“He, the Life of all, our Lord and Saviour, did not arrange the manner of his own death lest He should seem to be afraid of some other kind. No. He accepted and bore upon the cross a death inflicted by others, and those other His special enemies, a death which to them was supremely terrible and by no means to be faced; and He did this in order that, by destroying even this death, He might Himself be believed to be the Life, and the power of death be recognised as finally annulled. A marvellous and mighty paradox has thus occurred, for the death which they thought to inflict on Him as dishonour and disgrace has become the glorious monument to death’s defeat.”
– Athanasius, On the Incarnation
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
After nearly two decades in Britain, the author decided it was time to return to the U.S. – but not before embarking on a grand farewell tour of the island that had so long been his home. Bryson is a keen and delightfully funny writer; in fact, he reminds me of Mark Steyn, if Mark Steyn ever did travel writing. Some of the humor is, shall we say, off-color, but on the whole this is easily one of the most entertaining books I’ve read all year.
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
Yes, yes – I said I was going to read this Hugo award-winner months ago. Better late than never, though, right? I’m a couple chapters in, and enjoying it immensely thus far. Fantastic writing, fantastic story. But as exciting as the action is, I get the feeling that this book is going to be about much more than space battles and aliens. Which is exactly why I picked it up to begin with.
Pensées by Blaise Pascal
“The last step that Reason takes is to recognize that there is an infinity of things that lie beyond it. Reason is a poor thing indeed if it does not succed in knowing that.” I’d all but forgotten about this one… until it appeared on my senior year reading list. Awesomeness.
Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions by John Donne
A beautiful, beautiful book, rich in passages like this one: “As yet God suspends me between heaven and earth, as a meteor; and I am not in heaven because an earthly body clogs me, and I am not in the earth because a heavenly soul sustains me.” Donne was a true wordsmith.
On the Incarnation by Athanasius of Alexandria
“Athanasius contra mundum.” I recently did a study of this man’s life, and the more I learn about him, the more I admire him. Such a remarkable defender of the faith. He penned On the Incarnation at the ripe old age of twenty; it’s short, potent, and what I love most is the passion with which it is written.
What’s on your bookshelf right now?
"But words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think." – Lord Byron
THE INK SLINGER 