A return to blogging

I was surprised to see that I haven't posted since April. I guess that means for the last 5 months of my thesis, I wasn't procrastinating as much.

Yes, that's right, the thesis is finally done. Well, submitted, anyway. I still have to wait for examiners' reports and the almost inevitable revisions. In the meantime I'm catching up on life, and I'm planning to restart this blog. I'll have to change the tagline though, since I'm no longer a procrastinating PhD student. Procrastinating, always; PhD student, just about done!

I have a dilemma, though. I'd like to write more about science and Christianity topics, as well as more general Christians in academia stuff, but I might also like to continue with the random snippets about my life. If I decide I want to put my name to the more academic posts, is it worth starting a new blog, and keeping this for the more mundane, personal stuff?

Thoughts, anyone?

1. Leaving on a Jet Plane

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE
John Denver -Cherry Lane Music Publishing Co., Inc. -ASCAP

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go
I'm standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin', it's early morn
The taxi's waiting, he's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could cry.

Chorus:
So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go.
I'm leavin' on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go.

There's so many times I've let you down
So many times I've played around
I tell you now, they don't mean a thing
Every place I go, I think of you
Every song I sing, I sing for you
When I come back, I'll wear your wedding ring.

(Chorus)

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time let me kiss you
Then close your eyes, I'll be on my way.
Dream about the days to come
When I won't have to leave alone
About the times, I won't have to say,

(Chorus)

2. The Cruel War

CRUEL WAR
Yarrow/Stookey © Neworld Media Music Publishers- ASCAP/Silver Dawn Music- ASCAP

The Cruel War is raging, Johnny has to fight
I want to be with him from morning to night.
I want to be with him, it grieves my heart so,
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.

Tomorrow is Sunday, Monday is the day
that your Captain will call you and you must obey.
Your captain will call you it grieves my heart so,
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.

I'll tie back my hair, men's clothing I'll put on,
I'll pass as your comrade, as we march along.
I'll pass as your comrade, no one will ever know.
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.

Oh Johnny, oh Johnny, I fear you are unkind
I love you far better than all of mankind.
I love you far better than words can e're express
Won't you let me go with you?
Yes, my love, yes.

Yes, My Love, Yes.

3. Blowin' in the Wind

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND
Bob Dylan- Special Rider Music - SESAC

How many roads must a man walk down
Before they call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
How many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
How many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
How many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
How many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

4. If I Had A Hammer

IF I HAD A HAMMER
Seeger/Hayes- Ludlow Music Corp. - BMI

If I had a hammer,
I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening,
All over this land

I'd hammer out danger,
I'd hammer out a warning,
I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a bell,
I'd ring it in the morning,
I'd ring it in the evening,
All over this land

I'd ring out danger,
I'd ring out a warning
I'd ring out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a song,
I'd sing it in the morning,
I'd sing it in the evening,
All over this land

I'd sing out danger,
I'd sing out a warning
I'd sing out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

Well I got a hammer,
And I got a bell,
And I got a song to sing, all over this land.

It's the hammer of Justice,
It's the bell of Freedom,
It's the song about Love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

It's the hammer of Justice,
It's the bell of Freedom,
It's the song about Love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

5. Lemon Tree

LEMON TREE
Will Holt- Boulder Music Corp.-BMI

When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me,
"Come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree."
"Don't put your faith in love, my boy", my father said to me,
"I fear you'll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree."

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

One day beneath the lemon tree, my love and I did lie
A girl so sweet that when she smiled the stars rose in the sky.
We passed that summer lost in love beneath the lemon tree
the music of her laughter hid my father's words from me:

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

One day she left without a word. She took away the sun.
And in the dark she left behind, I knew what she had done.
She'd left me for another, it's a common tale but true.
A sadder man but wiser now I sing these words to you:

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

Image from Ian Britton on freefoto.com

The Very Best of The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary!

