Compare this, by R. Albert Mohler:

The Scripture does not even envision married couples who choose not to have children. The shocking reality is that some Christians have bought into this lifestyle and claim childlessness as a legitimate option. The rise of modern contraceptives has made this technologically possible. But the fact remains that though childlessness may be made possible by the contraceptive revolution, it remains a form of rebellion against God’s design and order. (R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “Deliberate Childlessness: Moral Rebellion With a New Face,” 07 June 2005)

With this, by David Benatar:

The central idea of this book is that coming into existence is always a serious harm… I shall argue that one implication of the view that coming into existence is always a serious harm is that we should not have children. Some anti-natalist positions are founded on either a dislike of children or on the interests of adults who have greater freedom and resources if they do not have and rear children. My anti-natalist view is different. It arises, not from a dislike of children, but instead from a concern to avoid the suffering of potential children and the adults they would become, even if not having those children runs counter to the interests of those who would have them. [David Benatar, Better Never to Have Been: the Harm of Coming into Existence (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006) 1, 8]

Conflicting worldviews indeed. A conflict which begs the question of not just recognition of biblical authority, but also of what calamities have befallen Mr. Benatar. Perhaps none. But it does make one wonder…

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I sometimes think I was born in the wrong century. I do hand bookbinding and have a bindery in my basement with Amish-made tools of the trade. I write with a fountain pen. And I read about the history of fine penmanship (see Ames’ Guide to Self-Instruction in Practical and Artistic Penmanship, Daniel T. Ames, 1884). Ames also penned this:

So, I took a few minutes to dive into the stacks… and this what I found.

Frederic W. Goudy, The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1952).

Reuben Leaf, Hebrew Alphabets: 400 B.C.E. to Our Days (Bloch Publishing Co, 1950).

For Hebrew lettering, I also recommend Peretz Prusan, A Guide to Hebrew Lettering (New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981)

Ada Yardeni, The Book of Hebrew Script: History, Palaeography, Script Styles, Calligraphy & Design (London: The British Library, 2002)

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Some new books of interest in our library:

From two volume set, The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization (Greenwood Press), under the entry “uniforms”:

“Outside Europe, uniform military dress was more common in this period. Boys inducted into the Janissary Corps, for instance, dressed in all red, including red caps. Fully trained Janissaries wore an exclusive white felt cap called a “Bork” which distinguished them on the battlefield. The Bork had wooden spoon attached, in line with nearly all unit symbolism in a corps where even officer ranks and titles expressed a culinary motif rooted in ritual meal sharing…” 2:886.

The Oxford History of Western Art, ed. Martin Kemp (OUP). From Greece and Rome to Postmodernism, this beautiful collection contains it all. Come, join the throngs of contemporary gnostics looking for hidden symbolism in the world’s great works of art. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of fodder for another book best-selling thriller. Just what was Durer trying to say with his 1525 Dream Vision? If only he would have told us… [Hint: he did.]

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For those of you who prefer to surf the internet and read your blogs via a mobile device (I can’t seem to get along anymore with my iPaq), you will be glad to know that CommonPlaces.org now automatically detects whether you are viewing the site with a mobile browser and renders the content in a more compatible way.

Try it and let me know what you think. Also, please report any bugs!

Anyone know of a mobile RSS aggregator that I recommend to my readers? Why view the site in mobile format when you can just subscribe to the RSS feed?

If you are worried that this newfangled feature will change the content of this blog, never fear. I only need to remind you that Jethro once ordered parts from a catalog and built an Oldsmobile hotrod in the 1968 season of The Beverly Hillbillies – and yet remained a hillbilly.

Did I really just post that?

You may also notice the calendar in the sidebar is gone and has been replaced by a list of most popular posts. Yes, I’ve been playing with plug-ins again. Kudos to Alex King, the developer of both.

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