Logocentric (adj).Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
I have always enjoyed the longer distance running and skiing. The Marathon in Summer Olympics and the 50km Mass Start in the Winter. My wife can't understand how I can watch the same race for several hours. But they are fascinating to me. I like the Downhill Slalom, Bobsled and Luge sports. Attending a Winter Olympics remains on my bucket list.
My favorite sporting events in the Winter Olympics are the Luge, Bobsled, Figure Skating and curling. Initially, I thought I would be bored with curling but I'm not. It's fascinating how they determine each glide's angle and potential score.
When my children were younger we built them a luge course, they loved it. We were lucky that winter to have lots of snow to build up the walls and with some help with pallets that we covered with snow, it kept them and the neighborhood kids busy until it warmed up and melted. I was a lot more at ease with the luge course than I was when they decided to try arial jumps off our house roof. Never a dull moment when you live in Maine.
I am reading ESV through the Bible this time. Like you, I've explored a bunch of translations. My church uses NIV but my women's Bible study group (part of the same church) varies based on what Bible study we're doing.
Hope you enjoy the Olympics! I agree that the every four year thing makes them feel more special.
I read the New American Bible, which is a Catholic Bible. (NABRE) They include Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, which generally aren't included in other versions of the Bible. I would be curious to read an orthodox bible or the Ethiopian Bible as I hear they have differences as well.
As for the Olympics, I love the Winter Olympics. I'm just crossing my fingers I have time to watch!
In terms of the original texts the NASB has the best reputation among conservative scholars. It looks at more translations, has a sensible hierarchy of text selection and the best principles for approaching the translation task. It favors original texts when possible. The ESV and NKJV are on a similar level. The Net Bible gives the best overview of the discussions in its commentary. The NIV renders the original text to make it more readable. It is a more functional text which is why many churches use it but it is also less precise. Greek or Russian orthodox are more Septuagint orientated and there is a considerable amount of ethical or emotional rendering to the text.The disadvantage of the NASB is that it loses much of the Hebrew poetical style in its effort to be precise as this does not translate into the English
I'm very fortunate to have met some practicing and humble Christians. Truly humble people seek to serve, not attain power and influence. The actions of many Christians make me run the opposite way... as fast as I can.
In his book, Sit, Walk, Stand, Watchman Nee states: "Nothing has done greater damage to our Christian testimony than our trying to be right and demanding right of others. We become preoccupied with what is and what is not right. We ask ourselves,' Have we been justly or unjustly treated?' and we think thus to vindicate our actions. But that is not our standard. The whole question for us is one of crossbearing".
Jeff, this is an excellent book. Perhaps one for your reading list?
Author's Note: The original version of this blog post was lost to a browser crash. It was written in response to iKïyå§ama's "Note:
Honoring [Link To User oldwarrior]
I will gi...". While I doubt the merit badge is still available, I felt compelled to reconstitute this post to the best of my recollection because Oldwarrior's memory is worth the extra effort.
According to the daily email reminders I keep getting and subsequently deleting with vague promises of "getting around to it later," it has been 196 days since my last blog entry. Apparently the last thing I wrote was my final entry for last February's "The Soundtrack of Your Life" ... which also means that I've, rather embarrassingly, had a blog post titled "Dick In A Box" at the top of my blog feed for the better part of the 2016 calendar year.
Mostly, I just haven't been that inspired to write. I don't like to post blog entries unless I'm either participating in an activity or have something meaningful to say, and there's been precious little of either lately. But when iKïyå§ama first posted "Note:
Honoring [Link To User oldwarrior]
I will gi...", I knew I found a reason to write about something again.
I'll admit that my initial intention was just to quickly read an item and post something so I could collect the Merit Badge being offered (I am, after all, an unabashed Merit Badge collector). But as I started to scan Oldwarrior's port, it occurred to me that this the memory of someone's life here, and it deserves more than just a quick skim of one item. So instead I read through a considerable number of items in his port in an effort to get to know him better.
