“Ascetic Aesthetics: How Gerard Manley Hopkins Found Beauty in Dogma” (First Things) by Julia Yost. The author argues against the mainstream of criticism which says GMH’s sonnets took a nosedive as he became older and more dogmatic, reminding us along the way that Hopkins was one-of-a-kind: “The slate slabs of the urinals even are frosted in graceful sprays.”
The Bible Salesman by Clyde Edgerton. Maybe lighter and less hilarious than some of Edgerton’s others, but this would be a great one to pack along on any beach vacations you may have coming up.
“How Rwanda’s Paul Kagame Exploits U.S. Guilt” (The Wall Street Journal) by Howard W. French. The popular messages we hear and want to hear of the success of reconciliation are an oversimplification of the rampant corruption and inability to deal with its past that Rwanda is still reckoning with twenty years after genocide. This article is a must-read.
“Is Richard Dawkins Leading People to Jesus?” (The Telegraph) by Damian Thompson. While I don’t seek out arguments with atheists, I do appreciate a good atheist argument. Dawkins indeed disappoints on that count, as those who have “converted” under his teaching have experienced. Thompson writes, “If I were a conspiracy theorist, I might conclude that Prof Dawkins secretly converted to Christianity decades ago, and then asked himself: ‘How can I best win souls? By straightforward argument, or by turning myself from a respected academic into a comic figure fulminating against religion like a fruitcake at Speakers’ Corner, thereby discrediting atheism?'”
The New Testament, Revised Standard Version. This week I finished reading the NT in the RSV, a translation which I enjoyed but thought I might love. One thing wonderful and new about this time through was that day when my reading plan meant I finished Revelation 22 and then flipped back to continue with Genesis 1 in the same sitting.
Saga, Volume 3 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. One of those where the art and the writing fight it out on every page to see which can be the best, everyone who has ever liked any sci-fi anything ever should at least check out this series.
“Why I’m a Pro-Life Liberal” (The Week) by Elizabeth Stoker. The pro-life leftist position maintains that human life is so significant, so inherently valuable, so irreplaceable that it should be the central subject of political concern.” Believe it or not, @e_stoker received some responses on Twitter over this one. Except for a couple bits, I agree with the whole thing.
Tuesday Reading Roundup has been a regular feature of this blog and its predecessor for several years. Entries must: 1) Have been read by me in the previous week; 2) Have been particularly interesting, thought- or conversation-provoking, and/or entertaining.
Mostly Consolation 