The book Doors of the Sea - Where Was God in the Tsunami is a deceptively small book. At about 100 pages, and no larger than an average mouse pad (which is a comparison I can readily make from visual observation), it nonetheless contains one of the best summations of Christian responses to the problem of how a world which is supposed to be the product of a good and loving God nonetheless contains suffering and other evil. The book is an expansion of two articles, one for the WSJ and one for First Things on the same topic, and I recommend that you read the First Things article.

One of the great statements Hart makes both in his book and article concerns the arguments (railings?) against God by Ivan Karamazov, from Dostoevsky’s great work The Brothers Karamazov. Having set forth the arguments, Hart notes:

But Ivan’s rebellion is something altogether different. Voltaire sees only the terrible truth that the actual history of suffering and death is not morally intelligible. Dostoevsky sees—and this bespeaks both his moral genius and his Christian view of reality—that it would be far more terrible if it were.

Some other important discussions in the book, which I think will open up new avenues for my own personal exploration are the idea of the impassibility of God (that God does not experience pain or pleasure from the actions of any other being), the difficulty of reconciling free will with evil (if God created creatures with free will, and knew that they would then engage in evil, isn’t God somehow responsible for evil? And how can a good God be responsible for evil?), and so on.

Hart takes a very patristical approach to the question, and his response is one of a classic Christian and Orthodox theologian. As such, his thoughts may be unsettling to many outside of the Catholic or Orthodox traditions. However, to those inside such traditions, his thought is both lucid and illuminating. He is somewhat harsh (if his writing can be called such) with John Calvin, and Calvin’s assertion of the “idea of a God who can be called omnipotent only if his will is the direct efficient cause of every aspect of created reality.” (See Where Was God? An Interview with David Bentley Hart) Hart notes that this doctrine often appears in (to his mind) extremely mistaken responses of Christian theologians to the Tsunami of 2004 in the Pacific rim. Taken to an extreme, these responses took the Calvinist doctrine to its logical end by asserting (in various ways) either that suffering is necessary, and / or that suffering is created and used by God to some end. He makes a careful distinction between God’s ability to bring good out of evil, and suffering as some creation or tool of God. The distinction, he believes, is illustrated by the statement that Christ did not come to reconcile or explain death (evil) to humanity, but to conquer it.

Provocative, yet completely orthodox Christian thought (deliberate use of the small “o” there).

Michael Ruhlman is a chef and writer who was recently featured as a judge on the show, “The Next Iron Chef.” He also runs a blog - ruhlman.com - which is filled with excellent tidbits as well as memoirs about his travels and ideas. His book, The Elements of Cooking, has been reviewed quite positively and extensively, and is on my “sometime to purchase” list.

Meanwhile, check out the blog - http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2008/07/elements-cast-i.html - most of his posts will echo today’s, which has helpful and intelligent commentary on cast iron cookware.

-j.

Well, I just got off the phone with a good friend, and it’s about time to head to bed, but I thought I’d reflect a bit on the day first. Today was an exceptionally long day. Not really in terms of length, but more in terms of task shifting. Being somewhat ADHD, I do best on workdays where I have 1-2 tasks upon which I can focus. Today, I dealt with at least 10 discrete tasks, usually lasting about 15 minutes each. That’s EXHAUSTING! I finished the day with a slight dizziness.

And, of course, the massive dietary change isn’t helping.

Oh, well. Off to sleep!

Anne and I decided to take on the South Beach diet. She, because she eats too many carbs and me, because I drink too many carbs. Plus, my waistline has gotten distinctly tighter lately, and I am far too cheap to purchase new pants and get alterations.

What will this involve? Well, for the first two weeks, it’s almost no carbs. We’ll be avoiding going the all-red-meat route so as to avoid descending the evolutionary tree. (Although gnawing the opposing lawyer’s hand everytime s/he makes an objection in court would have the elements of both surprise and intimidation…) Therefore, we’ll keep our chicken and bean heavy diet going, continue using olive oil regularly, skip the pasta, pizza, chinese food which are our fallbacks, and make more forays into salmon (which Sam’s Club usually has at moderately good prices).

Also, should I have coffee with any of you, don’t add milk or sugar to it in front of me - I’m off milk and sugar for the first two weeks as well, and coffee tastes abysmal with Splenda in it. I’d hate to have a nervous breakdown watching someone drink coffee as it should be….

-j.

Since this blog is the Anne show, and she does a thorough job updating the world on our doings, there is not much for me to say in that regard. We make a good team, as my preference is usually to focus on the more abstract / theoretical / etc.

