As part of my studies I have been directed to the Ship of Fools website – let me say early on – I like these guys – a lot. You and I both know there is a but coming….ready for it?
I have been asked to comment on the use of text message language used to translate the Bible, or bits of the Bible; apparently something which the Ships of Fools guys have done. I have been asked to consider how the text speak translation compares to my translation of the Bible.
My observations are as follows:
The Bibles I use attempt to translate from the Hebrew and Greek text trying as best they can to convey the full meaning of the text in its original language while maintaining readability. This is a balancing act which is never completely satisfactorily achieved by any translation.
The “text” translate takes this translation, and attempts to reduce it to its most simplified reduced form in an attempt to be “cool” and communicate with young people. In doing so, they lose not just a little of the context and meaning, but reduce it to almost complete insignificance. Even if we were to believe, which I don’t, that this reduced message, this "Bible lite", was still of value if it connected with young people, we face a further difficulty; it *doesn’t* connect with young people.
Anyone who has ever actually asked young people what they think of this kind of thing will know the reactions are far from positive. In the same way that nothing is more embarrassing to a child than a parent who attempts to use “cool” phrases or dress in teenage clothes, the same is true of middle age people attempting to adopt “text” language. Each generation creates or reclaims certain phrases and ways of communication to distinguish them from the generations that have gone before, the desire is not that others adopt this method of communication; in fact, if people do it ruins the whole point.
On a positive front it has made me think about one phrase that is in current usage “Oh My God” shorted to “OMG” as an explitive in texts. I think that a youth discussion group called OMG would be a great reclaiming of the phrase! Beyond that I am afraid I find the whole thing rather cringe worthy.
There is a middle ground. "The Street Bible” or “word on the Street” (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Word-Street-Rob-Lacey/dp/0310932254) by Rob Lacey (of blessed memory) is fantastic. It does not claim to be “The Bible”, hence Rob Lacey renamed it from "The Street Bible" to "word on the street" to avoid confusion. It is the author's own retelling of the bible in a contempary manner. It was not written initially with the plan of publication and so was written as a meditation on the texts using the terms the author felt most comfortable with, not attempting to second guess what anyone else would find “cool”. It’s a book for reading, not studying, but at the same time by using contempory languge it brings to life the richness and meaning of much of the Bible texts, and is a book I have recommended to many people – young and old – as a bedside read.
Urs as evr
da Brkn mn
Friday, 29 August 2008
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Rules, Ligaments, and Books
Perfect Parent
As a perfect parent, with a perfectly behaved child I found a conversation I had with a friend who is at bible collage today particularly funny. He complained to me about all the restrictive rules they have in place and informed me that one of them was no alcohol on site at all. He told me that he is a bit rebellious and drinks occasionally in his room with his friend.
What he had failed to realise is that the collage has done a very good job of “putting a fence around the law”. If the collage doesn’t want people to get drunk and rowdy throwing wild parties at the collage, they could create a rule that says “don’t get drunk”. This is open to a whole range of interpretations and some people would break it. Instead they have made the rule, don’t drink at all. Some people still have their act of rebellion and have the odd drink feeling pleased with themselves that they are breaking the rules, but they don’t actually break the rule the collage is really worried about. By putting up a rule in front of the rule they are worried about they create “a fence” as it’s referred to in Judaism.
It is this same method I intend to apply with my child. The rules I will set in place will be more ridge and stricter than I care about, so that when my child rebels (I know its unlikely) they can do so without doing anything to terrible.
I note that there have been some sceptics out there, some, mentioning no names, have questioned whether I will in fact be a perfect father, and whether in fact I will have a perfect child (the wife has ruled out the purchase of a baby grow that says on it “cuter than baby Jesus”). Some people – and I hesitate to even say this – say that babies often just cry! For no reason! That no matter how much you point out to them that this is in appropriate behaviour that they do so anyway. This thought has begun to concern me a little I will admit..but I am taking a firm stand. Denial is clearly the way forward.
Syndrome thingy what’s it ligaments.
For those who are following this bit of the story – and have asked questions about how the long suffering wife is coping – painfully. Nothing much more I can say on the subject.
Books for my course
I have got the first few books for my course through (I got a book grant! Wooo hooo!) and I note that one of the books, the set books, compulsory reading, was written by the tutor…now that is a clever move! A cynic (So clearly not me) might say that this was a cunning way to increase your book sales, however I am sure that the tutors book is the very best one available on the subject, how could it be less?
Yours as ever,
The perfectly broken man.
As a perfect parent, with a perfectly behaved child I found a conversation I had with a friend who is at bible collage today particularly funny. He complained to me about all the restrictive rules they have in place and informed me that one of them was no alcohol on site at all. He told me that he is a bit rebellious and drinks occasionally in his room with his friend.
What he had failed to realise is that the collage has done a very good job of “putting a fence around the law”. If the collage doesn’t want people to get drunk and rowdy throwing wild parties at the collage, they could create a rule that says “don’t get drunk”. This is open to a whole range of interpretations and some people would break it. Instead they have made the rule, don’t drink at all. Some people still have their act of rebellion and have the odd drink feeling pleased with themselves that they are breaking the rules, but they don’t actually break the rule the collage is really worried about. By putting up a rule in front of the rule they are worried about they create “a fence” as it’s referred to in Judaism.
It is this same method I intend to apply with my child. The rules I will set in place will be more ridge and stricter than I care about, so that when my child rebels (I know its unlikely) they can do so without doing anything to terrible.
I note that there have been some sceptics out there, some, mentioning no names, have questioned whether I will in fact be a perfect father, and whether in fact I will have a perfect child (the wife has ruled out the purchase of a baby grow that says on it “cuter than baby Jesus”). Some people – and I hesitate to even say this – say that babies often just cry! For no reason! That no matter how much you point out to them that this is in appropriate behaviour that they do so anyway. This thought has begun to concern me a little I will admit..but I am taking a firm stand. Denial is clearly the way forward.
Syndrome thingy what’s it ligaments.
For those who are following this bit of the story – and have asked questions about how the long suffering wife is coping – painfully. Nothing much more I can say on the subject.
Books for my course
I have got the first few books for my course through (I got a book grant! Wooo hooo!) and I note that one of the books, the set books, compulsory reading, was written by the tutor…now that is a clever move! A cynic (So clearly not me) might say that this was a cunning way to increase your book sales, however I am sure that the tutors book is the very best one available on the subject, how could it be less?
Yours as ever,
The perfectly broken man.
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Nappies, awards, comments and pain
NAPPIES
The hunt for a nappy system for a newborn is at last over …I am told by the long suffering wife that “we” have selected nappies for a newborn. "Fantastic", I thought, the power of delegation has worked wonders.
Dear friends…may I ask you…honestly now….is it just me or is the idea of a rainbow or polka-dot nappy rather disturbing? I realise I am a grumpy old man; that I am one built for complaining…but really…be fair…to see the full horror have a look at the web site: http://www.babykind.co.uk/wrapsredrap.htm
AWARDS
In other news...the very lovely Gill at http://mehimthem.blogspot.com has given me an Oscar! I am very touched, but deeply unsure of these award things. Don’t get me wrong, I love being given awards….they are fab. Being given a “kick arse” award was particuarly satisfying, but this whole "pass this onto 5 people, name the person who gave it to you" thing, makes me think that surely any award will eventually go to everyone on the net, it feels a little like a chain letter to me. It seems very rude to accept an award and not follow the instructions on it, but to refuse an award, well, that’s even ruder… So for the record…..."thank you, thank you, I would like to thank my wife, my agent, my publistist, everyone who made this possible, it’s a surprise, its wonderful to recive this recognition…but as I am camera shy, I must regretfully decline the opportunity to collect this award in person.
COMMENTS
Thank you everyone for your comments of late, and sorry I have been so bad at replying to them, I really will get on it! Sometimes I read a question I am asked and think... "oh come on, I have answered that, it's in the About Me section…READ IT." Uncharitable, I know. Sometimes I think, "I don’t want to talk about that right now…I did when I wrote about it (eg syndrome thingy) but right now I would just prefer not to." Other times I want to respond but don’t have time – I receive the email update telling me I have had a message, and telling me what someone has said on my work pc, but can not access the site till I get home to reply..other times I forget. Sure, sometimes I am just lazy and uncaring…but not always – and your comment – that one made me laugh, and touched me, and meant a lot to me. I do love recieving your comments, it flatters my ego, so please don’t stop – but don’t worry to much if I appear to be ignoring it..
That was a far longer explanation than I intended. To other things…
PAIN IN THE NECK
My back is not better. My neck hurts, as does my coccyx. I just rubbed my hand over my neck and heard a cracking sound. When I move my right arm it's like someone is setting fire crackers. On a positive note, I have had an update and it should be 5 weeks or so before I get to see a physio. I know I have gone on about this before but it makes me feel physically sick to just think about it, and I feel such a sense of blind panic that something is seriously wrong.
Sorry just needed to sit in the corner sobbing for a while, and there is no point in being in pain unless everyone else knows about it.
Yours as ever
The Broken Man
The hunt for a nappy system for a newborn is at last over …I am told by the long suffering wife that “we” have selected nappies for a newborn. "Fantastic", I thought, the power of delegation has worked wonders.
