ADMMXXV Retrospective

Favorite neighbors...

And so we bid farewell to the Year of Our Lord 2025. For the Goode household, it was a good year. God gave us many things; all of them helpful, virtually all of them positive. This year was like a good friend telling stories over dinner--often familiar, always enjoyable, and occasionally coming up with something you really didn't expect even after all this time. 

(I somehow took not a single sunset/sunrise photo this year,  so instead of the customary burning atmosphere, you get the local ducks. Sorry. I shall do better in 2026.)

Schlepping the Shelf: December 2025

 

As we hook 2025 up to life support and gather quietly (or not so quietly) round its bedside, waiting for the phoenix of '26 to rise from the ashes, it's good to ponder what really made an impact this year. 

Of course, if you have any right to call yourself an educated man, some of that impact will be books. Books were the first long-distance communication, and they still remain one of the few that can allow you to commune with the dead, at least without involving the Witch of Endor and a few sleazy devils. So here are some of my favorite semi-seances of the last six months, with both the living and the dead.

Finished

Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the KJV Bible by Mark Ward. A good overall look at why the KJV can no longer be the only (and he would say, even primary) Bible translation. While I agree with his overall point, I would locate the cause not in inevitable “language change” where he does, but in the massive dumbing-down of our education--somehow ploughboys in 1885 didn’t have any trouble with the KJV. When I posted this as a tweet, Canon Press reposted it (since I listened to it on Canon+) and got me into my first, and only, Twitter spat. Mostly it proved that X users can't read.

Writing Exercises on Beauty and Predestination

 Every year, I let my HUM II classes give me a question to write a 45-minute in-class essay on--sort of a fair turnabout for all the writing I assign them! They give me four possible topics, and I pick one to answer. This year's two topics were "What is beauty?" and "What do you think of the doctrine of predestination?" Both pieces are severely limited by lack of time and space, but here they are, just the same.

What is Beauty?

We have discussed many important questions in this class, but “what is beauty?” struck a nerve of its own. This might simply be because of its eternal relevance. If we don’t know what beauty is, can we appreciate a painting in a museum? The face of a movie actor? Who’s to say, really, whether one room is more attractive in a house than another? Perhaps your friend might like lots of ferns and exposed steel in a room, so that is “beautiful,” while the other guy likes low-lit, open-concept Spanish ranch houses. Can we actually find a standard to judge between them, or must we throw up our hands and give way to a whirlpool of relative ugliness?

In our age, “beauty” is often relegated merely to the natural form—the sort of word we use about pictures of Rocky Mountain landscapes unspoilt by the hand of man, or a particularly fine bone structure in the body of a Hollywood star. This is fine as far as it goes, but all too often this degenerates into mere taste: one guy likes the Shenandoah Valley in the early morning and the other likes LA sunsets (the smog really sets off the clouds). But if beauty is merely personal taste, then we’ve reduced it to the perception level of each person. No one can say what beauty is, the same way no one can force me to like pineapple on pizza or the color combination of orange and maroon. In short, we destroy the very concept of beauty by drowning it in a sea of mere preference.

Surrounded by Fires

 

Psalm LVII  My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth. 

 

Lord, you know that we are surrounded by fires great and small. Some are the physical fires of pain and anguish. Some are the mental burnings of fear, doubt, and delay. And men who long to sink their teeth and tongues into us prowl about, hoping that we will give in to those fires that they may gloat over our weakness. But you laugh at the wicked, and they serve your pleasure. Protect us, and grant our petitions for release and comfort.

First we pray for those who have lost loved ones—the Christopherson family, Charlie Kirk’s family, and for their friends as well. The ones left standing have to cry all the tears for those who are gone. Protect them today at their memorial.

Next we pray for those with health problems, particularly Corban, Kane, Amy, Bekah. Guard them and all those like them, and keep them in the bad times and good. Give them stamina and good humor.

We pray for Keith Darrell, whose ministry on college campuses is now more dangerous than we knew. Grant him success, that he may save souls from among the lions prowling about our schools.

 We pray for the authorities in our land. We know that when justice languishes, the righteous suffer, and there is much injustice in our system. Help us to reform it and bind the people to your law.

Last, we pray for the engaged couples. They are in a time of waiting that is both exciting and frustrating. Give them endurance and joy as they wait for the next step. 

Keep us safe and guard our trials. We know you hear us, "for thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds."  

KC Prayer of Petition, Sept. 21, A.D. 2025

Commonplaces--April through June 2025

 

“The Assembly of Puritan notables was no more competent to initiate successful self-government in England than a Congress of Abolitionists, in 1860, would have been competent to govern the United States.”