Over the years, Oldwarrior (Gene) and I crossed paths every so often... we'd each reviewed five of the other's written works... but I didn't know much about him. So you can imagine my surprise when even the quick blurb on the Bio tab of his portfolio revealed some pretty amazing things. He was retired military (Rangers AND an MP? Those are not easy specialties!), a former newspaper editor and investigative reporter, and an artist in more than one discipline. What most struck me was his military decorations: a Silver Star, four Bronze Stars, and three Purple Hearts? There are action heroes in novels that don't have that much hardware recognizing their heroism and valor. I mean, seriously, just look at this photo of Gene from his Bio:
That's a lot of distinguished service!
My perusal of Gene's portfolio then brought me to "MY POLITICAL RAMBLINGS" where I looked at his stance on the importance of the flag as a symbol ("Burn my Flag and I'll burn your behind!" ), our country's sometimes questionable foreign policy decisions ("MY COUNTRY-RIGHT OR WRONG!" ), the issue of "GUN-CONTROL" , and a whole host of other issues in "DIRTY POLITICS" . What I've learned from these writings is that Gene and I agreed on some things and had differences of opinions on others. I share his enthusiastic defense of our flag as a symbol of our country and those who fight for it, but disagree with his assertion that gun control is a cowardly agenda to disarm the public and make them easy targets or victims. I often find myself wondering, as he does, what the American public would really think of foreign policy decisions the government makes for which we only hear one (positive, optimistic) side of the issue. But I disagree with his assertions that criminals are not entitled to the same rights as law-abiding citizens, or that a country should solely focus on its own citizens before extending aid to foreign nations.
I have a feeling Gene and I would have had some really interesting conversations about these topics. His background was vastly different than my own, and we would have doubtlessly argued opposing positions on issues that we both feel passionate about. But the strength of his convictions, his eloquent argumentation, and his respectful presentation of his opinions leads me to believe that it would be a valuable discourse in an era when the art of intelligent discourse is being lost to entrenched positions and intolerant mindsets.
Next, I looked at "MY RELIGIOUS & SPIRITUAL ITEMS" and was deeply moved by the honesty in recounting his struggles with PTSD and the faith he found that helped him navigate those troubled waters ("THE RUDDER" ). I followed his blending of spirituality and science and philosophy in "PROOF OF LIFE AFTER DEATH....?" and then the metaphor for his religious journey in "JC IS MY CO-PILOT" . Again, I was struck by the wisdom and intelligence and conviction of the words he wrote.
If there's one through-line to all the pieces I've read in his port for this exercise, it's been that Gene seemed to be a man of dignity and respect for others, strong convictions, and a wide variety of interests... and that's something the two of us share (or at least I like to think so). More than anything, this has made me realize just how much I wish I had taken the time to get to know Gene over these past several years when I had the chance. It's a missed opportunity that will likely be on my mind for a while.
My takeaway from all of this is twofold:
One, Gene was a remarkable, accomplished man who will be truly missed.
Two, I don't want to come across another one of these challenges and realize that I never really took the time to get to know the person while they were alive. Someone shouldn't have to die before we take the time to really get to know more about them.
Over the past couple of years, I've really struggled with my place here on WdC. I started showing up here to develop my writing ability and over the past thirteen years on the site gradually assumed more and more responsibilities running contests and groups and fundraisers and other activities. Somewhere along the line I think I burned myself out and I've been steadily maintaining a minimal presence ever since, looking for a way to get back into the larger community. Thanks to iKïyå§ama and Oldwarrior, maybe I've found a way. And maybe, rather than coming up with a new group or activity or way to raise a bunch of GPs for friends' causes, it's as simple as starting to get to know and connect with new people in the community, like I used to when I first started.
![Merit Badge in Honoring All Who Served
[Click For More Info]
In honor of [Link To User oldwarrior] - an inspiration to many in the Writing.com community.
"Use things and love people instead of using people and loving things."
Rest in peace, good sir. *^*Salute*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Honoring_All_Who_Served-433283_1.gif)
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