Dear friends…may I ask you…honestly now….is it just me or is the idea of a rainbow or polka-dot nappy rather disturbing? I realise I am a grumpy old man; that I am one built for complaining…but really…be fair…to see the full horror have a look at the web site: http://www.babykind.co.uk/wrapsredrap.htm
AWARDS
In other news...the very lovely Gill at http://mehimthem.blogspot.com has given me an Oscar! I am very touched, but deeply unsure of these award things. Don’t get me wrong, I love being given awards….they are fab. Being given a “kick arse” award was particuarly satisfying, but this whole "pass this onto 5 people, name the person who gave it to you" thing, makes me think that surely any award will eventually go to everyone on the net, it feels a little like a chain letter to me. It seems very rude to accept an award and not follow the instructions on it, but to refuse an award, well, that’s even ruder… So for the record…..."thank you, thank you, I would like to thank my wife, my agent, my publistist, everyone who made this possible, it’s a surprise, its wonderful to recive this recognition…but as I am camera shy, I must regretfully decline the opportunity to collect this award in person.
COMMENTS
Thank you everyone for your comments of late, and sorry I have been so bad at replying to them, I really will get on it! Sometimes I read a question I am asked and think... "oh come on, I have answered that, it's in the About Me section…READ IT." Uncharitable, I know. Sometimes I think, "I don’t want to talk about that right now…I did when I wrote about it (eg syndrome thingy) but right now I would just prefer not to." Other times I want to respond but don’t have time – I receive the email update telling me I have had a message, and telling me what someone has said on my work pc, but can not access the site till I get home to reply..other times I forget. Sure, sometimes I am just lazy and uncaring…but not always – and your comment – that one made me laugh, and touched me, and meant a lot to me. I do love recieving your comments, it flatters my ego, so please don’t stop – but don’t worry to much if I appear to be ignoring it..
That was a far longer explanation than I intended. To other things…
PAIN IN THE NECK
My back is not better. My neck hurts, as does my coccyx. I just rubbed my hand over my neck and heard a cracking sound. When I move my right arm it's like someone is setting fire crackers. On a positive note, I have had an update and it should be 5 weeks or so before I get to see a physio. I know I have gone on about this before but it makes me feel physically sick to just think about it, and I feel such a sense of blind panic that something is seriously wrong.
Sorry just needed to sit in the corner sobbing for a while, and there is no point in being in pain unless everyone else knows about it.
Yours as ever
The Broken Man
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Studying
With my new course due to start in September (BA theology) I have received information on study skills from my training provider. I think the advice provided is worth sharing in case anyone out there is thinking of doing some study, or is on a course which hasn’t provided some of the information they have given me...
"Just think what you might need to start off studying:
Paper – preferably A4 size
Ring binders for notes and handouts
Stapler or paper clips – you need to keep things together in order
Filing box of cabinet to keep all course materials
Writing implements
Markers
Shelf to hold the files and folders
Post it notes or the like"
I know! Not things most of us would have thought of. I am having to do some work readjusting my thinking to study. Paper! That hadn’t crossed my mind. Writing implements? I was intending to use my own blood, but now they have suggested writing implements I am thrown into confusion. Should I be using a ball point pen, roller ball, fountain pen, or pencils? I will have to ask my tutor which is best.
I have not the words…
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man
"Just think what you might need to start off studying:
Paper – preferably A4 size
Ring binders for notes and handouts
Stapler or paper clips – you need to keep things together in order
Filing box of cabinet to keep all course materials
Writing implements
Markers
Shelf to hold the files and folders
Post it notes or the like"
I know! Not things most of us would have thought of. I am having to do some work readjusting my thinking to study. Paper! That hadn’t crossed my mind. Writing implements? I was intending to use my own blood, but now they have suggested writing implements I am thrown into confusion. Should I be using a ball point pen, roller ball, fountain pen, or pencils? I will have to ask my tutor which is best.
I have not the words…
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man
Monday, 25 August 2008
Sins?
| Greed: | Medium | |
| Gluttony: | Medium | |
| Wrath: | Medium | |
| Sloth: | High | |
| Envy: | Very Low | |
| Lust: | High | |
| Pride: | Medium |
Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz
There may be trouble ahead..
My wife has got some pains which she thinks is an indication of some syndrom that can leae you fairly debilitated during and sometimes after pregnancy, apperently something to do with ligaments softening to much...will write more when i knw more
Saturday, 23 August 2008
Make Me A Christian..
Just read an article on the Church Times, in which the Revd Joanna Jepson who was one of the "mentors" in the programe has distance herself from it and said that she felt "gutted" by the shallow and negative way that Christianity had been represented." of the people involved in the programe she did seem to come across as better than the other mentors, and having been so critical of the programe i feel its only right that i sulate her comments on it, and her trying to back out during it.
Revd Joanna Jepson - I salute you!
Revd Joanna Jepson - I salute you!
Friday, 22 August 2008
It's all about sex
I was asked the other day about why Christians go for the "no sex before marriage" thing, so I thought I would put up something about it.
Lots of the time, people believe that Christianity is all about rules; that Christianity sets out a list of things you can’t do that are designed to make you life worse. This is a bit of a bizarre belief when you actually look at Christian teaching. Let me give an example with a child. IF I was to tell my child that it shouldn’t put it's hand in a bowl of boiling water most people would accept that this “rule” was not from a deep desire for me to be controlling, but rather from a desire not to see my child burnt.
Contraception is a fairly new thing; the way we are wired is that when we have sex we may well get someone pregnant. So, Christians say, "look, if you are saying you are ready to bring a child into the world together, then really you are saying you are ready to make a lifelong commitment to each other." IF you have sex with someone you are not ready to have a child with then actually all the emotional connections etc still happen, and if that person gets pregnant there are going to be some fairly major issues. This really isn’t rocket science.
Part of the problem however is that Christians seem to be very afraid to actually talk about sex. I saw an article not to long ago in the Church Times, that said in a survey conducted loads of Christians said that using sex toys was fine, but none were prepared to say it openly. For the record, I really see no problem with sex toys at all. None. If people want to use toys to enhance their time in bed, on the sofa, on the living room floor – then why not? I believe we are made to enjoy sex, and I really don’t see why some people have such an issue with toys – however if anyone has a sensible reason why they are a problem then please do let me know...
That’s it. Nothing too interesting today – but I am still in pain. Other people's pain is the most boring type. My sister-in-law, when she has tooth ache or some such ailment, will inform me every few minutes that it still hurts...there is nothing I can do about it – I have done the “oh dear” thing – and I know you can’t help me but I do feel a compulsion to make sure that other people here me say “oh, that smarts” if for no other reason than in suffering the irritation of me going on about it you will be sharing a bit of my pain.
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man
Lots of the time, people believe that Christianity is all about rules; that Christianity sets out a list of things you can’t do that are designed to make you life worse. This is a bit of a bizarre belief when you actually look at Christian teaching. Let me give an example with a child. IF I was to tell my child that it shouldn’t put it's hand in a bowl of boiling water most people would accept that this “rule” was not from a deep desire for me to be controlling, but rather from a desire not to see my child burnt.
Contraception is a fairly new thing; the way we are wired is that when we have sex we may well get someone pregnant. So, Christians say, "look, if you are saying you are ready to bring a child into the world together, then really you are saying you are ready to make a lifelong commitment to each other." IF you have sex with someone you are not ready to have a child with then actually all the emotional connections etc still happen, and if that person gets pregnant there are going to be some fairly major issues. This really isn’t rocket science.
Part of the problem however is that Christians seem to be very afraid to actually talk about sex. I saw an article not to long ago in the Church Times, that said in a survey conducted loads of Christians said that using sex toys was fine, but none were prepared to say it openly. For the record, I really see no problem with sex toys at all. None. If people want to use toys to enhance their time in bed, on the sofa, on the living room floor – then why not? I believe we are made to enjoy sex, and I really don’t see why some people have such an issue with toys – however if anyone has a sensible reason why they are a problem then please do let me know...
That’s it. Nothing too interesting today – but I am still in pain. Other people's pain is the most boring type. My sister-in-law, when she has tooth ache or some such ailment, will inform me every few minutes that it still hurts...there is nothing I can do about it – I have done the “oh dear” thing – and I know you can’t help me but I do feel a compulsion to make sure that other people here me say “oh, that smarts” if for no other reason than in suffering the irritation of me going on about it you will be sharing a bit of my pain.
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man
Thursday, 21 August 2008
I know you dont care...but
Having a bad back one should not try moving boxes, particually heavy ones.
Sitting hurts right now, as does standing, so i am going to go back to laying down.
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man
Sitting hurts right now, as does standing, so i am going to go back to laying down.
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
I Don't Care
As a priest-to-be, it is generally accepted that I should care. It's not just the big things, but the little day-to-day things that as a priest (well, okay, as a person) I am meant to care about. Things like where someone went on holiday, and how impressed they were by a concert they went to. It's these little details that make up the tapestry of people's lives.
Of all the people that I should want these details from, I am sure that my wife should be top of the list. Yet, when she gets home from the supermarket and tells me that she had a bit of a funny incident with someone charging her the wrong amount and trying to explain to the person what the problem was, and the person not understanding, and being sent to customer service (come on, please; be honest, you don’t care either)...i just lose the will to live. Dear reader, believe me, I try to care. I ask what people did at the weekend...I make the small talk, but when it comes down to it...I am really not interested. I realise that this makes me a bad person; that the rest of the world is probably deeply concerned about these hundreds of details that make up our humanity, but, for me, its all acting.
I have learnt to pretend to care about these things; sometimes I manage it, sometimes I am convincing (Wow! A new puppy! That is exciting! Are you going to take it to obedience school? It really is cute isn’t it..) other times I can hardly muster up the will to smile.
Sometimes I wonder if everyone is pretending, playing along, following the rules and trying to show an interest, and as such, it makes me very uninclined to to tell people about my life. This seems to make blogging a bit ridiculious; if I don’t care about what anyone else has to say then why should they care about what I have to say? Even as I write that sentence I realise it's not that simple. You see, sometimes reading other people's blogs I laugh out loud, or I find something incredibly touching, or I learn something. All of these things interest me. What someone brought at the supermarket (unless its funny)…well…I don’t care…does anyone? Are you all acting and just doing it better than me, or have I got the bit of me that creates an ability for interest in such things missing?
