Did people care about their eyes in the 7th century T’ang China empire? A few months ago I was in the NW region of China, and in a fascinating museum (aren’t they all?) saw in one of the display cases the objects in the accompanying photo to this post. A pair of copper eye covers,… Read More 7th Century Eye Covers in T’ang China: What do you see?
Today on the radio I heard a story that touched me deeply. Maybe some of you have heard it. It concerned a Texan man who is a sign-maker. Many times we associate people who hold up signs as those who have a message of hate, of anger. But this was different. This man had a… Read More ‘You Belong. Stay Strong. Be Blessed’: A Message from a Texan to Muslims in the USA
A few weeks ago I posted about an upcoming movie titled Silence. (For that post see Silence: The End of Triumphalism). I just found out that it will be out in limited release on December 23, and full release early in the new year. (Hope that will be globally and not just in the US, but not… Read More Silence Part 2: The ‘Hidden’ Japanese Christians
Setting a “pause” button today. Not to stop listening deeply to those who feel frightened and angry after the election results this week in the US. In fact the title of this post, Come to the Quiet, should not be interpreted as an indirect desire to muzzle dissent and protest, or the jubilation of the… Read More Come to the Quiet
A movie is coming out in global release in the next few weeks. It will be disturbing, and should be one that causes deep thought. It is titled simply Silence, and is based on a novel of the same name by Japanese writer Shusako Endo. It is always a risk to recommend a movie you… Read More Silence: The End of Triumphalism
I’m in Northeast India for several weeks, and must confess it is nice to not be in the US. The election run-up there continues to wallow in ever deeper levels of disgusting accusations and revelations. But it is not really possible to escape it in Asia (or anywhere). In Egypt last week as well as… Read More Want to Get Your Mind Off US Politics?
This week I’ve been at meetings in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. It was not my first time there, but the visit made me appreciate again the vital role in history this city has played. Named for the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great, it became his beloved city. Alexandria for almost a thousand years had… Read More From Egypt to India in the 2nd Century A.D.
What does it mean for Christianity to ‘Triumph’? As seen in the photo, this is the title of one of Rodney Stark’s books, The Triumph of Christianity. Actually I’m not taking aim at this historian or even this book. Rodney Stark has had a distinguished career as a sociologist/historian, the last many years at Baylor University… Read More What Does the ‘Triumph’ of Christianity Really Mean?
I found out this week that I need cataract surgery in both eyes. The right eye is very bad, and will be done first in November. Then the left in December. As part of the process today of preparation, they had me watch a video of what the surgery consisted of and how cataracts cloud… Read More Cataract Surgery: A New Quality of Seeing
A Saint who doubts? Perhaps for some of us those are two things that don’t go together. We may think that a Saint, or someone we consider very religious or spiritual, is always confident of the presence of God. Someone who never doubts or questions. Think again. Many of those “closest” to God have actually… Read More A Doubting Saint: Ever Feel Abandoned By God?
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