tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62047183226384631792024-03-28T21:29:14.780-06:00Reflections on the Writing LifeFounded 26 March 2007Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.comBlogger652125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-45347681876311120412024-03-23T16:19:00.005-06:002024-03-27T14:58:59.541-06:00Anne Ball's "A Month of Sundays"<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0a0VntWpLOAaJDoFQhF1icBRj2navRlom0DxjR4sp736V71V7DpbZKTabMXDbe5UxYR72PNOtnwbjjxnBgKO-MaH3SC4EsFfLlm132R7DAGO2YEsS45TbXiZd7RjW1ITUwD2e-Ix79sVltA0o7hLFzunQX51dsM4Qh3DtuJ0QmCLRxAewfk8KsKiMN8/s200/Rayanne.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0a0VntWpLOAaJDoFQhF1icBRj2navRlom0DxjR4sp736V71V7DpbZKTabMXDbe5UxYR72PNOtnwbjjxnBgKO-MaH3SC4EsFfLlm132R7DAGO2YEsS45TbXiZd7RjW1ITUwD2e-Ix79sVltA0o7hLFzunQX51dsM4Qh3DtuJ0QmCLRxAewfk8KsKiMN8/s1600/Rayanne.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Anne Ball, author of 5 novels that I have reviewed, has a new book, and you don't want to miss it. A Month of Sundays is clever, well written, and engaging. Available from <a href="https://wipfandstock.com/9798385210435/a-month-of-sundays/"><span style="color: #990000;">the publisher</span></a> or at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9798385210435&tag=wipfandstoc01-20"><span style="color: #990000;">Amazon</span></a> and a bargain at only $11.00 (paperback).</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtQqM25M-NPRIuoxLE5TKOeyifoLY47PDKQUPzmaV5xS6YXrTIx0V7FgX_XbDPCLE7doj9n0qUxgie1bJQn8EVEMb2b8RJuKZotbASbqmbCL8MQlBblK_cOLvIIDZ22r-s8hN3RcG4iwU7Ljt-CTnN87DZNcpRmp14ggg5jhzPGD5CIdMxno9YhQwiAM/s205/Anne's%20book.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="205" data-original-width="128" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtQqM25M-NPRIuoxLE5TKOeyifoLY47PDKQUPzmaV5xS6YXrTIx0V7FgX_XbDPCLE7doj9n0qUxgie1bJQn8EVEMb2b8RJuKZotbASbqmbCL8MQlBblK_cOLvIIDZ22r-s8hN3RcG4iwU7Ljt-CTnN87DZNcpRmp14ggg5jhzPGD5CIdMxno9YhQwiAM/w192-h270/Anne's%20book.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Anne, the protagonist, is a resident of the future New Earth and she's been given permission by the King of the universe to write to an old friend back on the old earth. A letter is delivered to the mailbox of her "dear friend" every Sunday for thirty-one Sundays. Have you ever wondered about the life of the world to come?<div><br /></div><div>Using an epistolary format, the author weaves a compelling picture of a future home where every tear has been wiped away and all infirmities and distress are banished forever.</div><div><br /></div><div>The book draws on passages of Scripture that speak of the promises of God concerning those who place their trust in Jesus, the Son of God. He prepares a place for those beloved of the Father (John 14:2).</div><div><br /></div><div>There is a map showing places in the Cheer District including the Village of Grace and the Town of Linger. The letters speak of life in bodies that are made immortal through the Resurrection power of Jesus Christ. </div><div><br /></div><div>None are surprised that angels walk among them, or that they should be hugged by a mysterious scaly creature that emerges shyly from Lake Cheer. There are face-to-face meetings with Adam and Eve in the Bountiful District, and the reader is given to overhear fascinating conversations with great saints before roaring fires in cozy pubs. </div><div><br /></div><div>I loved this book! I highly recommend it. Few books will lift your spirit and gladden your heart as this one. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Alice C. Linsley</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2023/10/an-extremely-versatile-author.html"><span style="color: #990000;">An Extremely Versatile Writer</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2014/03/another-great-review-of-steal-away.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Review of Steal Away</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2014/09/beso-dulce-rayanne-sinclairs-second.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Review of Beso Dulce</span></a>; </div><div><a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2016/03/rayanne-sinclairs-flight-risk.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Review of Flight Risk</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2015/07/review-of-page-turner.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Review of Page Turner</span></a>; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Novella-Pad-Brotherton/dp/1642790877"><span style="color: #990000;">The Companion</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-81318460040461698322024-03-18T10:28:00.003-06:002024-03-20T07:14:39.893-06:00Archive Your Writings!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLm6r-pSUr2zVieR1SXfi0vjJi1_hdBxHD9L3dnqdjtHNES8vAUIAr80sudfnvMBJf70QVPwG8vGFpHqcVeJXh-tLNAQEFAnUU0Z6zevUoN_FYwvJr6yZaOqx-0YUzU8jaSc5eNdt1UpGz-wEUwKe4yh0TR0lmHClW7wXcazPBk6qUFnx7-hI6uoIh_Q/s1226/432759661_319529701124855_1777818944692957867_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1226" data-original-width="843" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLm6r-pSUr2zVieR1SXfi0vjJi1_hdBxHD9L3dnqdjtHNES8vAUIAr80sudfnvMBJf70QVPwG8vGFpHqcVeJXh-tLNAQEFAnUU0Z6zevUoN_FYwvJr6yZaOqx-0YUzU8jaSc5eNdt1UpGz-wEUwKe4yh0TR0lmHClW7wXcazPBk6qUFnx7-hI6uoIh_Q/s320/432759661_319529701124855_1777818944692957867_n.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">Archives of the 1970s.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://themillions.com/2024/03/dan-sinykin-on-fiction-scholarship-and-academic-twitter.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Dan Sinykin of Fiction, Scholarship, and Academic Twitter</span></a></p>"Reading these archives meant learning in a kind of skimming form. You gradually, incrementally pick up important details. Names that were completely meaningless to you at first start to take on significance. You start to build a sense of who this person is, and then suddenly you come across a document and it’s like, “Oh wow!” <div><br /></div><div>Sinykin is referring to academic archives at Columbia University. Perusing the literature there helped him think about his writing in a new way. It also gave him a sense of the shifting times. Archives are a way to capture snapshots of history and culture.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today we are able to retrieve information from online sources as well as print material. The way in which the internet works makes archives necessary if one wishes to retrieve specific information. The archive is especially useful if you are doing cutting-edge research because it will be years before the algorithm resets to include new sources of information.<div><br /></div><div>It is important to archive your writing so that:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>You can find material to use again.</li><li>Others can find material they want to read or re-read.</li><li>To make it easier to find material that probably is not available elsewhere on the internet.</li><li>To preserve a record of your writing and your growth as a writer.</li><li>As a backup to the Cloud.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>All my writings are archived in indices. Check out how to do this <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/.../my-life-as..."><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a>.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><div>Start today. Every time you publish something, put it in your archive and update the INDEX.</div><div><br /></div><div>Happy writing! Happy archiving!</div><div><br /></div><div>Alice C. Linsley</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2024/03/archive-of-nyt-writers-on-writing.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Archive of New York Times Writers on Writing</span></a></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-51636831618842678072024-03-13T09:23:00.004-06:002024-03-20T07:18:23.459-06:00Archive of NYT Writers on Writing<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdKhblKEcEEGy9SPiK1az74Jy6u74_QroQtm_EOHXxoDDRUCQqvkrWX37WZx2nV6UCLxg1sVYn7K4-uFP9KHDU6gAjTW_TGiSJdiTYCEY75OBq2lmQKkKNx9uOgiuI6IucfYXSptSJFDtxiD6yzPrCHB-xDPBpXKsDf3dkPmkti7yv-aGy-8CQFcaZvY/s900/american-writers-andrew-fare.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdKhblKEcEEGy9SPiK1az74Jy6u74_QroQtm_EOHXxoDDRUCQqvkrWX37WZx2nV6UCLxg1sVYn7K4-uFP9KHDU6gAjTW_TGiSJdiTYCEY75OBq2lmQKkKNx9uOgiuI6IucfYXSptSJFDtxiD6yzPrCHB-xDPBpXKsDf3dkPmkti7yv-aGy-8CQFcaZvY/w226-h320/american-writers-andrew-fare.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Writers on Writing</span></b></p><p><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>This is a complete <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/specials/writers.html?_r=1&oref=slogin"><span style="color: #990000;">archive of the NYT Writers on Writing column</span></a>, a series in which writers explore literary themes. Writers are listed alphabetically and the links work!</p>The series began on March 1 when <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/library/books/030199bech-updike.html"><span style="color: #990000;">John Updike</span></a>, writing as his character Henry Bech, considered the relationship between an author and his alter ego.<p>Please avail yourself of this excellent resource! This is a way we can learn from renown published writers.</p><p><br /></p><p>Related reading: <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2024/03/archive-your-writings.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Archive Your Writing</span></a></p><p><br /></p>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-31092773246237409872023-12-27T11:12:00.005-07:002023-12-27T11:12:43.512-07:00The Holy Other<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGVsBVUmvDt4jdMrNz1NOZpjJg4Fxf9W6-yYV4UUKwKwgAgw3f7_fs3DGjcbSEYFb_JWQl6luoEIzmeSw5w3cHNOcVtVBWmnOUMlVbNXxlW4LgPczhqIZSAOeiH83-gtH6SYJZbUbfcKkb9IRU4r04BwutawFdnuFzJAjJuxQWVPZVJYxU7kz6dPDLG4/s960/His%20story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="960" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGVsBVUmvDt4jdMrNz1NOZpjJg4Fxf9W6-yYV4UUKwKwgAgw3f7_fs3DGjcbSEYFb_JWQl6luoEIzmeSw5w3cHNOcVtVBWmnOUMlVbNXxlW4LgPczhqIZSAOeiH83-gtH6SYJZbUbfcKkb9IRU4r04BwutawFdnuFzJAjJuxQWVPZVJYxU7kz6dPDLG4/w434-h239/His%20story.jpg" width="434" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Holy Other</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How the Only, Holy Other</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Would become just another,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To walk among men</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I cannot comprehend.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Only His holy character</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Caused Him to come matter,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Allowing us here so far below,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To know Him and to show</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Us how far we have fallen,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">While giving hope of heaven.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Truly God is holy, holy, holy!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Just as true "Woe is me!"</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Only God's love and grace</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Can compel me to face,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jesus, born of human mother, </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Imaging the Only, Holy Other.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hope Ellen Rapson</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-31353137304219857942023-12-20T01:25:00.002-07:002023-12-23T10:41:30.759-07:00This Christmas, consider His infant hands.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGrfxI2S76FcfgT-ulwgOwQPM6BGQo3MWwZUn2sn2sjtBYP-WAGsPrVuyFdBOt-_7Wf7kpV9K9wXs1gee55GngDotQythmklK6uHZ4XkmchCUYQAKisM17tx-gcrznLwBFJgYY2TEWXTNSFJey2t1TqDEXr1HV-WNOgN6UEOeUon-IFuHTx0J8RRxpp34/s720/Mary%20and%20Joseph%20in%20Bethlehem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGrfxI2S76FcfgT-ulwgOwQPM6BGQo3MWwZUn2sn2sjtBYP-WAGsPrVuyFdBOt-_7Wf7kpV9K9wXs1gee55GngDotQythmklK6uHZ4XkmchCUYQAKisM17tx-gcrznLwBFJgYY2TEWXTNSFJey2t1TqDEXr1HV-WNOgN6UEOeUon-IFuHTx0J8RRxpp34/w350-h260/Mary%20and%20Joseph%20in%20Bethlehem.jpg" width="350" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>This poem about the Incarnation of Jesus, fully human and fully God, is offered as a Christmas poem by Hope Ellen Rapson.</p><p><br /></p><p><b></b></p><blockquote><p><b>Hypostasis</b></p><p>With his infant hands,</p><p>All stars are held in place.</p><p>The brightest one stands,</p><p>To shine upon the face</p><p>Of Him who expands</p><p>And orders all matter, space.</p><p>So emptied---into finite man,</p><p>Here born, lays Eternal Grace.