Fiddler on the Roof has, in my opinion, the best soundtrack of any movie I've ever seen...Here are three of the best songs, "Tradition," "To Life," and "Do You Love Me?" I could wish that the "Tradition" clip had more on either end of it (part of Tevye's monologue is cut, as is part of the violin solo), but this was provided free, after all, so I can't complain.
19 February 2008
18 February 2008
A disjointed post whose parts have no definite relation to each other....
“He can only get away from death by continually stepping
within an inch of it. A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he
is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for
living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not
merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will
not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he
will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his
life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must
desire life like water and yet drink death like wine."
-G.K. Chesterton
...
I've always liked the way that 1988 is abbreviated as '88. I'm not quite sure what it is, but 88 looks and sounds cooler than any other double number except maybe 22 and 44...It might have something to do with Flak 88s...which would explain why I like 22 and 44, as well...
...
I don't often change my avatar on ANGEL, but I saw this today and, well...I have a new avatar.
A number of interpretations could be assigned to it, but I think that it could be seen as identifying shallow internet lingo (LOL) with shallow evangelicalism, pop theology* and prosperity gospel--Christianity lite, as I've heard a friend call it--and indicting the both of them. O for the passion for God's Word and for the love of every word breathed by His spirit to His prophets and apostles that our forefathers had!
...
I'm glad that I left xanga when I did; I was surfing the PHC blogring a couple weeks ago, and stopped by some friends' sites, only to be shocked by an extremely suggestive advertisement ON their site. Now, I'd seen it before, but only on the blogrings, never something like that on a personal site. At least one of my friends has moved to Premium (good man!), but xanga does seem to have become more aggressive with advertising. It's all about the money. Humbug. Anyway, just happy that my parents and I agreed on getting rid of it. Let's pray Blogger stays clean!
...
I was first shown Homestarrunner.com about, oh, 4 years ago or so, and have never frequented it. But this video stuck with me, is clean, and--for a guitar nerd, anyway--is pretty funny. So, here is "Guitar," from the Strongbad email.
...
I went for a 2.5 mile walk Thursday afternoon, in 21*, 17 mph weather (6* with windchill). Why, you may ask? Well, I wasn't climbing Everest, but Sir Edmund Hillary's answer is still applicable: "Because it's there."
And then I opened up my email on Sunday and had this in my inbox. Fitting.
...
I am wholly unmotivated to do much of anything of any depth (whether for school or play), and have been for about the last week...ugh. I'd write a post detailing why I think that is, but I'm not even that motivated. Argh. Just pray for me. Please. Thank you.
Sola Gratia,
Colin
*Just for the record, since I seem to have cultivated in the last few weeks the habit of making myself misunderstood: I DO NOT necessarily consider all theologies with which I disagree to be "pop theology" or "shallow," etc. I am talking about the mainstream church in general--and I don't think that my readers will have any objection to such a characterization of it, at least in the USA.
within an inch of it. A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he
is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for
living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not
merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will
not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he
will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his
life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must
desire life like water and yet drink death like wine."
-G.K. Chesterton
...
I've always liked the way that 1988 is abbreviated as '88. I'm not quite sure what it is, but 88 looks and sounds cooler than any other double number except maybe 22 and 44...It might have something to do with Flak 88s...which would explain why I like 22 and 44, as well...
...
I don't often change my avatar on ANGEL, but I saw this today and, well...I have a new avatar.
A number of interpretations could be assigned to it, but I think that it could be seen as identifying shallow internet lingo (LOL) with shallow evangelicalism, pop theology* and prosperity gospel--Christianity lite, as I've heard a friend call it--and indicting the both of them. O for the passion for God's Word and for the love of every word breathed by His spirit to His prophets and apostles that our forefathers had!
...
I'm glad that I left xanga when I did; I was surfing the PHC blogring a couple weeks ago, and stopped by some friends' sites, only to be shocked by an extremely suggestive advertisement ON their site. Now, I'd seen it before, but only on the blogrings, never something like that on a personal site. At least one of my friends has moved to Premium (good man!), but xanga does seem to have become more aggressive with advertising. It's all about the money. Humbug. Anyway, just happy that my parents and I agreed on getting rid of it. Let's pray Blogger stays clean!
