Words. They can aspire to the loftiest heights or wallow in the dingiest gutters. The loveliest sentiment may flow readily from the lips, followed in step by a vile and blackened curse. Gods are panegyricized, philosophical subtleties uncovered and utter nonsense made sacrosanct under their charge, as both the garrulous sage and the loquacious fool…
read moreI recently completed another freelance-ish Easter series entitled Easter Came Down. This is essentially a heavily stylized interpretation of the Anastasis icon, or Christ’s Descent into Hell. In this icon Christ is depicted, enveloped in glory, bursting into the realm of darkness and death and rescuing the entombed Adam and Eve to bring them to…
read moreThrough the years I have been perplexed by a great many passages in the Scriptures, but perhaps none so more than Hebrews 5:5-10. It had always struck me as one that seemingly flies in the face of a lot of theological commitments about who Jesus is, at least on the surface of things. In the…
read moreLove, we are told, is a many-splendored thing. This simple word can instantaneously evoke so many thoughts and emotions, as passion and affection, goodness and ecstasy ring around its guilded panoply. But brilliance cannot be beheld without balance, else it would blind rather than beatify. In the Gospels, Jesus is revealed in myriad images. He…
read moreThis installment of my church fathers paraphrase series comes from St. Peter Chrysologus. Not much is known of Peter’s early life or even his death. He was ordained a deacon by Cornelius the bishop of his hometown Imola. In A.D. 433 he was appointed to the bishopric of Ravenna by Pope Sixtus III. Peter had…
read moreThis installment of my church fathers’ paraphrases comes from the ascetic writer John Cassian. He was born around A.D. 360 and died around A.D. 435. Little is known of his early life, but he was instrumental in introducing Eastern monastic practices to the West. He was raised by an affluent family, but at a relatively…
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Protestations