From Kenneth Scott Latourette’s A History of Christianity (101-102)

Patrick was a native of Roman Britain, but of what part we are not sure. He was at least a third generation Christian, for he speaks of his father as having been a deacon and his paternal grandfather a presbyter. We cannot be certain of the date of his birth, but the year most frequently given is 389. Presumably rared as a Christian in fairly comfortable circumstances, perhaps with a smattering of Latin, when about sixteen years old Patrick was carried away captive to Ireland by one of those raids which, breaking throug the weakening defenses of the Roman borders, were harassing Britain. For at least six years he was a a slave in Ireland and was set to tending flocks. There, perhaps through the solitude and hardships of his lot, his inherited faith deepened and he filled his days and nights with prayer. Dreams came which aroused in him hopes of seeing his homeland and which nerved him to seek and obtain passage on a ship. We are not certain of his life for the next few years. He may have wandered in Italy and perhaps spent some time in a monastery on an island off the souther coast of Gaul. It is clear that he eventually made his way back to Britain and was greeted with joy by his family as one risen from the dead. 

Again there came dreams, now with what seemed to him a letter, “the voice of the Irish,” with the appeal: “We beseech thee, holy youth, to come and walk with us once more.” Heeding the call, Patrick returned to Ireland, but how soon and when we do not know. He was consecrated bishop, but again we cannot tell by whom or when. He seems to have had many years in Ireland for he speaks of baptizing thousands and of ordaining clergy. Although he himself was not a monk, under his influence sons and daughters of chieftains adopted that way of life. His was both and arduous and perilous missionary career, for he had to face opposition from fellow clergy and from armed foes. He seems to have reached a ripe old age. Other missionaries shared in the conversion of Ireland. That island became a centre from which…Christian influence was to radiate not only to Britain but also to much of Western Europe. 

Socrates (from what I hear and in fact read and forgot in Greek class in his Apology) said that the unexamined life is not worth living. If I get a chance to meet Peter Adamson in person, I’m pretty sure I could get him say, “The unruminated philosophical grass of history is not worth digesting.” (Peter’s favorite example is a giraffe.) This is more or less saying the same thing as, “The History of Philosophy is worth spending some time on because it allows you to learn philosophy from the ancients with their questions, on their terms, and with their categories.” This is a great starting point for anyone who is curious about the relevancy of ancient philosophy to today, not to mention anyone interested in Classics, history, Western philosophy, etc.

I came across this podcast at a critical time when I was writing a paper and needed to learn more about Plato and Aristotle. Thanks to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy I found Peter’s podcast. It was really helpful. For those of you who don’t just want the “cliff notes” Peter’s podcast will help prepare you for a productive reading. 

Interestingly I’ve read a fair amount of Plato’s dialogues in Greek. I never made much sense of them perhaps because after all the translating I didn’t have the energy for the next step. (I must have made poor translations.) Peter’s podcasts have really helped me take the next step. Any Classicists who have to translate Plato, consider listening to the podcast first to help you know what you are getting into. It might spare you some confusion!

I’m now an Master of Divinity Student and so much of what Peter offers is relevant to those who want to understand approaches to Theology or also Apologetics. I just got around to listening to Aristotle on God, and, according to Aristotle, God thinks about God. (This sounds like something a Theology Prof said about the Trinity, but used the word “love”.) Apologists and Philosophers, like William Craig, still consider the first cause argument or cosmological argument to be sound and helpful. 

Ever wonder where Paul’s Acts 17 quote comes from? It’s the one where he talks to the Athenians on Mars Hill.  Then you will want to check out this episode: http://www.historyofphilosophy.net/stoics-physics. (And if you are like me, listening to one will compel you to listen to the rest.)

Maybe you despise theology and consider yourself a thoroughgoing skeptic. Peter’s discussion of the Academics traces the development of the Skeptics stance against the Stoics and their claims about knowledge and truth. Also you begin to learn about debates among the skeptics themselves. 

Maybe your an Epicurean and just think everything is composed of atoms and you should just do what makes you happy. You will want to check out his podcasts on the Epicureans.

I can’t say enough good things about the podcast. I just want more, faster. Peter Adamson makes you want to sit around the garden or the agora and do philosophy every day. So check it out: http://www.historyofphilosophy.net/

A Brief Review

As G. K. Chesterton said, “If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” I went to see Screwtape performed by Max McLean on Saturday afternoon at the Cutler Majestic.  I am “pro” because I  affirm efforts to make use of whatever mediums (not the spirit kind, but the art kind) to further illustrate, communicate, and help us meditate on spiritual realities. Thus efforts to help us wake up to the noumenal world in a materialistically biased, post enlightenment culture (still heavily influenced by modernism) is welcome. Even those who believe strongly in the devil are easily deceived about deception. So again any efforts to help guide us through Lewis’s material imagined from behind enemy lines, anything “from the inside”*, anything that helps us to see better what the devils believe and tremble at is to be encouraged and applauded. Too long Christians have been alienated from the gifts of art. I encourage everyone to go and support McClean’s work and effort, though I would like to offer below constructive feedback, which is what follows below. 