My lovely friend Donna bought me The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary for my birthday - my very first P, P & M CD! I've been listening to it tonight, and despite what some may say, Peter, Paul and Mary really do ROCK! Just for the sheer thrill of it, I've decided to count down my top 5 favourite songs from the CD - not my top 5 P, P & M songs of all time, just out of the ones on this album (a hard enough task in itself!) This is the list I had to choose from:

1. Early in the Morning
2. 500 Miles
3. Lemon Tree
4. If I Had A Hammer
5. Where Have all the Flowers Gone
6. Puff, The Magic Dragon
7. The Cruel War
8. This Land is Your Land
9. Blowin' in the Wind
10. Stewball
11. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
12. For Lovin' Me
13. For Baby (For Bobbie)
14. The Times They Are a Changin'
15. Early Mornin' Rain
16. Leaving on a Jet Plane
17. I Dig Rock and Roll Music
18. Too Much of Nothing
19. The Great Mandala (The Wheel of Life)
20. Day is Done
21. El Salvador
22. Wedding Song (There is Love)
23. Follow Me
24. Weave Me the Sunshine
25. Don't Laugh At Me
    

The Bible - LOLCat style!

Romans 8:28-39:

28 U no, teh Ceiling Cat, he always doin stuff for ur own gud, if yu luvs him.29 Teh Ceiling Cat nu us befor an calld us be liek Baby Jebus.30 Wat him nu befor, datz hoo him calld; an hoo he hollerd fer, demz himz gibbd warm milk; an demz he givd warm milk, dem himz fed annuder cheezbrgr, srsly. Dubba brgr wit cheez. No mayo, dats nawt Kosher. Srsly. Mustard ok. An rellis. Hold da pikl, I dunno wer das bin. Srsly.

31 WTF den, srsly? Iff Ceiling Catz r fite for us, den who gunna hav Catfight?32 Him naild hiz own kittn, Baby Jebus, to scratchn post, so we no hez gonna giv us mor cheezbrgz an warm milk, an stuff.33 U fink u kan say hoo iz gud enuf? Onlee Ceiling Cat kan does dat.34 An hoo gunna starta Catfight!? Jebus hadda dirtnap, an he livd agen, an iz teh right-paw mitten uv Ceiling Cat, dat d00d hoo maiks cheezebrgz an warm milk.35 Den hoo gunna steels da luv uf Baby Jebus? kan Catfight!, or azz bitin, or no kibble in bowl, or no fur, or dangur?36 Da skripchurs sez, "Fur youze we face deth all day long."37 Nope srsly, webe moar dan teh winnarz uv cauz we petted Himz fur.38 I noes dat nawt dirtnappin or dancin, nawt Invisible Anglez, nawt stuff nows or stuffs in mornin, nawt lektrisity,39 nawt up, nawt dwn, nawt uddr aminalz, kan taiks us away frm teh luv we has, teh warm milk uf Ceiling Cat an Baby Jebus, teh Christ, owr Lord.

Translation (ESV):

28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written,

"For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."

37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our first Christmas tree

I'm a bit sentimental when it comes to Christmas. I've always loved putting up the tree. Although in recent years I've appreciated the small fibre-optic tree my parents bought (pull it out of the box and plug it in!) I was so excited to buy our first tree. I had a marvellous time shopping for ornaments, and Matt and I had a lot of fun putting it up and decorating it. We had some funky garlands around the place too, but I forgot to take photos of those...

Making gingerbread

And here are some photos of our first Christmas as a married couple. Making gingerbread is a long-running tradition of mine, and Matt had a fantastic time helping me decorate them. Mine are the more minimalist ones at the top here:

Aww...

My lovely sister-in-law is borrowing our camera for her trip to Cairns, so I finally got around to downloading our most recent photos (i.e. Christmas) to my computer. I shall inflict some upon you all now.

Here are some cute photos of Matt with our gorgeous niece Anastasia:





And here's a lovely one of my Auntie Luba with Anastasia:

Estranged

Old at heart but I'm only 28
And I'm much too young
To let love break my heart
Young at heart but it's getting much too late
To find ourselves so far apart...

Still talking to myself
and nobody's home

- Guns n' Roses, "Estranged"

Science and Religion, Epistemology and Discrimination

An interesting (but long - I only skimmed it) rehash of a debate between Alvin Plantinga (probably the most well-known Christian philosopher in the world) and Daniel Dennett (philosopher of mind and one of the "new atheists"). The commentator decided to remain anonymous, and wrote this about his decision:

I prefer to remain anonymous for various reasons, in particular because I am inclined towards Plantinga's position over Dennett's and were this to become well-known it could damage or destroy my career in analytic philosophy. This is something I prefer not to put my family through. I almost didn't publish these comments at all, but as far as I could tell, this would be the only public record of the discussion.

Friends, if you can identify me, I request that you keep my identity secret. I am sharing my thoughts as a service to the philosophical community and all those who have an interest in such debates. But I prefer not to suffer at the hands of my ardently secular colleagues. This is not to say that all secular analytic philosophers are this way; they most certainly are not. But enough of them are that I cannot risk being known publicly.

