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Bouquets, Bach, Dawkins, and One More Eve Review!

Today, it’s another hodgepodge.

Liliana and I made fall flower arrangements today.  The one above was for Liliana’s small table in our living room.  She was ecstatic she had one all to herself.

Liliana doesn’t like the television, or at least she’s not the least bit interested right now.  That’s my girl!  But I was curious enough to check out the Baby Einstein DVDs from the library, and we watched part of one this afternoon–Baby Bach.  She was mesmerized.  She danced.  She clapped.  I added only one thing.  I named everything as it danced across the screen.

Another great review came through for Eve–this time from Kirkus Reviews.  Whew.

I know I have some writers reading, too, so I will occasionally throw in some writing tidbits, from a very humble me to you.  Take it for what it’s worth.  You may choose not to take my recommendations after you read Eve, and that’s quite all right.  For all of you who are left, may I suggest a subscription to the ONLY writing magazine I recommend–Poets & Writers Magazine?  It has a section called Page One (where there’s a sampling of the first sentences of books and poetry collections…very interesting).  It has great interviews with up-and-coming authors and old-and-tried authors.  The Nov./Dec. issue has an interview with Toni Morrison, an author who has become even more outspoken since she’s won so many prizes.  It has the “hot” agent list, the “hot” editors list, the top MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) programs (if you choose to go that route), top writing residencies (to which you apply and they pay for your room & board there while you work).  I devour it whenever it arrives in my mailbox.

Onto my questions for today.  [After all, I named my blog Living the Questions for a reason, and I’m slowly transitioning, if you haven’t noticed, to focus more on these (some relating to Eve, others not), rather than blab on and on about Liliana.]  If you find them as stimulating as I do, consider commenting below.  First, I asked my husband this morning why on earth the God of the Old Testament (or the Torah) used such different tactics than the God of the New Testament (turn the other cheek, help the poor, etc.).  The God of the OT was barbaric and angry and vindictive–for example, He ordered the Israelites to kill vast armies and take their virgins for wives.  If I didn’t know any better, it sounds a lot like the Middle East.  So, here’s my question, distilled.  The people were the same in Jesus’s time–barbaric and unreasonable–so why did God switch to preaching “love”?  Why hadn’t love been touted in the Old Testament, too?   It seems a bit disjointed to me; does it to you?

Next question, for those of you who have read Richard Dawkins’s The God Delusion, or for any others who have been reading the newest and latest atheist books.  [Side note: The only person I could come up with who would discuss this book intelligently and open-mindedly was my father-in-law Rich.  I sent it to him a couple of Christmases ago, telling him that I would love to chat with him after he read the book.  We did.  It was a delight.]  Despite the fact that Dawkins is a zoologist and not a trained philosopher, I found his book to be thought-provoking and challenging.  Contrary to popular belief (and many of the blasting reviews by Christians), we’re not being taken over by more atheists; we’re surrounded by more thinking atheists.  I know there are thinking Christians out there, but I’ve had to search high and low for them, and I am always looking for more.  Last night, I came upon a very short, succinct article in Critique that gave a run-down of what Dawkins got wrong.  I really enjoyed it.  The article was written by Fiona Grooms, a graduate student in philosophy at St. Louis University where she teaches ethics, and it’s not online yet, so I’ll come back to this post as soon as I hear from its editor, and include the link when I get it.  At the tail end of her article, she included a great picture analogy that I’m excerpting below.  She’s referring to Dawkins’s disgust at everything “God.”

“…whereas love moves us towards the object we love, hatred moves us away from it: The mushroom lover has eaten many mushrooms and knows intimately their flavor and texture.  The mushroom hater has tried mushrooms once and won’t go near them again.  The mushroom lover is the one to ask if you want a detailed account of what mushrooms are like.  If God exists, and God is truth, then those who love Him love and know the truth.  The one who hates God rejects truth; the further he moves from God, the more his mind is darkened.  Dawkins begins his book with his face set against God; it is of little surprise, then, that his grasp of the truth about divine things is so tenuous.  My hope for Christians or seekers who are interested in arguments for God’s existence is that they will look to Christian philosophers to teach them, not to an atheistic scientist.”

I liked Grooms’s analogy until the last sentence.  Although I get her point, I want to weigh both (all?) sides, rather than one.  I liken it to when I taught evolution in my biology classroom.  I knew there were Creationist kids in my classroom, so to preempt any trouble, I had a long serious talk with them, explaining that, if they chose, they could be horses with blinders on, looking only straight ahead, to what they knew to be true.  Or they could choose to take them off, and look all about them, learn everything, and make an educated decision.  I never had any problems or questions from the parents after this discussion, and my students survived and went on to figure it all out for themselves.  Hurrah for them!

Isn’t that what it’s all about?  Open discussion, weighing all possibilities?  I love that part of life.  I will be bluntly honest, though.  All those questions can sure be tough when you’re in the thick of some life challenge.  I just want God to come down for tea, and tell me what to do.

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