On motivation and whatever

Rain.

Rain.

Rain.

Rain.

It's killing my desire to be productive. I'm the kind of person who likes to fall asleep listening to the splattering of rain on the window, so rain makes me want to avoid work. It's not so much that I want to go to sleep, far from it actually. I just don't want to work.

I began writing a paper the other day, a textbook review on St. John of Damascus' "Three Treatises on the Divine Images," but about a paragraph into the paper, I realized I don't know Turabian Style. They're making me use footnotes. That's a complete waste of space.

I read 100 pages of "Inerrancy" edited by Norman L. Geisler yesterday. Today, I've read about 30 so far. The book is a collection of essays, around 450 pages or so, on the topic of, gasp, biblical inerrancy. I was floating through the book really well until the 5th essay, where the author lost me about half of the way through. I got his main point, don't get me wrong, but about a third of the essay was gibberish. Not that it was drivel, I'm just not well-read enough to understand the complexities of the point the author was trying to make.



Don't wear house shoes in the rain, you'll just end up disappointed. And soggy.

My mind is scattered right now, that's why I'm writing. In case anyone was wondering.

We're having roast for dinner tonight and I have to say, I think a more effective means of "harsh interrogation" than water boarding would be forcing a hungry person to smell a roast cooking.

Two-hours and 22 minutes to go, make a wish.

-Caleb Williams

Fried Oreos and fall in Dallas

Rain, rain ... has finally gone away, for a day or two at least. The weather here is brilliant, I sat outside on campus for an hour today and read 50 pages out of a textbook and I feel good.

In case you can't tell, it is officially fall here in Dallas--day four to be exact--and I couldn't be happier. Don't get me wrong, I love summer, but there's only so much heat you can take before you boil away. I do have to say, I miss fall in Oklahoma, hopefully Dallas is far enough north to enjoy the season.

In Houston there is no fall, only seven or so days of moderate weather in December, then "cold" (not the good, bundle yourself in a jacket and scarf cold). There is no months-long gradation of green to auburn, you just wake up and things are a bizarre combination of grey and brown. Here's hoping fall in Dallas is closer to fall in Oklahoma.

In fall, a real, honest-to-goodness fall, coffee becomes even more a blessing. I am currently doing a study on the effects of coffee on the body at 5:40 in the morning, analysis so far: It helps considerably. And if the smell of coffee isn't enough to convince you of God's existence, it's effects should be.

Another gift of God: Deep-fried Oreos.



Don't knock it until you've tried it. The things are yet another wonderful concoction from the brilliant--and arterially clogged--people at the Texas State Fair. These same people proudly brought you deep-fried butter. Don't worry, I respect my body too much to even approach that counter.



That's all for now, time to read, then on to Intro to Theology at 1 p.m.

-Caleb Williams

The Ontological Argument

"[God is] that than which nothing greater can be conceived."
-Anslem of Canterbury (c. 1033-1109)

Interesting little argument. If God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived, God must logically exist if He can be conceived.

Not convinced?

If God doesn't exist that means the mind can conceive of something greater than God (for fun, we'll call it Zeus). Logically, the only quality Zeus contains that God doesn't is the attribute of existence. It stands to reason, therefore, that God exists.

-Caleb Williams

Last-second heroics

Still reading a lot. Finished John Damascene's "Three Treatises on the Divine Images" which is essentially an iconodule argument. Personally I'm not sure where to take that one still, even after reflection on it. Started a book called "Christian Theology" by Alister E. McGrath, one chapter in and I'm enjoying it.

A lot is going on. Whitney worked nearly 70 hours last week and I am still without a job and wondering about the wisdom behind getting one. There's a job opening on campus for a sound technician that's only 1- or so hours per week that I'm perfectly suited for, except for a 10 minute block at the beginning and end of the shift (classes). Anyway, Whitney is wonderful and I wouldn't be able to do any of this without her; wouldn't want to even if I could.

I'm learning a lot these day, more than I ever have before. I'm learning in school, learning to be a husband, learning to be responsible with money and health. Learning to balance a large number of responsibilities and just trying not to "drop the ball."

Not to be mean, I just don't want to end up like this kid, jump to 1:25 to see what I mean:



-Caleb Williams

1,500 and counting...

I'm worse at updating this than I thought I would be. Nevertheless, I will take a few minutes to write while I'm waiting for my mac-n-cheese to cook. I've been doing a lot of reading recently, in the last couple weeks, I've accumulated well over 1,500 pages of reading and I am still going. Here's a brief taste of my life these days:

• "Methodical Bible Study" by Robert A. Traina. A very-helpful Bible study guide that really shows how to break down the Scriptures. This book, along with Howard Hendricks' lectures have increased my confidence in my ability to read the Bible tenfold.

• "Spiritual Leadership" by J. Oswald Sanders. A nice little book about, well, spiritual leadership and growth.

• "Letters to a Diminished Church" by Dorothy Sanders. Sanders is a student of the Lewis-Tolkien school of thinking and writing. A contemporary of both, Sanders writes mostly to early-to-mid twentieth century England. A lot of what she has to say is relevant to us today, but her audience is Church of England. Therefore, some of the doctrinal statements don't flow with modern protestant Christianity.

• "The Grace Awakening" by Charles Swindoll. Grace, plain and simple. All the joys and pitfalls of living a life filled with grace.

• "Love Your God With All Your Mind" by J.P. Moreleand. A condemning view of American Christianity's lack of knowledge of the faith. A good read, I would recommend it and agree with a majority of what Moreland has to say, but not quite all of it.

• "Inclusive Yet Discerning" by Frank Burch Brown. A thought-provoking analysis of varying views of appropriate worship styles to reach the people.

• "Basic Issues in Aesthetics" by Marcia Muelder Eaton. This book had and has me so twisted on the definition of "art." 150 pages later and I have more questions than I started with.

• "Inside Out" by Larry Crabb. Spirtual growth from the inside out, this takes a look at a look at some of the slightly uncomfortable aspects of spiritual growth.

• "Three Treatises on the Divine Images" by St. John of Damascus. John Damascene's three letters to the Byzantine emperor after his banning of the use of icons in worship. I'm not sure what to think of this one yet.

All this is justification of my inability to post. Luckily, I enrolled in a speed reading course that has so far increased my reading speed from around 137 wpm to (at last count) approximately 400 wpm. So, that has been a huge blessing for me. Anyway, write soon.

-Caleb Williams