Well, I have been on the read since my last blog. I have found four books that I read in the last month - and thought I would capture my thoughts before they were lost in the fog of bookland.
I called this blog promising authors for a couple of reasons. Two of the books are from Australian authors: one from Katherine Howell (Silent Fear) who has a few books under her belt now; and the other from Tony Cavanaugh - a first novel (Promise) from a writer and producer of Australian drama. The third book was by Felix Francis - who has finally come into his own after co-writing a few books with his late father - the rather famous writer of novels about every aspect of racing that you can imagine! The last book in this group was by another relatively new author (one previous book) called Mohsin Hamid (The Reluctant Fundamentalist). All books - and all authors do show lots of promise (and of course, one of the books is called "Promise").
Starting with Katherine Howell, I have been very impressed to see the depth of her writing grow with each book. This is her 5th (I think) - all based in Australia and around the lives and traumas of women in the police and emergency services. She weaves in their private lives and relationships around work dramas and does it so well. Silent fear follows paramedic Holly who attends a shooting death in a park and is confronted by her brother - who she has been avoiding for many years. Holly is an ex-addict and prostitute and, while she is coping with the murder and avoiding her brother, a work colleague - an ex client - threatens to expose her. Ella is the police woman who ends up on the case and tries to get past the avoidance by Holly to crack the case and protect her as well. The story works well and does Australia proud.
So too does the book by Tony Cavanaugh. I bought the book for a number of reasons while searching for a good read to take on my holiday to Noosa. It had a compelling cover, it was Australian, the hero was likened to Harry Bosch - my favourite Michael Connolly detective - and.... it was set in Noosa!!! Not just Noosa, but the very street that we were to be staying in in Noosaville - Gympie Terrace! The book was about an ex Melbourne homicide cop who couldn't take it any more and ran off to seclusion in Noosa. However, a serial killer was on the loose in the Sunshine Coast and he ended up caught up in the events - and at odds with the local cops. He has this long paragraph about why the Sunshine Coast was the perfect place for a serial killer...awash with tourists...little villages with art galleries and lattes...vast areas of bushland...calming sounds of waves...waiters and bartenders with Canadian passports and Swedish innocence... Some mixed messages there to promote the Sunshine Coast! It is a good read - though living up to its description of being "top-noch Aussie noir" with the serial killer appearing in the first person within the pages.
Now, beyond our shores....The Reluctant Fundamentalist was a fascinating read - about a Pakistani who studied in the US and got a job with a high class American asset valuation company - around the time of September 11 - and how it brought back his sense of self and culture. Intermingled was a love story - but a hopeless one - sweet but tragic. What was fascinating was that the whole book was a "conversation" between the narrator and an American seated in a cafe in Lahore. I say conversation, but it was really a monologue. It was a diverse that was excellent and worked well. A true find!
Finally to Felix Francis. Another first person story - an ex-jockey, now financial advisor finding himself caught up in a mix of murder and fraud while he manages his relationship with his mother and girlfriend - all with some fascinating twists. I think Felix has done it - captured the essence of his father's legacy and added in elements of his own. Now if only David Gammel's wife would continue to write in his style after being so excellent with finishing the Troy series!
So there is the latest quartet of books! All good reads and recommended. I am now edging back into some books on theology and even new age. So I shall report in due course. Meanwhile, happy reading!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Science of God
Sometimes, the New Scientist comes in with fascinating articles and some very unexpected takes on things. The latest edition (17 March 2012) is one of these gems. The article features a scientific look at God and religion and there are some interesting studies and conclusions.
Rather than take you through a scholarly analysis of the various articles, I will jot down what I took away from it.
First off, there is an argument (which is not new) that humans have an innate wiring to see God in the world around us - a greater cause-effect than randomness or just natural laws. Children, one author points out, can outgrow Santa Clause - but still retain their belief in God into adulthood. It is said that the "militant atheists" are bound to get frustrated because its not just a matter of appealing to people's rationality re the "silliness" of believing in a deity - because it is part of the very make up of who we are.
The various authors aren't arguing for the reality of a God as such - but rather recognising the part played by this characteristic of people in our development on the planet - and saying that its not just because were were indoctrinated as kids. Interestingly, taught religious creeds are seen as different from the 'people's religion' within us. A statement is made that while people might say that they see God as per the creeds - all seeing, in everything etc - that often, the actual image individuals have is a type of "super-human" out there looking after us. [Maybe that's why the figure and image of Jesus is so powerful. It allows people to identify with this superhuman a lot more than a more remote less tangible, all powerful Creator of the universe!].
Theologians are likened to scientists - both groups test and reflect and come up with complex laws and rules about how life works. Some if this isn't intuitive to people - as is the inbuilt draw towards god and this people's religion. So the proposition is put that, over time, this inbuilt religious belief is more likely to survive in human kind that theology or science!
I found this fascinating - obviously! Another interesting point was that people with a strong religious faith don't quite trust atheists - a reason why an atheist President of the USA is considered unthinkable [of course a more secular Australia has an atheist Prime Minister!]. Apparently if someone says they don't have a notion of God looking over their shoulder to keep them accountable, then there is a question mark in the mind of many people who do have that image! I have seen video clips where Richard Dawkins is asked by some religious leader how come he doesn't steal, rape and lie etc if there is no God! He rightly says that such a view is silly and that atheists and humanists can have very high moral values when it comes to taking care of the people and world around them and be in awe of what has developed naturally. But this article gives a clue as to why some of the strongly religious can not see this.
One of the articles also presents some of the scientific experiments that have been done to test for God - for example, using "double blind" experiments to see if prayer gives better results than no prayer..... All a bit silly really. One could say that it means that science takes it seriously!
So, an interesting series of articles - which doesn't answer any of the big questions of the world about why we are here etc or whether there really is a God - but it does explain a little about the "god gene" within us and why so many people are open to religion and a belief in God, and why some can follow some quite bizarre beliefs - and why we can have a religious bent even if intellectually we reject formalised religion!
Rather than take you through a scholarly analysis of the various articles, I will jot down what I took away from it.
First off, there is an argument (which is not new) that humans have an innate wiring to see God in the world around us - a greater cause-effect than randomness or just natural laws. Children, one author points out, can outgrow Santa Clause - but still retain their belief in God into adulthood. It is said that the "militant atheists" are bound to get frustrated because its not just a matter of appealing to people's rationality re the "silliness" of believing in a deity - because it is part of the very make up of who we are.
The various authors aren't arguing for the reality of a God as such - but rather recognising the part played by this characteristic of people in our development on the planet - and saying that its not just because were were indoctrinated as kids. Interestingly, taught religious creeds are seen as different from the 'people's religion' within us. A statement is made that while people might say that they see God as per the creeds - all seeing, in everything etc - that often, the actual image individuals have is a type of "super-human" out there looking after us. [Maybe that's why the figure and image of Jesus is so powerful. It allows people to identify with this superhuman a lot more than a more remote less tangible, all powerful Creator of the universe!].
Theologians are likened to scientists - both groups test and reflect and come up with complex laws and rules about how life works. Some if this isn't intuitive to people - as is the inbuilt draw towards god and this people's religion. So the proposition is put that, over time, this inbuilt religious belief is more likely to survive in human kind that theology or science!
I found this fascinating - obviously! Another interesting point was that people with a strong religious faith don't quite trust atheists - a reason why an atheist President of the USA is considered unthinkable [of course a more secular Australia has an atheist Prime Minister!]. Apparently if someone says they don't have a notion of God looking over their shoulder to keep them accountable, then there is a question mark in the mind of many people who do have that image! I have seen video clips where Richard Dawkins is asked by some religious leader how come he doesn't steal, rape and lie etc if there is no God! He rightly says that such a view is silly and that atheists and humanists can have very high moral values when it comes to taking care of the people and world around them and be in awe of what has developed naturally. But this article gives a clue as to why some of the strongly religious can not see this.
One of the articles also presents some of the scientific experiments that have been done to test for God - for example, using "double blind" experiments to see if prayer gives better results than no prayer..... All a bit silly really. One could say that it means that science takes it seriously!
So, an interesting series of articles - which doesn't answer any of the big questions of the world about why we are here etc or whether there really is a God - but it does explain a little about the "god gene" within us and why so many people are open to religion and a belief in God, and why some can follow some quite bizarre beliefs - and why we can have a religious bent even if intellectually we reject formalised religion!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Three delights
My wife gave me a Dymock's book voucher with the added requirement that "I choose something I would not normally read". This started a roll of 3 (hardopy!) books that, for my money (or hers!) were a delight to read. Each is quite different in story line and plot - but each share a freshness and a whimsy that was captivating.
The three books are: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer - a one off, older author & Annie Barrows - her niece who finished the final bits for her aunt who became too ill to complete the final edits and then died); The Messenger (Markus Zusak - he also wrote The Book Thief!) and The Berlin Crossing (Kevin Brophy - a new author that I had not previously been aware). So three quite different books.
First to Guernsey - a coincidence - as we are now planning on visiting Guernsey and this book has whetted the appetite. The book is written as a series of letters between Juliet - a writer for the paper during WW2 now seeking to write a novel; her publisher and good friend (a 'gay' Sidney); her long term friend (now married with babies); a well known tycoon who is who suitor; and a rich number of residents of Guernsey who survived the war. You would think that a series of letters would be disjointed and awkward to read - but this was not the case. The book flowed as you gained a sense of people, place and their stories - and how they were interwoven. It is a story about how Juliet finds herself and place - as an outsider at first - in the hearts and lives of the people she is writing about. I think its the style of the writing that I really liked. It had a 'lilt' in it - but not at the expense of the pain and the drama that people went through. You really wanted the story and the writing to go on - not wanting to lose your now friends.
Then on to the Messenger. Again it was the style that spoke to me. The Book Thief was an incredible journey of words and emotions and capturing the place and moment. The messenger was perhaps a little more contrived, but there as something about the way Jimmy wrote in first person about what he encountered in others - in the apparently dysfunctional friends and family - and in the people that he was "sent" to help. It could have been too sappy - but the confusion within Jimmy stopped that happening. At one level, there is a simplistic underlying moral about looking out for people and 'spreading the love'. On another there was something deeper about the way we see ourselves - and others. I liked it. It took me on a plane from Brisbane to Darwin (4 hours) nicely - I finished the last sentence as the wheels bounced on the tarmac!
Finally, to The Berlin Crossing. It was a surprise. Having enjoyed the messenger on my way to Darwin - and even though I have a number of fresh books loaded onto my kindle, I opted to buy a book at the airport for the flight back to Brisbane. I saw this book amongst some of my more regular authors - glanced at its writing style - and then went for it. An unknown to me. It is about a young man living in East Germany after the wall comes down. As the "wessies" come into the east to take over and enlighten the people, he loses his university job because of his previous party membership (and the old Russian car that he drives!) and is with his mother at her deathbed when she tells him where he can find out about his 'real' father. This starts a search for significance (hence the link with the other books I think!). The book switches to the story about how his Irish German father was coerced into spying for Britain, met his mother and died to save her. An underlying issue - and the trigger for the book - was the difficulty that many East Germans faced once the wall was down - how they felt un-valued and looked down on. The clash between the austere and socialist approach of communism and the new capitalism was brought out - as too was the paradox between his loyalty to the system that made him - and seeing the ruthlessness used to maintain its status. But again, it was a story of understanding yourself and finding your place in the world.
All of these books are well worth the read! None are a grind - and all leave you feeling like you gained something personally from the experience. They talk to "what is life about"? And in these books it seems to come out as: having this sense of place; being able to contribute to those around you; and the importance of relationships. And this all resonated.
Happy reading!
The three books are: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer - a one off, older author & Annie Barrows - her niece who finished the final bits for her aunt who became too ill to complete the final edits and then died); The Messenger (Markus Zusak - he also wrote The Book Thief!) and The Berlin Crossing (Kevin Brophy - a new author that I had not previously been aware). So three quite different books.
First to Guernsey - a coincidence - as we are now planning on visiting Guernsey and this book has whetted the appetite. The book is written as a series of letters between Juliet - a writer for the paper during WW2 now seeking to write a novel; her publisher and good friend (a 'gay' Sidney); her long term friend (now married with babies); a well known tycoon who is who suitor; and a rich number of residents of Guernsey who survived the war. You would think that a series of letters would be disjointed and awkward to read - but this was not the case. The book flowed as you gained a sense of people, place and their stories - and how they were interwoven. It is a story about how Juliet finds herself and place - as an outsider at first - in the hearts and lives of the people she is writing about. I think its the style of the writing that I really liked. It had a 'lilt' in it - but not at the expense of the pain and the drama that people went through. You really wanted the story and the writing to go on - not wanting to lose your now friends.
Then on to the Messenger. Again it was the style that spoke to me. The Book Thief was an incredible journey of words and emotions and capturing the place and moment. The messenger was perhaps a little more contrived, but there as something about the way Jimmy wrote in first person about what he encountered in others - in the apparently dysfunctional friends and family - and in the people that he was "sent" to help. It could have been too sappy - but the confusion within Jimmy stopped that happening. At one level, there is a simplistic underlying moral about looking out for people and 'spreading the love'. On another there was something deeper about the way we see ourselves - and others. I liked it. It took me on a plane from Brisbane to Darwin (4 hours) nicely - I finished the last sentence as the wheels bounced on the tarmac!
Finally, to The Berlin Crossing. It was a surprise. Having enjoyed the messenger on my way to Darwin - and even though I have a number of fresh books loaded onto my kindle, I opted to buy a book at the airport for the flight back to Brisbane. I saw this book amongst some of my more regular authors - glanced at its writing style - and then went for it. An unknown to me. It is about a young man living in East Germany after the wall comes down. As the "wessies" come into the east to take over and enlighten the people, he loses his university job because of his previous party membership (and the old Russian car that he drives!) and is with his mother at her deathbed when she tells him where he can find out about his 'real' father. This starts a search for significance (hence the link with the other books I think!). The book switches to the story about how his Irish German father was coerced into spying for Britain, met his mother and died to save her. An underlying issue - and the trigger for the book - was the difficulty that many East Germans faced once the wall was down - how they felt un-valued and looked down on. The clash between the austere and socialist approach of communism and the new capitalism was brought out - as too was the paradox between his loyalty to the system that made him - and seeing the ruthlessness used to maintain its status. But again, it was a story of understanding yourself and finding your place in the world.
All of these books are well worth the read! None are a grind - and all leave you feeling like you gained something personally from the experience. They talk to "what is life about"? And in these books it seems to come out as: having this sense of place; being able to contribute to those around you; and the importance of relationships. And this all resonated.
Happy reading!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Finally a New Post! and a "Beautiful Place to Die"
It has been a long time since I have posted an update on my reading and thinking. Life just got a bit busy and the log-in got changed and it all got too hard for a few months........