...
I was first shown Homestarrunner.com about, oh, 4 years ago or so, and have never frequented it. But this video stuck with me, is clean, and--for a guitar nerd, anyway--is pretty funny. So, here is "Guitar," from the Strongbad email.
...
I went for a 2.5 mile walk Thursday afternoon, in 21*, 17 mph weather (6* with windchill). Why, you may ask? Well, I wasn't climbing Everest, but Sir Edmund Hillary's answer is still applicable: "Because it's there."
And then I opened up my email on Sunday and had this in my inbox. Fitting.
...
I am wholly unmotivated to do much of anything of any depth (whether for school or play), and have been for about the last week...ugh. I'd write a post detailing why I think that is, but I'm not even that motivated. Argh. Just pray for me. Please. Thank you.
Sola Gratia,
Colin
*Just for the record, since I seem to have cultivated in the last few weeks the habit of making myself misunderstood: I DO NOT necessarily consider all theologies with which I disagree to be "pop theology" or "shallow," etc. I am talking about the mainstream church in general--and I don't think that my readers will have any objection to such a characterization of it, at least in the USA.
17 February 2008
Psalm 90
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God
1Lord, thou hast been our habitation from generation to generation.
2Before the mountains were made, and before thou hadst formed the earth, and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art our God.
3Thou turnest man to destruction; again thou sayest, Return, ye sons of Adam.
4For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
5Thou hast overflowed them; they are as a sleep: in the morning he groweth like grass;
6In the morning it flourisheth and groweth, but in the evening it is cut down and withereth.
7For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
8Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, and our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
9For all our days are passed away in thine anger: we have spent our years as a thought.
10The time of our life is threescore years and ten; and if they be of strength, fourscore years: yet their strength is but labour and sorrow; for it is cut off quickly, and we flee away.
11Who knoweth the power of thy wrath? For according to thy fear is thine anger.
12Teach us so to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
13Return (O LORD, how long?) and and be pacified toward thy servants.
14Fill us with thy mercy in the morning; so shall we rejoice and be glad all our days!
15Comfort us according to the days that thou hast afflicted us, and according to the years that we have seen evil.
16Let thy work be seen toward thy servants, and thy glory upon their children.
17And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and direct thou the work of our hands upon us, even direct the work of our hands.
1Lord, thou hast been our habitation from generation to generation.
2Before the mountains were made, and before thou hadst formed the earth, and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art our God.
3Thou turnest man to destruction; again thou sayest, Return, ye sons of Adam.
4For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
5Thou hast overflowed them; they are as a sleep: in the morning he groweth like grass;
6In the morning it flourisheth and groweth, but in the evening it is cut down and withereth.
7For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
8Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, and our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
9For all our days are passed away in thine anger: we have spent our years as a thought.
10The time of our life is threescore years and ten; and if they be of strength, fourscore years: yet their strength is but labour and sorrow; for it is cut off quickly, and we flee away.
11Who knoweth the power of thy wrath? For according to thy fear is thine anger.
12Teach us so to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
13Return (O LORD, how long?) and and be pacified toward thy servants.
14Fill us with thy mercy in the morning; so shall we rejoice and be glad all our days!
15Comfort us according to the days that thou hast afflicted us, and according to the years that we have seen evil.
16Let thy work be seen toward thy servants, and thy glory upon their children.
17And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and direct thou the work of our hands upon us, even direct the work of our hands.
15 February 2008
Quotes of the Week
Many of these taken from Gtalk conversations, others from emails, others from random conversations with little kids...
“You need to shave. You look like you’re growing a beard.” “Yeah, you look like you’ve been drinking a bunch of beers….”
”you need to utilize ‘utilize’ more often."
“You and your corn jokes…”
“Dude…you just shot down a helicopter with a car.”
“I bet you enjoy an occasional pipe.”
“A horrendously ugly lemur…”
“I’m a glitter bob!”
“Descartes walks into a bar, and the bartender asks him if he’d like a drink. The philosopher says, “I think not.” And ceases to exist.”
“The name is Bond. James Bond.”
“Swing dancing?!”
