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?
This song is probably the one that I was least expecting to find this year.
I can't even remember how I found it in the first place, but apparently there's a genre of music called "bagstep" (basically dubstep EDM music with bagpipes) which I didn't even realize existed. And after finding this artist who apparently specializes in it, I was going through their YouTube page and then found a song that's about as far from "bagstep" as you can possibly get, which makes this band a bit of an enigma.
This song is so simply and soulful; I found myself listening to it a lot last year, whenever I was in my feels.
I had never heard of this band at all until late last year, and the fact that this song made it halfway up my "most listened to" playlist by the end of the year is a testament to how much I really enjoy it. There's a bit of a late-eighties and early-nineties alt/pop/rock vibe to the song which is very reminiscent of the kind of music I used to listen to growing up. I've only heard one of their other songs and this point, but this one is the standout. I suppose only time will tell whether it's a one-hit-wonder type of situation, or if they're able to parlay the success of this track into a larger EP or a full album release.
I found this song on a "Spotify recommends" playlist and it's been featured pretty heavily in my listening rotation ever since. It's my kind of country song, with a catchy, upbeat melody and simple lyrics. It's just a fun song you can have on in the background when you need to get some work done or are working out.
I've only seen a couple videos with Russell Dickerson up until this point, and I had assumed that his goofy persona was a one-time thing but after seeing this video and reading a bit more about him, it seems this dorky image is actually very much his total personality. It's kind of equal parts cringe-inducing and endearing.
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