Is "sustainer" a real word?

Why isn't "sustainer" recognised by spell checkers? I first noticed this while writing my honours thesis about Rene Descartes. He viewed God as the creator and sustainer of the universe. Dictionary.com recognises it, so it must be a real word.

As a side note, while writing my honours thesis, I constantly had a song in my head - "Great High Priest", written by the super-talented Tim MacBride especially for a series on Hebrews we had a church a number of years ago. Great song - don't know why we don't sing it anymore! The reason I had it in my head is that it began with "Creator and sustainer, heir of everything..."

Ecclesial heretics

My wonderful dad was editing a chapter draft for me the other day, and objected to the use of the word "ecclesial" instead of "ecclesiastical" in a quotation about natural theology. Since it was a quotation, I'm not going to change it, but I thought I'd better double check that it is a real word. Dictionary.com always comes in handy for things like this. So, I look up "ecclesial" and along with the definition I find two sponsered links:

Religion is for the weak.
Its for the brain washed and vulnerable. Agree or disagree?
www.friction.tv

Heretics in Christianity
Who is a heretic in the Bible?
www.bjnewlife.org

And just in case you are wondering about the difference between "ecclesial" and "ecclesiastical":

Ecclesial - pertaining to a church or its functions, teachings, or organization

Ecclesiastical - pertaining to the church or the clergy; churchly; clerical; not secular

Big difference there.

A black hole ate my thesis...

I am convinced that there is a black hole somewhere in the vicinity of either my desk at uni or my desk at home that is eating important articles. There are several articles that I haven't been able to find lately - articles I know I have read and have made notes on, which should be carefully filed away in the folders above my desk, but which have inexplicably vanished. At the moment, I need to find one particular article - an excellent paper by Margaret J. Osler called "Mixing Metaphors: Science and Religion or Natural Philosophy and Theology in Early Modern Europe". I need it for the section of chapter 3 I'm working on right now - and I'm determined to finish chapter 3 today. I could go to the library and copy it again, but that would require effort. Where is it?!


Oh, you know what? I just found it...

Happy Reformation Day!!

I like this description of how Dan Phillips of Pyromaniacs marks Reformation Day with his family (h/t Craig).

Last year I gave Tim (one of our pastors and my bible study leader) some nails to nail his thesis to the church door.

Hmm. Why didn't I know that this hymn was written by Martin Luther? And it appeared in Gilmore Girls!

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

On Marriage

Robert Boyle (1627-1691) advised the woman who wanted to be a good wife "to deliberate much upon a choice she can probably make but once, and not needlessly venture to embark herself on a sea so infamous for frequent shipwrecks, only because she is offered a fine ship to make the long voyage with."

How to talk about books you haven't read

At the risk of sounding like the fusty old crank everyone does impressions of in the faculty lounge, I still believe in the private ecstasy of reading. It’s one thing to jockey for social position by saying that Dostoyevsky introduced psychology into the novel, or that Chaucer had a fuller grasp of humanity than Shakespeare. It’s another thing to experience, with your full attention, Raskolnikov wandering feverishly around St. Petersburg, or the young scholar farting in the face of his romantic rival in “The Miller’s Tale.” Real reading is not just hoarding fodder for cocktail chatter, it’s crawling, phrase by phrase, through a text and finding yourself surprised or disappointed or ruined or bored with every other line. This direct connection—the voice that enters your brain and mingles with your own internal voice—is the only way books really matter, and experiencing it requires a kind of deep surprise at the words in front of you. If anything, we’re already too good at talking about books we haven’t read. The challenge now is to preserve our ignorance.

Click here.

Awww...

Should I delete my Facebook?

Click here.

Will you respect me less...

... because I like Delta Goodrem? (I bought her new album yesterday on iTunes. I like it, but it's not as good as the previous one...)



And Kylie Minogue?



Plus I like two songs by the Rogue Traders?



And I'm not totally averse to Fergie?



But at least I don't like Justin Timberlake (although I'm happy to remain friends with people who do!)

Never let your mother do the wedding invites when she doesn't like your partner...

Pink Ribbon Day

Today is national Pink Ribbon Day, a campaign to raise breast cancer awareness and help fund research.

Check out the pink SMH and this article by Janette Howard.

It is expected that in Australia more than 13,000 women and 100 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, according to figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. About 2700 Australians die from breast cancer each year.

But more people are surviving it: 113,801 women and 730 men who were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 20 years are still alive.

Early diagnosis is the key to survival. Your contribution today will help that cause.

