Jerusalem...the center of the world.

I find it intriguing that numerous maps dating from the Middle Ages and even before place Jerusalem at the center of the world. The culture in which I live - this prosperous, convenient, "free" mindset - tends to set US (or the U.S., whichever way you like it) as the hub around which the world turns. True, we have been extremely blessed with more opportunity economically, spiritually, and politically than the rest of this earth; but does that make us so important? Because while reading GOD's Word and looking at this sphere through His eyes, I see only one place reapeatedly mentioned. Only one city is named from the beginning to the end...and only one is recognized as - once perfected -having a place in eternity.



Jerusalem.



While the cartographers of the Middle Ages were geographically incorrect to place the Holy City as the center of the earth, I believe that spiritually they were right. Though today the city where JESUS made atonement for the sins of the world is constantly plagued by war, terrorism, fear, and hatred, it will one day be redeemed and made truly Holy. Revelation tells us that this New Jerusalem will "come down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, it's radience like a most rare jewel..." One day, those who love GOD will inhabit His city and dwell with Him there in the center of eternity. So maybe we should be watching Jerusalem more closely...maybe we should see it through eyes that look with a different perspective than that of the news or politicians...maybe we should join the Psalmist when he sang, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! 'May they be secure who love you....' For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good." Psalm 122:6, 9

Because of what CHRIST did on a cross in Jerusalem, this Gentile is able to share in the inheritance - the "peace"- of Jerusalem. And one day she will dwell there in the New Holy City. If GOD's heart is centered around Jerusalem, perhaps hers should turn towards the East...

MAPS, Maps, maps

Maps, everyone needs them.  Some go by the maps in their own "inner man," while others go by more outside or external maps.  Most see no problem with following a map, in fact most would encourage it.  What happens if your map is faulty. You would answer and correctly, "one would not get where they intend to go."  I would say back, correct!  While in class we were shown maps of during the 400-600s AD.  There were maps shown to the class that shortened the Indian Ocean, and extended Africa all the way to Asia.  Now, of course, we know this would be an incorrect map.  They knew this before the map was drawn as well.  That is fascinating.  

So what if our maps today are wrong?  What if we are being misled by incorrect maps.  What are our maps?  Government.  Media.  Scriptural documents.  Teachers.  Parents.  We must be quite certain what maps we pay attention too.  Unless we too become faulty thinkers, who are led astray by false maps.

Simple Yet Beautiful

Music nowadays consists of a lot of noise and expletives. With the emersion of the genre rap and the decline in classic genres such as rock, the quality of modern music is seriously lacking. With this the quality of language has taken a similar plunge. Thus, it is not hard to see why the lyrics in modern music have also taken a turn for the worse. This deterioration is not only seen in Heathen music, but also in Christian music. It has lost its beauty. What if we went back to the simple beauty of the Gregorian chant? Words would have more meaning. We would not be distracted by the noise of society. We would be able to worship our Lord and Savior with the harmony of our voices. Gregorian chant emphasizes the worship and adoration of God. It does not distract from that purpose. It does not have the clamor that takes away from the basic truths. Now, the philosophy is the louder and more complex, the better. This is because of the degenerative nature of the mind and intellect of our generation. We are satisfied with big bangs, high intensity action, and great special effects. We have moved away from the truth. Why should we be? Why can we nor look for something better, something deeper in meaning? Why not something true in its very form? Why not something simple?



“Attende Domine, et miserere quia peccavimus tibi. Ad Te Rex summe, omnium Redemptor oculos nostros sublevamus flentes: exaudi Christe, suplicantum preces Dextera Patris, lapis angularis, via salutis, janua coelestis, ablue nostri maculas delicti Rogamus Deus, tuam majestatem: auribus sacris gemitus exaudi, crimina nostra placidus indulge.”

“O Lord listen and have mercy because we have sinned against You. 

To You, sovereign King, Redeemer of all, we lift our eyes in cry; Christ, listen the prayers of those that beg you. 

O Skillful of the Father, angular stone, way to the salvation and door of the heaven: wash the stains of our crimes. 

We request, O God, to your majesty: with your sacred hearings listen our wailings and forgive kindly our blames.”


Shades of Grey: A Response to "The Ends Justify The Means"

It is a sympathetic motive for a man to steal money to buy medicine for his child. Honestly, I would probably do the same if I were in that situation despite knowing it was wrong. Maybe that has something to do with what Dr. Mitchell said about Machiavelli's effect on the modern, or maybe it is just part of human nature.

