Do You Hear the People Sing? - Guest Post from Allan Long

[Longish: I haven't written anything for the blog in a while, amid the craziness of NaNoWriMo and school, so I thought I'd fill in the gaps with this wonderful Facebook post of my dad's.]

There are occasions that God provides us with glimpses of what heaven may look like. Or at least what it would feel like. Apparently music is a part of that. What a wonder music is. The Bible mentions it in passing and one is left to wonder what melodies Jesus may have hummed while scribbling in the sand or planted beside a campfire. I think of the angels and their heavenly hosts praising God upon bearing the good news of peace on earth, goodwill towards men. And David trying to sooth the savage Saul with music. 

For this moment, I will not get drawn into disparaging secular music. I am not so jaded as to say all secular music is unholy. That would be the same as saying all work – not in God’s direction – is unholy. God can make beautiful things out of dirt (or Garth Brooks... Cher? That may be a stretch). Our feeble attempts at praise are laughable. Like a child that sings "Twinkle Twinkle….”, not understanding the vastness of space, furious nuclear explosions of unimaginable extent and forces that the best of minds cannot fathom. Yet sing they do.

Which brings me to this video. It brings out great things in men. Unity in purpose. Passion. Excellence. And while this is not a hymn, it is a short jump to make the connection that were the focus or purpose of this performance to be God almighty – hearts would be broken. I love this video. Because it makes me think about heaven in a ridiculously hopeful and joyous way. Heaven will be a lot about praise in every tongue. It will be this kind of music (x1000^100 for those math junkies) in a spectacular way. We see now darkly – but then face to face. We will see Christ in His glory and begin to get an appreciation of our helpless estate and the sacrifice Christ made on our behalf. I look forward to heaven for many reasons and new music in dimensions unknown will be a part of that. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

And for the record, I’d like to see the Irish guy and the Norway dude go head to head. They don’t have voices. Those are weapons…


Allan Long

Thor: The Dark World - Review

Source

In the beginning, there was darkness. 

Okay. A bit sketchy theologically, but I’ll buy it. 

And the darkness had no personality. Or character arc.

In short, it did not work as a bad guy.

First time I saw it, I didn’t like the prievious Thor movie. Then I grew up, watched it again, and thought, “Hey, this is a good movie. This transcends superhero movies.”

It had a number of things in its favor.

1. It was directed by Kenneth Branagh.

2. To offset its necessarily over-solemn Norse god feel, we spent a lot of time in a small town interacting with ordinary people. Utilizing this idea to far more effect than Iron Man 3, this link to the commonplace grounded the film firmly on, ha ha, Planet Earth. It didn’t take itself too seriously. Thor the god of thunder was spotted in a T-shirt. Thor the movie could’ve been corny as all get-out. Instead it was amusing, moving, and possibly even a little deep (for a superhero movie.) 

The Children of Men - Review & Quotes

You return man to dust
and say, “Return, O children of man!”

For a thousand years in your sight

are but as yesterday when it is past,

or as a watch in the night….

So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.
(Psalm 90 ESV)

To those familiar with the mystery genre, P.D. James is a very prominent name. Her series, featuring poet detective Adam Dalgliesh, is among the best contributions in modern mystery. However, she has also written standalone books, among them the dystopian philosophical novel The Children of Men. After listening to clips from a 1992 interview with James on Mars Hill Audio, I decided I must investigate.

There are a lot of doomsayers out there, but one of the most compelling arguments I’ve heard is the idea that those countries with the greatest birth rates will rule the world, as described by Mark Steyn in his book America Alone. America, for instance, is scraping by at just above replacement rate, which means we'll soon have an enormous elderly population alongside a much smaller young generation - there's no chance one will counterbalance the other. It's already happening in Japan.

The Children of Men is an extreme realization of that possibility, and it's simply an amazing novel. (EDIT: Interestingly, Mark Steyn drew inspiration from the book, and is acquainted with its author.) While ultimately falling short of its potential, it touches on a huge variety of relevant themes: apathy, power, hypocrisy, hope, death, worship, love, and above all, the sanctity of life.

Happy Birthday, P.G. Wodehouse

I grew up watching Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie as, respectively, omniscient valet Reginald Jeeves and spineless but eloquent aristocrat Bertie Wooster. Wodehouse's books, while light weights, are a beautiful example of meticulous attention to excellence. Yes, they're romantic comedies, but they're the best romantic comedies you'll ever read. The father of modern comics like Terry Pratchett and Stephen Fry, and continuing the grand tradition of G.K. Chesterton and Jerome K. Jerome, Wodehouse was one of the funniest men to have ever lived.

