"By the way, I always like better brooding over my works and dreaming how they should be written than actually writing them."
~~Dostoyevsky

From The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis,

"All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

And so it shall be, everyday being better than the first, for we shall be growing in the knowledge of God. Alas! What a thought! To spend an eternity in God's gracious presence will not be enough to know Him in full-- there will still be an infinite amount of the Divine beyond our grasp.

expressed from the mind of jeremy stock @ 22:12

The Insulted and Injured Yes, I've said it right. This cover is a fairly recent American version (1975) and they, of course, fumbled the title to ...Humiliated.

Just the other night I finished The Author's out-of-print work The Insulted and Injured. As I struggled to read the final pages through my tear laiden eyes, I once again came upon, what is to my mind, further proof of Dostoyevsky's godly brilliance.

No human author has moved me so. No other writer speaks with such humble honesty: The Author grapples with life right before my eyes, he wrestles not unlike Jacob with the Angel...Fyodor is transparent through his books, indeed his hip has been pulled from its socket.

Although this work is often difficult to find, it is certainly worth the effort. I consider it to be very autobiographical in that it tells the story of a young author, Vanya, who, just completing his first novel, begins to see some joy in life. He begins to find some success, his health improves, he falls in love-- madly in love with Katya-- he feels he's found an instanciation of truth, but then... on page 48

"...and a hot tear scalded my fingers...The cab started. I stood a long while watching it. All my happiness was ruined from that moment, and my life was broken in half."

Vanya spends the next year watching the girl he loves practically throw her life away to a man it seems she shouldn't love, while he himself struggles with that pain of loss. All the while Vanya is caring for an orphaned girl, Nellie, who becomes the ironic catalyst to the demise and salvatory rebirth of all.

Page after page I found myself mesmorized by the viceral tale of living a truly human life: as one human who, like all, in one way or another, yearns for despair and suffering--those are the ones who themselves have suffered great loss.

Kate is next on the list to read this splendid story, and after that her and I will delve into The Idiot, another of The Author's classics.

Praise God for the masterpieces that have survived for our reading!

expressed from the mind of jeremy stock @ 17:58

Houston, we have a problem.

expressed from the mind of jeremy stock @ 21:31

Flag Day ...Remember?

Are we a patriotic nation anymore? Even after the recent movie Pearl Harbor, or Speilberg's "Saving Private Ryan," are we still so apathetic about our peace and prosperity, that we don't hold our emblem high?

Praise God for those men and women who have fought and died in order to secure our Flag's position above all other flags.

As the flag freely blows in the wind, so too is our freedom seen in metaphor. Happy Flag Day!

expressed from the mind of jeremy stock @ 13:02

~~Louis Berkhof~~

"The church of Jesus Christ was appointed to be a depository, a guardian, and a witness of the truth, and can only be true to her calling, if she has a definate conception of the truth."

"The Church of Jesus Christ should never seek refuge in camouflage, should not try to hide her identity. And this is exactly what she does in the measure in which she fails to give a clear and unequivocal expression of her faith."

expressed from the mind of jeremy stock @ 22:49

Yesterday on campus, I walked by a young woman who had a t-shirt that read, "I love Johnny Knoxville." I immediately thought, 'why would anyone have an affection for such a man?' What could she possibly see in Mr. Knoxville that is attractive or desirable?

Johnny hosts an Mtv show called Jackass, on which Johnny often performs some of the most disgusting pranks imaginable. For instance, Sir Knox once swam in a septic tank.

Have girls resorted to the likes of him? Are there really that few elligible bachelors worthy of respect and admiration? Perhaps, she just thinks he's cute (which he is). But does this give a justification to proclaim on a t-shirt that you love him? Is there not hundreds of men, equally handsome, if not more so, who do not spend their days jumping in pools of elephant feces? In other words, if this girl is just looking for "cute" guys, couldn't she be satisfied with Brad Pitt, or the other Johnny, Mr. Depp?

What happened to women who want more than just a pretty face? Could she possibly consider John Knox to be intelligent (does she even care)?

It seems to me that men have dropped the ball: men, at large, have failed to be men. Men have stopped earning respect, therefore women have stopped looking for it. Men have become afraid to actively pursue women with dignity and courage, as a result, women seek out men who may appear to be "brave." Mr. Knox fits the bill, and so do many men who are, in actuality, nothing more than crooks and scoundrels. (Ever wonder why it seems the "nice girls" end up with the jerk men?) Answer: Jerk men appear to be brave. Superficially, scoundrels come across as confident, courageous men.

Christian men need to, once again, take back what is theirs: courtship. Christian men need to step up and take a chance, otherwise boys like J.K. will become the "standard," defining what it is to be MEN.

Christian men need not feel ashamed for pursuing a young woman, nor should they cowar at opportunities to demonstrate chivalry to the opposite sex, rather, men ought to stand up confident in Christ, and strong in the Lord! Present yourself as one worthy of her hand in marriage!

expressed from the mind of jeremy stock @ 11:41

Is the U.S. government just going to sit back and wait for the Philippine government to handle this?

Muslim rebels claimed Tuesday that they had beheaded one of three U.S. hostages and threatened to kill more of their captives...

It makes me angry to read that at least three United States citizens are being held hostage by Muslim zealots, while our government intends to do nothing-- leaving the recovery of the hostages to the Philippine government. It seems to me that U.S. citizens are our responsibility to protect, not to mitigate the role to some foreign nation. If it was one of my family members being held captive, I would like to think that I could count on my country to do something about it.

Was it that long ago, say just after WWII, that being an American meant something? Remember when the U.S.A. was honored and respected? Is the only "superpower" in the world going to just sit back, feigning interest, while its citizens are held out to dry?

The Declaration of Independence reads as follows:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men

I posit that the hostages' inalienable rights have been usurped by foreign terrorists, that our government ought to take action is evident from Jefferson's words-- the very reason governments are instituted is to secure these rights for its citizenry.

May God grant those hostages and their families grace in peace-- it seems their own country is too busy to bother.

expressed from the mind of jeremy stock @ 11:56

I am being convinced of the opinion that examination for content knowledge ought to be exercised on a daily basis. I find it inefficient and inaccurate to test as few times as twice a semester-- the result is "cramming" for those two tests. Daily "quizzing/papers" would not only promote active involvement in the coursework and readings, but it would give a better indication (over the average) of how well that person knows the material.

Anyone can cram, or get lucky on a test or paper, but it is much more difficult to "fool" a professor based on one's performance of a period of 10-16 weeks, tested daily.

Yes, it is the student's responsibility to learn, but it certainly helps to have a professor who structures the class in such a way as to make that responsibility less ominous.

Is this an argument against standardized tests? No. This is an attack on the law school methodolgy that tests once per semester! As they say in the big top: "it all comes down to this."

expressed from the mind of jeremy stock @ 13:43