The axeman cometh

Guitars weren’t made for sissies (though if you are a sissy don’t let that stop you from picking one up. With regard to my own sissy quotient, uh, let me get back to you on that…)

Amazon Wishlists

I've added my Amazon Wishlist items on the sidebar. These are merely books and albums/DVDs that I'd like to read/hear/view, even possibly own. Not that I'm asking anyone to buy them for me, though you could if you wanted to (ha! fat chance eh?) I'd say I've read/heard/viewed about 10 to 20 percent of the lists, exclusively by borrowing from the library. I'll keep adding to them from time to time.

Republic

I finally finished Plato’s Republic. It only took eight months (or so). And Simon Blackburn has written this piece on the Republic.

More articles

Here are three interesting articles linked at Arts and Letters Daily:

Blood on the Tracks
Jolt Culture has Twice the Trivia
The Forbidden Experiment

Favourite Hymn #14

Holy, Holy, Holy

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Witherington on 'Critical Scholarship'

Ben Witherington has a post explaining why skepticism is not the same as critical scholarship.

Science and faith

Here's an interview with Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project

Book Meme

I was tagged (surprising since only so many people know that I exist…however).

1. One book that changed your life:
Beyond the Cosmos by Hugh Ross. The book itself was interesting (all about superstring theory, extra-dimensions and their theistic implications ); but it included an 800 number to Ross’s organization at the back of the book. I called the number, received their catalog, and was suddenly exposed to an abundance of books on science and philosophical apologetics that, up till then, I had been ignorant of. Those books later led me to read works by Alvin Plantinga and other Christian philosophers, as well as scientists such as Fritz Schaeffer and John Polkinghorne (though I make no claims to understanding much of what they wrote). The upshot was that my faith, which was flagging at the time got an energized boost. And the way that Ross’s book ended in my hands was rather strange as well, almost providential even.

2. One book that you've read more than once: Not counting the Bible, I’d have to say Mere Christianity. I received it as a gift and it sat on my shelf for almost 12 years before I actually read it.

3. One book you'd want on a desert island:
Not counting the Bible, I’d have to say Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ron Tacelli. It’s interesting reading but also fairly light. I would have said the Norton Shakespeare but it’s just too heavy (It would have sunk to the bottom of the ocean before I could get it ashore). A close second might be How to Build an Emergency Coconut Radio by the Professor from Gilligan’s Island.

4. One book that made you laugh: On the Road with the Archangel by Frederick Buechner. Also, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Also, Canterbury Tales.

5. One book that made you cry:
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

6. One book you wish had been written: A Beginner’s Guide to Living Life Without Looking Like or Being a Fool (on the other hand maybe Proverbs qualifies). Also, the sequel to Brothers Karamazov.

7. One book you wish had never been written: The Communist Manifesto. Also the Late Great Planet Earth. Also Left Behind.

8. One book you're currently reading:
Dog Creek: A Place in the Cariboo by Hilary Place

9. One book you've been meaning to read: Summa Theologia but I may have to settle for reading Kreeft’s Summa of the Summa.

10. Tag 5 others:
Do I even know 5 other people? Eh, you know who you are.

Power to Will

If you don’t have enough willpower, this article tells why.