Posted inThe Good Word

When the Devil Turns Round

Robert Bolt rsquo s play about the martyrdom of Saint Thomas More A Man for All Seasons has seen a lot of them come and go since its premiere in 1960 perhaps because so much of its dialogue is worth the remembering Consider this scene Richard Rich the man who will betray him has just left Mor

Posted inThe Good Word

Why Jesus Is Not on Facebook

Strange where generations divide I rsquo m an earlier version of humanity one without the opposable thumbs needed for texting When a younger colleague taught me to text I asked why I would want to do it ldquo Wouldn rsquo t it be easier to telephone rdquo ldquo Easier for the thumbs harde

Posted inThe Good Word

Socrates’ Sacrifice

Nothing better illustrates the radical novelty of the resurrection and its implications for religious life then to juxtapose a famous sardonic quote from the dying Socrates and a seemingly insignificant act of the resurrected Jesus nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbs

Posted inThe Good Word

Easter: Like Dills Doing Time

Grandma and Grandpa Herrman had a storm cellar The small limestone-lined space was dug-out beneath their house but one entered it through a door in the backyard just as Dorothy tried unsuccessfully to do in The Wizard of Oz My numerous cousins and I spent a lot of time in our grandparents rsquo

Posted inThe Good Word

Good Friday: And It Was Night

From Rachel Aviv rsquo s January 2nd 2012 New Yorker article ldquo No Remorse rdquo Shortly after midnight on March 6 2010 Dakotah Eliason sat in a chair in his bedroom with a 38-calibre pistol in his hands thinking about what the world would be like if he didn rsquo t exist One of his fri

Posted inThe Good Word

Holy Thursday: The Words He Chose

In grading college essays there are certain phrases that I pen so frequently in red ink that I rsquo ve considered having them put onto a rubber stamp to save myself from writing them repeatedly For example ldquo The relative pronoun for people is lsquo who rsquo or lsquo whom rsquo lsq

Posted inThe Good Word

Such a Scene

Because I was doing doctoral studies at the time I able to be home when my father died even able to stay a couple of weeks afterwards with my Mother So I was with her when those initial days of funeral preparation and its frenzied aftermath of calls and visits had passed Strange how family m

Posted inThe Good Word

Vincent the Failed Preacher

His father had been a minister His grandfather as well So when he failed as an art dealer and began to reexamine his life it seemed clear to Vincent that God had a better plan for his life preaching the Gospel ldquo It is my fervent prayer and desire rdquo he told his brother ldquo that t

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