G.K. Chesterton (Omnibus V Textbook) Douglas Wilson

This is something that I didn't write, it's totally worth passing on because it's well written, it's about G.K. Chesterton, and it was written by Douglas Wilson.

"G.K. Chesterton was a prolific writer of the early twentieth century. After a short period of unbelief in his youth, he lived most of his life as a very public Christian, converting to Roman Catholicism in 1922. He was born in 1874 and died in 1936, which means that almost all of his literary work was conducted in the early twentieth century. He wrote hundreds of poems, thousands of essays, hundreds of short stories, and eighty books. His output was enormous, but his span was equally staggering. He wrote about philosophy, he wrote biographies, he dealt with economics, he was a journalist, he was a Christian apologist, he wrote detective fiction, and he wrote fantasy. In short he was a torrent of literary output.

He was a large man, with a much larger imagination. He was almost 300 pounds and was 6' 4" tall. He has accurately been described as "the prince of paradox." He once said that a paradox is truth standing on its head to get attention. His wit was memorable, and he is one of the most quoted figures of the twentieth century. He was a friendly adversary to George Bernard Shaw, who once patted his stomach and asked what they were going to name the baby. Without missing a beat, Chesterton replied that if it was a girl, they would name her Mary, if a boy John. But if it turned out to be only gas, they would name it George Bernard Shaw.

Chesterton was an apostle of bracing, good sense. Someone once said of C.S. Lewis that he "made righteousness readable." This is a quality that he shared with Chesterton, and not surprisingly Chesterton was a significant influence on Lewis:

     "It was here that I first read a volume of Chesterton's essays. I had never heard of him and had no idea of what he stood for; nor can I quite understand why he made such an immediate conquest of me....Liking an author may be as involuntary and improbable as falling in love. I was by now a sufficiently experienced reader to distinguish liking from agreement. I did not need to accept what Chesterton said in order to enjoy it.... I liked him for his goodness."

If Lewis is father to many hundreds of thousands, we may consider Chesterton in some way to be their grandfather. Chesterton was significant for the generations that followed him because of the influential people he influenced. He helped to shape and form those who were to be enormously influential. Chesterton was truly a great man.

But he was also significant in his own day, in his own generation. Just as the Evangelical Awakening, ed by men like Whitefield and Wesley, was a part of the reason England was spared a bloodbath like the French Revolution, so also the sunny disposition and common sense faith exhibited by Chesterton was a very real antidote to the fashionable intellectual currents steering Europe towards war. In the aftermath of World War II, it is often hard for us to see how au courant fascism was- not just in Italy and Germany, but also in England and America. Chesterton stood courageously (and winsomely) against many of the popular political idols of the age."

-Douglas Wilson

I love folding papers and things. ^_^

Anyone who has sat by me at a seminar, play, or Bible study will probably notice that I folded up my paper pretty quickly. If I don't desperately need a flier, agenda, or hand-out then it will soon become either a water balloon or one of various kinds of airplanes. Here's one example of some major-scale page folding:

It's just an abstract shape, nothing too impressive.. And I hope nobody needs that book on Constitutional Law for a while...

I would love to be able to do some of this later on:

Top 5ness-Highest Songs

I'm sure it doesn't surprise the people who know me that all 5 of my top 5ness songs are from the mighty Blind Guardian.. They're the bestestest (Notice the triple superlative) because they have incredible talent and amazing subjects to sing of, for they sing songs of The Cantebury Tales, The Iliad, King Arthur, Greek mythology and Norse mythology and many other things of olden times. Does any other band hold a candle to such amazingness?

1. And Then There Was Silence- It's hands down, no other can surpass it, you'd have to brain-wash me *twice* to get me to forget it, the best song in existence. Across all genres. The raw power shines through the incredible lyrics. It's about the Trojan War, and it's too amazing to be cut down to the normal size of a song. I get shivers ever single time I listen to it. I should have put this song as all 5 of my Top 5ness Highest Songs. It just shows the desperate spirit of the Trojans, the claustrophobia as the Greeks press inward, the unbridled emotions of both sides. This is *the* amazing song. 