Nevertheless, the success of these attempts should also be judged and measured by the work’s ability to capture the imagination and mind of the audience and thereby communicate the underlying realities. The performance was weak for the following reasons. Max McLean’s voice dominates the performance– and demands a lot of aural attention. While I greatly appreciate McLean’s voice and his gracious efforts by which he has also brought the New Testament to life (available online) and serves as lector at Redeemer in NYC, his voice, all its familiar rhythms and patterns, is almost too familiar and hard to pay attention to. Following the “story” demands that the majority of attention be on McClean’s voice. Secondly the visual aids are strong, like an ant is strong. All the burden is carried by two actors, McLean monologuizing as Screwtape and either Beckly Andrews or Tamala Bakkensen as Toadpipe, his hissing assistant instructed by the cries of Gollum. In other words, I felt a little bit cheated and wonder if I could have gotten more out of reading the book out loud to myself. Couldn’t there have been a wall with actors on the other side showing what’s going on in the “phenomenal world”? The offices and officers of Hell are kept at a distance from the real world, and thus so are we.

The power of the literary work is that it consists mainly of illustrations from the real world– hardly illustrated in the play, very hard since only two must do it. One of the two looks like the cousin of Venom (from Spiderman), but often the representation of the humans falls on the nasty insect. (How should we portray demons? I think there’s a lot of freedom from the beautiful, strong, and appealing to the hideous and goblin like.) It seems to me that the goal of presenting the Screwtape Letters through medium of performance is to illustrate the work in four dimensions, to help those who love it understand it better, to help those who wouldn’t really have gotten as much from an attempt to read the book come to grasp Lewis’s ideas and identify with them existentially. 

I’m looking forward to the upcoming performance of the Great Divorce. I only hope that they make more use of actors and the stage. 

 P.S. I had a great time, not least because we were near Chinatown and went the Taiwan Cafe where I slurped down several blocks of stinky tofu rejected by my classmates who courageously gave it a taste. The word cow patty came up. 

*The asterisk: I thought I needed to qualify “from the inside” since I don’t want any one to share correspondence from the inside. On the other hand, humans really have first hand knowledge of the inside. As Chesterton said (whose Biography I am reading and whom I cannot stop quoting), “I am not proud of knowing the Devil…I made his acquaintance by my own fault.” And also “I dug quite low enough to discover the devil; and even in some dim way to recognize the devil.”

*The “aster”-risk reminds also of the protection we have through the host of heaven . 

Here’s a poem called “Good Friday” by George Herbert, who has a fascinating story. This poem is good to ponder any time, but especially when the leaves are falling. It might be hard going but it gets more powerful as you make your way through it. 

Good Friday

O my chief good,
How shall I measure out thy blood?
how shall I count what thee befell,
And each grief tell?

Shall I thy woes
Number according to thy foes?
Or, since one star showed thy first breath,
Shall all thy death?

Or shall each leaf, 
Which in Autumn, score a grief?
Or cannot leaves, but fruit, be sign
Of the true vine?

Then let each hour
Of my whole life one grief devour; 
That thy distress through all may run,
And be my sun.

Or rather let
My several sins their sorrows get;
That as each beast his cure doth know,
Each sin may so.

Since blood is fittest, Lord, to write 
Thy sorrows in, and bloody fight; 
My heart hath store, write there, wherein
One box doth lie both ink and sin:

That when sin spies so many foes,
Thy whips, thy nails, the wounds, thy woes,
All come to lodge there, sin may say,
No room for me, and fly away.

Sin being gone, O fill the place 
And keep possession with thy grace 
Lest sin take courage and return,
And all the writings blot or burn.

Hosanna Filio David
Benedictus qui venit
In nomine Domini
Rex Israel
Hosanna in excelsis

PRAYER LETTER UPDATE
For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

Early Morning at Taiwan’s Most Pleasant He Huan Mountain.

LEAVING TAIWAN
We left Taiwan December 21 and since then have sojourned from Minnesota, Julie’s home state, to Pennsylvania, my home state, to Ohio, and Virginia, where we visited family and friends. As we went we packed up our possessions and headed to Massachusetts, our final destination.

Moving Truck!

Thanks to God for. . .
…brothers and sisters who helped us pack up our possessions in Taiwan.
…time with family.
…time at Parkside with friends at Transit.
…an inexpensive, but dependable car.
…safety while moving (see picture) amidst bad weather.)

Our first weekday at GCTS.

GORDON CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: Our Destination
A snowstorm welcomed us arriving on the 16th at Gordon Conwell. This fun begins this semester with New Testament Interpretation, Hebrew II, Apologetics (Buddhism), Aramaic, and the English Reformation. Julie and I will be taking Systematic Theology together as well. We are excited. Please Pray in the following ways: Julie is looking for work. We desire community and are looking for a church to attend. Apart from a desire to serve, church, or ministry service will be part of a requirement that I need to fulfill to graduate. Please pray for our growth and faithfulness as we are here in and out of the classroom. Thank you for your support and prayers, Parkside. We love you!

working, working…