Lifes Movements

I have been terrible at updating my listening and books section. Sorry. I will try to do a better job. I have been doing a lot of thinking on Christianity and its role in society. I am reading Tony Campolo's Letters to a Young Evangelical, to simplify my often very convoluted thinking and it has been wonderful to see a bunch of different facets of the Christian life laid out in such short and simple letters. While Campolo is not a huge influence on my thinking, it is a good introduction to some big topics- abortion, gay marriage, Iraq War, Islam, etc.
To go a little deeper, I have started George Weigel's Against the Grain. He is a prominent Catholic thinker, known for his conservative positions and articulate presentations. The book is a collection of essays that he has written over the period of 15 years. I think the Catholics have a lot more substance to say on the issue of a Christians role in society than evangelicals. They have so much rich history and church theology to draw on. Not pitting the two against the other, but, I think it is significant how intentional the Catholic church tries to be about this issue.

I also heard the Messiah on NPR for the first time this year. Every year I am amazed by how masterful and lovely that work is. My dream is to go to a European cathedral to hear it performed live during a Vespers service with a magnificent choir. Wow. I might give You Tube a chance to make my dreams first though... Hah