As It Was . . .

I'm going to be cutting back on my posting for Lent. . .

Is it me or is the whole ash-wednesday, Easter cycle, really late this year?

A couple of Sundays ago, it occured to me that it would be relatively easy to produce a study that goes against the current of the "Markan Jesus." A prevelant view is that Mark's historical portrait of Christ is the most accurate and the primary measure by which we determine historical truth about the man Jesus. Many scholars believe that the Jesus story developed with time and the accretions do not necessarily reflect the actual events, especially what Jesus or his disciples beleived about himself.

Anyway, the story of the men who dropped the paralytic through the roof and Jesus' response was to forgive the man's sins. The response of his advesaries was "Who can forgive sins but God?" Voila! Nothing vague here. Mark knows and relates effectively that Jesus knew who he was and what he could do by virtue of who he was.

Okay, that's that.

My fascination is with parts and wholes, an issue that has provided philosophers' fodder for philosophizing. Husserl has a pretty sophisticated analysis of parts and holes using his phenomenological approach. But reading it, I feel like I've walked in at the tail end of a conversation that's been going on for many years. So, it's back to Aristotle . . . great (he mutters, crestfallen).

In the meantime, I read 1776 and it was great. I am trying to read a book called Washington's Crossing, because I was really moved by the Washington story. It is a good book that was nominated for stuff, my problem is that I hate the typeset and page whiteness. I'm also reading and just bougt a book called the Godlen Ratio about the unique and fascinating number, phi.

I've stopped writing my next novel, Children of Clay, because it has gotten pretty complicated and a pre-story has developed in my mind that provides background to the 300+ pages already written. what to say. I am resigned to making what I have Part 2 and then work out the Part 1. It's almost like writing a whole new novel and I don't have the energy or motivation to tackle this right now. I am excited about the story and I've learned that it is worth it to wait and get everything out so that you have a complete story. I could right it in terms of a story and then write a prequel. But I really feel that this is one summa rerum, a whole complete thing.