Milk & Honey

I am soon to embark on my third annual adventure in the green and pleasant land that is the UK, and lately I have been engaged in the very pleasurable activity of planning the exciting things I will see and do. I'll be away for six weeks, and for most of that time I will be working hard - attending conferences, presenting papers, networking and researching archives and manuscripts, but I'm planning to have a little fun along the way - particularly in the evening, when the libraries are closed.

I heard about a bar called Milk & Honey last year, but I didn't get around to going there while I was in London. This time, I'm determined to go. It's a very exclusive bar:

Milk & Honey opened in Soho, London, in April 2002 and remains dedicated to bringing unrivalled drinks quality and service to a discerning crowd of grown-ups.

Access to non-members is by reservation only until 11pm (and in practice restricted to the early part of the week). For members and their guests the bar is open until 3am six nights a week. No reservation is required for members, but we advise that you always call ahead.

It also has a list of house rules which appeal to me, particularly the fifth one:

No name-dropping.

No hooting, hollering, shouting or other loud behaviour.

No fighting, play fighting, no talking about fighting.

Gentlemen will remove their hats. Hooks are provided.

Gentlemen will not introduce themselves to ladies.
Ladies, feel free to start a conversation or ask the bartender to introduce you. If a man you don't know speaks to you, please lift your chin slightly and ignore him.

Do not linger outside the front door.

Do not bring anyone unless you would leave that person alone in your home. You are responsible for the behaviour of your guests.

Exit the bar briskly and silently. People are trying to sleep across the street. Please make all your travel plans and say all farewells before leaving the bar.

This is a place that is very serious about its drinks:

If you're in the Red Room, you'll be served drinks containing jagged wedges of ice. We cut these by hand with an ice pick from a twice-frozen block of ice made from mineral water. Ice like this is denser, colder and clearer, and chills your drink perfectly without diluting it too much.

As mentioned above, it's very exlusive. One can purchase membership, but the number of members is limited. So, one must join the waiting list, and then wait until a member leaves or a membership lapses. It's £50 to join the waiting list. Then when you're offered membership the annual fee is £300 for one membership card which also includes three guests. Insanity!

The original Milk & Honey is located in New York, and is open to members only.

Milk & Honey opened in New York in January 2000 and is located on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Entrance is by referral and appointment only. Many New Yorkers assume that M&H is an urban myth but access is easy for London members seven nights a week until 4am.

There is no way I would ever take out membership in a place like this, but there's something about it that appeals to me. I like the seriousness of it - this is not a place to hang out in the hope of spotting celebrities, or a place to pick up. And the rules crack me up, particularly the one about gentlemen not speaking to ladies without permission. It's very Jane Austen!

All I ever needed to know about life, I learned from The Princess Bride

1) Never trust poor lost circus performers.
2) If there are rocks ahead, we'll all be dead.
3) Shrieking eels always grow louder when they're about to feed on human flesh.
4) Inconceivable doesn't mean what you think it means.
5) Thibault cancels out Capo Ferro (unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa).
6) You use different moves when fighting half a dozen people than when you only have to worry about one.
7) Plato, Aristotle, Socrates...morons.
8) Never get involved in a land war in Asia.
9) Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.
10) Anyone who says life isn't pain is selling something.
11) Mocking someone's pain can get you thrown down a ravine.
12) Never say you won't survive just because no one else ever has.
13) R.O.U.S.s DO exist.
14) If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything.
15) Love cannot be tracked or broken.


16) When a job goes wrong, you go back to the beginning.
17) You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.
18) Mostly dead is slightly alive.
19) True love is the greatest thing in the world (except for a nice M.L.T.)
20) Chocolate coating makes everything go down easier.
21) Real friends will help you storm a castle gate guarded by sixty men.
22) Mawidge is a dweam wiffim a dweam.
23) If you didn't say it, you didn't do it.
24) Death cannot stop true love, all it can do is delay it for a while.
25) War is a prestigious line of work, with a long and glorious tradition.
26) People in masks cannot be trusted.
27) Lies do not become of men of action.
28) List everything among your assets, even if it's just a wheelbarrow carting an albino.
29) Scaling the face of a giant cliff is not as easy as it looks.
30) You should never trust the word of a spaniard.


31) If you see a boat following you in eel-infested waters, it's probably not a fisherman out for a pleasure cruise at night.
32) When jogging someone's memory, don't jog too hard.
33) Yelling a single phrase over and over makes you recover from certain death.
34) When asked a question for posterity, be completely honest.
35) There's not much money in revenge.
36) It's good to know someone on the Brute Squad.
37) After taking a miracle pill, don't go swimming for at least an hour.
38) Do good work and maybe they won't kill you in the morning.
39) When you're about to be killed by a pirate, just say the reason for you to live is true love.
40) Being nervous and concerned are NOT the same thing.
41) Always think everything could be a trap, and you'll still be alive.
42) Sword fights are always the best way to resolve an argument.


With thanks to the "Hallo. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." group on Facebook.

Any others??

Endorphin rush

I had a great workout at the gym this morning. I hadn't worked out for a week, because I'd been unwell, but my trainer, Elizabeth, did not go easy on me! Working out with a personal trainer once a week is not cheap, but it's worth it. Elizabeth works me hard, but she's so nice that I don't mind. Doing lunge-drives, holding a 5kg plate, legs burning... how many left? 4?! OK, just because it's you...

It's great as well that she doesn't just care about my physical well-being, but about my spiritual well-being as well (she's a Christian). She asks how I am emotionally, how things are going with the special man in my life (hi Matt!!) and how my PhD is coming along.

She's given me homework for next week. I have to finish my first conference paper before I see her next Thursday. Then I have to finish the second one by the following week, and the third one the week after that. She's tough! Good news though - I'm actually making progress on my first conference paper this afternoon. Hurrah!

Hmm. I think my lats are going to be sore tomorrow. Why did I ask for more weight?!

Studying is bad for your health

Click here.

OK, so that's not really what the article is saying, but everyone knows it anyway!

I received the email about this on Monday, and I was a little concerned given that I work in this building. I guess, though, that I probably haven't been here long enough to be really worried. Still, I knew this PhD was bad for my health!!

Tee hee!

Donna sent me this:

The mystery is finally solved.

