The key is hope, by, Greer Snyder On Sunday, the first of Advent, our family sat at the dinner table after church for a meal. I was still trying to assemble our Advent wreath while we talked about the meaning of lighting the first candle: hope. We began discussing the reasons Jesus came to be…
read moreEnglish: Jesus Christ – detail from Deesis mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (Photo credit: Wikipedia) In the past few weeks, I have been researching discourse in antiquity (approximately 2nd century BCE to 3rd century CE). One particular source by Caroline Vander Stichele and Todd Penner focuses on the role of appearance and outward characteristics that…
read moreColor galaxy (Photo credit: @Doug88888) While shopping the other day, one of the things I was looking for was cording for a necklace that my youngest son wanted me to repair. While comparing products I overheard a mother behind me instruct her child to “pick out a boy color for Adam—so, either that blue…
read moreChinese depiction of Jesus and the rich man (Mark 10) – 1879, Beijing, China (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I just read an article by, Atul Gawande, entitled, “Slow Ideas”- (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/29/130729fa_fact_gawande) Atul Gawande says, “We yearn for frictionless, technological solutions. But people talking to people is still the way that norms and standards change.”…
read moreMass map of Abell 1689. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) A short preface: recently, there have been a number of articles published that include the cute phrase, “matter matters” and the like. Full disclosure: I have such an article in the archives of my blog—while preceding these by some fair measure . . . . But,…
read moreThe Ottawa people (Odawa), the name meaning, “to trade,” are a First Nations people. The name Trader was extended to the Ottawa because they were known as intertribal traders and barterers. This office continued as Europeans and others arrived exploring the land. The Ottawa were mediators, easily moving among and between tribes—and, then, the European settlers that…
read moreIcon of the Pentecost (Photo credit: Wikipedia) When recently doing a word study at the bequest of my mother, I had a bit of an epiphany regarding my relationship to the Spirit. I found that there were no instances, in either testament, of any person asking for the Holy Spirit to come. There are, however,…
read moreDansk: Vittskövle Kirke, Skåne, Skabelsesberetningen: dyrene på landjorden (1. Mos. 1,24) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Delfo Canceran offers a stunning reflection on the Image of God as articulated in the creation narratives in Genesis. In a 2011 issue of the Asia Journal of Theology, he sets out to redeem the patristic, male-centric rendering and interpretations of…
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