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?
I'm piggybacking on Brrr...rooke's prompt for blog posts about "three things" in a variety of categories. I'm not sure if this is going to be a daily thing, a "post them all this weekend" thing, or a "whenever I get around to it" kind of thing, but I'm committed to blogging about everything on her list. For reference, the categories are:
Theme: Three Things Three things you can’t go without. Three celebrity crushes. Three favorite book characters. If you had to evacuate your home because of a natural disaster, what three things would you take with you? Three pet peeves. Three things you’d do if you weren’t so afraid. Three favorite TV shows.
I might as well take these in descending order, so here are my three favorite television series. This one's really tough for me because there are so many great television series, both past and present! There are a lot of metrics to measure favorite, so the one I think I'm going to choose the three television shows that have most blown me away as stellar examples of what can be accomplished with longform storytelling.
Breaking Bad. This show is a master class in character development. It's five seasons follow a mild-mannered, terminally ill pushover of a science teacher as he starts making meth to provide financial stability for his family after he's gone... and takes him down one hell of a dark downward spiral as he becomes a legitimate drug kingpin. I could go on at length trying to make my case, but why should I do all the heavy lifting when an icon like Anthony Hopkins can make the case for me? Seriously, if you're an actor getting a letter like that from Anthony freakin' Hopkins saying that your performance is the best acting he's ever seen... well, you're doing something right! This is a really hard show to watch at times, but if you make a concentrated effort to watch it from start to finish, you'll be treated to one of the most brilliant explorations of a complex character arc in any television show.
The West Wing OR The Newsroom. I'm combining these together because Aaron Sorkin shows are very similar in the things I like about them; namely smart characters in a work environment talking very quickly and intelligently to one another. I put The West Wing on here because it was a fascinating (albeit embellished and idealized) look behind the curtain in the White House, which is something I've always been intrigued by. The cast was outstanding and the writing was sharp and engaging. But I put The Newsroom on here because, if I'm being honest, I actually think these characters are a little more developed and the premise for the show (using year-old news as if it's actually happening live) managed to make this show feel hip and relevant. Check out either of these two shows if you want to see brilliant, fast-paced writing at its best.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Of all the comedy news shows out there, I think John Oliver managed to find the right mix of information and entertainment. I love the fact that each show features a deep-dive "feature story" about one issue in particular, and that his show does actual journalism to feel out a story. Whether he's really getting into the weeds of issues like net neutrality, exposing the corruption in FIFA, or showing how profit-focused televangelists take advantage of their congregations, he not only provides relevant information in an amusing way, he also often does some form of stunt designed to raise awareness as well. For net neutrality, he created a website sent users directly to the obscure FCC webpage where they could submit comments about the issue. For FIFA (which was a two-part episode), he created an over-the-top response video after a FIFA official responded to his first segment. And for the televangelist segment, he actually created his own religious organization to show how easy it is to use the bureaucracy to set up a questionable religious charity. This is one of my favorite shows (and the primary reason why I have HBO), because I get to laugh and learn something at the same time.
Three things you can’t go without.
Three celebrity crushes.
Three favorite book characters.
If you had to evacuate your home because of a natural disaster, what three things would you take with you?
Three things you’d do if you weren’t so afraid.
Three favorite TV shows.
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