How does the small arrow on your computer monitor work when we move the mouse?

Haven't you ever wondered how it works?

Now, through the miracle of high technology, we can see how it is done.

With the aid of a screen magnifying lens, the mechanism becomes apparent.

Click on the link below and you will find out! The image may take a minute or two to download and when it appears, slowly move your mouse over the light gray circle and you will see how the magic works.

Follow this link and find out the truth.

I would have been more impressed if the arrow was carried around by a team of mice...

Progress or Providence?

Michael Ruse on the Creation-Evolution struggle.

Hurrah!

I've finished marking the take-home exams for the Science and Religion subject I tutor online - just in time to wander down to the School of Physics for Greg's lecture. Now, if I can get all the Cosmos and Culture tests marked tomorrow, I can spend the rest of the week on my conference papers, which will make me very happy indeed...

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain...

While the rain in Tasmania falls in... bottles.

You can now buy Tasmanian Rain water over the internet. Only $24 for four bottles. That's 24 US dollars - it's a New York-based company.

Tasmanian Rain is uniquely pure rain water captured on the pristine island of Tasmania, Australia, where the air is scientifically proven to be the purest in the world.

The air travels over Antartica and 10,000 miles of ocean, eventually reaching the most western point of Tasmania, called "The Edge of the World." There Tasmanian Rain is collected without ever touching the ground.

There's simply no other water like it.

Hmm.

Grrr...

I am staying at uni late tonight for Greg Clarke's lecture on "Where Richard Dawkins is not a scientist." Greg is also speaking at my church on Sunday night on Dawkins ("Are Christians deluded?" Details here.) but I'm sufficiently interested in Dawkins and enough of a fan of Greg Clarke to go to two lectures in one week.

Anyway, the lecture tonight starts at 7:30pm, so I'm hanging around until then, attempting to finish some marking and prepare for tomorrow's tute. I just took a walk up to level 5 of the Botany St carpark to bring my car down to the carpark outside my office (which was full when I arrived at uni today at the ridiculously late time of 11am). After parking, I noticed that the passenger-side mirror was askew. This surprised me, because although I parked quite close to a concrete column this morning, and it's not unknown for me to hit my mirror on such columns, I didn't recall this happening. Surely I would have noticed?

So I got out of the car, and attempted to move the mirror back into position. Crack. It broke. It's kind of in the right position now, but I can just see it falling off to the side while I'm driving down the M5 East at 80km/h (sadly, this has happened to me before - other mirror, though!) Not happy at all. I don't want a new mirror! I'm happy with this one! And I particularly don't want a new mirror when I didn't even realise that I was breaking it. Fair enough if I realise what has happened at the time, but it's not much fun to discover it 6 hours later! Grr. And why is it that when I'm already in a bad mood, these kinds of things happen to make me even more annoyed at the world (and myself, for that matter)?!

Well, this kind of reminds me of one of my favourite scenes from Babylon 5 (in an episode I happened to watch on Saturday, actually). Captain Sheridan is in the garden with the Minbauri ambassador Delenn, and they have this delightful little exchange:

Sheridan: Why is it every time you finally get things calmed down and everything's going great life decides to kick you in the butt?

Delenn: But what?

Sheridan: What?

Delenn: You said that life decides to kick you, but...

Sheridan: No! It's umm... it's, it's a part of the body. It's, ahhh... oh, you have the damndest gaps in your vocabulary!

Delenn: In preparing to come here, I was not taught the more colorful aspects of your language. It was considered inappropriate for one of the religious cast.

Sheridan: Yeah, well, you're missing out on a lot.

Delenn: So I gather... (mumbles to herself) Butt. Butt... I butt, you butt, he or she butts...

Sheridan: No. It's a...

Delenn: Butt butt, butt butt.

Sheridan: You sound like a motorboat.

Delenn: Motorbutt? I do not think I like the sound of that.

Sheridan: Well, I don't blame you. I'm against the whole idea.

Delenn: Then we're in agreement.

Sheridan: Absofragginlutley!

Ah, at least that makes me smile!

105 Things

I'm jumping on the bandwagon here - it seems to be a trend in the blogosphere. (See lists of things about Nixter and Craig, for example). Since I'm having trouble focusing on my work at the moment, I decided to give it a go.

