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 article from Bryan Lufkin at the BBC is actually a response to another, earlier news item where twenty year old Kylie Jenner was not only included on Forbes' list of "America's Women Billionaires" but was also featured on the cover. If you're not a Kardashian devotee, Kylie is the youngest of the children and has amassed a $900+ million fortune for herself with a cosmetics and social media empire, and that's certainly an accomplishment worth noting. Where this whole thing got a little out of hand, though, was the subtitle of Forbes' list, which notes that the "America's Women Billionaires" feature is actually a list of "the 60 richest self-made women." The Forbes' cover goes on to rave that, "At 21, she's set to be the youngest-ever self-made billionaire."
Quite a few people have taken issue with Forbes' characterization of Kylie Jenner's success as "self-made," considering that Kylie didn't quite start her business empire truly from the ground-up. She didn't exactly get her start in a Los Altos garage or a Harvard dorm room; she got her start as a member of (arguably) the most famous reality show family of all time. The family that has a long history of leveraging their celebrity for profit and business opportunities. Can someone like Kylie Jenner (or Donald Trump, to cite a similar case), really be considered "self-made" when they were, as the saying goes, born on third base?
Nothing should detract from someone's accomplishment in building and/or growing a business. If you turn a several-million-dollar loan from your father into a business valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, or if you capitalize on your fame to garner hundreds of millions of followers on social media that in turn support your business and turn it into a juggernaut, those are not small things.
But this isn't about mere business success. It's about characterizing wealthy people as being "self-made" when they're really not. The article notes that Dictionary.com amusingly tweeted a link to the Forbes story along with a definition of "self-made" which is, "having succeeded in life unaided." The issue I take with calling people like Kylie Jenner or Donald Trump "self-made" is that it furthers the illusion that the so-called American Dream is easily attainable for anyone. Income mobility in the United States is historically low, and yet studies show that most people still spend much of their lives believing that they will be the exception. In some cases, this causes irresponsible fiscal habits that exacerbate the problem and further entrench them in their existing (struggling) financial situation. The world doesn't need more sensationalist reporting about rich celebrities becoming richer, and packaging those stories as if these people are just Average Joes and Janes who started with nothing, pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, and succeeded against the odds. The odds were already in their favor.
Ultimately, I think this article does a good job of presenting both sides of this story. I do think it's irresponsible to report on the 1% becoming the 0.001% as if they're just hard-working normal folk who followed the yellow brick road. They were already the 1%! But I also think it's important to not completely discard the value of what Kylie Jenner has accomplished. There are enough hurdles out there for professional women, and poor choices by Forbes in how to present the article shouldn't entirely discount the value of featuring women who have accomplished impressive feats in the business world. I just wish they would have avoided this whole mess by not calling her "self-made." Then it could have been a really great, honest feature that everyone would have reason to celebrate.
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