Here are the lyrics  if you care to actually know what these tongues of gold are singing.

"In the end, Raise my hands and praise the day, Break the spell show me the way in decay the flame of Troy will shine bright."

2. The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight- This tells the story of two lovers, of the immense pain in separation, and of the intense, passionate, deep-seated feelings of love. I haven't read the book this story is from, so I don't know if this was a legitimate marriage or not. Either way this is a great song. 

"Forever it stands until the world ends, the victorious banner of love!"

3. The Bard's Song- Is a wonderfully written, masterfully played piece of almost classical guitar playing. It's a moving and yet calming song. Sadly I know not from whence it comes. :( I think it has something to do with LOTR, because it mentions Hobbits, Elves and Men. 

 "And you're not alone, so don't be afraid in the dark and cold, cuz the Bard's Songs will remain, they all will remain, in my thoughts and in my dreams they're always in my mind."

4. Battlefield- This is a really energetic song that demonstrates the fervor in the midst of battle. It reminds me of when Gandalf faces off with the Balrog because of the 

"I challenge thee: Do not cross this bridge!", 

"I will not move yet. I stand still instead.", 

"There on the battlefield he stands, down on the battlefield he's lost" 

lines. 

"Let's pray that heaven's on our side, through violence and horror now honor arise!"

5. In The Forest-The Hobbit- I love this song mostly just because I've read The Hobbit and know the story well enough to really get the references made to it. 

"I'll take the mighty stone, and leave the dwarves behind."

Honorable mentions: The Curse Of Feanor, Valhalla, Nightfall, A Past And Future Secret.

Nota Bene- To Mr. Davis: I give you hearty and deep-felt thanks. You introduced me to Blind Guardian, and my life has never been the same since. :)

Need I Say More?

http://nonamerah.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/869/

Tales Of The Resistance

Tales Of The Resistance, by Mains is an excellent book. Though it's a children's book it is very deep, just like the Narnia series. I would say that it actually is deeper because it's set up as a children's book. It tells truths of Christianity, but it avoids the blatantly obvious paths of most Christian children's books. I would highly suggest finding and cherishing this book. You can buy it on Amazon on this link:

http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Resistance-David-R-Mains/dp/0891919384/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322709698&sr=1-1

By the end of it, I was actually brought to tears. At age 15. It was that good. One of the truths brought to light by this book is an amazing example of how the weakness of God is stronger then the strength of the world. In a certain scene the King, dressed as an ordinary man, has a face-off with the wizard. The wizard has robes and a crown and sends walls of flames at the King. The King doesn't react or counter attack at all. The main character wonders why the King doesn't strike back. But the fact that the King doesn't attack is the very thing that proves his strength. Even at his weakest moment, he is stronger then everything that the wizard can do. Even when Christ died, he was stronger then the Devil at the hight of his power. And the scene with Thespia is so amazing, and so true; .."because when one has found one's real love it is easy to leave what has only been pretend." Buy it. Shipping is cheap.

Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl Trailers

The link for the advertisement for the bookumentary on Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl:
http://vimeo.com/22625093


"A cinematic treatment of a worldview. A poet live in concert. A motion picture sermon. VH1 Storytellers meets Planet Earth. 60 Minutes meets Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. In this unusual but fascinating film sequence, best-selling author N.D. Wilson gives an emotional and intellectual tour of life in this world and the final chapter that is death. Everything before and after and in between is a series of miracles--some of which are encouraging, others disturbing and uncomfortable. Produced by Gorilla Poet Productions and Beloved Independent"-Gorilla Poet Website

This link for an advertisement for the actual book Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl:
http://vimeo.com/5600197


Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl is for Christians, Atheists, Agnostics, and people of all other religions. This is a mind opening book, and a beautiful bookumentary. This has personally helped my answer many questions that I've had about Christianity.