Fifteen films meme

From Sam: "The rules: Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen films you’ve seen that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen films you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes."

I am going to arbitrarily exclude documentaries and I'm not claiming that these are my favourite fifteen, just that they fit this meme.

1. Magnolia
2. Fight Club
3. American Beauty
4. The Lives of Others
5. 3-Iron
6. Pan's Labyrinth
7. The Passion of the Christ
8. Let the Right One In
9. Hero
10. Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
11. The Return of the King
12. The Royal Tenenbaums
13. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
14. The Matrix
15. Millennium Actress

If you own a blog, then consider yourself tagged, unless you hate memes, are way too busy, or find this exercise trite or offensive, in which case, smugly consider yourself above such sillyness.

Top Ten Documentaries I

As with my recent list of top ten films, these are not my all time top ten, just my top ten for the last twelve months or so. I might have missed some, since we watch some programmes on BBC iPlayer, and there is no easy way to access a list of old viewings.

10. Fog of War
9. My Kid Could Paint That
8. The Box that Changed Britain
7. Waltz with Bashir
6. The End of the Line
5. Man on Wire
4. Home
3. Rivers and Tides
2. Life (BBC series)
1. How Earth Made Us (BBC series)

Top Ten Films III

Time for another top ten list. The earlier lists can be found here and here. As with those, these are not necessarily films released recently, but the best ten films I've seen (in cinema or on DVD) recently (last 12 months approximately). And as an arbitrary way of keeping the list a little more manageable than it might otherwise be, I'm excluding docos, which I'll post later.

10. Gran Torrino
9. Red Road
8. A Serious Man
7. The Wrestler
6. 4 Months, 3 weeks And 2 Days (Romanian: 4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile)
5. Breaking the Waves
4. The White Ribbon
3. In Bruges
2. Apocalypse Now Redux
1. Let the Right One In (Swedish: Låt den rätte komma in)

And some honourable mentions since I've had so long since the last list:
The Straight Story, Fish Tank, District 9.

Good books: a meme

I've been memed again. This time Matthew Moffitt from Hebel has tagged me and given me a list of theological book categories. The instructions tell me to:

i. List the most helpful book you've read in this category;
ii. Describe why you found it helpful; and
iii. Tag five more friends and spread the meme love.

I am going to break the rules immediately and amend the first point to read "List the most a helpful book you've read in this category". Here are the categories and my answers:

1. Theology
• Kevin Vanhoozer, The Drama of Doctrine
I take it that since "God" is listed (rather dubiously) at #3, this category is for books on the "method" or "how to" of theology. This wouldn't be the top book out of this list of 11, but it was one I enjoyed. I have reviewed it at length here.
Summary: All the world's a stage.

2. Biblical Theology
• Augustine, City of God
The first biblical theology. And the best. I received this as a 21st present from a far-sighted friend (thanks Ben!), who didn't realise that it would help send me to the other side of the world.
Summary: A tale of two cities.

3. God
• Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics IV/1
I never promised this would be an easy list. But if you want to get into glories of God, then there are few more profound guides than uncle Karl. Read this quote and then decide if you want to dive into the depths and discover that God is there too.
Summary: God is with us.

4. Jesus
• Jürgen Moltmann, The Crucified God
Although incomplete (and what account of Jesus isn't? Even John recognised as much), this book will push you to really think about what Jesus means for our understanding of God. ‘When the crucified Jesus is called the ‘image of the invisible God’, the meaning is that this is God, and God is like this. God is not greater than he is in this humiliation. God is not more glorious than he is in this self-surrender. God is not more powerful than he is this helplessness. God is not more divine than he is in this humanity.’ (205)
Summary: God looks like this.

5. Old Testament
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Creation and Fall
A short little book based on lecture notes from students who listened to lectures Bonhoeffer gave on Genesis 1-3. In many ways, these lectures are a model of creative faithfulness to the text, theological exegesis that asks after God and humanity, not just about me or about historical debates or contemporary fads.
Summary: They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow, through Eden took their solitary way.

6. New Testament
• N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (or for the attentionally challenged, The Challenge of Jesus)
The book that took all the fragments of Sunday School stories and sermon pieces into which the Gospels had shattered and pieced together a picture of a human saviour who wins God's victory for Israel and the world. It took me almost two years to read (in a group), but I am a different person for it.
Summary: God wins.

7. Morals
• Oliver O'Donovan, Resurrection and Moral Order
How could I resist? Not an easy book, but one to chew over and digest slowly and repeatedly. It will nourish you for a long time if you are patient with it.
Summary: Ethics is good news and the resurrection is God's affirmation of creation and humanity.