1. I am a PhD student.
2. I need to finish my PhD this year.
3. My scholarship ends in August.
4. I am in the School of History and Philosophy of Science.
5. My PhD is on natural theology in 17th-century England, and how it was related to natural philosophy and theology.
6. I have been interested in science and religion for a very long time.
7. I don't remember when I first got interested in Galileo, but he's now my biggest soapbox.
8. I used to have debates about creation and evolution with my science teacher in year 7.
9. I used to be a dogmatic young earth creationist.
10. I doubt that I knew that is what I was.
11. I'm now a fairly indifferent theistic evolutionist, if I'm forced to label myself.
12. I'm passionate about science and religion because I am a Christian.
13. And I'm interested in science.
14. I still have the first copy of New Scientist that I ever read.
15. That was when I was in year 12, in 1998.
16. I was particularly fascinated by an article on quantum entanglement.
17. I wish I had studied quantum physics.
18. There are many things I wish I had done.
19. There are many things I wish I could do.
20. I wish I could read Latin.
21. And speak Russian.
22. And play bass guitar.
23. I think that my church does not have enough female guitarists.
24. My church has no female guitarists (that play at church regularly, anyway).
25. I play piano at my church during the evening service.
26. I have played the piano since I was in year 2 - 1988 - 7 years old.
27. I completed all the AMEB grades, but failed to pass the AMusA exam.
28. Twice.
29. I was pretty bitter for awhile after failing my AMusA a second time.
30. I hardly played the piano for ages.
31. I'm back to enjoying playing, when I get a chance.
32. I wish I had more time to play the piano.
33. I wish I had more energy to play the piano.
34. I wish I had practised scales more when I was a kid.
35. I love playing Mozart, because it's so light-hearted and fun.
36. I love playing Beethoven, because it's so emotional and I can bang out dramatic C minor chords.
37. I love Mendelssohn's Rondo Cappricioso, but I can't play the second part nearly fast enough.
38. Ditto for the Poulenc Toccata I played for my second AMusA exam.
39. My cousin Andrew plays the piano extremely well.
40. I enjoy playing piano with him.
41. And having my lovely sister-in-law Tegan sing.
42. And seeing my great-aunt Nina dance around the living room.
43. I love singing.
44. I can't sing.
45. I love dancing.
46. I'm not very good at dancing.
47. I have a DVD of all Kylie Minogue's music videos.
48. I'm not ashamed to admit that I have a DVD of all Kylie Minogue's music videos.
49. I like to dance to Kylie Minogue.
50. Particularly the dance routine she does in the music video for "I Wouldn't Change a Thing."
51. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I like to dance to Kylie Minogue.
52. At the moment I am procrastinating from writing a conference paper on the Boyle lectures.
53. This is a paper I will present at a Science and Religion conference at Lancaster in July.
54. At the end of June I will be heading over to the UK for 6 weeks.
55. I am very much looking forward to this.
56. I am in denial about how much I have to get done by then.
57. I would love to live in England for awhile one day.
58. I'm not sure if I could handle the winter.
59. This will be my third trip to the UK.
60. The other two trips (last year and the year before) were both in summer also.
61. This time I am looking forward to spending a week in each of London, Cambridge and Oxford.
62. I am particularly looking forward to visiting the Eagle and Child in Oxford and the Eagle in Cambridge again.
63. I am also looking forward to doing research among manuscripts in the British Library and other libraries.
64. I am hoping to look at Henry More's letters in the library of Christ's College, Cambridge.
65. I was so excited last year to visit the Royal Society of London and hold in my hands commonplace books written by Robert Boyle in the 17th century.
66. I was also excited to see the site where Boyle lived in Oxford and where he performed his famous air-pump experiments with Robert Hooke.
67. I am such a nerd.
68. While I am away, I will miss my family and friends.
69. I will also miss my lovely boyfriend, Matt.
70. My boyfriend is also a nerd.
71. But he's a different kind of nerd.
72. I met my boyfriend through my blog.
73. It still feels a little strange to say that I have a boyfriend.
74. But I am very happy.
75. Writing this list is helping me kill time before heading off to the gym.
76. I joined a Fernwood Women's Health Club just over a year ago.
77. I try to go about 5 times a week.
78. I have a personal trainer, Elizabeth, who is fantastic.
79. I like going to the gym.
80. I am very happy to be going to a female-only gym.
81. My favourite class is Body Pump.
82. There's something about lifting weights that is very empowering.
83. I plan to get back into Body Combat classes at some stage.
84. I try not to be too concerned about my physical appearance, but I still am.
85. I am looking forward to having a spiritual body!
86. I became a Christian when I was a little kid.
87. I asked Jesus to come into my heart.
88. I did this just after my bath, because I thought he would be able to get in more easily if I wasn't wearing any clothes.
89. My understanding of Christianity has progressed since then.
90. I can think of three significant times in my life where I have reaffirmed my faith.
91. The first was when I was about 12 - for perhaps the first time, the significance of Jesus' death and resurrection really hit me, I made a conscious decision to follow Jesus, and I was baptised.
92. The second time was in late high school - I felt that I'd been slipping a bit in my relationship with God, and I went down the front at an evangelistic service.
93. It was an incredibly emotional experience.
94. The third time was in my first year at uni - encountering strong intellectual opposition to my beliefs, I had to think through what I believed and why, and decide whether I could be rational and have faith in God.
95. I decided that I could.
96. Kirsten Birkett was an extremely important role model for me at this time.
97. My favourite book of the Bible is Romans.
98. My favourite chapter is Romans 8.
99. I know that this is rather unoriginal.
100. I don't mind!
101. I am not very good at quiet times and maintaining a personal prayer life.
102. I love reading the bible and praying with other people.
103. I am in a fantastic bible study group this year.
104. Fortunately the leader, Tim (also our associate pastor) managed to exorcise the spirit of Tuesday weakness from me via email, so I actually managed to get to bible study this week.
105. This wasn't as hard as I thought it might be.
106. I think that means I'm far too good at talking about myself.
107. And I can't count.
108. If you made it this far, thank you - I hope you didn't get too bored!

Five songs I'm loving at the moment

Some people may think that I should be embarrassed to admit to liking some of these songs... but I'm not!

KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See


Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape


Nelly Furtado - Say It Right


Gia Farrell - Hit Me Up


Christina Aguilera - Ain't No Other Man


Hurray for girly music!

Are you ready to rock?

Here is a rockin' photo from my brother Tim:



If you like it, you can vote for it to be included in a photography magazine. Click here.

Little Birdy rock!!

A woman's work

Perhaps mothers should start charging for their services!

Click here.

This is me in a nutshell!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Thanks Duncan!

Very strange indeed

Nick pointed out to me that the link to my blog in my Facebook profile was wrong. I accidentally left out the "s" in "blogspot", and it turns out that www.larakate.blogpot.com is the web address for "Abundant Bible",

A mega-site of Bible, Christian and religious information and studies. By God's mercy, one of the largest Bible-centered sites on the web (app. 6000 pgs). If it's in the Bible, it should be on this site.

The site includes stuff about biblical prophecy of the end times, and things such as:

Will Russia and some Arab nations invade Israel and the U.S.A. become involved? Yes.

Will 1/4th of the world’s population die? Yes.

Will there be a one-world system or global economy? Yes.

Will diseases increase such as AIDS? Yes.

Did you know the Bible tells us about what is happening?

Interesting...

Creationism repackaged?

Is Intelligent Design simply Creationism in disguise? This is a current debate in the science and religion subject I tutor. I'm curious to know what people think, and why. Even if you don't know much about Intelligent Design or Creationism, what's your gut feeling? What's the general message you get from the media, church, scientists, friends etc?

Caring for your introvert

It's an old article, but I like it, especially the conclusion:

How can I let the introvert in my life know that I support him and respect his choice?

• First, recognize that it's not a choice. It's not a lifestyle. It's an orientation.
• Second, when you see an introvert lost in thought, don't say "What's the matter?" or "Are you all right?"
• Third, don't say anything else, either.

Theological break-up lines

I like the Calvinist and Arminian ones the most.