From the Cancer Council:

Our goal is to defeat breast cancer. By supporting Pink Ribbon Day, you can help us toward reaching that goal. By raising funds - either through selling merchandise, purchasing a ribbon or pin from one of our retail partners, or making a donation, you can change the lives of women affected by breast cancer.

Your donation will help The Cancer Council Australia to:

• Fund breast cancer research.
• Help those affected by breast cancer right now, by offering support services to help them and their family through their cancer diagnosis and treatment.
• Educate women to be 'breast aware'.

Importantly, funds are spent where they are raised, directly supporting the efforts and needs of your community.

Some famous people who have suffered from breast cancer:

• Kylie Minogue
• Dusty Springfield (who died from the disease two days before my 18th birthday)
• Belinda Emmett (first diagnosed at age 24, suffered a relapse at age 28, and died last year at age 32)

As mentioned above, early diagnosis is the key to survival. Click here every day to help fund free mammograms for women in need.

I hosted a Girls Night In on Friday night. 17 girls having a great time with tasty food, girly chat, pink maison, Suddenly 30 and SingStar. We raised $400 for research into women's cancers. Well done girls!

Hurrah!

I'm going to have a massage this afternoon! Very exciting. My muscles are so tight! Darn stressful PhD...

Emergence

Matt, Lynley and I participated in "building our own being" on 25 August, 2007. Apparently our being, Bob, is in trouble. I received the email below:

Dear parent or well-wisher,

Your creation is dying! Due to negligent recent interaction and lax parental care from some of you, your being is in grave danger. If things do not improve, the Department of Bio-logical Sciences will be unfortunately obligated to step in and terminate your creation under the current legislation (G231).

If you have not had a chance to directly communicate with your being... NOW may be the time to begin. In the world of parenting, after all, it is better late than never.

Please find below an easy direct link to your (still) loving being. You may also find ALL the completed beings for the 2007 experiments in the Emergence lab under the "sort beings" section.

Yours Sincerely
The Head of the Department of Bio-logical Sciences
"Creating People for the People by the People"

P.S. If you do not wish to be kept informed of your being's developments or other news from the Emergence lab, please simply reply to this email with the subject header: "I quit. Put my being up for adoption."

And here's a list of all the beings created in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne, along with their current status:

Canberra beings:
Hermione: 2nd August, 1pm - currently wrestling with her creativity
Sophia: 2nd August, 6pm - currently toying with the notion that ignorance is bliss
Maximus: 2nd August, 8.30pm - currently wishing he'd been given a childhood
Kate: 3rd August, 6pm - currently struggling with the sadness instilled in her
Hal: 3rd August, 8.30pm - currently questioning all in his fighting nature
Skye: 4th August, 7.30pm - currently in serious danger of losing her way

Sydney beings:
Astral: 21st August, 8.15pm - currently still hiding in the caves, afraid to appear.
Cottoya: 22nd August, 8.15pm - currently trying to integrate with strangers
Bob: 23rd August, 8.15pm- currently trying to enter politics
Robin: 24th August, 7.30pm - currently released from jail after stealing grapes
Aphrodite: 24th August, 9.30pm - currently self-healing her broken hand and experimenting with pain
Bob: 25th August, 7.30pm - currently recovering from a great fall. perhaps in love? (unconfirmed)
Sergei: 25th August, 9.30pm - (created as a mutant). Currently coming to terms with not ever having any parents - desperately needs caring!
Grace: 26th August, 5pm - currently trying to keep alive her pet animals, given to her as presents...and herself

Melbourne beings:
Dexter: 18th September, 8pm - currently overdosed on speed
Zay: 19th September, 8pm - currently lost in the outskirts of Melbourne
Jessica: 20th September, 8pm - currently trying to unravel all the contradictions of her creation
Adriana: 21st September, 8pm - currently trying to get to New York but feeling angry and confused
Joshua: 22nd September, 8pm - currently enjoying his new x-ray vision!
Halo: 23rd September, 2pm - - currently paranoid that we are trying to track her down [strongly denied by the DBS]

Christian pick-up lines

I like this one:

I used to believe in natural theology, but since I met you I've converted to divine revelation.

I wonder if I could work that into my thesis somehow...

Offensive or amusing?

On their way to get married, a young Catholic couple were involved in a fatal car accident. The couple found themselves sitting outside the Pearly Gates waiting for St. Peter to process them into Heaven. While waiting they began to wonder. Could they possibly get married in Heaven?

When St. Peter arrived they asked him if they could get married in heaven. St. Peter said, "I don't know. This is the first time anyone has asked. Let me go find out," and he left.