The act of doing wrongs to come about a right is a bit hypocritical. A show comes to mind when I think of this; in it a young man decides to overthrow an empire of darwinistic xenophobes in order to create a better world for his sickly younger sister to live in. Sounds noble but the methods he used were manipulation, blackmail, and terrorism that killed innocents. At the same time his best friend from childhood joined the empire's army to attempt to bring about change from the inside. Yet despite all his talk he couldn't seem to walk; never once did he really try to change anything, he just followed orders. At one point the first guy even wonders which of the two is the biggest hypocrite.

The point I'm trying to get across is that humans, because of the taint of sin, live in a hypocritical manner. Maybe I'm idealistic but I think most people want to do good. We just don't really know how to overcome things without twisting them, so the idea of "the ends justify the means" has come about as an attempt to justify that.

The Ends Justify the Means

When we talked about Machiavelli the last day of class, I remembered one of his most important quotes: “the ends justify the means.” In his work, The Prince, he proposes a theory that is based on ends and means. He believed that the ultimate end of politics is the power. So, every action, no matter if it was good or bad from ethical or moral points of view, can be justified if it aims towards the end of getting the power.
This quote has caused a lot of disagreements. From a Christian point of view, this statement should be completely invalid. It should be the opposite, if the means are bad from an ethical view, then there is no way the end would be good. From the points of view of many other people, this statement is a complete dilemma. Well people say: it is impossible if a wrong way gets you to the right goal, but there are many cases that it is quite difficult to maintain this thought.
I come from a third world country, where half of the population lives in extreme poverty. I am not talking about the people who can not satisfy their wants, but I am talking about the people that can not justify their needs at all. If you come to some parts of my city, Bogota, you will find so many people on the streets that have no place to sleep, or food to eat. They usually have a lot of children and since they live on the streets they are vulnerable to get more diseases. So, what about this story? There is a man that has a family; one of his kids is dying because they do not have the money for buying the drugs that he needs. The government can not supply it, and he does not have anyone to recur. He steals a lady’s purse to get the money for the drug of his kid. His kid is safe. So, the end was good, but the means are totally wrong, it is stealing. I am not justifying this act, but it is just something difficult that I have seen my whole life that makes me think a lot.

Fireworks for Sunsets

After our discussion in the "forest" about the difference between modern society and the medieval one, I simply couldn't shake one idea. The medieval feels so much more substantial than the modern. With a belief in truth, and a respect for time and language, there is something very real and earthy about them. In our modern age where time not money is our prized commodity, we are not able to appreciate anything. The art of conversation has descended into text message abbreviations and the art of romance has been supplanted by eharmony.com

I cannot help but think that this phenomenon is a result of the objectification of basically everything due to the Enlightenment. We have rended the body from the soul and have removed the essence of the self from the form. You should not be able to summarize your "self" in 250 words because there is so much contained in the "self."

Medieval literature is heavy with the weight of the self, whereas modern literature is lacking in the sense that even the good stuff is an attempt to regain that which was lost., and in the very nature of the act of regaining, the outcome will be somewhat lacking, the idea of the self being almost violated because it is an imposed self rather than a natural one that I feel the Medievals had.

There is no more fascination in anything that is not quick. Our most stimulating things are marked not by substantiability, but rather by the shock value that they contain. We are all about continuous movement, whether up the socioeconomic ladder, or to a new partner, or new tv show. We are all to easily bored. We have false imitations of nature that excited because they stimulate as opposed to inspire. We have traded the quiet brilliance of the sunset for the loud artificial quickness of the firework.

Machiavelli

Machiavelli

Marionette Balancing Act

Some people have been said to be a little over emotional, and at times that can be very true and even a little annoying. On the flip side, there are others who seem to have no range of emotions at all. Everyone has his or her own opinion about which of the two is better, but stop for a minute and think. What would life be like without emotions? How would people react to important events or would they even be able to? Everything else around them would remain the same, but nothing would seem the same if people were not able to feel or react to the atmosphere around them. It would be as if people were merely marionette puppets with laws and justice as the manipulators. People's every actions would be controlled by what the law says or by what is seen to be the right way of doing things. A person would have no self-choice or freedom. Everybody would be the same and before long the monotony would grow old. Emotions set everyone apart. While some can be over-exaggerated, they are necessary to make a society function properly. Without emotion, no one would ever experience the passion that drives the individual to accomplish an amazing feat or make a much needed change. Emotions have a place in the society as well as order and law. However, a balance is needed. A person should not become a marionette puppet who is controlled by either, emotions or laws.