Of all the people that I should want these details from, I am sure that my wife should be top of the list. Yet, when she gets home from the supermarket and tells me that she had a bit of a funny incident with someone charging her the wrong amount and trying to explain to the person what the problem was, and the person not understanding, and being sent to customer service (come on, please; be honest, you don’t care either)...i just lose the will to live. Dear reader, believe me, I try to care. I ask what people did at the weekend...I make the small talk, but when it comes down to it...I am really not interested. I realise that this makes me a bad person; that the rest of the world is probably deeply concerned about these hundreds of details that make up our humanity, but, for me, its all acting.
I have learnt to pretend to care about these things; sometimes I manage it, sometimes I am convincing (Wow! A new puppy! That is exciting! Are you going to take it to obedience school? It really is cute isn’t it..) other times I can hardly muster up the will to smile.
Sometimes I wonder if everyone is pretending, playing along, following the rules and trying to show an interest, and as such, it makes me very uninclined to to tell people about my life. This seems to make blogging a bit ridiculious; if I don’t care about what anyone else has to say then why should they care about what I have to say? Even as I write that sentence I realise it's not that simple. You see, sometimes reading other people's blogs I laugh out loud, or I find something incredibly touching, or I learn something. All of these things interest me. What someone brought at the supermarket (unless its funny)…well…I don’t care…does anyone? Are you all acting and just doing it better than me, or have I got the bit of me that creates an ability for interest in such things missing?
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Frequently & Infrequently Asked Questions
There are some questions which I am asked on a fairly regular basis, and often the answers are buried in other posts. My apologies if you have been reading for some time and all ready know the information below, but I thought it would be worth doing a recap for those who are new here. I will put a link up to this post in the “about me” section so new people can find this post if they so desire! If there are other regular questions that come up I will add the answers to this post .
Why do you call yourself the Broken Man?
Depending on the day I have a different answer:
I am a Broken Man because of the experiences I have gone through. My parents divorced when I was 9, my father died when I was 16, my older brother died of a heroin overdoes, and I am on my second marriage. All of this has contributed, and much more beside.
I am the Broken Man, because I am broke; I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go.
I am the Broken man, because my body aches; I dropped a TV on my head and things haven't been right since.
I am a broken man because, to quote Morrissey, "the things I have seen could turn a good man bad". And I never was much of a good man.
I am a broken man because I suffer from depression. I have up days, and down days. On down days I want to drive my car into a brick wall and it feels like nothing will ever be okay.
I am the Broken Man, because I have spent a long time living in the dark – however – in the darkness I have found a light, a voice in the deafening silence, that calls to me, and a God who works through my brokenness, and holds the pieces together.
How did I find your blog?
When I am bored I start trawling through blogs, and it seems very rude to me to go into someone’s house without at least saying "hello". Hence, I left you a comment. I found you by putting key words into a blog search, or by following a comment you posted somewhere else, or by finding you on a blog roll of someone else, but I have a very bad memory and it is very unlikely I will now remember which route I took to your blog.
When is the baby due?
December. The wife and I are not too convinced about hospital predicted due dates – for first babies the studies we have looked at suggest that 42 weeks is more normal than 40, and when you tell people your due date they start asking lots of questions near the due date, like – "is it here yet?" So I prefer to just say “December”.
What branch of Christianity are you going to be a priest in?
I am training for ordination in the Church of England, which is an Anglican Church. I describe myself as a Christian (when I must), but rarely by denomination, as I tend to think denomination isn’t that important. Having said that, I like the way that theology is “done” in the Anglican church and hence this is where I am.
Why are you anonymous – how anonymous are you?
By being anonymous I feel I can say things I couldn’t if I wasn’t. For example – I can be rude about my church without offending anyone. I realise I am not incredibly anonymous and it would be very easy for someone with a burning desire to find out who I am to identify me, but I would prefer it this blog isn’t the first thing that someone finds if they put my name into Google.
How did you become a Christian?
This is a question I tend to avoid, as in honesty it’s a long and complex story, involving, much like the people of Israel in the Hebrew Bible account, following God for a while, and then falling away, before returning a little later. There is not a clear break where I can give you a date on which I became a Christian, rather there were many times when I made commitments which I then fell away from. The primary place that got me interested though was a youth discussion group which I attended with the express intention of disproving the existence of God. The thing that turned me off Christianity the most was those Christians who said that there were some things you shouldn’t ask questions about and just had to accept. The thing that impressed me the most was Christians who, no matter how much they disapproved of my life style, continued to care about me, and wanted me as their friend.
Where are you studying?
I am currently studying a Masters Degree in Jewish-Christian relations at the Wolfe Institute, Cambridge. My studies for ordination are taking the form of the first year of a degree course at a local theological collage, followed (probably) by a transfer to the Masters Degree in the second year of training. I am training part-time due to the financial constraints on me, but prefer not to name the place I am studying for Ordination with so that I am free to whine about the course if I want to!
Why do you call yourself the Broken Man?
Depending on the day I have a different answer:
I am a Broken Man because of the experiences I have gone through. My parents divorced when I was 9, my father died when I was 16, my older brother died of a heroin overdoes, and I am on my second marriage. All of this has contributed, and much more beside.
I am the Broken Man, because I am broke; I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go.
I am the Broken man, because my body aches; I dropped a TV on my head and things haven't been right since.
I am a broken man because, to quote Morrissey, "the things I have seen could turn a good man bad". And I never was much of a good man.
I am a broken man because I suffer from depression. I have up days, and down days. On down days I want to drive my car into a brick wall and it feels like nothing will ever be okay.
I am the Broken Man, because I have spent a long time living in the dark – however – in the darkness I have found a light, a voice in the deafening silence, that calls to me, and a God who works through my brokenness, and holds the pieces together.
How did I find your blog?
When I am bored I start trawling through blogs, and it seems very rude to me to go into someone’s house without at least saying "hello". Hence, I left you a comment. I found you by putting key words into a blog search, or by following a comment you posted somewhere else, or by finding you on a blog roll of someone else, but I have a very bad memory and it is very unlikely I will now remember which route I took to your blog.
When is the baby due?
December. The wife and I are not too convinced about hospital predicted due dates – for first babies the studies we have looked at suggest that 42 weeks is more normal than 40, and when you tell people your due date they start asking lots of questions near the due date, like – "is it here yet?" So I prefer to just say “December”.
What branch of Christianity are you going to be a priest in?
I am training for ordination in the Church of England, which is an Anglican Church. I describe myself as a Christian (when I must), but rarely by denomination, as I tend to think denomination isn’t that important. Having said that, I like the way that theology is “done” in the Anglican church and hence this is where I am.
Why are you anonymous – how anonymous are you?
By being anonymous I feel I can say things I couldn’t if I wasn’t. For example – I can be rude about my church without offending anyone. I realise I am not incredibly anonymous and it would be very easy for someone with a burning desire to find out who I am to identify me, but I would prefer it this blog isn’t the first thing that someone finds if they put my name into Google.
How did you become a Christian?
This is a question I tend to avoid, as in honesty it’s a long and complex story, involving, much like the people of Israel in the Hebrew Bible account, following God for a while, and then falling away, before returning a little later. There is not a clear break where I can give you a date on which I became a Christian, rather there were many times when I made commitments which I then fell away from. The primary place that got me interested though was a youth discussion group which I attended with the express intention of disproving the existence of God. The thing that turned me off Christianity the most was those Christians who said that there were some things you shouldn’t ask questions about and just had to accept. The thing that impressed me the most was Christians who, no matter how much they disapproved of my life style, continued to care about me, and wanted me as their friend.
Where are you studying?
I am currently studying a Masters Degree in Jewish-Christian relations at the Wolfe Institute, Cambridge. My studies for ordination are taking the form of the first year of a degree course at a local theological collage, followed (probably) by a transfer to the Masters Degree in the second year of training. I am training part-time due to the financial constraints on me, but prefer not to name the place I am studying for Ordination with so that I am free to whine about the course if I want to!
Monday, 18 August 2008
Make Me a Christian - Part 2
I know I shouldn't have watched the second part of this show, I should have resisted temptation...but i couldn't...and I am now ready to go out with a baseball bat and beat the makers to death - in love.
For example - a couple who are living together, with the lass pregnant - the recommendation? Or rather instruction. Sleep in diffrent rooms. I am sorry, but surely a better approach would be to say "wow, you are having a child together, you are living together, you have a relationship which is a committed one, and we would really encourage you to get married, to have that relationship publically recognised and celebrated, to make vows publically in front of God and your friends."
One the guys is a biker; a full-spirited, over-flowing with humour, deeply enquiring biker. Instead of answering his questions and celebrating them, the response is to try to ram things down his throat. One of the other guys on the programe is a Muslim who is "trying Christianity". He invited the Biker to join him in prayer, which he did happily, as the offer was made with love, with care and with concern.
The response by the preacher was to be really cross that the guy had introduced "Islam" to the group, not to feel what he should have, which is deeply ashamed of himself that he had failed to engage with the biker, or offer him a chance to communicate with God in a way that is meaningful.
I am going to stop writing now...as it's still on and the more I hear, the angrier I get... and I can't tear myself away...and the more I watch the more I want to hunt down the people responsible..GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Yours,
Angry, Raving, Broken Man
For example - a couple who are living together, with the lass pregnant - the recommendation? Or rather instruction. Sleep in diffrent rooms. I am sorry, but surely a better approach would be to say "wow, you are having a child together, you are living together, you have a relationship which is a committed one, and we would really encourage you to get married, to have that relationship publically recognised and celebrated, to make vows publically in front of God and your friends."