</p><p>Bound now within time’s span,</p><p>His flesh-clad feet will trace,</p><p>An ancient redemptive plan</p><p>To re-create Adam’s race---</p><p>With His Infinite Hands.</p><p><br /></p><p></p></blockquote><p><br /></p>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-80974631608368517552023-10-14T19:05:00.007-06:002023-10-14T19:05:59.577-06:00An Extremely Versatile Author<p> </p><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCez0eyJ-BJ58bufjtaFm-9sxOhcyabW_EHI9TCNvJtn4AswolXPig8As7wLFV78G4KKz2ZWa17fHSI97BTd0nVtyS1IIsXGnWFKWRRcbEP9qQQM1VnOOAaWzGiCh9HL5AJd6-iKZTDFiAAQe8ZpHT3CH54lZAWAnSAhMjvorbJG8iciKNSh2RYPIWkPA/s470/anne.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="470" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCez0eyJ-BJ58bufjtaFm-9sxOhcyabW_EHI9TCNvJtn4AswolXPig8As7wLFV78G4KKz2ZWa17fHSI97BTd0nVtyS1IIsXGnWFKWRRcbEP9qQQM1VnOOAaWzGiCh9HL5AJd6-iKZTDFiAAQe8ZpHT3CH54lZAWAnSAhMjvorbJG8iciKNSh2RYPIWkPA/w514-h345/anne.png" width="514" /></a></div></div><p><br /></p><p>Rayanne Sinclair (Anne Ball) spoke about her books in October to a Seattle-based Book Club. The series has four titles: <i><a href="http://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2014/03/another-great-review-of-steal-away.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Steal Away</span></a></i> (set in Scotland); <i><a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2014/09/beso-dulce-rayanne-sinclairs-second.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Beso Dulce</span></a></i> (set in Mexico); <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2015/07/review-of-page-turner.html"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Page Turne</i>r</span></a> (set in a Midwestern University), and <i><a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2016/03/rayanne-sinclairs-flight-risk.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Flight Risk</span></a></i> (set in Alaska). Talk about versatility!</p><p>Click on the links to read reviews. </p><p>Anne's most recent book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Novella-Pad-Brotherton/dp/1642790877"><span style="color: #990000;">The Companion</span></a></i>, is a novella that pulls the heartstrings. It is published under the pseudonym Pad Brotherton because it is as unlike the first four books as the sun is from the moon. </p>The protagonist is Libby Stamas, a wealthy Colorado Springs widow, who hires Will Westfall, a graduate student, to visit with her several times a week. In addition to learning about Libby’s painful life history, Will finds there is something else quite unusual about her. She has vision into the spiritual realm―what she calls “the other side.” What starts as a side job to pay the bills turns into a life-changing experience for Will, the companion. He is at first skeptical, then intrigued, and, ultimately, a believer in more than just Libby’s abilities when one of her visions portends his premature death.<br /><br />A story deeply focused on the single relationship between Libby and Will, <i>The Companion</i> raises questions about how people deal with the past and present in light of the future. It presses readers to consider contemporary social constructs in new ways as Libby’s painful life story becomes a springboard for Will to grow and identify his own needs.<div><br /></div><div>Readers from all walks of life will enjoy these novels. I know I did!</div><div><br /></div><div>Alice C. Linsley</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-2865573125033117182023-07-13T15:19:00.016-06:002023-09-06T09:25:52.435-06:00The First Lords of the Earth: An Anthropological Study<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNToUg2UfpsDbSkuRj-wzHLCihWHoBeH0qSWuINOXuswCeC5xd8ljiQzOx4W0-5swaF6X5zS82_3_7BBnnnihNStBFIPud4ixBlu8c9Z6wpGXY5lyPqKN90H9lNfkg0fEzRHEZ9JSI2iyAvN8sd0WQFMHK3IgmMW0vbt4FxqZW14BT_PaPlc9lpRobFM/s3469/Book%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2625" data-original-width="3469" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNToUg2UfpsDbSkuRj-wzHLCihWHoBeH0qSWuINOXuswCeC5xd8ljiQzOx4W0-5swaF6X5zS82_3_7BBnnnihNStBFIPud4ixBlu8c9Z6wpGXY5lyPqKN90H9lNfkg0fEzRHEZ9JSI2iyAvN8sd0WQFMHK3IgmMW0vbt4FxqZW14BT_PaPlc9lpRobFM/w360-h242/Book%20cover.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><br /><div>Dear Readers,<br /><br />My book <span style="color: #990000;"><i>The First Lords of the Earth</i>: <i>An Anthropological Study</i></span> is now available to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBW51FMM/ref=sr_1_2?crid=386A54IWRHJYW&keywords=The%20First%20Lords%20of%20the%20Earth&qid=1689374818&s=books&sprefix=the%20first%20lords%20of%20the%20earth%2Cstripbooks%2C118&sr=1-2&fbclid=IwAR3Bt1gLwKYCn3u9EXNf-FxLwQFHB4qSRO6FH2naLsSEbnhFMfIBq-6r7VQ"><span style="color: #990000;">purchase on Amazon</span></a>. Purchase options include Kindle, paperback, and hardcopy. All are priced for the book lover on a tight budget.<br /><br />The book identifies the social structure and religious beliefs of the early Hebrew ruler-priest caste (6200-4000 years ago), their dispersion out of Africa, their territorial expansion, trade routes, and their influence on the populations of the Fertile Crescent and Ancient Near East.</div><div><br /></div><div>Readers say this book brings the figures of the Old Testament to life. You will learn how it is that these early Hebrew ruler-priests took seriously God's command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. </div><div><br /></div>My book is about the early Hebrew, long before the time of the Exodus of Jacob's clan called the "Israelites". It involves tracing the Hebrew dispersion out of the Nile Valley into many parts of the Ancient Near East. These were kingdom builders, and their marriage and ascendancy pattern drove their dispersion through the practice of <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2011/06/sent-away-sons.html"><span style="color: #990000;">sending away non-ascendant sons</span></a>.<br /><br />Analysis of the kinship pattern of the early Hebrew, beginning with the <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-adam-and-eve-of-history.html"><span style="color: #990000;">historical Adam</span></a> and his contemporary Enoch, reveals that they had the same marriage and ascendancy pattern as Abraham and Moses.<div><p>The research took 40 years, but I was able to make a rather complex subject easy to understand. I hope you will buy the book and discover answers to some perennial questions, such as:</p><p></p><ul><li>Who were the Horite Hebrew and the Sethite Hebrew?</li><li>Where is the oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship?</li><li>Why did so many Hebrew men have two wives?</li><li>What was the difference in status between wives and concubines?</li><li>What types of authority did the biblical Hebrew?</li><li>How did they determine which son would rule over the father's territory?</li><li>How did their acute observation of the patterns in Nature inform their reasoning?</li><li>If Judaism is NOT the Faith of the early Hebrew, what did they believe?</li></ul><br />It is ancient history, anthropology, and Biblical studies wrapped into one fascinating read. I hope you will find it helpful and informative.</div><div><br /><br />Best wishes to you all,<br /><br />Alice C. Linsley</div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2023/08/first-lords-and-their-authority.html"><span style="color: #990000;">The First Lords and Their Authority</span></a>; <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2023/08/response-to-review-of-first-lords.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Response to a Review of The First Lords of the Earth: An Anthropological Study</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-45080669570846007592023-05-01T02:30:00.061-06:002023-05-05T21:08:38.364-06:00Don't Fear AI Generated Content<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeHWrHphYApxn9y3VJi011UT2HUjtptYLxmcRDTuXUwmp8M4Aiz-Rd7jDLDEJGFee8bgYU8PN1yK_us1tk-TLP35mcSszLmcPjSV9yzGpvCTfHypA8OFQNxfAvtSLzDrIiedy5qmCVM22r0jIOlW77gCK780U7K1pxGDswOK0z8zJIcdHdDFzhkpvH/s1125/Artificial_Intelligence_&_AI_&_Machine_Learning_-_30212411048.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1125" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeHWrHphYApxn9y3VJi011UT2HUjtptYLxmcRDTuXUwmp8M4Aiz-Rd7jDLDEJGFee8bgYU8PN1yK_us1tk-TLP35mcSszLmcPjSV9yzGpvCTfHypA8OFQNxfAvtSLzDrIiedy5qmCVM22r0jIOlW77gCK780U7K1pxGDswOK0z8zJIcdHdDFzhkpvH/s320/Artificial_Intelligence_&_AI_&_Machine_Learning_-_30212411048.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Image from <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/152824664@N07/30212411048/"><span style="color: #990000;">Wikimedia Commons</span></a>.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Dr. Alice C. Linsley<div><br />Some readers have asked about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its potential impact on writing for publication. Some have expressed concern that this may undermine the work of real writers. <br /><br />AI draws from a huge information database. That database is largely skewed toward sources that are popular and/or recognized as having expertise (science journals, academic journals, and marketing experts). AI generates content by analyzing and synthesizing data, and then creating content using that data. That said, AI does not replace human creativity. It does not generate unique perspectives. The writer alone does that. </div><div><br /></div><div>One concern about AI that should put people on guard is its <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/04/29/how-ai-already-changing-2024-election"><span style="color: #990000;">potential to sway elections</span></a>. AI can create AI-generated audio, robocalls, or text messages about a candidate and disperse them to millions in an instant. AI is used to "improve fundraising efficiency by targeting prospective donors and voters with increasing specificity."</div><div><br /></div><div>Some bloggers have found that using AI writing can produce quality content with less effort. However, the AI generated images are not yet perfected, but the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/08/business/media/ai-generated-images.html"><span style="color: #990000;">quality is better than ever</span></a>. If the writing sometimes seems flat that is because there is no substitute for the individual's perspective and emotional tone.</div><div><br /></div><div>AI is <a href="https://www.intentful.ai/blog/examples-of-ai-generated-content"><span style="color: #990000;">cost saving for corporations</span></a> that market multiple brands. The corporation can produce marketing content faster and at a greatly reduced cost. </div><div><br /></div><div>Christian writers should be publishing regularly to add our vocabulary and perspective to the database upon which AI draws. Do not waste time hoping an editor will purchase your work. Do not wait for payment if you have something really pressing to say because by the time you find someone to purchase your piece it may no longer be relevant. </div><div><br /></div><div>That is why I publish something every day somewhere online. In addition to the 7 blogs I manage, I publish at sites such as <a href="https://virtueonline.org/">Virtueonline</a>, <a href="https://northamanglican.com/">The North American Anglican</a>, the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation, and Christian Women in Science. AI is a tool that Christians should use to correct misinformation about the Gospel, to clarify who Jesus Christ is, to build up the Church, and to present the hopes and struggles of Christians around the world.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yesterday I published this piece.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://justgreatthought.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-welcome-demise-of-american.html">Philosophers' Corner: The Welcome Demise of American Fundamentalism (justgreatthought.blogspot.com)</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The day before yesterday I published this:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://biblicalanthropology.blogspot.com/2023/04/bronze-age-populations.html">BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Bronze Age Populations</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Do not be afraid of AI. It can serve the cause of good. Do not delay what you have to say. Create a blog and publish regularly. Do not concern yourself with recognition. That will come when your writing becomes prolific. I now have 2000+ pieces available from which AI can draw data. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you have questions, please comment here and I will respond.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wishing you success in your writing lives!