The couple sat and waited for an answer... for a couple of months.

While they waited, they discussed the pros and cons. If they were allowed to get married in Heaven, should they get married, what with the eternal aspect of it all? What if it didn't work? Would they be stuck in Heaven together forever?"

Another month passed. St. Peter finally returned, looking somewhat bedraggled.

"Yes," he informed the couple. "You can get married in Heaven."

"Great!" said the couple. "But we were just wondering; what if things don't work out? Could we also get a divorce in Heaven?"

St. Peter, red-faced with anger, slammed his clipboard on the ground.

"What's wrong?" asked the frightened couple.

"OH, COME ON!!!" St. Peter shouted. "It took me 3 months to find a priest up here! Do you have ANY idea how long it'll take to find a lawyer???"

Tim Challies on coffee and writing

Click here.

Some classic comments too:

You wrote: I am convinced that it [coffee] is a vile, evil concoction and one that has cruelly enslaved much of the human race. I despise the stuff, even in what I am assured is its finest form. I can barely stand even the smallest taste of it. It curdles my tongue, makes my eyes water, and leaves me gagging. I find it utterly revolting.

Could you be a little bit more clear on that. I am not sure I really understand what you are saying.

When I think of Reformed, I think of coffee drinkers for some reason, but I know God in His grace allows non-coffee drinkers/lovers into the kingdom as well ;)

Tim, you know you were asking for all this grief when you decided to post about your dislike of coffee. And to add to the grief, I want you to know that from the depths of my heart, I will be praying for you that God, in His great mercy, will see fit to give you a new set of tastes and desires for this wonderful gift of His common grace to mankind.

Amen!

(H/t Craig)

Perhaps this is why teaching Science and Religion is like banging my head against a brick wall...

For some Men, that have but superficial, though conspicuous, Wits, are not fitted to penetrate such Truths, as require a lasting and attentive Speculation; and diverse, hat want not Abilities, are so taken up by their Secular Affairs, and their Sensual Pleasure, that they neither have Disposition, nor will have Leisure, to discover those Truths, that require both an Attentive and Penetrating Mind. And more than of either of these sorts of Men there are, whom their Prejudices do so forestall, or their Interest bias, or their Appetites blind, or their Passions discompose, too much, to allow them a clear Discernment, and right Judgment, of Divine Things.

- Robert Boyle, The Christian Virtuoso, 1690

Von Neumann's Axiom

This is what I want to write on most of my students' exams papers:

There's no sense in being precise when you don't know what you're talking about.

Actually, they're generally not precise - but they certainly don't know what they're talking about!

Why do you see right through me?

Not Pretty Enough

Am I not pretty enough?
Is my heart too broken?
Do I cry too much?
Am I too outspoken?

Don't I make you laugh?
Should I try it harder?
Why do you see right through me?

I live, I breathe, I let it rain on me
I sleep, I wake, I try hard not to break
I crave, I love, I've waited long enough
I try as hard as I can

I laugh, I feel, I make believe it's real
I fall, I freeze, I pray down on my knees
I hope, I stand, I take it like a man
I try as hard as I can

Am I not pretty enough?
Is my heart too broken?
Do I cry too much?
Am I too outspoken?

Don't I make you laugh?
Should I try it harder?
Why do you see right through me?

- Kasey Chambers

Reason and Religion

I like his style!

But some are so strangely prejudiced against Reason (and that upon sufficient reason too, as they think, which yet involves a flat contradiction) as that they look upon it not as the Candle of the Lord, but as on some blazing Comet, that portends present ruine to the Church, and to the soul, and carries a fatal and venomous influence along with it. And because the unruly head of Socinus, and his followers, by their meer pretenses to Reason, have made Shipwreck of Faith, and have been very injurious to the Gospel; therefore these weak and staggering apprehensions are afraid of understanding any thing; and think, that the very name of Reason, especially in a Pulpit, in matters of Religion, must needs have at least a thousand Heresies couched in it. If you do but offer a Syllogism, they’d straightaway cry it down for carnal reasoning. What would these men have? Would they be banished from their own essences? Would they forfeit and renounce their understandings? Or have they any to forfeit, or disclaim?

- Nathanael Culverwel, An Elegant and Learned Discourse of the Light of Nature, 1652

Henry More, but not Henry More, grandson of Thomas More

To me, this seems a strange way to begin a biographical chapter in a book on Henry More, "Cambridge Platonist":

From Sir Thomas More, the former Lord Chancellor of England executed in the Tower in 1535, descended two grandsons named Henry, who were cousinds and Catholics. Neither of these was the Cambridge don, born in 1614...