One the guys is a biker; a full-spirited, over-flowing with humour, deeply enquiring biker. Instead of answering his questions and celebrating them, the response is to try to ram things down his throat. One of the other guys on the programe is a Muslim who is "trying Christianity". He invited the Biker to join him in prayer, which he did happily, as the offer was made with love, with care and with concern.
The response by the preacher was to be really cross that the guy had introduced "Islam" to the group, not to feel what he should have, which is deeply ashamed of himself that he had failed to engage with the biker, or offer him a chance to communicate with God in a way that is meaningful.
I am going to stop writing now...as it's still on and the more I hear, the angrier I get... and I can't tear myself away...and the more I watch the more I want to hunt down the people responsible..GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Yours,
Angry, Raving, Broken Man
Make Me A Christian
A new “reality” tv show has just started in the UK, called “Make Me a Christian”.
The premises of the show is that a group of people interested in finding out more about the Christian faith spend three weeks “living like Christians” under the guidance of three mentors headed up by the Rev George Hargreaves.
This sounds brilliant; it sounds like the type of programme I would really like to be involved in.
Before it was on I started to think about how I would approach it. What would be my starting point in showing people what its like to live as a Christian?
Fairly early on, I think I would include a trip to an interactive prayer room with bits of paper on the wall for people to draw on, with sand pits, with water; lots of interactive prayer activities.
I would start off by talking with the group about the way we communicate with God and that there is no single way to do this, but that if we want to get to know God, if we want to find out about life as a Christian, our starting point must be communication as we have a God who wants desperately to communicate with us, who knows us inside out and loves and cares for us.
I would make sure there were chances for the group to study the Bible in the round, to discuss and debate and ask their questions, and I would make sure that the people I had as speakers were people who brought the Bible to life; who spoke with excitement and passion and love.
This programme's starting point was to go into the participants' houses and tell them all the things that they couldn’t have in their lives whilst trying to live as Christians; that they needed to clear out the rubbish. The Christianity they are preaching is the God of “YOU SHALL NOT” and that includes questioning.
Its not a God I know.
I believe in a God who invites us into the ring and tells us that its okay to try wrestling; I believe in a God who says "come on, give me your best shot, I can take it! If you are angry with me, shout at me, if you don’t believe in me, tell me, if you think the world is turning to rot, if you are hurting, if you are broken, then come on, give it all to me. I can take it. I love you."
This show – this piece of TV – seems to preach and teach a God which I wouldn’t want to know, and this fills me with an overwhelming desire to beat the “mentors” with sticks. The only thing that restrains me from hunting them down, is that I know they would see this as persecution for their faith and so clear evidence that they are doing the right thing and the devil is afraid of them. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man
The premises of the show is that a group of people interested in finding out more about the Christian faith spend three weeks “living like Christians” under the guidance of three mentors headed up by the Rev George Hargreaves.
This sounds brilliant; it sounds like the type of programme I would really like to be involved in.
Before it was on I started to think about how I would approach it. What would be my starting point in showing people what its like to live as a Christian?
Fairly early on, I think I would include a trip to an interactive prayer room with bits of paper on the wall for people to draw on, with sand pits, with water; lots of interactive prayer activities.
I would start off by talking with the group about the way we communicate with God and that there is no single way to do this, but that if we want to get to know God, if we want to find out about life as a Christian, our starting point must be communication as we have a God who wants desperately to communicate with us, who knows us inside out and loves and cares for us.
I would make sure there were chances for the group to study the Bible in the round, to discuss and debate and ask their questions, and I would make sure that the people I had as speakers were people who brought the Bible to life; who spoke with excitement and passion and love.
This programme's starting point was to go into the participants' houses and tell them all the things that they couldn’t have in their lives whilst trying to live as Christians; that they needed to clear out the rubbish. The Christianity they are preaching is the God of “YOU SHALL NOT” and that includes questioning.
Its not a God I know.
I believe in a God who invites us into the ring and tells us that its okay to try wrestling; I believe in a God who says "come on, give me your best shot, I can take it! If you are angry with me, shout at me, if you don’t believe in me, tell me, if you think the world is turning to rot, if you are hurting, if you are broken, then come on, give it all to me. I can take it. I love you."
This show – this piece of TV – seems to preach and teach a God which I wouldn’t want to know, and this fills me with an overwhelming desire to beat the “mentors” with sticks. The only thing that restrains me from hunting them down, is that I know they would see this as persecution for their faith and so clear evidence that they are doing the right thing and the devil is afraid of them. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man
Friday, 15 August 2008
If Music be the food of love – then fight on
There is some evidence to say the babies pick up on sounds in the womb; that at this stage of development if for example you where to read a book to an unborn chuld and to do so repeatedly, when born, the baby would suckle more vigorously if they heard the story being read to them. This means that, to my mind, we are now in a prime time for the indoctrination of music tastes. So, when I am going to sleep of an evening; plugged into my ipod and listning to a lecture or some music, I have taken to placing one ear piece of my music player in the palm of my hand and wrapping my arm around the long suffering wife's bump. Okay, "ridiculous", I hear you say – "the baby won't really pick up on these things" – but I figure its worth a try.
This was not something that me and the wife have discussed, until that is last night – when she noticed. After the “What on earth are you doing?” came the discussion about whether I *really* felt that my unborn baby needed to be listening to the Yale lecture series with me – followed by the – "oh you have to be kidding, you think you are going to get to secretly influence the music tastes of our baby"…so the wife is busy trying to work out how to use i-tunes so she can insure she has a compilation CD of her music to play during the day when she is beyond my reach and influence. The battle of the bands has begun…
This was not something that me and the wife have discussed, until that is last night – when she noticed. After the “What on earth are you doing?” came the discussion about whether I *really* felt that my unborn baby needed to be listening to the Yale lecture series with me – followed by the – "oh you have to be kidding, you think you are going to get to secretly influence the music tastes of our baby"…so the wife is busy trying to work out how to use i-tunes so she can insure she has a compilation CD of her music to play during the day when she is beyond my reach and influence. The battle of the bands has begun…
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Pain in the neck
About six months ago I dropped a TV on my head.
I realise that this sounds a little unlikely, so let me explain. I have a very big TV which a friend gave me, and which sits on a stand on wheels. To move this TV backwards, I got onto all fours and pushed the stand. In doing so, the TV toppled and fell on my head, neck and back. This resulted in me letting out, not a loud expletive, but rather, a whimper as I crumpled to the floor. I visited our small local hospital, which said that I needed an x-ray and should go to my doctor. I went to my doctor who said that they don’t like doing x-rays on necks; I should take some pain killers and see how it got on. I was in so much pain that I was off work for a few weeks. I then went back to the doctor who said "yes, it would still hurt. Give it time and it would be fine." That was, as I say, six months ago.
My neck still hurts. Rather a lot, really. A constant pain which results in me taking pain killers most days. Feeling that six months is long enough to wait, I booked up another appointment with the doctor, and was whinging at my long-suffering wife about the incompetence of the original doctors for not having X-rayed me, and that if it was broken and has fused wrongly now there will be nothing we can do about it. My wife replied, “that’s what’s compensation is for – if it was damaged and they didn’t pick up on it you would get compensation and you could get it fixed privately.”
I am not a fan of the compensation culture at all. However, when confronted with the possibility of money, it got me thinking. If I suddenly had a compensation pay out (and, no, I won't get one as I wouldn’t pursue it and am not a fan of such things) would I spend it on an operation or getting myself out of debt so I can be a vicar? For me, its no contest. I would happily live with the pain. Okay, okay, I know that’s not the choice I have in front of me, but in going through that bit of mental/physical arithmetic, the pain in my neck doesn’t seem like such a big deal after all – I have far better things to panic about.
So I arrived at the Doctors last night to be told they still don’t think an x-ray is needed and that what I need to do is to see a physiotherapist. There is, however, a very long waiting list. This is one of the things we have come to accept with the NHS, and we don’t tend to worry about a bit of a wait. The reason that on *this* occasion it is so frustrating, is that my company provides health insurance. The health insurance provides private cover for any treatment you need to wait more than 6 weeks for. "Well, brilliant", I hear you cry..."you just phone up the company insurance and its all sorted"... well, no. You see, while the health insurance is provided as a work benefit, the government looks at this and says, "right, we'd better charge you some tax on this", and so by having the company insurance you pay an extra £50 tax a year. In an attempt to sort out the finance last month, I went through everything we spend with a fine tooth comb, and cancelled my health insurance so that I would save that £50.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Yours, very probably (but with out X-rays we can’t be sure)
The Broken Man
I realise that this sounds a little unlikely, so let me explain. I have a very big TV which a friend gave me, and which sits on a stand on wheels. To move this TV backwards, I got onto all fours and pushed the stand. In doing so, the TV toppled and fell on my head, neck and back. This resulted in me letting out, not a loud expletive, but rather, a whimper as I crumpled to the floor. I visited our small local hospital, which said that I needed an x-ray and should go to my doctor. I went to my doctor who said that they don’t like doing x-rays on necks; I should take some pain killers and see how it got on. I was in so much pain that I was off work for a few weeks. I then went back to the doctor who said "yes, it would still hurt. Give it time and it would be fine." That was, as I say, six months ago.
My neck still hurts. Rather a lot, really. A constant pain which results in me taking pain killers most days. Feeling that six months is long enough to wait, I booked up another appointment with the doctor, and was whinging at my long-suffering wife about the incompetence of the original doctors for not having X-rayed me, and that if it was broken and has fused wrongly now there will be nothing we can do about it. My wife replied, “that’s what’s compensation is for – if it was damaged and they didn’t pick up on it you would get compensation and you could get it fixed privately.”