Interestingly, in the comments on the post, several people dismissed this as paranoia, while one person gave an example of something like this happening. One commenter wrote this:

I am a Christian, and I wrote my master's thesis at a secular university on Plantinga's epistemology. Half of my committee members were theists, half were not. Not once during my time as a graduate student did I ever feel that my career as a philosopher was threatened due to my theism or my sympathy with Plantinga. I have no idea why anyone would make this statement.

Fantastic argument, that. "It hasn't happened to me, therefore it doesn't happen to anyone." Reminds me of this comment from Emily Maguire's recent book on feminism, Princesses and Pornstars:

I’m sick of hearing people say that women aren’t oppressed because their husband does lots of housework or because their company pays women the same as men or because they’ve never personally been raped/groped/called a slut/been denied a basic human right.

Anyway, it is an issue I think about from time to time. Am I too open about my Christian beliefs? Will I be stereotyped as a believer, with the result that no one will take what I say seriously, because obviously I'm biased? This thought occurred to me a couple of years back when I was at a conference held in honour of John Hedley Brooke, one of the world's leading scholars on science and religion. He's notorious for never giving a straight answer about just what he believes, although rumour is that he's a Christian. He's written a lot about the relations between science and Christianity, in particular against the idea of conflict. His work is well respected, but if he was more open about what he believed, would he have been dismissed as an apologist or propagandist for Christianity? Not sure about this. Still thinking. Well, actually, thinking is on hold until after the thesis, but anyway...

Reason and Revelation

There is in scripture therefore no defect, but that any man what place or calling soever hee holde in the Church of God, may have thereby the light of his naturall understanding so perfected, that the one being relieved by the other, there can want no part of needfull instruction unto any good worke which God himselfe requireth, be it naturall or supernaturall, belonging simplie unto men as men, or unto men as they are united in whatsoever kinde of societie. It sufficeth therefore that nature and scripture doe serve in such full sort, that they both joyntly and not severallye eyther of them be so complete, that unto everlasting felicitie wee neede not the knowledge of any thing more then these two, may easily furnish our mindes with on all sides, and therefore they which adde traditions as a part of supernaturall necessarye truth, have not the truth, but are in error.

- Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Polity, 1593, 1.14.5.

Yikes, but that's a nasty passage to try to follow!

Pink chicky

Tee hee - this is fun!

Bunny!

Random comments

From "Roop" on "Superchic(k)":

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From "hi mik1986" on "Anxiety and the Grace of God":

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Weird.

HURRAH!

It's here at last:

The relationship between science and religion (SR) has often been portrayed as bellicose. Yet some scholars view the disciplines as allies that complement and buttress one another. Others consider them to be entirely discrete entities. Without a doubt, the interface of the two disciplines is complex and nuanced, and they have much to learn from one another. Heidi Campbell and Heather Looy assembled A Science and Religion Primer to guide a respectful, intelligent conversation. This landmark work is simultaneously an encyclopedia, an annotated bibliography, and a survey. What's more, the stalwart advisory board for this singular project is made up of

• Celia Deane-Drummond
• Nancey Murphy
• George F. R. Ellis
• Peter Harrison
• Holmes Rolston III
• Craig A. Boyd

Four substantive introductory essays--from Harrison (History and People in Science and Religion), Murphy (The Role of Philosophy in Religion-Science Dialogue), Deane-Drummond (Theology's Intersection with Science and Religion), and Rolston (Science and Technology in Light of Religion)--set the book's background. The second, and primary, section of the book provides an A-Z listing of entries dealing with a variety of philosophical, historical, scientific, and theological concepts, individuals, or events related to the SR dialogue. Each one is divided into three parts: a brief summary/definition of the concept, a key points and challenges section that identifies significant issues, and a "discussion partners" section that lists key related readings. A Science and Religion Primer is an indispensable source in its own right and a springboard for more in-depth research.

(Also, keep your eye out for a small entry on "Natural Theology".)

Another grr about Christians and evolution

From Tim Challies' blog - a quote from someone called Greg Koukl:

Some people suggest that God used evolution to design the world. They are motivated, I think, by two impulses. The first is a desire to affirm the Bible. The second is a suspicion Darwinism may have merit. Thus, they declare both true.

