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The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Let the reader understand.

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I think one of the most important reasons why atheism no longer holds any intellectual attraction for me is because it is dull. It is not a wisdom tradition. It has nothing to say to how to live a life in a rich and fulfilling fashion. As I’ve said elsewhere, if I wasn’t a Christian – if I became convinced that, eg, Christ did not rise from the dead in any meaningful sense – then I’d become a Buddhist. I’d swap one wisdom tradition for another. I wouldn’t kill myself – which is what atheism amounts to.

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Today I celebrate four years in post. And I do mean celebrate. We had this text at Morning Prayer, which rather amused me:

Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

He rather puts my grumbles into proper perspective!