To Assume Too Much

I got this idea from Alex.

Take five books off your bookshelf.
Book #1 — first sentence
Book #2 — last sentence on page fifty
Book #3 — second sentence on page one hundred
Book #4 — next to the last sentence on page one hundred fifty
Book #5 — final sentence of the book
Make the five sentences into a paragraph.

Eighteen and a half centuries ago, and the land which now lies desolate—its bare, grey hills looking into ill-tilled or neglected valleys, its timber cut down, it's olive— and vine-clad terraces crumbled into dust, its villages stricken with poverty and squalor, it's thoroughfares insecure and deserted, it's native population well-nigh gone, and with them its industry, wealth, and strength—presented a scene of beauty, richness, and busy life almost unsurpassed in the then known world. Morton used the melodies of folk standards and then added lyrics of his own, based on events like these, to make a political point. To sum up, my argument has been that having a right to life presupposes that one is capable of desiring to continue existing as a subject of experiences and other mental states. Our contention here, then, is that the language of Christian theology is cognitively meaningful, for its truth status in that of a metaphysical system. One day we shall all be gathered in that great concert hall of God, and we will hear the glorious beauty of the concerto God was playing while you and I plunked out our childlike version of "Chopsticks."

1. Sketches of Jewish Social Life by Alfred Edersheim
2. Down The Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan by Howard Sounes
3. Ethics For Modern Life by Raziel Abelson & Marie-Louise Friquegnon
4. Christian Theology (2nd Edition) by Millard J. Erickson
5. Dangerous Wonder by Mike Yaconelli