These two notions, however, seem incompatible to me. It may sound reasonable for God to “use” evolution, but if you look closer I think you will see the problem.

Suppose I wanted a straight flush for a hand of poker. I could either pull the cards out of the deck individually and “design” the hand, or I could shuffle the cards randomly and see if the flush is dealt to me. It would not make any sense, though, to “design” the hand by shuffling the deck and dealing. There’s no way to ensure the results. (I guess if I were really clever I could make it look like I was shuffling the deck when in reality I was stacking it, but that would be a deceitful kind of design called “cheating.”).

In the same way, either God designs the details of the biological world, or nature shuffles the deck and natural selection chooses the winning hand. The mechanism is either conscious and intentional (design), or unconscious and unintentional (natural selection). Creation has a purpose, a goal. Evolution is accidental, like a straight flush dealt to a poker rookie.

The idea that something is designed by chance is contradictory. Like trying to put a square peg in a round hole, this just doesn’t fit.

Fundamental problem here. As I understand it (need to do more reading), theistic evolutionists don't claim that God used evolution to design the world. Rather, they might claim that God used evolution in his work of creation, or that God established evolution as a process by which things change and develop in the world he created. Once again, can one really mount a serious argument without properly understanding the position one is arguing against?

Desperate Darwinists?

This is the kind of Christian comment on evolution that bugs me.

Let's have compassion for Darwinists as they develop desperate theories positing the existence of an infinite number of universes. Many cloak themselves as objectively scientific, but that can't dodge even what secularists like novelist Kurt Vonnegut acknowledge: "My body and your body are miracles of design. Scientists are pretending they have the answer as to how we got this way when natural selection couldn't possibly have produced such machines."
- Marvin Olasky, "Dialogue with Darwinists: Key themes to remember on the birthday of 'On the Origin of Species'"

It seems to me that while Olasky discourages ridicule of Darwinism, he himself is ridiculing Darwinists.

It's important to understand the position you're arguing against, and to offer actual arguments rather than ridicule. But calling "Darwinists" (who does that refer to anyway?) "desperate" - isn't that ridicule? Sure, the whole multiverse concept seems a bit wacky, but a lot of science is wacky (what does Olasky think about quantum physics?) and not all Darwinists would buy into that anyway. I know this is only a short article, but Olasky's attacks are on the people, not the ideas - "muttering" Darwinists are "desperate" and "cloaking themselves in scientific objectivity" - i.e. they're not really scientists. I guess Intelligent Design proponents are articulate, calm and actually objective.

And to say that scientists are pretending to have the answers? I don't know of any scientists (apologists for atheistic science such as Dawkins and Dennett are a different matter) who would even claim to have absolute answers - science is more a search for answers, which are always acknowledged to be provisional (even Dawkins admits that we may end up chucking out Darwinism if we find a better theory). We look at the world, and think "wow, that's so amazing, how could things have ended up this way?" To say that God created and sustains the universe is one possible answer, but it's not a scientific explanation. It could be true (and I believe it is) but it doesn't tell us anything scientifically. And, in a sense, it doesn't affect the way science is done. Whether or not a scientist believes in creation, she will still be seeking physical explanations of natural processes. Can science prove or disprove the existence of a divine designer? I don't think so. The same evidence can be interpreted in different ways. One person sees evolution as the means by which God created, while another sees blind physical process.

And on the issue of "complexity" - where one person sees "irreducible complexity", another sees a question to be answered. Sure, we might not know right now how particular mechanisms within a cell developed, but that doesn't mean that we won't know some years down the track. Throughout the history of science, human knowledge of nature has constantly been expanding - constantly discovering new things, and finding out that things are more complex than we thought. Complexity is not a new thing - just a deepening thing. Why stop now, throw our hands up and say, we can't figure it out? People could have done that with the atom, once they realised it wasn't just like a billiard ball.

Anyway, this is a rambling, ill-thought out post. Brain not working - blame the PhD. Just felt like a little rant. I know there are people who may read this blog who will disagree with me, and that's fine. Just don't expect me to get into a deep discussion about it - maybe after the thesis is done, but I really don't have the time or mental energy right now. And please, if you do want to criticise what I say, have the decency to leave your name. Thanks!

Hope is coming for me

C.S. LEWIS SONG - Brooke Fraser



If I find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy
I can only conclude that I was not made for here
If the flesh that I fight is at best only light and momentary
Then of course I’ll feel nude when to where I’m destined I’m compared

Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan
As I wait for hope to come for me

Am I lost or just less found,
On the straight or on the roundabout of the wrong way?
Is this a soul that stirs in me,
Is it breaking free, wanting to come alive?