• Calvinist: We were predestined before the creation of the world to break up according to God's good pleasure. I am, on my own power, unable to break up with you apart from the irresistible draw of God's sovereign grace which leads me to end this relationship. Those that truly break up will not get back together in the end.
• Arminian: While you love me and have a wonderful plan for my life, I have the power to resist your will. If I did not, love would not be possible. For our relationship to be loving it needs to include the possibility of breaking up--something I am doing right now.

Read the full list here.

I would also like to point out that I have absolutely no intention of using any of these in the foreseeable future!

Mind the Gap!

I've brought this post back up top because I find it strange that I've had two anonymous comments on it. It's about the history of science! Is that so controversial that people can't put their names to their comments? And if they're people I don't know (most likely), who are they and how did they find my blog? Strange.

---
At the 2006 BSHS conference* in Canterbury, the Cambridge historian of science John van Wyhe presented a paper entitled "Mind the Gap" which discussed the reasons why Charles Darwin delayed in publishing his theory of the origin of species. Contrary to the popular belief that Darwin feared the repercussions from the Church or from his religious wife, it seems that he just didn't have time, between dealing with ill health and studying barnacles.

I found it a fascinating paper. Of course, I'm interested in anything related to science and religion, particularly if it dispels popular myths about the Church suppressing science!

Dr van Wyhe's findings have been published in the Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, and have been reported by BBC news. Read about it here.

*If you click on this link, I'm in the photo!!

Praise the Lord!

Byron has had a scan to see whether his cancer is still active, and it has come back clear. He will still have to have regular tests to see how things are going, but for the moment, things look good.

You can read about Byron's experiences here, and see some cute pictures of him and his lovely wife Jess.

Byron has shared very openly about his experiences, and it has been a real privilege to read his posts. Byron and Jess are amazing examples of enduring suffering without losing sight of God's grace and eternity. I think they have been an inspiration and an encouragement to many people.

Praise the Lord!

A good point

Don’t automatically assume that when someone has left your church, it is an issue of faith. The primary issue may be breakdown in relationship with other church members. Some people may not be regular in attendance because anxiety or other mental health challenges arising from their experiences can affect daily functioning.

This is from an article on the Sydney Anglicans website about caring for people who have been through a divorce. I think it's a good point to keep in mind more generally as well.

Hurrah!

I have finally started writing the three conferences papers that I will be presenting in the UK later this year. Well, I have started outlining them, anyway. But this is an important first step for me - I always like to write from outlines. I have outlined the paper on the Boyle Lectures, and I am now working on the Cambridge Platonists. Hopefully I can also get a bit done on the paper for Christians in Science, as it would be good to discuss all three with my supervisor on Tuesday. However, it will depend on how much longer I can stay awake tonight. Tomorrow I have to finish my CASE lecture on Galileo, and tonight I am feeling very tired...

Thog likes puppies

#71 already. This is not good...

Surrender

"Surrender" has now become my favourite song by Kasey Chambers, taking the place of "The Rain."

It's not that I don't care
I know it's here somewhere
But it's more than I can bear to take
I lie awake at night
I never win the fight
It's an addiction I can't shake

It's overbearing me and
Growing, flowing, showing

I surrender, forever
I fold, I play the losing card
I'm under
It's over
I give it up it's all too hard

It's not I'm unsure
I've heard it all before
But I can't help wanting more to keep
You just don't understand
The way I really am
It's all I ever can be

But underneath it all
I'm breaking, waking, shaking

I surrender, forever
I fold, I play the losing card
I'm under
It's over
I give it up it's all too hard

And now I face it all
I'm falling, crawling, stalling

I surrender, forever
I fold, I play the losing card
I'm under
It's over
I give it up it's all too hard

Sparklies!

I played Order of the Stick for the first time last night. This morning I looked up the web comic, and to my alarm and dismay, I found it amusing. I'm very scared that after playing the game once (and not even finishing it), I can already get some of the jokes. I started at the beginning of the comic and got to #32. Since the current one is #439, I think I shall have to find a way to avoid looking at it when I should be doing work. But I've found a new source of amusement and procrastination!

I am increasing in nerdiness by the minute. And it's all Matt's fault!

I'm in pain!!

I thought I was in pain after my Body Pump class at the gym this morning, but that was nothing compared to the side-splitting agony of watching clips from the Chaser on YouTube!

Good thing I'm at home by myself...

Click here.

Disclaimer: distractions such as this are an integral part of working hard. So in case anyone was wondering, I am working. I promise!!

It's hard to argue when you won't stop making sense...

I'm loving Snow Patrol!


Thanks to Donna and Liz for my iTunes voucher!!

Family

Here's my brother trying to crush me:


Here's my brother giving me a nice hug:


And here's my lovely sister-in-law Tegan giving me a nice hug:


I like hugs!

Easter tradition

I had a very nice, rather busy and family-filled Easter weekend. On Saturday, three generations of women spent the day cooking Russian yeast buns called bulochki - an Easter tradition in our family.

Here is my lovely sister-in-law Tegan making the bulochki:


Here is my Grandma supervising:


Here are the finished products of a long day's work (after about a dozen had already been eaten):


And here's one in the process of being enjoyed!

Yummy!!

Thanks to Tim for the photos.

Hmm.

A new theology blog - Sky's the Limit. He wants his blog to be the Augustine's Confessions and Calvin's Institutes of the blogosphere. Hmm...

Fantastic!

I wish I'd thought of this while I was studying piano!

Thanks Nick.

Oxford atheist ridiculed by Anglican theologian?

A short article on a debate between Richard Dawkins and Alister McGrath.

It doesn't seem to me that McGrath ridiculed Dawkins, and I would have been surprised if he had. McGrath's book, Dawkins' God, is incredibly generous towards Dawkins, though I haven't read his latest, The Dawkins Delusion.

My response to The God Delusion was to want to throw it across the room (although I refrained, since the book cost me $31.50 and I like to keep my books in pristine condition!), and to write a review outlining all the places where Dawkins shows himself to be incredibly ignorant of Christianity and deliberately distorting the arguments to make his points. I was going to title this review "Liar, Lunatic or 'Honestly Mistaken'? The Dawkins Delusion," in honour of Dawkins' response to C.S. Lewis' classic Liar, Lunatic or Lord illustration in which Dawkins suggests that Jesus might have been 'honestly mistaken' about being God. (By the by, I think Dawkins misunderstood the argument Lewis was making - he wasn't arguing that Jesus had to be either liar, lunatic or Lord, and that there weren't any other possibilities; rather, Lewis was arguing that it is not possible to claim that Jesus was just a good teacher.)

