"I wonder whether you are on the right track in expecting 'stable sentiments' and successful adjustment to life.' This is the language of modern psychology rather than of religion or even of common experience, and I sometimes think that when the psychologists speak of adjustment to life they really mean perfect happiness and unbroken good fortune! Not to get - or, worse still, to be- what one wants is not a disease that can be cured, but the normal condition of man. To feel guilty, when one is guilty, and to realise, not without pain, one's moral and intellectual inadequacy, is not a disease, but commonsense. To find that one's emotions do not 'come to heel' and line up as stable sentiments in permanent conformity with one's convictions is simply the facts of being a fallen, and still imperfectly redeemed, man. We may be thankful if, by continual prayer and self-discipline, we can, over years, make some approach to that stability. After all, St. Paul who was a good deal further along the road than you and I, could still write Romans, chapter 7, verses 21-23."

-----C.S. Lewis, from a letter to Michael Edwards (BOD) in "The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis: Volume III"

This is brilliant power-pop.

Bingo!

The Wassup boys are at it again...

This is beautiful. Reminds me of those Miguel Calderon paintings in the Royal Tenebaums.

"Destruction of the embryo in the mother's womb is a violation of the right to live which God has
bestowed on this nascent life. To raise the question whether we are here concerned already with a
human being or not is merely to confuse the issue. The simple fact is that God certainly intended to
create a human being and that this nascent human being has been deliberately deprived of his life. And
that is nothing but murder."

-----Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"A life in academia formed, deformed and almost ruined David Foster Wallace's writing. Infinite Jest is nearly a thousand pages of exhausting, inexhaustible, hugely flawed and brilliant novel. It is followed by almost a hundred pages of endnotes (his editor made him cut as many again). The endnotes have footnotes. Wallace was, on one level, aware that he was cut off from ordinary America, but the knowledge put his prose into a hyper-analytic death spiral. Like so many academics, he became obsessed with the white whale (or pink elephant) of the authentic. He spent much of his time attacking forms of language of which he disapproved (pharmaceutical jargon, advertising, corporate PR). This was literary criticism disguised as literature—grenade attacks on a theme park.

Wallace was not alone in this; it happens to most American academic novelists (like the superbly gifted writer George Saunders who, at 49, has still never written a novel or left school.) They waste time on America's debased, overwhelming, industrial pop culture. They attack it with an energy appropriate to attacking fascism, or communism, or death. But that culture (bad television, movies, ads, pop songs) is a snivelling, ingratiating, billion-dollar cur. It has to be chosen to be consumed, so it flashes its tits, laughs at your jokes, replays your prejudices and smiles smiles smiles. It isn't worthy of satire, because it cannot use force to oppress. If it has an off-button, it is not oppression. Attacking it is unworthy, meaningless. It is like beating up prostitutes".

-----Julian Gough, from "Prospect Magazine". Italics mine.

A conversation at Brussels Bistro in Laguna Beach last night with John Kittrell.

J:  "Chris, I'm sorry you missed my friend who is getting his PhD in Dublin in Philosophy of Mind.  He was here until yesterday.  You would have enjoyed talking to him."

C:  "Oh really?  I'm interested in Philosophy of Mind.  Is your friend a cognitive materialist?

J:  "No! (he said with contempt, and the slamming of a Belgian bier) he's a Christian!"

C:  (silence, immediately followed by uproarious laughter from all....)

"The obvious precedent for Beijing was the Berlin Olympics, in 1936.  Both were showcases for a muscle-flexing nation, although Hitler made an elementary error when he chose not to dress his young National Socialists in lime-green catsuits laced with twinkling lights."

"[Watching the opening ceremonies, we ask ourselves] what kind of society is it that can afford to make patterns out of its people?"

"I watched the cyclists pass through Tiananmen square, near the start of their road race, and none of them seemed in danger of expiring.  Logic suggested that they zip up the east side of the square, since they were heading that way anyhow, but politics demanded that they take the western route, and then hang a right.  This allowed them to pass in a pretty blur beneath the portrait of Mao Zedong, who, having overseen the deaths of up to seventy million of his countrymen (and having earned a spot on their banknotes for his pain), was more than happy to survey a handful of fat-free Spaniards in red-and-yellow spandex."

"[Thanks to a trusty Olympic guidebook at the water polo match], I was primed to note the fine distinctions between three kinds of foul that can be committed in the course of a game; after a minute, I laid the book aside, having realized that all three were being committed all the time by everybody.  The rules and infringements of this ancient sport are of a solemn complexity, but all are founded on the fundamental desire of one person to treat another as a tea bag.  You find your opposite number, grab him (or her), and dunk, regardless of whether the ball is anywhere in the vicinity; neck-holding is especially popular, involving, as it does, much frantic splashing on the part of the drowner, and the whole exercise looks weirdly like a lifesaving class, except that the motive is reversed."

