I am currently working on a book on the Psalms and their uses in the NT. The Psalms can certainly prompt some deep reflection, and one such psalm is Ps. 34, which reads as follows—- 1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 2 I will glory in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought... Read more

Jaroslav Pelikan was perhaps the greatest church historian of the second half of the twentieth century. His body of work speaks for itself. For a good deal of his life he was a Lutheran but eventually he joined the Orthodox Church. Here is an interesting reflection of his about Christian tradition (including of course Protestant traditions, though many Protestants seem to be oblivious to the fact that they have traditions and not just the Bible). “Tradition is the living faith... Read more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKCYLmch0q4 It is one of the great mysteries of rock and roll history as to why it took until 2016 to put Chicago in the rock and roll hall of fame. They should’ve been in on the basis of their first two double albums if nothing else. It just makes no sense. There must have been a huge amount of blow back because of all those power ballads in the 80s, which were different than the early records. And somehow... Read more

Since Ellis Peters began writing her wonderful Brother Cadfael novels, I’ve been hooked on medieval thrillers/mystery/historical novels. I’ve run through all of Peters, lots of Paul Doherty, and now five volumes of the Matthew Shardlake series written by C.J. Sansom. His focus is on the reign of Henry VIII (‘I am, I am’) and so mainly on the 1540s. Matthew Shardlake is a lawyer/barrister of some note, a hunchback in an age where that was seen as a curse of... Read more

Let me be clear from the outset, I’m not a technophobe. I realize the world has become technology dependent, and as a writer, I am as well to a real extent. But what this post is about is not letting technology, and in particular your smart phone out-smart you by stealing your life away. What I mean by this is technology, and in particular smart phones prompt obsessive compulsive behavior. It really isn’t necessary to text your BFF, or whoever,... Read more

Sequels are rarely equals to hit movies. This is my maxim for today. This is especially the case when there is a considerable time lapse between the original movie (in this case in 2013) and the sequel, and all the more the case when you change the cast of characters, in this case the female member of the 4 Horsemen is not the same in this summer’s release of Now You See Me 2, hence continuity issues for OCD minded... Read more

If you really want to get the feel of the past, take a trip south of Georgetown S.C. to the old rice plantation at Hopsewee, still privately owned. Even the road into the plantation is olde worlde…. Here are the helpful signs outside the plantation…. There are few bluffs in the coastal part of S.C. but Hopsewee is the Indian word for bluff, and there is one overlooking the Santee river…..and this is the beautiful setting for this house…. The... Read more

There is a lot to be said about the privateer Blackbeard, a figure of both legend and history. He was indeed a genuine pirate who hijacked ships and their cargo, and at one point sought pardon from the Governor of North Carolina, Governor Eden, and it was granted, but apparently Blackbeard got bored, and went back to pirating. The man by all accounts cut a fearsome figure— with a long black beard tied in knots…. The restaurant in Bath where... Read more

It would be hard to exaggerate the importance of John Lawson when it comes to the early settling of North Carolina. He was a brilliant naturalist, explorer, philosopher, artist, building, who was involved in both New Bern, where the British governor had his palace, Tryon’s Palace, and he lived also in Bath. He died a gruesome death at the hands of Tuscarora Indians who were ticked off about the stealing and exploitation of their land by English-speaking settlers. Here is... Read more

As we follow the narrow paths through the village of path, covered with oyster shells to keep the paths from having ruts, we walk over to the oldest house in the town, presently called the Palmer house (but it was originally owned by a family with a Huguenot name). This was at one time a guest house, which is one reason it is large and has four bedrooms upstairs…. Note the family graveyard in the foreground. Contrast the size of... Read more