I'm perfectly aware that I'm a day late. I'm also very ashamed of myself for not having a post prepared.

In penance, I hereto link to two excellent posts on P.G. Wodehouse. The first is for the new initiates:

"Simply put, Wodehouse is a black belt metaphor ninja."
Who Is P.G. Wodehouse, and Why Should It Matter to Us? - by Douglas Wilson

This is more in-depth, and if you have a sweet tooth for philosophy...

"The best answer to Friedrich Nietzsche we've managed yet to come up with is the prose of P.G. Wodehouse."  
God & Bertie Wooster - by Joseph Bottum

And these are also superb:

Jeeves and Wooster - Episode 1 - "Jeeves Takes Charge"

Enjoy.

Longish

Les Miserables - When It's Good It's Very, Very Good - Part 2

Continued from Part 1.

Warning: Absolutely packed with spoilers. Though I know this is 100+ years after it was published, most of the major plots twists in this book were ruined for me through the internet. So. I'm warning you.

In the first half of this post, I reviewed the story and more practical elements of Les Mis - in this follow-up, I get into the philosophy. That's code for: this will be boring to everyone but Hannah Long. Also, I am writing this from a Christian perspective, and am critiquing ideas by comparing them to theology, so Prepare Yourself.

Foyle's War - Sunflower Episode Review

My review of last week's episode: The Cage

One of the greatest attractions of murder mysteries are the conclusions. After a dramatic confrontation (usually in the library, surrounded by a group of suspects), the crook is bundled off to an undisclosed but hopefully sinister end. Lord Peter Wimsey observed that “in detective stories virtue is always triumphant. They’re the purest literature we have.” On the other hand, in spy stories, corruption and lying are often rampant on both sides, and stories end in a muddle of gray. James Bond is not paragon of justice.

This mix-up of the two genres worked for the first two episodes, but Sunflower comes dangerously close to compromising the entire premise of the show. In this episode, Foyle is tasked with a mission he finds very unpleasant: protecting a Nazi. Karl Strasser is making up for a dark history by feeding MI5 Soviet secrets, but he’s begun to receive death threats. Queue Foyle, the world’s worst bodyguard. His efforts on Strasser’s part seem only half-hearted.

Foyle's War - The Cage - Episode Review

My review of last week's episode: The Eternity Ring

If one is a detective, it’s a fairly certain occupational hazard that your privacy will be violated by a man—wounded in some manner—stumbling into your office, gasps out a cryptic phrase to the tune of “Purple Elephant!”, and falls dead.

“This man has been murdered, Holmes!”

It had to happen. Except, in this case, the man stumbles into a hospital, gasping out the phrase “Ten I!” Meanwhile, a woman gets a mysterious phone call, promptly disappearing and playing merry hell with operations at MI5.

Things are a bit less chaotic than episode one—Foyle is starting to settle into his new job (because, let’s face it, he has nothing to do in retirement but fish and drink scotch), Sam is finding her feet as Foyle’s secretary, and Adam has begun awkwardly campaigning in the dastardly world of politics. And how’s life at the work place? Horowitz has spun a world of lies, interdepartmental spying, and blackmail. Needless to say, Foyle doesn’t fit in. Though actually, he does a bit. Foyle isn’t above using a little misdirection, but it’s still his tenacity that gets him through.

The Dean's Watch Review/Quotes

Sometimes you run into a book that has to be savored. The Dean's Watch, by Elizabeth Goudge, is such a book. I told my dad, on finishing it, that she must have been a person who deeply loved the beauty of creation. She loved it so much, that when she describes the world, you can feel the joy pulsing just beneath the skin of the words. Like all artists, the creation process is a deeply important part of her view of God, and is intrinsic to the theology of The Dean's Watch.

The setting is a remote mid-nineteenth-century town in England and its grand cathedral. The cathedral Dean, Adam Ayscough, holds a deep love for his parishioners and townspeople, but he is held captive by an irrational shyness and intimidating manner. The Dean and Isaac Peabody, an obscure watchmaker who does not think he or God have anything in common, strike up an unlikely friendship. This leads to an unusual spiritual awakening that touches the entire community.

Elizabeth Goudge's books are hard to find, but well worth the search. The book is, in essence, a small story, about small people, but is contrasted against the majestic looming symbol of the Cathedral which is the city which is faith itself. Goudge has great talent in taking the most unsavory characters and finding something likable - even lovable - about them, furthering the novel's primary theme: Christian charity, to love even the unlovely.

My only complaint about the book would be that it is slowly paced, and sometimes tedious. Pressed by work, I don't have the time to review more fully, but even better, I chose some of the choice quotes.