-----Anthony Lane, excerpts from his New Yorker article, "The Only Games In Town"

Brian Eno sums "it" all up in a few sentences.  I couldn't disagree more, but you're either with him or your against him as a modern.  There are no other alternatives.

"I am an anti-Romantic.  It's part of being an atheist.  It's another version of being an atheist.  It's anti...anti this idea that it's outside of us rather than inside of us.  I think it's all inside of us.  I don't think there's anything else, actually.  It's all in us, and it's all in everyone too."

And then he offers this surprising little reflection, which I quite like.

"What would be really interesting to see [in your film] is how beautiful things grow out of shit.  Because nobody ever believes that.  Everybody thinks that Beethoven had his string quartets completely in his head---they'd somehow appeared there and formed in his head---before he, and all he had to do was write them down and they would kind of be manifest to the world.  But I think what's so interesting, and what would really be a lesson that everybody should learn is that things come out of nothing, things evolve out of nothing.  You know, the tiniest seed in the right situation turns into the most beautiful forest, and then the most promising seed in the wrong situation turns into nothing.  And I think this would be important for people to understand, because it gives people confidence in their own lives to know that that's how things work.  If you walk around with the idea that there are some people who are so gifted---they have these wonderful things in their head, but you're not one of them, you're just sort of a normal person, you could never do anything like that---then you live a different kind of life.  You could have another kind of life, where you can say, 'well, I know that things come from nothing very much, and start from unpromising beginnings, and I'm an unpromising beginning, and I could start something.'"

-----Brian Eno, from "Here is What Is" by Daniel Lanois

"How easy it is to live with You, O Lord.
How easy to believe in You.
When my spirit is overwhelmed within me,
When even the keenest see no further than the night,
And know not what to do tomorrow,
You bestow on me the certitude
That You exist and are mindful of me,
That all the paths of righteousness are not barred.
As I ascend in to the hill of earthly glory,
I turn back and gaze, astonished, on the road
That led me here beyond despair,
Where I too may reflect Your radiance upon mankind.
All that I may reflect, You shall accord me,
And appoint others where I shall fail."

-----Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008

James Wood on Bart Ehrman and Theodicy

Here's a little moment of zen for you. This is Matt Mahaffey (who records under the moniker - "Self") doing "Back In Black" by ACDC at Spaceland with nothing but a mini-moog, a kick drum, snare, high-hat and ride. Pretty hilarious. Matt is currently on tour with Beck if I'm not mistaken.

Alright, now for a silly post. These pics are from Face Transformer.

Here I am as an old man:




And here I am as a person of West-Asian descent (my personal favorite):

Anthony Lane does it again...this time his target is the new "Sex and City" film. Brilliantly snarky criticism.

Lane Review

Edward Tingley taunts the new atheists with some logic from Pascal in this month's issue of Touchstone. You can find the article Here.

Personally, I'm not sure what to make of it. On one hand, I see Tingley's point about the logic of scientific enquiry, but then I wonder about the positive value of going to look for God somewhere else---particularly in some place as nebulous as Pascal's "reasons of the heart."

I think I'd much rather stop short of Pascal; using only his refutation of the atheist's conclusive certainty and leaving the rest up to God. I'm just not convinced that we have a way to God. I'm much more convinced that God has a way to us.

"Everything about you,
My life, is both
Make-believe and real.
We are a couple
Working the night shift
In a bomb factory. ...
One can hear the fire engine
In the distance,
But not the cries for help,

Just the silence
Growing deeper
At the sight of a small child
Leaping out of a window
With its nightclothes on fire."

-----Charles Simic, "Listen"

After spending the first 200 pages of his new book talking about objections to the gospel and reasons for the gospel, Tim Keller devotes the last few pages to the Christian life. Here are some excerpts. Let me know what you think.

"How do we respond to this [gospel]? When we look at the whole scope of this story line, we see clearly that Christianity is not only about getting one's individual sins forgiven so we can go to heaven. That is an important means of God's salvation, but not the final end or purpose of it. The purpose of Jesus' coming is to put the whole world right, to renew and restore the creation, not escape it. It is not just to bring personal forgiveness and peace, but also justice and shalom to the world. God created both body and soul, and the resurrection of Jesus shows that he is going to redeem both body and soul. The work of the Spirit of God is not only to save souls but also to care for and cultivate the face of the earth, the material world...

What does it mean, then, to become part of God's work in the world? What does it mean to live a Christian life? One way to answer that question is to look back into the life of the Trinity and the original creation. God made us to ever increasingly share in his own joy and delight in the same way he has joy and delight within himself. We share his joy first as we give him glory (worshipping and serving him rather than ourselves); second, as we honor and serve the dignity of other human beings made in the image of God's glory; and third as we cherish his derivative glory in the world of nature, which also reflects it. We glorify and enjoy him only as we worship him, serve the human community, and care for the created environment...

