98 Dublin FM

I have been streaming a radio station from Dublin for about the last month. The music isn't my favorite but it has regular news, traffic, and weather updates as well as some call in shows. Listening to it has given me a feel for the people and the city of Dublin.

To take a listen:
-Click on this link http://www.98fm.ie/default2.asp#
-Click on the orange circle on right side that says "Listen Live"

Surprising how much American music they play.

Which Theologian Are You?

Matt gave me this quiz quite a while ago but I saved it and stumbled across it today. Please take it and post which three theologians you are most like.

http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=44116


For me:
I came in as Martin Luther and then I had a threeway tie with John Calvin, Johnathan Edwards and of all people... Karl Barth!

...Hmm...

Loome's

Speaking of books, while I was in Minnesota recently I visited the neatest bookstore in Stillwater called Loome's Theological Book Store. The book store is set in a beautifully restored Old Swedish Covenant Church and is the largest secondhand dealer of theological books in the world! They supply institutional libraries, monastic communities, churches, clergy, scholars, and collectors with a vast array of books in theology, religion, and all related areas.

I was surpirsed to read this: "When most people in the upper Midwest think of Stillwater, they are thinking of great food, antiques and the beautiful St. Croix Valley. When people in Vienna, Tokyo, Oxford or Manila think of Stillwater, they are thinking about books.Stillwater, North America’s first Booktown, has been the destination of countless book collectors, librarians and bibliophiles from all over the world for twenty years. They often fly over New York, Chicago or L.A. to get to us. In the world of books, Stillwater is serious business.King Richard Booth, the self-proclaimed monarch of the first Booktown in the world, Hay-on-Wye in Wales, personally named Stillwater a Booktown at the first annual Stillwater Book Fair held in October, 1995."

Fascintating! This famous theological bookstore is located in the town of my birth and as such a book lover I am ashamed to say I never even knew it! Even though a large majority of the books seemed to be Catholic it was really neat to walk around in this very old church, on the creaky floors, and go up the narrow staircase that led to the balcony which overlooked where the pulpit would have been and to be surrounded by tons and tons of old theological books. The only thing that could make it better is if they had coffee in there- I could be lost for hours!

Choosing Books

We have received word recently from the hospital in Dublin that they may be calling for us as early as four weeks from now :) so we have kicked it up into high gear around our place. Last night I had to take down my book shelf and pack up my books which was so sad. I plan on bringing some books with me and so far I have it narrowed down to about 35 books. Realistically I will be lucky if I can fit 15-20 books in my bags. Some of the no contest books are as follows:

My Johnny Mac study Bible NKJV, my Cambridge NIV Bible, The Valley of Vision, Holiness by Sproul, Total Truth by Pearcy, How Shall We Then Live and Trilogy by Schaffer, Knowledge of the Holy by Tozer, Desiring God and Future Grace by Piper, a few philosophy books, and a few books on Great Saints from places I will be seeing like Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Kyper, and Fox's Book of Martyrs.

These are just a few of the books so far. Anyone have any ideas on how I can squeeze as many books as possible into my luggage?

Dublin Webcams

Want to see Dublin? Check out these sweet webcams. Whenever I check and see a sunny sky I have to call Matt up and tell him, "A Sunny day in Dublin!"

http://www.liveireland.com/webcams.shtml

The Cat Is Out of the Bag

Last night Matt and I arrived in Minnesota to tell the family our news. We made them play a trivia game about Dublin to guess where our new home would be. The trivia questions started out difficult but became easier as the quiz went on. I thought for sure the last two trivia questions would give it away but my family was convinced it was in the US so they did not get it. Finally after we talked them through the latitiude and longitude question Cbass guessed Ireland and won the prize, a key chain from Dublin. They all want to come visit!

Is Christianity Good for the World?

A friend of mine recently recommended a debate to me entitled "Is Christianity Good for the World?" The debators are Doug Wilson (team Christ) and Christopher Hitchens (team anti-christ). These are two well studied and articulate men. The dialogue is absolutely fascinating!

There are mutliple parts which may be devoured at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/mayweb-only/119-12.0.html


The debate focuses mostly on being able to account for one's morality. Here is a tidbit I particularly liked written from Wilson to Hitchens...

"You say in passing that ethical imperatives are "derived from innate human solidarity." A host of difficult questions immediately arise, which is perhaps why atheists are generally so coy about trying to answer this question. Derived by whom? Is this derivation authoritative? Do the rest of us ever get to vote on which derivations represent true, innate human solidarity? Do we ever get to vote on the authorized derivers? On what basis is innate human solidarity authoritative? If someone rejects innate human solidarity, are they being evil, or are they just a mutation in the inevitable changes that the evolutionary process requires? What is the precise nature of human solidarity? What is easier to read, the book of Romans or innate human solidarity? Are there different denominations that read the book of innate human solidarity differently? Which one is right? Who says?
And last, does innate human solidarity believe in God?" -Doug Wilson