</div><div><br /></div><div>Alice C. Linsley</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-05-05/ai-s-potential-and-perils-suddenly-become-real">AI's Potential and Perils</a>; <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/artificial-intelligence-chatgpt-threatens-changes-jobs-work/">How Artificial Intelligence Could Change Jobs</a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-76351050155699186222023-04-14T08:50:00.005-06:002023-04-14T12:30:37.725-06:00God in Hand<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHDUxIOHZjVJVSIMoPXWh98JkVjX5-LY9eYH5elNG-sL3RSIOscdZ4sjrpQqA9Za9fMUq4f0Kjm4-2rlrFAfUeQmlK35Mfb7GOj6Upg3LKZy64kbPTrAdh1sn7WeXUf4fTeKUZcDD3674I70R3oEyZh_2cM1lHsaq8-nI0MA77nxZA-6AOMzFQE7qT/s717/Communion-in-the-hand-C.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="717" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHDUxIOHZjVJVSIMoPXWh98JkVjX5-LY9eYH5elNG-sL3RSIOscdZ4sjrpQqA9Za9fMUq4f0Kjm4-2rlrFAfUeQmlK35Mfb7GOj6Upg3LKZy64kbPTrAdh1sn7WeXUf4fTeKUZcDD3674I70R3oEyZh_2cM1lHsaq8-nI0MA77nxZA-6AOMzFQE7qT/s320/Communion-in-the-hand-C.webp" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>Communion<br /></b><br /><br />Lying in my palm,<br />the coming of a holy Presence<br />to fill my life with love,<br />lying in my palm<br />to save me from myself,<br />the feeding of a hungry soul:<br />lying in my palm.<br /><br /><br /> By Ed Pacht<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Receiving the consecration wafer in one's right hand is a <a href="https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/early-christian-communion-in-the-hand/"><span style="color: #990000;">very old custom</span></a>. Ephrem the Syrian invites the Christian communicant to feel awe at what is received in his or her hand, since even the Seraph did not take the divine coal with his hand, nor did the prophet Isaiah eat it (Isa 6:6). The divine coal is a common image of the Eucharist in Syrian theology.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-8771070758035683642023-04-06T11:17:00.002-06:002023-04-06T11:17:32.200-06:00His Resurrection Breaks Us Free<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfjJUkbzWLQTSCcDkKDMdH26Y4_-YhlUQrpS1QiwZvfy1cf40mZRgyY4_7RxOu9V7omyX-sGMZ8aQdH2SCiNXhJCS5HwGlFfAZ9nPSQrgY1lksC3jT4d2S7Xx8A6Vr0Wc_45JT6TaKrd9szEsjFp3R683kGy_2KSs9TmhHNSMfuOI7OiDYONygnsfH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="750" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfjJUkbzWLQTSCcDkKDMdH26Y4_-YhlUQrpS1QiwZvfy1cf40mZRgyY4_7RxOu9V7omyX-sGMZ8aQdH2SCiNXhJCS5HwGlFfAZ9nPSQrgY1lksC3jT4d2S7Xx8A6Vr0Wc_45JT6TaKrd9szEsjFp3R683kGy_2KSs9TmhHNSMfuOI7OiDYONygnsfH" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://8billiontrees.com/trees/tree-seed-pods-identification/"></a><a href="https://8billiontrees.com/trees/tree-seed-pods-identification/">Tree Seed Pods Identification Guide: 75 Species</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>The Seed Pod</p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">By Hope Ellen Rapson</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I walked along a quiet lake today,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">And found a seed pod along the way.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Long and leathery, it outlined so tight,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Tomb-door shapes, darkly out of sight.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Each had a slightly different shape,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Some a gothic arch, some a rounded cape.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">All are bound until sun, soil, and rain,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Allow the casings that restrain.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">To rot or tear away, setting each one free,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">That they might, in strength, grow the tree,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">From where they first originated,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">And for which they were created.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">So, we, in some unmeasured season,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Will be released, revealing the reason,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our restricting pods were closed to grow,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Us into the likeness of Him we know,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Broke from His cave of death,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Bringing new life and spirit-breath</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">To those who lay entrapped by sin.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Indeed, we need not strive to win,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Or make the changes we think just,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">But only love and know, obey and trust</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">All God has powerfully given,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">In Christ who, then and now, has risen!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-12218116045017354982023-02-27T16:42:00.001-07:002023-03-03T09:53:48.032-07:00Lewis' Narnian Dwarves Hint of Africa and the Bible<p> </p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCWOM4rxxIpcBEi6RhJYVR0MVvYWBzxrjBoDVkgeuQ9XKjo5THfmXx4IpwaG5FXj6gzPgWE7p74F56AIW9P4dt0vgVjzcYjge0xjTcVh7OoSQQZuuE4h16gCYyAGz-S8yIOVBH9HmbIHphgv-YL2Ve5-R6bKCdJFdJS3MBvPfBl0bPxA61PV4-JvG/s329/dwarf.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="177" data-original-width="329" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCWOM4rxxIpcBEi6RhJYVR0MVvYWBzxrjBoDVkgeuQ9XKjo5THfmXx4IpwaG5FXj6gzPgWE7p74F56AIW9P4dt0vgVjzcYjge0xjTcVh7OoSQQZuuE4h16gCYyAGz-S8yIOVBH9HmbIHphgv-YL2Ve5-R6bKCdJFdJS3MBvPfBl0bPxA61PV4-JvG/s320/dwarf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Alice C. Linsley</div><div><br /></div><br />Have you wondered what inspired C.S. Lewis' idea of dwarves as smiths? The dwarves of Narnia are highly skilled smiths, miners, stonemasons, and archers. Perhaps Lewis had read about the dwarves of Nigeria who were smiths. For most of his lifetime, Nigeria was a British colony. (Lewis died in 1963 and Nigeria gained independence in 1960.) In Igboland, the metal-working dwarfs are <a href="https://igboacienthistory.weebly.com/the-origin-of-the-igbo.html"><span style="color: #990000;">called Neshi</span></a>. They are credited with the early sacred script known as Nshi-biri, which in Igbo means "Written by Nshi".<div><br /></div><div><div>There are other features of Narnian dwarf society that suggest knowledge of ancient Africa. </div><div><br /></div><div>What I find most interesting is the social structure of the Narnian dwarves/dwarfs and how it parallels the social structure of the early Hebrew (long before Judaism). <br /><div><br /></div><div>The social structure of the Narnian dwarves is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moiety_(kinship)"><span style="color: #990000;">a moiety</span></a>. They are organized into red dwarfs and black dwarfs. Perhaps Lewis was thinking of the early Nilotic Hebrew with their moiety structure. The Hebrew ruler-priest caste was organized into two ritual groups, the Horites and the Sethites. Each group maintained their own shrines and temples along the Nile, and they competed for royal favor. Likewise, the Narnian dwarf groups enjoy competing with each other. <div><div><br /></div>The red dwarves were loyal to their own moiety and the black dwarves were loyal to their moiety, but they share a common loyalty. They recognize any dwarf as more like themselves than any other creature of Narnia. In an argument, a dwarf is likely to take a fellow dwarf’s side, and few things anger a dwarf more than the notion that his kind are being treated unfairly. Dwarves put the interest of dwarves first. That too is a characteristic of the early Hebrew caste.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the Book of Genesis Tubal-Cain is described as a metalworker (Gen. 4). Studies of the kinship pattern of his early Hebrew people reveal a moiety structure. The descendants of Cain and Seth intermarried (endogamy). However, they maintained separate territories and separate identities. </div><div><br />The oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship is at <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2014/05/why-nekhen-is-anthropologically.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Nekhen on the Nile</span></a> (4000 BC). Archaeologists have found elite burial grounds, figurines of Seth as a red man with the head of a hippo, massive stonework, and elaborate jewelry. They also found the body of a <a href="http://www.hierakonpolis-online.org/nekhennews/nn-10-1998.pdf"><span style="color: #990000;">man who had red hair</span></a> and a red beard.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmoTIA4kAfmx5Fh3JeWW9R-htG7gLz1naHkOrFalvU-NM5t4hZTgG0y4OGKhibBn5biLPKRck3HgA7BT90L_eLT2aXMH4idXqDe3UjNCrVDP6wWg0Pn-I51mWuQbvA5A2iZLIJcKSHg-4FF_oqloPYyq6j35UJSRZxLKs8QRbn7XbQ0ku9mOiUi2L/s576/Captive%20Nubians.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmoTIA4kAfmx5Fh3JeWW9R-htG7gLz1naHkOrFalvU-NM5t4hZTgG0y4OGKhibBn5biLPKRck3HgA7BT90L_eLT2aXMH4idXqDe3UjNCrVDP6wWg0Pn-I51mWuQbvA5A2iZLIJcKSHg-4FF_oqloPYyq6j35UJSRZxLKs8QRbn7XbQ0ku9mOiUi2L/s320/Captive%20Nubians.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Black and Red Nubians</div><div style="text-align: center;">Detail from a painting by Ippolito Rosellini</div><div style="text-align: center;">The Franco-Tuscan Expedition to Egypt of 1828</div><div><br /></div><div><br />Narnian red dwarfs have soft red hair and beards, and black dwarfs have wiry black hair and beards. Both types of hair have been found in Africa. </div></div></div><div><br /></div>Lewis wrote the Narnia series in the 1950s. The rural settings, forests, and mountains would be familiar to most readers. The most exotic setting is found in "The Horse and His Boy". That has a Turkish flavor. Lewis never visited Turkey. He probably read about it. He was a voracious reader, and it is likely that he read about the metal-working dwarves of Nigeria.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://biblicalanthropology.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-hebrew-were-caste.html"><span style="color: #990000;">The Hebrew Were a Caste</span></a>; <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-sethites-and-red-hippo.html"><span style="color: #990000;">The Sethites and the Red Hippo</span></a>; <a href="https://biblicalanthropology.blogspot.com/2015/01/red-and-black-smiths.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Red and Black Smiths</span></a>; <a href="https://biblicalanthropology.blogspot.com/2019/11/horite-mounds.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Horite and Sethite Mounds</span></a>; <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2014/05/why-nekhen-is-anthropologically.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Why Nekhen is Anthropologically Significant</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-20420388026311148562023-02-22T16:43:00.008-07:002023-02-22T16:43:58.796-07:00Using Words Wisely<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIriBVwzvGmY-af8hBTJGBWO4j-xZfzhIVqK5tDGD7zCb1LmeQmV5xhVZ4QCx48sEyeHmjESCinGf1jjU6TzTB4sxc11R8Zd5TA8tH-1iLsvfCGebIbYcnhSqOJ46aSQvZyFm3I634SvTuy3c3RtG3p1LcbyO6SuUYk4WYCSD8DQ-fz02QmVGm1Xrc/s843/writers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="843" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIriBVwzvGmY-af8hBTJGBWO4j-xZfzhIVqK5tDGD7zCb1LmeQmV5xhVZ4QCx48sEyeHmjESCinGf1jjU6TzTB4sxc11R8Zd5TA8tH-1iLsvfCGebIbYcnhSqOJ46aSQvZyFm3I634SvTuy3c3RtG3p1LcbyO6SuUYk4WYCSD8DQ-fz02QmVGm1Xrc/w467-h349/writers.jpg" width="467" /></a></div><br />Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-9358429753943787012023-02-11T15:43:00.005-07:002023-02-11T16:47:23.895-07:00Standing Still is a Way of Knowing<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuP5bGrX4xOsOvnGa59hqt4V-XD0gKMx6udo_ahup71Z1m5u3S3hg8-ksT7Q8Fw-aru9w4kBti5zxtf1v9EPsa2QOp3NJ8FjVP5rhBsc1ZG4sLZ4bnhGGzWta2-saHrRCvzgf0ID2qITv9U4Dww5k2u8I5U_E5SwCPE779mIz1NOcuVtRy2is6X92_/s689/crane%20at%20dusk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="526" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuP5bGrX4xOsOvnGa59hqt4V-XD0gKMx6udo_ahup71Z1m5u3S3hg8-ksT7Q8Fw-aru9w4kBti5zxtf1v9EPsa2QOp3NJ8FjVP5rhBsc1ZG4sLZ4bnhGGzWta2-saHrRCvzgf0ID2qITv9U4Dww5k2u8I5U_E5SwCPE779mIz1NOcuVtRy2is6X92_/s320/crane%20at%20dusk.jpg" width="244" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><div><b>Knowing</b><div>by Kristen Lippert<br /><br /><br />I've seen more of the world than you<br /><br />Though you may think you are well-traveled<br /><br />We learn more by staying in one place<br /><br />Really knowing it<br /><br />Than by trotting around tourist traps<br /><br /><br /><br />I've seen more of the world than you<br /><br />Standing at bus stops<br /><br />Listening to strangers tell their stories<br /><br />Without a camera or a<br /><br />Photo gallery to prove my proficiency<br /><br /><br /><br />I've seen more of the world<br /><br />Resting right here in my yard<br /><br />Noticing dew drops and dandelions<br /><br />Nothing else—<br /><br />Just how nature phases the moon night to night<br /><br /><br /><br />I've seen more of the world<br /><br />In your lonely, expectant eyes<br /><br />Because these feet know how to grow roots<br /><br />And I want to plant you<br /><br />In this abundant experience.