Anyway, it's probably a good thing that I haven't had time to write this article. It's also fortunate that the Christian community has people like Greg Clarke to provide much more loving responses. Previously, Greg has occupied himself with presenting talks and seminars about The Da Vinci Code all over the country. Perhaps the distinguishing feature of his response to Dan Brown was that he wasn't concerned primarily with pointing out all the errors that Brown makes, but with trying to understand why people are so receptive to conspiracy theories about the church. With Dawkins, Greg is extremely diligent to avoid responding in kind, and in attempting to appreciate what legitimate concerns Dawkins might have with religion.

You can find a lecture Greg gave at CASE a couple of weeks ago here. I am sure he will be in demand for this kind of talk, as he was for The Da Vinci Code, and he is speaking at my church (Narwee Baptist Church) on May 20.

Popping bubbles

Boomshine - a cute flash game. I finished level 12! Hurrah! I rock!!

March 2007

Books bought:

1. Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: Romans Parts 1 & 2
2. N.T. Wright, Paul: Fresh Perspectives
3. Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans
4. Susanna Gregory, A Conspiracy of Violence
5. Christopher Priest, The Prestige
6. Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation

Books read:

1. Tom Wright, Paul For Everyone: Romans Part 1
2. Susanna Gregory, A Conspiracy of Violence
3. Christopher Priest, The Prestige
4. Alan Wall, The Lightning Cage
5. Al Hsu, The Single Issue
6. Jim A. Talley and Bobbie Reed, Too Close Too Soon
7. Michael and Amy Smalley, Don't Date Naked

My Top 5 Worship Songs

These are the 5 songs I voted for in Narwee's top 10.*

5. Rock of Ages (the only one that got in!)
4. Before the Throne of God Above
3. Faithful and True
2. My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness
1. Oh Lord, Your Love

My number 1 song - it's quite a simple song, but I think it's a beautiful expression of the relationship we have with God. It is amazing - why should he call us his children or his friends? We have received so much from God, and there is nothing we can give in return. Even our relationship with God is all from him.

Oh Lord, I give you all I have
But it seems so little
When you have given me so much
I come to you with empty hands
And a heart that's fragile
You come to me with a wealth of love

And now I sing you songs of praise
But you are beyond me
I know I cannot comprehend
How you, ancient of days
Stoop yourself to call me
To be your son, to be your friends

Oh Lord, your love is new with every morning
Your faithfulness gets me through the night
You bid me come, you know that I am weary
Your yoke is easy, and your burden is light

I remember singing this song at church when I was going through a particularly hard time with depression and anxiety. I ended up crying because I just didn't feel that God's yoke was easy or that his burden was light. But in the end, I got through that dark time, and I know it wasn't on my own strength.

*There are other songs which would have made it into my top 5 (e.g. And Can it Be, and Crown Him With Many Crowns) but in this survey I was limited to the songs that are on the songlist for evening services at Narwee. I think I destroyed any chance of Crown Him With Many Crowns being on the list permanently when I managed to sneak the "Potentate of Time" verse in twice, but I'm not sure what the problem with And Can it Be is...

Top 5 Female Vocalists

My favourite female singers and my current favourite song by each:

1. KT Tunstall - Black Horse and the Cherry Tree


2. Sarah Blasko - Always on this Line


3. Dido - Hunter


4. Kasey Chambers - The Rain (or Surrender - both great songs!)


5. Missy Higgins - The Cactus that Found the Beat


(Brooke Fraser was a very close contender for the list)

1. Indescribable

I'm sure you have all been waiting with bated breath to find out what our number 1 song was this year. Well, for the second year in a row, it was Indescribable by Laura Story and Jesse Reeves.

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colours of autumn to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God

Another song that I like - probably again for the natural theological aspects! If I recall correctly, I did vote for this song last year, but this year it was bumped out of my top 5 by some other great songs.

Indescribable is one of those songs that needs to be played by a great band. I sometimes play it on the piano by myself, and it doesn't sound that exciting. However, with the whole band going, it's quite moving and uplifting. Narwee is blessed in having many extremely talented musicians. I wonder if that's why we tend to have more songs in each service than many other churches?

Does God exist?

Craig has set up a forum (well, a post with comments) for the purpose of discussing this question. I like his rules for the forum:

1. Anyone can contribute
2. You must stay on topic
3. You must use an alias
4. You may play "devil's advocate" if you wish
5. You may use several identities, each arguing a different point if you wish
6. You must not use bad language
7. You must not get annoyed at anyone

10 points for whoever can guess which two comments are mine...

I also like the mathematical proof quoted over at Confessing Evangelical. Reminds me of philosophy of science classes with UNSW's famous atheist philosopher...

2. In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my Light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest draughts and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strifings cease
My comforter, my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love, and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For every sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

This song, by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, is one of the greatest modern, hymn-like worship songs. It's one of my favourite Christian songs of all time, but I didn't vote for it this year (though I did last year). Why not? I think I'd heard it way too many times. Not just in church - also in my head. A couple of years ago, while I was going through a particularly tough time with anxiety and depression, I adopted it as my calming down song. I'd sing it to myself when I was being kept awake at night by palpitation, and to distract myself from vicious cycles of thought running around in my head. This song is perfect for that purpose - fantastic words, and a slow, steady rhythm.

Even though I've heard it a bit too often lately, I still love this song. If I ever got married, this song would have to be sung during the service. I told that to my mother once, after a wedding featuring rather uninspiring music. She thought it sounded a bit morbid - the part about "from life's first cry to final breath." To me, it's such a beautiful expression of the Christian life - it's all about Christ - and that's exactly what marriage is about too.

(Yes, some girls dream about what their wedding dress might be like if they ever get married. I do that too, from time to time (I'm such a girl), but I also like to plan out all the music for the whole service!)

