About a month ago I decided to read the entire Bible from page 1. I've always thought I knew my Bible well, but the fascinating thing about it is that no matter how many times you've read a certain chapter or a passage, there will always be something new there that you somehow failed to register before. Such a feat was an excellent excuse for shopping, so I got myself a new Bible, the handsomely designed ESV Journaling version, and a pack of highlighters, just in case.
What I've found so far is that reading its books in their entirety gives a whole different feel to it. By doing so, you can't just cherry pick your favourite passages and dwell in their safety. There's plenty more to see and hear on the less familiar sections of the path, scenes both wonderful and gruesome.
One story that I don't think I had ever come across before is the one on Balaam's donkey and the angel, found in the Book of Numbers (22:22-35). In it, rather uncharacteristically for the Bible, animals have unhindered communication with both men and angels. The donkey argues and reasons with Balaam and unlike him, has the ability to see celestial beings. I found it quite an extraordinary story. It made me wonder what is it that my cat stares at every once in a while, all focused on a seeming presence in the room that I fail to perceive with any of my senses.
One more thing I got out from all this: I went jogging last Friday afternoon. It was such a miserable day, cold, foggy, drizzly... Actually, I loved it, it was perfect for jogging (and very much in line with my state of mind at the time). I was running a very familiar and safe route, when suddenly something made me abandon it and continue on a narrow path leading away from the concrete and the urban hustle and bustle. It was a semi-conscious decision, but I was so glad I made it. It was so good to feel the grass under my feet, touch the trees in passing as I ran by them, and come home all wet and muddy.
How biblical of me not do to the predictable thing for once.
Tuesday 8 April 2008
Saturday 5 April 2008
Quarterly Book Reviews #7
RELIGION
Reaching for the Invisible God by Philip YanceyIt's one of those books I never thought I'd read. Yancey is an evangelical, while I'm... Let's say, of slightly different persuasion. Anyway, my preconception was that pretty much all evangelical authors are Bible-thumping fundamentalists preaching the gospel of fire and brimstone. And I was quite wary of Yancey in particular, given his prominent status among the religious conservatives. Somebody left a copy of this book in my church library couple of months ago and I'm glad I eventually gave it a chance. Fundamentalist or not, I found Yancey a caring, sensitive and compassionate author. As I was reading the book, it felt like I was being listened to by him, rather than the other way around. Peculiar and rare quality. One thing that needs to be said: people looking for simple and straightforward answers won't find them in this book (which is only a plus).
FICTION
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef PenneySet in a remote corner of Canadian icy-cold wilderness, it was a nice distraction from yet another bland Belgrade winter. It is somewhat difficult to define its genre, as there's a bit of everything thrown in there: history, romance, crime, mystery, even an anachronistic coming-out narrative that seems very late 20th-century for a novel set in the 1800s. Still, it all holds quite well together.
FICTION
Moral Disorder by Margaret AtwoodSpeaking of Canada, here's another piece of literary Canadiana, and also another book defying usual genre classification. It can be seen as a collection of short stories, or as a novel consisting of rather loosely connected chapters (I have to admit that it was only once I was halfway through the book that I realised it's the same character she's writing about). Either way, it really is Atwood at her very finest as it says on the cover. It restored my faith in her after a brief period of post-Oryx and Crake disillusionment. Here Atwood leads us through a life of a Canadian woman and walks us through feelings of abandonment and estrangement, but also of love, endurance and strength, feelings we can all relate to, male or female, Canadian or otherwise.
RELIGION
Mere Christianity by C S Lewis
I've got mixed feelings about it. On one hand, yes, the book is a spiritual classic, and it's immediately clear why it's been so widely read for decades. Lewis is a persuasive author whose intelligence and intellectual prowess ooze from every page of the book. The chapters were originally given on the air, broadcast by the BBC during WW2 and thus reflect some of the ethos and ideology of the period, which makes it seem somewhat awkward at times, even antiquated. Readers who love this book will say that it powerfully presents the very essence of the Christian faith. Those less enthusiastic will complain that the apparent simplicity has more to do with Lewis' Spartan-like spiritual militarism and his draconian, take-it-or-leave-it approach to Christianity. Reading the book, I got a mental picture of Lewis as a bossy and difficult man to deal with.
POETRY
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T S Eliot
Nobody reads poetry any more. Well, I've been reading some - to my cat. And is there a better book of poems to read to one's cat than this slim volume of T S Eliot's delightful little odes to these wonderful creatures? I think not.
Reaching for the Invisible God by Philip YanceyIt's one of those books I never thought I'd read. Yancey is an evangelical, while I'm... Let's say, of slightly different persuasion. Anyway, my preconception was that pretty much all evangelical authors are Bible-thumping fundamentalists preaching the gospel of fire and brimstone. And I was quite wary of Yancey in particular, given his prominent status among the religious conservatives. Somebody left a copy of this book in my church library couple of months ago and I'm glad I eventually gave it a chance. Fundamentalist or not, I found Yancey a caring, sensitive and compassionate author. As I was reading the book, it felt like I was being listened to by him, rather than the other way around. Peculiar and rare quality. One thing that needs to be said: people looking for simple and straightforward answers won't find them in this book (which is only a plus).
FICTION
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef PenneySet in a remote corner of Canadian icy-cold wilderness, it was a nice distraction from yet another bland Belgrade winter. It is somewhat difficult to define its genre, as there's a bit of everything thrown in there: history, romance, crime, mystery, even an anachronistic coming-out narrative that seems very late 20th-century for a novel set in the 1800s. Still, it all holds quite well together.
FICTION
Moral Disorder by Margaret AtwoodSpeaking of Canada, here's another piece of literary Canadiana, and also another book defying usual genre classification. It can be seen as a collection of short stories, or as a novel consisting of rather loosely connected chapters (I have to admit that it was only once I was halfway through the book that I realised it's the same character she's writing about). Either way, it really is Atwood at her very finest as it says on the cover. It restored my faith in her after a brief period of post-Oryx and Crake disillusionment. Here Atwood leads us through a life of a Canadian woman and walks us through feelings of abandonment and estrangement, but also of love, endurance and strength, feelings we can all relate to, male or female, Canadian or otherwise.
RELIGION
Mere Christianity by C S Lewis
I've got mixed feelings about it. On one hand, yes, the book is a spiritual classic, and it's immediately clear why it's been so widely read for decades. Lewis is a persuasive author whose intelligence and intellectual prowess ooze from every page of the book. The chapters were originally given on the air, broadcast by the BBC during WW2 and thus reflect some of the ethos and ideology of the period, which makes it seem somewhat awkward at times, even antiquated. Readers who love this book will say that it powerfully presents the very essence of the Christian faith. Those less enthusiastic will complain that the apparent simplicity has more to do with Lewis' Spartan-like spiritual militarism and his draconian, take-it-or-leave-it approach to Christianity. Reading the book, I got a mental picture of Lewis as a bossy and difficult man to deal with.
POETRY
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T S Eliot
Nobody reads poetry any more. Well, I've been reading some - to my cat. And is there a better book of poems to read to one's cat than this slim volume of T S Eliot's delightful little odes to these wonderful creatures? I think not.
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