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Kristen Lippert is a poet and a coach. She works with athletes of all ages. Her background and education include track and field, nutrition, French, and biotechnology. Her <a href="https://biophilicarts.net/digital-chapbook"><span style="color: #990000;">chapbook Biophilic</span></a> was published in 2021. Learn more here: <span style="color: #990000;">https://biophilicarts.net</span>/</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-9583888921504179262023-01-29T14:25:00.003-07:002023-01-29T14:25:30.311-07:00Holy Imagination<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjZyHvy0gQw7l1MkE4ZPqQuLupG9AqpT7eh1O_brPYP_H-Ni2h3Zd833_KvUheP9J21CN5R96bOoq3xkcd-a6nkEMd8f0_IUb63oc1-333mxXPbeiLxrHQ1dVcgEghfPHieampmZ3KsJACDWVig7pW1NTaBpuuz-hrvp1J5gG9Q1yH6g6hCTipI0R/s252/imagination.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="252" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjZyHvy0gQw7l1MkE4ZPqQuLupG9AqpT7eh1O_brPYP_H-Ni2h3Zd833_KvUheP9J21CN5R96bOoq3xkcd-a6nkEMd8f0_IUb63oc1-333mxXPbeiLxrHQ1dVcgEghfPHieampmZ3KsJACDWVig7pW1NTaBpuuz-hrvp1J5gG9Q1yH6g6hCTipI0R/w278-h200/imagination.png" width="278" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Jared Hartenstein</div><div><br />Imagination is an important aspect of the heart. It’s a gift the Maker gave us when he breathed his life into our lungs. But how often do we think about our imagination? How often do we pay attention to what we put into it and the fruit of that intake?<br /><br />For writers, a holy imagination means everything because if our imagination isn’t sanctified, the things we create will be full of our own understanding (the flesh) and the world’s darkness. I am not talking about the elements of suffering and evil in our stories (those are essential). I am talking about the implicit beliefs that find their way into our stories because we haven’t devoted our hearts to God.<br /><br />Those beliefs show up potently in our character’s development and conclusion about life. They affect the heart of our readers as they walk with our protagonists, (hopefully) thinking, feeling, and experiencing their journey. If our stories don’t end or point to the true, good, and beautiful of God, what are they worth? If our readers don’t experience his joy, hope, and love, what is our audience walking away with? They leave our stories empty instead of full, which I don’t think is the goal of anyone here.<br /><br />So, how do we sanctify our imaginations or make them holy? Well, we have to start by redefining the word “holy.” Growing up, I defined holiness as “set apart,” which ultimately led to a lot of false conclusions about life. I lived apart from the world and those around me, thinking I had to create or make life work outside of every pre-existing system and faculty. “Being in the world and not of it” was impossible with this definition because if I am “set apart,” my devotion to God looks like removing myself entirely from the world, but that’s not our entreaty as friends of Jesus.<br /><br />Josh Nadeau, creator of Every.Day.Saints, defines Holiness as “draw[ing] near to God and sit[ting] in his presence.” When I heard this, a piece of me fought back, but as he listed examples, the scales fell from my eyes.<br /><br />The most potent example of this definition is the Holy of Holies. What qualities give the Holy of Holies its name? Does it exemplify “apart from the world and not of it”? No, in the Torah, the Holy of Holies exists inside the Israelite encampment. Later on in the story, it is the central part of the temple Jerusalem amidst the people. So, what is its defining quality? God’s presence resides there.<br /><br />So, if Holiness is defined by God’s presence, how do we become holy? We draw near to God’s presence. He becomes the anchor for our vessel amidst the raging storms of the world. By residing in him, we can be “in the world, not of it.” And as we draw near to his presence, we become holy because the flesh and world cannot stand his spirit. They flee like rats when the lights come on. Being made holy takes a lifetime because so much of our hearts need healing, correction, and Jesus’ renewed life, but as we draw near to God and walk with him, every part of our hearts becomes holy, including our imagination.<br /><br />As we become holy by drawing near to God, his presence infuses our imaginations. We see as he does. The work that flows from that stream is not holy because it is absent from the world (I mean, I hope my stories reach an expansive audience) but because it is full of God’s rich presence- his truth, goodness, and beauty.<br /><br />When our audience experiences Him in our stories, they can’t help but wonder why it grips them; the truth is, every thread they pull from that question leads to the Maker’s heart. I hope that’s the kind of legacy I leave when all is said and done on this earth.<br /><br /><br />Related: <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2020/09/stimulate-imagination.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Stimulate the Imagination</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2007/09/pen-pecked-dreamers.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Pen-Pecked Dreamers</span></a></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-67995030750830438702023-01-07T09:00:00.011-07:002023-01-10T10:05:54.167-07:00Familiar with Malcolm Guite?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oMKsg-ImFU2z_uWPz9bu3jUQApCTdKrFoF6HDJr0ZxKjdjt58yklVIYFWo0FvVVwcgNB8bDaQhhYyg8-_R4lH1G0TbelOhwIYlkJitdWobFF-CbR3gs74AWQ4SkGgRmc6BUL4GXf1KUC7Om7h6su9JZsoNWNs35mAVLtO2JPeg_m2PNvH520dGO9/s843/Guite%20small.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="843" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oMKsg-ImFU2z_uWPz9bu3jUQApCTdKrFoF6HDJr0ZxKjdjt58yklVIYFWo0FvVVwcgNB8bDaQhhYyg8-_R4lH1G0TbelOhwIYlkJitdWobFF-CbR3gs74AWQ4SkGgRmc6BUL4GXf1KUC7Om7h6su9JZsoNWNs35mAVLtO2JPeg_m2PNvH520dGO9/s320/Guite%20small.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.girton.cam.ac.uk/people/revd-dr-malcolm-guite">Malcolm Guite</a> teaching at Nashotah House</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div>Ayodeji Malcolm Guite has a following among younger Christians. And no wonder! He is cool.<br /><br />He’s an Anglican priest, poet, academic, and singer-songwriter. He plays the guitar in a blues band called Mystery Train, smokes a pipe, and rides his Royal Enfield café racer through the English countryside. He takes long prayer walks, and he speaks eloquently.<br /><br />Guite is a member of a jazz-poetry performance collective called riprap. He has three cds out on Cambridge Riffs and itunes. He gives regular poetry/music performances in the UK and in the States.<br /><br />Born in Nigeria to British expatriate parents, Guite earned degrees from Cambridge and Durham universities. His research interests include the intersection of religion and the arts.</div><div><br /><div><br /><div><p class="text" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Read more here: <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/januaryfebruary/malcolm-guite-poetry-bruised-evangelicals.html">A Poet for ‘Bruised Evangelicals’ | Christianity Today<br /></a></p></div></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-91713697592872194192023-01-04T19:13:00.006-07:002023-01-04T19:17:56.287-07:00Better Screen Writers Needed!<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeKPhJMELJRpnGMBuWGZ5amDS_Fes9xq79ZVhoHzxRDCXb-Ph6E8Lj0qd-a1rHKj_VNQBN1ybSP-u-LevcGNlB0qjftCUgO54VnbczuiKhuSWPSaehHiJ32FvxVVUGo7HGCkyGrhffu6whF4hK4FpvdgBRNJ7IyYL4Ny6nG2gUeUHs_GhPqAW4fMB/s349/Ben_Hecht.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeKPhJMELJRpnGMBuWGZ5amDS_Fes9xq79ZVhoHzxRDCXb-Ph6E8Lj0qd-a1rHKj_VNQBN1ybSP-u-LevcGNlB0qjftCUgO54VnbczuiKhuSWPSaehHiJ32FvxVVUGo7HGCkyGrhffu6whF4hK4FpvdgBRNJ7IyYL4Ny6nG2gUeUHs_GhPqAW4fMB/w217-h296/Ben_Hecht.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ben Hecht (1894-1964)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Alice C. Linsley</div><div><p>Over the holidays I watched more movies than I usually do, and I found myself bored by the generally dull and repetitious story lines. </p><p>Among the light-hearted romantic comedies, the formula is much the same: woman meets man who is either a nemesis or an unwanted suitor. The situation becomes complicated, forcing them to work together and get better acquainted. There is usually a further complication before the movie ends with a sweet kiss before a charming background and a fading scene of their tender embrace. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7370936/"><span style="color: #990000;">The Christmas Train</span></a> (Hallmark) is one "romcom" that I enjoyed enough to watch more than once at the holidays. The plot holds surprises, and the performances by Dermot Mulroney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Danny Glover, and Joan Cusack are excellent. </p><p>The mystery movies offered more for the mind to consider. The Glass Onion (II) was exciting and entertaining. The unlikely scenario was carried off by good acting.</p><p>Some of the foreign films offered beautiful scenery and different narrative elements. I enjoyed <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81219821"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>1000 Miles From Christmas</i></span></a> and the campy <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81513881"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>7 Women and a Murder</i></span></a>. I also enjoyed <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13377488/"><span style="color: #990000;">In for a Murder</span></a></i>, a Polish movie with an engaging plot and a lovable main character.</p><p>Overall, I have not been impressed with the quality of the movies. The plots are predictable. The dialogue is such that I get the impression that the actors sometimes are laughing inside or cringing.</p><p>Getting paid is probably the main concern of most screen writers. As the former American writer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hecht"><span style="color: #990000;">Ben Hecht</span></a> once joked, "I'm a Hollywood writer, so I put on a sports jacket and take off my brain."</p><p>If only we had more like Hecht who wrote some of the most beloved American screenplays, including <i>It's a Wonderful World</i> (1939) and <i>Angels Over Broadway</i> (1940).<br /></p><p>In Hecht's day of Nazis, War, and the KKK, people didn't want to watch movies showing extreme cruelty. Too many of that generation had seen or experienced it firsthand. Today, there is a demand for fast action, loud noises, masochism, horrific crimes, pornography, homosexuality, extraterrestrial threats, catastrophic end-of-world movies, and more. Every type of movie can be found in this global market. But not everything should be marketed to the public.</p><p>It is time for better screen writers. It is time for them to rise above the mediocre. Give us more complex plots involving inspiring people, more profound relationships, and more convincing dialogue.</p><p><br /></p></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-29098295747330646042023-01-03T04:00:00.001-07:002023-01-03T04:00:00.199-07:00A Blessed Tenth Day of Christmas<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiie7Zywf2-7mnv9KYiAyipz9x3HQ8YfcPPC-dvazLXHjPKAJ0bfdmPZIttEvBuGR8wUbh__kes7sdqM00u3nq-Yov5LOKBA_O7-0ie7-IxSL0wi3ATzvbC8TfltpXXShY5b_YiXaksSn8IxGPv4Qq1VyibQtSbXfrWZK07g__eZ8KBoybwcD3EU6EK/s446/Christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="113" data-original-width="446" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiie7Zywf2-7mnv9KYiAyipz9x3HQ8YfcPPC-dvazLXHjPKAJ0bfdmPZIttEvBuGR8wUbh__kes7sdqM00u3nq-Yov5LOKBA_O7-0ie7-IxSL0wi3ATzvbC8TfltpXXShY5b_YiXaksSn8IxGPv4Qq1VyibQtSbXfrWZK07g__eZ8KBoybwcD3EU6EK/s320/Christmas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><b>Christmas </b><br />by John Betjeman<div style="padding-left: 14px; padding-top: 20px;">The bells of waiting Advent ring,<br />The Tortoise stove is lit again<br />And lamp-oil light across the night<br />Has caught the streaks of winter rain<br />In many a stained-glass window sheen<br />From Crimson Lake to Hookers Green.<br /><br />The holly in the windy hedge<br />And round the Manor House the yew<br />Will soon be stripped to deck the ledge,<br />The altar, font and arch and pew,<br />So that the villagers can say<br />'The church looks nice' on Christmas Day.<br /><br />Provincial Public Houses blaze,<br />Corporation tramcars clang,<br />On lighted tenements I gaze,<br />Where paper decorations hang,<br />And bunting in the red Town Hall<br />Says 'Merry Christmas to you all'.