Hmm.

Militant atheists are wrong!

Click here.

Sentimental hymns lead to murder!

OK, not exactly, but Byron has commented on a great quote from Hauerwas.

Click here.

Canned Snoopy

Architects and engineers compete to see whose team can build the most spectacular structure using little more than cans of food at Canstruction, the 13th annual NYC Design and Build competition in New York.

All these cans will go to the food bank afterwards.

But I'm dating a geek!

What Kind of Guy Will You Fall For?
	You would fall for the gentleman. Keep an eye out for your love at your next formal or field trip to the opera. Watch out for bad boys who walk on the inside of the curb and don't hold the door for you, and you'll end up with the guy who's suave, sophisticated, and classy through-and-through.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Light

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen – not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else.

- C.S. Lewis

Against objectivity

What matters is our loyalty to other human beings clinging together against the dark, not our hope of getting things right.

- Richard Rorty (1931-2007)

Beware the killer bunny rabbit!

Or, How to make a Liberal Party scare campaign ad.

The Captain

Is this the least feminist song ever written?

Well I don't have as many friends because
I'm not as pretty as I was
I've kicked myself at times because I've lied
So I will have to learn to stand my ground
I'll tell 'em I won't be around
I'll move on over to your town and hide

And you be the captain
And I'll be no one
And you can carry me away if you want to
And you can lay low
Just like your father
And if I tread upon your feet you just say so
'Cause you're the captain, I am no one
I tend to feel as though I owe one to you

Well I have handed all my efforts in
Searched here for my second wind
Is there somewhere here to let me in, I asked
So I slammed the doors they slammed at me
I found the place I'm meant to be
I figured out my destiny at last

You be the captain
And I'll be no one
And you can carry me away if you want to
You can lay low
Just like your father
And if I tread upon your feet you just say so
'Cause you're the captain, I am no one,
I tend to feel as though I owe one to you

Did I forget to thank you for the ride?
I hadn't tried
I tend to run away and hide

You're the captain
I am no one
And I owe one to you

It's a beautiful song...

I'm a football team!

Click here.

It's a hard life...

BECAUSE WE ARE MEN

If you put a woman on a pedestal and try to protect her from the Rat Race, you're a Male Chauvinist Pig.

If you stay home and do the housework, you're a pansy.

If you work too hard, there is never any time for her and the kids.

If you don't work enough, you're a good-for-nothing layabout.

If she has a boring repetitive job with low pay, this is exploitation.

If you have a boring repetitive job with low pay, you should get off your ass and find something better.

If you get a promotion ahead of her, that is favouritism.

If she gets a job ahead of you, it's equal opportunity.

If you mention how nice she looks, it's sexual harassment.

If you keep quiet, it's male indifference.

If you cry, you're a sheila.

If you don't, you're an insensitive bastard.

If you thump her, it's wife-bashing.

If she thumps you, it's self-defense.

If you make a decision without consulting her, you're a chauvinist.

If she makes a decision without consulting you, she's a liberated woman.

If you ask her to do something she doesn't enjoy, that's domination.

If she asks you, it's a favour.

If you appreciate the female form and frilly underwear, you're a pervert.

If you don't, you're a poofter.

If you like a woman to shave her legs and keep in shape, you're sexist.

If you don't, you're unromantic.

If you try to keep yourself in shape, you're vain.

If you don't, you're a slob.

If you buy her flowers, you're after something.

If you don't, you're not thoughtful.

If you're proud of your achievements, you're up yourself.

If you don't, you're not ambitious.

If you ask for a cuddle, you never think of anything but sex.

If you're totally whacked after a hard day's work, you don't give a stuff about other people's needs.

If she has a headache, she's tired.

If you have a headache, you don't love her any more.

If you want it too often, you're oversexed.

If you don't, there must be someone else.

Am I a feminist?

Craig referred to me as his "feminist reader" on his blog (nice that he linked to my post, though). I'm not sure I would consider myself a feminist. I'm not really into labels, particularly when the terms are not at all well-defined.

One of my friends once told me that I was "too Martha Stewart" to be a feminist!

Is feminism still needed?

(I wrote this a number of years ago. One of my friends from uni decided to start an email debate about whether or not feminism was still needed. As I recall, I was the only one arguing in support of feminism. I recall one of my female friends saying that feminism was no longer needed because in her workplace, there were more women than men. My thoughts on this topic are far from firmly settled, but I think it's an important issue to consider, so I decided to post this here to see if anyone has any thoughts to share...)

