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Archives for June 2013

June 29, 2013 by kevinstilley

Walk Two Moons

Walk Two Moons

(click for more book information)

It is easy to see why this book was selected as a Newberry Medal winner (1995).  A bittersweet story of family and friendship, home and adapting to a new normal.

The book is not without its problems; the main character Salamanca Tree Hiddle prays to trees  and on a number of occasions the character development suffers as the 13-year old girls act and talk more like 10-year old girls. About halfway through it may be tempting to write it off as another melancholy angst-ridden tale like those that are currently so popular with teens.  However, don’t stop reading!  This story has an ending that had me crying like a little girl — but in a good way.  Stick with it and you will be rewarded.

I highly recommend the book, but with the following caveat – adults need to read the book if their children are reading it and be prepared to discuss some of the topics covered in this sophisticated plot-line; abandonment, death, grief, boy-girl relationships and dating, openness and honesty between children and parents – and, of course, “Don’t judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins.”

I encourage Christian parents to challenge their young reader to be analytical about the story resolution as it is depicted in the book.  Ask your young’un how and why a Christian might approach the situation differently.  Discussing that question alone is reason enough for both parent and child to invest the time in reading this enjoyable and provocative tale.

Filed Under: Blog, Books, Family Tagged With: abandonment, Books, death, grief, Newberry, Teen Books

June 20, 2013 by kevinstilley

A Week in the Life of Corinth

Book Cover

(click on the image for more info on the book)

I love good historical fiction. Some of my favorite books are from this genre — Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, The Flames of Rome by Paul Maier, and Quo Vadis by Henrik Sienkowicz, to name just a few. So, I was thrilled to discover that Ben Witherington III had written a work of historical fiction about Paul’s life in Corinth.

Witherington is eminently qualified for such an undertaking.  He is professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary and has written more than forty books on the socio-cultural background of the New Testament.  He knows the first century world intimately and is an imaginative and talented writer. He is exactly the kind of person to engage such an undertaking.

The storyline of A Week in the Life of Corinth is derived from the biblical account found in Acts 18:1-17.  It is a charming story that is faithful to the details of the biblical record.  It is imaginative and creative without resorting to unnecessary speculation.

The book was not what I was expecting, but that is not to say that it is not a good book.  I would recommend the book without hesitation.  I was expecting the book to be more story driven.  However, the story seemed to be used more as a pedagogical tool for those who are seeking to better understand the Roman provincial system, more especially first century Corinth and the spread of the gospel within its community.  Louis L’Amour once said that “Historical novels are, without question, the best way of teaching history, for they offer the human stories behind the events and leave the reader with a desire to know more.”  A Week in the Life of Corinth does just that and readers will find it to be both profitable and enjoyable.

__________

Here are a few quotes from the book taken mainly from the “A Closer Look” sections interspersed throughout the story.

… the Romans even had a religious ceremony called the depositio barbae, in which a teenage boy had the fuzz removed from his face for the first time!

*

In the Syriac text of the second-century apocryphal document called the Acts of Paul and Thecla, Paul is described as follows: “He was a man of middling size, and his hair was scanty, and his legs were a little crooked, and his knees were projecting, and he had large eyes and his eyebrows met, and his nose was somewhat long, and he was full of grace and mercy; at one time he seemed like a man, and at another time he seemed like an angel.”

We have no way of being certain about the accuracy of this physical description, and in any case, the function of such descriptions was to reveal something about the character of the man (hence the reference to “he seemed like an angel”) more than the appearance of the man. In ancient iconography a high forehead would be a sign of wisdom more than just intelligence, and since eyes were seen as the windows of the soul in antiquity, large eyes suggested a large or deep soul to the ancients.

The physical description in the Acts of Paul and Thecla seems to also give us a stereotypical description of a Jewish man with a long nose and bushy eyebrows that met. Median height in Paul’s age, for a Jewish man, seems to mean somewhere between five foot five and five foot ten. Paul was certainly no Goliath, even by ancient standards. The crooked legs and protruding knees might be taken as the signs of a man long on the road, and aging rapidly. Whatever the actual appearance of Paul, this description is meant to convey the impression that Paul, by Jewish or Christian standards, was a saintly man, well traveled and wise.

