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?
What is something you like to do that other people might think is “weird?”
If this were fifteen years ago, I would have said playing Dungeons & Dragons, but with the advent of popular platforms like Critical Role and other live-play podcasts and webcasts, as well as a number of celebrities who have come out as fans of tabletop gaming, it really doesn't have the same outcast status that it used to have. I mean, my wife still looks at me like I'm a weirdo whenever I say I want to spend time DMing a game, but a lot of other people are starting to come to terms with and be cool with it.
So for the entry, I think I'm going to go with cataloging all the things I read and listen to. For some reason, keeping track of every book, script, and comic I've read year after year, plus all the podcasts I listen to, is something that I've come to make a habit. I'm strongly considering also extending it to movies and television I watch, and maybe even online videos or channels that I'm subscribed to. I don't know why I enjoy tracking all that stuff, but the accumulation of data and the availability of a database where I can check if and when I read something is information that I don't mind taking the time to collect, and that's definitely something that most people tell me they think is weird, because they can't imagine taking the time to maintain a spreadsheet or a database of information that nobody else is tracking or cares to track.
I suppose that this mostly comes from the fact that a lot of my natural gifts are in the administrative sphere. I'm good at arranging and organizing things, I like input and having a lot of information to process things, and I collect a lot of random bits of information and trivia. So cataloging all the stuff I read and listen to makes perfect sense because I then have, at my fingertips, all the input necessary to be able to answer any kind of random question like, "Have you read this book?" Or, "How many books by this author have you read?" Or even, "How many books did you read each of the last five years, and what's the average number of books you read a year?"
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