My Word, My Bird: Apologies for My Absence but Life Called & It Kept Me Busy

House Purchase, Twitter, Truth In Focus, Peter Kreeft, Skubala, Matt Fradd and an Announcement to Knock your Socks Off

I feel apologies are in order. Turns out we are about to own a home! I last shared this journey on December 4th and little did I know that we would be potential homeowners so soon. One can imagine the rush, and the work involved in this process especially with children at home. My days have been full.

Yet I also have found solace in my departure. Most of my time, when I have any available, was actually spent listening and pondering and I admit a bit more Tweeting @EKRTruthInFocus. Twitter is a bizarre world that makes little sense to me in actual value beyond attracting more of an audience. I cannot for the life of me see anything else. It is fun to talk with people you never normally are able to speak with but it is a bit agitating when you have people talking over for the sake of simply wanting to say what they “feel” to be true or right.

Tonight as I had the chance to “meet” Dr. Jordan B. Cooper who is a Lutheran pastor, theologian, and I will just call a philosopher as well to boot. Dr. Cooper has a Youtube page and website called, Just & Sinner. Great guy. Very humble, very smart, Christ-centered. Cannot recommend him enough.

Youtube and reading. Youtube helps on days I no longer have the capacity to focus. Lectures of course are nice, but recently I have spent my time listening to Peter Kreeft interview with Matt Fradd on Pints With Aquinas back in 2019. I normally listen when I am doing laundry or something where I can give my attention without much effort. Glad I did. Kreeft is that kind of human-being you know is telling the truth with the upmost kindness and heartfelt way possible, yet clearly saying to your face, don’t bullshit with me because you can’t. I learned that the Apostle Paul used σκύβαλα (skubala) equal to shit, or perhaps Garbage. Either way, it was divinely inspired for a purpose by God.

A few facts about Kreeft. He is an absurdly brilliant philosopher who has written over eighty books that was a Reformed Protestant who converted to Catholicism while in College. He teaches Philosophy at Boston College. Fun fact, Kreeft was born March 16, 1937 and I was born March 16, 1987; he is a shy introvert as am I; and he loves to surf but I do not.

Listening to him talk with Matt Fradd, Fradd too is just a great man who has helped thousands of men fight against pornography, Kreeft is convincingly Catholic which I mean to suggest that if anyone can make you pause and consider converting to Catholicism, he is the man to do it. There is a boyish simplicity to the man, however, the man is a genius. No higher praise could be expensed to describe the brilliance of one man. Does that mean I am becoming a Catholic? Is that my big announcement? Well you will have to wait and read til the end.

Reading otherwise has been focused on trying to get caught up with my First Things magazines. Yes, I am still reading The Wealth of Nations! I will be posting the next chapter tomorrow. It is ready but just trying to pace things out. What else, awe yes I am reading Dante’s Inferno, Milton’s Paradise Lost, and C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity. All three, back to back, when I get the chance. Is that an odd way to read? How do you read your books and what are you reading these days? Tell me in the comments or email me and I will post them for future articles. My reading is a bit ADD. Do I have ADD? Is that my revelation? Probably, maybe, yeah not really though it would not be a surprise that I have some form of it.

Over at Truth In Focus I have not posted since December 5th though I have plenty to put up. Please check out the evolving December issue as I continue to post articles, psalms, and prayers in a liturgical formate: Christ Is King. Tomorrow I will begin posting the next part of this month long liturgy service.

To be honest, I keep saying this but I have just been drained by the election season and with Covid and Biden-Harris and Trump and everything to do with 2020. It is hard to be positive and upbeat. Plus, as I mentioned, life has been moving quickly this month for my family and I.

I am looking forward to being in our home which will have space for my office and a backyard to also settle to write during the day. We are homeschooling our children so that too will be helpful to have home large enough. A truly Classical Christian education is the ultimate goal. Though let’s keep the basics simple, not Latin (sometime I think our kids are speaking pig latin to be sure), let’s just get the English down already kiddos. Reading, writing and arithmetic (aRRRs) indeed.

Okay, final announcement. I have been accepted into a Master’s program for the Philosophy of Religion under the direct teaching of Paul Gould and Paul Copan. It is a new program, first time to be exact, at Palm Beach Atlantic University. It is a true honor to be a part of this program and to learn under two very renowned apologists, pastors, and philosophers. We will be receiving a direct mentorship most never have. Thomas Doane, my friend and a writer on TIF, was also accepted into the program.

To announce this change in degree direction, Thomas and I have started a Substack together called: Philosophsarus Rex! Philosophsarus Rex will be both comical and informative as we go through this program together sharing our academic adventure, philosophical readings, and the great questions of life itself. Please join us!

With that announcement we will finally be starting up this second Substack. My EKR Report will remain as it too evolves as I decided what I want it to become. For now I find it to be a place to blog my thoughts without having the burdens of analysis that I give at Truth In Focus.

Come on for the ride!