<br /><br />And London shops on Christmas Eve<br />Are strung with silver bells and flowers<br />As hurrying clerks the City leave<br />To pigeon-haunted classic towers,<br />And marbled clouds go scudding by<br />The many-steepled London sky.<br /><br />And girls in slacks remember Dad,<br />And oafish louts remember Mum,<br />And sleepless children's hearts are glad.<br />And Christmas-morning bells say 'Come!'<br />Even to shining ones who dwell<br />Safe in the Dorchester Hotel.<br /><br />And is it true,<br />This most tremendous tale of all,<br />Seen in a stained-glass window's hue,<br />A Baby in an ox's stall?<br />The Maker of the stars and sea<br />Become a Child on earth for me?<br /><br />And is it true? For if it is,<br />No loving fingers tying strings<br />Around those tissued fripperies,<br />The sweet and silly Christmas things,<br />Bath salts and inexpensive scent<br />And hideous tie so kindly meant,<br /><br /></div><span> </span>No love that in a family dwells,<br /><span> </span>No carolling in frosty air,<br /><span> </span>Nor all the steeple-shaking bells<br /><span> </span>Can with this single Truth compare -<br /><span> </span>That God was man in Palestine<br /><span> </span>And lives today in Bread and Wine.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-69973014370004239522022-12-18T08:42:00.001-07:002022-12-18T08:42:43.875-07:00Searching for a Lost Goat and a Lost Son<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcB-zx6eMQkZRzyUCjZviJXlUviUgAP8JEER9PNtLUPUsOFtMm3PO4iOBtKTcpcRngpOmD4x2xIBb16JrpWZ0xrkmiR_hm3HVFSOyfWRMAhcyfXTRH2bMmuddEScmPVoZ7Eg9EyViIQExFp5MLzpVcg_Ynl7_nNo5zjr7gX_H43fnPfw6uMTFED6y/s585/b2dad0ce-62e0-4f26-812e-371d95679cef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="585" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcB-zx6eMQkZRzyUCjZviJXlUviUgAP8JEER9PNtLUPUsOFtMm3PO4iOBtKTcpcRngpOmD4x2xIBb16JrpWZ0xrkmiR_hm3HVFSOyfWRMAhcyfXTRH2bMmuddEScmPVoZ7Eg9EyViIQExFp5MLzpVcg_Ynl7_nNo5zjr7gX_H43fnPfw6uMTFED6y/s320/b2dad0ce-62e0-4f26-812e-371d95679cef.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">An Arab Shepherd is Searching for His Goat on Mount Zion</span></b><div><b><br /></b><span style="font-size: medium;">An Arab shepherd is searching for his goat on Mount Zion<br />And on the opposite hill I am searching for my little boy.<br />An Arab shepherd and a Jewish father<br />Both in their temporary failure.<br />Our two voices met above<br />The Sultan’s Pool in the valley between us.<br />Neither of us wants the boy or the goat<br />To get caught in the wheels<br />Of the “Had Gadya” machine.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Afterward we found them among the bushes,<br />And our voices came back inside us<br />Laughing and crying.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Searching for a goat or for a child has always been<br />The beginning of a new religion in these mountains.</span></div><div><br /><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #555555; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><b>Yehuda Amichai<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Open Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px;">, </span></span></b>translated by Chana Bloch and Stephen Mitchell, from The Selected Poetry of Yehuda Amichai (University of California Press, 1996)<br /><br /></p></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-16166196471034025792022-12-02T15:09:00.004-07:002022-12-03T13:51:17.983-07:00Remembering My Neighbor Esther McGraw<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGZnJEgXdXcr5bZGHcB0SbSGNDmycSfswtixeWlfip_6vclXzRBFefu8pJ91KQS6W4S9wCwP1Xb7H6gK1cJv5iho8wCwyWbAQYGLEzfU_S1bCJwZbOznYMKZy9s2RhER4pS4kaCPs2vI3XT5fDQ5c1yX01j34imqAKlzoqWW32sxrg-Psp_52oR2z/s960/His%20story.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="960" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGZnJEgXdXcr5bZGHcB0SbSGNDmycSfswtixeWlfip_6vclXzRBFefu8pJ91KQS6W4S9wCwP1Xb7H6gK1cJv5iho8wCwyWbAQYGLEzfU_S1bCJwZbOznYMKZy9s2RhER4pS4kaCPs2vI3XT5fDQ5c1yX01j34imqAKlzoqWW32sxrg-Psp_52oR2z/w351-h199/His%20story.jpg" width="351" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Alice C. Linsley</p><p>I lived in a small cottage by Kiser Lake in Ohio, near the "Pony Wagon" town of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paris,_Ohio"><span style="color: #990000;">St. Paris</span></a>. My closest neighbor, Esther McGraw, was one of the sweetest persons I have met. She was a young mother, a devoted wife, a phenomenal cook, and an aspiring writer. Once when I was very sick, she arrived at my house with a pot of delicious homemade chicken noodle soup. That soup and her prayers were restorative!</p><p>When she could, Esther would attend the Western Ohio Christian Writers monthly meetings at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/St.Marks.Sidney/"><span style="color: #990000;">St. Mark's Episcopal Church</span></a> in Sidney, Ohio. I helped to establish that group when I served as the Vicar of that parish. </p><p>Esther was always cheerful though she suffered from chronic renal problems and was frequently fatigued. I was very sad when I received the news of her death about 8 years after I moved away.</p><p>This Christmas poem, written by Esther, was originally published in the 1996 issue of <i>Selah</i>, an annual publication of the Western Ohio Christian Writers Guild.<br /><br /></p><p><i>Every Eye Upon Him</i></p><p>In a wooden manger a baby meekly rests</p><p>with every eye upon Him</p><p>and history is made.</p><p>Pale starlight for a compass</p><p>brings three kings from afar</p><p>to kneel before the infant's stall.</p><p>Tender Mary gazes there</p><p>while Joseph leans upon his staff</p><p>and history is made.</p><p>A bigger plan of God is set</p><p>to save us from our sins and death.</p><p>Over Bethlehem the twinkling stars announce</p><p>His story has begun.</p><p><br /></p>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-189955006369900442022-11-23T08:37:00.004-07:002022-12-02T15:14:55.824-07:00St. John's Vision on Patmos<p> </p><p>My poem <i>Mystic Exile</i> was published in the <a href="https://godandnature.asa3.org/linsley-mystic-exile.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Fall 2022 issue of God and Nature</span></a>.</p><p>This is the first in a series of poems on religious topics. If you have a poem you would like to submit for publication, please submit it at aproeditor-at-gmail. <b>Please put "Poem" in the subject line of your email.</b></p><p>Poems should "show not tell". They should be rich in images, allusions, metaphor, etc., and be related to a religious or Biblical topic.</p><p>Alice C. Linsley</p><p><br /></p>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-57219999347761353592022-11-20T13:11:00.002-07:002022-11-20T13:11:17.707-07:00Fiction for the Wealthy White Woke<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR32WopAe30yA9_jMHw5gdXmVMq1_HYVVl6BhrXRU5epaN_TQF7uNQ4UOmUf0_QQ7JMdbq6kDTuBQ0jrshCbYDuEgmhwcCr9bQUnSBLCjsoXQPEfSWOJI2PkYph8k-IRfkps5Zlft2XJLE7sVhcL52aC_UiAMUrroqYFMLTHa5TA8f1jaHyt4bYAxC/s350/e355169aa7c9f5fc0faf21527b489a7076b1d995.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="234" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR32WopAe30yA9_jMHw5gdXmVMq1_HYVVl6BhrXRU5epaN_TQF7uNQ4UOmUf0_QQ7JMdbq6kDTuBQ0jrshCbYDuEgmhwcCr9bQUnSBLCjsoXQPEfSWOJI2PkYph8k-IRfkps5Zlft2XJLE7sVhcL52aC_UiAMUrroqYFMLTHa5TA8f1jaHyt4bYAxC/w242-h343/e355169aa7c9f5fc0faf21527b489a7076b1d995.jpg" width="242" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Donna Andrews is an American mystery writer of two award-winning amateur sleuth series. Her first book, Murder with Peacocks (1999), introduced Meg Langslow, the main character of her books. Meg is mother of twin boys and a blacksmith from Yorktown, Virginia.<div><br /></div><div>Andrews' novels feature multi-generation, mostly wealthy white Virginians, craft persons, female Episcopal priests, zookeepers, and bird enthusiasts. There are nerdy techs, hippies, and sage smudging New Agers. Gay "marriage" comes into her stories.</div><div><br /></div><div>Her murder plots are layered and her emphasis on conservation of natural habitats is praiseworthy. All of her titles involve birds though the reader may sometimes struggle to see a connection between the title and the plot. Some titles in the Meg Langslow series include The Real Macaw, Duck the Halls, Stork Raving Mad, and the Gift of the Magpie. </div><div><br /></div><div>Her books can be purchased from Barnes and Noble or Amazon. Many are available in your local library.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-75883622024943892682022-10-19T08:32:00.003-06:002022-10-19T08:38:28.759-06:00A Detective Named Wolf Wolf<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjO234nKzn4KOLwW8eW8rsN4Z4CTJAUnQg8TiAbEBGjuLaR9eha26XwuyFcX64Iu6cb3Hur7ls8061wQsBm_qby1-U0aslvRBY72r0d6gwP9cFRlavfmQX_TBXp7h3jEjozMqdJbrcb1L8rfj8nXQ39tR8W2QhPyiMY8A-2RWuvgO-4OSMDz8B4_goI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1718" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjO234nKzn4KOLwW8eW8rsN4Z4CTJAUnQg8TiAbEBGjuLaR9eha26XwuyFcX64Iu6cb3Hur7ls8061wQsBm_qby1-U0aslvRBY72r0d6gwP9cFRlavfmQX_TBXp7h3jEjozMqdJbrcb1L8rfj8nXQ39tR8W2QhPyiMY8A-2RWuvgO-4OSMDz8B4_goI=w199-h302" width="199" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>Alice C. Linsley</p><p>I recently discovered the wonderful character of Ulf (wolf) Varg (wolf), the protagonist in Alexander McCall Smith's novels The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists (ebook only), <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/63957536-the-department-of-sensitive-crimes"><span style="color: #990000;">The Department of Sensitive Crimes</span></a>, <a href="https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/alexander-mccall-smith/varg-in-love.htm"><span style="color: #990000;">Varg in Love</span></a>, <a href="https://robertarood.wordpress.com/2020/09/20/the-talented-mr-varg-by-alexander-mccall-smith/"><span style="color: #990000;">The Talented Mr. Varg</span></a>, and <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/671520/the-man-with-the-silver-saab-by-alexander-mccall-smith/readers-guide/"><span style="color: #990000;">The Man with the Silver Saab</span></a>. The setting is Sweden at a time when traditional Swedish values are changing. Mr. Varg is a pragmatic romantic and a man of great kindness. </p><p>The other characters are well drawn and hold the reader's interest throughout the series. I especially love Martin, the depressed, lip-reading canine who responds to therapy and the daily attention of Mr. Varg's neighbor, Mrs. Högfors.</p>The author, Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith was raised in Southern Rhodesia (now <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwe"><span style="color: #990000;">Zimbabwe</span></a>). He was Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh and a respected expert on medical law and bioethics who served on related British and international committees. He has since become known as a fiction writer, with sales in English exceeding 40 million by 2010 and translations into 46 languages.<div><br /></div><div>This series will appeal to educated readers, especially to those with a background in philosophy and ethics. I highly recommend the series!</div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/alexander-mccall-smith/"><span style="color: #990000;">Alexander McCall Smith's Books</span></a></div></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-61285725883530782192022-08-27T17:27:00.005-06:002022-08-28T20:43:40.018-06:00A Call to Anglican Catholicism<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjq2B24kndKJ8x9qpOhLt4y47-NTjwSR4CuRTrj8HPaCEyCtOKpLb3MEsggd8ZTnzZSoreA_TDNW2gIKdVCZqWwJU-M4w-JiHI_e597T5CL2BFOp6CKVY3_i_Ou3pEMwSIPpHZNSurZzH8NwS-9-ObpIzfdlMaS0JdoTVNs4-nPGpIQgDku8Nvubf8l" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjq2B24kndKJ8x9qpOhLt4y47-NTjwSR4CuRTrj8HPaCEyCtOKpLb3MEsggd8ZTnzZSoreA_TDNW2gIKdVCZqWwJU-M4w-JiHI_e597T5CL2BFOp6CKVY3_i_Ou3pEMwSIPpHZNSurZzH8NwS-9-ObpIzfdlMaS0JdoTVNs4-nPGpIQgDku8Nvubf8l" width="292" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />Hearing the Echo <br /><br />Speech delivered by Alice C. Linsley at the International Catholic Congress of Anglicans <br /><br />Fort Worth, Texas <br /><br />16 July 2015 <br /><br /> <br /><br />Thank you for that lovely introduction, Bishop Hewett. Of all the introductions I have received, that is by far the most recent. <br /><br />I would like to begin by expressing our thanks to those who served us this meal. Mr. Ernesto Perez and his wait staff have served us well all week. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.<br /><br />Isn’t it amazing that about 300 of us Anglicans had dinner together and we agreed on only two choices? <br /><br />When it comes to food, I’m in favor of dual integrities!<br /> <br /><br />I wish to express gratitude to our patrons: Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali and Bishop Keith Ackerman, two faithful leaders in whom Christ’s light shines. They, and many others here who faithfully serve Christ in His Church, are a great inspiration.