A Digital Garden

Introduction and Overview The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel isn’t groundbreaking and could have been published as a series of articles. However, if you have tried various resources on managing your personal finance but still feel stuck, the root cause may be one of ’theory,’ rather than ‘practice’, something this book offers. In the introduction, Housel writes that > "[...] financial success is not a hard science. It's a soft skill, where _how you behave_ is more important that what you know. I call this soft skill the psychology of money." _(emphasis mine)_ How we behave towards money is shaped by our attitude towards it. Thus, Housel’s main goal in the book is to change that attitude, or mindset, towards money. I’ve categorised the key mindset changes he proposes into 4 groups (relevant chapters are in parenthesis. Ch. 19 is a summary chapter, thus excluded from the list below): ...

Chet Holmes, the author, promises that by following the twelve principles he outlines in this book, any company can become the ultimate sales machine. However, the central tenet of the book is not these twelve principles. Instead, “mastery is the direct result of pigheaded discipline and determination” (Kindle loc 190). This undergirds his whole thesis: take these twelve principles, keep practising them until one sees results. The book’s content is not revolutionary. One can easily find the principles Chet talks about in many other books. The main strength of this work is his specific examples and case studies. He speaks from experience, which is truly where the book shines. ...

1. The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Mark Driscoll founded Mars Hill church in 1996 and it grew to become an influential megachurch which had a reputation for being doctrinally sound. I learned about his ministry when I was doing my A-Levels in 2012/2013. It was a phase in my life where I was consuming lots of Christian material from Desiring God and The Gospel Coalition. Mark wasn’t one of the pastors I listened to. Although his preaching was considered “expository,” I listened to a few and thought they were more topical than expository (a pattern I see in American evangelicalism). I read about Mars Hill’s fall, but didn’t follow the news closely. ...

Read my notes on Chapter Four: A Letter From Christ here. Paul’s Readings of Scripture Hays boldly says that “for Paul, original intention is not a primary hermeneutical concern. […] Eschatological meaning subsumes original sense” (p.156). Paul “reads Scripture primarily as a narrative of divine election and promise […] the Torah is neither superseded nor nullified but transformed into a witness of the gospel” (p.157). One problem with this is that hermeneutical freedom becomes a license to misinterpret. Hays offers principles and constraints within Paul’s own practice. “The hermeneutical foundation for his reading is the conviction that the Law and the Prophets bear witness to the gospel of God’s righteousness, now definitely disclosed in the death and resurrection of Jesus Messiah” (p.161). ...

Read my notes on Chapter Three: Intertextual Echo in Romans here. 2 Cor. 3:1-4:6 - A Reading Hays identifies echoes of the letter-spirit dichotomy in Jer. 38:33 and Ezek. 36:26 which combines the picture of God writing on the heart with fleshly hearts replacing stony ones (p.129). For Hays, the letter-spirit opposition is between “inscription” and “enfleshment.” The point is that Paul’s ministry “centres not on texts but on the Spirit-empowered transformation of human community” (p.130). This is important because in 2 Cor., the church is demanding written letters of recommendation. Paul is fighting against this. ...

Read my notes on Chapter Two: Intertextual Echo in Romans here. Ecclesiocentric Hermeneutics Hays is adamant that rather than a christocentric interpretation of the OT, Paul primarily sees the church as “the goal of God’s redemptive action” (p.84). “What Paul finds in Scripture, above all else, is a prefiguration of the church as the people of God” (p.85). In line with this, there are two important questions to consider: What does Paul’s use of the scriptural texts suggest about his understanding of the relation between the church and Israel? What is the relation of Paul’s ecclesiocentric hermeneutical practice to his christological beliefs? Israel in the Wilderness Hays examines 2 Cor. 8:15, which echoes Exod. 16 and Deut. 8, as Paul draws out the conclusion that the Corinthians should depend on God and not hoard their abundance. This reading is subtle and metaleptic: the reader “must draw out the sap” of Paul’s apparently simple quotation (p.90). ...

Read my notes on Chapter One: The Puzzle of Pauline Hermeneutics here. In this chapter, Hays focuses on two aspects of God’s righteousness: His covenant faithfulness (Rom. 1:16-17) Judgement on the wicked (Rom. 1:18-3:20) This is important because Hays identifies one of Paul’s main focus in Romans as addressing “the problem of God’s saving righteousness in relation to Israel.” (p.34) The first passage Hays examines in depth is Rom. 1:16-17, regarding the revelation (apocalypse) of God’s righteousness (p.36). He identifies echoes that God will reveal his righteousness from Isa. 51:4-5; 52:10, where God’s deliverance of Israel “will be a manifestation of God’s righteousness because it will demonstrate, despite all apperances to the contrary, God’s faithfulness to his covenant people; the promised salvation will constitute a vindication of God’s name and of his poeple who have trusted in him through their suffering and exile” (p.37). ...

I bought this on Kindle many years back and finally got to reading it in preparation for a workshop with my GG on reading the Old Testament. I’ve told myself that I should be less critical, so I’d give this book 3.5 out of 5. It is excellent as an introduction, but I wouldn’t recommend it for those already familiar with the subject, or for those looking for specific principles or methods. ...

I recently began reading Richard B. Hays’ Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul. In another effort to consolidate my understanding, I’m planning to write my summaries and thoughts on each chapter. This is on Chapter One: The Puzzle of Pauline Hermeneutics. Hays traces two main critical approaches to Pauline hermeneutics. The first approach is to be dismissive of Paul’s hermeneutics, “because [this approach] see[s] his reading of Scripture as periphetal to the core of his religious experience.” (p.6) The second approach recognises the “hermeneutical gap between the original sense of Scripture and Paul’s interpretations of it, [and] seek to minimise the gap by … justifying his methods of interpretation.” (p.8) ...

A good handbook on news writing, but with guidelines, personal tips and examples that go beyond its scope. This sentence probably sums up Rene Cappon’s philosophy: By and large, though, the most effective journalistic tone in the ’90s would seem to be the plain and unadorned. (p.58) I learned that being concise and clear is extremely important for all forms of communication. This short book is full of examples and Cappon’s wit. He identifies common writing pitfalls and helpfully offers suggestions to improve them. He also advocates for simplicity, writing against the overuse of metaphors, cliches, redundant phrases. ...