“As each country must, sooner or later, obtain exactly that measure of political freedom to which it is entitled, so, when it falls under a tyranny, the tyranny must be strictly conditioned by the character of the people.”

“The truth is, that a strong nation can only be saved by itself, and not by a strong man, though it can be greatly aided and guided by a strong man. A weak nation may be doomed anyhow, or it may find its sole refuge in a despot; a nation struggling out of darkness may be able to take its first steps only by the help of a master hand, as was true of Russia, under Peter the Great; and if a nation, whether free or unfree, loses the capacity for self government, loses the spirit of sobriety and of orderly liberty, then it has no cause to complain of tyranny; but a really great people, a people really capable of freedom and of doing mighty deeds in the world, must work out its own destiny, and must find men who will be its leaders—not its masters.” Teddy Roosevelt, Oliver Cromwell

“Dancing masters and tailors may rig up a fop, but they cannot make a nothing into a man. You may color a millstone as much as you like, but you cannot improve it into a cheese.”—C.H. Spurgeon, John Ploughman (Michael Foster X post)

“Since, therefore, there could be no doubt on this point, that man is the source both of the greatest help and the greatest harm to man, I set it down as the peculiar function of virtue to win the hearts of men and to attach them to one’s own service.”—Cicero, De Officies II.v

“Nihil est sceleratius prudenti orbitate” (Nothing is more wicked than prudence among the bereaved)—Pseudo-Quintilian, Declamationes Maiores X.12

What We All Believe

 One of the things the modern world has lost is that truly important things should be sung, not diagrammed. 

To that end, take a listen to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j3VS-K89V4

Schlepping the Shelf: June 2025

 So what's on the shelf these days? I've got a long backlog to make up since January, since my life was consumed in succession by my master's thesis, NSA graduation and a family visit, and Logos Online finals. All that being finally over, let's revel in the summer solitude by doing a little schlepping, shall we?

Finished

The End of Protestantism by Peter Leithart. As a survey of some of the ways denominationalism goes wrong, and a record of some interesting church developments in the global south, it was fine. But I reject his overall theses—first that Jesus has not been granted his prayer for unity in John 17; second, that now is the time to shed denominationalism. As usual for Leithart, this is highly academic and studies-based. The world has changed rapidly since 2016, when this was written, and in my humble opinion it is woefully out of date due to the meteoric rise of nationalism and factionalism we've seen in the past decade. Perhaps this is the century of Protestantism after all?

The Great Betrayal by Ernle Bradford. A detailed and moving account of the scurrilous Fourth Crusade—which did not crusade at all but was diverted by the crafty Enrico Dandalo, the doge of Venice, to destroy and sack rival Constantinople, the last Christian barrier to the Mohommedan hordes in the east. The fact that a Crusading army got hoodwinked into doing a merchant's dirty work should make all the terminally-online Crusader anons think really deeply about their project. Simple zeal is not enough to do the Lord's work; sometimes it just means you do the Devil's work faster. Her treasury depleted and a vast amount of territory, scholarship, and craftsmanship lost during the sack and the Christian infighting that followed, Constantinople would fall to the Turks only a few hundred years later.

The Life of Antony by Athanasius. Translated H. Ellershaw (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers). Deeply moving and convicting. We Protestants lost much when, in our zeal to get rid of the rotting encrustation of wonder-working saints, we utterly discounted the life of sacrifice and miracles that so many of our ancient sources hold out clearly. The world is a wondrous place, and God works in it when we ask Him. May we ask more, and be worthy when we ask. I can see why Augustine (indeed, all Europe) was impressed.

Oliver Cromwell by Theodore Roosevelt. An interesting little book—more because of what it says about Roosevelt than Cromwell (I think Buchan’s version is both more detailed and more personal). This is a great read for students of American history. Teddy loves to pull parallels with the War for Independence and Washington; some of which, I think, are even true. Modern historians would denigrate this as too “Great Man Theory of History” and not complex enough. I think it is useful for precisely this moment, as we see how great men can actually shape history. Free Gutenberg Press ebook.

The Maker vs. the Takers by Jerry Bowyer. An economic explanation of Jesus’ life, parables, and crucifixion. While it’s important to approach this with the grain of salt that lurks in all explanations of scripture that just happen to line up with our own current viewpoints, I think he’s on to something. This makes several obscure/problematic passages in the Gospels work nicely. A recommended read, particularly as the Gospel references to "the Jews" continue to heat up on X.

The Idea of a University by John Henry Newman. Excellent and well-written, though it is a great pity his faith in Rome occasionally moves him to miss the point of his own work. A worthy candidate for required reading for a college faculty. What is a college? Why should we have one? What should we teach when we do have one? How do you avoid producing merely learned fools? Newman cogently answers all of these, while attacking the rise of the "scientific" research university in its very earliest (1852) days. An applicable sententia: “Nothing is more common in an age like this, when books abound, than to fancy that the gratification of a love of reading is real study.”

