Top Recommendations from 2013

  This year, my life has been more obviously structured to learn and increase both knowledge and understanding; thus, I've read more on a variety of fronts.  I will recommend some of those books below; but first, a word about why I rarely add disclaimers to my recommendations: if you find something that you disagree with in a book, it is proof that your mind is engaged.  If I recommend a book, it is because I think the author has presented 'something' well from 'some' perspective.  In other words, I assume we all know that authors are neither omniscient nor inspired.  Thus, I hope all of us can critique something in any book we read.

The Lost History of Christianity (John Philip Jenkins) - This book is very appropriately named; it is also well-written and engagingly presented. The author is balanced in many areas where balance is difficult to maintain. It covers an area of Christian history that I've never heard dealt with properly, particularly the Asian and African churches which comprised up to 50% of the Church for many centuries. (My blog post about this book.)

Honor & Shame (my related blog post) - Several friends and I have spent much of this year digesting the meaning of Honor and Shame together; it is excellent and applies to a postmodern culture nearly as much as to an Asian one. (Shame Interrupted - is a more pastoral look at dealing with shame, while Redeeming Love is an excellent novel which explores the topic well.)

From Foreign to Familiar - A short, useful book about culture and adapting!

Mother of Wolves - This was an excellent novel which I got free on Kindle and was happily impressed by both the unusual setting and development of the plot! (Honorable Mention: In Search of Castaways - a prequel to Jules Verne's classic The Mysterious Island [free on Kindle])

Once There Was, Twice There Wasn't (Michael Shelton) - A book of classic Turkish fairy tales are retold for the delight and instruction of children or adults. A few of the stories were familiar to me from childhood, but most were new. Nasreddin Hoca would have appreciated Aesop, Brer Rabbit and Anansi.

The Corsair King (Mor Jokai) - Good historical fiction, much of this older author's work is available free.  This particular work is based on the same figure as "The Dread Pirate Roberts" in The Princess Bride! [free on Kindle]

Teaching English to Young Learners - This book by David Nunan has been a tremendous help with ideas and instruction, as I've tried to become a better teacher.

The Three Little Tamales - Easily wins best kid's book of the year as the final tamale outsmarts Senor Lobo.

Muhteşem Yüzyıl is my favorite soundtrack from the year, with Crayola Doesn't  Make a Color for your Eyes and Song of the Lonely Mountain being favorite individual songs, while the Piano Guys are the addictively good artists that I began really loving this year.

Previous Lists:
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM 2011
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM 2012

An ancient poem 'to be read on the Feast of the Holy Nativity'

  I recently came across this poem, supposed to be by Khamis bar Kardahe whom we would call a Nestorian. Parts of the poem, which can be found more fully here, clearly reflect differences in theology from what most Western Christians would believe. Much of it also reflects Eastern thought and poetry in ways that we might not use in the West. Still, I think you can appreciate the beauty and truth in his meditation. Here are some parts:

Ten thousand times ten thousand glories uttered by the Church, and never-ending springs of the pouring forth of the Spirit, flow towards the dust, unto Thee, Thou Bay of the Mysterious Orb, the Everlasting, the Son of the essence of Self-existence, Who from virginity took a garment of humanity, and hid therewith the effulgence of His Divinity!

...After the similitude of His hidden likeness had become corrupt, and the image of His mysterious self had been defaced and defiled, and the transcript of His similitude had been utterly ruined, and after the model of His own creation had been swallowed up in the gaping bowels of the insatiable sheal, the good God deigned to renew and to restore it. And when the set time for the fulfillment of this His benevolent purpose towards the creation had arrived, the Lord spread abroad His mercy as the sea, and His pity as the great deep, and He poured forth and enlarged the goodness and the grace of His Divinity, by sending His consubstantial Son,----the Son of Self-existence. In a befitting way His Will descended towards men; He sent His Beloved, the Begotten of Himself, that is, His Express Image, Who in consummate wisdom, took upon Him, from us, a nature and a person. In a wonderful manner he clothed Himself with a corruptible garment, covering therewith His excellent glory; and when the time appointed in His wisdom had come, He mended and repaired it, and sewed together its rents. He was borne in the womb according to the laws and peculiarities of nature, and was brought forth by His mother.

The Begotten, the Highest, the Ancient of days, Who has set us free, drew milk from the breast as do sucklings and infants, was bound in swaddling clothes, and was placed in a manger like a child of the poor and needy, although He is verily and indeed the King of kings, to Whom the highest worship is due. Crowds of simple and untutored shepherds surround the cave where He lay, and bow to Him in adoration. Legions of spiritual, excellent, and adoring Powers,----the living chariots of the wonderful cherubim,----the speaking wheels, with open eyes and replete with wisdom and intelligence, now stationary, now lifted up,----myriads of Seraphim, as quick as light, with outstretched wings, whose it is to sing thrice Holy,----the glorious, admirable, and awful company of exalted thrones,----the company of those who keep watch over the kingdom of the Lord, all the beautiful armies, lordships, dominions, invincible powers, archangels, angels, and messengers, surround Ephratha in nine circles, fly to and fro, ascend and descend as eagles, dance, rejoice, clap their hands and feet like children of freedom, sing and sound their trumpets on the day of the Nativity, and on their lyres praise the Child Born,----sing the most exalted hallelujahs, thrice Holies, psalms, glories, and holy songs, unto God in the highest, increase of security and peace upon the earth, and the descent of good-will and its continuance among men. [...]