There is a problem with this topic, though. It assumes that there is only one feminist argument/movement. Feminism can not be characterized as a single viewpoint. There are many different views within feminism, from radical anti-male feminism, to a more moderate view that might not even be recognized as feminism. So, the question is, what feminism are we talking about? However, all these different viewpoints have something in common. As Kaz Cooke puts it, “The myriad variations on feminist belief all revolve around equality of opportunity and freedom of choice: choice to be a full-time parent, a rocket scientist, a labourer or a florist, and the freedom to be respected for any of those choices.”

This is something women still do not have, and this is partly the fault of feminism. Women are now often expected to be able to do it all – have a family and a successful career. It seems, though, that there is just not enough time in the day to do this. Also, women who try to juggle family and career are discriminated against. Employers prefer men who don’t have commitments outside work – who don’t have to leave by 5pm on the dot so they can pick up their kids from day-care, who can work more overtime because they don’t have kids to look after, etc etc. Employers in general are more likely to hire a man who won’t be requiring maternity leave at some point. Australia is also behind most of the world in offering compulsory paid maternity leave. Unfortunately, in some ways compulsory paid maternity leave would make things worse – employers may be even more reluctant to hire women. This is a real problem for women in the workforce. Women are often demoted after returning from maternity leave. Of course, women have to be the ones to give birth, but there is nothing wrong with a man taking paternity leave to look after kids while the woman returns to work. It does happen, and perhaps if it happened more, there wouldn’t be as much discrimination against women.

But then, men are generally paid more. Wages are not equal yet. The salary for women is often much less than for men – tens of thousands of dollars less in some cases, for the same qualifications and the same work. Rob said “There are many positions that socially only women (and homosexuals) can fill, whereas traditional male strongholds such as the construction industry are now falling under siege from female recruits.” Which positions are these? Describing the construction industry as being "under siege from female recruits" only continues the problem. Why shouldn’t women enter these industries? If they can do the job as well, what’s the problem? Is it that men feel they are losing their authority and exclusivity? Women should have the same opportunities as men, unless they are genuinely inhibited by physical aspects. Some form of feminism is still needed to fight for this. One workplace favouring women does not mean that the problem has been solved. And even if there is a ‘filter effect’ at work, feminism is still needed to make sure it happens!

Even if you think that women have equal opportunity in the workplace, there are still many other issues facing women today: domestic violence, pornography, rape, sexual harassment, ‘the beauty myth’, eating disorders…

In short, I think feminism still has its place. It depends on what kind of feminism we’re talking about, though. If feminism means that women are anti-men, and want to keep men under their feet as inferior beings, this is no different from what feminism is fighting against. However, if feminism is taken as a fight for equal opportunities and freedom of choice, then it is eternally valuable. I think feminism has a tendency to come in cycles. One group of women will rise up against the oppression of men and fight for their rights. The next generation, however, tends to take for granted what has been won for them, and feminism dies out a bit, and women become oppressed again. Then, the next wave of feminism comes, and fights for those rights again.

I think at the moment feminism has taken a bit of a down turn. We’ve all grown up taking for granted the rights that have been won for us – the right for education, equal pay etc. It’s perhaps not until these things are denied, or we come across some discrimination that we take up the cause of feminism again. However, I think it would be a good idea to keep in mind what feminism has done for women (although there are negatives) to ensure that things don’t go backwards.

Love

Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.

- C. S. Lewis

Does exercise really make us thinner?

Ultimately, the relationship between physical activity and fatness comes down to the question of cause and effect. Is Lance Armstrong excessively lean because he burns off a few thousand calories a day cycling, or is he driven to expend that energy because his body is constitutionally set against storing calories as fat? If his fat tissue is resistant to accumulating calories, his body has little choice but to burn them as quickly as possible: what Rony and his contemporaries called the “activity impulse”—a physiological drive, not a conscious one. His body is telling him to get on his bike and ride, not his mind. Those of us who run to fat would have the opposite problem. Our fat tissue wants to store calories, leaving our muscles with a relative dearth of energy to burn. It’s not willpower we lack, but fuel.

Read more.

Philosophers and science

Philosophers say a great deal about what is absolutely necessary for
science, and it is always, so far as one can see, rather naive, and
probably wrong.

- Richard Feynman

Arguing with Craig

I'm having an argument with Craig over at the blog formerly known as "These Infinite Spaces." Unfortunately, I'm about to go out, so I'll have to delay further responses until later.

I've been meaning to post on these issues for awhile. I'd be interested to know people's thoughts...