With that in mind, I just purchased two new books on Amazon.com (goooo giftcards!). The first is called Doors of the Sea: Where Was God in the Tsunami - it’s basically an exploration of theodicy. Theodicy is defined as:[v]indication of the divine attributes, esp. justice and holiness, in respect to the existence of evil. If it’s not obvious, the book deals with questions of evil in relation to the Indian ocean tsunami of 2004. The reference is to a phrase from Job 38:8. Job 38 states in context:

8 Who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth as issuing out of the womb :

9 when I made a cloud the garment thereof, and wrapped it in a mist as in swaddling bands?

10 I set my bounds around it, and made it bars and doors :

11And I said : Hitherto thou shalt come, and shalt go no further, and here thou shalt break thy swelling waves.

Job itself is a discussion strongly centered in theodicy, and ends with the idea that we cannot know why evil acts occur; that such knowledge is left to God. For instance, Job 42 states:

1Then Job answered the Lord, and said :

2 I know that thou canst do all things, and no thought is hid from thee.

3 Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have spoken unwisely, and things that above measure exceeded my knowledge.

4 Hear, and I will speak : I will ask thee, and do thou tell me.

5 With the hearing of the ear, I have heard thee, but now my eye seeth thee.

6 Therefore I reprehend myself, and do penance in dust and ashes.

The question of evil is one of the great questions which faces humans - how to reconcile the actions of a loving God with evil, whether natural or unnatural. C.S. Lewis dealt with the question in his book The Problem of Pain, but he is one in many authors who consider the issue. I look forwards to reading this text.

Interestingly, the second book is related to the question of evil. It’s called Original Sin: A Cultural History, by Alan Jacobs. He writes for one of my favorite magazines on occasion, First Things. It’s a brand new book, so I don’t have much more information on reviews. However, it did garner a good review in the Wall Street Journal, so it’s another book which should provide interesting insights into the idea of original sin.

-j.

Yesterday, I was out doing lawn care stuff, when a stray (presumably) cat popped up and attached itself to my legs, meowing at me and purring. I actually had to avoid stepping on it once or twice, so I went to the back porch (it following) and rapped on the window. Cats cause Anne to swell up like a balloon and she gave me a concerned quizzical look (and a warning that “we’re not keeping it”), but I managed to get her to give me a can of tuna on the plate for the cat (who, as it turns out, has been residing on a neighbor’s three-season porch). The cat ate the entire can and licked the plate completely clean.

Meanwhile, the girls were peering out the window. Claire, who loves anything that moves, kept asking Anne to let the cat inside. Madeline was severely concerned that this might occur, and kept pointing, yelling “puppy” and generally voicing her unhappiness. (No surprise - she gets the crying shudders anytime a dog gets too close.)

However, after I came inside and the cat left (and I thoroughly washed my hands), Madeline begain walking around and peering out various windows, and saying in quite a sad-sounding voice “Where puppy?” This went on for ten minutes, her wandering from window to window, asking the same thing. Finally, Anne said “Kitty went to home to see his daddy,” which (since Maddy is in a Daddy period right now) seemed to satisfy her.

Very adorable.

-j.

Though my friends from California described it as minor, they noticed it too. Apparently, an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale struck (not sure of that term) in the middle of southern Illinois at about 5:40 EST this morning. Here’s a map:

And here’s a link to zip codes who report feeling the quake:

http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/shake/STORE/X2008qza6/ciim_stats_1.html

Fun stuff!

-j. 

The sins of lust and greed are indeed related!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080405/ap_on_sc/finance_and_sex;_ylt=AtoC2VPD6CGR4K11PPn4ksoDW7oF

Yes, Christians have been telling you this for over 1,000 years, but did you listen until some Stanford researcher spent money to prove it? Nooooo.

-j.

So, Anne and I were sitting in the basement last week, playing with the girls, and I put a mixed CD of soundtracks on. The volume level was fine until we got to the score from “Goldfinger” which has a quiet beginning, followed by a blare of trumpets. I left the volume up to see how the girls would react. Claire ignored the blare and continued her playing. However, Maddie froze, cocked her head at the speaker, grinned hugely, and signed “More” twice.

 So cool.

-j.

After the recent revelations that Spitzer’s girl was formerly videotaped on Girls Gone Wild (but oooops…she was underage there), I have come up with a few candidates for “gone wild” shows…tell me if you think they’ll do well:

• Geeks Gone Wild (Geeks remove their taped glasses, drink heavily, and begin yelling at each other in Klingon, all on tape!)
• Amish Gone Wild (Those crazy Amish! First, it’s a rumspringa reality show, now see what really happens during barn raisings! “Look, she’s praying! Look…she’s…still praying!”)
• Lawyers Gone Wild (No, not law students. Now you’ll see lawyers lying about billing hours, filing ridiculous briefs with the court, quashing subpoenas!)
• Indiana Weather Gone Wild (It’s spring, and the snow actually stops!)(True fiction)
• Town Meetings Gone Wild (See Roseland)
• Catholics Gone Wild (Now there’s nothin’ good about Good Friday.)

 -j.