3. Blessed be the Name

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be your name

I think I first heard/sang this song by Matt Redman at a mission night I went to with Donna (at Turramurra, perhaps? On your birthday one year??) Maybe somewhere else as well, around the same time. The music was available as a free download on a worship music website I used to visit, so I did play it a fair bit before we started singing it at Narwee.

I remember one of the first times we sang this song at church. The man leading the service, Colin, was talking about his wife who had passed away recently, and what this song meant to him in light of that event. It was extremely touching, particularly as I've known Colin and his wife for most of my life. His wife, Vicki, was an amazing woman. Even as she knew she was about to die, she was thinking of other people - writing letters to her children and her Sunday School kids, and planning her funeral so that the people who came would hear the gospel.

This is quite a simple song, really, but I think it has a beautiful message. It's easy to praise God when everything in life is going well, but much harder to continue praising God in the midst of suffering. It's easy to pray that God will give us things, but much harder to pray that he'll take them away, even though that might be better for us in the long run.

To me, this song expresses a great faith in God's promises. No matter what happens to us in this life, God is in control and ultimately his purpose will be fulfilled. And the ideas are reminiscent of some of the most wonderful passages from the Bible, including the following from Romans (my favourite book of the Bible!):

Romans 5:1-5 - Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through out Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 8:18, 28-30 - For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us... And we know hat for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For 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. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Romans 8:31-39 - What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He 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? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who 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. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor 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.

Amen!

4. Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind but now I see

'Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear
And Grace my fears relieved
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone, I've been set free
My God, my Saviour has ransomed me
And like a flood his mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing Grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God who called me here below
Will be forever mine

Over on Donna's blog, Matt wonders why everyone is so keen on Amazing Grace. It's ok, he says, but not the best song ever. Maybe not, but it's still a classic, and it comes with a pretty amazing story (see this site for more details). This version that we now sing at church is a new arrangement by Chris Tomlin - some new lyrics (the "my chains are gone" bit) and a slight more swinging beat. And a different selection of verses to that which is typically sung. I was intrigued to find out that the verse that is usually sung at the end was not written by John Newton:

When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we'd first begun.

More reading, less books?

What a horrible thought!

I've just read a review of the Sony Reader - a handheld device for reading e-books. The author of the review suggests that while the Reader is no more portable than the average paperback,

The Sony Reader has other selling points; above all, its potential to reduce the clutter of books. For me, the perfect advertisement for this device would be a picture of my bedstand without its ever-present leaning tower of literature. More reading, the tagline would say, fewer books.

Further down, he writes

If, today, I threw out all the books in my house that could be uploaded for free onto a Sony Reader, at least one of my bookcases (out of five or six) could be retired. What I'd really like is to keep only as many books as could be squeezed into one or two bookcases.

What on earth for? I love books! I've been thinking about selling some of my novels because I'm running out of space, but I wouldn't want to get rid of many of my books. I have 4 tall Ikea bookshelves stuffed full of books, as well as a smaller bookshelf under my window. I love lying in bed looking at my books, thinking about what I'll read next, or remembering what I enjoyed in each book (the ones that I've read, anyway...) I love the feel of books. I love to run my hands over the covers, particularly if the book has a groovy cover with embossed lettering or the like. Why would anyone want to give that up? And sure, my bookshelves take up nearly all the wallspace in my bedroom, but what would I put there instead? I dream of having a dedicated library in my home, with high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and a sliding ladder!

I love this quote from Matthew Barker's Natural Theology (1674):

I have always thought that good Books are the best part of a man's Furniture in his House, and the best Ornaments for Ladies Closets.

Amen, brother!

Thesis violence

I'm glad I have a good relationship with my PhD supervisor. And I'm sure he is glad too. I just hope it all ends well, after reading this article...

5. God of Wonders

Lord of all creation
Of water, earth and sky
The heavens are your tabernacle
Glory to the Lord on high

Early in the morning
I will celebrate the light
When I stumble in the darkness
I will call your name by night

God of wonders beyond our galaxy
You are holy, holy
The universe declares your majesty
You are holy, holy
Lord of heaven and earth

Hallelujah to the Lord of heaven and earth

Third Day and Caedmon's Call do a particularly nice version of this song, and I think we do it pretty well at Narwee too. I do like this song a lot. Maybe it's the whole science-y, natural theology, Psalm 19, Romans 1 kind of vibe. Whatever it is, I like it. I didn't vote for it, but I'm glad it got into the top 10!

6. How Great is our God

The splendour of the King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice, let all the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in light and darkness tries to hide
Trembles at his voice, trembles at his voice

And age to age he stands and time is in his hands
Beginning and the end, beginning and the end
The Godhead, three in one, Father, Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb, the Lion and the Lamb

How great is our God
Sing with me, how great is our God!
And all will see how great, how great is our God!

You're the name above all names
You are worthy of all praise
My heart will sing, how great is our God!

Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves and Ed Cash

I'm fairly indifferent to this song. There's nothing wrong with it, but I'm not all that enthusiastic about it. To me, it doesn't really say much.

We usually sing it with an a capella bit of "How Great Thou Art" at the end, though on Sunday this was left out: allegedly due to time constraints, though I don't think Tim is too keen on having any hymns in church! I'm surprised we're allowed to sing it at all - two "thees", four "thous" and four "arts". It's a wonder people don't run screaming from the church!

7. Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages cleft for me
Hide me now, my refuge be
Let the water and the blood
From your wounded side which flowed
Be for sin the double cure
Cleanse me from its guilt and power

Not the labours of my hands
Can fulfil your law's demands
Could my zeal no respite know
Could my tears forever flow
All for sin could not atone
You must save, and You alone

Nothing in my hand I bring
Simply to your cross I cling
Naked come to you for dress
Helpless look to you for grace
Stained by sin to You I cry
Wash me, Saviour, or I die

While I draw this fleeting breath
When my eyelids close in death
When I soar through realms unknown
Bow before the judgment throne
Hide me then, my refuge be
Rock of ages, cleft for me

Words: A.M. Toplady
Music: Ruth Buchanan

This is the only one of the 5 songs I voted for that made it into the top 10. I love it. I think the words are beautiful, and combined with the music - it gives me goosebumps. According to Tim Mac, though, this song got in by virtue of a bunch of older members of the congregation. Hmm. I was quite happy when we started singing this at church recently, but apparently it only made it on to the song list because a few people had asked for it and the music team were indifferent. Tim says that the melody breaks some musical rules. Surely they're just guidelines, though...