Machiavelli as a Very Rational Human

After reading Machiavelli’s main work, The Prince, the first conclusion that came to my mind was that Machiavelli was a very rational person who tried to leave completely aside any emotional thoughts. He believed that a good governor that wants to keep his throne should learn how not to be good in some cases and to appeal to his kindness and not appeal in some cases. He also believed that the Prince should just worry about the power and therefore, he should just be around of people that will guarantee success in his political acts. All these propositions belong to Machiavelli’s famous statement: it is safer to be feared than to be loved.
I believe that for achieving success in life, it is necessary to maintain a balance between our emotional and rational parts. It is difficult to get to this balance because depending on the situation that we face, we tend to go to either of these dimensions. Therefore, it is so interesting to see how can there be someone who thought mostly rationally and was able to leave aside his emotions and feelings. It is just something that really surprised me.

The Reconciliation of Fear and Love

In The Qualities of the Prince, Machiavelli presents the compelling concept that it is better to be feared than loved. Perhaps this is true in government as long as the feared leader is loving toward his subjects (for if he does not love, then he is a tyrant). But in Christianity, how do we reconcile the fear of God and the love of God?

A distinction between love and fear is drawn in 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” We are well aware that God is love, so how then can we fear the very essence of love?

Perhaps the issue is not choosing one, but blending both. In the Old Testament, we are commanded to “fear God and keep his commandments” and to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13 and Deuteronomy 6:5, respectively). Though our finite minds tend to immediately draw a line of distinction between “fear” and “love”, I believe the two go hand in hand.

To know the nature of something, go to its source. That’s why I ran a word study on these passages to determine the Greek definitions of “fear” used in these passages. The fear that is driven out by love is actually the word phobos, meaning fear, dread or terror. In contrast, the fear that we are to have toward God is the word phobeo, inferring reverence, awe, or amazement. Alas, the distinction.

God is not only authoritative but also inviting. Our natural response should be the reverence for which He is due, for if we love Him, we’ll obey Him (John 14:15). 

We can live fearlessly yet respectfully, humble yet confident that we are irrevocably and infinitely loved. As followers of Christ, our relationships with God should exemplify the perfect marriage of love and fear. Machiavelli highlighted the necessity of this example by saying that “it is much safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking.” 

And my God doesn’t lack anything.

“Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17).

Appease is cheese.

One of the most powerful remedies a prince has against conspiracies is not to be hated by the masses.  This is, of course, much easier said than done.  But I think I disagree with this statement.  I would say the most powerful remedy would be truth.  Which I guess it could be argued truth would be making the masses content, but it is not necessarily the case.  If the masses lose trust in their leader revolt is soon to follow.  

For example, take our own nation's politics.  Granted the differences are clear one is elected, the other is hereditary, with the option of being over thrown.  While on the campaign trail future president's do nothing but make promises to "appease" the masses.  Truth is seared at best during this time of campaigning.  The masses may be appeased, but when that appeasement is taken to the point of non truth, then the masses become discontent leading to possible revolt, or in our case approval rating soaring to the depths of sheol.  Truth is the most important thing for princes to hold by, not necessarily pure appeasement for all his peoples.

For this weeks post I wanted to leave you all with a bit of humor.... Enjoy!

MERLTY

"I say that every prince must desire to be considered merciful and not cruel; nevertheless, he must take care not to misuse this mercy."-Machiavelli  This is an extremely safe statement.  Therefore, I am just going to address the first part of this statement.  If a prince is considered merciful this could be a very good thing, until his people begin to take advantage of this mercy.  Mutiny could strike up at a moment's notice with a "soft" prince.  Cruelty demands respect.  If one of the citizens of that nation respect or fear someone because of his known cruelty then they would not theoretically mutiny, or rebel.  The question then, is which is better basis of authority mercy or cruelty?  I would say MERLTY.  Which is what Machiavelli basically says.  Both are needed so the prince needs to be perfectly balanced to be a good king. Ha.  

Gregorian chants.....creepy?

