2017 in Review Part 4

In July of 2017 I managed to publish a book. I found it to be a significant development in my life as a writer. I may have
written nine years of blog posts but writing a novel was a new undertaking that
took a whole other level of discipline. I hope to publish another book in 2018.

On August 21 of 2017, the world was mesmerized by “The Great
American Eclipse.” Solar eclipses are rare enough and total eclipses visible in
North America stir the hearts and minds of people. I was intrigued by Annie Dillard’s 1979 article “Total Eclipse,” which she used as a metaphor for the
mysteries and splendours of our universe and our propensity to live in the
mundane events of the world. Much of our lives are spent in the pursuit of three square meals a day and a
roof over our head. We spend very little time thinking about the bigger
questions of life, eternity, and God. Dillard says, “From the depths of
mystery, and even from the heights of splendor, we bounce back and hurry for
the latitudes of home.”

In September, I learned about the quirky letter Rich Mullins had sent to Steve Taylor in 1986. I saw it as one of those great moments in music history where two great artists
connected. Steve Taylor still has the original letter.

In November, I was struck by the fact that we live in an unprecedented
time in which our scientific advancements proceed at an incredible speed.
Advances in genetics, autonomous cars, and Artificial Intelligence are proceeding faster than regulations, laws, and moral boundaries can be set
in place. There is plenty of food for thought in each of these advancements and
readers can expect further contemplation on these developments in 2018 posts.
But it also reminds me that we live in a time when it is important to continue
to remain humble in what we know to be certain. As Rex Murphy reminded us, “…
our finest sages, present and past, have always counselled against certitude,
and cautioned that when we are most certain of something is precisely the time
we should go over our sums.”[1] 

One of the reasons I started this blog nine years ago was to
give myself some space to ask important questions, to challenge myself to think
logically, and to perhaps encourage others to consider other points of view.
Thank you for reading along with me. I hope we can continue to explore this
world in which we live in the years to come.