*

In the Greco-Roman world, social relationships worked differently than they do today in the West (and much more like they do in many non-Western cultures today). Reciprocity, or payback, was something that characterized relationships not only between patrons and their social inferiors, who were their clients, but even between social equals in business transactions. Most patron-client relationships were euphemistically called friendships (amicitia). And this is apparently one reason Paul largely avoids using such language in his letters. It would have signaled that Paul and his converts were in a patron-client relationship.

*

So in Corinth Paul was diligent in avoiding “gifts” and patronage since they always came with strings attached. Because of the party spirit of the Corinthians, if Paul had accepted patronage there, he would have only exacerbated a spirit of rivalry. Patronage was not simply a matter of economic or social power and control. It was a matter of honor and shame, and even of spiritual or religious control. Paul had to tiptoe carefully through the minefields of this social network to make sure the gospel was not seen as a commodity to be bought, and its apostle was not seen as a gun for hire. In short, Paul avoided patronage forthe same reason he was reluctant to use his Roman citizenship to further the gospel. In both cases, doing so just further inscribed the entrenched social hierarchies. By contrast, Paul believed that in Christ there is neither slave nor free, neither patrician nor plebian, neither Jew nor Gentile, and no male and female as well. All are one in Christ.

*

This episode in Paul’s life can be rather precisely dated, as Gallio was only in Corinth for a couple of years before his health caused him to withdraw. He seems to have arrived in Corinth no later than May of A.D. 51, and we know he was gone by A.D. 53. Therefore, this trial probably occurred about A.D. 52.

*

The traditional Roman fasces consisted of a bundle of white birch rods, tied together with a red leather ribbon into a cylinder, and often including a bronze axe (or sometimes two) amongst the rods, with the blade(s) on the side, projecting from the bundle. They were carried by the lictors who accompanied the magistrates. The axe often represented the power over life or death through the death penalty, although after the laws of the twelve tables, no Roman magistrate could summarily execute a Roman citizen.

*

…”salvation” in the pagan mind almost always referred to something happening in this world, in this life, of direct material benefit.

*

There were three major types of ancient rhetoric. (1) There was the rhetoric of attack and defense, which focused on the past. This was forensic rhetoric, the rhetoric of lawyers and law courts. (2) There was the rhetoric of advice and consent, which focused on the future, deliberative rhetoric, the rhetoric of the ancient Greek ekklesia, or democratic assembly. It is likely no accident that Paul called his house churches ekklesiai, since they were places where deliberative persuasion and advice would be given. (3) Finally, there was epideictic rhetoric, the rhetoric of praising or blaming someone or something in the present. This was a frequent and popular form of rhetoric, which was heard in the agora or after dinner at a banquet and as an encomium at a funeral.

Filed Under: Blog, Books, New Testament Tagged With: Acts 18, Corinth, Paul

June 20, 2013 by kevinstilley

Tuck Everlasting

Book Cover

(click on image for more book information)

One of the advantages of being a parent is that you get a second chance to become acquainted with great children’s books that you somehow missed during your own childhood. And, when you have six kids you not only get a second chance, but a third, and a fourth, and a fifth, and a ….

Tuck Everlasting, written by Natalie Babbit, is one of those books for me.

My daughter was reading Tuck Everlasting and left it laying on the living room coffee table. I picked it up to do the parently thing (yes, I know “parently” isn’t a word, but it should be) and review the book’s content. I couldn’t put it down until I had read it all. It is rare that one finds such beautiful descriptive prose in a book intended for children. The author’s wonderful use of language combined with mystery and a little magic make Tuck Everlasting and enchanting read.

A family secret, a precocious child, a mysterious traveling stranger, a kidnapping, a prison break, a wedding proposal and a challenging question about mortality and immortality — mix together with beautiful language and you’ve got Tuck Everlasting.

