Notice again the yellow attire, and how the light figures in the painting highlighting her clothing and face. These paintings are of women of a high class, who are literate, or can afford music lessons and a virginal, and the like. Read more

This is one of the last paintings by Vermeer, the young woman at the virginal. A virginal was sort of a modified harpsichord, or spinnett. Read more

Johannes Vermeer (1632-75) was one of the masters of painting indoor domestic scenes of various sorts, often of women. We went to the special exhibition at the National Gallery of Vermeer’s works when we were in D.C. last week. Perhaps some of you have seen the movie with Scarlet Johanson The Woman with the Pearl. That painting was not in this exhibit, but here below is the famous Lacemaker painting. Vermeer is a master of light, and he loves painting... Read more

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This post includes famous literary figures from earlier American history. First of all the author of Leaves of Grass, the populist, Walter Whitman, who, had he lived today, would have considered the use of the term ‘populism’ in recent political contexts as a bad misuse of the term. It does not refer to xenophobia, or make America white male again. Next we have a famous literary circle, with a veritable who’s who of American writers from the 19th century. Last... Read more

This, and the next few posts will be showing shots from the National Portrait gallery. What these portraits from the whole history of the USA reveal is many things, including how religion and politics were intertwined from the first. Consider first the portrait and description of the right Rev. John Witherspoon. Next consider, ole Danel Boone, who lived just down the road from me in Kaintuck. Boone came from a Quaker family in Pennsylvania who moved to N.C. and then... Read more

Here’s a very interesting post by my friend and colleague Philip Jenkins. See what you think. BW3 — The Christmas readings in our church featured the magnificent Prologue to John’s Gospel, about the Light, and how “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (1.5 RSV, also NIV) or alternatively, “the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (KJV). Overcome and comprehended – aren’t those radically different words? Is one wrong? Why... Read more

One of the things about this book is that it sticks to analyzing the official documents, the catechisms, the creeds, the council decisions, the papal pronouncements of the Catholic Church. This I think was a very wise decision, but only late in the book is there an attempt to really come to grips with the differences between de facto how the church actually is in its faith and praxis, and de jure, what it’s official positions are on issues ranging... Read more

In this and the following post, I will give some of my own reflections prompted by this book. I think it is a very important book, indeed the one most serious criticism of the book is that I could have wished for more on two fronts: 1) more dealing with the relevant Biblical texts which Roman Catholics uses to justify their ecclesiology and sacramental praxis, and 2) a chapter on the saints. Ken Collins has remarked to me that they... Read more

Q. What do you hope the impact will be of this book? Was it mainly written to prevent wavering Protestants from moving in the direction of the Catholic church? I mention this especially in light of the statistics you do mention in a note that far more Catholics are heading in the Protestant direction than vice versa worldwide it would see, A. I intended this book for both Protestants and Roman Catholics. In terms of Protestants they must come to... Read more