Marc Chagall was in his 90s when he created a series of stained glass windows, which decades later still draw thousands of visitors each month to the top of a hill in Mainz, Germany. They grace a cathedral, of all things, and that built originally to serve the Holy Roman Empire. It was then vicar […]
Chagall’s Mystical Windows of Mainz Read More »
I feel bad for the psalms, that collection in the Bible called psalmoi, “songs.” Their music, the tunes supposed to accompany them, has been lost to us. Melodies such as “The Lilies,” Doe of the Morning,” and “Do Not Destroy,” affixed to the introduction of individual psalms are mysteries to us. We have no idea
The Power of Music — Holiness Hitches a Ride Read More »
Daily chapel wasn’t mandatory when I went to St. Olaf, as it had been in days of yore; but nearly everybody went anyway. It was to be one of many surprises for me. Another: the organ bit at the end — not for walking out. You stayed put, in your pew. Or more accurately, it
Stirring the Stones of the College on the Hill Read More »
There is a long-standing tradition that no person, no mere mortal, should presume to possess the name of God. The Name, as the reasoning goes, is a holy thing, a handle on the divine not to be trifled with. We hear concern about its misuse in the ancient biblical commandment, “Thou shalt not take the
Some Musings on the Name of God Read More »
The following meditation on our relationships with animals, the strange expression “to be at the mercy of,” and what the notion of “dominion” may mean when it comes to the animals who live with us just appeared also on HuffingtonPost. I wrote it on the occasion of my old pound hound’s death. Sweet Trout is
Life and Death, Mercy and Dominion Read More »
A princess betrothed to Nebuchadnezzar travels from her palace in Hamadan to Babylon. True story, and it’s angling to be the beginning of my historical novel. Amytis’ journey, 2500 years ago, from what is modern, northern Iran to what is modern, central Iraq passed through a changing landscape with a dizzying variety of flora and
I know they look boring, but: ancient tablets discovered at Persepolis contain incredibly valuable information not only to scholars of the ancient Near East but to all of us. But they’re most valuable when considered together and publicly available as part of our collective human heritage. The book that I’m writing now has morphed from
Our Collective Human Heritage Read More »
Legend has it that Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his young wife, Amytis, who was homesick for the mountain home of her childhood. That home? — ancient Ecbatana, modern Iran’s Hamadan, one mile above sea level in the shadow of snow-c0vered Mt. Alvand. Looking at pictures of the place, so
Iran’s Enduring Natural Beauty Read More »
One thinks of prayers as nice things and of the Bible goodness, wisdom, and light. What an ugly wake-up, then, to find supposedly decent people praying for the President’s death. And they’re using the Bible to do so, no less. This, against a president who shares with his detractors Christian faith and belief in the
Mean and Ugly Prayers Read More »
If Americans know anything at all about Cyrus II, it’s usually positive. The founder of the Persian Empire earned praise then and now for inaugurating a new way to rule: with respect — respect for differences of religion, respect for the wisdom of individual communities, respect (i.e. fair pay) for honest work… and all this
