Comics
🤔
My project for the first half of Thinkulum April is a reading order for DC comics’ crossover events. It might end up mostly being a big planning session. DC’s publication history is very complicated, and I’m not really sure what my project should look like. Last week I did a lot of writing to try to figure it out.
This week I’ll keep thinking through my plan. Maybe I’ll end up with something usable, or maybe I’ll just write a post that discusses the issues. In the meantime, it’s reassuring to know that the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe understands my pain.
Next week I’m still intending to end the sprint on this project and go back to last month’s on experimental literature.
Spirituality
Audio Bible
🙂
After three weeks of listening, I finished the Message Remix audio Bible. I’m going to write about it in a separate post, but the summary version is (1) it goes into Andy’s approved audio Bible list, and (2) it was helpful.
Assurance
🤔
Since I didn’t have enough to listen to last week, I decided to tack on a book I found at work called How Can I Be Sure I’m a Christian? by Donald Whitney. Assurance of salvation is an issue that comes up in my conversations sometimes, so I wanted to see if it would be a helpful book to share. Assurance is an important issue because it addresses not only the question of how Christians can feel good about their future but also the questions of the central message of Christianity and how Christians should be living their lives.
After listening to the book, my impression is that it gives a lot of good advice and merits further study, but it might contain inconsistencies, and it seemed to skim over some important topics, such as the possibility of false faith. Hopefully I can come back to the book for a closer look.
Apologetics
🤔
I still have time for some Lent-oriented reading before Easter, so now I’m listening to Michael Licona’s book The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach. I’ve had it in mind to read for years, wanting to see how Licona would update William Lane Craig’s work.
I also felt it potentially held a key to renewing my spiritual life. The resurrection is a central issue for Christian apologetics, and if I felt more certain about the underpinnings of my faith, I’d feel freer to wade deeper in. So we’ll see how it goes.
Fiction
😎
For my birthday a few weeks ago, my sister got me some Bandcamp albums. I saw the notification email and then forgot to claim them till she reminded me last week. I’m glad she did, because they were very interesting.
They’re a pair–a music album and an accompanying audiobook by the same people, Jessy Calvin Ribordy and his band Falling Up. Both albums are called Hours. I think of the story as the central piece of the work (and it was released first), so that’s why I’m writing about it under Fiction.
I listened to the music first. Abbie told me it was very catchy, which it was, but what struck me was how every song made me feel like something epic was happening. That impression was based almost completely on the sound. I couldn’t hear many of the lyrics.
I knew nothing about the story going in. I didn’t even know the genre. I only had my sister’s high opinion of the author to make me think I’d enjoy it. It was very interesting to have that extra, meta layer of mystery to unravel as the story progressed. The story ended up being a very good match for my recent entertainment mood.
It’s also interesting to listen to the music again with the story in mind and let their moods–different but I think compatible–blend in my head.
People
🙂
A couple of weeks ago I had lunch with church friend Ken, and he suggested sushi. The only time I’d had sushi was about 10 years ago, and it tasted weird and I decided maybe it wasn’t for me. But I like to keep an open mind, so I said yes to this plan, and we picked a place near work, and to my surprise I liked it. I think the earlier sushi might’ve had wasabi, which I now know does taste weird.
Since that lunch, I’ve had sushi cravings. But I think of it as a special occasion food, so I waited patiently for my next Ken lunch, which was Friday. We went back to the same place, and again it was delicious. So I guess sushi is a thing in my life now.
I’ve heard a number of people say that sushi is addicting. My niece also craves it. 😀