Vavasor Powell: nothing else to do

Pray that they last days, and they last works may be the best; and that when thou comest to die, thou mayest have nothing else to do but die.

Vavasor Powell (quoted Puritan Golden Treasury p72)

Postman: IQ?

There is no such thing as 'intelligence'.  It is a word not a thing, and a word of a very high order of abstraction.  But if we believe it to be a thing like the pancreas or liver, then we will believe scientific procedures can locate it and measure it...

...Joseph Weizenbaum summed it up by saying, "Few 'scientific' concepts have so thoroughly muddled the thinking of both scientists and the general public as that of 'intelligence quotient' or 'IQ'.  The idea that intelligence can be quantitatively measured along a single linear scale has caused untold harm to our society in general, and to education in particular."

Technopoly, p.130&131

Quick-review: Connected

...by Sam Allberry (IVP 2012)

A freebie from a conference, so quids in. 

It's a nice little book.  It doesn't answer some of my questions about the Trinity that I'd love to understand (at least no more than other similar books I have read, which hinted they would).  But actually he doesn't claim to: rather it's about how the doctrine of the Trinity underpins much we believe and guides us in some areas of life.  And he can be quite funny too.

So: very good - but not (nor does not claim to be) a big theological tome exploring the deeper mysteries.  The kind of book, perhaps, for people who haven't thought much about the Trinity; or accept it because it's orthodox but can't see what difference it makes to life.

Quick-review: The Hare with Amber Eyes

I looked forward to reading this for a long time: the look, the unusual theme, the great reviews of what is seen as a classic.

And I'm going to say: well it was a good book.  I must be one of the few not overwhelmed by it though.

It traces the history of a set of Japanese miniature carvings as it passes through the generations of one family.  I found the first part of the book the slowest: the descriptions of the Parisian art scene in the 19th century - maybe for people who are interested that would be fascinating (as the minutiae of the Inklings would be for me).  But as the book progresses it does become more compelling:  the author's family is far from an ordinary one, and as the war years arrive the twists and turns become by turns remarkable and tragic.

A slow, relaxing read - and probably it needs reading again to fully appreciate it.  So:  good but hasn't hit the 'classic' level for me.

The inner essence of worship

The authenticating, inner essence of worship is being satisfied with Christ, cherishing Christ, treasuring Christ.  You can see how this definition of the essence of worship is free from Sunday worship services.  It encompasses all of life that flows from the heart.  But it is tremendously relevant for understanding what worship services should be about.  They are about "going hard after God".

John Piper, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, p.236