I am not a fan of the compensation culture at all. However, when confronted with the possibility of money, it got me thinking. If I suddenly had a compensation pay out (and, no, I won't get one as I wouldn’t pursue it and am not a fan of such things) would I spend it on an operation or getting myself out of debt so I can be a vicar? For me, its no contest. I would happily live with the pain. Okay, okay, I know that’s not the choice I have in front of me, but in going through that bit of mental/physical arithmetic, the pain in my neck doesn’t seem like such a big deal after all – I have far better things to panic about.
So I arrived at the Doctors last night to be told they still don’t think an x-ray is needed and that what I need to do is to see a physiotherapist. There is, however, a very long waiting list. This is one of the things we have come to accept with the NHS, and we don’t tend to worry about a bit of a wait. The reason that on *this* occasion it is so frustrating, is that my company provides health insurance. The health insurance provides private cover for any treatment you need to wait more than 6 weeks for. "Well, brilliant", I hear you cry..."you just phone up the company insurance and its all sorted"... well, no. You see, while the health insurance is provided as a work benefit, the government looks at this and says, "right, we'd better charge you some tax on this", and so by having the company insurance you pay an extra £50 tax a year. In an attempt to sort out the finance last month, I went through everything we spend with a fine tooth comb, and cancelled my health insurance so that I would save that £50.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Yours, very probably (but with out X-rays we can’t be sure)
The Broken Man
100 Books
I saw this idea on a blog earlier..sorry cant remember which..basically their is a list of 100 of the best books ever written according to someone or other - the Gaurdian newspaper i think, and you put in bold the ones you have read, and bold and italics the ones which you think are really good. So here goes..with notes...
1. Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes I enjoyed it but didnt find it outstanding and not sure it would be top of my list!
2. Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan - I started it but in honesty couldnt get on with it
3. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe Watching a TV adaptation doesnt count right?
4. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift I am the proud owner of a very early copy of this in old english and all!! Love the book - and oh so rude!
5. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding long time ago cant remember it really
6. Clarissa Samuel
7. Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne no but was an extra in the terrable film adaptation
8. Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos De Laclos.
9. Emma by Jane Austin yes as i felt i had to but didnt particually enjoy reading it.
10. Frankenstein Mary Shelley
11. Nightmare Abbey Thomas Love
12. The Black Sheep Honore De Balzac
13. The Charterhouse of Parma
14. The Count of Monte Cristo Fantastic!
15. Sybil Benjamin Disraeli
16. David Copperfield by Charles Dickins loved it
17. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - havent read it on principle - not sure what principle..
18. Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
19. Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray
20. The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne
21. Moby-Dick Herman Melville' - read it after watching heathers!
22. Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert
23. The Woman in White Wilkie Collins
24. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland Lewis Carroll was obsessed with this for sometime..
25. Little Women Louisa M. Alcott Victorian
26. The Way We Live Now Anthony
27. Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
28. Daniel Deronda George Eliot
29. The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky
30. The Portrait of a Lady Henry James
31. Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain - loved this as a child
32. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson - watched it never read it! shame on me.
33. Three Men in a Boat Jerome K. Jerome - hysterical
34. The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar - in my list of top ten books!
35. The Diary of a Nobody George Grossmith
36. Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy
37. The Riddle of the Sands Erskine Childer
38. The Call of the Wild Jack
39. Nostromo Joseph Conrad
40. The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame
41. In Search of Lost Time Marcel
42. The Rainbow D. H. Lawrence
43. The Good Soldier Ford Madox
44. The Thirty-Nine Steps John Buchan
45. Ulysses James Joyce
46. Mrs Dalloway Virginia Woolf
47. A Passage to India E. M. Forster - good but prefer room with a view
48. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
49. The Trial Franz Kafka
50. Men Without Women Ernest Hemingway prefered old man of the sea..i think thats what it was called
51. Journey to the End of the Night Louis-Ferdinand Celine
52. As I Lay Dying William
53. Brave New World Aldous Huxley - was very into this as a teenager - well all Huxley stuff
54. Scoop Evelyn Waugh 55. USA John Dos Passos
56. The Big Sleep Raymond Chandler
57. The Pursuit Of Love Nancy Mitford
58. The Plague Albert Camus
59. Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell wrote an essay at school on it
60. Malone Dies Samuel Beckett
61. Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger - Hated it! couldnt see the appeal!
62. Wise Blood Flannery
63. Charlotte's Web E. B. White
64. The Lord Of The Rings J. R. R. Tolkien
65. Lucky Jim Kingsley Amis
66. Lord of the Flies William Golding
67. The Quiet American Graham Greene
68 On the Road Jack Kerouac T
69. Lolita Vladimir Nabokov Humbert
70. The Tin Drum Gunter Grass .
71. Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe Nigeria
72. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Muriel Spark
73. To Kill A Mockingbird Harper LeeScout
74. Catch-22 Joseph Heller - one of my favorite books
75. Herzog Saul Bellow
76. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia - increadble! love it
77. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont Elizabeth Taylor
78. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy John Le Carre
79. Song of Solomon Toni Morrison
80. The Bottle Factory Outing Beryl Bainbridge
81. The Executioner's Song Norman Mailer
82. If on a Winter's Night a Traveller Italo - i have it on my shelf but havent read it yet
83. A Bend in the River V. S. Naipaul
84. Waiting for the Barbarians J.M. Coetzee
85. Housekeeping Marilynne
86. Lanark Alasdair GraySeething vision of Glasgow
87. The New York Trilogy Paul Auster
88. The BFG Roald Dahl - I remember my father reading me this - i think - I read it as an adult and loved it
89. The Periodic Table Primo Levi
90. Money Martin Amis
91. An Artist of the Floating World Kazuo Ishiguro
92. Oscar And Lucinda Peter
93. The Book of Laughter and Forgetting Milan Kundera read it but didnt like it 94. Haroun and the Sea af Stories Salman Rushdie
95. La Confidential James Ellroy
96. Wise Children Angela Carter
97. Atonement Ian McEwan
98. Northern Lights Philip Pullman
99. American Pastoral Philip Roth
100. Austerlitz W. G. Sebald
1. Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes I enjoyed it but didnt find it outstanding and not sure it would be top of my list!
2. Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan - I started it but in honesty couldnt get on with it
3. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe Watching a TV adaptation doesnt count right?
4. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift I am the proud owner of a very early copy of this in old english and all!! Love the book - and oh so rude!
5. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding long time ago cant remember it really
6. Clarissa Samuel
7. Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne no but was an extra in the terrable film adaptation
8. Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos De Laclos.
9. Emma by Jane Austin yes as i felt i had to but didnt particually enjoy reading it.
10. Frankenstein Mary Shelley
11. Nightmare Abbey Thomas Love
12. The Black Sheep Honore De Balzac
13. The Charterhouse of Parma
14. The Count of Monte Cristo Fantastic!
15. Sybil Benjamin Disraeli
16. David Copperfield by Charles Dickins loved it
17. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - havent read it on principle - not sure what principle..
18. Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
19. Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray
20. The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne
21. Moby-Dick Herman Melville' - read it after watching heathers!
22. Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert
23. The Woman in White Wilkie Collins
24. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland Lewis Carroll was obsessed with this for sometime..
25. Little Women Louisa M. Alcott Victorian
26. The Way We Live Now Anthony
27. Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
28. Daniel Deronda George Eliot
29. The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky
30. The Portrait of a Lady Henry James
31. Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain - loved this as a child
32. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson - watched it never read it! shame on me.
33. Three Men in a Boat Jerome K. Jerome - hysterical
34. The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar - in my list of top ten books!
35. The Diary of a Nobody George Grossmith
36. Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy
37. The Riddle of the Sands Erskine Childer
38. The Call of the Wild Jack
39. Nostromo Joseph Conrad
40. The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame
41. In Search of Lost Time Marcel
42. The Rainbow D. H. Lawrence
43. The Good Soldier Ford Madox
44. The Thirty-Nine Steps John Buchan
45. Ulysses James Joyce
46. Mrs Dalloway Virginia Woolf
47. A Passage to India E. M. Forster - good but prefer room with a view
48. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
49. The Trial Franz Kafka
50. Men Without Women Ernest Hemingway prefered old man of the sea..i think thats what it was called
51. Journey to the End of the Night Louis-Ferdinand Celine
52. As I Lay Dying William
53. Brave New World Aldous Huxley - was very into this as a teenager - well all Huxley stuff
54. Scoop Evelyn Waugh 55. USA John Dos Passos
56. The Big Sleep Raymond Chandler
57. The Pursuit Of Love Nancy Mitford
58. The Plague Albert Camus
59. Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell wrote an essay at school on it
60. Malone Dies Samuel Beckett
61. Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger - Hated it! couldnt see the appeal!