Once upon a time I was a wee little lad.  During this time of a young person's life many thoughts come in and out of their mind.  Multiple things contribute to the forming and shaping of this young mind.  One of those things would be false assumptions, and presuppositions.  I had heard this Gregorian chant when I was at this critical stage of my life, and was quite concerned with what I was hearing.  Just like when people are young they fear the dark, and when they reach a certain age they realize, hmm...there really is nothing to this fear.   So it was with my hearing Gregorian chant the other day with Dr. B.  Actually I realized what was something that was almost frightening now really was an inspiration.  Gregorian chant and the art behind, the rhythms, the words.  Realizing the patterns and the beauty of this chanting, and the worship that it gives unto God was soothing.  Posted is an example, hopefully you are not afraid of the dark.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ql7yshk2d0&feature=related.   

Closer to Character

As far as adapting a classic tale for a new generation, Sonic comes out smelling better than ol' Dante in the video game world. What you have is a true adaptation that introduces the younger ones to the classic characters of the Arthurian tales in a form they already know. The two mediums mesh well because they are both full of wild fantasies that capture the imagination. Sonic also is more likely to inspire folks to go out there and read the original stories of King Arthur, Excalibur, Lancelot, Gawain, and Percival than an why-so-serious beat 'em up game.

It's not that hard, people of the world. We once had an understanding of what was magical and entertaining, but now (like it was mentioned last week in class) we just want fireworks. Sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll. . . And no substance. Of course, I'm not saying Sonic the Hedgehog ranks up there with the great poets of old, but if he can mange to translate them and not depreciate the feelings, then power to him.

Music Like No Other: The Gregorian Chant

A Gregorian chant, with it's haunting simplicity, it is like listening to the very Earth itself worshiping the Father. It is deep and ancient, like the stones and the trees; it is rolling and rhythmic, as the rivers and the seas; it is enthralling, captivating music like no other....

Wisdom teeth

Recently I discovered that I am going to have to get my wisdom teeth removed. It got me thinking: what is the purpose of wisdom teeth, and why does practically everyone get theirs removed? I would think that something with the word “wisdom” in the name would be pretty important. Why are people nowadays so ready to get them removed? With this you probably have some of your own questions like what does this have to do with honors lit. Well, I think the removal of wisdom teeth is symbolic of the decline of real intellect in the modern time. This goes back to our discussion in the forest how we have moved further and further from the deep thinking of the works that we have been reading this semester. Obviously I do not think that wisdom teeth make us smarter. But I think people have moved away from the things of the mind and have focused on the things of the flesh. Vanity is something that has taken over the mindset of our generation. I think this also relates to the whole wisdom teeth thing. I think part of the reason why people get their wisdom teeth removed is the idea that our teeth need to be straight and perfect looking. We care less about the condition of our mind than the formation of our teeth. If we started caring more about getting back to the standard of learning and intellect of the ancient days and focused less on the trivial things, who know what our generation can accomplish? So let's keep our wisdom teeth and our intellect... it hurts a lot less!

Icons and Gregorian Chants

Today, I was just looking at some youtube videos, and I found this video that joins two of the topics that we have discussed in class: icons and gregorian chants. Give it a look!
The URL is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzmSP2cSAi4

Idk my bff rose?!?!?

Ok, so granted the title for this is a bit elementary, but I could not really think of one. Anyhow, during our little exploration into the forest this week, we encountered a very interesting topic. We began to discuss how our society has a very small vocabulary. In fact, I believe the word vocab was even stated, which brings about a great point. Our version of the English language has been belittled for quite some time now. I find it strange that what once began as a beautiful new form of language has transformed into, "IDK BY BFF JILL?!?" I dare to say, that the main reason this has occurred is strictly due to laziness. That's right...we are lazy. I mean think about it. Very rarely do you see knobs on the sides of sinks that you use to turn it on and off. Twenty-first century technology has spolied us rotten. EVERYTHING is automatic. Our toilets, sinks, doors, etc. In fact, many of our cars have automatic doors and windows. I was astonished the other day to actually see a guy talking into his cell phone to send a text message. That is right...he told his phone what he wanted to text, and it sent the message. Granted, that is pretty cool, and I'm sure that most of you who are actually reading this want to know where you could get one of those. However, that is beside the point. Texting, internet chat, magazines, books, basically the media in general has degraded our language. Very rarely do you hear people using what we would call "BIG words." In fact, if they do, we do not understand what they are saying. Our language has gotten to the point that we abbreviate everything, and use contractions. Especially in the south, English is completely distorted. We live in a town where we hear "ain't and ya'll" on a daily basis.I encourage you all, and myself, to dig deeper into our dictionaries and learn some words. Let us not be lazy...avoid the elevator, text actual words, avoid using the term LOL in an actual conversation, go inside and skip the drive-thru, and DO NOT buy a cell phone that allows you tell it what you want to text...gees. :)

