Some time later ...

I completed that third reading of the Holy Bible just an hour ago. It's a strange state to arrive at. It could be that I NEVER read it again and still I will wear it within my heart forever. Some part of my being desires that I launch immediately into a fourth reading, though I'll not do that. It's worth having a break between these lengthy Genesis to Revelation readings.

Three Books

Today I begin to read Revelations, some 22 chapters away from my third complete Genesis to Revelation reading of the Holy Bible, AV1611. After consideration, I'll take a pause before I begin a fourth reading. And that gives me options. I was looking at Moby Dick as a good contender, it has a high page count, it's a classic work that has stood the test of time and is obviously richly symbolic. As a conscious effort I would have more; forces have to be balanced and consolidated. Don Quixote is a mysterious inspired work, again part of the Western canon, and a high word count. Multi-layered, dealing with inconsistency, chaos, disarray, unnatural phenomena, a baroque love affair - airy qualities for sure. The obvious return to earth has to be War and Peace, another classic, a work that looks at history whilst recognizing the inner events of individual lives as being the real events of history. And of course Tolstoy writes in such a grounded manner, his style is in some ways flawless.

That's a proper trilogy! No timescales for any of this yet, although a minimum daily page count will be required. I may, or I may not make notes - but I'll post them here if I do. The only outstanding matter of any significance is that of translation, although I have looked into enough to know who I'll not be approaching, I've still to make a decision.

Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes
War & Peace - Leo Tolstoy

Islamists

What it is the West doesn't seem able to understand at a level deep enough to muster any serious - which must equate to collective - response is the fact the Islamists are principally involved in a struggle for the (muslim) Umma. Terrorism is a temporary tool, it certainly got them the media attention they so needed to resurrect their cause. Let's not forget al-Quaeda have their own media arm, al-Sahib, which if nothing else tells us they have something we haven't! And, their operational leaders, the likes of Ayman al-Zawahri, talk of this war as a struggle for the Muslim mind. They do not talk of this struggle as being achieved next year or come the next election, nor the next decade, they talk of 50 and 100 years. They see this as a historical struggle, of which they play only a small part in the present revival. It is undoubtedly very difficult to see how all this will pan out through the fullness of time. There is nothing occurring today that offers much to meliorate our confidence - there's no point denying what is obvious, even if there is much we don't see - the West looks weak and vulnerable. And the fact there are people walking our streets who believe the whole thing is the invention of the intelligence services doesn't help much. This all seems utterly Biblical.

A Note

Having played around with googlepages and still feeling that it's all pretty clumsy, I will continue with this and other blogs not only because Blogger is easy to use but because I can access it anywhere and web pages are perhaps more structured and organised and really I do all this for myself primarily.

Just to nail it, to define what purpose this address serves, and I said it in the first post: a tool for spiritual growth.

And I'll define that as I please, literally. It's an obvious point, though the obvious is often in need of re-stating, the way is a strange mysterious experience, different for each and all, yet in the spirit of mystery, a shared experience - not just among individuals, but down through centuries and across cultures. Because no man is free who is not master of himself. Let's not be deceived by foolish imaginations, this is not the first estate, we live in a fallen kingdom - it takes all our energy to weed out vanity from the dark recesses in which it lurks. And that is barely preliminary to engaging the work, such efforts are we bound to endure, or die here to the flesh.

You are responsible for what you have understood.

Paraphrasing Herman Witsius

Adam, in the garden, was in a state of acquiring a right. Only upon fulfilment of the conditions of the covenant, having done constantly and perfectly what was commanded, could he claim and expect what God had promised.

As we know and understand, Adam never acquired that right and the consequences go on unto this day. If you do not know and understand, if you think that it is all a fable then consider, it is the life of positive holiness which Adam had and knew yet lost and which now lies buried in the essence of all God's children. To reclaim the image of God, recognise the majestic purity and divine holiness of our Creator and open your heart to the presence of the Holy Spirit - without contact, without the operation of the Holy Spirit there can be no inner renewal and no conforming to the image of God.

Bach's Motets

Quite some time ago I was enthusing about a rare (in that it is difficult to obtain) recording I had acquired of the Motets performed by the Tolz Boys Choir. I still hold this to be astounding listening, so balanced and with some beautiful solo performances that lift the entire work to another level, and unlike some of their other performances they appear ideally suited to Bach's Motets. Here's a short review of that particular recording:

Tölzer Knabenchor

Now look what I've found, perhaps the quality doesn't come through but it's worth sharing because many people will never even have heard of the Tölzer Knabenchor. The second snippet of Jesu, Meine Freude gives a glimpse of a small group solo performance and helps you see how individual voices soar through to lift the work into those celestial dimensions.

Jesu, Meine Freude # 1
Jesu, Meine Freude # 2
Komm, Jesu, Komm