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December 15, 2006
"I love technology..."?
A few days ago I had a rather traumatic experience: I spilled a whole glass of water all over my laptop. For some this is a major headache, but for one whose entire life for the last 3 years is saved under the diluvian mess, it was petrifying; almost literally (in the figurative sense). As I went through the cycle of disbelief, anger, and eventually got to bereavment (and then frustration trying to put the keys back into the right place after taking them off to dry), I realized I should probably start backing up my files.
Wanting to do something nice to my computer as it now is starting to work normally again -- most keys still functional -- I got a little note that said a new version of Internet Explorer is out. "That'll be a nice little present." So I got it. Then my Adobe reader said there is a new version out (I hadn't upgraded for years). So I got it. Then - this is all in the last few days - windows media player said they have a new version. So I got it. It was the best Christmas my little Dell has ever had.
Alas, today, proud of my success, I wanted to listen to music while going online to look at the scanned (pdf) copies of a text I'm translating. But now I don't know how to work the music (some jazzy album of bad Christmas music I don't even own is playing), and the reader is taking forever to load - but that's not a problem because the new internet settings aren't letting me back to the site with the text. Talk about the computer holding a grudge. Thankfully I've got a dad and a brother who know something about computers (like, "you probably shouldn't play Noah's ark with them"), and Ms. Dell and I are signed up for some counseling sessions over the holidays. Nothing like a good family Christmas...
Posted by j and b at 01:16 PM | Comments (3)
December 14, 2006
Sola...ti do?
I'm sitting here, supposed to be writing frantically to get a chapter turned in before Christmas (won't happen...), and thought I'd put up one last post about our trip to Rome. I've been interacting with a lot of Roman Catholic scholarship from various periods of church history and it's been good for me to come to grips with some of the thought there. But one result of visiting Rome as a Protestant was a realization of the causes of the Reformation. Often it is put into terms of 'abuse': the Reformation was chiefly caused by the abuse of what is otherwise fine or acceptable theology. Well, such is no doubt a part of the case; but the differences run straight through theology and life and that to me was nowhere more evident than in the "doors of forgiveness" . There is a set at the Vatican (pictures below - inside and outside) and another at San Giovanni de Laterano (where the Lateran councils were held; the old papal seat). The idea is that every 100 years - which became 50, then 25 and now is more or less whenever the pope decides, the last in 2000 - there is a 'Jubilee Year' where the pope bangs on the door, which then opens and everyone who passes through has their sins forgiven. Now, I understand that this can be simply a matter of another sacramental aspect of the church, linked to the power that "whose sins you forgive shall be forgiven...": in the R.C. view participating in the sacraments is drawing on the merit earned by Christ in his death, and so one can still hold some (albeit semi-Pelagian) form of "Christ alone" whose grace is necessary for forgiveness. But this seems to me only a half-step away from the classic idea of indulgences; only instead of the church making money by requiring it to "get grace", they make their money by the enormous numbers of folk who come and spend their money as tourists.
What it gave me was an appreciation for the Reformation doctrine of "sola fide". Obtaining forgiveness - which is tied necessarily to being made right before God (justification) - by virtue of your walking through a set of doors, with no reference to faith in any substantial (i.e. biblical) sense, is in my mind a bit problematic... There aren't any easy answers here, but there are bad ones.
The picture on top is, I hope, not overly sacreligious: the pillars are supposed to be the height of Jesus. They're in one of the many cloisters. Clearly I've got him by at least a couple of inches...
Posted by j and b at 10:35 AM | Comments (1)
December 02, 2006
To Italy and Back
We've been back for a while now but the sweet memory of Bella Italia still lingers to cheer my days in cold, dark Scotland. I've had so many people ask me what the highlight was and I still haven't come up with one. I loved it all - walking through the streets of Firenze, admiring the particularly Florentine architecture and art; strolling up and down the markets of Sorrento buying Christmas gifts (shhh! don't tell our families!); watching the sun set as our ferry took us back to Sorrento after a day on the Isle of Capri; standing with our heads back, gazing at the astonishing beauty of the Sistine Chapel...and we got to be together for 10 whole days - what could be better?
But, just for the fun of it, here are memories that stand out - the ones that will probably stick with me years from now when I can't remember anymore when we went and how long we stayed for.
1) Quizzing each other on important dates in Italian history. This made the long waits in line for the Vatican and the Colosseum much more enjoyable... (the key to being a nerd is accepting it and moving on...when did Caesar cross the Rubicon again?)
2) The amazing plate of pasta and seafood I had for lunch on Capri - it was raining outside so we decided to stay inside and eat...when in Italy, do as the Italians.
3) Rambling through the ruins of Pompei listening to Josh tell me stories of the ancient Roman gods and goddesses - here's to Ovid!
4) Sitting high on the Piazzale Michelangelo, with the evening lights of Florence sparkling beneath us.
5) Watching pizza being baked properly in a wood-burning oven and then getting to eat it.
6) Chasing portrayals of Jeremiah - J and I found a few amongst the mosaics and statues of the myriads of churches in Rome.
Here are some more pics - The Cloisters of San Marco in Florence (where Savanarola spent most of his life and work), Pompei (you can barely make out Mount Vesuvius in the background - it was a hazy day), a view of Capri from our ferry and Josh indulging in gelato (a common activity for both of us).
Posted by j and b at 04:46 PM | Comments (3)