But I was not idle in this time - I read a lot of books including..... "Luther: the Calling"(Neil Cross); "The Abby" (Chris Culver); "The Drop" (a favourite author - Michael Connelly); "In search of Africa" (Frank Coates); "African Dawn" (Tony Park); The Pacific (Peter Watt); A Place called Armageddon - Constantinople 1453 (CC Humphreys); Rivers of London (Ben Aaronovitch); and have just started "The Litagators" (John Grisham).
There were other books - kindle and hardcopy mixed (eg some more Dean Koontz!!)... you would think each would just merge into one over the years - but they each become a pearl on the literary necklace (not sure of the manly equivalent!). Having just cleaned out a spare room - which now sports most of the bookcases, I was running my eyes over the many books I have gathered over the last decade (not as visible on the kindle!) working out what I could give to Lifeline - and what I wanted to keep (and why). Somehow, all of those words in all of those books are stored somewhere in my brain/mind and, maybe like dreams, help to sort out what I make of the world and my take on life. Some books I would never read again - but still would find it hard to part with - like a photo from the past. Others form parts of series and I toy with the idea of starting on the first book again and reading through (like the Hornblower or Sharp series). And how could I give away any David Gemmell - such an excellent writer of "heroic" fantasy!!!
But a brief take on a book I just finished - by a new author Malla Nunn - "A Beautiful Place to Die". Malla wrote about a murder investigation in South Africa in the early 1950s - just as the apartheid laws are starting to shape the country. She explores the implications and fall out of these laws through this investigation. She writes very well and has that touch and talent to capture the moment and tension and keep you reading - and you get as much caught up in the historical significance of the era as you do of the crime aspects. I read it in 24 hours - even giving myself a morning off work to finish it! And that is rare for me.
I hope to keep the blog up now - look at all those books I mentioned above that I could have had something to say about? For example the Rivers of London takes an interesting twist as focuses on the moods of London. But I now have the follow up book "Moon over Shoho" and will give more on this series when I read that! I hope there are lots of books in heaven - whatever heaven happens to be - and particlarly if it goes for ever and ever..........!
But I was not idle in this time - I read a lot of books including..... "Luther: the Calling"(Neil Cross); "The Abby" (Chris Culver); "The Drop" (a favourite author - Michael Connelly); "In search of Africa" (Frank Coates); "African Dawn" (Tony Park); The Pacific (Peter Watt); A Place called Armageddon - Constantinople 1453 (CC Humphreys); Rivers of London (Ben Aaronovitch); and have just started "The Litagators" (John Grisham).
There were other books - kindle and hardcopy mixed (eg some more Dean Koontz!!)... you would think each would just merge into one over the years - but they each become a pearl on the literary necklace (not sure of the manly equivalent!). Having just cleaned out a spare room - which now sports most of the bookcases, I was running my eyes over the many books I have gathered over the last decade (not as visible on the kindle!) working out what I could give to Lifeline - and what I wanted to keep (and why). Somehow, all of those words in all of those books are stored somewhere in my brain/mind and, maybe like dreams, help to sort out what I make of the world and my take on life. Some books I would never read again - but still would find it hard to part with - like a photo from the past. Others form parts of series and I toy with the idea of starting on the first book again and reading through (like the Hornblower or Sharp series). And how could I give away any David Gemmell - such an excellent writer of "heroic" fantasy!!!
But a brief take on a book I just finished - by a new author Malla Nunn - "A Beautiful Place to Die". Malla wrote about a murder investigation in South Africa in the early 1950s - just as the apartheid laws are starting to shape the country. She explores the implications and fall out of these laws through this investigation. She writes very well and has that touch and talent to capture the moment and tension and keep you reading - and you get as much caught up in the historical significance of the era as you do of the crime aspects. I read it in 24 hours - even giving myself a morning off work to finish it! And that is rare for me.
I hope to keep the blog up now - look at all those books I mentioned above that I could have had something to say about? For example the Rivers of London takes an interesting twist as focuses on the moods of London. But I now have the follow up book "Moon over Shoho" and will give more on this series when I read that! I hope there are lots of books in heaven - whatever heaven happens to be - and particlarly if it goes for ever and ever..........!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Dragons, Demons and Skeptics
It has been a while since my last post - travelling is no excuse - but it is a good chance to read!
First the dragons - I am now well into my reading of A Dance with Dragons - the 5th book in the Game of Thrones series. I liked this a lot more that the Feast of Crows - the 4th book. I was a bit lost in the 4th - but the 5th brought back all those connections I loved from the first 3 books - and the TV series! We are back with the dragon queen Daeneris - now with grown up dragons and lots of problems after freeing slaves and trying to run a state. There is Tyrion "the Imp" going from one disaster to another with his now half nose - but surviving; Jon Snow - now boss of "the Wall" and many others - some who I can't recall from earlier books! The pace is incredible and the way George Martin keeps the pieces moving, in character and in vivid detail is amazing. It is generally dark - murder and mutilation is a regular feature among the mayhem - but also quite "believable" in the sense that it holds together. I am yet to finish the book - but I don't think that book 5 will be the end of this trilogy - and I would certainly read more!
The other dragon was another Harry Bosch adventure by Michael Connolly. I tried to keep reading in sequence, but they were not on kindle and the one I found in the bookshop skipped a few. His daughter is now grown up and living in Hong Kong with her mother (the dragon connection!). I think the author is stretching for plots at the moment - and this one was a little "out there" - but I will read more.
Now the Demons. I came across a book called The Painted Man by Peter Brett. I had never heard of him - but Terry Brooks endorsed it - so that was good enough for me. This was a good read. the general theme was where demons ruled the dark of night - materialising as the sun went down and disappearing as the sun came up. Humans had a religion based around this and they had to protect themselves in their houses - often not terribly successfully - during the dark hours. The overwhelming attitude was one of fear and the lack of any way to overcome the demons and retake the dark. The story, of course, was about a young boy who ended up taking on the demons and leading the human fightback to retake the dark. It was well written and tackled many themes of how religion - and fear - can stop us reaching our potential. How do we take on the fear that instilled in us and cross boundaries that society says are un-crossable?
And Skeptics? Well, I picked up a Skeptic magazine (Vol 16 No 4 2011, USA & c\Canada) the other day and read through the articles. There were a couple of good articles - and I particularly liked the one on "What is the Most Effective way to be a Skeptic? - the great debate between confrontational activism v. educational outreach". It seems as if Skeptics can be just as un-empathetic and uncivil as some fundamentalists - and there is a recognition that this is not helpful! The magazine tackled other topics such as: antioxidants; sound therapy; precognition; and whether creationists were listening to each other about arguments not to use (the answer was no). I think there is a place for such magazines questioning dubious practices, beliefs and ideas - although the risk is that they lose some generally credibility because some good articles/ideas just get labelled as coming from the skeptics. The more scholarly debate that occurs in mainstream media and publications the better for all I think.
First the dragons - I am now well into my reading of A Dance with Dragons - the 5th book in the Game of Thrones series. I liked this a lot more that the Feast of Crows - the 4th book. I was a bit lost in the 4th - but the 5th brought back all those connections I loved from the first 3 books - and the TV series! We are back with the dragon queen Daeneris - now with grown up dragons and lots of problems after freeing slaves and trying to run a state. There is Tyrion "the Imp" going from one disaster to another with his now half nose - but surviving; Jon Snow - now boss of "the Wall" and many others - some who I can't recall from earlier books! The pace is incredible and the way George Martin keeps the pieces moving, in character and in vivid detail is amazing. It is generally dark - murder and mutilation is a regular feature among the mayhem - but also quite "believable" in the sense that it holds together. I am yet to finish the book - but I don't think that book 5 will be the end of this trilogy - and I would certainly read more!
The other dragon was another Harry Bosch adventure by Michael Connolly. I tried to keep reading in sequence, but they were not on kindle and the one I found in the bookshop skipped a few. His daughter is now grown up and living in Hong Kong with her mother (the dragon connection!). I think the author is stretching for plots at the moment - and this one was a little "out there" - but I will read more.
Now the Demons. I came across a book called The Painted Man by Peter Brett. I had never heard of him - but Terry Brooks endorsed it - so that was good enough for me. This was a good read. the general theme was where demons ruled the dark of night - materialising as the sun went down and disappearing as the sun came up. Humans had a religion based around this and they had to protect themselves in their houses - often not terribly successfully - during the dark hours. The overwhelming attitude was one of fear and the lack of any way to overcome the demons and retake the dark. The story, of course, was about a young boy who ended up taking on the demons and leading the human fightback to retake the dark. It was well written and tackled many themes of how religion - and fear - can stop us reaching our potential. How do we take on the fear that instilled in us and cross boundaries that society says are un-crossable?
And Skeptics? Well, I picked up a Skeptic magazine (Vol 16 No 4 2011, USA & c\Canada) the other day and read through the articles. There were a couple of good articles - and I particularly liked the one on "What is the Most Effective way to be a Skeptic? - the great debate between confrontational activism v. educational outreach". It seems as if Skeptics can be just as un-empathetic and uncivil as some fundamentalists - and there is a recognition that this is not helpful! The magazine tackled other topics such as: antioxidants; sound therapy; precognition; and whether creationists were listening to each other about arguments not to use (the answer was no). I think there is a place for such magazines questioning dubious practices, beliefs and ideas - although the risk is that they lose some generally credibility because some good articles/ideas just get labelled as coming from the skeptics. The more scholarly debate that occurs in mainstream media and publications the better for all I think.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Whispers, Bosch, Gabriel and Games of thrones and dragons
Well - a bit of a mix after a long break. Last blog I mentioned starting a book called "The Whisperer" by Donato Carrisi - touted to be an Italian version of Stieg Larsson. The book is about finding a grave of arms cut off from abducted girls - a tad macabre I would have htought - but it did get your attention. The book followed the story through a young police officer her spent her life finding lost children and her interaction with the criminologist and his team who were searching for the serial killer. I am not sure if it is at Larsson level, but it was well written with lots of twists and social commentary - and well worth the read! It came to a satisfying conclusion - quite unexpected .... but as you look back it even makes sense.....
After that break, I continued on my roll with Michael Connelly and his series following through Harry Bosch of LA Police Department - his dogged determination to find the bad guys, his fight with giving up smoking, his clashes with the police hierarchy, his romances and not - and all in all a really good read. So after the Last Coyete and Trunk Music, I read Angel's Flight, A Darkness More Than Night, City of Bones and Lost Light! I told you I was on a roll! And there are more of the series to read. But I thought I should vary my reading or go totally mad. [What is the attraction in such plots as homicide stories? Is it the trying to work out "who dunnit?" Is it because we "become" part of an important mission to right a wrong? Or is it sheer escapism that provides our brains with an escape from other pressing demands?]
So, I bought a hard copy of Daniel Silva's "Portait of a Spy" where Gabriel is forced out of his retirement on the coast of Cornwell to take on suicide bombers. I have only just started - but it seems like it is as good as those before it! So nice being able to follow a series - particlarly when you see the characters develop over time.
I have also downloaded "A Dance with Dragons: Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire" by George Martin! I read the first of the series some time ago and now look forward to the culmination. The TV series "A Game of Thrones" based on the first book - is awesome! So well filmed and so close to the plot and feel of the book. More of this later!
So I languish in fiction and again fail to get more into philosophy and theology. If you know a good book out there to get me back on track in considering the weightier issues of life, religion or the world, please let me know - I would hate to become Alice in Wonderland and lose site of "reality" amongst the good stories.
After that break, I continued on my roll with Michael Connelly and his series following through Harry Bosch of LA Police Department - his dogged determination to find the bad guys, his fight with giving up smoking, his clashes with the police hierarchy, his romances and not - and all in all a really good read. So after the Last Coyete and Trunk Music, I read Angel's Flight, A Darkness More Than Night, City of Bones and Lost Light! I told you I was on a roll! And there are more of the series to read. But I thought I should vary my reading or go totally mad. [What is the attraction in such plots as homicide stories? Is it the trying to work out "who dunnit?" Is it because we "become" part of an important mission to right a wrong? Or is it sheer escapism that provides our brains with an escape from other pressing demands?]
So, I bought a hard copy of Daniel Silva's "Portait of a Spy" where Gabriel is forced out of his retirement on the coast of Cornwell to take on suicide bombers. I have only just started - but it seems like it is as good as those before it! So nice being able to follow a series - particlarly when you see the characters develop over time.
I have also downloaded "A Dance with Dragons: Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire" by George Martin! I read the first of the series some time ago and now look forward to the culmination. The TV series "A Game of Thrones" based on the first book - is awesome! So well filmed and so close to the plot and feel of the book. More of this later!
So I languish in fiction and again fail to get more into philosophy and theology. If you know a good book out there to get me back on track in considering the weightier issues of life, religion or the world, please let me know - I would hate to become Alice in Wonderland and lose site of "reality" amongst the good stories.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Escape with Connelly - and a bit of existentialism
It has been a while since I have blogged - mainly because I needed to sort something out with my google blogger account. But in the meantime - I have kept up with some reading!
I have escaped into Michael Connelly books - a good detective read. I started with The Last Coyote, moved on to Trunk Music and now I have downloaded Angel's Flight - yet to start. I have obviously enjoyed the Harry Bosch series that is covered by these books - a detective who is a little on the edge, a bit of a rough personality, honest with a good heart - on the wrong side of the bureaucrats - and mixed and varied love stories for our loner. I would like to find something deep in it all - but basically, its all just a good read and well constructed stories. So I read on - still a few to go in the series yet! The good thing about crime is that there is a lot of variety and a lot of scope for an author!
I did have a good read of my latest New Scientist - the Existential Issue (23 July 2011). The whole quantum thing blows my mind - the whole universe emerging from something smaller than a full stop! Entanglement where one object is affected by another simultaneously regardless of distance; Paralell universes?! and observers affecting the state of something. One interesting article was titled "How do I know I exist?" - and not a simulation! The artcile considers whether Descartes' maxim "I think therefore I am" is floored " "...there is no ghost in the machine; our actions are driven by brain states that lie entirely beyond our control" - so thinking therfore is argued to be an illusion - hence the maxim is floored! According to the author. Another article explores "why me?" It looks at the notion of consiousness being an emergent property of the brain (makes sense to me). The author considers whether consciousness can continue after death, and quotes an earlier philisopher (Metzinger) as saying it is "extremely unlikely"! (wow - I thought he would have said no chance at all!). The author also highlights that it is "extremely unlikely - but not impossible." He suggests that a machine could allow your consiousness to survive death. Raises some interesting possibilities!
Another author (Lawton) describes how our body changes and is replaced over time - "Imagine being given a new car the day you are born. Over the next 70 years you gradually replace almost every part from the tail pipe to the headlights. A few bits and pieces remain, buts is it really the same car? Think about it."
Anyway - I have started an interesting book by a new unknown author - Donato Carrisi - called The Whisperer - likened to the Steig Larsson phenonomena. I am now half way through it - a serial killer hunt thriller - very well done and lives up to the cover endorsements! I shall report on this in the next blog.
