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'll be honest, I hadn't even heard of QAnon until this week. But apparently during Trump's rally in Tampa, Florida yesterday QAnon supporters showed up en masse with T-shirts and signs that indicated as much, and now QAnon is the topic du jour on almost every political podcast and news source being put out today.
If you're similarly out of the loop like I am, QAnon is apparently a conspiracy theory movement that centers on someone who goes by the handle "Q" online (short for "Q Clearance Patriot"), who has been posting on 4chan and elsewhere online who claims to have access to classified information that reveals Donald Trump is waging a counter-coup against the Deep State. From what I've been able to briefly research online, some of the claims that Q has made include:
That North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un is a puppet ruler installed by the CIA
That former DNC chairman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz hired the El Salvadorian MS-13 gang to kill DNC staffer Seth Rich.
That Donald Trump isn't actually under federal investigation, but that it's all a ruse to ferret out the Deep State corruption of our country by a globalist cabal that includes former presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton (and Hillary, of course), and even Bush Sr.
Q also seems to think that Trump is sending them coded messages so they know he's on their side and paying attention. For example, Trump's much-discussed tweet from yesterday was, "..This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to the USA!" And Q has claimed that his use of "17 Angry Democrats" is a message to them because Q also happens to be the seventeenth letter of the alphabet, so he's paying attention and reassuring them that he knows they're out there.
Online conspiracy theories are nothing new. They've been around in the dark corners of the internet for as long as the internet has been around. What's particularly concerning, though, is that Q's message seems to be catching on. Celebrities like Roseanne Barr and Curt Schilling have indicated support for Q's claims. In addition to them showing up en masse at the Tampa rally, an armed man in an armored truck blocked a bridge near the Hoover Dam in June to demand the release of classified information that Q claimed the government was withholding. Online users are showing up looking for signs of the conspiracy wherever Q mentions there's some perceived illicit activity, including at Michael Avenatti's office (Stormy Daniels' attorney).
In a world where things like Pizzagate happen (that pizza place that was assaulted by a man with an AR-15 because the conspiracy theorists claimed that Hillary Clinton had an underground child sex ring operating out of the basement), I don't think we need any more people propagating these crazy, unsubstantiated theories and inciting people's fear and resentment and rage. And what's really terrifying, as the article points out, is that since the actual claims being espoused aren't true, Q's followers continue to become more and more frenzied, more and more determined to ferret out this conspiracy that doesn't exist... and where does that end? Can it even end when people are waiting for a revolution that will never come because the revolution doesn't actually exist?
That North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un is a puppet ruler installed by the CIA
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