In keeping with my blog's ultra-minimalist theme (speaking of which, the red button with three lines at the top of the page accesses posts other than the current one, in case you haven't figured it out yet) I don't have a blog-roll or anything similar. However, I'd still like to promote other blogs and sites from time to time, so posts like this one will probably be an occasional feature.
My friend Brandon Kirby has a website about philosophy and faith and the intersection between them. It's called Solomon's Palace. His initial article gives some background on his appreciation for Solomon along with the site's inspiration and objective:
Solomon went on about how useless temporal things are, and concluded that everything under the sun is meaningless. The only thing we can do is eat, drink and be merry. He ended the book by saying, “To sum up, the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments”. There is a purpose, there is meaning, but you won’t find it under the sun. What is under the sun in Solomon’s outmoded cosmology? The world, the pale blue dot, everything worldly is meaningless. Sagan was right, the pale blue dot is meaningless – but that doesn’t mean we can’t find it elsewhere.
In addition to articles that Brandon has written himself, Solomon's Palace also hosts other content, such as a library of classic works. For example, you can read a biography of St. Thomas Aquinas by G.K. Chesterton!
Brandon is also working on a book that's part of a series on pop culture and philosophy, so if you like his writing on his website, stay tuned for that.
To end this post, I'll share something that Solomon himself wrote, in the form of a monologue by Wisdom personified:
The Lord formed me from the beginning,
before he created anything else.
I was appointed in ages past,
at the very first, before the earth began.
I was born before the oceans were created,
before the springs bubbled forth their waters.
Before the mountains were formed,
before the hills, I was born—
before he had made the earth and fields
and the first handfuls of soil.
I was there when he established the heavens,
when he drew the horizon on the oceans.
I was there when he set the clouds above,
when he established springs deep in the earth.
I was there when he set the limits of the seas,
so they would not spread beyond their boundaries.
And when he marked off the earth’s foundations,
I was the architect at his side.
I was his constant delight,
rejoicing always in his presence.
And how happy I was with the world he created;
how I rejoiced with the human family!
(Proverbs 8:22–31, NLT)