8. You Are God Alone

Hmm. I don't really have much to say about this song either...

You are not a God created by human hands
You are not a God dependent on any mortal man
You are not a God in need of anything we can give
And by your plan that's just the way it is

You're the only God whose power none can contend
You're the only God whose name and praise will never end
You're the only God who's worthy of everything we can give
And by your plan that's just the way it is

Unchangeable, unshakeable
Unstoppable, that's what you are

And you are God alone from before time began
And you are on your throne, and you are God alone
And right now in the good times and bad
You are on your throne and you are God alone

Phillips, Craig and Dean

9. Everyday

What to say, Lord?
It's you who gave me life and
I can't explain just how much you mean to me now
That you have saved me Lord
I give all that I am to you
That everyday I can be a light that shines your name

Everyday Lord, I'll learn to stand upon your word
And I pray that I may come to know you more
That you would guide me in every single step I take
That everyday I can be your light unto the world

Everyday, it's you I'll live for
Everyday, I'll follow after you
Everyday, I'll walk with you my Lord

It's you I'll live for everyday

Typical Hillsong by Joel Houston (related to Brian and Bobbie?). Not much else to say, really...

10. To Live is Christ

When I leave this earth there's nothing I'll take with me
Except for Jesus Christ: the pardon that he bought me
All that is my gain for him I'll count it my loss
And if I ever boast it will be only in the cross

Whether I'm in need or whether I have plenty
Whether I have food or whether I go hungry
If I stand with friends or all around desert me
I have learned to be content in every circumstance

In God and God alone I find my joy and satisfaction
For God and God alone I live or die

For me to live is Christ, to die is gain
Another day upon the earth: one more to shout his name
And if I die, my death won't be in vain
For whether by my life or death, I'll glorify his name.

This song was written by Tim MacBride, the incredibly brilliant and multi-talented associate pastor at Narwee. To be honest, it's not one of my favourite songs by Tim, and I'm a little surprised it made it into the top 10. I think he's got some much better songs. I voted for his song "Faithful and True", which I also blogged about recently.

This song, "To Live is Christ", is based on some passages from Philippians:

1:18-21 - Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

3:7-11 - But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

4:10-13 - I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Great words to live by, but how tough to actually live that way!

I feel as though I'm betraying Tim and my church to say this... but at my brother's church in Canberra, they sing another song based on Philippians, with basically the same ideas as Tim's song, and I like it better...

Narwee's Top 10 Worship Songs

Last night at church we counted down the Top 10 worship songs, as voted for by the congregation. I was rostered on to play piano - lucky me. 10 songs in one service was pretty exhausting, but it was fun, and it went well. We did shortened versions of 5 songs, and full versions of the top 5. And we still managed to finish at a reasonable time (7:15pm, I think), even with a half-hour sermon!

Only one of the songs I voted for made it into the top 10. Oh well.

Oops, I did it again...

It's always good to spread out celebrations. My birthday was three weeks ago, and I was still receiving presents last night. My dear friends Donna and Liz gave me a $50 iTunes Gift Card, along with a very stylish Diana Ferrari handbag. And the very lovely Sue bought me some perfume - Curious, by Britney Spears.

It's a very nice perfume, very cute bottle, and I've always been a bit of a Britney fan. Well, back when she was innocent anyway. Though she never was that innocent...

Oops

Wagons are overrated.

But I'm going to try again. Starting tomorrow.

In the beginning, God created Australia...

...And surf lifesavers. This video is rather amusing!

Piled High and Deeper

I haven't been keeping up with the PhD comics lately, but I'm reminded of them from time to time when Meredith posts them on her blog. Ah, it's always been so good to know that I'm not the only one who feels this way!

A woman's worth

You don't need a man by your side to validate you as a woman. You already are loved and valued. You're good enough exactly as you are. Do you believe this? Because it's true. You have limitless worth and value. If you embrace this truth, it will affect every area of life, especially your relationship with men.

You are worth dying for.

Your worth does not come from your body, your mind, your work, what you produce, what you put out, how much money you make. Your worth does not come from whether or not you have a man. Your worth does not come from whether or not men notice you. You have inestimable worth that comes from your creator.

You will continue to be tempted in a thousand different ways not to believe this. The temptation will be to go searching for your worth and validity from places other than your creator.

Especially from men.

But you don't have to give yourself away to earn a man's love. You're better than that. You're already loved.

I also like what this article has to say about submission (for a change!) Read the whole article here.

Who wears a kilt?!

An amusing article from Vanity Fair about British expats in New York.

Who moves to America and brings a kilt? Did his mother say, "Farewell, son. Make something of yourself in the New World. Have you packed your native costume, just in case?" Just in case of what? Just in case we decide to re-invade Canada? Just in case he finds a girl with a thing for men in frocks with no knickers? Just in case there's an England-versus-Scotland match on the satellite television in some fake pub?

Entering Jane Austen's World

A review of The Annotated Pride and Prejudice - an edition of Austen's great novel, being published this month, which contains more than 2,300 explanatory notes on every possible aspect of Jane Austen's world. Sounds fantastic to me!

But is it necessary? William Grimes writes:

The reader who does not know a farthing from a guinea, it’s safe to say, will nonetheless grasp the great drama of attraction and repulsion that plays out between Darcy and Elizabeth. The cut and thrust of their conversation is timeless. Generations of young women who do not know the first thing about an entailed estate or a quadrille will recognize in Austen’s heroine a kindred spirit, a contemporary, a valued ally in the eternal war between the sexes.

Grimes also writes:

Certain writers create worlds that readers do not want to leave, ever. Extreme devotees of Austen do not simply enjoy the novels, they want to sit in the living room at Longbourn with the Bennet sisters, drinking tea and analyzing Darcy’s behavior.

For me, I think I'd prefer to hang out with Lizzie and Jane, walking the grounds or cutting and drying flowers. After all, Lydia, Kitty, Mary and Mrs Bennet would all be in the living room...

Evaluating Socrates

Hemlock Available in the Faculty Lounge - what Socrates' students might have said about him in teaching evaluation surveys.