“Dude, where do you find this stuff?” “It’s a classic movie [White Christmas]!” “Do you have a weird video collection archive?”
“Bad girlfriends spam the SDF while pretending to pay attention to their boyfriend on Gtalk.” (NOTE: I am neither half of the couple in question. Just to be clear)
About a certain PHC male (again, not me) auctioning himself off to the Valentine’s Day Dance “well, hey, that’s capitalism, I guess.”
“Just call me…the loooove monkey.” ~Dinosaur
On Valentine’s Day: “Bah humbug.”
”I be a lit majer…invint! Push the boundries! Revolutionize! embrace the existiential language of our oblivion... or something”
“You see, i'm able to exercise my psychic abilities and forsee whenever there is quiz...and not finish the reading on that one day”
“"oh ya--big free will guy, that Colin"
“Nerds are the new cool.” “nerds are certainly not the new cool... that's why they're nerds. You can see how being a nerd logically disqualifies you from being cool. Your quote is postmodern, and thus needs to be terminated… i'll get the gun”
“You need to shave. You look like you’re growing a beard.” “Yeah, you look like you’ve been drinking a bunch of beers….”
”you need to utilize ‘utilize’ more often."
“You and your corn jokes…”
“Dude…you just shot down a helicopter with a car.”
“I bet you enjoy an occasional pipe.”
“A horrendously ugly lemur…”
“I’m a glitter bob!”
“Descartes walks into a bar, and the bartender asks him if he’d like a drink. The philosopher says, “I think not.” And ceases to exist.”
“The name is Bond. James Bond.”
“Swing dancing?!”
“Dude, where do you find this stuff?” “It’s a classic movie [White Christmas]!” “Do you have a weird video collection archive?”
“Bad girlfriends spam the SDF while pretending to pay attention to their boyfriend on Gtalk.” (NOTE: I am neither half of the couple in question. Just to be clear)
About a certain PHC male (again, not me) auctioning himself off to the Valentine’s Day Dance “well, hey, that’s capitalism, I guess.”
“Just call me…the loooove monkey.” ~Dinosaur
On Valentine’s Day: “Bah humbug.”
”I be a lit majer…invint! Push the boundries! Revolutionize! embrace the existiential language of our oblivion... or something”
“You see, i'm able to exercise my psychic abilities and forsee whenever there is quiz...and not finish the reading on that one day”
“"oh ya--big free will guy, that Colin"
“Nerds are the new cool.” “nerds are certainly not the new cool... that's why they're nerds. You can see how being a nerd logically disqualifies you from being cool. Your quote is postmodern, and thus needs to be terminated… i'll get the gun”
14 February 2008
The Concert Last Friday and Other Stories
First of all, an explanation as to why I’m up at midnight writing this….I had a cup of tea this afternoon, a 20 oz cappuccino at about 5:15 pm, and an energy drink at about 6 o’clock…and then was irresistibly drawn into a 30-minute slumber at 6:30. For the record, that much caffeine in my system is highly abnormal. But the weird thing is that caffeine seems to put me to sleep. Until I wake back up. And now I’m wired and can’t go to sleep….I have a strange metabolism….
Anyway, the concert last Friday. Several brass and percussion musicians from the Heartland of America Band of the Air Force performed a free concert at a local high school, and we went to see them with another homeschooling family. I have seen the Heartland of America Band once before, and they are a remarkable set of musicians (the sort that has the paradoxical effect of both inspiring me and driving me to despair in my own playing…). This particular group had four trumpeters, two percussionists, three trombonists, a tuba, and a euphonium, if memory serves. They played a wide range of pieces:
Bizet’s “Habanera” from Carmen. The vocalist was quite good, and the effect of having all brass instruments in the background was interesting. I have always liked this tune; unfortunately, it was spoiled for me by the fact that the only really funny Super Bowl commercial this year used this exact same piece, so I couldn’t get the Doritos ad out of my head. Oh, yes, and then the Gilligan’s Island episode where they set Shakespeare to music and sang the “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy to this tune. Yes, it is more or less ruined for me….
A few scenes from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet (“The Street Awakens,” “Montagues and Capulets,” and “Friar Laurence,” I believe). Very well done, and I quite liked the “Montagues and Capulets.” The martial rhythm of that scene was well suited to a brass ensemble.
