Music

Top ten hymns

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Phil posted a list of his ten favorite hymns this morning. So it seems in order that I post my own, if only to demonstrate how much better Lutheran hymnody is than Calvinist. The order is somewhat arbitrary.

1. “Make Me a Captive, Lord.” My all-time favorite, since I was a teenager. Not only is it set to “Leominster,” one of the most beautiful hymn tunes ever composed, but it has swords and battles. Written by George Matheson, the great, blind Scottish hymn writer.

2. “Wide Open Are Thy Hands.” Based on a hymn by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, it also—by some weird coincidence—is set to “Leominster.” No swords, alas.

3. “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.” Well, what do you know? Another Matheson hymn. Talk about coincidences. There’s a legend that Matheson wrote this after being rejected by a fiancée, who walked out on him after she learned he was going blind. This story is not true, I understand.

4. “Be Thou My Vision.” “Ancient Irish hymn,” according to my hymn book. It’s even got a sword, though the “Be Thou my battle-shield, sword for the fight…” verse generally gets skipped.

5. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” The best of the Christmas hymns. A lesson in theology all by itself, courtesy of Charles Wesley. And fun to sing. The three beats of “Joyful all,” repeated again in the following line, just require you to throw back your head and let go.

6. “Den Store, Hvide Flokk.” I had to put a Norwegian hymn in here (although it’s actually Danish, but I’m trying to be complimentary). The title means “The Great White Host,” and it’s based on Revelation. It sounds like this.

7. “Amazing Grace.” Well, duh. I especially recommend Sissel’s recording (arranged by Andrae Crouch).

8. “Rock of Ages.” Solid and enduring.

9. “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” By some guy named Luther. I actually prefer this one in a Contemporary Praise arrangement, if you can believe it. You’ve got to sing this one with gusto to get it right.

10. “Thee God We Praise.” Sung to the tune of “Finlandia,” another fine Scandinavian composition.

See you in church on Sunday.

Authors, Poetry

Poet Donald Hall

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Books, Inq. has an interesting interview with a poet Donald Hall. Near the beginning of the 38 minute recording, Hall talks about a teacher who ridiculed his poetry for a full class period, and though he cried about it afterward, Hall determined to spend twice the time on his poetry as he had before.

Non-fiction

The Old Testament and American Immigration

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Justin Taylor interviews OT professor James K. Hoffmeier on his new book, The Immigration Crisis: Immigrants, Aliens, and the Bible. It’s a bit weighty, but this is a difficult issue with many lives and livelihoods at stake. Here’s an excerpt:

It seems to me that in the public square those who are using the Bible in the immigration debate assume that the Bible endorses the idea of providing sanctuary for illegal aliens. Do you agree?

The OT Law is very clear about the practice of sanctuary or accessing the cities of refuge. The former was for those living in proximity to the Tabernacle or Temple, while the city of refuge were scattered throughout Israel for easier access.

The purpose of sanctuary was not to avoid the law or one’s sentence, but to get a fair trial in the case and only in the case of accidental death (cf. Ex. 21:12-14; Num. 35:11-15, 22-29; Josh. 20:1-9).

So when American cities offer their cities as sanctuary from federal law, or when churches offer their facilities as a refuge for illegal immigrants who have been tried and order deported, they are neither following the letter or spirit of the OT law.

A recent example of this was the case of Elvira Arellano, a woman who had been ordered deported by a judge because of her undocumented status. She was given sanctuary in a United Methodist Church in Chicago for more than a year. In my view, such a practice neither follows the letter or the spirit of the biblical law regarding sanctuary.

Music

My Top Ten Favorite Hymns

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I’ve been meaning to post this: Sherry is blogging a series on favorite hymns. “From Depths of Woe” is today focus and #90 on the top 101 list. I’ve never heard that one, but here’s the list I gave Sherry for her series. These are my top 10, more or less because if I think about these too long I’ll want to change a few.

1. Be Thou My Vision

2. Come Thou Fount

3. Before the Throne of God Above

4. O Sacred Head Now Wounded

5. God Be Merciful to Me

6. We Are God’s People

7. And Can It Be

8. Amazing Grace

9. Shine, Jesus, Shine

10. Come, Ye Sinners

Non-fiction

The Way You Talk to People

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Hugh suggests, “If you talked to people the way advertising talked to people, they’d punch you in the face.”

Hugh Macleod has a new book on creativity called, Ignore Everybody. Roy Jacobsen appears to recommend it. Is that right, Roy?

Publishing

Viking Norway at reasonable prices!

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I reviewed Prof. Torgrim Titlestad’s Viking Norway, last fall. I also reported that, as an imported book, it was extremely expensive to order.

I’m happy to report that they’re now offering the book on eBay, with the opening bid at $40.00. Not a bad price for a book of this size and quality.

And if bidding displeases you, they say they’ll soon be selling it at their website.

Uncategorized

Touchstone (not the magazine)

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Tonight I have Photobucket, so I can explain what I learned over the weekend.

I knew Touchstone Magazine. And I’d heard and read the word “touchstone” many times. I vaguely understood that it had to do with testing the value and authenticity of something or other.

Sam the Viking, down in Story City, the guy who owns the Viking boat, showed me how it actually works. He does some silversmithing, and knows about these things.

Sam and I have similar whetstones. His is a little prettier than mine, but the shape is the same. Here’s mine. Continue reading Touchstone (not the magazine) →

Book Reviews, Creative Culture