Posted in denkschrift, reseña, tagged classics, George Guidall, Greek literature, Homber, literature, reseña, The Iliad on September 9, 2007| Leave a Comment »
What happens upon earth when the gods make war in heaven? Many cultures have a treasured and conventional answer to this, even those deeply secularized societies that describe celestial violence in scientific language. Homer’s Iliad is one such tale-epic in its scope-that has deeply marked Western civilization down to its roots.
If you listen to just one audiobook this year, it should be George Guidall’s narration of Homer’s The Iliad. (more…)
Posted in denkschrift, reseña, tagged biblical studies, Daniel Smith-Christopher, reseña on September 9, 2007| Leave a Comment »
Building upon his The Religion of the Landless: The Social Context of the Babylonian Exile (Meyer Stone, 1989), the author has produced a thoughtful work on a central biblical concept that is both historical and theological. Works on biblical theology are almost compelled to begin with an apology for the method employed. Smith-Christopher does not fail to do so (‘Biblical Theology: On Matters of Methodology’, 1-26), signalling in his comment upon post-modern metaphysical critiques that he does not intend to allow a hyper-critical or hyper-sceptical critique to claim exclusive legitimacy in the conversation. While attempting to be critical of his own assumptions, Smith-Christopher is persuaded that both history and theology can be carried out with integrity, especially when focussing upon a discrete theme like exile. ‘Discrete’, however, does not mean `miniscule’, for the author is convinced that one must see the exile of Judah not only as human catastrophe-its actual happening can be defended on historical grounds-but also as an event that engendered significant new social and theological enterprises. Smith-Christopher writes from his own participation in an historical ‘peace church’ and finds a promising correlation between the ‘stateless existence’ that was the destiny of the Jewish exiles and the kinds of church community that is praised by some Christian theologians. As a result, he is eager to question both Constantinian and Wellhausian views of ‘exile’ as an intrinsically negative socio-religious matrix that lost something essential. (more…)
Posted in textures, tagged biblical reflection, Proverbs, textures on September 9, 2007| Leave a Comment »
‘A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds’, Ralph Waldo Emerson famously aphorized.
Though the pungency of Emerson’s observation is admirable, the biblical proverbialist beat him to the punch:
Where no oxen are, the crib is clean; But much increase is by the strength of the ox.
Posted in denkschrift, missio dei, reseña, tagged global church, Philip Jenkins, reseña on September 8, 2007| Leave a Comment »
In a memorable passage from the movie Apollo Thirteen, a military man in the tense Houston control room shares with a political figure his premonition that the tragedy unfolding before them will be *the* catastrophic moment for the space program. Mission control flight chief Gene Kranz overhears their conversation and addresses it: ‘With all due respect, gentleman, I believe this will be our finest hour.’ The scene could stand in for the hand-wringing that often accompanies the apparent demise of the Western church when it comes to prognosticating on its fate over against the perceived adversaries of secularism and post-modernism. Philip Jenkins reminds us that, when viewed through a wide-screen lens, the immediacy of threat often yields to a broad panorama of opportunity. (more…)
Posted in reseña, tagged auto racing, Dummies series, Mark Martin, NASCAR, reseña on September 8, 2007| 1 Comment »
My boss once jokingly told that’s what NASCAR is about: turn left and hit the gas.
Then I went to the Alllstate 400 at the Brickyard and now I’ve read Mark Martin’s Nascar for Dummies. It’s looking a little more complicated than fast left turns. (more…)
Posted in reseña, tagged American history, history, immigration, reseña, Sam Moore on September 8, 2007| Leave a Comment »
Rags to riches tales are an American phenomenon. From inside the system, it is easy to think that a lot of hard work, a good idea, and a little luck are all it takes for the down-and-out to pull themselves up any number of ladders, and that this is obvious everywhere. You only have to live beyond these shores for a little while to realize that this scenario is a quintessential chunk of Americana. Class, rigid economies, and 7th-grade decisions for a trade or university are strong brakes on the possibilities of moving up or even, for that matter, sideways. (more…)
Posted in denkschrift, reseña, tagged biblical studies, reseña, William R. Millar on September 8, 2007| Leave a Comment »
This revised doctoral dissertation is useful principally for the material it draws together into one place and for its methodology, which attempts to develop a relative chronology of the evolution of apocalyptic and then to place Isaiah 24-27 at the proper place on that scale. (more…)
Posted in denkschrift, reseña, tagged biblical studies, reseña, William Whedbee on September 8, 2007| Leave a Comment »
In five well-balanced chapters, the author opens up the important question about the extent to which the prophet Isaiah—and thus the book that bears his name—was influenced by the strain of Israelite reflection that scholars call ‘wisdom’. In setting forth his apology and objectives, Whedbee recognizes the danger of explaining the prophets systematically based upon a narrow selection of texts. For some time, scholars drove a deep wedge between the ‘prophet’s word’ and the ‘sage’s counsel’. (more…)
Posted in reseña, tagged German, language learning, Pimsleur, reseña on September 8, 2007| Leave a Comment »
Pimsleur Language Programs products are among the best-selling audio language courses available. ‘Organic learning’ seeks to approximate the conditions in which ordinary language-learning takes place. The process is almost entirely aural, supplemented only minimally-or at the student’s discretion, not at all-by reference to reading lessons after each half-hour lesson. (more…)
Posted in reseña, tagged German, language learning, Pimsleur, reseña on September 8, 2007| Leave a Comment »
Pimsleur Language Programs products are among the best-selling audio language courses available. `Organic learning’ seeks to approximate the conditions in which ordinary language-learning takes place. The process is almost entirely aural, supplemented only minimally-or at the student’s discretion, not at all-by reference to reading lessons after each half-hour lesson. (more…)
Canter Bridge 