Journeys with Tim

band of brothers

Over the last several weeks I've worked my way through HBO's Band of Brothers. A powerful WWII epic that follows in the footsteps of "Easy" Company, part of the 101 Airborne Divison. Just fantastic.

And what sacrifice those guys made; seeing their friends die, often fighting without hot food, or showers, and trying to sleep in the bitter cold. And to hear them talk so humbly about what they did is just great. Wonder what the guys of Easy company would think of this guy.

design

I wish I knew more about web design. I'd love to add/change stuff around on my site, but I don't have the time to learn how to do it myself.

Why can't my site look something like this or this or this.

There's gotta be some computer geek around here...

test day

The class I TA for had their third test today. The exams don't need to be graded until a week from Friday, but I decided I grade all 80 of them today. Laborious and dull, yet I'm glad its done.

The tests are objective, which make them easy to grade, but harder to test students' progress, in my opinion. But when you've got 140 some odd students you don't have a lot of options. Essay questions are better, but oral exams...now that would be great. But, then again, if I were a student and had to take an oral exam, I would be scared to death!

Humm...I wonder if can make oral exams work for my classes?

spring break

Our spring break was last week, but I could really use a break this week. I can't prove it but I swear my motivation drops every spring. I need to recharge. But alas, duty calls, in fact it looks like April will be my busiest month this year.

I'm really looking forward to heading to LA for a few days in April. It's good to get out of town once in a while.

verse

Tonight's the night for verse...

Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.

Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

~John Donne (1572-1631)

Ah, that hits the spot :)

mst3k

Mystery Science Theater 3000 was a uniquely funny show. It lived for many years on the Sci Fi Channel before being cut loose. How nice to know its head writer (and host), Mike Nelson, is a follower of Christ. He was interviewed here.

could it be true?

The ontological argument for God's existence has been around a long time. Kant offered a famous critique of the argument that has persuaded a lot of philosophers the argument doesn't work. Kantian scholar Allen W. Wood wrote this about why philosophers have accepted Kant's claims:

As far as I can see, the principle reason why some philosophers have accepted this position is that once we do accept it, we have some plausible-sounding reason to give for rejecting the ontological proof, and therefore just possibly some means of freeing ourselves from the horrible nagging suspicion that this proof might be sound.

Regardless of the merits of the ontological argument, it's refreshing to hear a philosopher speak so frankly about the motivations behind the criticism. I think most people don't realize the extent to which matters of the will influence academia.

wanna take a ride?

I will only say this once, and will deny it in a court of law, but Coast to Coast is the best late-night radio program in the country. Period.

p.s. trust no one.

troublemaker

After watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico and watching the special features on the DVD I'm convinced that Robert Rodriguez is one of the coolest guys on the planet.

The special features show us Troublemaker Studios, his home based film company/post-production studio which comes complete with the latest technology aimed at making movies fast, efficient, and insanely cool. I love the decentralized approach, which as Rodriguez says allows him to keep full control.

But more than his toys is his attitude: confident, talented, yet humble and hip.

every man's guide

the rules.

Rule No. 129: There is so much a mustache says about a man.

Rule No. 130: And none of it is good.

Rule No. 393: Anyone who defends their opinion with, "Well, it's my opinion, and I'm entitled to it," should be taken out and shot.

Rule No. 431: The weirder the cell phone ring, the more annoying the person.

vivo

A man should hear a little music,
read a little poetry, and see
a fine picture every day of his life,
in order that worldly cares may not
obliterate the sense of the beautiful
which God has implanted in the human soul.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Immerse yourself.

lost in translation

I saw lost in translation today. If you haven't seen it, don't. It's not as funny as I thought it would be, though Bill Murray has his moments. In fact the movie has a certain charm that is sweet, but the subtle message of the movie (that marriage is boring) stinks. That Hollywood likes it says a lot about Hollywood.

the skeptic and the believer

Dallas Willard has this to say about the contemporary culture in his Hearing God:

We live in a culture that has, for centuries now, cultivated the idea that the skeptical person is always smarter than the one who believes. You can be almost as stupid as a cabbage, as long as you doubt. The fashion of the age has identified mental sharpnes with a pose, not with genuine intellectual method and character.

