The first time I heard this hymn was at the funeral of a friend. It instantly became my favourite, to the point that when N.T. Wright criticized it in his "Surprised by Hope" I felt myself turned off from his theology forever (irrational though it might have been). Henry Francis Lyte, the author of this hymn had a fascinating biography. Having studied with the Anglo-Irish … [Read more...]
Bach Friday
I'll give any regular readers a break this Friday and recommend some relaxing and historic music from a 'golden age' of the Church's history. Jesu Bleibet Meine Freude J.S. Bach was a great Christian composer from the Lutheran Tradition in Leipzig, Germany. This same tradition continued into the Evangelical Church in 1989 when anti-government protestors began prayer meetings … [Read more...]
Music as a Cure
When I get depressed certain songs help. I've already posted a ton of zelda songs I like listening to, so there's no use in posting more of that.A song that I've savoured for the last bit is the blue danube waltz by Strauss:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CTYymbbEL4One of my favourite games from childhood was called Earthbound for SNES and this is a theme from it that I played … [Read more...]
All Too inHuman & The Story of a Girl
If you don't feel like reading all this post just skip to the "BUT"We have our extended family visiting our house this week (all the Mennonite Brethren folks). I used to be able to talk with my uncles and aunts about theology and my future as a preacher. But now that I'm of the 'peculiar Roman Catholick religion' (as Rabbie Burns would've said - ), no one asks me about … [Read more...]
Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness.
^that's an album by Smashing Pumpkins that my brother lent me in high school, but it was too depressing for me so I only listened to it like twice. The last few weeks have felt like nothing but a long line of people yelling at me, and a long line of of opportunities that I've had completely failed. I feel like an extra in my own life http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra_(actor). … [Read more...]