8. (Church) History
• Meredith Lake, Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord
So I thought I'd pick something a little more contemporary, since this is the (church) history section. Meredith (known to many though her wonderful, though now somewhat neglected blog Faith and Place. If you read the current post, you'll understand why; her love for it has run into some competition) put together a history of the first 75 years of the Sydney University Evangelical Union. Since this was the context in which I cut my theological, pastoral, ministry and leadership teeth, I found the book fascinating. Perhaps a little less riveting for those not from Sydney, but it will really help you understand where many Sydney University Christians (like myself) are coming from.
Summary: And now these three remain: object one, object two, object three...

9. Biography
• Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo.
I must say that I am not much into biographies for some reason, even though I know many people love them. I have enjoyed nearly all the ones I have read, but they have been few and far between. However, this is one that stands out for me because it is almost impossible to walk past Augustine for historical importance and Brown's biography is the definitive one against which others are judged. I read this book in fourth year while writing a thesis on Augustine in order to get some more context for his thought and found it fascinating. In particular, the evocation of the late Roman empire I found quite moving. Augustine lived in the dying days of the West and he knew it (and his greatest work, The City of God was written to address the issue). The image of Augustine dying as Hippo was under seige by barbarians and of his fellow monks smuggling his works out to save them from the destruction when the city fell will stay with me for a long time. In fact, it was a large part of the impetus behind my PhD project (outline coming soon).
Summary: Lord, make me pure, but not yet!

10. Evangelism
• John Dickson, Promoting the Gospel
Dickson combines deep historical knowledge, biblical deftness and theological nous with apparently effortless communication skills. This book will liberate you from the straightjacket of guilt that prevents you from promoting the gospel by showing you all the ways you are already involved in this great privilege. Shunned by some for rejecting the idea that every Christian is an evangelist, that is precisely why I recommend it since that is how the Bible pictures the church, in which each part does its work.
Summary: Not everyone is a mouth.

11. Prayer
• Rowan Williams, Where God Happens: Discovering Christ in One Another
Perhaps a surprising book to recommend on prayer, since it primarily addresses those familiar with meditative prayer. However, it is not limited to this audience, since its foundational message - that we discover Christ through loving our neighbour and prayer is what helps us pay attention - is universally applicable. Perhaps it sounds trite as I explain it there, but this little book is anything but.
Summary: "Everything begins with this vision and hope: to put the neighbour in touch with God in Christ."

I would provide links to each of these books at their various publishers, but I'm lazy. You have fingers. Google hasn't crashed. Do it yourself. I tag the first five people to read this post (which probably means you, unless the comments are filled with people saying that they have completed the task).

10 ways to amuse a geek

1. Make a list of the top 10 ways to amuse a geek.
10. Use binary.

NB There are two types of people in the world.

1. Those who index their arrays starting at 1.
1. Those who index their arrays starting at 0.

H/T Brandon. This was a blast from a past spent amongst calculators and calculus. Now I am a geek of a different kind.

One Movie Meme

1. One movie that made you laugh
Coffee and Cigarettes

2. One movie that made you cry
Dancer in the Dark

3. One movie you loved when you were a child
Mønti Pythøn ik den Høli Gräilen

4. One movie you’ve seen more than once
The Return of the King

5. One movie you hated
Transformers

6. One movie that scared you
The Birds

7. One movie that bored you
Inland Empire - the most fascinating and compelling three hours of tedium I've ever seen. I love/hate Lynch.

8. One movie that made you happy
3-Iron

9. One movie that made you miserable
Nobody Knows

10. One movie you weren’t brave enough to see
My Best Friend's Wedding

11. One movie character you’ve fallen in love with
Jim Curring (the cop) from Magnolia

12. A movie that surprised you
Devot

13. The last movie you saw
Black Sheep

14. The next movie you hope to see
Babette's Feast

15. Now tag five people:
Benjamin, Mark, Dave, Jason and anyone else who feels like it.

Six simple ideas towards reconciliation

Tonight we had a follow-up meeting after the GetUp GetTogether for reconciliation a couple of weeks ago. Jason, an indigenous artist who participated in the first gathering, invited us to the Boomalli Art Gallery in Leichhardt for tonight's discussion. We brainstormed ideas of small practical steps we could each take to help move towards reconciliation in our local area and in Australia. Here were some of the group's ideas:

• Be willing to take risks and be thick-skinned and patient enough to keep trying if and when there is misunderstanding;
• Write letters to the paper and to politicians to keep reconciliation on the local and national agenda;
• Say "hello" and show basic respect when passing strangers on the street;
• Share positive stories and challenge negative stereotypes when they are expressed;
• Volunteer with a local organization working towards reconciliation;
• Start a conversation with your friends and family: "what does reconciliation mean for you?"

