World reviews “The Dark Knight,” saying it’s top-notch and violent, a comic book dressed up as a crime novel.
Three Sides Better Than One
The Jolly Blogger reviews J.P. Moreland’s The Kingdom Triangle, which he calls well worth reading. The triangle consists of “the recovery of the life of the Christian mind, the renovation of the soul and the restoration of the spirit’s power.” Here’s an excerpt:
Side two of the kingdom triangle is the renovation of the soul and I think Moreland offers one of the best and most incisive diagnoses of the illness that plagues our souls that I have seen anywhere. He describes this as the empty self, or the false self, and it has four characteristics.
- The empty self is inordinately individualistic.
- The empty self is infantile.
- The empty self is narcissistic.
- The empty self is passive.
He goes on to describe the antidote as a recovery of the art of Christian self-denial. This dovetails nicely with John Calvin’s contention that the summary of the Christian life is to be found in self denial.
So I am enthusiastic about Moreland’s diagnosis, but I diverge from him on the cure. Basically the cure for the empty self, and the practice of the renovation of the soul, is to be found in what I would call the practices of the Christian mystics, with an emphasis on the cultivation of the inner life.
Throwing in the Towel
Sentinel’s Michael Jacobson says there’s an upswing in terrorists giving up the cause. Some terrorists have become “disillusioned” with the death of innocients, particularly Muslims, and the character of their leaders.
Links today
I’m taking a couple days of vacation from work, so tonight I’ll just share some amusing links.
Apropos my post about children’s rhymes last night, I’ll bet you didn’t know that the poem “Little Bunny Fufu” has ancient historical roots. Thanks to reader Ori for directing me to this translation of that mighty Norse epic, “The Fufumal.”
And my friend the author Michael Z. Williamson gave me this link to a report on the one power tool every man must have.
The Saint John’s Bible
Saint John’s Abbey and University of Collegeville, Minnesota, has commissioned and produced the first handmade, illuminated edition of the Holy Bible since the printing press. The Library of Congress has an online exhibit, and you can see more about this edition at The Saint John’s Bible site. It’s beautiful.
WALL-E Alludes to E.M. Forster Story
Matthew Battles suggests the Pixar movie closely follows a century-old Forster story called, “The Machine Stops.”
Books Sales Are Up This Year
Book sales are up 4.9% this year, ringing in 6.6 billion so far. How can this be without a new Harry Potter release?
Solzhenitsyn’s First Circle in English
Next year, Harper Perennial will be publishing the first unabridged edition of Aleksander Solzhenitsyn’s The First Circle in English.
What Guys Read
Why Is He Doing This?
Why is Jesse Jackson criticizing Barack Obama, apologizing, and doing it again?