In the meantime, keep reading!
I have escaped into Michael Connelly books - a good detective read. I started with The Last Coyote, moved on to Trunk Music and now I have downloaded Angel's Flight - yet to start. I have obviously enjoyed the Harry Bosch series that is covered by these books - a detective who is a little on the edge, a bit of a rough personality, honest with a good heart - on the wrong side of the bureaucrats - and mixed and varied love stories for our loner. I would like to find something deep in it all - but basically, its all just a good read and well constructed stories. So I read on - still a few to go in the series yet! The good thing about crime is that there is a lot of variety and a lot of scope for an author!
I did have a good read of my latest New Scientist - the Existential Issue (23 July 2011). The whole quantum thing blows my mind - the whole universe emerging from something smaller than a full stop! Entanglement where one object is affected by another simultaneously regardless of distance; Paralell universes?! and observers affecting the state of something. One interesting article was titled "How do I know I exist?" - and not a simulation! The artcile considers whether Descartes' maxim "I think therefore I am" is floored " "...there is no ghost in the machine; our actions are driven by brain states that lie entirely beyond our control" - so thinking therfore is argued to be an illusion - hence the maxim is floored! According to the author. Another article explores "why me?" It looks at the notion of consiousness being an emergent property of the brain (makes sense to me). The author considers whether consciousness can continue after death, and quotes an earlier philisopher (Metzinger) as saying it is "extremely unlikely"! (wow - I thought he would have said no chance at all!). The author also highlights that it is "extremely unlikely - but not impossible." He suggests that a machine could allow your consiousness to survive death. Raises some interesting possibilities!
Another author (Lawton) describes how our body changes and is replaced over time - "Imagine being given a new car the day you are born. Over the next 70 years you gradually replace almost every part from the tail pipe to the headlights. A few bits and pieces remain, buts is it really the same car? Think about it."
Anyway - I have started an interesting book by a new unknown author - Donato Carrisi - called The Whisperer - likened to the Steig Larsson phenonomena. I am now half way through it - a serial killer hunt thriller - very well done and lives up to the cover endorsements! I shall report on this in the next blog.
In the meantime, keep reading!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Brooks and Koontz
Brooks and Koontz are two unlikely bedfellows - in the literature sense. But having just finished a new book from each, I thought I would report on them together.
I first "met" Geraldine Brooks through her book "People of the Book" - an incredible good read that followed through different people from a Jewish, Christian and Muslim point of view in their historical settings. It showed the connections that each had to the Bible (read "early chapters of the Old Testament") and gave a context for their faith and culture in beautiful written overlapping stories. It made their lives real and highlighted the connections between them (the book!) rather than the differences. A "must read" really in this increasingly fragmented world of faith.
So I was more than happy to download her new book "Caleb's Crossing" onto my trusty kindle. This was set in the 1600's in the early English settlement in America of religious groups and their contact and interaction with the indigenous people. The "crossing" referred primarily to the journey of a young Indian to the English faith and culture and completing his degree at the very early Harvard. It is based on some basic facts about a Caleb who did just that! This book was also beautifully written - and told through the eyes of a girl/woman who met Caleb on his island prior to his starting on this journey and then travelled with him on the learning and assimilation pathway. At a deeper level it captured the loss of indigenous culture, the loss of land and standing and the new faith (and a very legalistic one) replacing the old. There was a moment of recognition that the old gods may not actually have been very different from the new God - reinforced by Caleb "crossing at the end" to the hereafter of his history rather than the English heaven. A good book. It lost a little towards the end when it went from day to day experiences to a very rapid reflection from the memory of the now aging story teller about what happened post graduation..... but in the end, it did satisfy.
Now Dean Koontz - a very different genre. Horror....Supernatural...Whimsical (now there is a little overlap with Brooks!)...good versus evil (a universal theme)......What I like about his books is the rappartee between characters, the intelligent dogs (mainly golden retrievers) and the way the evil is defeated - but only after they have a left a little trail of horror on the way. I also like the way in which he never lets biophysical rules stop a good story! He also goes out of his way to use unsual and rich words - and often I have had to go to a dictionary to grab the full meaning! Nice in a book - where normally they keep it at 12 year old levels. I have read most of his books - and enjoy them - even if they are a tad spine chilling at times. The rest of the family don't go for them even though we generally have a very strong overlap in the books we read.
The last offering "What the night Knows" started with a young boy having had brutally murdered his family - in a similar fashion to how the central character's (now a police officer) family was killed 20 years before. His (the policeman's) house and family then becomes the target of the impending horror as the presence from before seeks to repeat the performance again now. The kids are characterised nicely - with that easy interaction - and the family dog that had died some years previously entering the family domain again (this is quite possible in Koontz's books!) to shepherd them against the evil.
So two different books - but both good reads in their own way. I think the common element for me is the wonderful grasp of language and human insights that both authors show. They capture our minds with their words and give us imagry and feelings and empathy for their characters and circumstances. They give us insights into ourselves, our beliefs and those around us. So now on to the next book! Happy reading.
I first "met" Geraldine Brooks through her book "People of the Book" - an incredible good read that followed through different people from a Jewish, Christian and Muslim point of view in their historical settings. It showed the connections that each had to the Bible (read "early chapters of the Old Testament") and gave a context for their faith and culture in beautiful written overlapping stories. It made their lives real and highlighted the connections between them (the book!) rather than the differences. A "must read" really in this increasingly fragmented world of faith.
So I was more than happy to download her new book "Caleb's Crossing" onto my trusty kindle. This was set in the 1600's in the early English settlement in America of religious groups and their contact and interaction with the indigenous people. The "crossing" referred primarily to the journey of a young Indian to the English faith and culture and completing his degree at the very early Harvard. It is based on some basic facts about a Caleb who did just that! This book was also beautifully written - and told through the eyes of a girl/woman who met Caleb on his island prior to his starting on this journey and then travelled with him on the learning and assimilation pathway. At a deeper level it captured the loss of indigenous culture, the loss of land and standing and the new faith (and a very legalistic one) replacing the old. There was a moment of recognition that the old gods may not actually have been very different from the new God - reinforced by Caleb "crossing at the end" to the hereafter of his history rather than the English heaven. A good book. It lost a little towards the end when it went from day to day experiences to a very rapid reflection from the memory of the now aging story teller about what happened post graduation..... but in the end, it did satisfy.
Now Dean Koontz - a very different genre. Horror....Supernatural...Whimsical (now there is a little overlap with Brooks!)...good versus evil (a universal theme)......What I like about his books is the rappartee between characters, the intelligent dogs (mainly golden retrievers) and the way the evil is defeated - but only after they have a left a little trail of horror on the way. I also like the way in which he never lets biophysical rules stop a good story! He also goes out of his way to use unsual and rich words - and often I have had to go to a dictionary to grab the full meaning! Nice in a book - where normally they keep it at 12 year old levels. I have read most of his books - and enjoy them - even if they are a tad spine chilling at times. The rest of the family don't go for them even though we generally have a very strong overlap in the books we read.
The last offering "What the night Knows" started with a young boy having had brutally murdered his family - in a similar fashion to how the central character's (now a police officer) family was killed 20 years before. His (the policeman's) house and family then becomes the target of the impending horror as the presence from before seeks to repeat the performance again now. The kids are characterised nicely - with that easy interaction - and the family dog that had died some years previously entering the family domain again (this is quite possible in Koontz's books!) to shepherd them against the evil.
So two different books - but both good reads in their own way. I think the common element for me is the wonderful grasp of language and human insights that both authors show. They capture our minds with their words and give us imagry and feelings and empathy for their characters and circumstances. They give us insights into ourselves, our beliefs and those around us. So now on to the next book! Happy reading.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Africa complete
Its been a while since my last blog - too much travelling, too much work, too little time. But, I did read in the spaces - one good thing about flying! And I managed to finish the final Beverey Harper book "Footprints of Lion". It is a great book! And, as I mentioned in my previous blog, was the second of a two part series finished by her family - and Peter Watt - after Beverly died.
This book was about the Boer War and continued on with the family that Beverly introduced us to in the first book - Dallas and Lorna and their children and friends. It was a really good read and told the story of the times and the family very well. It captured the displacement of the Zulus post their wars with the invaders - and then the culmination of the clash between the German/Dutch settlers and the British colonil interests. This included the scorched earth policy and the putting of women and children into concentration camps. The characters delivered well and matured over time. The story was evenly paced with a nice range of excitement, history and relationships and the plots and sub-plots came together well. So congratulations to those who completed Beverly Harper's legacy - it was a job very well done. My only dissapointment was that the stories ended - and I wonder if any in the family might go on with what they stated!
And, in between, I did read Jenniver Fallon's "Undivided" - a mix between celtic fantasy and mystery and moving between an alternative world where the Roman's didn't conquer England and modern day where they had in history. It was hard to tell wheter the audience was for teenagers or for we hardened fantasy readers. But it was likable and whimiscal enough that I will look out for the next in the series.
I also managed to slip in two books by David Debord (ther first 2 books in a trilogy I think) - recommended to me by a friend - "The Silver Serpent" and the "Keeper of the Mists". This follows the classic pattern of a group of young people who find themselves on a quest and with one of them being the chosen one for a particular magical sword and role of deliverer. It has some interesting characters and the story moves along reasonably well - though I am not sure about how well the characters are developing and maturing (a big thing with me after my frustration with the "wheel of time series"). Still, quite readable and again I liked it enough to be on the lookout for the next book in the series.
Must be time to read some more theology or philosophy - rather than the Dean Koonst book that I have just started - "What the night knows" (not one to read home alone at night)..... happy to hear any ideas!! Happy reading.
This book was about the Boer War and continued on with the family that Beverly introduced us to in the first book - Dallas and Lorna and their children and friends. It was a really good read and told the story of the times and the family very well. It captured the displacement of the Zulus post their wars with the invaders - and then the culmination of the clash between the German/Dutch settlers and the British colonil interests. This included the scorched earth policy and the putting of women and children into concentration camps. The characters delivered well and matured over time. The story was evenly paced with a nice range of excitement, history and relationships and the plots and sub-plots came together well. So congratulations to those who completed Beverly Harper's legacy - it was a job very well done. My only dissapointment was that the stories ended - and I wonder if any in the family might go on with what they stated!
And, in between, I did read Jenniver Fallon's "Undivided" - a mix between celtic fantasy and mystery and moving between an alternative world where the Roman's didn't conquer England and modern day where they had in history. It was hard to tell wheter the audience was for teenagers or for we hardened fantasy readers. But it was likable and whimiscal enough that I will look out for the next in the series.
I also managed to slip in two books by David Debord (ther first 2 books in a trilogy I think) - recommended to me by a friend - "The Silver Serpent" and the "Keeper of the Mists". This follows the classic pattern of a group of young people who find themselves on a quest and with one of them being the chosen one for a particular magical sword and role of deliverer. It has some interesting characters and the story moves along reasonably well - though I am not sure about how well the characters are developing and maturing (a big thing with me after my frustration with the "wheel of time series"). Still, quite readable and again I liked it enough to be on the lookout for the next book in the series.
Must be time to read some more theology or philosophy - rather than the Dean Koonst book that I have just started - "What the night knows" (not one to read home alone at night)..... happy to hear any ideas!! Happy reading.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Africa afresh
I was searching for new authors and came across Beverly Harper! I met her son at a workshop and heard a little about her story. Beverly has written (at least) 7 books about Africa. She died in 2002 after a struggle with cancer - leaving her notes for a sequel to a book she had just published. Her family with the help of another well-known Australian writer - Peter Watt - finished the sequel in her honour. I heard that she had been writing for magazines for some years and finally had a book accepted for publication - I think it must have been "Storms over Africa". I was told that when she was told that the book had been accepted she had a carton of eggs in her hands and the eggs got thrown into the air (from excitement) and smashed on the floor!
I had seen her books on the book shelf, and even glanced through them some times, but had never actually bought one - am not sure why. But after this personal connection - and my bad experience with Wilbur Smith's last book, I thought that now was the time to start! The only book available on kindle was the final one that the family finished (Footprints of the Lion) - so I went searching for the prequel "Shadows in the Grass" and found it. So I have started with the very last book she finished. Although her other books seem to be set in more modern times, these two books were set in the time of the last zulu war.
The book was quite a delight to read. It reminded me of the very early Wilbur Smith books - raw and interesting and set in a time of history when great events were occurring in early Africa. The characters were well portrayed and quickly became friends (with me, the reader). They had their flaws and they also developed through the story - and so had some depth. Two themes that stood out to me were: the freedom to break out of societal conventions; and also the strength of women. There were other themes too - about the respect for the zulus (without overglamorising the nation) - and the British politics and stupidity in dealing with their 'subjects'. Dallas finds himself on the run from Scotland after being caught in the act with the mother of his childhood sweetheart (enaged to an old man against her will) who was pregnant with his baby!!! Hence the flight to South Africa - and being in place for adventures in the new colony and the zulu wars. He teams up with a couple of apparent mis-fits and friendships develop. Despite ending up married against his will himself, (blackmail about his status), he manages to end up with the girl he wants.... That's the thumbnail sketch! And it is a good read! So lucky I have the sequel downloaded - it will be interesting to see how the tone changes as others took her notes to finish the saga. What a good way to honour a mother, wife, friend and colleague!
In between, I have started reading a new Jennifer Fallon book - "Undivided" - a celtic story moving between the modern and ancient worlds. It has a nice Jennifer Fallon feel about it and I am looking forward to the ride! I will report. Maybe I will even get back to some philosophy and religion soon! Enjoy reading.
I had seen her books on the book shelf, and even glanced through them some times, but had never actually bought one - am not sure why. But after this personal connection - and my bad experience with Wilbur Smith's last book, I thought that now was the time to start! The only book available on kindle was the final one that the family finished (Footprints of the Lion) - so I went searching for the prequel "Shadows in the Grass" and found it. So I have started with the very last book she finished. Although her other books seem to be set in more modern times, these two books were set in the time of the last zulu war.
The book was quite a delight to read. It reminded me of the very early Wilbur Smith books - raw and interesting and set in a time of history when great events were occurring in early Africa. The characters were well portrayed and quickly became friends (with me, the reader). They had their flaws and they also developed through the story - and so had some depth. Two themes that stood out to me were: the freedom to break out of societal conventions; and also the strength of women. There were other themes too - about the respect for the zulus (without overglamorising the nation) - and the British politics and stupidity in dealing with their 'subjects'. Dallas finds himself on the run from Scotland after being caught in the act with the mother of his childhood sweetheart (enaged to an old man against her will) who was pregnant with his baby!!! Hence the flight to South Africa - and being in place for adventures in the new colony and the zulu wars. He teams up with a couple of apparent mis-fits and friendships develop. Despite ending up married against his will himself, (blackmail about his status), he manages to end up with the girl he wants.... That's the thumbnail sketch! And it is a good read! So lucky I have the sequel downloaded - it will be interesting to see how the tone changes as others took her notes to finish the saga. What a good way to honour a mother, wife, friend and colleague!
