It looks like today will end a string of incredibly beautiful weather, having clouded up around 3pm. On Sunday I spent the afternoon with a visitor from the Boston area here with agroup. She couldn't have picked a better 6 days. When I told my floor boss that she remarked how lucky we are to enjoy such weather here, he responded with a vigorous "no, no!" Someone chimmed in when hearing our conversation with most likely we'll pay for it with several weeks of clouds and rain. Icelanders appreciate fine weather yet are fatalistic when they don't have it.

By chance last evening on tv I hit upon a Danish show which hosted the American philosopher Daniel Dennett. Not long ago I finished his Breaking the Spell, the natural causes and development of religion where he, an admitted agnostic,sets forth some interesting ideas though in convoluted ways. From the part I saw, Dennett was addressing religion with respect to the usual ideas of it, making it an easy target difficult to refute. For some time now, I've thought, what would have happened if religion in the Wst developed concommitantly with meditation and spirituality as it had in places like India and China. I bit ideally stated but to make a point. In the West we have plenty of doctrine but little contemplation of the doctrine, distinct from theological and scholarly work done on it. At the same time, Christianity and Judaism make fine sense when their scriptures are viewed through this prism. as far as I can see, the only real integrating force that's been around is lctio divina, and that has been practiced by a small minority. At the same time, those do it are perceived as fine folks yet not quite with it, theologically speaking.

This led to another point. Both yesterday and today I enjoyed a running conversation with a young fellow at work about gnosticism. He asked my opinion, so I proceeded to speak in as simply and clearly as possible without taking a position. I.e., give the facts and let him mull over them. This man is into gothic stuff, not unpopular here but in an imitative way of what's going on elsewhere. That means the interest is naive, even innocent. He told me up front that young people have nothing to do with religion (in Iceland that translates as the state Lutheran Church). When I pressed him a bit more by bringing up lectio divina and meditation, immediately his interest perked. Not surprising, for as yet I have not failed to meet a person here or elsewhere disinterested in these matters. We agreed to continue our running conversation and look forward to this.

It looks like things are heating up in Pakistan which, to be sure, will set that region on the road to terrorism á la Iraq. As for that, everyone I’ve met in Iceland over the past year universally condemns America’s involvement in Iraq with choice words reserved for President Bush. At the same time, I’ve noticed a subtle politeness in that they don’t want to insult me in case I came out on his side.

The new fellow whom I´ve been training at foreign post has been on his own lest than a week. Unfortunately, last night he had to stay until midnight, 2 hours overtime! The only way to learn...