‘Cause my comfort would prefer for me to be numb
And avoid the impending birth
Of who I was born to become

Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan
As I wait for hope to come for me

For we, we are not long here
Our time is but a breath
So we better breathe it
And I, I was made to live
I was made to love
I was made to know you

Hope is coming for me

Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan
As I wait for hope to come for me

There is nothing new under the sun - 4

From the Consideration of the Possibility of a divine Revelation in general, let us, in particular, examine whether the Christian Religion is founded on divine Revelation. How shall we be resolved in this important Point? The Way to do this, a Free-Thinker tells us, is to renounce all Guides, and to think freely for ourselves about this Matter.

But if by Free-thinking be meant bare Reason, and metaphysical Speculations, 'tis impossible for us this Way to come to any Certainty in this present Case; for Revelation in general, and that which Christianity is founded upon, does resolve itself into plain Matter of Fact: Whence the Evidence of the Truth of the Christian Revelation can be only a moral Evidence, arising from ancient Testimonies and authentic History of plain Matter of Fact.

So that if I should propose to inform myself whether the Christian Revelation be true, I must enquire whether the History of the Gospel be true; for if that be true, the Christian Revelation is so too.

Now 'tis impossible to determine this in our Thoughts only, we must take in the Witness of others, who lived at, or near those Times; and examine all the Evidences and Monuments of Antiquity relating to these Facts.

And whoever takes this Pains, will find the History of the Gospel stands upon a firmer Bottom than any other History.

And therefore whoever rejects the History of the Gospel, and yet gives Credit to other Histories, discovers gross Partiality.

But if the Facts recorded in the Gospel be true, then Christianity is founded on divine Revelation; then our Saviour had Authority from God to declare his Will; then he had Power to commission others to teach in his Name, and transmit his Doctrines to Posterity; then he did assist them to do this with Certainty; and then we may suppose these Writings freer from Effects of human Weakness.

Benjamin Ibbot, The True Notion of the Exercise of Private Judgment, or Free-Thinking, 1713.

There is nothing new under the sun - 3

The Foundation of our Religion, as it is purely Christian, is this, that the Sins of Men are not otherwise to be forgiven, nor their Souls saved, than by the Mediation of Jesus Christ, and by that Expiation which he has made with God for our Reconciliation.

The Doctrine the Enemies of Christianity run down, as unreasonable, and foolish, and altogether unworthy of God. They assert, that God is not to be worshiped by a Mediator, nor Pardon of Sins and Reconciliation to be expected by a Sacrifice of Expiation and Atonement; that these Things are disagreeable to the Mercy of God, and to the Freedom of his Grace, both which are essential to him as well as Justice and Vengeance. Or at most they tell us, that Repentance is of itself a sufficient Expiation, and to pretend that we cannot be saved but by the Redemption and Mediation of Jesus Christ, is, say they, as derogatory to the Love and Compassion and Clemency of the divine Nature, as the Worship of him by an Image is to his Spirituality.

But in answer to such Notions I will shew, that the Doctrine of Man's Redemption, and Remission of Sins, by the expiatory Sacrifice of the Blood of Christ, is neither unnecessary nor unreasonable, but are agreeable to the Perfections of God, and manifest his Wisdom and Goodness in our Redemption.

John Turner, The Wisdom of God in the Redemption of Man, 1708.

There is nothing new under the sun - 2

The Infidels of our Times despairing of being able to reason Religion out of the World, seem now to place all their Hopes of Success in sneering and laughing it out of Countenance.

To arm Men therefore against these rude Assaults, wherein their chief Strength lies, I will shew, That whosoever is a true Christian, both in Faith and Practice, can have no Reason to be ashamed of his being so.

Lilly Butler, Religion no Matter of Shame or Reproach, 1709.

There is nothing new under the sun

The Folly of Atheism, from the Pleasures of a Religious Life

Religion tells us we are the Workmanship of a superlatively wise, powerful, and good Being; that we are placed here to view and applaud these glorious Scenes of Heaven and Earth; and that God has created a sufficient Store of all Things, either necessary or convenient for us; and particularly to such as obey him, has promised a Supply of all our Wants, and a Protection from all Dangers; That he has sent his Son into the World to bring Life and Immortality to Light, and to render to Mankind, if they would obey his Commandments, the Promise of eternal Salvation.