Filed Under: Blog, Books, Family Circus Tagged With: Book Recommendations, children's books, literature, Reading

June 19, 2013 by kevinstilley

Holiness and Justice : Discussion Questions

Title: Holiness and Justice
Speaker: R.C. Sproul
Scripture: Leviticus 10:3; 2 Samuel 6:1-11

So Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when He said:

I will show My holiness
to those who are near Me,
and I will reveal My glory
before all the people.”

But Aaron remained silent.

What?  (What does the Scripture say? What does it mean?  What is the truth being discussed)

  • The speaker says that during the Second Great Awakening there was an emphasis upon (1) man is bad, and (2) God is mad?  Do you think that there is a connection between the nature of the message preached and the movement of the Spirit that was experienced?
  • What do the accounts of Uzzah (2 Samuel 6) and Aaron’s sons (Leviticus 10) have in common?

So What? (How does the truth apply to you, the church, and others?)

  • Do you think that there are Christians today who avoid the Old Testament because God seems to be severe in the Old Testament?
  • Does the love, mercy, and longsuffering God of the New Testament nullify the holiness and justice of God?  What is the distinction the speaker makes between nonjustice and injustice?  Which would you rather experience?

Now What?  (What is the proper response to this message?)

  • Are you guilty of presuming upon God’s loving kindness? What changes in perspective and actions should you make right now?

* * *

This is the third lecture in the Ligonier teaching series The Holiness of God.

The Ligonier website describes the series as follow,

“The Holiness of God examines the meaning of holiness and why people are both fascinated and terrified by a holy God. This series closely explores God’s character, leading to new insights on sin, justice, and grace. The result is a new awareness of our dependence upon God’s mercy and a discovery of the awesomeness of His majestic holiness. Dr. R.C. Sproul says, “The holiness of God affects every aspect of our lives — economics, politics, athletics, romance — everything with which we are involved.”

Discussion questions and video for the rest of the series can be found at the following links:

  1. The Importance of Holiness
  2. The Trauma of Holiness
  3. Holiness and Justice
  4. The Insanity of Luther
  5. The Meaning of Holiness
  6. The Holiness of Christ

__________

Get “The Holiness of God” DVD Collection

Check out the Ligonier website for additional resources.

__________

Related

Holiness – Select Quotes

__________

Book Cover | Book Cover | Book Cover | Book Cover | Book Cover

Filed Under: Blog, Ethics / Praxis, Spiritual Growth, Theology Proper Tagged With: God, holiness, R.C. Sproul, theology proper

June 16, 2013 by kevinstilley

Clyde Stilley, My Father

I have many fond memories of my father but only these 52 seconds of video. Miss you, Dad. See you soon.

Clyde Stilley, My Father from Kevin Stilley on Vimeo.

Filed Under: Blog, Family Circus Tagged With: Clyde Stilley, Father's Day, Kevin Stilley

June 14, 2013 by kevinstilley

The Trauma of Holiness : Discussion Questions

Topic: The Trauma of Holiness
Speaker: R.C. Sproul
Scripture: Isaiah 6

What?  (What does the Scripture say? What does it mean?  What is the truth being discussed)

  • R.C. Sproul introduces his topic by speaking of a woman who was frustrated by what she perceived as her church’s hesitancy to speak of the holiness of God. Do you think that evangelicals sometimes hide the glory of God’s holiness by emphasizing other topics that are more warm and fuzzy? Why might this occur?
  • John Calvin said that everyone who is exposed to the holiness of God, trembles at his presence?  Is this a part of your experience?
  • What is the difference between an Old Testament prophet and a priest?  How did the judgment preached by the prophets and by Jesus relate to the topic of holiness?
  • How did Isaiah’s pronouncement regarding his own condition relate to the holiness of God?

So What? (How does the truth apply to you, your church, and others?)

  • Even often find a way to justify our failures until we see “the standard”?  What is the “standard” that Isaiah sees in Isaiah 6?  What is the standard by which we are to judge our lives?
  • If our every thought and action will one day be brought into judgment, how can we hope to escape our guilt?  What do we learn from seeing how God dealt with Isaiah and his sin?

Now What?  (What is the proper response to this message?)