In the spirit of the season, they played a few love songs, mostly jazz, but also “El Belle Noche,” from Lady and the Tramp. I had not heard that song for quite a while; it was quite good, and two of the trumpeters added some special effects by placing their bells into a bowl of water. The bubbling sound produced was quite the crowd-pleaser!
They had two soloists. One of their trumpet players played the cornet piece “Song and Dance” by Philip Sparkes. He struggled with a few of the high notes near the end, but it was still quite impressive overall, and it was a most enjoyable piece to which to listen. The other soloist played a section from Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Tuba Concerto in F minor. Had they not said he was English, I would have guessed that Williams was American by the sound of the piece; it had the rhythmic quality and heavy use of pentatonic scales that is typical of American music and evoked images of the western deserts in my mind. In any case, it was a beautiful piece of music.
The band played a few more songs, including a Sousa march and a choral piece by Bach, and then closed out with an Armed Forces salute. We stood for the Army (my brother) and Air Force (my dad), and by the time it ended, everyone in the auditorium was standing just to show their support, whether or not they’d served. They also played an encore of “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” which brought back a lot of memories and inspired me to look through our music books to find our patriotic sheet music.
It was quite an impressive concert, and afterwards, the 6 of my family who were there and 8 of the other family descended en masse upon Dairy Queen, destroying whatever hopes they may have had of locking up at a decent hour. There we had quite a good time as well, discussing over our Blizzards such things as cars, guitars, video games, PC v. consoles, Donald Duck impressions, school, making prank phone calls, and how women are so unfathomably strange....
In other news, the US History post that I shared was intended to state my withdrawal from further political discussion, but, alas, was but the beginning of a thread that ended up with 64 posts. Apparently, some people thought I was perfectly serious about the "divine right of kings" statement (and I was only half-joking, but the intention was tongue-in-cheek), and then that discussion led to discussions of the place of Scriptural morality in politics (i.e., should Scriptural law be applied in a republic), and it went downhill from there. Still learning when to keep my mouth shut....
Also, I posted a new old poem on my fiction/poetry blog, an essay comparing presuppositional and classical apologetics on my theology/philosophy blog, and a Western Literature essay on Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot on my Lit Crit blog. I really want to post some original essays, but I have about half a million ideas running through my head, from literary sketches to thoughts on a Christian epistemology to the theological allegory of Moby Dick, and haven't sat down to write one of them....I need to. And I shall. Eventually.
Finally, I made a little web page with all of the recordings I've made so far that I'm willing to share. I went on a recording spree last weekend and recorded 5 or 6 songs, including one with my glass slide: "I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole," which was a Depression-era blues/gospel song by Blind Willie Johnson. It was rather a different musical and vocal direction for me, but very fun. Unfortunately, I dropped my slide today and it shattered, so I'm back to the knife blade for now...Anyway, enjoy, critique, and comment. If you like any of them, feel free to download!
Sola Gratia,
Colin
P.S. It is now 1 in the morning, and I am finally sleepy...ugh...
Anyway, the concert last Friday. Several brass and percussion musicians from the Heartland of America Band of the Air Force performed a free concert at a local high school, and we went to see them with another homeschooling family. I have seen the Heartland of America Band once before, and they are a remarkable set of musicians (the sort that has the paradoxical effect of both inspiring me and driving me to despair in my own playing…). This particular group had four trumpeters, two percussionists, three trombonists, a tuba, and a euphonium, if memory serves. They played a wide range of pieces:
Bizet’s “Habanera” from Carmen. The vocalist was quite good, and the effect of having all brass instruments in the background was interesting. I have always liked this tune; unfortunately, it was spoiled for me by the fact that the only really funny Super Bowl commercial this year used this exact same piece, so I couldn’t get the Doritos ad out of my head. Oh, yes, and then the Gilligan’s Island episode where they set Shakespeare to music and sang the “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy to this tune. Yes, it is more or less ruined for me….
A few scenes from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet (“The Street Awakens,” “Montagues and Capulets,” and “Friar Laurence,” I believe). Very well done, and I quite liked the “Montagues and Capulets.” The martial rhythm of that scene was well suited to a brass ensemble.