In between, I have started reading a new Jennifer Fallon book - "Undivided" - a celtic story moving between the modern and ancient worlds. It has a nice Jennifer Fallon feel about it and I am looking forward to the ride! I will report. Maybe I will even get back to some philosophy and religion soon! Enjoy reading.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Evolution of authors and faith
This blog reports on 2 books I have just read, both 'involving' evolution! The first is Evolving in Monkey Town: How a girl who knew all the answers learned to ask the questions - by Rachel Held Evans, and the second is the Latest Wilber Smith's book Those in Peril.
First to monkey town (where the original public debate between evolution and creation occured early last century). When I was advised by a friend to read this, I was a little skeptical. I thought it would be another attempt by Christians to defend the indefensible. But I was wrong! This was one of the most honest Christian books that I have read (Adrian Plass is another who writes authentic Christian books!) Rachel is only just hitting 30, brought up in a full-on fundamentalist Christian environment but managed to break out and come to the point of asking the questions that it took me nearly a lifetime to formulate (well I am 56!). Her issue is not with God as such - but rather at the inconsistencies within the Bible, its teaching and its defense. Interestingly, despite all her questioning of the way it is used (wrongly) to hit people over the head and defend indefensible doctrines - she still seems to hold the Bible with respect. She caught on early to the illogic of people from other cultures, places and religions being tortued forever by a "loving" God because they happened to be born in a different place and brought up with the beliefs of their fathers and mothers. And that was just the start! Her use of the word 'evolving' related to her - and the Church's - need to evolve as new knowledge and ideas emerged so she/ they stayed strong within the changes around them. That continually defending old interpretations of writings, cultures and doctrines in the face of emerging realities adn discoveries was on a course to extinction.
Go Rachel!!
Now to the next evolution. I think I have read all of Wilbur Smith's books since his first novels. I (mostly) found them extrordinary tales of the places and times they portrayed and gave me a real interest in South Africa and its history. Later novels have evolved to a more holywood style - as if the great narrative has now been told and there is little left to explore. The last one - Those in Peril - was about two quite heroic hollywood types - with almost no chinks in their armour - and facing dangers and trauma with barely a breath. It focused on islamic extremists typecast to the American portrayal of villans (reminded me of how Edgar Rice Burroughs portrayed the Russian bad guys when they went against Tarzan in his very early books - by the way I still enjoy Tarzan books!). It dealt with pirates off the African coast with the main characters summarily defeating the menace! It gave too many pages to detailing torture (good guys to bad guys as much as vice versa) with a focus on an eye for an eye. So it all left me a little cold. Wilbur, are there some real stories about the current modern Africa that you can enage us with????
First to monkey town (where the original public debate between evolution and creation occured early last century). When I was advised by a friend to read this, I was a little skeptical. I thought it would be another attempt by Christians to defend the indefensible. But I was wrong! This was one of the most honest Christian books that I have read (Adrian Plass is another who writes authentic Christian books!) Rachel is only just hitting 30, brought up in a full-on fundamentalist Christian environment but managed to break out and come to the point of asking the questions that it took me nearly a lifetime to formulate (well I am 56!). Her issue is not with God as such - but rather at the inconsistencies within the Bible, its teaching and its defense. Interestingly, despite all her questioning of the way it is used (wrongly) to hit people over the head and defend indefensible doctrines - she still seems to hold the Bible with respect. She caught on early to the illogic of people from other cultures, places and religions being tortued forever by a "loving" God because they happened to be born in a different place and brought up with the beliefs of their fathers and mothers. And that was just the start! Her use of the word 'evolving' related to her - and the Church's - need to evolve as new knowledge and ideas emerged so she/ they stayed strong within the changes around them. That continually defending old interpretations of writings, cultures and doctrines in the face of emerging realities adn discoveries was on a course to extinction.
Go Rachel!!
Now to the next evolution. I think I have read all of Wilbur Smith's books since his first novels. I (mostly) found them extrordinary tales of the places and times they portrayed and gave me a real interest in South Africa and its history. Later novels have evolved to a more holywood style - as if the great narrative has now been told and there is little left to explore. The last one - Those in Peril - was about two quite heroic hollywood types - with almost no chinks in their armour - and facing dangers and trauma with barely a breath. It focused on islamic extremists typecast to the American portrayal of villans (reminded me of how Edgar Rice Burroughs portrayed the Russian bad guys when they went against Tarzan in his very early books - by the way I still enjoy Tarzan books!). It dealt with pirates off the African coast with the main characters summarily defeating the menace! It gave too many pages to detailing torture (good guys to bad guys as much as vice versa) with a focus on an eye for an eye. So it all left me a little cold. Wilbur, are there some real stories about the current modern Africa that you can enage us with????
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Two sides of the coin - and another wooden ship hero
Well I just read a treat! My daughter alerted me to a book of short stories - The Inheritance - by Robin Hobb (who, as you may realise by now, is one of my favourite flights of fantasy!) and her other pen name Megan Lindholm (who I now want to read more of). The interesting point being that the topics and style of writing are quite different (although she mentioned one friend/colleague who could see her DNA in both books). Writing as Megan the stories are modern, quirky and fun (addiction from the skins of penguin like aliens..... boiling up dead cats to find magic bones). Writing as Robin, the stories are deep, detailed and meticulously constructed (the story of establishing the Rain Wilder colonies... a cat assisting a woman to escape from a brutal husband)! But both styles are quite enjoyable.
Kind of relates to the story of the Soldier Boy series by Robin Hobb - two personalities in one body - and the struggles to accommodate each other - or let the other freedom to express themselves. How do we embrace our different aspects - particularly when we are not fully comfortable with the totality that is us? How do we write both/multiple life stories and keep our personal integrity and well being?
And a surprise book! - Since the partial demise of some of the big book chains, I have endeavoured to buy more "real" books - rather than just downloading them! As I was prowling in a bookshop recently at the coast, I came across a second book by Sean Thomas Russell called A Battle Won. I had read his first book - Under Enemy Colours - and really liked it - but had thought it to be a one off. Now the find of the next in the series! Wow! Russell writes after the genre of Forester (Hornblower) and Alexander Kent (Bolitho) on the British navy back in the time of Napoleon and Nelson. All start with a rather lowly ranked navel officer and trace his move up through the ranks in the face of bad commanders, French frigates, gales and the wiles of women. In my view, Hornblower was a bit formal and stilted (still a great read!), Bolitho was a bit too "good" (almost too good to be true - but again a cracking read) and Russell has got a great middle ground - a hero that has a bit of depth and is self effacing - and great in dealing with difficult situations and facing up to difficult admirals!
I am half way through the book - and enjoying it immensely. But then it will be time to download some more books onto the kindle - but I have no idea what! Any ideas?????
Kind of relates to the story of the Soldier Boy series by Robin Hobb - two personalities in one body - and the struggles to accommodate each other - or let the other freedom to express themselves. How do we embrace our different aspects - particularly when we are not fully comfortable with the totality that is us? How do we write both/multiple life stories and keep our personal integrity and well being?
And a surprise book! - Since the partial demise of some of the big book chains, I have endeavoured to buy more "real" books - rather than just downloading them! As I was prowling in a bookshop recently at the coast, I came across a second book by Sean Thomas Russell called A Battle Won. I had read his first book - Under Enemy Colours - and really liked it - but had thought it to be a one off. Now the find of the next in the series! Wow! Russell writes after the genre of Forester (Hornblower) and Alexander Kent (Bolitho) on the British navy back in the time of Napoleon and Nelson. All start with a rather lowly ranked navel officer and trace his move up through the ranks in the face of bad commanders, French frigates, gales and the wiles of women. In my view, Hornblower was a bit formal and stilted (still a great read!), Bolitho was a bit too "good" (almost too good to be true - but again a cracking read) and Russell has got a great middle ground - a hero that has a bit of depth and is self effacing - and great in dealing with difficult situations and facing up to difficult admirals!
I am half way through the book - and enjoying it immensely. But then it will be time to download some more books onto the kindle - but I have no idea what! Any ideas?????
Friday, April 22, 2011
The End Point
Well, I finally finished the Soldier Boy series (Forest Mage etc) by Robin Hobb. As I indicated on earlier blogs, the devil was in the detail - and despite my speed/skim reading, it still seemed to take forever to get through (and I was determined to get through to see what happened to the hero!). Some books frustrate because they stop prematurely and you are left wondering! Others go on to....."Bill Smith died of cancer 20 years later......" This one had a couple of endings and potential stopping points. But it kept going...... and by then end, it took it is far as it could and satisfied those readers who stuck through to the end! Not post-modern.
So having finished, I was at a bit of a loose end - no longer ensared in living trees that sought to abosorb the bodies to catch nutrients and old lovers. And so I was able to turn to the books I flagged last blog - Love Wins etc by Rob Bell and then Whats the Least I can believe and still be a Christian by Martin Thielen. I'm not saying I studied them in detail, but here is what I got out of them:
Martin Thielen: hold to the Biblical Basics (essentially the Anglican Creed) - but its OK to believe in theistic evolution, equality of women and to hug trees - and you don't have to condemn homosexuals or stone those caught in adultry. So stay in the Church and allow yourself to embrace some of advances in sceince and morality. Oh - and leave God to be the judge about the things in grey such as people in other religions.
Rob Bell: When Jesus said "go to hell" he was really using a metaphor of the dump outside the city and making the point that ugly works belong in the dump. When talking about heaven to come, Jesus was first talking about making heaven on earth - working with God and each other to bring about the type of society that follows the principle of love. He didn't give definitive answers about how he saw any afterlife, but changed the focus to what we know.
In some ways, both took us along some way to what they saw as the end point - but I am not sure where they left us. Both leave many questions and futures unanswered. I wouldn't make the cut for Martin Thielen - but then again, he wouldn't stone me. Rob would encourage me to forge ahead and not get bogged down. It does leave me, however, with the same question that my sister once asked me: "If the Bible isn't true as we understand it (or understood it), then why not pick any old bloke with a good message and follow him (or her) - what is left to make Jesus special"? Why is it so hard for the Rob Bells, Brian Mclarens and.... me.... to just walk away and consign Jesus to one of the many?
So having finished, I was at a bit of a loose end - no longer ensared in living trees that sought to abosorb the bodies to catch nutrients and old lovers. And so I was able to turn to the books I flagged last blog - Love Wins etc by Rob Bell and then Whats the Least I can believe and still be a Christian by Martin Thielen. I'm not saying I studied them in detail, but here is what I got out of them:
Martin Thielen: hold to the Biblical Basics (essentially the Anglican Creed) - but its OK to believe in theistic evolution, equality of women and to hug trees - and you don't have to condemn homosexuals or stone those caught in adultry. So stay in the Church and allow yourself to embrace some of advances in sceince and morality. Oh - and leave God to be the judge about the things in grey such as people in other religions.
Rob Bell: When Jesus said "go to hell" he was really using a metaphor of the dump outside the city and making the point that ugly works belong in the dump. When talking about heaven to come, Jesus was first talking about making heaven on earth - working with God and each other to bring about the type of society that follows the principle of love. He didn't give definitive answers about how he saw any afterlife, but changed the focus to what we know.
In some ways, both took us along some way to what they saw as the end point - but I am not sure where they left us. Both leave many questions and futures unanswered. I wouldn't make the cut for Martin Thielen - but then again, he wouldn't stone me. Rob would encourage me to forge ahead and not get bogged down. It does leave me, however, with the same question that my sister once asked me: "If the Bible isn't true as we understand it (or understood it), then why not pick any old bloke with a good message and follow him (or her) - what is left to make Jesus special"? Why is it so hard for the Rob Bells, Brian Mclarens and.... me.... to just walk away and consign Jesus to one of the many?
Monday, April 18, 2011
Free Will and Heaven or Hell
Well, I am still struggling through my Renegade's Magic by Robin Hobb - and its still a bit slow and torturous - even though I am trying to savour the moment! Still, I cannot second guess the end, so I will soldier on.
One aspect that the book does bring out is the struggle we have in our minds in terms of the choices we make and who we are. In Renegade's Magic, the hero is trapped in his rather bloated magic fuelled body with his "other half" running things. The other half is part of him - but who is aligned to the "enemy" rather than his own country. The struggle between the two sides of self is a very interesting and thought provoking artefact in the book. It reflects our own struggle with our "shadow self" - our body seeming to make choices that are different from our mind. Think of addiction. Think of just poor daily choices in food, activity, responses, actions etc. In the Bible, Paul (I think) talks of ""the good that I would I can not" - or something to that effect. His solution is that Christ can help us to be true to ourselves and Him.
In the latest New Scientist (16th April 2011), there is another article on free will - an ongoing theme within the pages of the magazine - the science of free will. A key issue is how much our genes and past directly guide our choices beyond what is called free will - and how much our choices as individuals and society are fully predictable. The article (The Free Will Delusion) concludes that belief in free will doesn't depend on having a soul, but on feeling in control of "your actions" . All interesting grist for the mill!
Which leads me on to 2 books I have just downloaded onto my kindle: Love Wins: A book about Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, by Rob Bell and Whats the Least I can Believe and Still be a Christian by Martin Thielen. I haven't got into them yet - but the fact that there is a lot of vitreol about Rob Bell amongst conservatives, is probably a good sign for his book. He says in his introduction: I've written this book for all those everwhere, who have heard some version of the Jesus story that caused their pulse rate to rise, their stomach to churn, and their heart to utter those resolute words, "I would never be a part of that". So I will read on and see if I make it in at least one of the books!
One aspect that the book does bring out is the struggle we have in our minds in terms of the choices we make and who we are. In Renegade's Magic, the hero is trapped in his rather bloated magic fuelled body with his "other half" running things. The other half is part of him - but who is aligned to the "enemy" rather than his own country. The struggle between the two sides of self is a very interesting and thought provoking artefact in the book. It reflects our own struggle with our "shadow self" - our body seeming to make choices that are different from our mind. Think of addiction. Think of just poor daily choices in food, activity, responses, actions etc. In the Bible, Paul (I think) talks of ""the good that I would I can not" - or something to that effect. His solution is that Christ can help us to be true to ourselves and Him.
In the latest New Scientist (16th April 2011), there is another article on free will - an ongoing theme within the pages of the magazine - the science of free will. A key issue is how much our genes and past directly guide our choices beyond what is called free will - and how much our choices as individuals and society are fully predictable. The article (The Free Will Delusion) concludes that belief in free will doesn't depend on having a soul, but on feeling in control of "your actions" . All interesting grist for the mill!
