Archive for the ‘nonfiction’ Category
Support or Accept It?
I was reading an article about the torture debate at the Relevant Magazine website.
The article itself was titled The Torture Question.
It is a piece written about how there is growing debate over the torture issue in the Christian community.
What really struck me about what I was reading and what prompted me to write about it was a comment posted on the website.
It was written by a person with the “screen name” skevin. He writes:
“…i don’t believe you can say that a person necessarily ’supports’ a position if they merely see certain instances where they can accept that the position may be effective. I think using the term ‘accept’ would be much more truthful and less divisive, especially as we discuss this with our brothers and sister in Christ.”
He has said in this few sentences something I have tried over and over to say in several blogs. The point is simple, I can ‘accept’ something (in this case torture, or for another example, the War in Iraq) but not necessarily ’support’ that something.
Way to go skevin, Whoever you are.
By the way, for those of you that are interested, Relevant Magazine is a magazine that discusses the combination of faith and pop culture into our daily lives.
Currently Reading: History of the Republican Party
TITLE: The History of the Republican Party
AUTHOR: Norma Jean Lutz
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2000
PUBLISHER: Chelsea House Publishers
I was skimming through the political section at the library last night and I spotted this one out of the corner of my eye.
I have only read the first chapter up to this point. It deals primarily with why the party formed in the first place.
Even so, it seems pretty interesting so far.
Currently Reading: Beyong Left and Right
TITLE: Beyond Left & Right: Helping Christians Make Sense of American Politics.
AUTHOR: Amy E. Black
PUBLISHER: Baker Books
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2008
About the Author: a professor of international relations at Wheaton College. President of Christians in Political Science.
Here is the blurb from the back of the book:
“Instead of drawing party lines [the author] offers a guide to the inner workings of American politics that encourages readers to make informed, faith-based political decisions.”
Currently Reading
TITLE: 10 Excellent Reason for National Health Care
AUTHOR: several authors but edited by Mary E O’Brien and Martha Livingston
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2008
PUBLISHED BY: The New Press
So far, I have only read the foreword, which is written by U.S. Representative (from Michigan) John Conyers, authors of HR676 (The United States Health Insurance Act); the introduction (which was written by the 2 editors); and the 1st chapter, which was written by Martha Livingston PhD (Associate Professor of Health and Society at the State University of New York College).
So far seems like an interesting book that sets out to show why national health care is a good idea and to debunk the common myths about national health care.
Here is a quote that shows up on the front page:
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
Currently Reading: Catholic Does Not Equal the Vatican
TITLE: Catholic Does Not Equal the Vatican
AUTHOR: Rosemary Radford Ruether
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2008
PUBLISHER: The New York Press
Here are some excerpts from the blurb that summarizes the book:
“Millions of Catholics throughout the world…feel ambivalent about the hierarchical Catholic institution and the rightward agendas of the current and previous popes. [They] long for a church that would more closely reflect their own beliefs and experiences, a church that would offer a welcoming community and serve as a global leader in the fight for justice……….”“Ruether calls for the dismantling of sexist teaching and authoritarian values, while promoting egalitarian communities that welcome women, gays, and lesbians into full equality in the church and even ordination….”
So I have read about half of this book already and so far I can say that I don’t buy into most of what this person is saying but I can almost understand where she is coming from. Personally, I think the author of this book is little bitter.
Currently Reading: Introduction to Christianity
TITLE: Introduction to Christianity
AUTHOR: Joseph Ratzinger
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1968
PUBLISHED BY: Communio Books/Ignatius Press
I recently read a biography about the current Pope and decided to read some of his writings. I ended up starting off with this one. I thought it would be interesting to get Pope Benedict’s take on the essentials.
So far I am not disappointed with the book. He writes in a way that is just a tad hard to follow but I have been making my way through it. The guy is apparently very well-educated (of course, I already knew that having read his biography lol!).
Anyway, here is a really cool quote I got out of it so far:
“Faith is not a recitation of doctrines, an acceptance of theories about things of which in themselves one knows nothing and therefore asserts something all the louder….it signifies an ‘about turn’ by the whole person that from then on constantly structures one’s existence….it is a conversion, an about turn, a shift of being….”
Top 6 of 6
I think it has been a little over 6 months since I have updated my favorite stuff.
Here is my most recent list (in no particular order just as they came to me). Enjoy!