A boatload of ancient Roman rhetorical texts--from the usual suspects (Cicero and Seneca) to some more obscure corners (Calpurnius Flaccus or Libanius, anyone?) I think I learned a lot; I also doubt anyone else really cares. We shall nerd out about rhetoric another time.

Ploductivity by Douglas Wilson. A reread, but still great. If you struggle at all with time management and stewardship of your various responsibilities (and who doesn't?) get this and read it now.

In Progress

I'm working up a new Humanities III (that's medieval) course for Logos Online in the fall, so most of my reading right now are texts from that book list, though there are a few exceptions: 

Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford. This one will probably warrant a full post when I'm done with it. Suffice it for now that I'm really enjoying it--enough to savor it and read it very slowly.

Le Morte D'Arthur by Thomas Malory. I've long been familiar with Howard Pyle's version, now I get a look at the original (1485). It's been fun spotting a few of my old vocabulary friends from Middle English, such as "thilke," though my favorite word thus far is "feutered"--as in "the knights feutered their spears, and dashed together, and bore each other down horse and man" (which happens quite a lot). By turns fun, allegorical, bawdy, chivalric, and barbaric; it's a fun summary of the late medieval period. Currently I'm in the tragedy of Tristram and Isolde.

Gesta Regum Anglorum (Chronicle of the Kings of England) by William of Malmesbury. In an age of Christian Nationalism debates, it's quite fun to see a historian evaluate a civil ruler by two simple criteria: did he protect his land from invaders, and did he support the church (usually monetarily). It's amazing how many times he's noted something along the lines of "This ruler killed a man and carried off his woman and lived with her in sin and was excommunicated for it (by the very bishop he'd appointed himself) and was drunk all the time, but he repented on his deathbed and left quite a bit of land to the local monastery, so all in all he was a blessed ruler. We know this because of the number of miracles that have occurred at his tomb." It's simply an utterly opposite way of looking at the world. "The past is a foreign country--they do things differently there."

Idylls of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. It's fascinating to read this side-by-side with L'Morte and see how Tennyson adjusted/rewrote/cleaned up Malory for his Victorian audience. Don't hear that as bad; sometimes (the seduction of Merlin by Vivian, for instance) he vastly improved it. This is good enough that I'm annoyed I'm only encountering now; someone should have made me read it earlier.

In Defense of Christian Nations by Michael Belch. Just started this one. I had the privilege of meeting the author (a fellow LOS teacher) last week. So far, it looks like he's taking a similar tack to Abraham Kuyper in Common Grace, though from a slightly different angle: the nations are governed by the Noahic Covenant down to our own day, and are thus ordained by God for our ordering and instruction. More to come.

Schlepping the Shelf: January 2025

 

The five of you who read my stuff semi-regularly will know that I’ve had a regular entry (really, my only regular long-form post) called the “book of the month.” I stole the idea from Doug Wilson, and I like to think it has gone fairly well. But you also probably noticed that the series died right around the time school started, and before that, scheduling had gotten very irregular. This was partially due to the usual writing discipline problems, but it was also partially due to my desire to make up a respectably lengthy post for my readers. With certain books, I had difficulty doing that—some books really only do warrant a blurb or a sentence.

Retiring the Book of the Month

So I am retiring the “book of the month” feature, at least for the moment.

Adoption Update: January 2025

Enough of my friends and acquaintances have asked me lately how the adoption process is going that I decided to write this up. That way, if you don’t know, it’s your own fault and not mine!

The basics first, to forestall any excitement—we are still waiting and have not matched with anyone. But I thought I would take the opportunity to describe a little bit about the modern process of adoption for those of you who don’t know. That way you’ll better know what to look for, and how to pray for the folks in your life in our situation.

ADMMXXIV Retrospective

 And so we bid farewell to the Year of Our Lord 2024. It was an interesting year, a unique year. Dare I say there will never be its like again.

Photo by me. You can't have it unless you ask nicely.

It was not a banner year for the Goode household, but it wasn't the kind that you wince when somebody names, either. 2024 is like that one friend we all have that we don't remember to even think about until he appears across the room at the party and waves. A good fellow, but not very flashy.

So this little retrospective will contain nothing more earth-shattering than normal life. Of course Chesterton would remind us (were he here) that there is nothing less normal than normal life. For is it not in the everyday round of sleep, meals, germs, fellowship, work, and food that immortal souls are forged? So let's work through some areas where God was doing some forging.