The story of the gospel makes sense of moral obligation and our belief in the reality of justice, so Christians do restorative and redistributive justice wherever they can. The story of the gospel makes sense of our indelible religiousness, so Christians do evangelism, pointing the way to forgiveness and reconciliation with God through Jesus. The gospel makes sense of our profoundly relational character, so Christians work sacrificially to strengthen human communities around them, as well as the Christian community, the Church. The gospel story also makes sense of our delight in beauty, so Christians become stewards of the material world, from those who cultivate the natural creation through science and gardening, to those who give themselves to artistic endeavors, all knowing why these things are necessary for human flourishing. The skies and trees sing of the glory of God, and by caring for them and celebrating them we free their voices to praise him and delight us. In short, the Christian life means not only building up the Christian community through encouraging people to faith in Christ, but building up the human community through deeds of justice and service...

Christians then are the true 'revolutionaries' who work for justice and truth, and we labor in expectation of a perfect world in which: 'He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things is passed away (Revelation 21:4)...'

-----Timothy Keller, "The Reason for God"

Simultaneous volcanic eruption and electrical storm in Chile. Holy Moses!

You can see more Here

Aaron Rench: "In the chapter on poetry and religion you start off by saying, 'Art is like Christianity in this way; at its greatest, it can give you access to the deepest suffering you imagine.' Would you say this is why art resists sentimentalism?"

Christian Wiman: "Well, the adjective is important there: greatest. I was trying to point out how the highest moments of art can at once enact our deepest sufferings and provide a peace that is equal to them, and how this is similar to (though lesser than) what I understand to be the deepest truth of Christianity. The peace does not eliminate the sorrow or the tragedy: great art acknowledges intractable human suffering, and Christianity's promise of resurrection is empty without a clear, cold sense of the cross. So yes, art does resist sentimentality, as does, at its best, Christianity. That said, there are all kinds of art, and all kinds of Christianity, that include sentimentality---and are not necessarily vitiated because of that. I love many novels, poems, and pieces of music that have obvious sentimental moments or characters in them, and it seems to me that the daily life of a Christian can't be lived with the kind of austerity I'm describing above. Some people, those inclined to severity and sternness, actually need more sentimentality in their lives, and others who are over-inclined to frivolity and vapid cheerfulness need to be dropped more often into the depths of their beliefs. Art is a good means for achieving both of these."

-----from an interview with the editor of Poetry, Christian Wiman, in this month's Books and Culture

Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you good tidings! The Hobbit movie is on, as well as a sequel!! Del Toro will direct, and Jackson/Walsh will produce (hopefully they'll write too!).

Check it out here

It was a toss up between Kings of Leon and Wilco for best album of 2007, but I have to give it up to the Kings for growing leaps and bounds over their previous efforts. Enjoy this tasty live performance of "Arizona."

Bobby Kennedy's Speech On the Night MLK Died

This is one of my all time favorite Radiohead tracks, "Maquillador." It was a Bends-era B-side. The video is poor, but it's worth it to me to hear this song live. Great stuff. 1994!

Classic Stewart - What's wrong with cable news...

"A More Perfect Union," Barack addresses issues of race from Philadelphia.

"What belonged to the theater was brought into the church, and what belonged to the church into the theater. The better Christian feelings were held up in comedies to the sneer of the multitude. Everything was so changed into light jesting, that earnestness was stripped of its worth by wit, and that which is holy became a subject for banter and scoffing in the refined conversation of worldly people. Yet worse was it that the unbridled delight of these men in dissipating enjoyments threatened to turn the church into a theater, and the preacher into a play actor. If he would please the multitude, he must adapt himself to their taste, and entertain them amusingly in the church. They demanded also in the preaching something that should please the ear; and they clapped with the same pleasure the comedian in the holy place and him on the stage. And alas there were found at that period too many preachers who preferred the applause of men to their souls’ health."

-----Gregory of Nazianzus, late 4th century

Yes, at Princeton Seminary we really do have too much time on our hands, and too much Karl Barth on the brain. Check out this video spoof of Lazy Sunday. Pay special attention for the hip-hop duo of Schleiermacher and Hegel, as well as the "Orthodoxy" Betty Crocker spoon. Too much.

Scholars from around the world have finally weighed in on the Talpiot Tomb, the so-called "Jesus Family Tomb." Take a look at this article from Princeton for more information.

N.T. Wright recently wrote a critique and encomium for C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity over at Touchstone. Check it out. I think it's an interesting analysis. Another eminent Anglican, J.I. Packer, wrote something similar about Lewis many years ago, which you can find Here. I think it's interesting to compare what each of these authors appreciated and/or found distressing in Lewis.

"The professorship is something to which some of us are called by God---in the classic sense of Luther and Calvin, such that if we do not do it, we would be acting disobediently."

-----Nicholas Wolterstorff