Laziness = Death

While change is inevitable, it does not give us, as a society, permission to become lazy. Change is normally thought of as a way to better people or a society, not to diminish it. We have abused the right to change our language to better fit our lifestyle. Compared to earlier languages, for example the Medieval languages, the English we use everyday is distasteful and requires hardly any thought on our part. Of course, the advanced technology of online chatting and text messaging does not help matters. In fact, many people can't spell simple words, much less understand a larger more complex vocabulary. Sadly, those who do possess a wider vocabulary choose not to use it because most people who they converse with do not understand the meaning of the words. This is ridiculous. Is it only the person's fault or are higher institutions, such as school systems, to blame? Many of the school systems are behind when it comes to teaching students the importance of developing their vocabulary and learning. They opt to take the easy way out, which results in students who are lazy and do not engage in higher level thinking. If this cycle continues, the society we are part of will eventually disappear because if a society's language and arts deteriorate, its culture follows. Laziness of citizens leads to the death of a society.

The Wordless Language

I consistently find myself on an endless search for “the point” of things. From every childhood “but why?” to the critical analysis of my young adulthood, every decision that I make is usually preceded by some sort of revelation of the purpose, gain, or even sacrifice of the consequences. Even my decision to enter the Honors Program wasn’t without a “why should I do that?”, though my ultimate answer was, “why not?”. 

It didn’t take long to realize that “the point”, largely, but not completely, of the Honors Program is to analyze the human soul and figure out what we’re supposed to do with the  mess we’ve made of it. Naturally, my first question in class today was, “so what’s the point of all this music stuff?” Maybe I’m wrong, but I think I got the point.

There’s a wordless language of the soul that no philosophy can define. This non-discursive nature of things that has been such a big deal all semester is really an essential part of the human soul that we must not overlook. Even amidst the texts and philosophy, there’s a certain nature of things that rhetoric cannot relate. I believe that’s what creativity is for.

Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables and the Hunchback of Notre Dame, said, “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” Creativity is the wordless language that steps into the chasm of rhetoric and emotion and somehow transcends the two into a sufficient expression of the soul. There’s a richness in creativity that is conveyed throughout every era of history, a depth that lingers far longer than a word well spoken. Philosophy and literature go hand in hand with art and creativity to create culture. Though all of us are pursuing different fields of study, we are each a student of culture, in whatever emphasis we choose to do so.

Our longing to create is the conception of culture, and therefore the origin of the music, art and dance of the Renaissance period (and modern-day). I find it interesting that the Pavan was a mournful dance when our current culture considers dance an act of frivolity. When there was no eulogy to properly convey the grief of an infant’s death, the people created. And art - whether in visual, musical or physical form - sprung forth.

So that’s why I find myself in this endless cycle of pouring myself into a stack of books in the library, only to go straight to a practice room to pour it back out through a piano. Our natural response to learning, knowledge and study is to create. Throw in a bit of divine grace and somewhere in the mix of things, the soul is challenged, revised and grown into a new creation. For he “created our inmost being,” (Psalm 139:13), and the source of our creativity is the heart of the Creator himself. Though these souls of ours have been distorted, at least they can also be redeemed by the Creator that “makes everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). 

I’m pretty sure He’s the point of it all anyway.

Chaucer has a blog?

It seems Geoffrey Chaucer has his own blog, thanks to a group of people of apparently have nothing better to do. It's rather interesting. Though the "middle english" makes it a bit difficult to read.

http://houseoffame.blogspot.com/

Iconoclast Controversy

I decided to write my paper on Byzantine art and in my digging and just familiarizing myself with the style preparing for this paper, I came across a period in time that I had not heard of before, The Iconoclast Controversy. This controversy was a sad time in history when Christians actually fought other Christians. They fought over Icons and whether or not idolatry was setting in over the icons. Many Christians, especially the higher up leaders of the church believe that the people were taking the icons too far, and actually had begun worshiping the paintings and statues themselves instead of the God they represented. So the leaders decided to ban the Icons and order all of them to be taken out of church's and the paintings be whited out. This did not set well with the common folk and lower church leaders. They believed their freedom to worship was being taken away. To the point that when some of the men who were just doing their job and taking down the art were trampled to death.

Relief did not come until Constantine V's grandson took the throne at a young age forcing his mother, Irene, to serve as regent. She was able to smooth over the controversy better than anyone else had been able to. She allowed images to be used in worship on if they were recognized that they were different from God Himself.

