Fools and Philosophy

I have been totally absorbed in my Robin Hobb books on Fitz and the Fool (The farseer trilogy).  Rarely have I been so taken by a series.  And I had to read it from paperbacks because you just can't get them in Australia via kindle - no idea why....copywrite issues or something.  Not sure why it was so captivating - it certainly had all of the fantasy elements I discussed in an earlier blog.....and some interesting philosophical discussions between some of the characters (the "fool" was quite entertaining).  It didn't finish with the hero running off with the damsel..... but still was very satisfying.

And then I found out that there was a follow-up series!!! The tawny man's trilogy!!!!  what a find.  But I guess they won't be available on kindle either.....but it is nice to feel paper in your hand sometimes too....

So with the triology finsihed, I turned to something different and dowloaded a book by Brian Mclaren called A Generous Orthodoxy.  I have read earlier books by him and been impressed - a new kind of Christianity. I had wondered once whether this might be my "in" to stay in the Christian church - and it came close.  Brian seems to be in a general movement to free up the thinking in the Church away from building walls and to be more open with the way they approach the world. In this book he says..."people who try to label me an excluvisist, inclusivist, or universalist on the issue of hell will find here only more reason for frustration.  To them this categorisation is essential for determining whether I am orthodox (by their definition); but in my definition of  orthodoxy, these terms and the question they seek to answer easily become "weapons of mass distraction".  To say that I seek to believe whatever Jesus taught about hell, and for whatever purpose, will not satisfy them, even though it true..."  This is starting to sound good..... not coming up with a doctrinal truth as such - but rather trying to understand why something was expressed in a certain way - the underlying message at the time.  This is very "new history" and Foucoudian.  And I like the sound of it.  So I will read on and see what this book offers me in my dealing with my Christian heritage.

Speaking of Christian writers who I have some time for, an English writer Adrian Plass, is certainly right up there on on the list - helped me to see that it is possible to follow the essentials of Jesus without being dsitracted by the silliness of the Church.  His latest book is a collection of poems that encompass many years and different phases of his life and is very rich and honest and refeshing.  Its called "Silences and Nonsenses".  As he says in the forward "To have  them all, good, funny, serious, sensible and silly, collected into one volume is more exciting than I can say".  And I can agree and recommend it to all.