Atheism on the contrary would persuade us, that this is all a Dream; that there is no such excellent Being as supposed, that created and preserves us; that all about us is dark senseless Matter, driven on by the wild impulses of Fatality; that Men rose out of the Slime of the Earth, and that what is called the Sou, perishes by Death.

And what Stupidity is this, to let go the Hopes of everlasting Life with Willingness, and entertain the Thoughts of Perdition with Exultation?

This inconsiderate Behaviour of the Atheists is so extremely absurd, that it would be deemed incredible, if it did not occur to our daily Observation. It proclaims aloud, that they are not led astray by their Reasoning, but led captive by their Lusts to the Denial of a God.

Did Religion bestow Heaven to both good and bad Men, there would be no Infidels among us: But it is the Way of attaining it, that makes prophane Men let go the Expectation of it. They will not practise its Rules, and therefore they cannot believe its Promises.

But, however, let us suppose that they have acted like reasonable Men, and upon diligent inquiry have found they were under a necessity of rejecting Religion, upon account of their being obliged to give their assent to such Things as are repugnant to common sense. And here I confess, that did the Offers of eternal Happiness depend upon our giving a full assent to such Things, the Kingdom of Heaven would become the Inheritance of Idiots and Fools. And if the Atheist can shew me any such Absurdities in the Christian Religion, I will either evince them to be Interpolations and Corruptions of the Faith, or yield myself a Proselyte to Infidelity.

Richard Bentley, The Confutation of Atheism, 1692.

Get with the Programmer!

I want to nominate Matt for this, but he's not keen. True, it would be unfair to everyone else who might want to enter...

A Literary Meme

I found this meme on Ali's blog, and decided to do it even though I wasn't tagged.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline (or mark in a different color) the books you LOVE
4) Reprint this list in your blog. The premise of this exercise is that the (American) National Endowment for the Arts apparently believes that the average American has only read 6 books from the list below.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling. I've been resisting, because whenever someone tells me that I have to do something, I usually refuse! But I'm thinking about reading the series after the PhD!
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee.
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte. Hated it!
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman. Well, I've read the first one. The others - maybe after the thesis.
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens. It's on my shelf.
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy.
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare. I think I've read 5, but one day I'd like to be able to say I've read them all.
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell. I have a vague feeling I read this once, but I can't really remember...
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald. I'm not absolutely sure I finished it, though...
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens. It's on my shelf. And I'd like to see the BBC series.
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy. It's been on the shelf since the end of 1998 when I bought it for $4.95 - bargain! One day I'll read it. I hope.
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams. The first one was hilarious, the second quite amusing, but the third just got too silly. Mattresses flollopping in swamps?!
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh. I really wanted to see the movie, but didn't get around to it.
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy. I've tried a couple of times - maybe after the thesis? (That's becoming a theme!)
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens. On my shelf...
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen. Probably my favourite Jane Austen!
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis. I read this many times when I was a kid, but couldn't get into the others. When I re-read the series in the first year of my PhD, I loved it!
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown. Twice. Ouch!
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins.
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery. I read all her books, but unlike many girls, I didn't LOVE Anne of Green Gables. And Gilbert Blythe? Meh.
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding. My goodness, that was a disturbing book!
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan. Still want to see the movie!
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen. Although I confess, I don't think I've ever finished it...
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens. Very depressing! The Scarlet Pimpernel was much more upbeat!
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy.
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville - I own it.
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker. It's on my shelf...
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett. One of my favourite books as a child!
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce. I've probably read about half of it. Maybe I'll aim to finish it on Bloomsday?
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray. On my shelf, in a beautiful illustrated edition. Loved the movie.
80 Possession - AS Byatt.
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens. All this Dickens, but where's Our Mutual Friend? I've read that twice!
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton. Another childhood favourite.
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad. I didn't get it.
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery. In French and English! "Dessine moi un mouton!"
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams. I don't think I've read it, but I hear it's sad.
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare. My favourite Shakespeare! I saw an awesome production at Oxford Castle a couple of years back. Love it!
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo. I remember getting near the end of this when I was on my way home from work at DJs years ago. I was sitting on the train bawling my eyes out, it was so sad!

I tag Duncan, Nick, Byron, Jessica, Chris, and Doug. I'll be impressed if anyone still reads this blog frequently enough to find the tag...