Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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The Well-Educated Mind: Poetry
One of the little known facts of a good seminary education is that you learn to read poetry. It is one of the predominant genres of literature in the Bible, although often in books no one reads (e.g. most of the prophets). While there are some rather obvious differences between Hebrew and English poetry, some…
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2017 Reading Challenge: June Update
For the first time in a while, I focused more on writing than reading this past month. I had intended to post Monday through Friday all month, and other than last Wednesday and Thursday, succeeded. I did however still read quite a few books. 12 to be exact, which is 79 for the year. That…
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The Well-Educated Mind: Dramas and Plays
If there’s a genre of literature I’ve left mostly unexplored, it’s dramas and plays. I read some Shakespeare for my last ever undergrad class (Freshman Comp because you’re curious). Beyond that, basically nothing. But, that’s what Susan Wise Bauer’s The Well-Educated Mind is good for. The list below will help you and me fill in…
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How I Organize My Library
Summer is often a time of refreshing. You might not expect that because it is often miserably hot outside here in Florida. But, I like to do some organizing and cleansing over the summer and this takes places in many domains. After nearly becoming without form and void, my library was in need of an…
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Why We’re Studying Ruth This Summer
Over the course of this summer, I’m leading a Bible study on Ruth with college students. SHIFT hasn’t historically done things over the summer, but since we were just stepping into being more involved, I wanted to do at least something during June and July. For a variety of reasons, I thought Ruth would be…
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New Books of Note
On Pastoring by H. B. Charles Jr. is exactly what the subtitle implies: a short guide to living, leading, and ministering as a pastor. It is 30 short chapters divided into three parts: The Pastor’s Heart The Pastor’s Leadership The Pastor’s Ministry While I think most of the insight is fairly basic (or should be),…
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The Well-Educated Mind: Histories
First it was novels. Then it was autobiographies. Now, it’s history’s turn. As with previous sections in The Well-Educated Mind, Susan Wise Bauer begins with an overview of the genre. Here, she distinguishes between several periods in the history of history: Ancient History Medieval History Renaissance History The “Enlightened,” or “Rational,” Approach Positivism to “Progress-ism” to…
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Rebuilding My Morning Routine
Yesterday, I explained how I use my summer breaks. I mentioned working out first thing in the morning, something I haven’t historically done. My history with a morning routine goes back to when I worked at Lowe’s between high school and college. I often opened, which meant getting there at 6am. Since I didn’t particularly…
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How I Use My Summer Break Wisely
I often get asked what I do over the summer. I wish I could say, well I just sit around and read. But, the main thing I do is figure out how to replace my teaching income for 2 months. After that, then I read. That process actually starts late spring, when I start trying to…
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Super Teams Aren’t Fair, But Neither Is Life and That’s Ok
For five nights this June, I carved out time to watch the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers play in the NBA Finals. This was the the first time two teams faced each other three years in a row. Going into the Finals, the Warriors had swept their way through three rounds of the…
Got any book recommendations?