I may have missed some of the ideas we discussed because I only started taking notes towards the end. Does anyone have further suggestions? Remember: from little things, big things grow.

Top Ten Films II

A while ago, I posted my top ten films of the last six months (whether seen on DVD or at the cinema). Here is an updated list for the second half of the year, though I doubt any of these would make it onto my all time top ten, and most of them would come behind the earlier list.

10. Mad Max II 1981
9. Ten Canoes 2006
8. Lucky Miles 2007
7. The Thing 1982
6. Eastern Promises 2007
5. Perfect Blue 1998
4. Efter brylluppet (After the Wedding) 2006
3. Red Road 2006
2. Inland Empire 2006
1. Coffee and Cigarettes 2005

Two disappointments in the last week have been Lions for Lambs and Elizabeth: the Golden Age. I am looking forward to Night on Earth, Bladerunner and A Scanner Darkly, which are all sitting on my desk on loan from a friend. Any other recommendations?

UPDATE: Having now watched A Scanner Darkly, I think it would have made it onto this list around number 4 or 5.

Top Ten Films

That I've seen in the last few months, either in the cinema or on DVD.

10. Pan's Labrynth
9. Letters from Iwo Jima
8. The Prestige
7. Man on the Moon (1999)
6. The Queen
5. Trois Couleurs: Bleu (1993)
4. Millennium Actress (2001)
3. The Last King of Scotland
2. The Lives of Others
1. Casablanca (1942)

Recent theology books

Patrik (of world cup for theologians fame) is running a poll on the most important theological publications of the last 25 years. Go and have a look if you're a newcomer to reading theology, or go and vote if you think you know your stuff.

Twenty novels that made me cry

After top twenty theology influences and going to see Moby Dick by John Bell, thought I'd do another top twenty.
Rules: Must be novels. Ranked by recommendation, not amount of crying. One per author. Sometimes the crying was from laughter.

1. Ulysses by James Joyce
2. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
3. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy by Lawrence Sterne
4. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
5. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
6. The Outsider by Albert Camus
7. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
8. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
9. Nineteen eighty-four by George Orwell
10. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
11. Bliss by Peter Carey
12. Catch-22 by Jospeh Heller
13. The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis
14. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula le Guin
15. The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemmingway
16. The Waves by Virginia Woolf
17. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
18. Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll
19. Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine Paterson
20. Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander

What about you?

UPDATE: Check out Aaron's Top 20 theological experiences.
Ten points available in comments.

Top 14 Christian thinkers?

Have your say...
Who are the top fourteen most influential Christian thinkers* of all time? Excluding Old Testament figures, yet including Jesus (who I'm assuming will go in #1 position) and Paul and co., who would make the cut?

Why fourteen? Why not? Actually, a friend asked me my opinion for a project she's currently working on. I won't include her list, but off the top of my head I suggested (roughly in order of importance, rather than chronological order):
1. Jesus the Christ
2. Paul/Saul of Tarsus
3. John the evangelist
4. Augustine of Hippo
5. Thomas Aquinas
6. Martin Luther
7. Karl Barth
8. John Calvin
9. G. W. F. Hegel
10. Friedrich Schleiermacher
11. Immanuel Kant
12. Athanasius of Alexandria
13. Jonathan Edwards
14. John Wesley
*UPDATE: A clarification: the larger project is to select the 50 most influential religious figures in history, and 14 spaces have been allocated to the Christian movement. Thus, this is not just about thinkers (despite my title and opening), nor does it exclude Jesus, who was not (by definition) a Christian. Apologies for any confusion. Ten points for the location of the picture. Bonus points for knowing/guessing how you have to be positioned to see it.

Eschatology and the One Ring

I've always suspected that eschatology (or here or here) is a little like the One Ring of theology...

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all, and in the new light bind them

... or not?

(H/T Daniel at Sibboleth for sparking this thought). NB: important discussion in comments.

Did you know?

The ingredients of an average US caesar salad travel about 3,700 km (2,300 miles for pre-moderns).

You are more likely to die from a meteorite strike than in a plane crash.

Poor countries account for only 0.4 per cent of world trade. Since 1980 their share has halved.

Israel is the fifth largest military power in the world.