Pilgrim's Progressive

As militant followers of the on-line Daily Lectionary will be aware (Come on, don't be shy, I know you're out there)- today is the day to celebrate everybody's favorite civilly disobedient Baptist, John Bunyan. The calendar insertion for a day to celebrate Paul Bunyan is still pending.

While it is common knowledge that John Buyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress about a man named Christian, not as many are aware that there is a sequel, written by Bunyan shortly after about a woman named Christiana.

But now that (as you'll see from the bottom of the sidebar to your left) over six billion millinerd readers are aware of this, the word is definitely out. Wait.. that's not the hit-counter.

Please click here to sign a virtual petition in support of my proposal for the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

"The right of citizens of the United States to watch an unspoiled M. Night Shyamalan film shall not be denied them on account of some jerk who gives away the surprise ending. Any such person will immediately forfeit the previous rights allotted him or her by this document, especially those afforded the person in the last clause of amendment number 8."

I'll keep working on the signatures. In the meantime please learn from M.Enlow who had the dignity to at least give a warning.

Saved by the Creed

So summer German is abgemacht, that is, done. For our final we were permitted to choose our academic topic to translate from German. Naturally, I chose theology. And during the exam, I was quite literally saved by the Nicene Creed. Not in the soteriological sense (though I am indeed saved in that sense by the God expounded upon in that Creed). This saving was somewhat less dramatic.

Being pressed for time towards the end of the exam I was concerned I wouldn't finish, when I came upon a substantial quotation of what was unmistakably the Nicene Creed in German. Church attendance really does pay off! The habit of weekly recitation enabled me to translate quickly, and finish just in time. If your church, should you attend one, for whatever inexplicable reason does not recite the Nicene Creed weekly, simply tell them my story which should get them to alter their practice to what has for essentially two millenia been the Christian norm. American pragmatists need their reasons... now they've got one.

So I suppose even if one disagreed with me regarding the salvific power of that which is proclaimed in the Nicene Creed (as here described), that one would at least have to agree that the Creed itself did save someone at least once.

I recently learned that a smart friend of mine here has a web-site. Some good stuff too. His site motto seems to be, "No pics or blogs, just ideas."

Ouch.

But still, good stuff.

Below is the cover to the new J. Crew catalog. I think it's safe to say they've lost a measure of respect for their customers.

So before the DaVinci Code movie comes out (I'm assuming the inevitable), you might want to freshen up on your reasons why it is laughably inaccurate (though admittedly, fun to read). The Teaching Company, yet again, delivers the goods free of charge - and the lectures are exellent.

And incidentally, this article on Original Sin came up in recent conversation with an old friend, and it's excellent as well.

millinerd - Your gateway to excellence.

They may be more athletic, but you'll be smarter thanks to these free Teaching Company lectures on the Olympics.

Next time someone tells you the New York Times is the newspaper of tree-hugging liberals, you tell them that it in fact takes 75,000 trees each week to produce the Sunday times alone. It actually does.

And next time someone tells you that tomatoes are a vegetable and not a fruit, you tell them "Not in 1892."

With these snappy millinerd come-backs you'll be the hit of the next conversation.