<br /><br />It is a pleasure to be at this gathering of Christ-followers in the Anglican Way. I am thankful for the thoughtful and stimulating engagement we have found here this week. May our conversations continue beyond this Congress. May they be edifying, and may we find ways to strengthen our bonds of affection.<br /><br />I am humbled to have been asked to speak, though I do so with some apprehension. You see, the last time I spoke at a Forward in Faith sponsored conference I was in Melbourne, Australia and shortly thereafter that Forward in Faith chapter folded.<div> <br /><br />Many of the Forward in Faith Australia leaders went to the Ordinariate, leaving a leadership vacuum. Perhaps we can take a lesson from that turn of events that will enable us to strengthen the witness of Forward in Faith in our home regions. Ideally, there must be no more draining away of Anglican Traditionalists. Catholicity is salt that preserves and enhances our Anglican flavor. More catholic Anglicans are needed, though our perspective is often misunderstood and not always welcome.<br /><br />Frankly, I do not understand the disdain some hold for Anglo-Catholicism and Anglican Traditionalists. Do they do not recognize how many Traditionalist Anglicans were the first to oppose the radical changes and have continued to fight the good fight for more than half a century? Anglican Traditionalists have been telling the truth about the Gospel and the priesthood because you care for people and you love the Church. I for one, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am living proof that your witness bears fruit. <br /><br />In seminary my Anglican Polity professor was Dr. Jeffrey Steenson, now Monsignor Steenson, and the first ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, which provides for former Anglicans who have become Roman Catholics. At that time, he was at the Anglo-Catholic parish of Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pennsylvania. <br /><br />Dr. Steenson planted a seed of doubt about women priests in my mind when he challenged me to show him one example of a woman priest in the Bible. Of course, I couldn't. The best I could do was to trot out the casuistry of feminist theologians, and even then I recognized the poverty of their scholarship.<br /><br />Dear Dr. Steenson was <i>persona non grata</i> in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania where I was ordained in 1988. That is the same diocese that put forward Barbara Harris, the first African American female bishop, Geralyn Wolf, the first female bishop to have converted from Judaism, and Mary Glasspool, the first partnered lesbian bishop. I knew them all and had conversed with them on more than one occasion. Their perspectives on the priesthood were informed by feminism and Process Theology. Our paths diverged dramatically once I began to consider questions about the origin and nature of the priesthood from the perspective of anthropology.<br /><br />It is remarkable that the Diocese of Pennsylvania even considered me for the priesthood since I was far more a traditionalist than the other women. In retrospect, I see that it happened exactly because of ECUSA's on-going radicalization and growing intolerance. The parish that put me forward for ordination was the Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli, Pennsylvania. It was the evangelical flagship at that time and the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania was glad to have that parish contribute a woman for its latest celebrated cause. Besides that, Good Samaritan was the mission founded by Good Shepherd, Rosemont, and my approval was a slap in the face to Fr. Steenson and all that he represented. <br /><br />All the more wonder then that Dr. Steenson should have been so patient with this sinner, inviting me to a service of the Blessed Benediction, and helping me to understand some of the deeper mysteries of our Eucharistic faith. <br /><br />My sympathies were always with the Anglican Traditionalists, even as an Episcopal priest. However, in those early years I didn't understand how my being at the altar caused confusion, nor did I recognize the inherent dangers of this innovation. Bishop Nazir-Ali touched on some of those dangers in this excellent talk on “The Necessity of Unity in Truth for the Church’s Mission.”<br /><br />Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our Great High Priest. The Church is His bride. One day there will be a great wedding feast and our Lord and King will then be enthroned forever and His Queen, the Church, will also be exalted. Christ is the head of the Church. He is <i>kephalē</i>, the master and the husband in relation to the Church. To speak of Jesus Christ and the Church in any other terms is to set forth an errant Christology. We do so when we place females at the altar.<br /><br />If that is not explicit enough, we should remember that the word <i>ke-phalē</i> is related to the Greek word <i>phallōs</i>, a reference to the male reproductive organ.<br /><br />During my six years in the Antiochian Orthodox Church I came to appreciate the power of images. To those who ask me about women’s ordination, I pose this question: “Were we to contemplate the Blessed Mother of Christ and the Incarnation, would we place before our eyes a masculine image? Why then would we place before us a feminine image in the contemplation of Christ our Great High Priest giving Himself to us and for us?<br /><br />As Anglicans in the Catholic Faith, we recognize the distinction between adoration as worship and veneration as giving honor where honor is due, especially to the Blessed Theotokos. This distinction between worship and veneration is one that I understand as an anthropologist. However, this distinction is not widely recognized among Protestants who have a tendency to iconoclasm. Yet they understand the value of images in social media, in stained glass, in the image of the Cross, and in textbooks. Veneration is something that Anglicans must learn if we are to experience the fullness of the communion of saints. Further, we will be blessed in showing the proper honor to the Blessed Woman of Genesis 3:15, the Mother of Christ our God.<br /><br />I wonder if some Anglicans accept women at the altar as a sort of compensation for the lack of female imagery in the churches. Would this be corrected were Anglican churches to have a central icon of the Blessed Theotokos, as is done in the Orthodox churches? What if we too were to celebrate the “holy myhrr-bearing women” who were the first witnesses to the Resurrection? Have the women of our parishes heard that the Bible is essentially the story of the Woman who would conceive and bring forth the Seed who would crush the serpent's head? Are they aware that the Prayer of Humble Access alludes to a woman who Christ commended for her faith?<br /><br />Catholic Anglicans uphold the faith once delivered, and the integrity of the all-male priesthood. We value the historic liturgical tradition of the Anglican Way. We understand that Anglican orders are valid and of greater antiquity than generally recognized. The apostolic order of priests was already established in Britain by 44 A.D and there is much archaeological, anthropological and linguistic evidence linking its founding to the Christ-following members of the Sanhedrin who alone were qualified to ordain priests.<br /><br />Catholic Anglicans are not afraid to face reality and speak against the lies of our time. In his recent Pastoral letter, Bishop Paul Hewett made is profound observation: “It is an illusion to believe that same sex marriage or ordination of women or abortion or divorce on demand can in any way promote justice or freedom or equality for victim groups. Illusion, as with addictive behaviors, solves nothing, but is in fact a slippery slope to infinite unraveling, infinite unreality, infinite unlife, and ever less being.” <br /><br />Our primary obligation is to uphold and defend the whole of that sacred deposit and sacred order that has been delivered to us by our faithful ancestors who gave their lives, often as martyrs, to preserve the unity of the Church in Truth.<br /><br />Catholic Anglicans have a special role to play in the revitalization of Anglicanism worldwide. We have a responsibility to oppose feminism, process theology, reductionism, fundamentalism, and iconoclasm. Fundamentalist readings of sacred texts such as the Torah, the New Testament, or the Quran tend to result in iconoclasm. In the past year we have seen tragic examples of this with Islamic fundamentalist smashing statues and destroying icons in Iraq and Syria. <br /><br />Anglican catholics are duty-bound to stand at the crossroads and direct others to the ancient paths. The Prophet Jeremiah received this message from God: This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." (Jer. 6:16)<br /><br />But the people said, "We will not walk in it." <br /><br /> <br /><br />In refusing to walk in the ancient paths, people have become lost. The disorientation is so great that they no longer know good from evil, truth from falsehood. People have no idea how far they have wandered from their Creator's boundless love. <br /><br />If there is one concern that I hope we all share it is that the Anglican Way be God’s way; that Anglicans walk along the tried and true paths, and that our Bishops exercise true spiritual authority in leading us. One threat to this is the temptation to create a designer church or to seek to reproduce the late great Episcopal Church. No new ground can be won by facing backward. We have entered upon a great adventure as pioneers on a new frontier.<br /><br />I come from Kentucky, the land of Daniel Boone, a trail-blazing frontiersman. It was through the Kentucky wilderness that the explorers Lewis and Clark journeyed on their way to the Pacific. Just as the frontiersmen of Kentucky followed the ancient trails shown to them by the native Americans, so let us pioneer a path that corresponds to the old way. Let us walk the trail that is well known by the natives of our catholic Faith. <br /><br />We have the road map within us by virtue of our baptism into Jesus Christ. Baptism marks the beginning of our Christian profession and provides the structure and framework for the whole of our common life as disciples and disciple-makers.<br /><br />So We yield thee hearty thanks most merciful Father, that it hath pleased thee to regenerate us with thy Holy Spirit, to receive us for thy own children by adoption, and to incorporate us into thy holy Church. <br /><br />In Baptism, we are buried into Christ, receiving the seed of immortality. This enables us to hear the Gospel and see the reality of God in our lives. St. Cyril of Jerusalem said: <br /><br />"See, I pray you, how great a dignity Jesus bestows on you. You were called a Catechumen, while the word echoed round you from without; hearing of hope, and knowing it not; hearing mysteries, and not understanding them; hearing Scriptures, and not knowing their depth. The echo is no longer around you, but within you; for the indwelling Spirit (Romans 8:9, 11) henceforth makes your mind a house of God. When you have heard what is written concerning the mysteries, then you will understand things which you knew not." (From the Catechetical Lectures)<br /><br />Consider the physics of sound waves. If you shout in a large canyon the sound will reflect off of the solid canyon walls and you will hear an echo. If the canyon wall is more than about 56 feet or 17 meters from where you are standing, the sound wave will take more than 0.1 seconds to reflect and return to you. The echo is proof that something is there of substance and solidity. The echo is proof also that something massive is at a distance from us. The echo of which St. Cyril speaks is proof of the substance of the Gospel or more accurately, proof of the Word Incarnate, who is the very heart of the Christian faith which we have a duty to preserve. <br /><br />On the other hand, if you are near the wall, as for example, in a shower stall, when you shout no echo is heard. The echo in the canyon tells us that we are still a distance away from God, but God is there and very real. Writing to the Ephesians, St. Paul explains: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” St Cyril tells us that the Baptized receive the echo within them. The echo is heard inwardly and “then you will understand things which you knew not.”