Contemplating the beginnings of the Persian empire, I’m intrigued by Cassandane and Atossa, who seem to be respectively the wife and daughter of Cyrus II. Were they the means by which these first Persian emperors were identified as Achaemenid?, an i.d. of some pride that is still to describe those kings. It appears to be a family line that […]
Women of the Ancient Persian Court Read More »
Had a great time on Thurs with Cville’s Writer House folks! and am off to Raleigh, NC in an hour or so (Quail Ridge Books tonight; Hayes Barton United Methodist tomorrow). In chatting about Bible Babel, there are at least two big things on the table: the Bible, of course (figuratively if not actually) and writing, in general. I’m always happy to
Bible and Book Talks Read More »
How did November get so busy? At least it’s in lots of happy ways. C’mon out and join me at any one or more of the events listed when you click on “upcoming events” on the bottom right of my home page (http://kristinswenson.com/swenson-events.htm), if you happen to be in Charlottesville, Raleigh, Atlanta, or Richmond. I’d love to
What do you make of that post-Flood biblical statement about animals living in dread of humans (Gen 9:2)? I love Charles Shields’ take on it — “to mean that we must overcome animals’ dread of us.” It reminds me of the Oct 2010 National Geographic article on Jane Goodall by David Quammen. Now there’s a beautiful life spent not only disarming animals but also dignifying
The furor over mosque-building in Manhattan and Koran-burning in Florida reminds us that like it or not, religious differences continue to challenge civic peace. A new book, The Tenth Parallel, by journalist Eliza Griswold narrates her experiences on the 10th parallel, 700 miles north of the equator. This line of latitude runs through territories where about
Where Islam and Christianity Meet Read More »
My webmaster tells me that he’s fixed a snafu that prohibited your comments from posting. We should be good to go now. My apologies for the inconvenience. I always love to hear what you think! Meanwhile, be well.
Comments are welcome… again! sorry for the inconvenience Read More »
If you have a chance to check out the Sept. 21 issue of the Christian Century, I hope you’ll have a look at my “Living by the Word” essays. Ironically, one of them pushes the idea of “living by the Word” to include actually challenging that Word. The other concerns a particular word that I’d like to see more of these
“Enough” and Challenging the Bible in The Christian Century Read More »
I remember when King Tut was all the rage — the impressive displays of luxury items from Tut’s tomb, the mummy himself, “Walk like an Egyptian”… Well, he’s back in the news, this time in a most 21st century way. This time archaelogists with their cool cool stuff and rugged outdoorsy romanticism aren’t the prime movers. Rather
Ah, the power of the written word. Did you know that this phrase comes from the Bible? This phrase, which we use to tell that something’s sure to happen, comes from Daniel, one of the latest books of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. Today’s RefDesk.com quote of the day puts a new spin on it. Here’s
The Writing’s on the Wall Read More »
The cover girl for last week’s Time magazine is not pretty, by conventional standards. She’s a bit jowly, for one thing, and whiskers sprout from her cheeks and chin. The deep brown eyes that gaze into the camera are frankly a bit off-kilter, and she cops some attitude: “Way to go, Einstein” floats in a
The Bible and Human ‘Dominion’ Over Animals: Superiority or Responsibility? Read More »
