not let him on my suffering gloat,
But draw my soul out--gladder than man or boy,
When thy saved creatures from the narrow ark
Rushed out, and leaped and laughed and cried for joy,
And the great rainbow strode across the dark.

The above is excerpted from George MacDonald's A Book of Strife in the Form of The Diary of an Old Soul (Public Domain, 1880). For further information see this post. These are the entries for/from October 15 through 21.