Max Rose > Recent Status Updates

The Hog’s Head chapter… Harry really needs to stop being so sensitive about his classmates wanting more details about Voldemort coming back. Harry, my guy, no one saw him but you. And everyone in the whole world thought he was dead for 13 years. You HAVE to say more than “I saw him! He killed Cedric! I don’t wanna talk about it!”

Another excellent chapter! Holiness is possible, even if absolute perfection is not. Numerous people are commended for their righteousness in the Bible and yet somehow we’ve preached (or feel) that nothing we do pleases God. It’s not true. Jesus asks us to obey because obedience is possible.

“The irony is that if we make every imperative into a command to believe the gospel more fully, we turn the gospel into one more thing we have to get right, and faith becomes the one thing we need to be better at. If only we REALLY believed, obedience would take care of itself. No need for commands or effort”

I’ve felt this for years—if only I was more faithful, I’d repent better. DeYoung says no to that.

Leave it to Harry to get pissed at his best friends when they’re complimenting him for being good at defense against the dark arts and telling him he could teach them. “You guys don’t get it! I almost died and just got lucky. You’re so naive” Ok chill Harry, you’re being a jerk.

Percy and Padfoot, great chapter

Convicting read so far. It troubles me that I have taken a small view of sin and holiness and I knew that about myself which is why I decided to read this book. Still some quibbles tho. Finished a chapter on holiness itself being the reason God saves us, i.e.; his goal is to make us holy. That seems only partially true. It feels too much like saying “the point of cleaning your house is to have a clean house”

I forgot how much of the early-pre Hogwarts stuff is in the movies and it’s nearly impossible now for me to use my own imagination for those scenes. There’s much more stuff at Hogwarts that gets jettisoned in the movies so those chapters are more fun to read. Not loving how Hermione is written because she seems to be an exposition tool. Hopefully that changes. And Book Ron is so superior to Movie Ron.

Just finished the Hearing and The Woes of Mrs. Weasley. Solid chapters. This book has the longest preamble to Hogwarts of all of the books I think. I’m ready to board the train.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell when a new magical “thing” has been introduced (like the Quibbler in this instance) because I have all the books and the movies jumbled together in my head. Anyways, I’m struck this re-read on how justifiably miserable Sirius is being cooped up in his old family home. I feel for him.

Harry just started being insufferable, here we go.

Finally back to me prolonged re-read of the series

I’ll be glad to finish this book so I have the whole thing—with its full context—to mull over. I split the Eros chapter in two and honestly feel like I forgot everything I read yesterday. When I’m done, I think the most memorable parts will just bubble to the top of my mind every once in a while. I’d definitely revisit each of these chapters on their own in the future.

Friendship ✅ Very good chapter, quite dense but less abstract than the previous chapters because he gives lots of relatable examples of friendship. One of the key points of the chapter: friendships have to be about something. Thus, someone who “just wants more friends” will have a hard time finding any because you find friends in a shared belief about something—something more than friendship itself.

Finished Affection. The book is sort of a blur of ideas, not because Lewis is writing poorly, but because he’s diving deeper and more introspectively into concepts of Love than I ever considered. I don’t go to therapy and I doubt Lewis did but he seems to understand human nature and the sin that takes place in tiny every day occurrences better than most anyone. It’s a little hard to follow though.

Finished the intro and the first chapter (there’s 5) and it’s pretty dense and abstract at times. Lots of neat insights about the love of nature and the love of one’s country though.

9 pages left!

Almost done!

Just finished a fascinating chapter, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn”. Turns out it was about the god Pan which leaves me ambivalent because there were lots of spiritual lines and imagery that I was vibing with and connecting to my relationship with God! Still a beautiful chapter but now I’m cautious to embrace some of the imagery and Rat & Mole’s reverence.