In the spirit of the season, they played a few love songs, mostly jazz, but also “El Belle Noche,” from Lady and the Tramp. I had not heard that song for quite a while; it was quite good, and two of the trumpeters added some special effects by placing their bells into a bowl of water. The bubbling sound produced was quite the crowd-pleaser!
They had two soloists. One of their trumpet players played the cornet piece “Song and Dance” by Philip Sparkes. He struggled with a few of the high notes near the end, but it was still quite impressive overall, and it was a most enjoyable piece to which to listen. The other soloist played a section from Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Tuba Concerto in F minor. Had they not said he was English, I would have guessed that Williams was American by the sound of the piece; it had the rhythmic quality and heavy use of pentatonic scales that is typical of American music and evoked images of the western deserts in my mind. In any case, it was a beautiful piece of music.
The band played a few more songs, including a Sousa march and a choral piece by Bach, and then closed out with an Armed Forces salute. We stood for the Army (my brother) and Air Force (my dad), and by the time it ended, everyone in the auditorium was standing just to show their support, whether or not they’d served. They also played an encore of “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” which brought back a lot of memories and inspired me to look through our music books to find our patriotic sheet music.
It was quite an impressive concert, and afterwards, the 6 of my family who were there and 8 of the other family descended en masse upon Dairy Queen, destroying whatever hopes they may have had of locking up at a decent hour. There we had quite a good time as well, discussing over our Blizzards such things as cars, guitars, video games, PC v. consoles, Donald Duck impressions, school, making prank phone calls, and how women are so unfathomably strange....
In other news, the US History post that I shared was intended to state my withdrawal from further political discussion, but, alas, was but the beginning of a thread that ended up with 64 posts. Apparently, some people thought I was perfectly serious about the "divine right of kings" statement (and I was only half-joking, but the intention was tongue-in-cheek), and then that discussion led to discussions of the place of Scriptural morality in politics (i.e., should Scriptural law be applied in a republic), and it went downhill from there. Still learning when to keep my mouth shut....
Also, I posted a new old poem on my fiction/poetry blog, an essay comparing presuppositional and classical apologetics on my theology/philosophy blog, and a Western Literature essay on Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot on my Lit Crit blog. I really want to post some original essays, but I have about half a million ideas running through my head, from literary sketches to thoughts on a Christian epistemology to the theological allegory of Moby Dick, and haven't sat down to write one of them....I need to. And I shall. Eventually.
Finally, I made a little web page with all of the recordings I've made so far that I'm willing to share. I went on a recording spree last weekend and recorded 5 or 6 songs, including one with my glass slide: "I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole," which was a Depression-era blues/gospel song by Blind Willie Johnson. It was rather a different musical and vocal direction for me, but very fun. Unfortunately, I dropped my slide today and it shattered, so I'm back to the knife blade for now...Anyway, enjoy, critique, and comment. If you like any of them, feel free to download!
Sola Gratia,
Colin
P.S. It is now 1 in the morning, and I am finally sleepy...ugh...
08 February 2008
Rah!
Just recorded "Hushabye Mountain" on my classical guitar and vocals. Let me know what you think! Recording here; feel free to download if you like it.
I also received half my Musicians' Friend order today; strings and picks (and the footswitch for my amp is on its way) and...drum roll, please....a glass slide!!! No more sliding on my strings with a knife blade or battery or section of a recorder (yes, I've tried all those; the plastic of the recorder actually worked the best)...huzzah!!! I'll have to make a recording with that, too, sometime.
Signing off for tonight,
Colin
I also received half my Musicians' Friend order today; strings and picks (and the footswitch for my amp is on its way) and...drum roll, please....a glass slide!!! No more sliding on my strings with a knife blade or battery or section of a recorder (yes, I've tried all those; the plastic of the recorder actually worked the best)...huzzah!!! I'll have to make a recording with that, too, sometime.
Signing off for tonight,
Colin
How Many Countries Can You Name Quiz?
73
These are the ones I got:
Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, San Marino, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Vietnam
And there were 197 left....sheesh. I had no idea there were that many countries in the world (I didn't know the Isle of Man was independent....). Well, I know where I'm weak: Carribean, Central America, everywhere in Africa except the extremities, and Oceania.
