Set Apart In Christ

OK... it turns out my previous post on my knee was somewhat optimistic. In fact, it was very optimistic!. Since posting that I have been the physio several times, and my GP who referred me for an MRI. I received the results of that today... So, I have: Torn my ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) Have some fractures in my tibia and femur. These are small fractures related to the impact of the bones hitting one another and twisting. Bruising in the bone. Grade 1 MCL (Medial Collateral Ligament) sprain. Needless to say, I will be off to see an Orthopaedic Specialist and surgery is inevitible. In the mean time, I'm not allowed to bear weight on my leg (particularly because of the bone damage), so it's crutches everywhere I go. I'm not allowed to drive either (because it's my right knee) which is frustrating and perhaps the most inconvenience. It's also a very busy time at work, plus commissioning is fast approaching. I would appreciate your prayer support, for ever...

I love Chopin. I love listening to his music, but I especially love playing his music. His Nocturnes in particular. There's something very satisfying about playing Chopin. He was a pianist, and every piece of music he wrote was for the piano, and so he "gets" what it's like to sit at a piano and wrestle with those 88 keys in front of you. He was a genius who knew how to get the most out of this instrument, and to challenge those who would want to call themselves a pianist (ever tried playing 12 notes at once with 10 fingers?). Perhaps what I like best, though, is the opportunity that playing Chopin gives me to really express myself through the music. It's like nothing else that I know and taps right into the depths of my emotions and indeed my soul. For me, it's very much a kind of prayer to play this music. Anyone who plays a musical instrument well understands (or should understand) that it's so much more than just the notes on the page. In fact, the b...

What do you think of the suggestion that Christ becomes a serpent? At first glance the suggestion will be shocking to most people. It's not a title that we're familiar with, and certainly not comfortable with assigning to our Lord Jesus. I can't imagine Darlene Zschech sitting down to compose "Shout to the Lord" and considering the words "My Jesus, My Serpent, Lord there is none like you!" It would have to take someone either incredibly deranged or someone with incredible guts. Gregory of Nyssa makes just this claim. We need to state at the outset that Gregory is allegorising, and for us with our scientific mindsets and methodologies we find it difficult to accept this as a "valid" hermeneutical method. In the 4th Century, though, it was commonly accepted practice. Gregory is dealing with the passage in Exodus 7:8-13 where Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh and in order to demonstrate that they come under God's authority they cast down the...

Many of my friends would be aware that I injured my knee on Saturday, but others would not know all the details so I thought I would post a short update to let you know how things are going... Saturday 30th October was the annual Gala Day at the School for Officer Training. A big part of this day is the annual Touch Football competition. I was playing for Miranda Mixed team and during the semi-final I attempted to side-step. My foot planted firmly and my lower leg followed but my upper leg shifted. I felt me knee joint move out and back into place. This was accompanied by an almighty "crack" which I'm assured could be heard by many others on the field and sideline. Of course, this ended the game for me. Fortunately, the team won and went through to the final. I went to St George Emergency and was assessed there. After a few hours wait, and some Panadeine Forte, I was feeling a lot better. I was seen by a Nurse Practitioner who tried to move my knee in all sorts of d...

Ok, so the voice is really bizarre... even bordering on creepy... but the content of this short clip actually outliens one of Gregory's best paradoxes, "luminous darkness", quite well. Enjoy Adam

This is definitely worth a look. Also it's interesting to see Wright's new title in print. Enjoy Adam

Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? For Gregory of Nyssa the answer is clearly "yes". Here's what he has to say:  Virtue is discerned in the mean [meaning 'average' or 'centre' here]. Accordingly, all evil naturally operates in a deficiency or an excess of virtue. In the case of courage, cowardice is the lack of virtue, and rashness is its excess. What is pure of each of these is seen to lie between these corresponding evils and is virtue. Gregory of Nyssa,  Life of Moses , Trans. Abraham J. Malherbe and Everett Ferguson (New York: Harper One, 1978), 121. Here we begin to see some of how Gregory would describe  apatheia . Often this is understood as "passionlessness", but for Gregory it is slightly nuanced. That is, apatheia  is the "proper use of passions" (what we might understand better today as our desires); in this case it's not being excessive in what we are passionate about it, or at the opposite extreme com...