  • God opened Isaiah’s eyes, cleaned him, and called him into ministry —   What would God have you see about your condition?  You cannot clean yourself; how does God clean you?  What is God calling you to?
  • Can you honestly say, “God, here am I, send me”?

* * *

This is the second lecture in the Ligonier teaching series The Holiness of God.

The Ligonier website describes the series as follow,

“The Holiness of God examines the meaning of holiness and why people are both fascinated and terrified by a holy God. This series closely explores God’s character, leading to new insights on sin, justice, and grace. The result is a new awareness of our dependence upon God’s mercy and a discovery of the awesomeness of His majestic holiness. Dr. R.C. Sproul says, “The holiness of God affects every aspect of our lives — economics, politics, athletics, romance — everything with which we are involved.”

Discussion questions and video for the rest of the series can be found at the following links:

  1. The Importance of Holiness
  2. The Trauma of Holiness
  3. Holiness and Justice
  4. The Insanity of Luther
  5. The Meaning of Holiness
  6. The Holiness of Christ

__________

Get “The Holiness of God” DVD Collection

Check out the Ligonier website for additional resources.

__________

Related

Holiness – Select Quotes

__________

Book Cover | Book Cover | Book Cover | Book Cover | Book Cover

Filed Under: Bible Exposition, Blog, Theology Proper Tagged With: God, holiness, Jesus, prophet, R.C. Sproul

June 9, 2013 by kevinstilley

The Importance of Holiness : Discussion Questions

Topic: The Importance of Holiness
Speaker: R.C. Sproul
Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-

What?

  • What interest do you think the modern Christian has in the topic of the holiness of God?  Is this topic discussed much in the church that you attend?  How important do you think it is?
  • What did Isaiah see?
  • What is the significance of the statement that “the train of his wardrobe filled the temple?”
  • This is the only place in Scripture that mentions the Seraphim.  What are they?  What do they do with their wings?
  • What was the message of the angels/Seraphim?
  • What is the significance of the repetition in the song of the angels?

So What?

  • What relevance does the holiness of God have to the life we live?  Do you think that a sermon on the holiness of God is as relevant to today’s Christian as a sermon on marriage, finances, sex, or personal peace and happiness?

Now What?

  • Does your life reflect a proper understanding of God’s holiness?
  • Can a person live in a right relationship (righteousness) to God’s holiness? (Romans 3:9-20)  How does God make it possible for someone to be in a right relationship (righteousness) to his holiness? (Romans 3:21-26)

_____________

Isaiah 6

6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above Him; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another:

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts;
His glory fills the whole earth.

4 The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke.

5 Then I said:

Woe is me for I am ruined
because I am a man of unclean lips
and live among a people of unclean lips,
and because my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of Hosts.

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said:

Now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed
and your sin is atoned for.

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:

Who should I send?
Who will go for Us?

I said:

Here I am. Send me.

9 And He replied:

Go! Say to these people:
Keep listening, but do not understand;
keep looking, but do not perceive.
10 Dull the minds of these people;
deafen their ears and blind their eyes;
otherwise they might see with their eyes
and hear with their ears,
understand with their minds,
turn back, and be healed.

11 Then I said, “Until when, Lord?” And He replied:

Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants,
houses are without people,
the land is ruined and desolate,
12 and the Lord drives the people far away,
leaving great emptiness in the land.
13 Though a tenth will remain in the land,
it will be burned again.
Like the terebinth or the oak
that leaves a stump when felled,
the holy seed is the stump.  (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

 

____________
Holy, Holy, Holy
Lyrics by Reginald Hebnr
Music by John Bacchus Dykes

Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and Mighty!
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, Holy, Holy! all the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and Seraphim falling down before Thee,
Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, Holy, Holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see:
Only Thou art holy, there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea;
Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and Mighty!
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!

* * *

This is the first lecture in the Ligonier teaching series The Holiness of God.

The Ligonier website describes the series as follow,

“The Holiness of God examines the meaning of holiness and why people are both fascinated and terrified by a holy God. This series closely explores God’s character, leading to new insights on sin, justice, and grace. The result is a new awareness of our dependence upon God’s mercy and a discovery of the awesomeness of His majestic holiness. Dr. R.C. Sproul says, “The holiness of God affects every aspect of our lives — economics, politics, athletics, romance — everything with which we are involved.”

