Standing on rock

Convert or Die- an invitation from Islam.

There is nothing in this world that can stand against the forces of darkness and despair. Nothing can stop Islam's advance, whether through terror and conversion. Nothing can stop the gradual dissolution of our rights by the government. Nothing can stop us from being eternally damned and our material world brought down in utter decay.

Except one thing.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.

Even the most solidly constructed logic needs a foundation on which to rest. Even the fieriest passion needs some place to burn. I have a place to stand. I have a refuge from storms at sea. I have firm ground on which to build my hopes.

That's the most important thing. I could live with persecution, but I couldn't live without faith.

This post was spurred on by discussion over in prester_scott's livejournal here. However, the entire topic has been much on my mind of late, mostly from reading the slightly different perspective given by Mark Steyn.

Given all that's going on and has been going on, I felt a need to say publicly where I stand, and what I believe. What matter what I believe, if I cannot bring myself to say it?

Old story; new person

A while back, I tried rereading the Lord of the Rings, and found it just not working. It was after the movies came out, while I was still pretty mad about how some of it turned out. It's not much surprise that the magic just didn't happen.

But on this trip to Indiana and back, I cracked open book 1 again, and sat down to read. And it's as good as ever. However, I've done more since then, so every once in a while I'll read a passage and be struck by something that I'd passed over before.

One such is a few short paragraphs describing the swamp between Bree and Weathertop (Midgewater Marsh). In particular:

The flies began to torment them, and the air was full of clouds of tiny midges that crept up their sleeves and breeches and into their hair.

"I am being eaten alive!" cried Pippen. "Midgewater! There are more midges than water!"

Been there.