62. Wise Blood Flannery
63. Charlotte's Web E. B. White
64. The Lord Of The Rings J. R. R. Tolkien
65. Lucky Jim Kingsley Amis
66. Lord of the Flies William Golding
67. The Quiet American Graham Greene
68 On the Road Jack Kerouac T
69. Lolita Vladimir Nabokov Humbert
70. The Tin Drum Gunter Grass .
71. Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe Nigeria
72. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Muriel Spark
73. To Kill A Mockingbird Harper LeeScout
74. Catch-22 Joseph Heller - one of my favorite books
75. Herzog Saul Bellow
76. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia - increadble! love it
77. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont Elizabeth Taylor
78. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy John Le Carre
79. Song of Solomon Toni Morrison
80. The Bottle Factory Outing Beryl Bainbridge
81. The Executioner's Song Norman Mailer
82. If on a Winter's Night a Traveller Italo - i have it on my shelf but havent read it yet
83. A Bend in the River V. S. Naipaul
84. Waiting for the Barbarians J.M. Coetzee
85. Housekeeping Marilynne
86. Lanark Alasdair GraySeething vision of Glasgow
87. The New York Trilogy Paul Auster
88. The BFG Roald Dahl - I remember my father reading me this - i think - I read it as an adult and loved it
89. The Periodic Table Primo Levi
90. Money Martin Amis
91. An Artist of the Floating World Kazuo Ishiguro
92. Oscar And Lucinda Peter
93. The Book of Laughter and Forgetting Milan Kundera read it but didnt like it 94. Haroun and the Sea af Stories Salman Rushdie
95. La Confidential James Ellroy
96. Wise Children Angela Carter
97. Atonement Ian McEwan
98. Northern Lights Philip Pullman
99. American Pastoral Philip Roth
100. Austerlitz W. G. Sebald
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Mummy & Daddy
My father used to be very keen that we called him "Daddy", which I felt was very childish, and didn’t want to do. He got very cross if we called him "Dad". He told us that we could refer to him as "Pop", or "Daddy", but not "Dad".
So, the question now arises as to what name we give ourselves with our baby. I like "Papa", particularly if the child is girl – but the long suffering wife is not pleased with the idea. I don’t like "Pops", not at all. "Daddy" makes me squirm. I have never been a fan of a child calling their parents by their first name; I think we have enough friends in our lives, that it is worth distinguishing our parents as something different. Interestingly, in Judaism, part of the “outworking” of the command to honour your mother and father results in a ban from addressing your parents by their first name even after their death.
"Father" is very formal, so I am fighting my corner for "Dad". "Dadda" maybe for a young child? My wife is likely to be a "Mummy"...but I just don’t feel like I am a “Daddy” type...maybe it is a hang up from childhood...but I would be interested to hear others take on it...what do your children call you? Did you make a conscious decision on it?
So, the question now arises as to what name we give ourselves with our baby. I like "Papa", particularly if the child is girl – but the long suffering wife is not pleased with the idea. I don’t like "Pops", not at all. "Daddy" makes me squirm. I have never been a fan of a child calling their parents by their first name; I think we have enough friends in our lives, that it is worth distinguishing our parents as something different. Interestingly, in Judaism, part of the “outworking” of the command to honour your mother and father results in a ban from addressing your parents by their first name even after their death.
"Father" is very formal, so I am fighting my corner for "Dad". "Dadda" maybe for a young child? My wife is likely to be a "Mummy"...but I just don’t feel like I am a “Daddy” type...maybe it is a hang up from childhood...but I would be interested to hear others take on it...what do your children call you? Did you make a conscious decision on it?
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
No News is Good News?
Well folks, ref: "Confessions & Lies" - I phoned up instead of emailed...and the person I need to speak to is away till September, so I can do nothing but wait for a little while.
I have been giving some thought to deleting a couple of my previous post – most notably confession and lies. Now that I have decided how to address it (thanks for all the mail) I thought that maybe I should get rid of the post in case it’s stumbled on by others in the future. After all it doesn’t show me in a good light. However, I think that part of the problem with this “trying to be followers” lark is that it’s very easy to believe that we are more terrible than anyone else; that our sins are somehow huge in proportion to anyone else’s, and that everyone else has got it sorted. So I am keeping the posts up – and will do my best to keep presenting here – (as Susan Howitch puts it) the unvarnished truth. At times that will be fairly dull but I hope you will bear with me.
So then...SEX!
I think it is worth talking a little bit about sex with a pregnant lady. Well okay, sex with my wife, as that seems to be the way this marriage thing works! I find pregnant women attractive. I find my pregnant wife very attractive. BUT, and here it is folks, there is something very off putting about putting your arm around your wife, running your hand down over her body and thinking “my baby is in there...wonder if it will kick.” Don’t get me wrong, I am more than aware that I am not going to get close to him/her “in the act” but it somehow seems a bit off to find it a turn-on to run your hand over your wife’s belly when it contain a baby...surely it’s kind of incest...almost? Does anyone understand this? Is it just me? My wife is gorgeous... stunning...glowing...sexy..but when it comes to bed time..it just seems...I don’t know...a bit odd?
I have been giving some thought to deleting a couple of my previous post – most notably confession and lies. Now that I have decided how to address it (thanks for all the mail) I thought that maybe I should get rid of the post in case it’s stumbled on by others in the future. After all it doesn’t show me in a good light. However, I think that part of the problem with this “trying to be followers” lark is that it’s very easy to believe that we are more terrible than anyone else; that our sins are somehow huge in proportion to anyone else’s, and that everyone else has got it sorted. So I am keeping the posts up – and will do my best to keep presenting here – (as Susan Howitch puts it) the unvarnished truth. At times that will be fairly dull but I hope you will bear with me.
So then...SEX!
I think it is worth talking a little bit about sex with a pregnant lady. Well okay, sex with my wife, as that seems to be the way this marriage thing works! I find pregnant women attractive. I find my pregnant wife very attractive. BUT, and here it is folks, there is something very off putting about putting your arm around your wife, running your hand down over her body and thinking “my baby is in there...wonder if it will kick.” Don’t get me wrong, I am more than aware that I am not going to get close to him/her “in the act” but it somehow seems a bit off to find it a turn-on to run your hand over your wife’s belly when it contain a baby...surely it’s kind of incest...almost? Does anyone understand this? Is it just me? My wife is gorgeous... stunning...glowing...sexy..but when it comes to bed time..it just seems...I don’t know...a bit odd?
Monday, 11 August 2008
Oh Baby......
I have read lots of blogs which have talked about children going through those normal toddler phases – you know, temper tantrums, terrible 2’s, that kind of thing....
Dear reader, I have decided my baby will behave. That we will have a little chat, and will sort out all that kind of trouble. The baby will sleep through the night, and will hardly ever cry. The baby will become a polite toddler. The nappies won’t leak...I have decided. So, that really is the matter closed.
Of course my long suffering wife thinks it will not be so easy... but then, she also thinks that I will become so frustrated with the schooling system that within 6 months I will give up and home educate. Tsk! Shows how little she knows!
In other news...the carpet is being fitted today! YAY!!
And for those wondering the outcome of “confessions and lies”; I am sending the email today...I will keep you posted.
Yours as ever
The Broken Man
Dear reader, I have decided my baby will behave. That we will have a little chat, and will sort out all that kind of trouble. The baby will sleep through the night, and will hardly ever cry. The baby will become a polite toddler. The nappies won’t leak...I have decided. So, that really is the matter closed.
Of course my long suffering wife thinks it will not be so easy... but then, she also thinks that I will become so frustrated with the schooling system that within 6 months I will give up and home educate. Tsk! Shows how little she knows!
In other news...the carpet is being fitted today! YAY!!
And for those wondering the outcome of “confessions and lies”; I am sending the email today...I will keep you posted.
Yours as ever
The Broken Man
Saturday, 9 August 2008
Quirky something or other..
- Whitterer on Autism has tagged me and asked if i will right something about my Quirks...I am not at all sure about all this you know...however it seems a bit mean not to play along. Is that a quirk? That I don't like this kind of thing but then I am doing it...oh I am so confused. Please excuse me if I break the rules and dont link up anyone else....
1) Link to the person who tagged me.2) Mention the rules.3) Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about myself.4) Tag six other blogger´s by linking to them.5) Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged.
Here are my replies.
Right, quirky and boring...I am confused as to why boring - what is the point of writing something that will bore people? Then again I guess I do a lot of that....so:
1) I don't do postboxes - not at all - I don't post things. I sometimes get other people to post things for me, but I do not post things myself.
2) I always wear a hat. Well, not always but *almost* always.
3) I don't like going backwards. As in going back to somewhere. The road must lead forward and not include a return past a previous point to pick something up.
4) When I become bored with a conversation I sometimes walk off while the person is still talking. I know this doesn't make me a good person - but sometimes I just have nothing to say and can't listen any more.
5) I dont queue. If something requires queueing I don't do it.
6) I don't like snow. It confuses me.
IF any of you dear readers want to do this, then post the stuff with me as the person who tagged you, let me know and I will edit this post saying I tagged you...does that make sense? Does that work? Is everyone happy?
Friday, 8 August 2008
Wallowing......
I am really struggling today. The car insurance came up for renewal last week and, while I was sitting typing away at the computer, my long-suffering wife asked me whether it needed to go on direct debit to be paid monthly, or whether it could be paid for in a lump sum. Without thinking about it – or rather, not wanting to have the conversation at that moment in time, I said “whatever is easiest, just pay it” or words to that effect.
My wife duly paid the car insurance, and thought no more of it.
She then went to buy food and discovered there is no money in the account. Don’t fear, dear reader, I still have a credit card which has a little space on it so we won't starve but the situation is fairly black.
As regular readers will know, we are trying to sell our flat – let me clarify this situation somewhat. Six or seven weeks ago the estate agent came around and we were all ready to put the flat on the market, but my lovely mother said that really the flat would look better if it had some carpets in it (we do have *some* carpets, but some areas (eg the stairs) the carpets were in such a bad state that we had to pull them up, after falling down the stairs. Twice.
So, anyway, my mum kindly offered to pay for the carpet and the fitting, and told us to put off selling till the new carpet had been fitted. Six weeks later and the person fitting it is still messing us about as to when it's going to happen. Six weeks with a falling housing market means that this may well have knocked another £2000 of the value of our flat, which had already gone into negative equity anyway. I know it's not a good time to sell, but we realised that our fixed rate mortgage runs out soon, and we can't afford for our rate to rise. We also had a letter today from the mortgage company telling us that from October, we would have to pay £125 more each month on our mortgage. That gives us less than two months to sell our flat before we get into *serious* trouble.
