Tag Archives: Faith

Scrooge: Individualism Run Amok

Pursue individual rights, or care for our community? Which is best for individuals?

I contemplate a few answers in my article for Christ and Pop Culture (CAPC) Magazine, Scrooge: Individualism Run AmokIt is now available free of charge.  Continue reading Scrooge: Individualism Run Amok

“Scrooge: Individualism Run Amok” published today!

My latest article for Christ and Pop Culture (CAPC) Magazine, “Scrooge: Individualism Run Amok,” has been published today!

CAPC Magazine issue 4 of 2020: Traditions

It’s currently behind the CAPC members’ paywall. For a mere $5/month you can pay excellent writers and also have access to the full magazine and back issues, the members-only community group, and the current rotation of free e-books and music in the member zone.

I cannot say enough good things about the people and conversations in the members-only community group. JOIN US!

 

Longing for Pilgrimage; #Review: A World Transformed, by Lisa Deam

AWorldTransformedWith Jerusalem and Jesus’ crucifixion at its center, the Hereford Map orients East at the top, England in the lower left, and monsters at the edges. Created around the year 1300, it depicts the history, geography, and destiny of the world according to medieval Christianity. A single sheet of vellum measuring 5’ 2” high by 4’ 4” wide displays its artistry. The original viewers were pilgrims to England’s Hereford Cathedral, some of whom made the pilgrimage annually. Hereford Cathedral still displays the map year round.

Lisa Deam holds a Ph.D. in medieval art from Chicago University. Attempting to maintain a scholarly eye while writing her dissertation on the Hereford Map, Deam discovered “that there was really no way to separate medieval art from medieval faith and spirituality — and from my own faith.” (1) The crossroads of Deam’s scholarly work and her Christian faith has resulted in, A World Transformed: Exploring the World of Medieval SpiritualityContinue reading Longing for Pilgrimage; #Review: A World Transformed, by Lisa Deam

“Sailing to Paradise: Sin, Disease, and Natural Disaster” on CaPC

Fifteen years ago, my husband, Todd, and I sailed across the Pacific Ocean from Mexico to New Zealand.

Arrival in New Zealand, Breem Head
Arrival in New Zealand, Breem Head

About a month ago, Christ and Pop Culture (CaPC), in their online members’ magazine, published my article detailing some of our Pacific adventures. What we began as a sight-seeing trip, God turned into a spiritual journey.

“Ellen, come look at this,” my husband, Todd, requested.

We were five days sailing into our first ocean passage from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia in 2000. We expected the 2,800-mile journey to take close to four weeks and possibly a full month of blue water sailing. I sleepily uncurled from the off-watch bunk of our Cal 34 sailboat, Mandolin. Todd presented me with a weather fax he had downloaded via our HAM radio to our laptop. It showed that a Tropical Depression had developed to the southeast in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, the birthplace of Pacific Ocean hurricanes. This weather system had the potential to kill us. It was heading our way.

I had wanted to write an overview of our experiences for some time and I thank CaPC for being the catalyst for me to finally write it down. Today, CaPC published the article on their website.

I think I might start a #RomanceOnTheHighSeas Twitter campaign. Some choice quotes:  Continue reading “Sailing to Paradise: Sin, Disease, and Natural Disaster” on CaPC

Mountain Rescue: Beowulf Lessons Remembered

Menacing, dangerous, and deadly are the themes surrounding green in the Old English epic poem Beowulf. Listening to J R R Tolkien’s The Hobbit on CD during our Tahoe road trip, conveyed the threatening nature of gloomy green as Bilbo and the dwarves traversed Mirkwood Forest for seemingly endless days. Literature depicts life. In the modern world it is still no light matter to embark on an apparently easy, short jaunt into the green landscaped wilderness.

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One of the Dollar Lakes we hiked past

Continue reading Mountain Rescue: Beowulf Lessons Remembered