It's true. If you doubt everything, you're seen as smart; it's the believers (those who take a position) that are on the defensive. Don't commit to anything and you'll be given the keys to the kingdom. Strange days.

the sage of königsberg

I just finished Jesus’ Resurrection: Fact or Figment? a debate between William Lane Craig and Gerd Lüdmann. In one of his statements, Craig includes a shorten version of this quote from Tom Morris, (who is commenting on an unwarranted assumption commonly made by modern liberal theologians):

…there is a conviction expressed here which is wide-spread among contemporary theologians, the belief that Kant, or Hume, or both together some two centuries ago dealt death blows to natural theology and to the sort of classical theistic metaphysics underlying traditional approaches to revelation theology…What is particularly interesting about the references theologians make to Kant or Hume is that most often we find the philosopher merely mentioned, in a somewhat deferential and even slightly appreciative tone, but we rarely, if ever, see an account of precisely which arguments of his are supposed to have accomplished the alleged demolition of cognitivism, and exactly how they may be supposed to have had the effect. In fact, I must confess to never having seen in the writings of any contemporary theologian the exposition of a single argument from either Hume of Kant, or any other historical figure, for that matter, which comes anywhere near to demolishing, or even irreparably damaging traditional theistic metaphysics, historical Christian doctrine, or the epistemology of what we might call ‘theological realism’, the construal of theology as a discipline whose intent is to represent religious realities as they, in fact, are.

This is precisely right. Hume and Kant are often alluded to as authorities, but their arguments are not presented or examined. Defenders of Christianity have a right to see the details of their critics charges.

state as church

Mark Steyn writing in London's Spectator:

‘When men cease to believe in God,’ said Chesterton, ‘they do not believe in nothing; they believe in anything!’ The anything most of the Western world’s non-believers believe in is government: instead of a state church, Europe believes in the state as church — the purveyor of cradle-to-grave welfare will provide daycare for your babies and take your aged parents off your hands. The people are happy to have cast off the supposed stultifying oppressiveness of religion for a world in which the state regulates every aspect of life.

Well said.

iTunes

I've never bought music online before, but I think I might with iTunes. Today I downloaded the iTunes jukebox (which is now available for Windows) and love it. I love the "Shared Music" feature which allows me to listen to music by other computer users on my network. Right now I'm listening to the Two Towers soundtrack from someone else's computer :)

Now I have to decided which song to buy first!

...

Spring Break is here. The last week has been a slow death march as I've had to write a paper on Kant, prepare two lectures, create an exam, and do a ton of reading.

Finally time to do those taxes, and get ahead.

preparation

I need to remember that lecture preparation always takes longer than expected. But I guess it didn't matter this week, I didn't have much time anyway. I was bogged down writing a paper that was due Thursday, so I didn't get started on my lecture for tomorrow until late in the week. I hate that.

Fortunately this week is spring break so I can get some things done, like watch some movies at the 2 dollar theatre! Most likely I'll be trying to get ahead of the end-of-semester rush.

heavenly music

I know I said I was on Passion overload, but I just got this message...

This Thursday (3/11), Passion composer John Debney will conduct the Biola University Chorale along with a musical ensemble and special guest vocalist Lisbeth Scott on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (airing 11:35pm PST/EST)

The 30-voice choir with soloist Lisbeth Scott
(who co-wrote the lyrics with John Debney)
will perform a custom suite from

"The Passion of The Christ" which will include
"Mary Goes To Jesus," "Raising The Cross" and "The Resurrection."

Probably worth stay up for.

overload

I've officially hit Passion overload. I'm done reading reviews, hearing about the controversy, etc. I hope the movie makes a ton of money, but otherwise it's time to retire Passion talk.

Other things that need to be retired...

• the phrase "oh my God"
• goatees
• the word "actually"
• pleats
• Subway
• cold weather
• my stuffy nose

what's it like to see the Passion

Saturday night I finally saw The Passion of the Christ. I had been waiting for over a year to see what I knew would be the best representation of the passion ever put on film. I was not disappointed. The Passion is the film we have been waiting for our whole lives. A work both cinematically gorgeous and yet faithful to the biblical eyewitness accounts. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning.