<br /><br />The echo confirms absolutely the existence of Christ our God, but it cannot tell us His Nature, for that is a matter of revealed truth and we find that in the Scriptures by which God has superintended the preservation of the oldest known religious hope, what we call Messianic expectation; the Gospel of Jesus Christ. From of old, long before the time of Abraham, there was expectation in the ancient world of a Righteous Ruler who would overcome death and lead his people to immortality. The American mythologist, Joseph Campbell, calls this the "Monomyth" and anthropological studies of the widely dispersed peoples in the R1 Haplogroup confirms the spread of this expectation. <br /><br />There is an important principle in anthropological investigation. That principle states: The more widely dispersed globally a culture trait, a practice or a belief, the older it is. So how old is Messianic expectation? It was already well established among the widely dispersed ruler-priests by 3500 B.C. This means that the core of our Christian Faith is the oldest known religion in the world. <br /><br />Today the Church is the single entity that preserves the hope of bodily resurrection through the agency of the Righteous Ruler, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. <br /><br />And humbly we beseech thee to grant, that we being dead to sin, and living to righteousness, and being buried with Christ in his death, may crucify the old man, and utterly abolish the whole body of sin; and that we be made partakers of his resurrection; so that finally, with the residue of thy holy Church, we may be inheritors of thine everlasting kingdom; Through Jesus Christ our Lord. <br /><br />The Church's mission is to baptize into this hope, nurture in this hope, and equip disciple-making disciples to share this hope. We need well trained clergy for that mission. We need well catechized laity for that mission. That means exploring creative means of theological education for all who seek it. And there is something more that needs to be done, something that the Church did very well in the past, but which it has failed to do in modern times. We must help people learn to discern truth from falsehood. We are bombarded by lies daily. The Church is the single entity that is able to identify lies and speak against the often subtle and sophisticated falsehoods that confront us. <br /><br />I see a great deal of pseudo-science and half-truths among anthropologists who disdain religion in general and Christianity in particular. Their scholarship is like a map out of which numerous holes have been cut. Is it any wonder that so few anthropologists are people of faith? In the universities they are never shown the whole map. They miss the trails that lead to verification of the core of Christian belief and the veracity of Scripture. <br /><br />The Church can help seekers to discern distinctions, to think critically and constructively, and to recognize and honor God-established boundaries because these are real. Spiritual purity is distinct from spiritual impurity. The Son did not die to make us semi-pure. There is a realness to this distinction that the world cannot grasp.<br /><br />Likewise, God did not create a gender continuum. Male and female is a real distinction. <br /><br /> <br /><br />God is real. By virtue of our baptism we recognize God's realness as an echo. In our confirmation, we make a mature commitment to our baptismal covenant, and by the laying on of the bishop’s hands with prayer, God strengthens the work of the Holy Spirit in us for the daily increase of divine grace in our lives and ministries. <br /><br />The echo to which St. Cyril refers confirms absolutely the existence of Christ our God, but it cannot tell us His Nature, for that is a matter of divine revelation and we find that in the Scriptures by which God has superintended the preservation of the oldest known religious hope that the Divine One would come to our aid and deliver us from sin and death. <br /><br />I’ve been told that Process Theology ruled the day at Lambeth 2008 under the guise of indaba. As an anthropologist I have studied many African cultural practices, and I know that indaba could never work at Lambeth. Indaba pertains to problem resolution in a village where everyone is a blood relative and where the first priority of all involved is the preservation of the oneness of the community. It is quite evident that Lambeth failed to preserve the oneness of the Anglican worldwide community. Certainly right-believing Anglicans were not fooled by the controlled conversations that directed people away from resolution. The “endless conversation” was designed to obfuscate, not clarify, the real issues. The reflections revealed “elasticity” of doctrine, driven by a desire to accommodate secular culture. <br /><br />Colin Johnson, Bishop of Toronto, while at Lambeth said that he comes from a community with "a very large lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual population” and he was determined through Indaba to keep that in the conversation. Frustration was high as it was evident that no progress was being made, despite the window dressing to make it seem that there was progress. <br /><br />Bishop Mouneer Anis described Lambeth as a "great wall being put up by the revisionists" and said that the Communion's divisions over homosexuality are symptomatic of "a much deeper illness." The Church has become infected with a deadly cancer, and as is often the case with cancer, the disease is not recognized until in the later stages. People just go on as if there were nothing wrong. That is what happened in the Episcopal Church.<br /><br />Upon his return from Lambeth, M. Thomas Shaw, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, said that he would continue to ordain gay clergy, and gave the nod to the clergy of his diocese to continue to bless same-sex partnerships. Nothing that happened at Lambeth made him aware of his terminal illness.<br /><br />We should not be discouraged by this depressing tale from our recent past. From the beginning, the Church has been "sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed." This Congress is modeled on the great Anglo-Catholic Congresses in England in the early 20th century. It is to be a prophetic call to return to the Fathers, with renewed commitment to the Gospel, the extension of the Kingdom, and the cure of souls, ministering to rich and poor alike, throughout the world. It is hoped that we might let our Lord form His mind in His Church, so that we as Anglicans overcome our ecclesiastical deficits and grow in the mind of Christ. <br /><br /> <br /><br />There are some who look back with yearning to a time when the Church was undivided. With apologies, especially to my Eastern Orthodox sisters and brothers, if we are honest, we must admit that the church has never been undivided. St. Paul warned the churches about factions based on personalities. <br /><br />St. Basil the Great, in his treatise On the Holy Spirit, directed these words against the Arians: <br /><br />“Just as a hunter hides his traps, or an ambush of soldiers camouflages itself, so these questioners spew forth elaborately constructed inquiries, not really hoping to learn anything useful from them, because unless you agree with them and give them the answer they want, they imagine that they are fully entitled to stir up a raging controversy.” <br /><br />Blessed Basil also wrote: “Every man is a theologian; it does not matter that his soul is covered with more blemishes than can be counted. The result is that these innovators find an abundance of men to join their factions. So ambitious, self-elected men divide the government of the churches among themselves, and reject the authority of the Holy Spirit. The ordinances of the Gospel have been thrown into confusion everywhere for lack of discipline; the jostling for high positions is incredible, as every ambitious man tries to thrust himself into high office. The result of this lust for power is that wild anarchy prevails among the people; the exhortations of those in authority are rendered utterly void and unprofitable, since every man in his arrogant delusion thinks that it is more his business to give orders to others than to obey anyone himself.”<br /><br />In Letter 90, St. Basil wrote: “The dogmas of the Fathers are held in contempt, the Apostolic traditions are disdained, the churches are subject to the novelties of innovators.” This he wrote to “To the Most Holy Brethren and Bishops Found in the West” whose authority he recognized. <br /><br />Though there always have been divisions in the church, there is unity in our future. Our spiritual unity is in Christ and will be fully evident in the eschaton, and this is of the Lord’s doing. Our mission is to be the Church in love with her Lord and Master. Now the Church suffers, but the mystery hidden for the ages is being made manifest for all the world to witness. Our suffering is his suffering. “Yet saints their watch are keeping. Their cry goes up ‘How long?’ And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.” <br /><br />Until that day, C. S. Lewis reminds us what needs to be done. In "God in the Dock", He wrote: <br /><br />“We are to defend Christianity itself — the faith preached by the apostles, attested by the Martyrs, embodied in the Creeds, expounded by the Fathers. This must be clearly distinguished from the whole of what any one of us may think about God and Man. Each of us has his individual emphasis: each holds, in addition to the Faith, many opinions which seem to him to be consistent with it and true and important. And so perhaps they are. But as apologists it is not our business to defend them. We are defending Christianity; not my religion.” <br /><br /> <br /><br />Innovators love to talk about God as if God were mutable. One of the errors of Process Theology, as expounded by Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne, is that God is affected by temporal processes and is "becoming" alongside humanity. What bunk! The very order of Creation makes it evident that there is a distinction between the Creator and the creation, between God and Man, between heaven and earth. That is why the Lord taught us to pray that the Father's will be done on earth as in heaven.<br /><br />Talking God into our own image is to lose our identity, our very being. God is not what we imagine or want God to be. We have no power to make God in our image. Nor can we make ourselves anything other than what God created us. It is arrogant self-delusion to think otherwise. Such spiritual hubris plays out to its logical end in the tragic lives of Bruce Jenner, a man who styles himself as a woman, and Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who styles herself as a black woman. <br /><br />I spoke before about how my research in Biblical Anthropology helped me detect the deficiencies and falsehoods of Feminism and Process Theology. It also helped me to see the inadequacies of reductionism. Anthropology is the enemy of reductionism. The danger of reductionism is that it always misleads us. There are many examples of reductionism among Christians: Luther's interpretation of 1 Peter 2:9 by which he concludes that all baptized people are priests; the Protestant theory of Sola Scriptura, Young Earth Creationism, etc.<br /><br />Secular reductionists attribute religious beliefs to non-religious causes. Some view religious faith as a by-product of human evolution. In this view religion enhances survivability for members of a group and so is reinforced by natural selection. Others reduce the religious impulse to superstition, as a way to explain the inexplicable. Religious reductionism views divine law as merely Man's attempt to determine conceptions of right and wrong. <br /><br />There is also the psychological view that religion is a way to cope with our anxieties. This view actually has some basis in Scripture because all the evidence suggests that the priesthood emerged among Abraham's ancestors out of a need to address blood guilt. The primitive principle is one we recognize as animal sacrifice; blood for blood. And the sacred law that already existed among Abraham's ancestors pertained in large part to blood; for life is in the blood. In the Biblical worldview, blood both pollutes and makes clean. Ancient law codes, such as the Code of Ani and the Law of Tehut which existed long before the code of Hammurabi, addressed transgressions of boundaries between God and Man and between the individual and his neighbor, and between the individual and his community. <br /><br /><br />At the June ACNA conference Archbishop Foley Beach called for Anglicans to be a repentant, reconciling, reproducing, and compassionate. To this list, I would add conciliar catholicity, because this is the glue that holds us together. <br /><br />Recently an Anglican theologian noted that, "C.S. Lewis and Dorothy Sayers were closer to the Anglo-Catholic end of things than the Evangelical wing." That statement implies a spectrum within Anglicanism. However, this theological range has definite boundaries at both ends. Anyone who crosses the boundary on either side, abandons the Apostolic Faith and cannot rightly claim to be Anglican. <br /><br />Anglican ritual does not make one catholic, as Bishop Hensley Henson makes clear in his Cui bono? (1899) against Anglican ritualists. Henson viewed the "doctrinal incoherence" of Anglicanism to have "roots in something far more respectable than an indolent acquiescence in undiscipline or a reprehensible indifference to truth. It reflects the reluctance of considering and responsible English Churchmen to thrust the rough hand of authority into the sphere of religious opinion." <br /><br />And see to what state of disarray we have come because of this! <br /><br />Samuel Taylor Coleridge said, "Christianity without a Church exercising spiritual authority is vanity and dissolution." <br /><br />Bishop Hensen posed this significant and probing question to Lord Halifax: “Apart from all questions of ecclesiastical theory, and considering only the practical worth of that authority of the ‘undivided Church’ to which High Churchman so frequently and so confidently appeal, can it be denied that we are little helped by an authority… which is wholly silent on many subjects of modern perplexity?” <br /><br /> <br /><br />Beloved of Christ, the Church must engage the lost world. The Church can no longer afford to remain silent as the world spirals into madness. This means that bishops must deliberate and they must act. Bishops who exercise true spiritual authority always lead the people in the catholic way, a way that needs no reforming, and no course adjustment as attempted by Protestant interpreters of the 39 Articles.