That was fun. But chatting with a good on-campus buddy immediately afterward was even better. As was seeing the Heartland of America band concert last night with some local homeschooling friends (and going to DQ afterward)! I'll post about the concert later on....
These are the ones I got:
Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, San Marino, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Vietnam
And there were 197 left....sheesh. I had no idea there were that many countries in the world (I didn't know the Isle of Man was independent....). Well, I know where I'm weak: Carribean, Central America, everywhere in Africa except the extremities, and Oceania.
That was fun. But chatting with a good on-campus buddy immediately afterward was even better. As was seeing the Heartland of America band concert last night with some local homeschooling friends (and going to DQ afterward)! I'll post about the concert later on....
07 February 2008
The Government majors are at it again...
Somehow this week's US History forum turned into a discussion of politics and candidates and all that jazz that's been on the news. I can't imagine how... Anyway, what I posted there is relevant here, and is pretty much my perspective on this whole election thing. It always helps to get things back to first principles.
"Whilst it has been fun listening to all you government majors rant and rave about how America is going down the tubes with liberal Democrats and liberal Republicans and Third Party pipe dreams, I already knew all that. I shall go quietly to the Nebraska primaries on May 15th and cast my vote dutifully as a citizen, quite probably blog my opinion, and possibly participate in some "get out the vote" stuff, and then leave the results in God's hands. It's not the end of the world, folks. Or if it is, then so be it.
Just remember:
Daniel 4:25 "...the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes."
Proverbs 21:1 "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases."
I pray for the sake of the Church and for our peace as homeschoolers that we may be given a just ruler, but if we are given an evil ruler in judgment on our national sins, so be it. Our brothers in the Middle East and China and Eastern Europe (and Germany) would still love to live here. One of our very own DL professors (Dr. Erdmann) had to flee Germany a couple years ago because his family was homeschooling, and now lives in Switzerland where he must hold 4 or 5 jobs to keep up with the cost of living. Count your blessings.
Now I'm off to make a post on HISTORY.... ;-)
Your Tory friend,
For Monarchy and the Divine Right of Kings (you can't get much further to the right than that),
Colin"
"Whilst it has been fun listening to all you government majors rant and rave about how America is going down the tubes with liberal Democrats and liberal Republicans and Third Party pipe dreams, I already knew all that. I shall go quietly to the Nebraska primaries on May 15th and cast my vote dutifully as a citizen, quite probably blog my opinion, and possibly participate in some "get out the vote" stuff, and then leave the results in God's hands. It's not the end of the world, folks. Or if it is, then so be it.
Just remember:
Daniel 4:25 "...the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes."
Proverbs 21:1 "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases."
I pray for the sake of the Church and for our peace as homeschoolers that we may be given a just ruler, but if we are given an evil ruler in judgment on our national sins, so be it. Our brothers in the Middle East and China and Eastern Europe (and Germany) would still love to live here. One of our very own DL professors (Dr. Erdmann) had to flee Germany a couple years ago because his family was homeschooling, and now lives in Switzerland where he must hold 4 or 5 jobs to keep up with the cost of living. Count your blessings.
Now I'm off to make a post on HISTORY.... ;-)
Your Tory friend,
For Monarchy and the Divine Right of Kings (you can't get much further to the right than that),
Colin"
06 February 2008
Ezekiel 14
1Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
2And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
3Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
4Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
5That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
6Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
7For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
8And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
9And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
10And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
11That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.
12The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
13Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
14Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
15If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:
16Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.
17Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:
18Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.
19Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:
20Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
21For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?
22Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it.
23And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD.
2And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
3Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
4Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
5That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
6Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
7For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
8And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
9And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
10And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
11That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.
12The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
13Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
14Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
15If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:
16Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.
17Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:
18Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.
19Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:
20Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
21For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?
22Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it.
23And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD.
