The Lovely Dragon of Choice

Check out this essay by Dr. Anthony Esolen, contributing editor for Touchstone Magazine. In his usual wonderfully elegant, literary style, Dr. Esolen shows us why planning and scheming is not usually a soul-building way to live.

I am a senior in college. Therefore, the most common question I am asked (roughly 87,524 times a day) is "What are you going to do after you graduate?" Now, I have several possibilities. Most of them don't involve anything directly tied to my major (Intelligence and Foreign Policy), which I am quickly growing tired of explaining. I really have no idea what I'm going to be doing after May 14, and I'm not all that worried about it. To be sure, I'm making provisions, like applying to grad schools and various jobs, but I'm not set on any of them, and the lack of a definite plan doesn't bother me, because I know that whatever I do, I am in God's hands, and I will go where He leads me. I have been chosen by Him, and I'm content in His choosing.

Happy St. Crispin's Day

Today is St. Crispin's Day, and the 589th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt. Well do we remember it with the words of William Shakespeare:

This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Things I Love

St. Augustine of Hippo once wrote to Laurentius, a young Roman Christian, "For when there is a question as to whether a man is good, one does not ask what he believes, or what he hopes, but what he loves."

In this spirit, and at the prompting of Gideon Strauss, I have made a list of fifty things I love. Some are grand, and some are insignificant. This list is nowhere near exhaustive, and, after the first, is in no particular order.


1. Christ, my Lord.
2. Ethiopia Harrar coffee.
3. Walking a golf course in the cool of the morning.
4. Steve, my father.
5. Singing.
6. The Confessions of Saint Augustine.
7. Taking, and admiring, beautiful pictures.
8. Capitol Hill Baptist Church.
9. Bach’s Cello Suites.
10. OSU vs. Michigan.
11. Cris, my mother.
12. Poetry.
13. Washington, D.C.
14. Shakespeare’s plays.
15. Flying.
16. Emily, Abby, and Stephanie, my sisters.
17. The Dutch and Flemish gallery at the National Gallery of Art.
18. A good pipe.
19. A roaring fire.
20. E-mail.
21. Buying old books.
22. Snow.
23. Well-designed web sites.
24. The Religious Affections, by Jonathan Edwards.
25. Looking good.
26. Playing the piano.
27. Vergil’s Aeneid.
28. Good food and good conversation, especially when combined.
29. Justice.
30. Hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains.
31. Professors of enormous intellect who deign to educate undergrads, with humility.
32. Orthodoxy.
33. La Boheme, by Puccini.
34. Blogging.
35. Wool sweaters.
36. The San Francisco Bay.
37. Calvin’s Institutes.
38. Altoids.
39. Autumn leaves.
40. Riverby Books.
41. Rembrandt’s paintings.
42. Dancing.
43. Johnny Cash’s music.
44. Too much sleep.
45. A well-seasoned, medium-rare ribeye steak.
46. “Woman Holding a Balance,” by Vermeer.
47. General Tso’s Chicken, especially from Lucky China.
48. Singing the Psalms.
49. A cold Coke.
50. Romans 8.

A Protestant Vision for Middle Earth

As a refreshing contrast to the sickly, modern, pseudo-Christian culture outlined in the last article to which I linked, I recommend to you a little book called Angels in the Architecture: A Protestant Vision for Middle Earth, by Douglas Jones and Douglas Wilson.

Therein, the authors propose a vision for how one lives out the Gospel, and they call it "Protestant medievalism". It's a broad vision, and one whose main feature is that it is unabashedly and fiercely anti-modern. Not postmodern, which is simply a reaction to modernity and so can't escape the modernist project--it's non-modern. They note that the Middle Ages, from Augustine to the Renaissance, though a much-maligned period by moderns, was in fact a remarkable period of Christian piety and faithfulness, with a concern for truth, beauty, and goodness that has not been seen since. Jones and Wilson propose a cultural return to medievalism, led by Christians informed by the doctrinal advances of the Reformation. This medievalism they flesh out in several ways--renewed understanding of the beauty of God's holiness, a culture of celebration that manifests itself in feasting and lovemaking, a transformed love for the Church, wife, children, education, agrarian virtues, and much, much more.

I recommend this book to you because it is the most worthwhile reading I've found in a long time, and because it squarely addresses many of the topics I've thought about and discussed with other PHC students recently: beauty and aesthetics, laughter, poetry, and the Gospel as the only possible means of real social change. This book has, among other things, changed my view of the Church and possibly put me on the road away from being a Baptist (I think); sharpened my antipathy toward modernity; killed any desire I once had for political power; given me true hope for cultural renewal; and, I hope, made me a more joyful person. Not bad for 160 pages.

If this sounds interesting, read the foreword and introduction here. It's worth your time.

"Christian" culture

Check out this story by Walter Kirn on today's pop Christian culture. It's devastating, incisive--and brilliant. Kirn accurately describes the content--or lack thereof--of the Christian pop culture today, and cunningly lampoons it. I, for one, am glad that the power of the Gospel does not depend on this hogwash to save, and can even reach men's hearts despite the off-putting effect this stuff has. Hat tip to David Cooper for the link.

Want Gmail?

Check out Google's new email program, Gmail. It's pretty cool--an innovative new interface, new way of archiving mail, and, best of all, 1000 MB of storage space, so you never have to delete an email again. It's in beta right now and you can only get an account by invitation. Some folks are actually selling these invitations on Ebay. I have five new account invitations available right now, and I'll gladly give them, free, to whomever asks. Email me and I'll send you an invitation.