That reminds me... I haven't yet received my teaching evaluations from last session. I wonder if I'll get anyone commenting on my "wondrous eyes" this time?

Faithful & True, but what's the theology?

I've been confused lately about all the different labels being tossed around for "types" of Christian theology; e.g. Reformed, dispensationalist, covenant theology... And then there's a lot of terms that are more familiar, but the definitions are always changing, e.g. evangelical and fundamentalist.

This is one of the more recent songs by Tim MacBride (associate pastor of Narwee Baptist Church, musician extraordinaire and all-round genius). I'm trying to remember the jargon for what kind of theology it's meant to be...

The king has come: the blind can see,
The strong man is bound and the captives go free!
Tell all who have ears that the kingdom is here
And nothing will stand in its way!

To him is given all authority
For he has risen! And the stone rolled away
Became a great mountain, now it fills the earth,
And nothing can stand in its way!

Now Satan is bound from deceiving the nations,
The gospel resounds and the earth hears its song.
And the kingdom rule of the Faithful and True
Has come in each one
Who will bow before the King of Kings.

And when there are people from every nation
And every tongue who join in the song,
Then the kingdom rule of the Faithful and True
Will come and each one
Wll bow before the King of Kings.

You reign over all through the people you've called
You reign over all through the people you've called.

I get the "now, but not yet" idea about the kingom, but that's about it. Is it covenant theology? Amillenial eschatology? I think I need to do more study at Moore College. Much more.

Click here to sample more music from the inimitable Tim Mac.

Third Annual European Adventure

About a month ago I posted about the frustration of waiting to hear whether my conference abstract had been accepted. I probably should have posted earlier about the outcome, but I'm reluctant to blow my own trumpet. Ah, what the heck. Toot, toot!

I'll be heading over to the UK at the end of June for 6 weeks - the third year in a row that I have migrated north for the winter. The main reason for the trip is that I'll be presenting papers at three conferences:

1. The Annual Conference of the British Society for the History of Science, University of Manchester (program available here).
2. Science and Religion: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, Lancaster University, a conference in honour of John Hedley Brooke (program available here).
3. New Frontiers in Science and Faith, joint meeting of Christians in Science and the American Scientific Affiliation, University of Edinburgh.

It's all very exciting. Of course, I still have to write the three papers...

Falling off the wagon...

Two weeks ago I decided to give up alcohol and chocolate for a month.

With the alcohol, I lasted nine days until my dad convinced me that a glass of red wine was medicinal (although I was recovering from a migraine and actually didn't feel well enough to drink more than a few sips). The following day, a glass of red just seemed so appealing after dealing with the idiot in my tutorial.

With the chocolate I lasted about 12 days, with the small exception of a mini Mars Bar after donating blood (as Donna said, who can fault me for taking sustenance from chocolate after saving someone's life??)

Today I am going to climb back on the wagon. I wonder how long I'll manage to stay on this time...

AARRGGHHH!!!

It's only 10am, and I'm already exhausted. It's only week 4, and I'm already sick of my science and religion tutorials.

I had aimed to do all my tutoring work from home, so that while I'm at uni I can concentrate on PhD work. This weekend, however, I didn't manage to get any work done - recovering from a migraine on Saturday and various social engagements (including Church) on Sunday. The last week has been quite hectic as well, so I've been a bit behind in my tutoring.

I logged on this morning to read about 200 new posts. In the thread for last week's discussion on the historical relations between science and religion I found an argument about testimony as evidence in court, tattoos on bottoms and third nipples, accusations of offending God by mentioning said tattoos and third nipples, tirades back and forth about attacking people, being stubborn and Jesus being a nut-case. Hmm. I think I should keep a closer eye on this group.

I have written several posts exhorting the students to be mindful of other people's opinions, to avoid being dogmatic in simply asserting an existing belief and to make an effort to understand the opposing point of view. I wonder if it has all been in vain...

Perhaps I don't want to move to England after all...

Here's an Aussie-bashing article by Patrick West. Apparently Australia is nothing like Neighbours (thank goodness!) but it's more like Kath and Kim (hmm).

And here's a response from Aussie journalist Guy Rundle.

The best ice-cream ever

January 2007

This was a bad month in terms of self-control around book stores. I feel compelled to point out, however, that many of these books were bought at bargain prices at one of Canberra's fantastic second-hand or seconds book stores! It's such a long list that I also felt compelled to divide it up into categories:

Vaguely PhD-related books:

• Jason Bardi, The Calculus Wars: Newton, Leibniz and the Greatest Mathematical Clash of All Time
• Antonia Fraser, Cromwell: Our Chief of Men
• Justin S. Holcomb (ed.), Christian Theologies of Scripture
• Margaret J. Osler (ed.), Rethinking the Scientific Revolution
• Simon Schama, A History of Britain 2: 1603-1776, The British Wars
• Margo Todd (ed.), Reformation to Revolution: Politics and Religion in Early Modern England
• David Tylden-Wright, John Aubrey: A Life

For somewhat scholarly interest:

• Amir D. Azcel, Descartes' Secret Notebook
• Veronica Buckley, Christina, Queen of Sweden
• Norman F. Cantor, In the Wake of the Plague
• Peter Dear, The Intelligibility of Nature: How Science Makes Sense of the World
• Michael Ruse, Darwinism and Its Discontents

Just for fun:

• Matthew Pearl, The Poe Shadow
• Alan Wall, The Lightning Cage
• Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest And Other Plays
• Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Books read:

• Susanna Gregory, A Masterly Murder
• Amir D. Azcel, Descartes' Secret Notebook
• Most of Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion - I haven't managed to finish it yet because I keep wanting to throw it across the room...

Most likely there were more books I read in January, but I've forgotten them now...

Ouch!

I was unwell on Monday night (a migraine sparked, I think, by donating blood) so I missed my Moore College lecture on Romans. The lecturer was kind enough to return my assignment by mail, and I received it yesterday. The assignment was to write 500 words on "What is Romans about?" I posted the essay on my blog a little while back. Sure, it's not the best essay I've ever written, and I guess I didn't cover absolutely everything, but I didn't realise it was bad enough to warrant a mark of 10... out of 20! That's the worst mark I've ever received on an essay. Ouch.

A big black horse and a cherry tree

Absolutely loving this album!