04 February 2008
Modesty in Marriage
I am not exactly well known for having thoughts on marriage, much less writing on it--my lack of experience, qualitative and quantitative, renders my authority in such an area dubious at best. But, there was a recent conversation on the ANGEL student discussion forum regarding propriety in marriage, precipitated by a comment I made that was deemed rather"old-fashioned." (I am finding that, even for a PHC student, I am very conservative on pretty much every count except my music). I am not going to repeat the conversation or its specific subject here, but I shall post two passages from recent readings that I think are relevant. The Peter passage is relevant, not for the injunction to be "submissive/subject," but for its discussion of modesty and beauty. Apologies to Patrick Henry, but "if this be prudery, gentlemen, let us make the most of it."
2 Peter 3:1-6 "1Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
2While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.
3Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
5For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:
6Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement."
From Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion (Book II, Chapter 8)
Section 44. Precautions to be observed in married life. Everything repugnant to chastity here condemned.
Moreover, when spouses are made aware that their union is blessed by the Lord, they are thereby reminded that they must not give way to intemperate and unrestrained indulgence. For though honourable wedlock veils the turpitude of incontinence, it does not follow that it ought forthwith to become a stimulus to it. Wherefore, let spouses consider that all things are not lawful for them. Let there be sobriety in the behaviour of the husband toward the wife, and of the wife in her turn toward the husband; each so acting as not to do any thing unbecoming the dignity and temperance of married life. Marriage contracted in the Lord ought to exhibit measure and modesty - not run to the extreme of wantonness. This excess Ambrose censured gravely, but not undeservedly, when he described the man who shows no modesty or comeliness in conjugal intercourse, as committing adultery with his wife.
Lastly let us consider who the Lawgiver is that thus condemns fornication: even He who, as he is entitled to possess us entirely, requires integrity of body, soul, and spirit. Therefore, while he forbids fornication, he at the same time forbids us to lay snares for our neighbour's chastity by lascivious attire, obscene gestures, and impure conversation. There was reason in the remark made by Archelaus to a youth clothed effeminately and over-luxuriously, that it mattered not in what part his wantonness appeared. We must have respect to God, who abhors all contaminations whatever be the part of soul or body in which it appears. And that there may be no doubt about it, let us remember, that what the Lord here commends is chastity. If he requires chastity, he condemns every thing which is opposed to it. Therefore, if you aspire to obedience, let not your mind burn within with evil concupiscence, your eyes wanton after corrupting objects, nor your body be decked for allurement; let neither your tongue by filthy speeches, nor your appetite by intemperance, entice the mind to corresponding thoughts. All vices of this description are a kind of stains which despoil chastity of its purity.
2 Peter 3:1-6 "1Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
2While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.
3Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
5For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:
6Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement."
From Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion (Book II, Chapter 8)
Section 44. Precautions to be observed in married life. Everything repugnant to chastity here condemned.
Moreover, when spouses are made aware that their union is blessed by the Lord, they are thereby reminded that they must not give way to intemperate and unrestrained indulgence. For though honourable wedlock veils the turpitude of incontinence, it does not follow that it ought forthwith to become a stimulus to it. Wherefore, let spouses consider that all things are not lawful for them. Let there be sobriety in the behaviour of the husband toward the wife, and of the wife in her turn toward the husband; each so acting as not to do any thing unbecoming the dignity and temperance of married life. Marriage contracted in the Lord ought to exhibit measure and modesty - not run to the extreme of wantonness. This excess Ambrose censured gravely, but not undeservedly, when he described the man who shows no modesty or comeliness in conjugal intercourse, as committing adultery with his wife.
Lastly let us consider who the Lawgiver is that thus condemns fornication: even He who, as he is entitled to possess us entirely, requires integrity of body, soul, and spirit. Therefore, while he forbids fornication, he at the same time forbids us to lay snares for our neighbour's chastity by lascivious attire, obscene gestures, and impure conversation. There was reason in the remark made by Archelaus to a youth clothed effeminately and over-luxuriously, that it mattered not in what part his wantonness appeared. We must have respect to God, who abhors all contaminations whatever be the part of soul or body in which it appears. And that there may be no doubt about it, let us remember, that what the Lord here commends is chastity. If he requires chastity, he condemns every thing which is opposed to it. Therefore, if you aspire to obedience, let not your mind burn within with evil concupiscence, your eyes wanton after corrupting objects, nor your body be decked for allurement; let neither your tongue by filthy speeches, nor your appetite by intemperance, entice the mind to corresponding thoughts. All vices of this description are a kind of stains which despoil chastity of its purity.
