Author: pilgrim

PWJ: S2E31 – AA – Patti Callahan

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At the beginning of Season 2, I interviewed author Patti Callahan about her latest book, Becoming Mrs. Lewis. Now at the close of the Season, Patti returns to talk to Matt about her own podcast, Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis.

S2E30: “After Hours” with Patti Callahan (Download)

If you enjoy this episode, you can subscribe manually, or any place where good podcasts can be found (iTunes, Google Play, Podbean, Stitcher, TuneIn and Overcast).

Time Stamps

01:00 – Matt’s Introduction
02:47 – Drink and quote of the week
06:57 – Overview of “Becoming Mrs. Lewis”
10:37 – Joy, the false self and “Till We Have Faces”
19:39 – Lewis’ own journey
21:44 – Lewis, personal faults and Mrs. Moore
27:05 – What has happened since your last appearance here?
30:46 – How did this new podcast come about?
33:11 – Who will you be interviewing?
37:41 – Joy’s poetry
41:07 – What did you learn in the process of putting together the podcast?
43:40 – Will there be a movie of the book?
48:43 – How has this project transformed you?
49:56 – Patti’s talks at an upcoming retreat
54:16 – What else is on the horizon for you?

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Music Monday: I just need u

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Even though it tries to be cool by spelling “you” with just a single “u”…here is TobyMac’s recent song “I just need U”:

Last night put the heavy on me
Woke up and I’m feeling lonely
This world gotta a way of showing me (showing me)
Some days it’ll lift you up
Some days it’ll call your bluff
Man, most of my days I ain’t got enough

And all I know
Is You’re my only hopeWhen I’m up when I’m down (uh, huh)
When the wolves come around (tell me)
When my feet hit the ground
I just need, I just need You
On my darkest days (uh, huh)
When I’m losing faith (tell me)
No, it ain’t gon’ change
I just need, I just need You
Lord, I need You
Yeah, I just need You

Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me
Thy rod and thy staff

They comfort me when I’m beat down, broken
Hold my heart when it’s split right wide open
Turn these eyes to my Soul Protector
Break the will of this born infector

‘Cause all I know, all I know
Is You’re my only hopeWhen I’m up when I’m down (uh, huh)
When the wolves come around (tell me)
When my feet hit the ground
I just need, I just need You
On my darkest days (uh, huh)
When I’m losing faith (tell me)
No, it ain’t gon’ change
I just need, I just need You
Lord, I need You
Yeah, I just need You

When You pull me closer, I come to life
When You pull me closer, I come to life
When You pull me closer, I come to life
When You pull me closer, I come to life

When I’m up when I’m down
When my feet hit the ground
On my darkest days
No, it ain’t gon’ change
Oh Lord, I need You

When I’m up when I’m down
When the wolves come around
When my feet hit the ground
Yeah, I need, I need, I need, I need You
On my darkest days
When I’m losing faith
No, it ain’t gon’ change
Ain’t no way this thing gon’ change, it’s YouI need, is You
I need
On my darkest days
When I’m losing faith
I need You, I need, Is You, I need
Every single day, every breath I take
I need You
I need You

Bad Islamic Apologetics

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I was in an apologetics discussion group and someone posted the following:

I told the members of the group that I didn’t like this line of argumentation. Several people responded by saying that since the Qur’an claims that there are no contradictions within its pages, the passages cited above were clear evidence that the book is not of divine origin.

In reply, I explained that they were interpreting the Qur’an in a way which forced a contradiction and then declared it to contain contradictions. I pointed out that they would never accept a Muslim exegeting the Bible in this way.

Even without digging into the context of these passages from the Qur’an, it seemed immediately obvious to me that the statements could very easily be harmonised by simply recognising that “first of” can mean “foremost among”. This would mean that, according to the Qur’an, Moses declared himself to be foremost among the believers of his time and Muhammad made the same claim for himself in his own generation. Interpreting the passages in this way eliminates the contradiction.

There are many apparent contradictions in the Bible, but careful exegesis can show this not to be the case.  If you wouldn’t accept bad methodology when interpreting the Bible, you shouldn’t force it on the Qur’an….

Tuesdays With Morrie

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Today I’ve been tidying up my room and trying to do a bit of a purge of all the junk which one somehow incessantly accumulates. Appropriately enough, as I was going through my bookcase, I came across is Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It recounts the story of Mr. Albom’s visits to see his former college professor during the last months of life. It’s a pretty short book and, while I don’t agree with all the content, it does retain a special place in my heart. In particular, the opening chapter still makes me “mist up” a little…

The last class of my old professor’s life took place once a week in his house, by a window in the study where he could watch a small hibiscus plant shed its pink leaves. The class met on Tuesdays. It began after breakfast. The subject was The Meaning of Life. It was taught from experience.

No grades were given, but there were oral exams each week. You were expected to respond to questions, and you were expected to pose questions of your own. You were also required to perform physical tasks now and then, such as lifting the professor’s head to a comfortable sport on the pillow or placing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Kissing him good-bye earned you extra credit.

No books were required, yet many topics were covered, including love, work, community, family, aging, forgiveness, and, finally, death. The last lecture was brief, only a few words.

A funeral was held in lieu of graduation.

Although no final exam was given, you were expected to produce one long paper on what was learned. That paper is presented here.

The last class of my old professor’s life had only one student. I was that student.

Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie (Chapter 1 – The Curriculum)
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