<br /><br />To what advantage do some insist that the Articles of Religion are our Anglican confession? The Articles went through a number of revisions before 1571 and were appreciated by the Catholic minded because of the strength of their arguments against Anabaptists. The 1571 Canon requiring subscription to the Articles instructs the clergy “not to teach anything except what is agreeable to the doctrine of the Old and New Testament, and what the Catholic Fathers and the ancient Bishops have collected from the same doctrine.”<br /><br />The Articles alone have never served to stiffen the resolve of Anglican bishops to “trust the rough hand of authority” when it came to confronting heresy and dangerous innovations. That resolve comes from commitment to the Apostolic Faith, expressed in the Creeds, contained in Scripture, and delineated by the Church Fathers. We are to interpret the Articles of Religion according to the ancient Fathers and not vice versa. Using the 39 Articles as a confession taken out of the context of the Patristic Consensus produces a distortion of The Anglican Way.<br /><br />In this day when those in the pews look to our Bishops for clear and unambiguous leadership in the face of heresy and apostasy, catholicity must we understood as natural to the Church. The true Church is always and everywhere repentant, reconciling, reproducing, compassionate, conciliar and catholic. These qualities make the Church effective in a world gone mad.<br /><br />I am reminded of something G.K. Chesterton wrote in The Ball and the Cross: <br /><br />"Christianity is always out of fashion because it is always sane; and all fashions are mild insanities... The Church always seems to be behind the times, when it is really beyond the times; it is waiting till the last fad shall have seen its last summer. It keeps the key of a permanent virtue."<br /><br /><br />As the realignment and revitalization of Anglicans worldwide continues there is less stench of death and decay. We find common ground in a permanent virtue: the changeless Truth revealed in Jesus Christ. Through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit we are becoming the fragrance of Christ's resurrection, a testament to the power of the Lord, the Giver of Life, who makes a sick body whole and raises the dead to life.<br /><br />My brothers and sisters in the Lord, be encouraged! A marvelous day is coming when the Church will be presented to the Divine Bridegroom wholesome, pure, and adorned in glory.<br /><br />Even so, come, Lord Jesus! <br /><br /> <br /><br />The Rt. Rev. Eric Menees, Bishop of San Joachin, closed with this prayer of Archbishop William Laud: <br /><br /><br />O gracious Father, <br /><br />we humbly beseech thee for thy holy Catholic Church; <br /><br />that thou wouldest be pleased to fill it with all truth, in all peace. <br /><br />Where it is corrupt, purify it; <br /><br />where it is in error, direct it; <br /><br />where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. <br /><br />Where it is right, establish it; <br /><br />where it is in want, provide for it; <br /><br />where it is divided, reunite it; <br /><br />for the sake of him who died and rose again, <br /><br />and ever liveth to make intercession for us, <br /><br />Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. <br /><br />Amen. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-17769660080023729012022-08-15T16:53:00.002-06:002022-08-15T16:53:29.338-06:00The Descriptive Writing of Stephen Crane<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPmnmp5rzx3tRmt-gb0_syd1zjwLjzHZ7aMVW5OkV96FtFmE657CMb_A54AByMHkROJ5iRJh37zHeHFWAHDHml4dX6pKbHXh-I1GlmABQpCbUCwNfn3sGvJK2S_yX-rF3_b3r_yywjHN64cM-LOhAD_Ac2LdsFq-3xzgeSTZlU9ooc-hNovEu1xZsJ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1443" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPmnmp5rzx3tRmt-gb0_syd1zjwLjzHZ7aMVW5OkV96FtFmE657CMb_A54AByMHkROJ5iRJh37zHeHFWAHDHml4dX6pKbHXh-I1GlmABQpCbUCwNfn3sGvJK2S_yX-rF3_b3r_yywjHN64cM-LOhAD_Ac2LdsFq-3xzgeSTZlU9ooc-hNovEu1xZsJ=w213-h282" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Stephen Crane with a cigarette.</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Credit: Getty Images</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>This excerpt is from the opening of Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. This was his second novel, published in 1895. After its publication, Crane traveled as a newspaper correspondent. His travels took him to Mexico, Cuba, and Greece. In 1897 he settled in England where he met Joseph Conrad and Henry James. He was only age 28 when he died in Germany. Crane had started<span style="text-align: center;"> smoking and drinking at the age of 6.</span></p><div><br /></div>Chapter 1<br /><br /><i>The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting. As the landscape changed from brown to green, the army awakened, and began to tremble with eagerness at the noise of rumors. It cast its eyes upon the roads, which were growing from long troughs of liquid mud to proper thoroughfares. A river, amber-tinted in the shadow of its banks, purled at the army's feet; and at night, when the stream had become of a sorrowful blackness, one could see across it the red, eyelike gleam of hostile campfires set in the low brows of distant hills.<br /><br />Once a certain tall soldier developed virtues and went resolutely to wash a shirt. He came flying back from a brook waving his garment bannerlike. He was swelled with a tale he had heard from a reliable friend, who had heard it from a truthful cavalryman, who had heard it from his trustworthy brother, one of the orderlies at division headquarters. He adopted the important air of a herald in red and gold. "We're goin' t' move t' morrah--sure," he said pompously to a group in the company street. "We're goin' 'way up the river, cut across, an' come around in behint 'em."<br /><br />To his attentive audience he drew a loud and elaborate plan of a very brilliant campaign. When he had finished, the blue-clothed men scattered into small arguing groups between the rows of squat brown huts. A negro teamster who had been dancing upon a cracker box with the hilarious encouragement of twoscore soldiers was deserted. He sat mournfully down. Smoke drifted lazily from a multitude of quaint chimneys.</i><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://www.anniedillard.com/" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #990000;">Annie Dillard - Official Site</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/annie-dillards-pilgrim-at-tinker-creek.html" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #990000;">Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2014/09/quote-of-week-annie-dillard.html" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #990000;">Annie Dillard's Advice to Writers</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-descriptive-writing-of-dorothy.html" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #990000;">The Descriptive Writing of Dorothy Sayers</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2022/07/jonathan-swifts-descriptive-writing.html" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #990000;">Jonathan Swift's Descriptive Writing</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2022/07/joseph-conrads-descriptive-writing.html" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #990000;">Joseph Conrad's Descriptive Writing</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-descriptive-writing-of-martha-grimes.html" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #990000;">The Descriptive Writing of Martha Grimes</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2022/06/willa-cather-excerpt-begins-new-series.html" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #990000;">Willa Cather's Descriptive Writing</span></a></div><p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /></p>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-77343681057423099442022-07-31T06:30:00.003-06:002022-07-31T14:41:23.493-06:00Annie Dillard Describes Her Writing Life<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO0EqD1-pbxKipk5yXgMVnWgrJmY4X2DUOVxWtHmEllpMkzVWr42cMjpndzN3_ssQVSraBD_j8CSqve-6d6AfDnqwWnHXwSauu2ryPxjHmCaXGnIRFyL5ud0fZjS5WOcjkLgEHXmoikNueeo1cgkfEFA6f0qLsn_81vnmZYemzvh3mceh9s1-z4mvG/s809/5209.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO0EqD1-pbxKipk5yXgMVnWgrJmY4X2DUOVxWtHmEllpMkzVWr42cMjpndzN3_ssQVSraBD_j8CSqve-6d6AfDnqwWnHXwSauu2ryPxjHmCaXGnIRFyL5ud0fZjS5WOcjkLgEHXmoikNueeo1cgkfEFA6f0qLsn_81vnmZYemzvh3mceh9s1-z4mvG/s320/5209.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Annie Dillard</div><p><br /></p><p>The following is an excerpt from Annie Dillard's 1989 book The Writing Life<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span>(non-fiction narrative). This continues our series on good descriptive writing.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>This night I was concentrating on the chapter. The horizon of my consciousness was the contracted circle of light inside my study - the lone lamp in the enormous, dark library. I leaned over the desk. I worked by hand. I doodled deliriously in the legal-pad margins. I fiddled with the index cards. I reread a sentence maybe a hundred times, and if I kept it, I changed it seven or eight times, often substantially.</i></p><p><i>Now a June bug was knocking at my window. I was wrestling inside a sentence. I must have heard it a dozen times before it registered - before I noticed that I had been hearing a bug knock for half an hour. It made a hollow, bonking sound. Some people call the same fumbling, heavy insects "May beetles." It must have been attracted to my light - what little came between the slats of the blind. I dislike June bugs. Back to work. Knock again, knock again, and finally, to learn what monster of a fat, brown June bug could fly up to my second story and thump so insistently at my window as though it wanted admittance - at last, unthinkingly, I parted the venetian blind slats with my fingers, to look out. </i></p><p><i>And there were the fireworks, far away. It was the Fourth of July. I had forgotten. They were red and yellow, blue and green and white; they blossomed high in the black sky many miles away. The fireworks seemed as distant as the stars, but I could hear the late banging their bursting made. The sound, those bangs so muffled and out of sync, accompanied at random the silent, far sprays of color widening and raining down. It was the Fourth of July, and I had forgotten all of wide space and all of historical time. I opened the blinds a crack like eyelids, and it all came exploding in on me at once - oh yes, the world.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p>Related reading: <a href="https://www.anniedillard.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">Annie Dillard - Official Site</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/annie-dillards-pilgrim-at-tinker-creek.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2014/09/quote-of-week-annie-dillard.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Annie Dillard's Advice to Writers</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-descriptive-writing-of-dorothy.html"><span style="color: #990000;">The Descriptive Writing of Dorothy Sayers</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2022/07/jonathan-swifts-descriptive-writing.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Jonathan Swift's Descriptive Writing</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2022/07/joseph-conrads-descriptive-writing.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Joseph Conrad's Descriptive Writing</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-descriptive-writing-of-martha-grimes.html"><span style="color: #990000;">The Descriptive Writing of Martha Grimes</span></a>; <a href="https://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2022/06/willa-cather-excerpt-begins-new-series.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Willa Cather's Descriptive Writing</span></a></p><p><br /></p>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0