1. MOVIES
- High Fidelity
- Batman Begins
- The Departed
- Mother Night
- A Few Good Men
- Dogma
2. BOOKS
- Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Rob Bell)
- This Present Darkness (Frank Peretti)
- Batman Year One (Frank Miller)
- Animal Farm (George Orwell)
- Mother Night (Kurt Vonnegut)
- The Barbarian Way (Erwin McManus)
3. ALBUMS
- Weezer – Weezer (blue)
- Weezer – Weezer (green)
- U2 – The Joshua Tree
- Emery – I’m Only a Man
- Descendents – Everything Sucks
- Stavesacre – How to Live With a Curse
4. SPORTS TEAMS
- Seattle Seahawks
- New England Patriots
- Seattle Mariners
- Boston Red Sox
- Vancouver Canucks
- Chicago Blackhawks
5. ACTORS
- John Cusack
- Harrison Ford
- Gary Oldman
- Adam Sandler
- George Clooney
- Winona Ryder
6. COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS
- Batman
- Captain Marvel (Shazam)
- Punisher
- Spider-Man
- Hulk
- Doctor Doom
Currently Reading
TITLE: Revolutionary Russia, 1917
AUTHOR: John M. Thompson
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1981
PUBLISHED BY: Charles Scribners Sons
Book Review: Notes on Democracy
This is a review of a book I recently finished titled Notes on Democracy by H.L. Mencken.
For the most part, when reading his Notes on Democracy, Mr. Menchken is a really good example of a person that has a lot to say about a specific subject and at the same time says very little about that particular subject.
When I opened the cover, the first thing I noticed was that the writing was originally published in 1926 so I began to doubt how something written over 80 years ago could possibly still be relevant to anybody in our time. Times change. Government institutions evolve.
The first problem with the book is that it does not reach out and grab you. It is really hard in my opinion to get into a book if the first few pages already leave your mouth hanging wide open and drooling. That is, if those first few pages don’t grab your interest.
However, for the sake of the subject, I soldiered on.
The book is basically a long-winded essay that attacks the ideology of democracy. Okay, attacks might be too strong a word but you get the general idea. I think that yes, there are problems with democracy, as there are problems with all political ideologies. Nobody has gotten it right yet. Democracy is certainly no exception. But until somebody comes up with something better (that actually works that is), than I am all for it.
Anyway, it turned out that there is quite a bit of information in the book that ended up being quite relevant for the modern era.
For instance, he makes a point about the disproportional representation of the legislatures. Be it the House of Representatives or a state legislature. They are all disproportional. The states (or legislative districts in the case of state legislatures) with small populations have an equal vote and an equal say as those with more densely populated areas. While I agree to this to some extent, everyone should have a say in the political process, it leaves some of the more densely populated urban areas with the same representation as a state like Montana or North Dakota or Alaska where there are much fewer citizens.
Another relevant point he makes is regarding how the members of the House of Representatives spend more time running for re-election than they do in Washington doing their actual job due to the shorter terms of their elected office. While I am all in favor of term limits, the short, 2-year term of an elected official seems to be going a little overboard on the issue. If we did have, for instance an actual 2 year term limit on the Representatives, it would make no sense for them to have to run for re-election, thus they might actually get more work done (of course, this would probably be more in the hopes of seeking higher office).
One of the things he mentioned that I found lacking much sense was how he thought that politicians representing a particular state, region, district, etc..should not have to be residents in their particular area. In my opinion this defeats the whole purpose behind direct representation and seems to be somewhat contradictory of some of the other things he says in his book.
In conclusion, the biggest problem I really had with this book was the author’s lack of ability to make any attempt at making the subject matter interesting. Or to put it more bluntly, the guy is just a dreadful bore. One of the quotes on the back of the book describes the author regarding his “bristling, sardonic humor…” I’m not sure what humor whoever wrote this quote was talking about. He must have been talking about another book…by another author.
In my opinion, if you really have to read this book, by all means go ahead. I would suggest against it though.
Currently Reading: Latin for Dummies
Title: Latin for Dummies
Author: Clifford A. Hull, Steven R. Perkins, and Tracy Barr.
Publisher: Dummy Press
Not sure what possessed me to pick this one up at the library and start reading. I’ve been wanting to learn Greek for a really long time and I was looking in that particular section in the library. Did not find a decent basic Greek book but this one stuck out like a soar thumb for some reason. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to learn a foreign language and a dead language is a good place to start. 
