Already, by the time that Anselm died in 1109, Latin Christendom had been set upon a course so distinctive that what today we term "the West" is less its heir than its continuation. Certainly, to dream of a world transformed by a reformation, or an enlightenment, or a revolution is nothing exclusively modern. Rather, it is to dream as medieval visionaries dreamed: to dream in the manner of a Christian. [...] This book explores what it was that made Christianity so subversive and disruptive; how completely it came to saturate the mindset of Latin Christendom; and why, in a West that is often ..read more

Lorenzo Ghiberti on the Paradise Gate ot the Baptisterio (Florence) self portrait Doesn't he look so modern? Just like someone you might run into today ..read more

An opened Torah scroll MARK 1:21, 22 It is important to understand what perspective the Jews had that they heard Jesus' teachings as such a revelation ... and not like the scribes. First we must look at how they viewed the Torah (the Law). To the Jews the most sacred thing in the world was the Torah, the Law. The core of the law is the Ten Commandments, but the Law was taken to mean the first five books of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch, as they are called. To the Jews this Law was completely divine. It had, so they believed been given direct by God to Moses. It was absolutely hol ..read more

Alphonse Mucha, Self Portrait via WikiPaintings I love the expression on Mucha's face. I also love the fact that we know him for work that is very different than the portrait style above. Scroll down here to see what I mean. If we hear Alphonse Mucha, it is likely that a style doesn't come to mind for most people like me. One look though, and we know his style very well ..read more

Paul wrote that "God put forward [Christ] as a sacrifice of atonement" 9Rom 3:25), but the atonement or expiation is not directed to God; it s not meant to satisfy or placate God. Instead, it is directed to sin, that in its being satisfied it will be eliminated. "it can be said that it is God himself, not man, who expiates sin. … The image is more like that or removing a corrosive stain or neutralizing a lethal virus than that of anger that is placated by punishment" (James Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle). Raniero Cantalamessa, The Power of the Cross I love this image! I've never had ..read more

Vincent van Gogh, The Painter on the Road to Tarascon, 1888, reportedly destroyed during World War II ..read more

Arkady Rylov (1870–1939), Self-Portrait ..read more

What do you do to reassure someone that the drink you're offering contains no poison? You drink it yourself first, in their presence. This is what God did for humanity. God drank from the bitter cup of suffering in the Passion. If, before our eyes, God himself chose to drink it, human suffering cannot be a cup of poison; it must be more than just negativity, loss, and absurdity. At the bottom of the cup, there must be a pearl. We know the name of that pearl: resurrection! Raniero Cantalamessa, The Power of the Cross This is an interesting answer to the question of human suffering ..read more

 Perhaps the most frightening aspect of death is the solitude with which we must face it. We face it alone. Martin Luther said, "No man can die in another's place; each must personally fight his own battle against death. No matter how hard we cry out to those around us, each one of us must face it alone." But this is no longer entirely true. "If we have died with him, we will also live with him" (2 Tim 2:11). It is possible to die with someone! This demonstrates the gravity of the problem euthanasia presents from the Christian point of view. Euthanasia deprives human death of its link to ..read more

Self-Portrait with a Beret, Claude Monet, 1886 via Wikipaintings And here I thought I liked his nature paintings best. I like the rather startled gaze. Or perhaps it's a gaze of fierce intensity. Odd how I can't decide which it is. I'd never have thought of them being interchangeable until this moment ..read more