Which leads me on to 2 books I have just downloaded onto my kindle: Love Wins: A book about Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, by Rob Bell and Whats the Least I can Believe and Still be a Christian by Martin Thielen. I haven't got into them yet - but the fact that there is a lot of vitreol about Rob Bell amongst conservatives, is probably a good sign for his book. He says in his introduction: I've written this book for all those everwhere, who have heard some version of the Jesus story that caused their pulse rate to rise, their stomach to churn, and their heart to utter those resolute words, "I would never be a part of that". So I will read on and see if I make it in at least one of the books!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Capturing the moment
Sorry, no recent deep theological or philosophical reading or reflection - just another fiction trilogy. And again one of Robin Hobb's! Well, I haven't fully mined the lode of her writing yet!
I was told that this series (Shaman's Crossing, Forest Mage, Renegade's Magic) was either loved or disliked by her regular readers. Currently I am getting towards the end of Book 2 - Forest Mage, and I can see why. In many ways it is so unlike previous books/series. This one takes forever to "get anywhere"! Well, in the adventure sense, or in the timeline. Whe I started reading and the hero went to the military academy, I thought it would be a chapter or 2 and then bang - he would be on to the big stuff! Wrong! It took all of book one to get through the academy - and even then, didn't.
I found myself skimming a lot of pages trying to get past what I saw as the preliminary stuff.
The key to the book, however, lies in the minutia. In earlier blogs I have talked about the decisions that authors make in terms of painting the picture - how much detail, how many pages for a certain scene etc...... In this book, Robun Hobb focuses down to the detail. There are places where she describes the hero being short of food - hungry/starving - but then gaining some small mouthfulls. She then describes in detail how he savoured each taste, each morsel, each substance - taking hours to eat the small offering. This seems to be a message to the reader - savour the pages - don't see the words as a means to get to the story's end - rather savour each word, each phrase, each sentence.......
So I an trying........
For about 3 years, we had the pleasure of having our daughter, son-in-law and grandsons living close bye - and then with us before they dissapeared to Canada (well, they are still there on skype, on blogs, and we have the tickets already to visit them later in the year!!). We knew they were going. In the last weeks and days I did particlarly try to savour the moments...drink in the experience of sharing our lives with them. Children seem to live in the present - the butterfly in front of them, the story book you are reading to them, the chocolate frog poking out of the shopping basket.
Back to the book.......
I was told that this series (Shaman's Crossing, Forest Mage, Renegade's Magic) was either loved or disliked by her regular readers. Currently I am getting towards the end of Book 2 - Forest Mage, and I can see why. In many ways it is so unlike previous books/series. This one takes forever to "get anywhere"! Well, in the adventure sense, or in the timeline. Whe I started reading and the hero went to the military academy, I thought it would be a chapter or 2 and then bang - he would be on to the big stuff! Wrong! It took all of book one to get through the academy - and even then, didn't.
I found myself skimming a lot of pages trying to get past what I saw as the preliminary stuff.
The key to the book, however, lies in the minutia. In earlier blogs I have talked about the decisions that authors make in terms of painting the picture - how much detail, how many pages for a certain scene etc...... In this book, Robun Hobb focuses down to the detail. There are places where she describes the hero being short of food - hungry/starving - but then gaining some small mouthfulls. She then describes in detail how he savoured each taste, each morsel, each substance - taking hours to eat the small offering. This seems to be a message to the reader - savour the pages - don't see the words as a means to get to the story's end - rather savour each word, each phrase, each sentence.......
So I an trying........
For about 3 years, we had the pleasure of having our daughter, son-in-law and grandsons living close bye - and then with us before they dissapeared to Canada (well, they are still there on skype, on blogs, and we have the tickets already to visit them later in the year!!). We knew they were going. In the last weeks and days I did particlarly try to savour the moments...drink in the experience of sharing our lives with them. Children seem to live in the present - the butterfly in front of them, the story book you are reading to them, the chocolate frog poking out of the shopping basket.
Back to the book.......
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Winter and dilemmas
Well, I find that I get into a bit of rut with my reading. Back to the Graham Hurley series with Winter and Faraday - and Baz and the family - in Beyond Reach........ I love the way the stories build on each other - and how the characters develop - how they become almost like family. And always some good detectiving - and Winter saving the day for his new boss - and some interesting information about birds (the feathered variety) through Faraday's bird watching exploits.
There are also interesting moral dilemmas - and this book had a few. A mother taking the law into her own hands - after the law was helpless in saving her son or bringing his killers to justice. How solving an old crime can have awful consequences for the present - including the victim - law versus common sense. It highlights that absolute laws may help provide a structure for society and "justice" - but that life is lived very much in the grey. Religion often lis about the black and white. I wonder if God is in the grey?
Had dinner with a priest who we met many years ago in PNG - and I used the words that I had lost my faith. His reply was that I had more probably found my faith - as faith wasn't contained in musty old books that are quite violent in parts - but in humanity and in love. Maybe that was Jesus' message as well? The priest used a story from one of the saints about him coming across a boy pouring sea water into a hole in the sand. The saint asked him what he was doing - he said I am trying to put all of the ocean in this hole. The saint called him stupid for thinking he could do that. The little boy asked him what he did - he explained that he was trying to understand God. The boy replied that if he tried to put all the knowledge about God in his head, then he was truly the stupid one.
Hmm - does this mean that I am not going to have it all worked out before I leave this life? What arrogance to think I coudl even scratch the surface! On with Winter and Faraday!
There are also interesting moral dilemmas - and this book had a few. A mother taking the law into her own hands - after the law was helpless in saving her son or bringing his killers to justice. How solving an old crime can have awful consequences for the present - including the victim - law versus common sense. It highlights that absolute laws may help provide a structure for society and "justice" - but that life is lived very much in the grey. Religion often lis about the black and white. I wonder if God is in the grey?
Had dinner with a priest who we met many years ago in PNG - and I used the words that I had lost my faith. His reply was that I had more probably found my faith - as faith wasn't contained in musty old books that are quite violent in parts - but in humanity and in love. Maybe that was Jesus' message as well? The priest used a story from one of the saints about him coming across a boy pouring sea water into a hole in the sand. The saint asked him what he was doing - he said I am trying to put all of the ocean in this hole. The saint called him stupid for thinking he could do that. The little boy asked him what he did - he explained that he was trying to understand God. The boy replied that if he tried to put all the knowledge about God in his head, then he was truly the stupid one.
Hmm - does this mean that I am not going to have it all worked out before I leave this life? What arrogance to think I coudl even scratch the surface! On with Winter and Faraday!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Shamons and Horses
After listening to the first 3 discs of The Horse Boy while travelling by car in Western Queensland, I was keen to know more about it - and found the DVD on line to watch! It is a very heartwarming story of a couple whose child was diagnosed as autistic and their struggle to break through to him (and survive!).
The only glimpses they had had of getting through to their son, Rowan, was from an interaction with Shamons from the indigineous people from around the world (they had come to a meeting in the US) and then from the horse next door - Betsy. So the farther, Rupert, put both together and, with his wife Kristin, headed off to Mongolia where Shamons and horses went together. Having travelled in Mongolia, I was quite entranced by their journey. The DVD was the documentary that they made to help fund their journey. It was quite raw and apparently unscripted - a "fly on the wall" documentary. It had its dramas and was suffused with honesty - and had a relatively positive ending (or rather beginning when we heard about the foundation that they established to help similar kids and connect them with horses too).
The issue arose whether the drum pounding and other rituals (including the parents being whipped and the mother having to wash out her vagina!) actually helped. The topic was dealt with well. Rupert was a human rights campaigner for the bushmen in Africa and had experienced bush healings before - and he had seen how Rowen had reacted to the inital Shamen encounter - and he believed. Although Kristen (a budhist) went along with all the rituals - for herself and Rowen - and had gone on this very difficult trip - she was less convinced about the Shamon influence - there was the break in routine, the overall experience for Rowen etc - but neither was she dismissive. It was part of the expereience whether it was "magical or not".
All in all it was compelling from so many angles - and left a challenge I thought. That was to extend yourself and not to limit your experience by your own prejudices and bias. Read, listen or watch "The Horse Boy"!
The only glimpses they had had of getting through to their son, Rowan, was from an interaction with Shamons from the indigineous people from around the world (they had come to a meeting in the US) and then from the horse next door - Betsy. So the farther, Rupert, put both together and, with his wife Kristin, headed off to Mongolia where Shamons and horses went together. Having travelled in Mongolia, I was quite entranced by their journey. The DVD was the documentary that they made to help fund their journey. It was quite raw and apparently unscripted - a "fly on the wall" documentary. It had its dramas and was suffused with honesty - and had a relatively positive ending (or rather beginning when we heard about the foundation that they established to help similar kids and connect them with horses too).
The issue arose whether the drum pounding and other rituals (including the parents being whipped and the mother having to wash out her vagina!) actually helped. The topic was dealt with well. Rupert was a human rights campaigner for the bushmen in Africa and had experienced bush healings before - and he had seen how Rowen had reacted to the inital Shamen encounter - and he believed. Although Kristen (a budhist) went along with all the rituals - for herself and Rowen - and had gone on this very difficult trip - she was less convinced about the Shamon influence - there was the break in routine, the overall experience for Rowen etc - but neither was she dismissive. It was part of the expereience whether it was "magical or not".
All in all it was compelling from so many angles - and left a challenge I thought. That was to extend yourself and not to limit your experience by your own prejudices and bias. Read, listen or watch "The Horse Boy"!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Ends and beginnings
Well, so much for my varied reading. I am just coming to the end of the essesntially 6 book series by Robin Hobb about the Farseers, Fitz and the Fool..... and as per previous blogs, I remain totally captivated by the writing, story and characters. Coming to the end of such a series leaves you somewhat stranded..... like you are losing friends or family to a far place...... (but at least in that case, their story continues and you can continue to follow it, be part of it and drop in sometimes!). Robin Hobb said on her web page that she does not think she will continue the story of Fitz and the Fool any more - but there is always that chance!
And, in relation to my earlier blogs about the confrontation - diffierences rather than similarities - in the religious/ (new) athiest positions - I was so encouraged to read a story passed on to me about Francis Collins who is Director of the National Institutes of Health, the researcher behind the Human Genome Project and a his interaction with Christopher Hitchins (can't get the italics off!!!) Despite strong differences in faith positions, Collins says (from The Washington Post On Faith): "
"Some observers have expressed surprise that the atheist intellectual and the Christian physician-scientist could become friends. After all, in the current political climate in Washington, anyone who doesn't agree with you is supposed to be your enemy. But I would like to think that Christopher's sharp intellect has challenged my own defense of the rationality of faith to be more consistent and compelling. "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17). On a personal level, I have been blessed by getting to know Christopher and Carol better - despite the "enfant terrible" reputation, Christopher has a warm humanity that is easy to perceive. And his willingness to be utterly open and transparent about his cancer diagnosis provides a breathtaking window into his personal integrity." He finishes with "Over these last few months, we have not talked directly about faith. He knows that I am praying for him. But my prayer is not so much for a supernatural intervention - as a physician I have not seen evidence for such medical miracles in my own experience. Instead I pray for myself and for Christopher along the lines of James 1:5 - "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." And I then give thanks for the chance to share in a deepening friendship."
This quite warmed my heart and gave me hope that maybe dialogue and care can surpass "die in the ditch" positioning!
And, in relation to my earlier blogs about the confrontation - diffierences rather than similarities - in the religious/ (new) athiest positions - I was so encouraged to read a story passed on to me about Francis Collins who is Director of the National Institutes of Health, the researcher behind the Human Genome Project and a his interaction with Christopher Hitchins (can't get the italics off!!!) Despite strong differences in faith positions, Collins says (from The Washington Post On Faith): "
"Some observers have expressed surprise that the atheist intellectual and the Christian physician-scientist could become friends. After all, in the current political climate in Washington, anyone who doesn't agree with you is supposed to be your enemy. But I would like to think that Christopher's sharp intellect has challenged my own defense of the rationality of faith to be more consistent and compelling. "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17). On a personal level, I have been blessed by getting to know Christopher and Carol better - despite the "enfant terrible" reputation, Christopher has a warm humanity that is easy to perceive. And his willingness to be utterly open and transparent about his cancer diagnosis provides a breathtaking window into his personal integrity." He finishes with "Over these last few months, we have not talked directly about faith. He knows that I am praying for him. But my prayer is not so much for a supernatural intervention - as a physician I have not seen evidence for such medical miracles in my own experience. Instead I pray for myself and for Christopher along the lines of James 1:5 - "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." And I then give thanks for the chance to share in a deepening friendship."
This quite warmed my heart and gave me hope that maybe dialogue and care can surpass "die in the ditch" positioning!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Back to the foolish
I outdid myself reading McLaren - needed to retreat to the follow up trilogy by Robin Hobb. Oh the joys of a trilogy following a trilogy. Currently on book 2 of the Tawny Man Trilogy - which is really book 5 of the Farseer trilogy - and who should walk onto the pages but the characters out of the Liveship series by Robin Hobb!!! Slightly faded in my memory, but carrying the glow of another series well written and read - they are in a room with these new characters!
An assult to the senses? Its like seeing a close friend from the past having tea with close friends from now and feeling in a time warp! Authors can do that! Life can too...
How do we put our sequential life together. We live analog but our brain is digital - sorting memories where it will. Clustering not in a time sequence but with other logic. So a scene we view suddenly brings back painful - or beautiful - or familiar feelings from a past time - now. And we reel a bit trying to make sense of the mix.
A grandchild becomes for an instant the child who then bore them.... your mother becomes for an instant your grandmother - her mother.... your father becomes you for a whish as you look in the mirror with tired eyes and see his just before he died.
How does a book of fiction so capture our minds and imagination amidst our own realities and imaginings?
An assult to the senses? Its like seeing a close friend from the past having tea with close friends from now and feeling in a time warp! Authors can do that! Life can too...
How do we put our sequential life together. We live analog but our brain is digital - sorting memories where it will. Clustering not in a time sequence but with other logic. So a scene we view suddenly brings back painful - or beautiful - or familiar feelings from a past time - now. And we reel a bit trying to make sense of the mix.
A grandchild becomes for an instant the child who then bore them.... your mother becomes for an instant your grandmother - her mother.... your father becomes you for a whish as you look in the mirror with tired eyes and see his just before he died.
How does a book of fiction so capture our minds and imagination amidst our own realities and imaginings?
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Beyond the arguments
Now that I have finished Brian McLaren's generous orthodoxy some reflections! My overwhelming impression is that Brian is not going to let theological arguments come between him and encouraging the kingdom of God on earth! Not arguments about hell, or denominational stances on baptism or liturgies, or approaches like pentacostalism versus meditative, or rationales for Jesus' death, or even one religion versus another. He goes for a "post" position - beyond theological turf! He says that Jesus didn't plan to start a religion - just encourage people to follow the fundamentals of loving God (without a rigid definition) and your neighbour (whether from different churches, religions, beliefs - friends or enemies)..... and the rest is kind of .... well... superfluous! And I liked his style.
Some passages from his book that I particularly liked:
"How many children in Sunday school learn (that) radical sense of Christian servant identity as opposed to Christians are nice people and know the truth and do good. Non Christians are bad people who don't. Therefore we need to avoid non-Christians or convert them as fast as possible or try to pass laws to keep them under control and protect ourselves from them - until we can escape them forever in heaven?"