The Canterbury Tales Rap

I could not resist posting this video for my blog this week. This is the Middle English Prologue of The Canterbury Tales recited like you have never heard it before....

Balance of Power

Who's exactly in control, Hilary or Bill? Monica! Since the beginning of time, women have used their looks and power of persuasion to get whatever they desired, whether it be "favors" or just dominance, particularly over the opposite sex. It is no denying that whenever a woman sets her eyes on something, she will get it. Women know how to make a man feel like he is in control when in reality he is at her every beck and call. This power is often seen as bad and destructive, but it all depends on the way it is used.
While the Wife of Bath seemed a little far-fetched and extremely promiscuous, she also had a learned outlook on the role of women. Yes, it may not be exactly what some of us would call appropriate, but she shed some light on the medieval stereotype of women. It was unacceptable to her, as it should be unacceptable to us in the fact that women should not be treated as inferior to men. I believe that a woman must submit to her husband, but even that can be done in a respectful manner, in regards to the wife. It is a relationship in which both parties must give and take. While the man is given the power to rule over his household, he must be aware of the extent of the power that is naturally present in a woman. A woman must be careful not to manipulate her power, which is often the case today. A balance of the two are needed to have an effective relationship.

The Hierarchy of Heroes

Chaucer conveys several depictions of heroism, ranging in diversity from the Knight to the Wife of Bath, (who can be considered a hero in more feminist circles, albeit in a relatively sick and twisted sort of way). During the tangent on heroism in Tuesday’s class, Dr. Abernathy spoke on the contrasting natures of tragic and comic heroes in literature. Apparently, the tragic hero typically achieves such a higher standard of greatness (or repute or accomplishment) that the hero cannot maintain his relative perfection and usually ends up in failure. This failure negates his previous status as a hero and leaves his perceived heroic nature as only a memory. (For example, Achilles). In contrast, the comic hero is one who achieves some form of greatness, repute or accomplishment through maintaining his relation to the average, non-heroic person. It can likely be this very grounded nature and ability to relate with those he is “rescuing” that makes him a hero. All that being said, I’ve yet to find a man or woman in literature who is, genuinely, a hero.

And I really, really want one.

So what, exactly, should define a hero? Can one be virtuous but not heroic? Is heroism an act or a matter of intention? I believe that a mortal hero is one who rescues another from a flaw by overcoming their own - whether by virtue or by act. A fine example of this is the gallant young knight slaying the dragon and coming to rescue the beautiful princess from the locked tower. Both the act and intention of the knight are heroic in nature. As for virtue, perhaps one can be virtuous but not heroic, but you cannot be heroic without being virtuous. Further, one can have heroic intentions and yet not be heroic. Though one can perform a heroic act unintentionally, I believe a true hero is one who is truly noble, self-sacrificing, and courageous in both intention and act. 

If all of these things are true and necessary qualifications to be a genuine hero, then this hero rises into our classification of tragic and comic. Yet, even this doesn’t satisfy my pursuit of true heroism because each type tends to have flaws which it cannot overcome. And don’t we all.

So perhaps it is not really heroism that I am pursing, but perfection. I want a perfect - immortal - hero, one who has no such flaws to overcome or of which he cannot conquer. I want a hero who is neither tragic nor comic, but higher than any literary or mortal hero discovered thus far. I want a hero who is greater than myself in every facet, and yet fully understands every facet of me. And though it doesn’t really matter what I want anyway, I suppose I just want Jesus. 

And the mortal hero must look only to the immortal Christ to derive his true heroism.

The Ages of English

Since Dr. Mitchell decided to wow us today with his amazing skills in reciting the language of Old English, and a bit of Canadian as well :), I decided to post how much the English language has changed over the course of the years. When I was in high school, my senior Honors English class studied a lot about Old English, and even read a few short stories in their original text. Since I am a self-proclaimed nerd, and avid English major, I still have all of those papers and decided to share a bit with you. Below, you will find an excerpt that has been translated several different ways. Hope you enjoy. :)

Old English (597 AD-1100 AD): Hwact we gardena in geardagum.

Middle English (1100 AD- 1500 AD) (CHAUCER): At mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene.

Modern English (since about 1550 ): La we the spear-Danes in the days of yore.

PRESENT-day English: Of mortal battles he had fought fifteen.


- I could not read my hand writing on some of those days, so feel free to comment any corrections! :)