Anne made hummous the other day, which was quite good. Being an experimenter, I made it the next day, but added two chipotle peppers with adobo sauce into the mix. MMMMM, if you can handle spicy food. Recipe follows:

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 1 can chick peas
• Olive oil (amount to be determined later)
• Salt - to taste
• 1-2 chipotle peppers and 1 teaspoon adobo

Procedure:

1. Put lemon juice, garlic, paprika, red pepper, and tahini in a food processor and pulse about 3 seconds.
2. Add rinsed chick peas and process until smooth, adding olive oil in short bursts as necessary.
3. Add chipotle peppers and adobo, and process until combined and smooth.

Enjoy with pita bread and keep some water / beer / yogurt handy!

I am not sure what to call the following, as I made it myself, but it’s pretty good, and (more importantly) Anne liked it, so I know it’s good. Try it out!

Ingredients:

• 1/8 cup olive oil, or enough to coat the bottom of a heavy saucepan 
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon italian seasoning, your choice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 chicken breasts, sliced thinly
• 1-2 teaspoons prepared horseradish (not cream) - or to taste.
• 1 can artichoke hearts, unmarinated, quartered
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup shredded italian cheese (I used a blend of Romano, Asiago, and Parmesan)
• 1/8 cup cream or half-and-half.

Procedure:

1. Heal olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add garlic to oil; saute until lightly browned.
3. Add red pepper and italian spices; saute for 10 - 20 seconds.
4. Add chicken, stir fry at medium heat until chicken is cooked through, stirring often.
5. Add lemon juice and artichoke hearts; cook for 30 - 60 seconds or until artichoke hearts are well-heated. (They may fall apart - no problem.)
6. Add horseradish, stir until combined.
7. Remove from or turn off heat, add cheese, stir, then add cream.
8. Taste for seasoning - add salt and black pepper as necessary.
9. Serve over your favorite pasta (I used whole wheat vermicelli.)

Care of a Knitter:

1. If you say, “I don’t understand,” expect a long explanation full of various Greek phrases such as “continental,” “casting off,” “malabrigo” (sp?), among other things. If the knitter is showing you an interesting technique, and you don’t understand, nod and smile.
2. If asked for a (presumably non-technical) opinion, just say, “Oh, honey, it’s beyond me. But the result you’ve gotten is superior to anything I’ve seen in a store.” (Provided such is true.)
3. Make sure she has yarn storage for her “stash.”
4. Large, plastic, salad-spinner bowls make excellent containers for kool-aid (or otherwise) dyeing yarn. If you find such a bowl on the counter, no salad having been consumed, this was its likely purpose.
5. There are many more dangerous objects in the knitter’s armory than non-knitters perceive…not only the standard metal knitting needles (see various slasher movies), but bamboo, plastic, and other materials, as well as double-pointed needles, circular needles (or is it a circular needle with two points?), etc. Beware the death trap of reaching into a disorganized knitting bag without a light….
6. Why is it called “knitting with needles” and not “nitting with kneedles” or “nitting with needles.” I suppose depending on what was being knitted, it could be “knitting with canoodles”….
7. It is truly best to let the knitter watch their own TV show without you in the room. If you try and watch anything together, especially something requiring the knitter’s visual attention, forget it. “Hey did you see that, ha ha ha. That was funny.” Knitter: %$@#$ made me drop a stitch!

-j.

 P.S. In the above post, I have used “she” and “her” for ease of reading. The masculine “he” or “his” or non-gendered pronoun “it” and possessive “its” may be used according to requirements.

I am a big Indian food advocate - learning to cook it forces one to deal with all sorts of interesting techniques, spices, variances, styles, etc. I learned to cook all food better because of learning to cook Indian food. Here are a food good links:

http://indianfoodrocks.blogspot.com/

http://www.khanakhazana.com/

http://www.ethnicgrocer.com/

http://www.sailusfood.com/

Enjoy! Feel free to comment with any questions.

-j.

Rick Garnett comments on this from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education:

An excerpt from F.I.R.E.:

In a stunning series of events at Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Keith Sampson, a university employee and student, has been charged with racial harassment for reading a book during his work breaks.

Sampson is in his early fifties, does janitorial work for the campus facility services at IUPUI, and is ten credits shy of a degree in communication studies. He is also an avid reader who usually brings books with him to work so that he can read in the break room when he is not on the clock. Last year, he began reading a book entitled Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan. The book, which has garnered great reviews in such places as The Indiana Magazine of History and Notre Dame Magazine, discusses the events surrounding two days in May 1924, when a group of Notre Dame students got into a street fight in South Bend with members of the Ku Klux Klan. As an historical account of the students’ response in the face of anti-Catholic prejudice, the book would seem to be a relevant and worthwhile read, both for residents of the state of Indiana and for anyone interested in this chapter of American history.

Madness.

–J.