Oh The Lamentable Horror!

I went to the barber today and as fortune would have it had a very chatty, not very attentive, new young lady whacking at my head.  To my utter amazement just as the words ‘Isn’t it a bit short’ were about to come out of my mouth, the clippers went down the center of my head and I knew all was lost.  I would advise you, dear reader, to make sure your hair attendant pays actual attention to what she or he is doing rather than regaling you with stories of how she had a very low electric bill for several months…

It hasn’t been that short since I left the Army in 1981.

UPDATE: In response to James Crossley’s comment (see below) I began to wonder, why is it that with the recent haircut folk would begin to be in fear of me.  And then it hit me like a bolt from the blue…  perhaps it’s because there’s some sort of distant family relation between myself and the infamous Philip Davies…  Look, compare, decide…  Is Philip one of my British relatives from somewhere back in ancient days?  My ancestors were, after all, Brits…  If so, the fear is explained!  And maybe, just maybe, the haircut wasn’t such a bad thing after all…  Now, a mustache?

A New Theo-Blog

Cláudia Andréa Prata Ferreira writes today

Peroratio
Blog de Teologia, Filosofia, História, Política e Fenomenologia da Religião dos teólogos e amigos – Prof. Dr. Haroldo Reimer, Prof. Dr. Osvaldo Luiz Ribeiro e Prof. Drando. Jimmy Sudário Cabral.

Autores:
Haroldo Reimer
Jimmy Sudário Cabral
Osvaldo Luiz Ribeiro

Check it out.

Calvin and Scripture

I mentioned earlier the volumes sent me by James Spinti. I’ve thought about how best to make my way up the mountain and decided that, rather than a traditional ‘review’ I’d simply post snippets of the books as I go through them and responses. The first is from this one:

Calvin, Barth and Reformed Theology

In his essay, Stephen Holmes (p. 149 ff.) points out that it is erroneous practice to read Calvin’s Institutes as though they were a summary of Calvin’s ideas. The center of Calvin’s thought, Holmes maintains, is found in his Commentaries. The Institutes, on the other hand, are best understood as a supplemental doctrinal expansion of the work he has done in the aforementioned commentaries. It is, further, a mistake to think that the issues addressed by Calvin were the same as those faced by us. This second point, of course, should be well enough known whereas the former may not be so widely accepted.

I must confess that Holmes’s suggestion has a lot to commend it. Calvin, after all, wrote a LOT more commentaries than anything else and though his Institutes is his most famous work, it is not his best. Calvin is at his best when he is exegeting. So perhaps Holmes’s intuition is right on the mark and folk who read Calvin should set the Institutes aside and begin instead with his exegesis.

A Baptist History Bonanza!

Many thanks to James Spinti for sending along a number of volumes in the Baptist History series from Paternoster for me to review.  It might take a few weeks- but I’ll get through them all.  Thanks James!

Ur of the Chaldees

The National Geographic website has some fantastic photos of the damage done at Ur by recent wars. It’s most definitely worth a look. And it’s a real travesty. And in fact, more than a bit obscene. Thanks to Antonio for seeing this and mentioning it.

Quote of the Day

Our life will be framed in best accordance with the will of God, and the requirements of his Law, when it is, in every respect, most advantageous to our brethren. The term neighbour comprehends the most remote stranger. Let a man be what he may, he is still to be loved, because God is loved.  — John Calvin

Unsung Hero

He turned 100 today but you’ve probably never heard of him. He’s Andre Steiner and he

… was the muscle behind one of the most daring — and overlooked — missions to save Jews during the Holocaust.  In his youth, before he became a renowned architect, he helped engineer a plan to stave off the deportation of Slovakia’s Jews through a network of work camps and a series of bribes that likely helped save the lives of thousands. The last living member of the underground network that devised the plan, Steiner marked his 100th birthday Friday in a retirement tower north of Atlanta.

One of the 10 righteous for whose sake the world is allowed to continue, doubtless. And a man who made a difference. So you should know his name.

Chris Tilling: Olympian!

Well evidently all this talk by Tilling about his move to London may have simply been a smokescreen to cover up the real fact that he’s been in China at the Olympics! Competing as a gymnast!!!! Who knew that gymnasts such as Chris existed? Anyway- here’s the video proof. Pay particular attention to his ‘technique’. With thanks to Mark Stevens for pointing out this little prize.