dual personalities

I have to admit that my reading material has not been terribly cerebral these days. But it is summer and that’s my excuse.

I have been re-reading books from Craig Johnson’s Longmire series and enjoying them anew. Walt and Henry Standing Bear are old friends and it is always a treat to be reunited.

I am also reading Confessions of a French Atheist, which I heard about on Carl Trueman’s Mortification of Spin podcast. Guillaume Bignon is an analytical philosopher and computer scientist working in New York’s financial industry. He is also an evangelical Christian whose conversion story is very interesting. “As the foundations of his unbelief began to crumble, Bignon discovered the wonder of a God that offers salvation freely and not by good works.”

Chris Kyle’s American Gun, which he was writing at the time of his untimely death, is a timely read.

“There’s a saying that to really know someone you have to walk a mile in their shoes. I’d add that to really know our ancestors, we have to put on more than their shoes, which were generally poor- fitting and leaky. Hitch a plow to an ox and work a field for a few hours, and you come away with a whole new appreciation for what your great-great-grandpa did come spring on the Ohio frontier. Pick up a Kentucky long rifle and aim it at a fleeing whitetail, and you’ll learn real quick about how important it is to use every bit of an animal you harvest; you may not have another one down for quite a while.”

This man understood context.

“Whether they’re used in war or for keeping the peace, guns are just tools. And like any tool, the way they’re used reflects the society they’re part of. As times change, guns have evolved. If you don’t like guns, blame it on the society they’re part of.”

As for what I have been watching, it is a combination of the usual old and vintage movies and some newer documentaries. I watched The Jesus Music (2021), directed by the Erwin brothers, and featuring interviews with prominent Christian artists like Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Toby McKeehan, Kirk Franklin et al. I am old enough to remember the Jesus Freaks of the 1970s, but I had no idea there were Heavy Metal Christian bands in the 1980s. It really is fascinating to watch.

I also watched The Capote Tapes (2019) which is another look at the court jester of the rich and powerful set. There is nothing really new revealed in this documentary, but I have always liked Truman Capote. He was a very talented writer and his demons were real and actually quite relatable. At the end of the movie Andre Leon Talley talks about the items he bought at the auction of Capote’s estate. The thing he wishes he had gotten was an old tin still filled with the cookies Truman’s Cousin Sook had sent him long, long ago. That just about did me in.

(Both documentaries are available on Hulu.)

Meanwhile, I am gearing up and getting my head in the right place for Vacation Bible School next week. Again, I say, keep me in your prayers.

P.S. How could I have forgotten to mention that the wee twins “graduated” from pre-kindergarten last week. What ho, on to kindergarten in the fall!

What are you reading and watching?