"The more I learn from Jesus, the more I cringe when I read passages in Exodus or Joshua where the God of love and universal compassion, to whom Jesus has introduced me, allegedly commands what today we would call brutality, chauvinism, ethnic cleansing or holocast. I ache when biblical passages are used to reinforce an escapist, determinsitic or fatalistic view of the future, to assert the subjugation of women by men, or to justify a careless attitude towards our beautiful God-given planet".
"...I don't beleive that making disciples must equal making adherents to the Christian religion. It may be advisable in many circumstances (not all!!) to help people become followers of Jesus and remain within their Bhuddhist, Hindu or Jewish contexts".
So go Brian! Such a refreshing, "now" centred faith that is inclusive, humble and outward focused.
Some passages from his book that I particularly liked:
"How many children in Sunday school learn (that) radical sense of Christian servant identity as opposed to Christians are nice people and know the truth and do good. Non Christians are bad people who don't. Therefore we need to avoid non-Christians or convert them as fast as possible or try to pass laws to keep them under control and protect ourselves from them - until we can escape them forever in heaven?"
"The more I learn from Jesus, the more I cringe when I read passages in Exodus or Joshua where the God of love and universal compassion, to whom Jesus has introduced me, allegedly commands what today we would call brutality, chauvinism, ethnic cleansing or holocast. I ache when biblical passages are used to reinforce an escapist, determinsitic or fatalistic view of the future, to assert the subjugation of women by men, or to justify a careless attitude towards our beautiful God-given planet".
"...I don't beleive that making disciples must equal making adherents to the Christian religion. It may be advisable in many circumstances (not all!!) to help people become followers of Jesus and remain within their Bhuddhist, Hindu or Jewish contexts".
So go Brian! Such a refreshing, "now" centred faith that is inclusive, humble and outward focused.
Friday, February 11, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Fantasy et al
Getting lost in reading at the moment - but nothing heavy. So much for my plan to report on deep Philosphical readings.
I enjoyed finishing another Graham Hurley book - No Lovelier Death - and am now quite a fan of Winter and Faraday - even if Winter now works for the dark side so to speak. But I have taken a break from Hurley and started a paper (!) book series - as opposed to a kindle copy - to read The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. These were her first novels!!! And how excellent are they?!!! I had read a later series set in the same location called The Liveship Traders which quite captivated me. And now I am half way through this first series.
Good writers have always amazed me with how the paint their books. The decisions about plots, sub-plots and characters...time lines....level of detail. So someone comes into a room - what level of detail do we need as a reader? do we need to know the size, height of the room? the type and size of windows? the lighting? the floor cover? the furniture? the smell? Do we need to know everone in the room and what they are wearing...what they are doing... their reactions - words? Does a room entry take a sentence, a paragraph or a chapter? The skill in weaving in this detail to hold a reader captivated is immense! and Robin Hobb has certainly done it for me.
In this series, we follow the life of Fitz - a bastard son of a Prince - who ends up in the Royal Court struggling to find his place amongst all the intrigue. Raiders are hitting the land turning people into zombies and half brother princes are compteing for succession to the throne. There is a skill that allows people to converse with each other from a distance (the mobile phone effect!!!!) and influence actions (advertising!!?) and one that allows links with animals. There is forbidden love and adventure, loyalty and betrayal. And we know we are reading the genre of fantasy!
My father was taken with book heros like Tarzan and the Saint. Not fantasy as we know it since Tolkien - but many of the same elements. What is the fantasy formula and attraction? It is often someone born with humble beginnings, being chosen for a great task and helped by some wizard, wise man, great warrior. Against the odds and against beasts, demons and great oppoistion, they rescue/save a woman, town or country and achieve some sort of hero status. It is an age old message - that life is an adventure and we can start on it regardless of our circumstances. That there are old books or creeds and gurus/priests/srong people who can help us. That our role is to sacrifice ourself for others - and in so doing, we find ourselves.
Standard religion seems to offer a framework for people which follows this road. A way of lifting people to envisage a destiny rather than a hard practical road until age and death takes us. It offers a way of making up for our failures and shame and turns it into a spiritual battle for our souls and the world itself. We are warned of unseen demons and wonderful angels to help us - and wise leaders to explain the holy books. We are given the skill to project our thoughts through prayer to God and influence outcomes in people and the physical world.
I do so enjoy my fantasy reading - and find it had to begrudge those who take it as their life framework. Just maybe, however, they can miss the truly great adventure.
I enjoyed finishing another Graham Hurley book - No Lovelier Death - and am now quite a fan of Winter and Faraday - even if Winter now works for the dark side so to speak. But I have taken a break from Hurley and started a paper (!) book series - as opposed to a kindle copy - to read The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. These were her first novels!!! And how excellent are they?!!! I had read a later series set in the same location called The Liveship Traders which quite captivated me. And now I am half way through this first series.
Good writers have always amazed me with how the paint their books. The decisions about plots, sub-plots and characters...time lines....level of detail. So someone comes into a room - what level of detail do we need as a reader? do we need to know the size, height of the room? the type and size of windows? the lighting? the floor cover? the furniture? the smell? Do we need to know everone in the room and what they are wearing...what they are doing... their reactions - words? Does a room entry take a sentence, a paragraph or a chapter? The skill in weaving in this detail to hold a reader captivated is immense! and Robin Hobb has certainly done it for me.
In this series, we follow the life of Fitz - a bastard son of a Prince - who ends up in the Royal Court struggling to find his place amongst all the intrigue. Raiders are hitting the land turning people into zombies and half brother princes are compteing for succession to the throne. There is a skill that allows people to converse with each other from a distance (the mobile phone effect!!!!) and influence actions (advertising!!?) and one that allows links with animals. There is forbidden love and adventure, loyalty and betrayal. And we know we are reading the genre of fantasy!
My father was taken with book heros like Tarzan and the Saint. Not fantasy as we know it since Tolkien - but many of the same elements. What is the fantasy formula and attraction? It is often someone born with humble beginnings, being chosen for a great task and helped by some wizard, wise man, great warrior. Against the odds and against beasts, demons and great oppoistion, they rescue/save a woman, town or country and achieve some sort of hero status. It is an age old message - that life is an adventure and we can start on it regardless of our circumstances. That there are old books or creeds and gurus/priests/srong people who can help us. That our role is to sacrifice ourself for others - and in so doing, we find ourselves.
Standard religion seems to offer a framework for people which follows this road. A way of lifting people to envisage a destiny rather than a hard practical road until age and death takes us. It offers a way of making up for our failures and shame and turns it into a spiritual battle for our souls and the world itself. We are warned of unseen demons and wonderful angels to help us - and wise leaders to explain the holy books. We are given the skill to project our thoughts through prayer to God and influence outcomes in people and the physical world.
I do so enjoy my fantasy reading - and find it had to begrudge those who take it as their life framework. Just maybe, however, they can miss the truly great adventure.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Falling Giants and Hurley continued
Having just had a week or so away on holiday, I took my trusty kindle with three new books downloaded: Ken Follett's Fall of Giants, and Graham Hurley's Price of Darkness and No Lovelier Death. I managed to get through the first two books - and thoroughly enjoyed both!
My experience with Ken Follett had been through his books about building cathedrals in the middle ages in England - World without end and Pillars of the Earth. These were extremely well written books- great stories, feelings of the time, technically interesting and left you with a feeling of getting to know some new characters rather well! In fact I took from World without end a quote which I have on my wall. The context was a Sister called Claris, talking with a dying outlaw. The outlaw asked "Are you afraid you'll burn in hell?" The story goes on with: "It was a question she normally sidestepped, but she felt this dying outlaw deserved a true answer, "I believe that what I do becomes part of me" she said. "When I'm brave and strong. and care for children and the sick and the poor, I become a better person. And when I'm cruel, or cowardly or tell lies, or get drunk, I turn into someone less worthy, and I can't respect myself. Thats the divine retribution I believe in". I liked this - although a Christian friend of mine saw it and dismissed it as being unbiblical. Funny, but I thought it reflected Jesus' attitude quite well!
So, back to the Fall of Giants. What a great expose of World War 1! I had always known that an assination was a key trigger for the war - but now I understand why and how! It seems as if Ken Follett was very careful to present the facts intertwined with the stories of his characters and so history comes alive! The fact that the book starts before the war commenced right through to the aftermath gives you a context around it. I was surprised to read how late the USA entered the war - and why - and then seemed to take over. The stupid strategic decisions made were obvious. The soviet revolution was also explained beautifully through the Russian working class characters (it was a tad tedious in some of the Russion revolution part - but only a tad) - and the class tensions in the UK evident as characters from the aristocracy, their "help" and the coal miners interacted throughout the events - including the issue of the vote for women and the working class. They were very believable characters that were no cardboard cut-outs. Very hard to put down.
But all good things came to end and the ending was good and fitting.
So, without a breath, I took back up with Graham Hurley's the price of darkness. Once again I entered the world of Faraday and Winter - their lives, hobbies, relationships, families (or lack of). This time, Winter went undercover to try to undo the ill-gotton gains of the ex drug baron. Again two stories - but this time they came together at the end. The only sad part was the loss of the Maddox character - the classy high class prostitute that saw Winter survive his brain tunour in the previous book. Will she return in future stories? She does own half his house...but she just dissapeared as a character! Nice ending for Winter in the book (not ending-ending)!!! I wonder if Hurley planned that at the beginning?
Now on to No Lovelier Death. The first chapters show great promise - with Winter in a new role...... I will see.
My experience with Ken Follett had been through his books about building cathedrals in the middle ages in England - World without end and Pillars of the Earth. These were extremely well written books- great stories, feelings of the time, technically interesting and left you with a feeling of getting to know some new characters rather well! In fact I took from World without end a quote which I have on my wall. The context was a Sister called Claris, talking with a dying outlaw. The outlaw asked "Are you afraid you'll burn in hell?" The story goes on with: "It was a question she normally sidestepped, but she felt this dying outlaw deserved a true answer, "I believe that what I do becomes part of me" she said. "When I'm brave and strong. and care for children and the sick and the poor, I become a better person. And when I'm cruel, or cowardly or tell lies, or get drunk, I turn into someone less worthy, and I can't respect myself. Thats the divine retribution I believe in". I liked this - although a Christian friend of mine saw it and dismissed it as being unbiblical. Funny, but I thought it reflected Jesus' attitude quite well!
So, back to the Fall of Giants. What a great expose of World War 1! I had always known that an assination was a key trigger for the war - but now I understand why and how! It seems as if Ken Follett was very careful to present the facts intertwined with the stories of his characters and so history comes alive! The fact that the book starts before the war commenced right through to the aftermath gives you a context around it. I was surprised to read how late the USA entered the war - and why - and then seemed to take over. The stupid strategic decisions made were obvious. The soviet revolution was also explained beautifully through the Russian working class characters (it was a tad tedious in some of the Russion revolution part - but only a tad) - and the class tensions in the UK evident as characters from the aristocracy, their "help" and the coal miners interacted throughout the events - including the issue of the vote for women and the working class. They were very believable characters that were no cardboard cut-outs. Very hard to put down.
But all good things came to end and the ending was good and fitting.
So, without a breath, I took back up with Graham Hurley's the price of darkness. Once again I entered the world of Faraday and Winter - their lives, hobbies, relationships, families (or lack of). This time, Winter went undercover to try to undo the ill-gotton gains of the ex drug baron. Again two stories - but this time they came together at the end. The only sad part was the loss of the Maddox character - the classy high class prostitute that saw Winter survive his brain tunour in the previous book. Will she return in future stories? She does own half his house...but she just dissapeared as a character! Nice ending for Winter in the book (not ending-ending)!!! I wonder if Hurley planned that at the beginning?
Now on to No Lovelier Death. The first chapters show great promise - with Winter in a new role...... I will see.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Two Under!
Back to Graham Hurley! Just finished reading my second book in his Farday/Winter series - the last one being "One Under". In this case, it started with a man chained to a railway line in a tunnell and the going under the train! Hence the title "one under" I resume.
This second book did not disappoint! The chracter development of the main characters - and their relationship - continued - different men, different approaches, different drivers, different private lives (although both lost their wives at some point). I also like that the cases (seems like there are 2 cases per book - or has been so far) - don't always get sewn up in the way you would expect. The anti-climax effect - or rather the unexpected endings. There are even some mild thought-provoking philosophsising amongst the musings of the characters.
So for sheer reading pleasure - I have downloaded the next in the series "The price of darkness". I will advise what I think of this one - and will it lead me to download the next in the series! Don't you just love it when you find a new author and can get a run of their books?!
This second book did not disappoint! The chracter development of the main characters - and their relationship - continued - different men, different approaches, different drivers, different private lives (although both lost their wives at some point). I also like that the cases (seems like there are 2 cases per book - or has been so far) - don't always get sewn up in the way you would expect. The anti-climax effect - or rather the unexpected endings. There are even some mild thought-provoking philosophsising amongst the musings of the characters.
So for sheer reading pleasure - I have downloaded the next in the series "The price of darkness". I will advise what I think of this one - and will it lead me to download the next in the series! Don't you just love it when you find a new author and can get a run of their books?!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
It is war???
I was alerted to a book by Michael Poole - "The new athiesism: ten arguments that don't hold water" - as a book that might be interesting in looking at the issues raised by Dawkins et al. I haven't read the book yet (I will try to find it) - but I did read some supportive reviews of the book. One review was by Bruce Craven (Christian Perspectives on Science and Technology - ISCAT Online Journal 2010). He referred to a group of dedicated athiests who were "trying hard to propogate their creed". It was on this basis that he considered it necessary to reply to their statements "lest some shaky arguments go by default". He refers to Dawkins and allies as firing "most of their bullets at the Christian God" (as opposed to eg the Aztec god who required human hearts torn from living bodies). [Actually Dawkins et al from my reading and watching address a full range of religions - including Islam and Spiritualism - as well as alternative theorapies etc. Their issue appears to more about challenging beliefs that are held and propogated without honestly addressing the evidence).
The war theme (bullets above) is continued as Craven reviews Poole's book "Chapters 2 (faith) and 3 (virus) deal with missiles that could be fired back at athiestic critics".
Hang on! Is it really a war? In 2010 are we intellectually fighting about whether the world is older than 10,000 years? Do we all hold on to our set beliefs so dear that we refuse to discuss in a rational civilised manner and we shoot metaphorical (and in some case real) bullets and missiles at each other over scientific/religious beliefs?
In the Dawkins documentary that I referred to in an earlier blog, I was impressed with the discussion between Dawkins and the Archbishop of Canterbury (or someone of that ilk). They didn't agree, but there was actually a discussion between the two. Dawkins continued his questioning of comments made that didn't seem rationale to him, but his interviewee actually smiled and mused without putting up a shield and firing bullets.