I really am feeling rather panicked. I know we won't starve; I know it won't come to that, but I can't see an end to the debt and I really just want to cry. I am trying desperately to “look on the bright side” but today...its just not working. Sorry to moan; I know its most unbecoming and that I should just be trusting that it will all work out but, in honesty, right now, it doesn’t feel like it will.
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man.
My wife duly paid the car insurance, and thought no more of it.
She then went to buy food and discovered there is no money in the account. Don’t fear, dear reader, I still have a credit card which has a little space on it so we won't starve but the situation is fairly black.
As regular readers will know, we are trying to sell our flat – let me clarify this situation somewhat. Six or seven weeks ago the estate agent came around and we were all ready to put the flat on the market, but my lovely mother said that really the flat would look better if it had some carpets in it (we do have *some* carpets, but some areas (eg the stairs) the carpets were in such a bad state that we had to pull them up, after falling down the stairs. Twice.
So, anyway, my mum kindly offered to pay for the carpet and the fitting, and told us to put off selling till the new carpet had been fitted. Six weeks later and the person fitting it is still messing us about as to when it's going to happen. Six weeks with a falling housing market means that this may well have knocked another £2000 of the value of our flat, which had already gone into negative equity anyway. I know it's not a good time to sell, but we realised that our fixed rate mortgage runs out soon, and we can't afford for our rate to rise. We also had a letter today from the mortgage company telling us that from October, we would have to pay £125 more each month on our mortgage. That gives us less than two months to sell our flat before we get into *serious* trouble.
I really am feeling rather panicked. I know we won't starve; I know it won't come to that, but I can't see an end to the debt and I really just want to cry. I am trying desperately to “look on the bright side” but today...its just not working. Sorry to moan; I know its most unbecoming and that I should just be trusting that it will all work out but, in honesty, right now, it doesn’t feel like it will.
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man.
Yay! and Help!
My dissertation proposal has finally been accepted!! YAY!! Now I know you really don’t care what my dissertation is on, so you are welcome to ignore the rest of this post, however I couldn’t resist including it, in the hope that someone out there may have some info that might help. I am particularly interested to here from anyone proficient in Hebrew, who is prepared to be pestered with questions at some point in the future.
As I can’t get Greek or Hebrew fonts to work on the blog, I have posted my proposal below as jpegs. If you do want to see them you will need to double click on the images below, to get them to come up full size.
As I can’t get Greek or Hebrew fonts to work on the blog, I have posted my proposal below as jpegs. If you do want to see them you will need to double click on the images below, to get them to come up full size.
Thursday, 7 August 2008
Blog roll
my blog roll has gone all funny and wont tell me when people last updated their blogs anymore and it did...it did and i dont know why its gone wrong!
More Poo
I found myself in a profound philosophical dilemma the other day. I went to see my spiritual director and, as I left, I asked to use his loo. Sitting at the bottom of it was an large unflushed poo. Being a man of the world, I merrily peed onto of it, and flushed – only to discover that the poo in question had retained its original position. I now found myself in an awkward position; my spiritual director was hanging about the hall, and I had already flushed. To tackle this poo – someone else’s poo - would have required a vigorous attack with the toilet brush followed by more flushing; an enterprise I did not fancy, and one which would sound odd from the outside of the loo. However leaving the aforementioned poo in place means that on his next visit to the loo he may believe I have had the ill-grace to leave this greeting for him, and he may believe I was responsible depositing it. I feel certain that Plato never faced such a sticky situation.
I resolved myself to the possible shame and fled, leaving it in situ.
Just thought I would share...
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man
I resolved myself to the possible shame and fled, leaving it in situ.
Just thought I would share...
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
What's your theological worldview?
Just took a quiz on my theological worldview - thanks to http://episcopalpadre.blogspot.com/ for the link. If you fancy giving it a go click here!
Here are my results:
You scored as a Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan
You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 75%
Emergent/Postmodern 75%
Roman Catholic 57%
Neo orthodox 57%
Modern Liberal 54%
Classical Liberal 50%
Reformed Evangelical 46%
Charismatic/Pentecostal 21%
Fundamentalist 4%
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
STATS.
I thought I would give a go at one of those Stats counter thingys but i think the one I have gone for is not working properly, as the number of people who looked at my blog yesterday seems to be increasing.. all advice on good stat counters welcomed from the more experinced bloggers out their!
STRESS AND SLINGS
I have a deadline, a deadline the director of my company popped down to tell me that I am going to make, so will have to make this entry short...
I have just put in my third, yes, count them, third attempt at my dissertation essay proposal. Ugh. It really is becoming very stressful; my proposal is now 1,500 words long – as my final essay only has to be 15,000 this seems to be verging on the ridiculous.
Meanwhile, the mother-in-law has paid for a Didymos sling for us. So ,I have spent some time tying “point A” behind “point B “ while wrapping this huge piece of fabric in circles around myself trying to work out how to work it. The problem is you really need a baby or doll to stick in it to give it shape and make it work, neither of which I have right now. So, I figured I would give it a go with a big old copy of Josephus. So, there I am, standing in the living room, carrying one of my theological books in a baby sling when my wife comes in, puts a hand on her hip, looks me up and down, shakes her head and walks out of the room again...sometimes you just know there is no point in trying to explain that you don’t really view your books like babies.. For those curious – it doesn’t help in working out how to tie the thing, and I can’t wait till I get my ring sling!!
I have just put in my third, yes, count them, third attempt at my dissertation essay proposal. Ugh. It really is becoming very stressful; my proposal is now 1,500 words long – as my final essay only has to be 15,000 this seems to be verging on the ridiculous.
Meanwhile, the mother-in-law has paid for a Didymos sling for us. So ,I have spent some time tying “point A” behind “point B “ while wrapping this huge piece of fabric in circles around myself trying to work out how to work it. The problem is you really need a baby or doll to stick in it to give it shape and make it work, neither of which I have right now. So, I figured I would give it a go with a big old copy of Josephus. So, there I am, standing in the living room, carrying one of my theological books in a baby sling when my wife comes in, puts a hand on her hip, looks me up and down, shakes her head and walks out of the room again...sometimes you just know there is no point in trying to explain that you don’t really view your books like babies.. For those curious – it doesn’t help in working out how to tie the thing, and I can’t wait till I get my ring sling!!
Monday, 4 August 2008
"Well Within Herself"
Someone made the comment to me, after the hospital debacle last week, that they hoped my wife is now “well within herself”।
I am not one taken to rants about the ridiculousness of the English language and those who use it, but I really would like to know who else she would be well in, if not herself.
If she is feeling well within my next door neighbour, I feel I would be reasonable to raise a couple of questions – concerns even, about what she is doing inside my neighbour.
This expression goes with a number of other terms I find somewhat frustrating; for example, “Very true”. No, my friend, it is not very true. It’s true, it’s untrue, I might even allow partially true, but “very true”? No, that is an expression designed to make my ears bleed.
I mentioned this to my long suffering wife, believing that she would share in my sense of outrage at this use of the English language. Instead, she told me that she felt that I had enough things to rant about and that I don’t need anything else. Clearly my wife has mistaken me for someone else. Me? Rant? Complain? It’s not in my nature.
I am not one taken to rants about the ridiculousness of the English language and those who use it, but I really would like to know who else she would be well in, if not herself.
If she is feeling well within my next door neighbour, I feel I would be reasonable to raise a couple of questions – concerns even, about what she is doing inside my neighbour.
This expression goes with a number of other terms I find somewhat frustrating; for example, “Very true”. No, my friend, it is not very true. It’s true, it’s untrue, I might even allow partially true, but “very true”? No, that is an expression designed to make my ears bleed.
I mentioned this to my long suffering wife, believing that she would share in my sense of outrage at this use of the English language. Instead, she told me that she felt that I had enough things to rant about and that I don’t need anything else. Clearly my wife has mistaken me for someone else. Me? Rant? Complain? It’s not in my nature.
Saturday, 2 August 2008
The Samaratin and the Theologian
This is the second part of the study on the theologian and the samaratin, for part one please see last saturdays post, or you can view both parts in their origional format at:
Theology of a Brokenman
Theology of a Brokenman
Luke 10:31a
By chance a priest was going down that road.
One of the points that it is easy for us to miss in this story is the direction in which the priest and temple official are moving in. They are going down the road, not up the road. Jerusalem is the higher point; the road goes steeply down hill.
Why might the direction of travel of the priest and temple official be significant?
By telling us that they are travelling away from Jerusalem we know that they are not on their way to serve in the temple – if they were and contracted ritual impurity they would not be able to serve as they would have to wait seven days to cleanse themselves. Some of those listening may have sympathised with someone not wanting to risk coming into contact with a dead (or possibly soon to be dead) body if they where about to serve in the temple.
Luke 10:31b-32
But when he saw the man, he went by on the other side. In the same way a Levite came along. When he saw the man, he also went by on the other side.
FAMILY TREE
The two people identified in verses 31 and 32 are a Kohen (priest) and a Levite. Kohens and Levites are decedents of Levi (Genesis 46.8-11), however the priest is also a descendent of Aaron the first priest.
DEAD BODIES
Dead bodies are a source of ritual impurity to anyone who comes in contact with them, however, Leviticus 21:1-4 and Ezekiel 24:25 specifically forbids priest from defiling themselves by coming into contact with dead bodies other than their immediate family,[1] the High priest is forbidden to “defile” himself even for a member of his immediate family (Leviticus 21:11).
