"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in thee!" (Psa. 84:11)
The metaphors of Scripture are rich with meaning. Think on these. As the sun is to nature--to all life--so is God to his world. As there would be no life anywhere--in any plants or animals or humans--were it not for the sun, so there is no true spiritual life apart from knowing Him. All who do not know Him walk in darkness.
And He is a shield as well. As was their shields to the warriors of old, protecting them from the weapons of the enemy, so God promises no evil shall befall those who place their trust entirely in Him.
Not only so. The upright have from him both favor and honor. Positively, He has promised that all that befalls them has in it a potential for their good. He who knows us altogether--sees our true needs much better than we know them ourselves--has pledged himself to supply them. It is for us to discern the good in any of the events of life and be open to receiving it.
Truly, blessed is the one who trusts in God.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Syllabus. Fall 2010
SYLLABUS: FALL, 2010.
TIME AND PLACE: Saturdays, 10 - 11 a.m., Meeting Room, The Marion E. Wade Center, corner of Washington and Lincoln, Wheaton, IL.
TEXTS: George MacDonald: Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood. Johannesen.
Charles Williams: War in Heaven. Regents.
DESCRIPTION: Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood is the first in a series of three novels that chronicle the experiences of Rev. Harry Walton as he pursues his pastoral duties, in this novel in the fictional English town of Marshmallows. MacDonald, drawing upon his own experience of the pastorate, shows his cleric patiently trying to help his parishioners according to their individual needs.
In War in Heaven, Charles Williams, who was deeply interested in Arthurian legends, presents a contemporary quest for the Holy Grail, which is discovered to have been reposited in an English country church. Characters involved in black magic avidly covet and steal it while the Archdeacon seeks to do it proper honor. In chronicling their separate experiences, Williams offers deep insights into the nature of both good and evil.
In Rev. Walton and the Archdeacon these authors present two interestingly different views of the ideal Christian cleric. Their depictions will not only tell us much about each author but will also serve to sharpen our own thinking concerning the most admirable Christian attitudes.
READINGS:
Sept. 11: Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood, Chapters 1 - 5.
18: Chapters 6 - 8.
25: Chapters 9 - 11.
Oct. 2: Chapters 12 - 14.
9: Chapters 15 - 19.
16: Chapters 20 - 24.
23: Chapter 25 - 29.
30: Chapters 30 - end.
Nov. 6: War in Heaven, Chapters 1 - 4.
13: Chapters 5 - 7
Nov. 20: Chapters 8 - 11.
Nov. 27. No Class.
Dec. 4: Chapters 12 - 13.
Dec. 11: Chapters 14 - 16
Dec. 18: Chapters 17, 18.
TIME AND PLACE: Saturdays, 10 - 11 a.m., Meeting Room, The Marion E. Wade Center, corner of Washington and Lincoln, Wheaton, IL.
TEXTS: George MacDonald: Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood. Johannesen.
Charles Williams: War in Heaven. Regents.
DESCRIPTION: Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood is the first in a series of three novels that chronicle the experiences of Rev. Harry Walton as he pursues his pastoral duties, in this novel in the fictional English town of Marshmallows. MacDonald, drawing upon his own experience of the pastorate, shows his cleric patiently trying to help his parishioners according to their individual needs.
In War in Heaven, Charles Williams, who was deeply interested in Arthurian legends, presents a contemporary quest for the Holy Grail, which is discovered to have been reposited in an English country church. Characters involved in black magic avidly covet and steal it while the Archdeacon seeks to do it proper honor. In chronicling their separate experiences, Williams offers deep insights into the nature of both good and evil.
In Rev. Walton and the Archdeacon these authors present two interestingly different views of the ideal Christian cleric. Their depictions will not only tell us much about each author but will also serve to sharpen our own thinking concerning the most admirable Christian attitudes.
READINGS:
Sept. 11: Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood, Chapters 1 - 5.
18: Chapters 6 - 8.
25: Chapters 9 - 11.
Oct. 2: Chapters 12 - 14.
9: Chapters 15 - 19.
16: Chapters 20 - 24.
23: Chapter 25 - 29.
30: Chapters 30 - end.
Nov. 6: War in Heaven, Chapters 1 - 4.
13: Chapters 5 - 7
Nov. 20: Chapters 8 - 11.
Nov. 27. No Class.
Dec. 4: Chapters 12 - 13.
Dec. 11: Chapters 14 - 16
Dec. 18: Chapters 17, 18.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Books
Having spent my life as a teacher of literature on the college level, I have read a number of books. Many have had a profound impact upon my life and thinking. I list below, alphabetically by author, the titles of some I especially recommend.
Joseph Conrad: Lord Jim
Charles Dickens: David Copperfield
Fyodor Dostoevsky: Brothers Karamazov
George Eliot: Adam Bede
__________: Middlemarch
William Faulkner: Go Down Moses
C. S. Lewis: Til We Have Faces
__________: The Great Divorce
George MacDonald: Lilith
__________: Phantastes
__________: Sir Gibbie
Flannery O’Connor: The Violent Bear It Away
Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina
__________: War and Peace
Robert Penn Warren: All the King’s Men
Charles Williams: The Place of the Lion
__________: The Greater Trumps
NON-FICTION
C. S. Lewis: Mere Christianity
_________: The Problem of Pain
George MacDonald: Unspoken Sermons
Edwin Muir: Autobiography
Evelyn Underhill: Mysticism
Simone Weil: Waiting for God
Charles Williams: The Descent of the Dove
FICTION
Joseph Conrad: Lord Jim
Charles Dickens: David Copperfield
Fyodor Dostoevsky: Brothers Karamazov
George Eliot: Adam Bede
__________: Middlemarch
William Faulkner: Go Down Moses
C. S. Lewis: Til We Have Faces
__________: The Great Divorce
George MacDonald: Lilith
__________: Phantastes
__________: Sir Gibbie
Flannery O’Connor: The Violent Bear It Away
Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina
__________: War and Peace
Robert Penn Warren: All the King’s Men
Charles Williams: The Place of the Lion
__________: The Greater Trumps
NON-FICTION
C. S. Lewis: Mere Christianity
_________: The Problem of Pain
George MacDonald: Unspoken Sermons
Edwin Muir: Autobiography
Evelyn Underhill: Mysticism
Simone Weil: Waiting for God
Charles Williams: The Descent of the Dove
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