I remember reading an article between Bishop Spong (the percevied to be very liberal Episcopalean Bishop in the USA) and a very conservative African Bishop. They sought to find where the common ground was between their viewpoints with respect to the very controversial issue of ordaining homosexual priests (an issue that was splitting their Church) and the differences (what they could not at all agree on). Surprisingly there was a good list of agreements - for example the value of relationships and families and the well being of people and the Church. They gave their views on where they differed as well - and why. It was one of the most "adult" public Christian discussions I had come across about such a divisive issue.
I would love to see a similar work between say Dawkins and one of his many religious critics.
The war theme (bullets above) is continued as Craven reviews Poole's book "Chapters 2 (faith) and 3 (virus) deal with missiles that could be fired back at athiestic critics".
Hang on! Is it really a war? In 2010 are we intellectually fighting about whether the world is older than 10,000 years? Do we all hold on to our set beliefs so dear that we refuse to discuss in a rational civilised manner and we shoot metaphorical (and in some case real) bullets and missiles at each other over scientific/religious beliefs?
In the Dawkins documentary that I referred to in an earlier blog, I was impressed with the discussion between Dawkins and the Archbishop of Canterbury (or someone of that ilk). They didn't agree, but there was actually a discussion between the two. Dawkins continued his questioning of comments made that didn't seem rationale to him, but his interviewee actually smiled and mused without putting up a shield and firing bullets.
I remember reading an article between Bishop Spong (the percevied to be very liberal Episcopalean Bishop in the USA) and a very conservative African Bishop. They sought to find where the common ground was between their viewpoints with respect to the very controversial issue of ordaining homosexual priests (an issue that was splitting their Church) and the differences (what they could not at all agree on). Surprisingly there was a good list of agreements - for example the value of relationships and families and the well being of people and the Church. They gave their views on where they differed as well - and why. It was one of the most "adult" public Christian discussions I had come across about such a divisive issue.
I would love to see a similar work between say Dawkins and one of his many religious critics.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Dawkins on Evolution
I am half way through a series of 3 documentaries by Richard Dawkins on Evolution. I have always enjoyed his documentaries and the passion he takes to them. In his documentries, it is interesting to watch him when talking with/observing religious fundamentalists and people involved in hoemopathy etc. He comes across as genuinely wanting people to explain why they hold their views in the face of alternatives - and evidence that opposes their view. You see his quizical - even surprised - face when views are espoused that he can't see the rationale, logic or evidence for - and he seems to shake his head not quite believing that people can hold such views.
In the documentary, there are scenes of him teaching older school students about evolution (a cameo teaching role) - his argument being that so little time or effort is put into teaching children at school about the force that has shaped our planet and all living things! Even in this scene, he appears shocked at how little they know - and how confronting a number of students found the concept. In another scene, he talks with a senior minister (Bishop) in a Church in Kenya (next to where he lived as a boy) - and again seems surprised at the atttitude of rejecting that mankind is effectively the "5th Ape". Incindently, the Bishop spoke about his perspective very well - without the usual defensive or aggressive response Dawkins often gets from religious leaders.
Interestingly, while seeing evolution as what has shaped us as a people - he does not see it is a basis - or excuse - for a dog eat dog view of society - or a justification for the strong winning over the weak. It was interesting to see how he looked at these notions in business and politics. Dawkins was actually quite swayed by Sam Harris in thinking about how the notion of how morality developed in humans as our brain capacity grew - where we could almost step outside of ourselves and think through consequences in an empathetic way and not driven just by genes survival and procreation.
Dawkins wrote a book on evolution for the everyday reader "The Greatest show on Earth - the evidence for evolution". This is a good, considered work. His last chapter is entitled "There is Grandeur in this view of life". He also has an appendix entitled "The History Deniers".
Why is evolution and our natural origins so threatening to many of those who believe in God?
In the documentary, there are scenes of him teaching older school students about evolution (a cameo teaching role) - his argument being that so little time or effort is put into teaching children at school about the force that has shaped our planet and all living things! Even in this scene, he appears shocked at how little they know - and how confronting a number of students found the concept. In another scene, he talks with a senior minister (Bishop) in a Church in Kenya (next to where he lived as a boy) - and again seems surprised at the atttitude of rejecting that mankind is effectively the "5th Ape". Incindently, the Bishop spoke about his perspective very well - without the usual defensive or aggressive response Dawkins often gets from religious leaders.
Interestingly, while seeing evolution as what has shaped us as a people - he does not see it is a basis - or excuse - for a dog eat dog view of society - or a justification for the strong winning over the weak. It was interesting to see how he looked at these notions in business and politics. Dawkins was actually quite swayed by Sam Harris in thinking about how the notion of how morality developed in humans as our brain capacity grew - where we could almost step outside of ourselves and think through consequences in an empathetic way and not driven just by genes survival and procreation.
Dawkins wrote a book on evolution for the everyday reader "The Greatest show on Earth - the evidence for evolution". This is a good, considered work. His last chapter is entitled "There is Grandeur in this view of life". He also has an appendix entitled "The History Deniers".
Why is evolution and our natural origins so threatening to many of those who believe in God?
Monday, December 20, 2010
Science versus religion - and Adam
I just read a paper I was sent called "Creation, Evolution and Christian Laypeople" by Tim Keller. It is an interesting paper as it provides an apologetics framework for pastors as they deal with questions about the Bible and science from their parishioners or seekers. Keller says "We (pastors) are to be a bridge between the world of scholarship and the world of the street and the pew." I found this interesting in the light of the historical view where priests were seen as the bridge between God and the Laity....
Anyway, Keller has some insights into the nub of the problem between science and (literal Christian) religion:
1.To accept that science and religion are not fundamentally opposed, there is a need to accept that some parts of the Bible are not literal but metaphorical - but where does it stop? And what does this do to the view of the absolute authority of the Bible? - so he argues that the writers give us clues as to how they meant their writing to be taken - and that it is a mix and in context.
2.The problem with accepting evolution as a biological process - is that then religion becomes a result of biology not from God - so he distinguishes between evolution as a biolgical process and evolution as a grand theory of everything.
3. If Adam and Eve weren't literal people, then the notion of the fall through one man and the basis for salvation becomes problematic - so he argues for scenarios of God intervening in the biological process in some way to set man apart.
4. If there was a biological evolution prior to Adam and Eve, then there was already death and suffering prior to the fall - so he argues that the "garden of eden" so to speak was set apart within this chaos - a foretaste of heaven.
While forgiving CS Lewis for seeing Adam and Eve metaphorically, Keller sees the reality of Adam as central to his Christian belief - despite a tacit acceptance of otherwise biological evolution. He quotes a writer - Kidner - as saying: "What is quite clear....in the light of other scriptures is their doctrine that mankind is a unity, created in God's image, and fallen in Adam by one act of disobedience; and these things are strongly asserted in this understanding of God's word as on any other." This appears to back up his own view.
Keller is very critical of Sam Harris (see previous blog) - because Sam Harris criticised the appointment of Francis Collins by saying..."Must we really entrust the future of biomedical research in the United States to a man who sincerely believes that a scientific understanding of human nature is impossible?"
His premise is that "we must interpret the book of nature by the book of God". And herein lies the fundamental difference between the scientific approach and such a faith approach. Science asks the questions and seeks answers which can be further tested and revised based on new knowledge. Belief in the absolute authority and accuracy of Scripture, means that you view any new information through the lense and belief system of the scriptures. It means walking on a tightrope where logic and rationality has to sometimes be suspended and common sense replaced by dogma. It results in the conflicting situation of having to marry opposing scripture and having divine intervention in otherwise bioloigical processes. Tying people in knots.
Surely truth is what even the Bible tells us "sets us free". Truth is not threatened by honest inquiry and revision as new facts come to light. Truth is not about holding on to a set of premises which prevent honest inquiry. I can't see that God would be phased at all by people honestly exploring their/His/Her world, testing, re-testing and making sense of what they find - even if it doesn't gel with what a group of people hold up to be the unassailable word of God.
Anyway, Keller has some insights into the nub of the problem between science and (literal Christian) religion:
1.To accept that science and religion are not fundamentally opposed, there is a need to accept that some parts of the Bible are not literal but metaphorical - but where does it stop? And what does this do to the view of the absolute authority of the Bible? - so he argues that the writers give us clues as to how they meant their writing to be taken - and that it is a mix and in context.
2.The problem with accepting evolution as a biological process - is that then religion becomes a result of biology not from God - so he distinguishes between evolution as a biolgical process and evolution as a grand theory of everything.
3. If Adam and Eve weren't literal people, then the notion of the fall through one man and the basis for salvation becomes problematic - so he argues for scenarios of God intervening in the biological process in some way to set man apart.
4. If there was a biological evolution prior to Adam and Eve, then there was already death and suffering prior to the fall - so he argues that the "garden of eden" so to speak was set apart within this chaos - a foretaste of heaven.
While forgiving CS Lewis for seeing Adam and Eve metaphorically, Keller sees the reality of Adam as central to his Christian belief - despite a tacit acceptance of otherwise biological evolution. He quotes a writer - Kidner - as saying: "What is quite clear....in the light of other scriptures is their doctrine that mankind is a unity, created in God's image, and fallen in Adam by one act of disobedience; and these things are strongly asserted in this understanding of God's word as on any other." This appears to back up his own view.
Keller is very critical of Sam Harris (see previous blog) - because Sam Harris criticised the appointment of Francis Collins by saying..."Must we really entrust the future of biomedical research in the United States to a man who sincerely believes that a scientific understanding of human nature is impossible?"
His premise is that "we must interpret the book of nature by the book of God". And herein lies the fundamental difference between the scientific approach and such a faith approach. Science asks the questions and seeks answers which can be further tested and revised based on new knowledge. Belief in the absolute authority and accuracy of Scripture, means that you view any new information through the lense and belief system of the scriptures. It means walking on a tightrope where logic and rationality has to sometimes be suspended and common sense replaced by dogma. It results in the conflicting situation of having to marry opposing scripture and having divine intervention in otherwise bioloigical processes. Tying people in knots.
Surely truth is what even the Bible tells us "sets us free". Truth is not threatened by honest inquiry and revision as new facts come to light. Truth is not about holding on to a set of premises which prevent honest inquiry. I can't see that God would be phased at all by people honestly exploring their/His/Her world, testing, re-testing and making sense of what they find - even if it doesn't gel with what a group of people hold up to be the unassailable word of God.
Friday, December 17, 2010
The Portsmouth Connection
Well, I have now finished my first Graham Hurley book that I referred to on an earlier blog. Set around Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight - both places I have been to and really enjoyed. I started this series of books part way through the list - so I can go backwards or forwards to explore more of the characters and subplots. Each book is a story in its own rigght - but it seems as if relationships and sub-plots cotinue between stories.
The main characters were detectives of sorts - Farady (a regulation methodical cop) and Winter (a history of breaking the rules, taking shortcuts - but getting his man). In this book, Faraday was focused on the Isle of Wight trying to solve the mystery of the headless corpse that floated onto the island - and flashes to the Bosnian war. Winter was after his own man on the mainland - who was reputed to have knocked someone off around the same time as the headless man met his end. One would have thought that this would have been the connection.... but....
During all of this, Winter was battling with a brain tumour and falling in love with a high class prostitute - Maddox (I wonder if she will be around in the next book???) Faraday - who has a deaf son making his way in the world - had his own touch of romance (his partner??? was off visiting Australia) with the grand-daughter of a Psychic (will this develop?) with links back to a WW2 possible murder.
The murder investigations were quite understated in an English sort of way - and kind of fizzled at the end. The underlying story lines of the two men (who did talk by phone and then a visit at the end of the book) was the real story - entrapping the reader into caring for both - and their muddled lives.
In reading about the later books - I saw that in one book Winter and Faraday were described as being on opposite sides (of the law?) - so I see there is more interaction between them to come - and more character development. So I can see myself downloading more Graham Hurley books onto my kindle and spending more time in South England.
The main characters were detectives of sorts - Farady (a regulation methodical cop) and Winter (a history of breaking the rules, taking shortcuts - but getting his man). In this book, Faraday was focused on the Isle of Wight trying to solve the mystery of the headless corpse that floated onto the island - and flashes to the Bosnian war. Winter was after his own man on the mainland - who was reputed to have knocked someone off around the same time as the headless man met his end. One would have thought that this would have been the connection.... but....
During all of this, Winter was battling with a brain tumour and falling in love with a high class prostitute - Maddox (I wonder if she will be around in the next book???) Faraday - who has a deaf son making his way in the world - had his own touch of romance (his partner??? was off visiting Australia) with the grand-daughter of a Psychic (will this develop?) with links back to a WW2 possible murder.
The murder investigations were quite understated in an English sort of way - and kind of fizzled at the end. The underlying story lines of the two men (who did talk by phone and then a visit at the end of the book) was the real story - entrapping the reader into caring for both - and their muddled lives.
In reading about the later books - I saw that in one book Winter and Faraday were described as being on opposite sides (of the law?) - so I see there is more interaction between them to come - and more character development. So I can see myself downloading more Graham Hurley books onto my kindle and spending more time in South England.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Jesus a message for all religions?
I have just been sent a newspaper column from a newspaper in the Sunshine Coast near Brisbane. The writer of the column was Father John Dobson - a catholic priest and Chancellor of the University of the Sunshine Coast. He starts by referring to the ancient remains of long dead civilisations and their link to the emergence of Christianity...not disconnected! He then goes on to argue that Jesus' focus was not on buildings and rituals but rather his obsession was that people love one another - being the prime avenue to God.
Fr Dobson considers it amusing - if not sad - to see Christians proclaiming loud and clear the primacy of Christianity (to other religions). He sees the claim of Christianity to be the only true religion as wrongly putting down other religions - leading to conflict and violence. His argument is that this line of thinking is claiming a monopoly and control over God - indicating that God can't act outside of their own narrow horizons. He refers to Gahndi, who, he says, loved Jesus'teachings - but couldn't stand Christians - and implores Christians to be open to the movement of God in every Sphere of creation.
Brave man in his position! But good on him - the issue being that Jesus' core message transcends religions (and non religions) - about love and relationships - not about closed rituals and separateness teaching. The theme continues that we are closer to each other than we may think - regardless of the religion that we espouse - and that Jesus has something for all - that conversion may not be about changing a creed or making a statement of belief, but committing to a life of love and positive relationships.
Fr Dobson considers it amusing - if not sad - to see Christians proclaiming loud and clear the primacy of Christianity (to other religions). He sees the claim of Christianity to be the only true religion as wrongly putting down other religions - leading to conflict and violence. His argument is that this line of thinking is claiming a monopoly and control over God - indicating that God can't act outside of their own narrow horizons. He refers to Gahndi, who, he says, loved Jesus'teachings - but couldn't stand Christians - and implores Christians to be open to the movement of God in every Sphere of creation.