Despite the destruction of the temple, some Kohens[2] still adhere to this commandment, attending only the funerals of their closest family members.[3]
While the Hebrew Bible stated that ritual impurity would be contracted by touching a dead body or entering the same tent (interpreted within Judaism to refer to all areas with a common covering) as the body, the Rabbinic Sages added the requirement of not entering a four cubit (approximately 6.5 feet) perimeter of a body or grave.[4] The story which Jesus tells describes the Priest and the Levite crossing the road so that they can make sure that they don’t come within the “impurity” zone.
WHO SHOULD BURY?
Rabbis of Jesus day had ruled that such was the disgrace of a Jewish body laying dead with no one to bury it (referred to as a meis mitzvah), that if a Jew found this body, and was the only person available to tend to it, then they must do so, this ruling included the High Priest, Priests, and Nazarites, all of whom where normally forbidden from contact with a corpse. This ruling essentially believed that love for a fellow Jew, and not wanting to see them humiliated even in death, should take precedence over the requirement to avoid ritual impurity. This subject was debated in some depth, with a discussion recorded in the Talmud about what should happen if the High priest, a priest, and a Nazarite find a dead body, which of them should contract ritual impurity?
Against this background Jesus describing two Levites who chose to put their personal ritual purity in front of care for a dying person is a particularly strong illustration of unloving behaviour. The theologian has already said that loving your neighbour is one of the two most important laws, now Jesus is effectively asking him how he is actually applying that belief. Which is more important: preserving personal ritual purity, and following the letter of the law, or caring for and preventing the disgrace of someone else?
Luke 10:33a
Then a foreigner from Samaria travelling along that road happened upon the man…
We are so used to hearing this story, and so unfamiliar with Samaritans that we lose the surprise element of this story.
Stories of the time, as today, often worked by comparing sets of three. What other stories biblical or otherwise use this format?
Jesus’s hearers would have been expecting a third person to come along the road, they would have known the story was not finished, who would they expect the next figure in the story to be?
If I was listening to the story I would expect the next person in the story to be a Jewish layman. If this story was being told today it would be like saying, a Vicar came down the road, and then a Deacon came down the road, the next person on the list that I would expect would be a member of the congregation, but instead of introducing a layman Jesus introduce into the story a Samaritan
SAMARITAN?
The Samaritans lived in an area south of Galilee and north of Judea, part of the old Northern Kingdom of Israel. In 721 BC Israel was conquered by Assyria, and Sargon II conducted a mass deportation of the entire region, carrying off some 27,270 captives and resettling the area with colonists from other parts of the Assyrian empire (2 Kings 17:24).Their descendents were looked upon as half-breeds and heretics by the Jews of Jerusalem. Though Samaritans believed in the Torah, they differed on a number of theological points, and worshipped at Mt. Gerizim rather than Jerusalem (John 4:20-22), At times, relations between the Jews and Samaritans had been civil, but in Jesus's day feelings were definitely hostile. Sometime between 6 and 9 AD at midnight during a Passover some Samaritans had deliberately scattered bones in the Jerusalem Temple in order to desecrate it.[5] The Jews were outraged. What remained now was disdain and hatred, as John observed: "Jews do not associate with Samaritans" (John 4:9b).
WHY SAMARITANS?
Jesus may have used a Samaritan within the story because it’s a group that lots of his listeners wouldn’t have liked. It is possible however, that Jesus selected the Samaritan as his lead character because this was a group that the theologian had a particular problem with. The Samaritans, while sharing a Jewish heritage, had a different understand of much of the Hebrew Bible from the rest of the Jews; among other things they rejected the “oral law”, the very thing that the theologian had spent his life studying! This is likely to be the group of people that the theologian struggled to love more than any other group.
Luke 10:33b
…and when he saw him, he was filled with compassion.
The immediate response of the Priest and Levite seeing the man was to think of their ritual purity, and to move away from the man. The immediate response of the Samaritan was to feel GREEK: σπλαγχνίζομαι (splagchnizomai). This word refers to being moved “as to one’s bowels” the bowls were thought of as being the origin of love and pity, in much the same we that we might talk about something touching our heart. This is the same word that is used to describe Jesus’ response to people in Mark 6:34 who he describes as being sheep without a Sheppard, and in Mark 1:41 it’s the word used to describe Jesus responses to a leper. It’s a word that conveys a deep inward response that results in action.
Luke 10:34-35
He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. He put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next morning he paid the innkeeper and said, "Take care of this man, and if it costs more than this, I will pay you when I return."
The Samaritan’s emotional response resulted in practical actions. These actions where not without cost, they delayed his journey, they caused him personal inconvenience, we are told that the Samaritan put bandaged the injured mans wounds. Unless he happened to be carrying bandages this probably meant that he tore strips of his own clothes to bind up the mans wounds. The Samaritan put the injured man on his donkey, meaning that he had to walk, and at the’ inn he paid for his care.
READ 1 John 3:17-18 "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth"
Luke 10:36-37
Then Jesus asked, "Which one of these three people do you think acted like a neighbour to the man who was attacked by the gang of robbers?" The expert answered, "The one who acted with mercy."
Instead of answering the theologian’s question about who his neighbour is, Jesus left him to answer the question himself. When asked which of the people acted as a neighbour, the theologian does not answer “the Samaritan” he answers the one who showed GREEK ἔλεος (eleos). The word Eleos means mercy, kindness or good towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them. [6]
There are two ways we can view his answer, it is possible that his hatred of Samaritans was so deep, that even with a fictional Samaritan he could not bear to say that this was the person who acted as a neighbour; he couldn’t bear to name him.
The other possibility which I prefer, is that the theologian understood that the important point wasn’t who it was that showed eleos, but that showing eleos is the key characteristic of being a neighbour.
Luke 10:37b
Then Jesus said to him, "You go and do the same."
This takes us right back to the start of the conversation. This man knows how he should be living his life. We know how we should be living our lives. We know that we should be living lives full of compassion, lives that put the needs of others first. Jesus never defines the term ‘neighbour’ for us. If he had we would have found a way of reducing its meaning. Instead Jesus leaves us with the same statement that he left the theologian with. There is a big difference between knowing what the right thing to do is and doing it. Jesus calls us to lives of action not just theories.
Now go and do it!
[1] rabbinical teaching made this compulsory, ie a Priest other than the high priest must attend his immediate families funerals
[2] Members of the priestly tribe of Israel.
[3] Gillman, Neil. 2001 Jewish News of Greater Phoenix: “Dignity of deceased prevails over laws” May 11, 2001/Iyar 18, 5761, Vol. 53, No.32
[4] Rabbi Naftai Siberberg http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?html?h=665&o=2065637
[5] Wilson, R.F. (2007) Jesus Walk Disciple Lessons from Luke’s Gospel available from http://www.jesuswalk.com/ebooks/luke.htm
[6] Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for eleos (Strong's 1656)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2007. 11 Jul 2007. <>
Strongs=G1656&Version=kjv >
Friday, 1 August 2008
Baby Scan
We have just had a baby scan. I know what I am meant to say here. I know the rules of this game, and I know there are some women reading this, and I don’t want to get in trouble so..
"WOW its just so incredible to see my baby! I can't begin to tell you how exciting it was to see my baby…" Okay, you can stop reading now. Leave it right there and everyone will be happy.
The first scan was incredibly exciting, and was really clear, and I did feel all those incredible emotions. The second one was a few weeks later, and wasn’t such a big deal as we had been for the emergency scan already, and in honesty the second scan wasn’t as clear as the first one.
This one – well to be honest there was lots of searching around and “we” had decided not to find out the baby's gender (I am sure I have talked about that so won't go on about it again). So for me, as that was something they could look for and were not, its like being told; "here is something really exciting (okay, okay, someone) but you don’t get to know the exciting bit yet – the surprise bit – and you don’t get to play with it yet." Please don’t hate me – I was bored.
It's not that I am not excited about having a baby, I really, really am. It's just that, well, an odd medical image which looks like an x-ray on a monitor just didn’t make my heart flutter. I know I should have been wiping a tear away from my eye, but in all honesty I was fighting the urge to pick up my book. Okay, this makes me a terrible person, I know that, I suspect particuarly mothers, expectant and those already with children will be thinking; “OH, he is one of those men”, but I thought it worth posting the unvarnished truth, as I have a suspicion (okay, a hope) that I am not alone in this...
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man
"WOW its just so incredible to see my baby! I can't begin to tell you how exciting it was to see my baby…" Okay, you can stop reading now. Leave it right there and everyone will be happy.
The first scan was incredibly exciting, and was really clear, and I did feel all those incredible emotions. The second one was a few weeks later, and wasn’t such a big deal as we had been for the emergency scan already, and in honesty the second scan wasn’t as clear as the first one.
This one – well to be honest there was lots of searching around and “we” had decided not to find out the baby's gender (I am sure I have talked about that so won't go on about it again). So for me, as that was something they could look for and were not, its like being told; "here is something really exciting (okay, okay, someone) but you don’t get to know the exciting bit yet – the surprise bit – and you don’t get to play with it yet." Please don’t hate me – I was bored.
It's not that I am not excited about having a baby, I really, really am. It's just that, well, an odd medical image which looks like an x-ray on a monitor just didn’t make my heart flutter. I know I should have been wiping a tear away from my eye, but in all honesty I was fighting the urge to pick up my book. Okay, this makes me a terrible person, I know that, I suspect particuarly mothers, expectant and those already with children will be thinking; “OH, he is one of those men”, but I thought it worth posting the unvarnished truth, as I have a suspicion (okay, a hope) that I am not alone in this...
Yours as ever,
The Broken Man
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