Discussion questions and video for the rest of the series can be found at the following links:

  1. The Importance of Holiness
  2. The Trauma of Holiness
  3. Holiness and Justice
  4. The Insanity of Luther
  5. The Meaning of Holiness
  6. The Holiness of Christ

__________

Get “The Holiness of God” DVD Collection

Check out the Ligonier website for additional resources.

__________

Related

Holiness – Select Quotes

__________

Book Cover | Book Cover | Book Cover | Book Cover | Book Cover

Filed Under: Anthropology, Blog, Ethics / Praxis, Spiritual Growth, Theology Proper Tagged With: God, holiness, Ligonier, R.C. Sproul, sanctification

June 8, 2013 by kevinstilley

Education of a Wanderering Man : Quotes

Book CoverThe following quotes are taken from Louis L’Amour’s book Education of a Wandering Man. The book is not without flaws, but I strongly recommend it for book lovers; readers will love it.

_ _ _

No matter how much I admire our schools, I know that no university exists that can provide an education; what a university can provide is an outline, to give the learner a direction and guidance. The rest one has to do for oneself.

Historical novels are, without question, the best way of teaching history, for they offer the human stories behind the events and leave the reader with a desire to know more.

Whatever the book, a reader reads.

Do what thy manhood bids thee do, From none but self expect applause; He noblest lives and noblest dies Who makes and keeps his self-made laws. —SIR RICHARD FRANCIS BURTON

It is often said that one has but one life to live, but that is nonsense. For one who reads, there is no limit to the number of lives that may be lived, for fiction, biography, and history offer an inexhaustible number of lives in many parts of the world, in all periods of time.

A mistake constantly made by those who should know better is to judge people of the past by our standards rather than their own. The only way men or women can be judged is against the canvas of their own time.

They are out there by the thousands, wonderful stories. Many have never gotten into the histories, although occasionally told by local newspapers or in privately printed booklets. Stories of wagon-train massacres, buried treasures, gun battles, cattle roundups, border bandit raids—no matter where you go, east, west, north, and south, there are stories. People are forever asking me where I get my ideas, but one has only to listen, to look, and to live with awareness. As I have said in several of my stories, all men look, but so few can see. It is all there, waiting for any passerby.

He had strong opinions, with some of which I did not agree, but I was not there to argue but to learn.

The dogs bark, but the caravan passes on. —ORIENTAL PROVERB

Then, as many times since, I did not read from one book alone but started several, anxious to get the flavor of each one and reluctant to wait until one was finished before dipping into another.

Much is not dared because it seems hard; much seems hard only because it is not dared. —PRINCE WENZEL ANTON VON KAUNITZ,

I suppose I was lonely. I know that often I longed for someone with whom I could talk of books, writers, and things of the mind, but that was not to be for a long time, except here and there when I chanced on some other lost literary soul. Loneliness is of many kinds, and the mere presence and companionship of people does not suffice.

One is not, by decision, just a writer. One becomes a writer by writing, by shaping thoughts into the proper or improper words, depending on the subject, and by doing it constantly.

Acquiring an education has many aspects, of which school is only one, and the present approach is, I believe, the wrong one. Without claiming to have all the answers, I can only express my feeling that our methods of instruction do much to hamper a child in learning. Our approach is pedestrian. We teach a child to creep when he should be running; education becomes a task rather than excitement.

We do not at present educate people to think but, rather, to have opinions, and that is something altogether different.

I think the greatest gift anyone can give to another is the desire to know, to understand. Life is not for simply watching spectator sports, or for taking part in them; it is not for simply living from one working day to the next. Life is for delving, discovering, learning.

ONLY ONE WHO has learned much can fully appreciate his ignorance. He knows so well the limits of his knowledge and how much lies waiting to be learned.

(It was Bhartrihari, incidentally, who said of a woman: “She talks to one man, looks at a second, and thinks of a third.”)

