I’ve been tagged as a Thinking Blogger by Darrell Pursiful at his delightfully named Dr Platypus blog. Now I have to pass it on, or suffer the blogospheric equivalent of the dread curse of the unmailed chain letter, no doubt.
Though every blog I read makes me think, even if only “Why am I reading this dreck?”, the following five blogs were still a tough pick out of those I regularly read, all of which are quality stuff, I think. These, however, have been those to most consistently move my mental ship of state into deeper waters over the last few weeks.
1.) Energetic Procession is the blog of Perry Robinson, an Eastern Orthodox Christian. His blog is heavy on Orthodox theology, well-expressed. He regularly comments on other blogs, and writes commentary entries on various ecumenical and theological subjects. If you’re unfamiliar with Eastern Orthodox theology, reading through his archives would be a good way to immerse yourself and to learn the differences of such theology from others. This can be heady stuff.
2.) Glory to God for All Things is the blog of Father Stephen Freeman, an Eastern Orthodox priest in East Tennessee. If Perry Robinson’s site above can be described as more intellectually theological, Fr Freeman’s can be described as much more pastorally theological. This is the blog of a man who appears to be a fine priest, man, husband and father who shares with us lessons learned while wearing every one of those hats.
3.) The Scrivener is the blog of D. Ian Dalrymple in Alta, California, another Eastern Orthodox Christian (can you spot a trend here?). Ian is exceedingly well-read and an excellent writer, with an eclectic blog of delightful subjects, such as The Fabulous Imposter, about the mysterious fake George Psalmanazar, Feathered Friend of Christ, in which we learn that Science killed the Phoenix (or did it . . . ?), and Cappadocian Follies, in which we read St Gregory Nazianzen teasing the too-serious St Basil the Great about their ascetic hijinks! There are many more posts of like quality, all well-written.
4.) This is Life!: Revolutions Around the Cruciform Axis is the blog of an Eastern Orthodox catechumen, Clifton, or Benedict Seraphim after his patron Saints, a PhD student in ancient philosophy and ethics, writing on a wide variety of subjects. I’ve only just discovered his blog, and have been dipping into the archives bit by bit. There’s a wealth there, but perhaps one of the greatest delights is one of his own, in reading, “I am a father of two of the prettiest daughters any man could wish for, and live for those moments when I get home from work and hear the loud cries of “Daddy! Daddy!” while two little urchins run into me full speed with hugs and kisses.” Big heart and big brain is the combination of the day here.
5.) What Does The Prayer Really Say? is the blog of Father John Zuhlsdorf, an American Roman Catholic priest living and working in Rome. “Fr Z” is regularly referenced at such Roman Catholic blogs as Amy Wellborn’s Open Book and Mike Aquilina’s The Way of the Fathers, as he not only works in Vatican City, with a fantastic view of St Peter’s Basilica from the office, but hears all kinds of interesting Roman Catholic news that doesn’t really hit the press in America. Fr Z has numerous posts on the subject of his blog’s name, critiquing the atrocious “translations” into English done of Latin prayers in the 1960s and 1970s. I’ve learned alot from his discussions of the nuance of various Latin words and phrases, and I recommend his blog to anyone learning Ecclesiastical Latin for precisely that input, which is something one doesn’t get from the lexicons, but from extensive exposure through reading. In addition to the language lessons, he critques news reports on Catholic issues, and often puts up photos (check out the view from his computer!) and short historical entries on life in Rome. He has podcasts, too.
Well, I enjoyed that! I hope you will enjoy them!
Thanks for the plug!
As it happens, there is such a place as “Alta, California” but I do not live there. I live in Campbell, CA, not too terribly far from your locale, apparently. (Campbell is next door to Los Gatos and San Jose.) “Alta California” (minus the comma) is also a place, but you live there, too, “alta” being “upper” to “baja’s” “lower” California.
You’re very welcome, Ian. And thanks for the correction. I entirely imagined the comma! As it happens, a great aunt of mine was named Alta, and we always called her Auntie Alta, of course. That had a part to play, I’m sure.
Campbell! You’re in the warm zone, unfortunately the smoggier, too, but I like the heat down there. If you and the Dalrymple Gang are ever heading up to Berkeley for some reason, let me know!
It was 90 degrees at our place this past Saturday.
But smoggy sometimes, yes. Moreso in the summer. Still, it’s not as bad as it used to be. I hear that San Joaquin Valley is the real bad spot nowadays.
We do make trips to Berkeley now and again, usually to visit Moe’s Books on Telegraph.
Thankfully Moe’s is still there! The only Cody’s now is the Fourth Street one. I dislike Fourth Street, gnawingly. My favorite Berkeley bookstore remains Black Oak Books, up on Shattuck between Vine and Rose. The combination of Religion, Classics, Medieval, and Archaeology sections in the back room keeps me there for hours every time. The Didache book I mention in a post above is one I found there for a mere $30 last weekend. One would never know it’s a used copy.