death

June 29, 2013 by kevinstilley

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.

October 21, 2012 by kevinstilley

John Donne – select quotes

Reason is our Soules left hand,
Faith is her right, …

No man is an Iland intire of itselfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is thelesse, as well as if a promontorie were, as well as if a mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
~ in Devotions

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so,
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

___________

Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurped town, to another due, Labor to admit you, but O, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captive, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betrothed unto your enemy.
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again;
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except your ravish me
~ Sonnet no. 14

May 28, 2012 by kevinstilley

For What Would You Die?

Why do we observe Memorial Day? We do not celebrate the death of anyone but remember and honor their sacrifice. Life is sacred, to lay it down for the benefit of others is worthy of remembrance and honor.

So, for what would you die? Family? Friends? Your country? Freedom? Truth?

Once we admit that there are causes for which it would be appropriate to die, we acknowledge that there are things more important than life, and that death is not the greatest evil — that suffering and death can have great meaning and purpose. The question is often asked why a good God would allow suffering, the implication being that God must either be not good or not powerful enough to prevent it. No, that does not follow. That reasoning is specious. Once we acknowledge that there are things to be valued more greatly than life and comfort we can not put an all-knowing God into the dock. He can allow the unpleasant, for reasons that are meaningful and good.

The death of Jesus of Nazareth exhibits this reasoning. The murder of the only righteous man was a great evil, and yet the event is full of meaning and purpose. Jesus is our propitiation – He is our mercy seat.

I encourage you to think upon Romans chapters 1, 2, and 3 as an appropriate follow-up to the observance of our national Memorial Day.

February 6, 2012 by kevinstilley

Anselm’s Atonement

Anthony Kenny describes Anselm’s theory of the Atonement, from Medieval History: A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume 2. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2005), page 43

Kenneth Latourettes explanation of Anselm’s theory of the Atonement, from A History of Christianity (NY: Harper & Brothers, 1953, page 501

Robert P. Lightner charts the major theories of the Atonement, from Sin, The Savior, and Salvation (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991) page 105

Everett Ferguson on Anselms theory of the Atonement, from Church History: Volume 1, From Christ to Pre-Reformation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), pages 433-435

July 14, 2010 by kevinstilley

Philosophers and Death

No man escapes death, yet most spend their entire life running from even the idea of it. In A Students Guided to Liberal Learning James V. Schall recommends these five classic texts on philosophy, good men, and death;

1) The Apology, Crito, and Phaedo, by Plato

2) The account of the death of Christ in the Gospel of John (chapters 13-21)

3) On Duties, by Cicero (especially Part III which was written just before he was executed)

4) The Consolation of Philosophy, by Boethius

5) Man for All Seasons, by Robert Bolt

What texts would you add to his list?

October 19, 2009 by kevinstilley

Martyrdom – Select Quotes

No living creature, except for a man, is able to take a risk, and even the risk of death, for the sake of
truth. Thousands of martyrs who have lived are a unique phenomenon in the history of our solar system.
~ Aleksandr Menn

Sharp persecution breaks off only the tips of the branches. It produces martyrs and the tree still grows. Never-ending social and political repression, on the other hand, starves the roots; it stifles evangelism and the church declines.
~ Samuel Moffett, in A History of Christianity in Asia

If the Tiber reaches the walls, if the Nile does not rise to the fields, if the sky does not move, or the earth does, if there is famine, if there is plague, the cry is at once, “The Christians to the lions.”
~ Tertullian

He that dies a martyr proves that he was not a knave, but by no means that he was not a fool.
~ Charles Caleb Colton

__________

Marcus Tullius Cicero – select quotes

Of all the gifts of the gods to the human race, philosophy is the richest, the most beautiful, the most exalted.
~ in De Legibus

Philosophy is the best medicine for the mind.