01 February 2008
An interesting passage from my Freedom's Foundations II reading...I have often pondered some of the problems of the modern evangelical church, and while I don't think all of them are directly traceable to this point, a good many are. As J. I. Packer wrote in his introduction to Luther's Bondage of the Will, it is debatable whether Luther and the other Reformers would even claim the "evangelical" church as their descendants--indeed, the Synod of Dordt (1619) declaimed the Arminian Remonstrance as a return to Romanism in its central principle. The Arminians (and free-will theologians generally) claimed to retain the Protestant principle of justification sola fide without works, but, by making faith an act of man's will rather than a gift of God, essentially made it into a work (and it's worth noting that the word translated "work" in Ephesians means any action, not just "works of the law"). Anyhow, from Russell Kirk's Roots of American Order (pp. 232-233).
"What were the knottiest questions dividing the Catholic establishment and the Reformers? The Protestant leaders, though they attacked the corruptions of the sixteenth-century Church, argued that the visible Church's moral decay was the result of theological errors into which the papacy and the heirarchy had fallen. Both Martin Luther and John Calvin declared that the profoundest difference between Papists and Protestants was the question of freedom of the will. Luther debated this subject with the Dutch humanist Erasmus, in 1524. Is the will free or enslaved? This is "the real essential thing, the real knotty problem," Luther said; "instead of...tiresome trifles about the papacy, purgatory, indulgences, and other futilities of the same order."
Now the medieval church, with Aristotle as its classical philosophical authority, gradually had modified St. Augustine's doctrine that man is wholly corrupt--that so far as man has free will, this is opportunity only to choose among evil acts. Man is a creature of mingled good and evil impulses, the Church had come to teach: in the depths of the soul, there lingers an essence or spark of divine substance, potentially enabling man (if given grace) to exercise his will for good. This medieval teaching...the Reformers denied utterly; they returned to the stern teaching of St. Augustine. "For man cannot but put self-seeking first, loving himself above everything else," said Luther: "this is the root of sinning."
Because man is utterly corrupted by self-love, the Reformers reasoned, man enjoys no freedom to act for the good. He can be saved from his total depravity only by the arbitrary grace of God. Because the Church, or rather its heirarchy, had fallen away from this dogma, the Reformers continued, the Church had been corrupted; the notorious system of indulgences for money was merely one of many abuses resulting from abandonment of the pure doctrine of original sin. Therefore the Church might be purged of corruption only if its ancient dogmas should be restored."
"What were the knottiest questions dividing the Catholic establishment and the Reformers? The Protestant leaders, though they attacked the corruptions of the sixteenth-century Church, argued that the visible Church's moral decay was the result of theological errors into which the papacy and the heirarchy had fallen. Both Martin Luther and John Calvin declared that the profoundest difference between Papists and Protestants was the question of freedom of the will. Luther debated this subject with the Dutch humanist Erasmus, in 1524. Is the will free or enslaved? This is "the real essential thing, the real knotty problem," Luther said; "instead of...tiresome trifles about the papacy, purgatory, indulgences, and other futilities of the same order."
Now the medieval church, with Aristotle as its classical philosophical authority, gradually had modified St. Augustine's doctrine that man is wholly corrupt--that so far as man has free will, this is opportunity only to choose among evil acts. Man is a creature of mingled good and evil impulses, the Church had come to teach: in the depths of the soul, there lingers an essence or spark of divine substance, potentially enabling man (if given grace) to exercise his will for good. This medieval teaching...the Reformers denied utterly; they returned to the stern teaching of St. Augustine. "For man cannot but put self-seeking first, loving himself above everything else," said Luther: "this is the root of sinning."
Because man is utterly corrupted by self-love, the Reformers reasoned, man enjoys no freedom to act for the good. He can be saved from his total depravity only by the arbitrary grace of God. Because the Church, or rather its heirarchy, had fallen away from this dogma, the Reformers continued, the Church had been corrupted; the notorious system of indulgences for money was merely one of many abuses resulting from abandonment of the pure doctrine of original sin. Therefore the Church might be purged of corruption only if its ancient dogmas should be restored."
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