They put a number of us to digging holes four feet square and down to hardpan for concrete piers to support a building soon to be erected. There were at least a dozen of us on the job and the ground was partly frozen. After we got down a short distance, water had to be bailed out, so progress was slow. There was a husky young German, a couple of years older than I, and we got into a contest to make the work more fun. The average was two and a half holes per day, while several were doing three. The German and I were doing four holes a day apiece. Our boss was an easygoing Irishman who saw what was going on and wisely stayed out of it, but the management in its wisdom decided he was not gung-ho enough as a boss and brought in a new man. Knowing nothing of any of us, he came suddenly into the area and found the German and me leaning on our shovels, having just finished our second holes for the day, while nobody else had finished one. He promptly fired both of us for loafing, along with another chap who had been doing three holes a day. In his first day on the job he had fired his three best men.
That, too, was education. I learned that when I was in charge I should keep my eyes open and understand the situation before I moved. And I learned it is also risky to break up teams that are used to working together. No matter what seems to be gained, much is also lost.

A book is a friend that will do what no friend does—be silent when we wish to think. —WILL DURANT

Still, a book is less important for what it says than for what it makes you think.

There are so many wonderful stories to be written, and so much material to be used. When I hear people talking of writer’s block, I am amazed. Start writing, no matter about what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on. You can sit and look at a page for a long time and nothing will happen. Start writing and it will.

Actors, politicians, and writers—all of us are but creatures of the hour. Long-lasting fame comes to but few. Turning the pages of my notebooks, I see so many names, once well known, now all but forgotten.

Sarah Bernhardt, another great actress of her time, finally got a chance to see [Eleanora] Duse on the stage and, overcome with the greatness of the performance, wrote a very quick note to send backstage. It said: “Sarah Bernhardt says Eleanora Duse is a great actress.” Busy changing costume for the next act, Eleanora Duse had no time to compose a reply, so she picked up a pen and added two commas to the note and returned it. Now it read: “Sarah Bernhardt, says Eleanora Duse, is a great actress.”

Thoughts are like flowers; those gathered in the morning keep fresh the longest. —ANDRÉ GIDE

The key to understanding any people is in its art: its writing, painting, sculpture.

There has been comment from time to time, usually by people with little discernment, on the lack of sex in my stories. It is very simple. I am not writing about sex, which is a leisure activity; I am writing about men and women who were settling a new country, finding their way through a maze of difficulties, and learning to survive despite them. My stories are not concerned with sex but with entering, passing through, or settling wild country. I am concerned with people building a nation, learning to live together, with establishing towns, homes, and bridges to the future. Those unfamiliar with the world’s literature might find it interesting to realize that sex, except in its romantic sense, has little to do with seventy-five percent of what has been written. My greatest complaint with present-day sexual writing is that nobody seems to be having any fun. Sex is an ordeal, or it is rape, or an athletic endeavor. Only the French find it amusing—as it certainly is. Many of those who choose it for subject matter linger on the most unpleasant aspects or treat it like a discovery. Actually, they needn’t. It’s been here all the time.

Someone has said that culture is what remains with you after you have forgotten all you have read, and I believe there is much truth in that.

It is not enough to have learned, for living is sharing and I must offer what I have for whatever it is worth.

Associate with the noblest people you can find; read the best books; live with the mighty. But learn to be happy alone. Rely upon your own energies, and so not wait for, or depend on other people. —PROFESSOR THOMAS DAVIDSON

The beauty of educating oneself as I was doing, or as anyone can do, is that there are no limits to what can be learned. All that is learned demands contemplation, and so one is never at a loss for something to do.

Many of the buffalo hunters, for example, disliked the killing, but it was their way of making a living, and no matter what one thinks now, the buffalo had to go. On those vast plains where buffalo roamed (and where a buffalo wants to go, he goes!) there are now great universities, hospitals, homes, and food enough raised to feed half the world.

Often I am sad that our interests have turned away from the short story, for so many beautiful and great stories have been written and are now on the back shelf of the world’s literature. The writing of a really fine short story is like the carving of a gem.

