June Musings (6/3/2023)

News and Riddleblog Updates:

• I will soon wrap up season two of the Blessed Hope Podcast in which we worked our way though Paul’s two Thessalonian letters. Watch for an announcement about season three and some possible episodes on various topics before the new season three episodes (on Paul’s Corinthian letters) begin.

Recently Read:

For those interested in Victorian history and the background to World War One, you will enjoy this fascinating book from Miranda Carter on three remarkable first cousins and grandchildren of Queen Victoria. George Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Cousins and the Road to World War I. How did three first cousins (King George, Czar Nicolas, and Kaiser Wilhelm) bring the three great European nations they led from apparent peace and prosperity into the Great War with its unprecedented death and mass destruction. Carter describes the way in which both the unique personalities of each, along with events beyond their control (especially in the Baltic), brought about this horrific cataclysm.

Why did Wilhelm choose to wage war on England and Russia and his royal first cousins who led them. Carter’s narrative asserts that while Victoria was alive, she was able to keep all three vastly different personalities in check (along with a host of other Europeans royals related to her in one way or another). But Victoria could not live forever. Kaiser Wilhelm was the aggressor in the Great War. Carter describes how Wilhelm’s anglophilia gave way over time to an aggressive German nationalism. Wilhelm coveted a navy as powerful Britain’s, he wanted a greater share of the colonial pie, and he came to resent his cousin George. Nicolas was a self-isolated milquetoast of a man, who did little as his nation careened toward a horrible war and a bloody Bolshevik Revolution in which he and his family would perish. King George presided over a colonial empire at the end of an industrial revolution which left England with serious social ills and growing resentment of the crown.

As one reviewer put it, this is “history at its most entertaining, full of scathing and often witty descriptions of the follies and tragedies of royalty, and the way in which the three royal cousins’ lives, despite the deep social divide between the royals and ordinary people, became intertwined with the changes and the dangers confronting the major European powers in the early years of the 20th century. It is a splendid picture, splendidly narrated.” I agree.

I recommend it to you.

Recommended Links:

• Scott Clark continues his “review” of J-Mac’s The Gospel According to Jesus: The Gospel According to John MacArthur -- Part-7

• Millennarianism and a growing sense of America’s divinely-led destiny grew during the Civil War: Eschatology During the Civil War

• The Puritans were not of one mind when it came to eschatology. Here’s a good introduction to the eschatological diversity found among them. The Puritans on Eschatology -- A Fair Bit of Diversity

• Another helpful essay from Richard Muller on the significance of scholasticism upon the development of a “distinctively Reformed” tradition. Muller--Protestant Scholasticism Is the Historical Link That Binds Us to the Reformation

• Yet another scandal in a mega-church following the death of the founder. “I’m shocked, shocked to find that chicanery is going on here!” The Anaheim Vineyard is undergoing a particularly nasty scandal, this one includes a bounty awarded for “conversions.” The Spirit of Tetzel Lives at the Anaheim Vineyard

• Apparently these two roommates missed comedian Jim Gaffigan’s brilliant bit on “Hot Pockets.” Here’s a story of two roommates who got into it when one ate the other’s last Hot Pocket and then shot his roomie in the arse for taking it. A Shootout Over Hot Pockets

• Have you ever suffered the miseries of the dreaded Norwalk virus? You are not alone. The Citizens of Ancient Jerusalem Suffered from "Baal’s Revenge"

• Another important ancient record turns up. The ancients were exactly where the Bible tells us they were, doing the very things of which the Bible speaks. Ancient Receipt in Jerusalem

• I hate trying to sleep in hot weather. Air conditioning helps. But why do we hate sleeping in a hot room? There’s an answer in your DNA. If You Have Trouble Sleeping in Summer, Blame Gronk, Your Caveman Ancestor

Las Vegas and Broccoli:

In the recent “More Musings” post (More Musings (5/27/2023) mentioned my credulity at the Liberty Mutual ad campaign feature dufus Doug and LIMU emu. What do the ads have to do with the product?

If you want to be clever in promoting your product (Las Vegas tourism), this is how you do it. This one is far more family friendly than previous LV promotional commercials