Thursday, February 19, 2009

Miscellany


Interesting "stimulus bill" item of the week: this fascinating and slightly horrifying) chart from the Washington Post. And on a related economic note: no time to read the classic Road to Serfdom by Hayek? No worries. Get the illustrated version here! I read somewhere this week a quote that said. "Milton Friedman in dead, and John Maynard Keynes is resurrected. *sigh* For a short explanation of why this is a bad thing, may I recommend Seven Men Who Rule the World from the Grave?

Interesting cultural items of the week: how about the return of indulgences? And Andy over at IVP blogs about our bad manners and inattentiveness in getting up and leaving while people are speaking. This has often astounded and disturbed me.

Interesting education items of the week: This somewhat lengthy, but fascinating narrative of the experience of a homeschooling family (pointed out by my dil Elsa- thanks!) is worth reading, though the title of the book it comes from is rather frightening. And I've been enjoying the conversation about "worldview" over at the Quiddity blog. Very thought-provoking!

And encouraging item of the week: I ran across this meditation from one of this generation's finest pastors and preachers, Dr. Glen Knecht. He was our pastor in Maryland, and maybe tomorrow I will tell about what a gracious man he is, and how I am able to stick my foot in my mouth no matter who I am talking to. But these words are very encouraging to me, as he writes about healing for our woundedness:
How much we need healing! For we have been wounded by the arrows of our enemy. Stinging words, careless words, events misinterpreted, have lodged in our souls and in our consciences and have caused us to turn away from the love affair of the heart with God. They have crippled us so we can’t dance the wedding song with our beloved Groom.

Our Divine Suitor is saying to us, Come away with Me, you are wonderful, come rejoice with Me.” And our wounds say, “I am not worthy, I am inadequate, I am dirty, I don’t matter.” The wounds within can shape the story line of our lives, rather than the wondrous love of God for us giving shape to our story.


Read the rest here.

2 comments:

Quotidian Life said...

Thanks for linking to the worldview discussion, Chris. I have been revisiting Schaeffer's _Escape from Reason_ and was only just sensing the fringes of what you and Andrew articulated in your discussion. Very interesting! I'm bookmarking it to read more carefully when time allows. Thanks! Oh, and I read part of the Piper sermon this morning too via JT's blog and commented to the my husband that it would be really nice to listen to this as a family sometime this week! Yet another bookmark!

MagistraCarminum said...

Thanks for posting, M. I always feel like I am wading in deep waters when i am chatting with the likes of A.K. and J.D. over at Quiddity. But it sure is fun and enlightening. Makes me think!