Finished second book

I finished The Bible, Christianity, & Homosexuality by Justin R. Cannon yesterday.

It was a very quick read, and a great overview of the seven passages typically referred to in arguments about homosexuality within Christianity. Cannon gave a brief explanation and overview of the Greek words encountered in places where English translations of the Bible use "homosexual" or "sodomite" or some such. Having had Greek in college, I greatly enjoyed this bit, but I wanted to dive further into the exploration of the language. I'll be doing that on my own, of course. :)

Cannon also gave a brief explanation of the context of the verses. He included not only historical context, but also passage context--that is, he didn't use isolated verses, but situated them within the overall 'story' being told. Furthermore, Cannon associated the biblical context with Christian tradition (Augustine) and linked it to contemporary Christian thought. Again, these links were brief--the book itself is only 25 pages long, after all--but well-explained.

I did buy a second copy to pass around to friends who are interested in the topic/the language/the religion. Judging by the people I've seen pick up the book so far--one firm agnostic and one pseudo-Norse-pagan-spiritual friend--and by the people who've engaged in conversation with me upon hearing about the book, I think it's going to be a popular and informative read.

Beginning German

I've begun brushing up on my German. I decided to re-start it first, rather than Greek, because for the ThD programs I'm interested in working through, I will need to be fluent in either German or French. Since I already have a background in German, and since knowing German is beneficial to learning Greek, this just makes sense.

I've worked my way through the first two lessons in the book. Of course, they're very basic--getting down the pronouns and verb endings, learning the genders, things like that. I'm hoping to be able to read my way through some original German texts before too long. I'm not sure what I'll start with in the realm of theology, but I'll figure that out when I get there.

As for theology, I feel very scattered. I want to study other religions, but I also want to study things in Christianity relating to marriage and to the historical Jesus. I really want a companion to the Qur'an. I think that will be my next purchase, since I've already purchased a couple of books dealing with homosexuality and the Bible/Christianity.