We ain’t perfect but we try

by chuckofish

I finished the Hillsdale College online course on Genesis and I’m happy to say I passed all the quizzes, the final and the course. It was a worthwhile endeavor and I will probably take another course. And they’re free.

This is an excellent article on a disturbing subject. “In 1939 T. S. Eliot gave a series of lectures at the University of Cambridge in which he described a fork in the road. Western Civilization might continue along the Christian path, he predicted, or it might adopt “modern paganism.” Eliot, a Christian convert, hoped for the former, but he feared that we were already hell-bent on the latter.” The pagans are winning.

And here are two articles about a favorite subject of mine: Puritans–Jonathan Edwards and his long workday and Puritan women debunking Puritan stereotypes.

I try not to get into arguments with people, but I remember one time I did. It was back when daughter #2 was a student at Wash U. and I had lunch with her and her boyfriend, who made the mistake of making a really uninformed remark about Puritans. He was your typical know-it-all, arrogant Wash U. student and I just couldn’t let him get away with his stupid comment. A lecture followed. I’m sure daughter #2 was mortified. Well, let’s just say I was pleased when they broke up at the end of senior year. Thank goodness DN has had the good sense never to knock the Puritans in my presence.

Like I said, I try to get along with people.

We find out when you die the keys to heaven can’t be bought
We still don’t know what love is but we sure know what it’s not
Sometimes you got to

Get along, on down the road
We’ve got a long long way to go
Scared to live, scared to die
We ain’t perfect but we try

—Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne

(The artwork at the top is by my talented six-year old granddaughter Lottie. It is her interpretation of the song “Coat of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton. The mean girl on the left is making fun of little Dolly’s dress.)