The Apple servers were overloaded early yesterday when I upgraded my iGadgets, but basically everything went smoothly. After playing around a little here’s my initial assessment of iOS 5 on the iPhone 3GS. It’s pretty much the same on the iPad. (I won’t do an in depth review of features as these have been done better in other places).
Happy with:
Performance – I haven’t noticed a change, so no worse. I believe some tests are saying it’s better. Continue reading
Every death is sad. Everyone is someone’s parent, child, sibling, friend. If we truly have no one at the end, that’s tragic. But most deaths go unnoticed and unmourned by most people. I, like most who mourn his death, didn’t know Steve Jobs. Yet people are weeping tears and feeling empty because of his passing. I’m usually somewhat cynical about these things, but this time I’ve been affected by it.
At the most superficial level, of course, Steve touched millions of lives with his technology. Continue reading
I’ve been feeling kind of sad all day.
Sadder still that Steve didn’t know Jesus.
Rest in peace, Steve.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Eragon is the eponymous tale of a teenage farm boy living with his uncle and cousin who one day discovers a dragon’s egg. When the dragon chooses Eragon as her rider, they set off on an adventure that sees him a fugitive of the Empire. Mentored by the local storyteller, Brom, he learns about magic and the history of Alegaesia and discovers that being a rider is a mixed blessing. He has an uncommon bond with his dragon, Saphira, but is feared, honoured and manipulated by people.
This is a very imaginative, detailed and well written novel. We’ve been reading it as a family and everyone from the 9 year old daughter to the 13 year old son and their parents have thoroughly enjoyed it.
Vintage Church by Mark Driscoll
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Vintage Church is classic Mark Driscoll (cowritten with Gary Breshears) – classic systematic evangelical theology delivered in a contemporary, relevant package. What I particularly like about Driscoll is he’s unapologetic about defending a historic, biblical, evangelical faith. He is obviously familiar with church history, drawing on major Christian thinkers and coupled with a deep knowledge of Scripture writes with authority.
Driscoll grounds the church firmly in Christ and from there discusses matters such as leadership, the sacraments, unity, discipline, love and mission. I particularly found his discussion on missional churches helpful. But what really stands out to me is his argument that multi-campus churches are, in his opinion, the way of the future. He argues for it convincingly without in anyway discarding traditional churches or small congregations.
Apart from the last couple of chapters on multi-congregational and missional church, much of his discussion holds no real surprises, at least for anyone familiar with the subject matter. But I would highly recommend this book to anyone who hasn’t studied ecclesiology in any depth.
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Reading through Genesis recently I’ve been struck by the symmetry of Scripture. There’s so much in the first 3 chapters of Genesis that anticipates the coming of Christ. The beginning of Genesis concerns creation and fall, Matthew and the gospels concern recreation and redemption. I turned this into a sermon recently. Here are a few examples.
Garden: Eden was a paradise is where humanity’s rebellion took place, Gesthmene was a place of suffering where Christ’s submission was completed (Gen 3.1-6; Matt 26.36-42).
Temptation: Adam and Eve were tempted to doubt God by the serpent int he garden and fell, Christ was tempted to doubt God by Satan in the wilderness and overcame (Gen 3.1-6; Matt 4.1f.).
Banishment: Adam and Eve were banished to ‘east of Eden’ away from God’s presence, magi came from the East to worship God the Son (Gen 3.21-24; Matt 2.1-11).
Angels: angels blocked the way back to Eden, Angels ministered to Jesus in the wilderness and the garden.
What other symmetries do you see?
The Golden Door by Emily Rodda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Rye sets off to find his two older brothers who are lost, presumed dead, after they accepted a quest to find the source of the skimmers which are attacking the city of Weld. Accompanied by an unwelcome orphan, Sonya, Rye soon discovers there is more to his quest than he expected.
The kids gave me this book for Fathers’ Day (ulterior motives, perchance?). We finished it together in a week. Classic Emily Rodda. Only downside is now we have to wait months for the next instalment.
Deltora Quest 3 by Emily Rodda
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Belt of Deltora is restored, the prisoners from the Shadowlands have been rescued, and Deltora should be enjoying a new era of peace and prosperity. Instead, there is want and starvation everywhere. King Leith discovers that the land is cursed by the Four Sisters, planted their by the Shadow Lord in the days of Leith’s ancestors. Now he must go on yet another quest and encounter new dangers and monsters with his girlfriend, Jasmine, and bodyguard, Barda, to wake the dragons of Deltora, destroy the Sisters and free Deltora from the Shadow Lord’s power once and for all.
A fun read. Rodda manages to keep it reasonably fresh, with new bad guys and hairy situations. Although I’d have expected Leif’s stomach to stop turning over and his skin to stop crawling with every encounter with evil and weirdness.
The kids agreed the first series is the best, but still insisted on me reading for hours on end, which was no chore.
3 stars = I like it.
Deltora Quest 2; The Cavern of the Fear, the Isle of Illusion, the Shadowlands by Emily Rodda
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Lief, Barda and Jasmine have restored the Belt of Deltora and driven the evil Shadow Lord and his minions from the land, but now they must embark on a new quest to rescue the prisoners of the Shadow Lord. Meanwhile Lief’s life is in danger even within the palace and Jasmine’s feelings for the sister she never knew she had, and for Lief, who evidently is looking for a Toran bride, are complicating matters.
This is another enjoyable read by Emily Rodda for 8-14 year olds, although a bit more linear than the previous series. The resolution is borderline reliant on deus ex machina device, but this does not affect the story greatly. The monsters are even more gruesome. There is no way this series could ever be turned into a movie franchise that would have ratings for its intended audience!
Nevertheless, afternoons after school were greeted by repeated demands by the family for the next instalment.
3 stars = I like it.
Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions by Mark Driscoll
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In Religion Saves, Driscoll answers the top 9 questions that were asked in a survey for a preaching series at Mars Hill. The result is an eclectic mix of topics ranging from sex and dating, to the doctrine of grace, to birth control, to the emerging church. Driscoll’s responses are pretty much what you’d predict as a Reformed conservative, but he is well read and most of the discussion has depth. I don’t agree with all his conclusions, but agree with more than not.
Mars Hill is a young church (both the age of the church, and the average age of attendees), and this would be a great book for Christians in their late teens to mid to late twenties. In fact, I’d almost call it ‘compulsory’ reading. Most of the topics are relevant and important. However, the discussion is very frank in places, and I wouldn’t recommend it for younger teens who may have been a bit sheltered.
I listened to the audio-book which is narrated by Driscoll. The content really lends itself to this format and having the author narrate means he can put the emphasis where he intends.
4 stars = I really like it.
