Summer came flying into Virginia this year. Just last week, I was scraping frost off the windshield, and today they predict highs near 90, even in Charlottesville. So last evening, as we in the Commonwealth rotated away from the sun, I gave some serious thought to hanging out in the hammock or maybe paddling up […]
Brief Meditation on House and Home, Private and Public Read More »
This essay first appeared in the Fredricksburg Free Lance-Star on April 4, 2010. Of all the Christian holidays, it’s Christmas that gets the most attention. And can you blame us for that? Light and life in the dead of winter, gifts galore, and cookies to boot — no wonder it’s a favorite. Yet Easter is the
Today, Christians celebrate Palm Sunday — the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem to great “Hosanna!” acclaim. But just exactly how did he do it? The stories disagree in a puzzling way… unless you know something about the conventions of biblical Hebrew and that the New Testament writers (Matthew, especially) often looked to the Old Testament, for ways
Palm Sunday confusion? Read More »
Wonderful to see so many people at the Charlottesville Barnes and Noble last Wed eve! As moderator David Bearinger noted, Winn Collier’s Holy Curiosity and my Bible Babel are very different projects, though both concern the Bible. The Virginia Festival of the Book (a Virginia Foundation for the Humanities event) has included panels on religion and spirituality in the past but not
Talkin’ about the Bible Read More »
The Virginia Festival of the Book kicks off today, St. Patty’s Day! I’m on for a Bible Babel book talk tonight — 6pm at the Charlottesville Barnes and Noble on Emmett. If you’re in the area, do come! I had a chance to visit over coffee yesterday with my fellow panelist, Winn Collier, and our
VA Festival of the Book Read More »
Bible Babel‘s been getting some good love lately. Now a national best-seller, thanks esp to the good folks I saw in MN and wonderful readers at Politics and Prose in DC! Many thanks to Martin Sieff for bringing an open mind and sense of humor to his Washington Times review yesterday. Meanwhile, spring is bustin’ out in Charlottesville,
The Kindness of Strangers,… Friends, and Family Read More »
Atheist students at a Texas university are offering porn in exchange for Bibles arguing, “same diff.” Inflammatory, to be sure, but are they right? The Bible is indeed full of racy material, from its very first book on. Robert Crumb’s Genesis in graphic novel form warns on the cover that adult supervision is recommended. The Song of
The Bible as Porn? Read More »
A whirlwind trip to MN for a few bookstore events, and I am reminded how lucky I am to have such a great family and truly wonderful friends. Besides meeting some new people, interested for a variety of intriguing ways in Bible Babel, I got to catch up with friends and family that I haven’t
The Pull of the Moon Read More »
I was delighted to read Pulitzer-prize winner Michael Dirda’s review of Bible Babel in the Washington Post last week. He clearly read the book carefully through, and “got” it. That he liked it, too — how sweet! Meanwhile, check out some of Dirda’s own books, if you haven’t had the pleasure already. As an avid collector of quotes —
Washington Post review Read More »
February, and I’m excited to be heading to MN… for a few days, anyway. I know. You’d think it’s the worst time, and yet — to share warm conversation about books with family and friends and friends-yet-to-meet — is an especially sweet pleasure in the midst of winter’s hold on the north. And word’s getting
Minnesota in winter Read More »