Looking back over my years of reading, I am amazed at how much really wonderful stuff there is out there, and it is a pity that anyone should deprive himself of the chance to read it, yet many do. Ours is not a leisurely time, and our readers prefer page-turners, stories or other books that lead one eagerly from page to page. It is also important, to those for whom reading is difficult, to have books that demand one read on, and on. Yet many of the great books of the past were written for a more leisurely time, when people could sit and read by the fire, or comfortably in some great country house or cottage. Despite the fact that they were written for a different time and different audience, they have much to offer: great stories, brilliant characterizations, interesting ideas. Someone has said that one has no right to read the new books unless one has read the old. I do not agree, yet one should read the old books also. Anatole France wrote, “A good critic is one who relates the adventures of his soul among masterpieces.” Unfortunately we have too few of those today, and too little appreciation of just how much good writing there is out there.

Knowledge is like money: To be of value it must circulate, and in circulating it can increase in quantity and, hopefully, in value.

Upon the shelves of our libraries, the world’s greatest teachers await our questions.

Yet for those who have not been readers, my advice is to read what entertains you. Reading is fun. Reading is adventure. It is not important what you read at first, only that you read.

BOOKS ARE THE building blocks of civilization, for without the written word, a man knows nothing beyond what occurs during his own brief years and, perhaps, in a few tales his parents tell him. Without books, we would never have known of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, or Hannibal. George Washington would have been forgotten and Abraham Lincoln a vague memory. When the Saxons landed in England and discovered Roman ruins, they believed them the work of giants. For without books there is no history; without books there would be no Greece, no Rome, no Babylon, and no Egypt. The pyramids would stand, and the Parthenon and many scattered ruins would slowly fall before the years. Not understanding what they were, man would make no effort to preserve them. Without books we should very likely be a still-primitive people living in the shadow of traditions that faded with years until only a blur remained, and different memories would remember the past in different ways. A parent or a teacher has only his lifetime; a good book can teach forever.

We are, finally, all wanderers in search of knowledge. Most of us hold the dream of becoming something better than we are, something larger, richer, in some way more important to the world and ourselves. Too often, the way taken is the wrong way, with too much emphasis on what we want to have, rather than what we wish to become.

In Sinkiang and the Pamirs, the Taklamakan and some parts of Tibet, when one party meets another on the way, the greeting is often “May there be a road!” It is a land of frequent snow-slides, rockslides, and cave-ins. Roads are casually made; bridges are usually hanging from ropes, so the saying is apropos; One hopes the way will be clear, the road open. So as one pilgrim to another, I leave you with that wish: “May there be a road!”

Filed Under: Blog

June 6, 2013 by kevinstilley

Trip to the Fort Worth Zoo







Filed Under: Blog, Family Circus Tagged With: animals, Family, Fort Worth, Stilley, Zoo

June 4, 2013 by kevinstilley

A Very Sad Message About Little Bo Peep

“It’s in the Book” – John Standley

 

I have a message for you, a very sad message
My subject for this evening will be
Little Bo Peep
It says here, Little Bo Peep
Who was a little girl
Has lost her sheep
And doesn’t know where to find them
Now that’s reasonable, isn’t it

It’s, it’s reasonable to assume
If Little Bo Peep had lost her sheep
It’s only natural
That she wouldn’t know where to find them
That, that basically is reasonable
But, uh, “leave them alone
Now that overwhelms me
Completely overwhelms me
The man said she lost her sheep
Turns right around and boldly states
“She doesn’t know where to find them”
And then has the stupid audacity to say
“Leave them alone”
Now, now, now think for a moment, think
If the sheep were lost,
And you couldn’t find them
You’d have to leave them alone, wouldn’t you
So, leave them alone
Leave them alone
It’s in the book

Leave them alone and they
They being the sheep, “they will come home”
Ah yes, they’ll come home
Oh, there’ll be a brighter day tomorrow
They will come home
It’s in the book

They will come home a-waggin’ their tails
Pray tell me what else could they wag
They will come home a-waggin’ their tales
Behind them, behind them
Did we think they’d wag them in front
Of course, they might have come home in reverse
They could have done that, I really don’t know
But, none the less
It’s in the book

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Blog, Bo Peep, John Standley, nursury rhyme, Redundancy, speaker

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