I stood in line Saturday night with a ticket given to me by a friend who decided that his twelve-year-old daughter was not ready to see it. Wise choice. We were not alone. Several people from his church, a Greek Eastern Orthodox Church, (who he will swear is the original church), were present including the Church leadership, and older congregates, some who looked like they hadn’t been to a movie in years.

Once inside the theatre darkens. No previews, no commercials, just the Icon Productions logo. It begins. Isaiah 53: …by his wounds we are healed. I begin to think about reviews which mention the amount of violence in the film. I feel my body tighten, my jaw clinch. I am ready. After just five seconds I knew immediately this film is better than just about every other "Christian film" ever made. The quality of the movie clearly raises the bar for excellence in Christian filmmaking.

The visuals are stunning. The entire movie has the look of a renaissance painting, (as intended). I love the slow camera speed when the Roman guard is healed in Gethsemane, when Judas is handed his thirty-pieces of silver and when Satan moves through the crowd.

The androgynous Satan character is perfect. The scene when Satan moves through the crowd parallel with Jesus as he walks the Via Dolorosa gave me chills. Satan moves, slowly, deliberately, hauntingly yet only Mary (and Jesus?) could see him/her. Powerful. Not being Catholic I didn’t realize at the time Mel is showing us the Stations of the Cross, but it’s clearly there.

As soon as Pilate decides to hand Jesus over to be flogged I knew things would get rough. The camera pans slowly over the tools that will be used. I brace in my seat. Again I see Satan, this time carrying an "evil" baby, clearly a mockery of the Madonna and Christ child. After it is over, I see the amount of blood on the floor, the blood splattered on the guards faces. I am amazed someone can go through that and still be alive. In a way I wish Jesus were not beaten so badly so soon, because it makes the beatings to come seem not as jolting. I felt as if the flagellation was worse than the crucifixion.

Jesus then begins to carry his cross and at one point he falls. The most touching scene in the film for me was the flashback to Mary running after a young Jesus falls. A brilliant touch. I loved when Mary comes to Jesus’ aid as his picks up his cross, and he says, Behold, I make all things new.

There is no doubt the actual crucifixion was violent. Watching the nails go though the hand was brutal. Yet even here there are inspiring moments. I see Golgotha from above. Then a single drop of rain. A tear from the Father? Jesus crying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? is another powerful moment.

When the crucifixion scene is over, there is a resurrection of sorts, but the movie is over. It is an intense experience, and there is a lot to talk about.

Gibson clearly makes a lot of theological/spiritual statements in the movie. I wish I knew more about Catholic theology and had read the Anne Catherine Emmerich book Gibson used. After seeing the movie it’s hard to see how such a film could spark so much controversy. The hostility generated is so clearly out of proportion. But in the end it doesn’t matter. Whether people are antagonistic or supportive, the bottom line is that people are talking about the Passion, and are asking about Jesus. Not a bad topic of conversation.

precogs

The Philip K. Dick movie rental series continues tonight with Minority Report. The issues here are freedom vs. determination and safety vs. privacy. I'm less concerned about the privacy issue than I am about the freedom issue, even though in the movie privacy takes precedence. I'll say more after the movie. (I'll try to say something about Blade Runner too.)

Oh, my The Passion of the Christ review will be up shortly.

narnia's coming

Disney announced today a deal that will bring C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia to film.

The live-action film will be directed by Andrew Adamson (Shrek, Shrek 2) and is scheduled to be released Christmas, 2005, by Walt Disney Pictures. The agreement allows for the continuation of the partnership for future films in the series.

Sounds like a good deal.

you're kidding right?

Give me a break. (From Drudge).

ROME, Ga. -- Tickets at one movie theater screening Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" are being deemed decidedly unholy.

The number 666, which many Christians recognize as the "mark of the beast," is appearing on movie tickets for Gibson's film at a Georgia theater, drawing complaints from some moviegoers...

Several patrons have made comments about the numbers, and one person who was uncomfortable having 666 on her ticket asked for a pass to be substituted for a ticket.

You know, my Bible has a page with '666' on it. Run for the hills!

The University department of Classics and Religion is hosting a panel discussion on The Passion today. I don't expect much sympathy for the film, but I might be surprised. I'll provide my own review right here afterwards.