Brave man in his position! But good on him - the issue being that Jesus' core message transcends religions (and non religions) - about love and relationships - not about closed rituals and separateness teaching. The theme continues that we are closer to each other than we may think - regardless of the religion that we espouse - and that Jesus has something for all - that conversion may not be about changing a creed or making a statement of belief, but committing to a life of love and positive relationships.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Buddhist Christmas Party
One friend described it as an Oxymoron - a Buddhist Chistmas party. Maybe - but going for the 3rd time in a row - and I was just as touched again by it. And it was a real Christmas party - Open to anyone (and free - without even a donation box or offering in sight); presents from Santa to all; a nativity scene (as well as the odd Buddha); a wide range of free Asian food - nicely cooked and presented and plenty of it. First course and sweets! And entertainment - secular choirs singing Christmas carols - including Silent night ; traditional and modern dance; Bahai children singing; lucky door prizes - and finishing with a Prayer for World Peace.
The banners around the venue proclaimed things like: "We are all one family"; "Have true serenity"; "Have concern for all"; "Peace starts with ourselves" - none of which you can really disagree with. Or at least I can't. There was a recognition that as people - across races, nationalities, religions - we are closer than we are different. And I found that rather nice.
Its not that I want to run off and become a Buddhist - and I know there will be strange and irrational beliefs and some inconsistencies in their teaching as with other religions - but I can't help but feel warmed by the sense of inclusive community and acceptance. It saddens me that there are so many barriers preventing that same sense of family in the Christian faith of my background. I think Jesus would have enjoyed the Buddhist Christmas party - or at least the Jesus who sometimes escapes the iron strictures that Churches build around him!
The banners around the venue proclaimed things like: "We are all one family"; "Have true serenity"; "Have concern for all"; "Peace starts with ourselves" - none of which you can really disagree with. Or at least I can't. There was a recognition that as people - across races, nationalities, religions - we are closer than we are different. And I found that rather nice.
Its not that I want to run off and become a Buddhist - and I know there will be strange and irrational beliefs and some inconsistencies in their teaching as with other religions - but I can't help but feel warmed by the sense of inclusive community and acceptance. It saddens me that there are so many barriers preventing that same sense of family in the Christian faith of my background. I think Jesus would have enjoyed the Buddhist Christmas party - or at least the Jesus who sometimes escapes the iron strictures that Churches build around him!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Mystery and Law
Well, I just had a couple of quick reads that I enjoyed - marvellous how you can so quickly download things on your kindle! Amazon must be laughing! But - it makes it hard to share and pass books on to family......
So the books. The first was by a relatively new Australian Author - Katherine Howell. Katherine has a background of working in ambulances/emergency services and the books that I have read of hers use this experience as a backdrop. Very classy writing I thought - and set around Sydney! The book I just read was called "The Darkest Hour" - and told the story of two women - an ambulance paramedic and a police officer - and was focused around a series of deaths that were related. The police officer was trying to prove herself in criminal investigation and the ambulance paramedic was trying to keep her job in the face of difficult circumstances. There were some nice sub-plots based around relationships - the paramedic and her sister (her ex being the bad guy); the paramedic and her co-worker (like/love/want/need) who had a fiance that resented her; and the paramedic and the police officer - mutual like and support. The pace was fast and well done and the story was satisfying. Nothing too deep - just a good story!
The other was "The Reversal" by Michael Connelly. Interestingly, I have never read a Michael Connelly book - although I have seen them around for ages. The characters in this book - a flawed, divorced defense lawyer (turned prosecutor for this book); his ex wife (a prosecutor); and the investigating detective have a long list of stories behind this one - and a well developed history by the author. It will be interesting to track back and see how the charaters developed over time - what were they like back in book one of the series? I found the pace a bit slow at first - and a bit too technically legal - but it hotted up and had a few twists and blind gullies and an all too quick finish and wrap up. Quite a good read in the end (although Katherine Howell kept me more firmly bound to my kindle!).
After reading these two, I was in a mood to read more good detective type yarns - but was unsure where to go. So I looked to Google to tell me what was a good read. There were blogs and lists out there - and I came up with an author I had never heard about - Graham Hurley - who had written a detective series based in Portsmouth UK (where I have visited - Nelson's ship and all) which someone recommended. So I downloaded "Blood and Honey" - not the latest as I thought that if I liked the style, I would have a couple of good books ahead in the series to read. I will write about how I found it. The first chapters are a bit of scene setting - has potential.
I continue to read Sam Harris - and more on him later.... Meanwhile, happy reading and philosophising!
So the books. The first was by a relatively new Australian Author - Katherine Howell. Katherine has a background of working in ambulances/emergency services and the books that I have read of hers use this experience as a backdrop. Very classy writing I thought - and set around Sydney! The book I just read was called "The Darkest Hour" - and told the story of two women - an ambulance paramedic and a police officer - and was focused around a series of deaths that were related. The police officer was trying to prove herself in criminal investigation and the ambulance paramedic was trying to keep her job in the face of difficult circumstances. There were some nice sub-plots based around relationships - the paramedic and her sister (her ex being the bad guy); the paramedic and her co-worker (like/love/want/need) who had a fiance that resented her; and the paramedic and the police officer - mutual like and support. The pace was fast and well done and the story was satisfying. Nothing too deep - just a good story!
The other was "The Reversal" by Michael Connelly. Interestingly, I have never read a Michael Connelly book - although I have seen them around for ages. The characters in this book - a flawed, divorced defense lawyer (turned prosecutor for this book); his ex wife (a prosecutor); and the investigating detective have a long list of stories behind this one - and a well developed history by the author. It will be interesting to track back and see how the charaters developed over time - what were they like back in book one of the series? I found the pace a bit slow at first - and a bit too technically legal - but it hotted up and had a few twists and blind gullies and an all too quick finish and wrap up. Quite a good read in the end (although Katherine Howell kept me more firmly bound to my kindle!).
After reading these two, I was in a mood to read more good detective type yarns - but was unsure where to go. So I looked to Google to tell me what was a good read. There were blogs and lists out there - and I came up with an author I had never heard about - Graham Hurley - who had written a detective series based in Portsmouth UK (where I have visited - Nelson's ship and all) which someone recommended. So I downloaded "Blood and Honey" - not the latest as I thought that if I liked the style, I would have a couple of good books ahead in the series to read. I will write about how I found it. The first chapters are a bit of scene setting - has potential.
I continue to read Sam Harris - and more on him later.... Meanwhile, happy reading and philosophising!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Help yourself to "The Help"
In between reading the "deeper philosphical books" I try to vary my reading - and often have 2 to 3 books on the go. So before finishing my "morality" book, I read "The help". It is a book about the black maids of middle class white women in the American south around the late 50s and early 60s. It views these lives through two of the maids themselves and daughter of one of the employing women. The book was written very well - got you in and kept you there - as it described the process of writing a book about..... the lives of the maids! A book about the writing of the book.
So what was it about? On the surface it was about class structure and racism - and entrenched attitudes. The author seemed to be saying how thin the line actually was between the two groups - maids and mistresses - compared to the societally constructed "reality".
To some extent we see the same between say migrant moslem women and western 'Christian' middle class Eurpean decendants in Australia. There is a political, religious and socially constructed divide - accentuated by the hijab or burkha - but maybe only a very thin line of difference in reality. How do we see past the way society conditions us to think of others?
"Born again" Christians construct a difference between themselves and others: saved/unsaved; found/lost; in the kingdom of God_light/Kingdom of satan_darkness; saved/unsaved; forgiven/unforgiven; going to heaven/going to hell etc. It is very threatening to many to consider that only a very thin line (if at all) separates them/believers from unbelievers. The constructed gulf becomes wide - emphasing what they have in Christ versus what they (and the unbelievers) would not have if they were not in Christ. [And this is similar in other religions]. It fractures the human family. Breaks the natural empathy and love that should/could flow bewteen people.
The boat people - again a political and socially constructed distinction.
So the book "the help" has a message that can help us - not to repeat the dehumanising class/ethnic/ faith distinctions that are built up and which many of us accept and embrace because it becomes a "norm" rather than something to be challenged.
So what was it about? On the surface it was about class structure and racism - and entrenched attitudes. The author seemed to be saying how thin the line actually was between the two groups - maids and mistresses - compared to the societally constructed "reality".
To some extent we see the same between say migrant moslem women and western 'Christian' middle class Eurpean decendants in Australia. There is a political, religious and socially constructed divide - accentuated by the hijab or burkha - but maybe only a very thin line of difference in reality. How do we see past the way society conditions us to think of others?
"Born again" Christians construct a difference between themselves and others: saved/unsaved; found/lost; in the kingdom of God_light/Kingdom of satan_darkness; saved/unsaved; forgiven/unforgiven; going to heaven/going to hell etc. It is very threatening to many to consider that only a very thin line (if at all) separates them/believers from unbelievers. The constructed gulf becomes wide - emphasing what they have in Christ versus what they (and the unbelievers) would not have if they were not in Christ. [And this is similar in other religions]. It fractures the human family. Breaks the natural empathy and love that should/could flow bewteen people.
The boat people - again a political and socially constructed distinction.
So the book "the help" has a message that can help us - not to repeat the dehumanising class/ethnic/ faith distinctions that are built up and which many of us accept and embrace because it becomes a "norm" rather than something to be challenged.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Free Will
Continuing with Harris's book (the moral landscape), I have now read the chapter he entitled "good and evil" in which he tackles the issue of free will and accountability - from a scientific perspective rather than a moral law perspective. He argues that "questions of human well-being run deeper than any explicit code of morality" - the latter which he asserts is a relatively very recent development. He sees a progression from genetic changes in the brain which allowed for increasingly complex interactions which became the basis for cultural norms and laws etc. He considers that "clearly, morality is shaped by cultural norms to a great degree".
Harris restated his reasons for dismissing revealed religion as a source of moral guidance namely: "there are many revealed religions....and they offer mutually incompatible doctrine; the scriptures of many religions...countenance patently unethical practices like slavery (counter to wellbeing); the faculty we use to validate religious precepts...is something we bring to scripture; and that reasons given for believing 'revealed scripture' are either risible or non-exisitent'.
In this chapter, he uses a number of scenarios and examples of how we judge good and evil and moral accountability - and points to the driving focrces that genetics, upbringing and tumors (for example) can have on the brain (outside of the indiviudal control) that can shape 'evil' behaviour. He discusses the illusion of free will - while somehow still prescribing to human responsibility and a scientific basis for acting out human values..."our sense of free well presents a compelling mystery - on the one hand it is impossible to make sense of it in casual terms - on the other hand - there is a powerful subjective sense that we are the authors of our own actions".
Of course, I am only half way through the book - so I shall see how he builds on all of this. It has been the subject of a number of articles in the New Scientists over recent years - the issue of the mind, and conciousness and free will - and all makes for fascinating discussion and implications.
on with the journey
Harris restated his reasons for dismissing revealed religion as a source of moral guidance namely: "there are many revealed religions....and they offer mutually incompatible doctrine; the scriptures of many religions...countenance patently unethical practices like slavery (counter to wellbeing); the faculty we use to validate religious precepts...is something we bring to scripture; and that reasons given for believing 'revealed scripture' are either risible or non-exisitent'.
In this chapter, he uses a number of scenarios and examples of how we judge good and evil and moral accountability - and points to the driving focrces that genetics, upbringing and tumors (for example) can have on the brain (outside of the indiviudal control) that can shape 'evil' behaviour. He discusses the illusion of free will - while somehow still prescribing to human responsibility and a scientific basis for acting out human values..."our sense of free well presents a compelling mystery - on the one hand it is impossible to make sense of it in casual terms - on the other hand - there is a powerful subjective sense that we are the authors of our own actions".
Of course, I am only half way through the book - so I shall see how he builds on all of this. It has been the subject of a number of articles in the New Scientists over recent years - the issue of the mind, and conciousness and free will - and all makes for fascinating discussion and implications.
on with the journey
Monday, November 15, 2010
What's the point?
I once said - very naively - that I "wanted to work it out before I died". And what was the "it"? Why, the meaning of life of course. I think I am coming to the sad realisation that this might be a little beyond the potential scope. If I can't then work out the "meaning of LIFE", then perhaps I might get a little glimmer at least of what 'life' has meant for me. This one conscious bit of stardust.
But really, it is about the journey and being able to reflect on it as I go along. Having started from a very conservative Christian viewpoint, I started to think (as in, think for myself rather than acepting what I had been told) and to read books that challenged Christian thinking and offered alternative perspectives of life. It is some of these that I thought I might start sharing on this blog. Its not that I have totally turned my back on my Christian history - but I do see things quite differently to what I once did - and still feel I have only started to scratch the surface on exploring this thing we call life.
The current book I am reading is "The Moral Landscape" by Sam Harris (who also wrote 'The End of Faith'). Harris' viewpoint is that for too long scientists have abdicated their responsibility in the area of morality and ethics. He argues that too many people on all sides say that science has nothing to contribute to these areas - that science can only deal in facts, and religion - or evolutionary psycology - is where the great moral and ethical issues are sorted out.
Harris builds his case around the idea that just as we have medical science around the notion of what denotes physical and psycological well being, that there is a science that needs to be built around what constitutes those morals and ethical choices that contribute to the wellbeing of people. The idea of moral science - open to testing facts and revising them as more knowledge accrues - as opposed to ancient statements that may have little to do with the wellbeing of those involved (Harris argues that if these do contribute to wellbeing it is by accident rather than design!). Or at least this is my take on it so far.
As I read more, I will describe what I am taking away from his book. I will also start looking back over books I have read over the last decade or so and how they contributed to my thinking.
But really, it is about the journey and being able to reflect on it as I go along. Having started from a very conservative Christian viewpoint, I started to think (as in, think for myself rather than acepting what I had been told) and to read books that challenged Christian thinking and offered alternative perspectives of life. It is some of these that I thought I might start sharing on this blog. Its not that I have totally turned my back on my Christian history - but I do see things quite differently to what I once did - and still feel I have only started to scratch the surface on exploring this thing we call life.
The current book I am reading is "The Moral Landscape" by Sam Harris (who also wrote 'The End of Faith'). Harris' viewpoint is that for too long scientists have abdicated their responsibility in the area of morality and ethics. He argues that too many people on all sides say that science has nothing to contribute to these areas - that science can only deal in facts, and religion - or evolutionary psycology - is where the great moral and ethical issues are sorted out.
Harris builds his case around the idea that just as we have medical science around the notion of what denotes physical and psycological well being, that there is a science that needs to be built around what constitutes those morals and ethical choices that contribute to the wellbeing of people. The idea of moral science - open to testing facts and revising them as more knowledge accrues - as opposed to ancient statements that may have little to do with the wellbeing of those involved (Harris argues that if these do contribute to wellbeing it is by accident rather than design!). Or at least this is my take on it so far.
As I read more, I will describe what I am taking away from his book. I will also start looking back over books I have read over the last decade or so and how they contributed to my thinking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)