Sicile (1954) by Nicolas de Staël:
Agrigente (1954) by Nicolas de Staël:
C. S. Lewis, dropping some truth bombs about the afterlife that might be a little too on the nose for some believers:
Talk to me about the truth of religion and I’ll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I’ll listen submissively. But don’t come talking to me about the consolations of religion or I shall suspect that you don’t understand.
Unless, of course, you can literally believe all that stuff about family reunions ‘on the further shore,’ pictured in entirely earthly terms. But that is all unscriptural, all out of bad hymns and lithographs. There’s not a word of it in the Bible. And it rings false. We know it couldn’t be like that. Reality never repeats. The exact same thing is never taken away and given back. How well the spiritualists bait their hook! ‘Things on this side are not so different after all.’ There are cigars in Heaven. For that is what we should all like. The happy past restored.
Why is it “Febreze” instead of “Febreeze”? The double “e” in the middle seems so obviously superior to me, not least because, ya know, the actual word is breeze.
Christmas has arrived at the Bowman’s
Finished reading: Little Platoons by Matt Feeney 📚
Smart analysis on how American families have given up more than they bargained for in their efforts to make themselves legible to the institutions supposedly serving their interest (esp. college admission offices). Feeney writes with wry humor and weaves some interesting philosophical sources into his sociological commentary. (Side note: He also writes really long sentences.) The key insight of the book is compelling; my only complaint is that, upon reaching the end of the book (250+ pages), I didn’t feel that we’d move that far beyond where we started. Still a worthwhile read.
Still not all of ‘em…
Jesus' death was confusing, dismaying, and inexplicable at the time of the event, and even after the resurrection there was still no small amount of fear and uncertainty about how to proceed. Despite the promises of resurrection and the appearance of the resurrected Christ to several of the disciples, Jesus’s followers remained fearful (cf. John 20:19) and rather inwardly focused (Acts 1:12-14) until the giving of the Spirit. But once the Spirit of power and revelation came upon the disciples at Pentecost, they understood the significance of all that Jesus had taught an done beforehand (cf. John 2:22). The evangelists then write their accounts with this post-Pentecost perspective and expert analysis and commentary. Because of the centrality of the death and resurrection in salvation history, the Gospel accounts are written from the perspective of this historical-theological event. Therefore, as readers we need to follow the lead of the evangelists and trace the same trajectory in our reading, interpreting all the pre-passion stories through the post-Pentecost perspective motivating the authors.