History, the evidence of time, the light of truth, the life of memory, the directress of life, the herald of antiquity, committed to immortality.
~ in De Oratore [Read more…]

October 5, 2009 by kevinstilley

Giving Back Jewels

This evening my wife shared with me the story of a mother who lost her child in the tsunami brought about by the earthquake near Samoa. The mother had gone to pick up her 8-year-old daughter from school following the earthquake. As they returned home they were caught in the tidal wave. Despite the mother’s best effort to hold on to her daughter, she slipped from her grasp and was swept away as she cried out in panic for her mother to help her. They found the body of the little girl several hours later still wearing her school backpack.

My heart breaks and tears come as I think about the pain of losing a child. My impulse is to fall in line with Theoden from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers when he says after losing his son, “No parent should have to bury their child.”

Nevertheless, they do. So perhaps a better way to think of it comes to us from the account of Rabbi Meir and his wife;

While Rabbi Meir was holding his weekly discourse on Sabbath afternoon, his two beloved sons died suddenly at home. Their mother covered them with a sheet, and forbore to mourn on the sacred day. When Rabbi Meir returned after the evening Services, he asked for his sons, whom he had not seen in the synagogue. She asked him to recite the Habdalah and gave him his evening meal. Then she said: “I have a question to ask thee. A friend once gave me jewels to keep for him; now he wishes them again. Shall I return them?”

“Beyond doubt thou must,” said Rabbi Meir.

His wife took him by the hand, led him to the bed and drew back the sheet. Rabbi Meir burst into bitter weeping, and his wife said: “They were entrusted to us for a time; now their Master has taken back His very own.”

(Midrash Mishle, 28)

__________

Verna Stilley

When my mother passed away a couple of months ago, people expressed their love and sympathy in a variety of ways. The following is a poem written by a family friend Utah Humphrey.

Verna Stilley
10-21-08

The road God gave you was a very steep climb,
But you bravely went forward day by day.
Clyde was the hero ministering to you
Being there to help you in the part he would play.

Now the long journey has come to an end
And on Earth you won’t suffer any more.
In Heave you are finally free at last
With this freedom you finally can soar.

I remember the years you became my friend
With lots of laughter I still can behold.
The tears I shed now will soon be gone
As I ponder your life as I saw it unfold.

Poor Clyde was often the key to your stories
And his face would turn red as he grinned.
In the room you would have everyone laughing
And through the years you did it again and again.

Leach and Cardin one entered a contest
And when it was over Leach had won.
We met at the camp grounds at GLBA
To fellowship and have lots of fun..

You were the pitcher when we played softball
And I don’t remember who won or who lost.
Both churches had added people to Sunday School
Without either group adding up th ecost.

The years seemed to pass by much too quickly
And retirement years had finally come about.
The price you paid in the last several years
Didn’t carry a lot of laughter or clout.

Please enjoy Heaven and the freedom you have.
We will all be joining you in just a little while.
I wished we could look into Heaven and see you now
With a life filled with laughter and a beautiful smile.

By faith we must keep walking onward toward Heaven
Knowing life down here for us is not through …
Sometimes we will pause during our journey
And when we do we’ll be thinking of you.

Good bye precious friend for just a while longer
And enjoy your new life absolutely free from pain.
We will see you tomorrow on Heaven’s bright shore
Where there’ll be plenty of sunshine without rain.

A friend in Christ,

Utah Humphrey

November 30, 2008 by kevinstilley

NASCAR today, tomorrow, and forever…….

I hope to buy stock in this company before they start making their product available to NASCAR fans.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Baseball fanatics won’t have to leave behind their beloved teams when they finally go to that big stadium in the sky. Instead, they’ll soon be able to rest in peace inside a coffin with team colors and insignia.

Major League Baseball has a marketing deal with a company called Eternal Image. It’ll put team logos on caskets and urns. The effort begins next season with the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Phillies, Cubs and Dodgers. It could eventually include all 30 teams.

Each urn will be stamped with a message saying Major League Baseball officially recognizes the deceased as a lifelong fan of that team.

After starting with baseball, Eternal Image hopes to branch out by making similar deals with the NFL, the NHL and NASCAR. MORE