Behold Him, Who is clothed with light, wrapped in swaddling bands; what a mystery is here! No less wonderful is it that He Who is seated on the throne of heaven should have been laid in a manger! The Ancient of times became a Son of Mary in the latter time, and appeared as the Father, Lord, and Master, of the sons of Adam, loosing from off their nature the bands of the curse and of sin, and causing a light to shine forth through the shadows of death. The sun of His love chose an orb from the firmament of humanity, and made the rays of His moon to be the rational confidence of man; so that henceforth the grossness of the dark earth cannot hide the one from the other, He having destroyed it by the splendor of His brightness. He brought down the Spiritual, and guided it to the nature of the dust, wherefrom He chose Him out an abode to manifest forth the mystery of perfect and great salvation, and to exhibit true liberty to the children of flesh, who had become the slaves of falsehood and error...

...now that the true Jewel has been brought up by the power of the Almighty arm of God, enclosed in the shell of the chaste Virgin, and elect bosom, which shall, having indeed the companionship of a human body, but without any [conjugal] intercourse, open upon the shore of the cave of Bethlehem, the rivulet of which is small. Towards this Jewel we bow the neck and shoulders, and for it we barter our souls; because it sheds forth light in darkness, and is a Pearl which all the merchants extol. Not all the wealth of the world can purchase it, therefore let us cast away all our silver and gold, and all that we possess, and hasten and gaze on its pure and varied beauty, so that perchance its reflection may be impressed upon our minds, and it may become to us a treasure of life in earthen vessels...

Behold Adam, the begetter of nations, is begotten again, and the Creator of men has become a little child! He [the first Adam] who would have arrogated to himself the sovereignty unreasonably, took it [in Christ] when He was born an infant. Hail to thee, O daughter, whose Son caused fatherhood to exist! Hail to Thee, O Infant, Who filled the womb of Thy mother with grace! Hail, Mary, who honored in thy bosom a united Man filled with purity, the reasonable temple of the Divinity! The Holy Spirit was the Master Who wove in thee the tabernacle of the Humanity, and the words of the Angel messenger were as His threads thereto. Hail to the Begotten, the Unspeakable, the Wonder-working! Hail to the Begotten, the equal with His Father in dominion and sovereignty, Who became the origin of reconciliation and peace! [...]

Great is He Who is Born, Who strikes all creatures with awe!

The Fortress of Seven Towers - Incredible!

I've traveled a lot of places, but today I saw probably the second most amazing historical site that I've ever seen, Yedikule Zindanları or The Castle of Seven Towers. (My top favorite would be Ephesus, which I blogged about briefly here.) Amazingly, this site is here in Istanbul, and I'd never heard of it till about 3 weeks ago.  It costs  $5 and is the chance to explore a 555-year old fortress with a few niceties... basic handrails sometimes, some rickety balconies to transfer between prison cells, and a couple of the passageways even have lights, though most of them you get to navigate in the pitch darkness if you are lucky enough to visit on an overcast winter day!  

The view was amazing, probably the best view of the western half of Istanbul that I've ever seen.

The setting felt epic.  Why are there not movies filmed here?

Rickety balcony, now look down and try not to notice the rust.

These towers also served as prisons and places of execution during various periods... not very cozy, even for royal prisoners of whom there were quite a few... Turkish, Hungarian, Georgian.  Which cell would you like?

Oh, and I forgot to mention the indoor-outdoor plumbing... this ran from the cell, right out the wall.

Finally, I should mention that if you want to visit, access is really easy due to the Marmaray Underground which has a station (Kazliçeşme) a very short walk from the unmissable fortress walls.

Peace to Deserters

Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:31-33, esv) 

These verses reminded me again of the awesomeness of the grace of God, as Jesus says to His closest earthly friends that in His hour of need, they are about to abandon Him. Then, He immediately assures them that the Father will not abandon Him, and so they (the ones about to desert Him to His enemies) may be at peace. In the moment of their abandoning Him, He desires their peace, not abandoning them in any way! Incredible grace, amazing love, indescribable mercy, all to the unfaithful friends. What verses of hope and love and goodness!

In this world, we will have troubles, but those troubles are not meant to disrupt our peace because our Leader has defeated the world, has removed the abandonment we deserved, and has purchased our peace. In spite of us. For us. Unto us...