David Russell Mosley Epiphanytide 7 January 2016 The Edge of Elfland Hudson, New Hampshire Dear Friends and Family, Yesterday an article went up on The Atlantic by writer Colleen Gillard titled, “Why the British Tell Better Children’s Stories.” A friend sent it to me today and I will admit initially to being sympathetic to the title. After all, as most of you will know, fairy-tales, of which the British have many and Americans few, are my bread and butter. Nevertheless,... Read more
David Russell Mosley Advent 17 December 2015 The Edge of Elfland Hudson, New Hampshire Dear Friends and Family, So the other day I was looking for a short kids movie to watch with my sons on Netflix. The featured video was the Kung Fu Panda Holiday. Since it featured all the original cast, and I happen to like the first two Kung Fun Panda movies. Any way, to give you the briefest of synopses: Po (the panda and Dragon Warrior,... Read more
David Russell Mosley Advent 16 December 2015 The Edge of Elfland Hudson, New Hampshire Dear Friends and Family, I’ve written these sporadically, but I’m going to try to write them a bit more regularly, at least once a month. On the Incarnation by Athanasius of Alexandria This is one of my annual Advent/Christmas reads. If you’ve never read it, or if you’ve never read a book by an ancient Christian, then I recommend it, especially this translation. The Popular Patristics... Read more
David Russell Mosley Advent 12 December 2015 The Edge of Elfland Hudson, New Hampshire Dear Friends and Family, Well, I’m behind on sharing this news by a few days, but for those who don’t already know: I am completely done with my PhD! In many ways I still can’t believe. In other ways, this is an unbelievably underwhelming time for me. It’s difficult to get too excited since everything has happened while I’ve been physically removed from the University of... Read more
David Russell Mosley Advent 10 December 2015 The Edge of Elfland Hudson, New Hampshire Dear Friends and Family, Recently I saw that a friend was reading C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters with his kids as Advent reading. I liked that idea, at least of reading it to myself (my 18 month-olds are a little too young for it), and so I stole it. I finished reading it a few nights ago, concluding with “Screwtape Proposes a Toast,” and was... Read more
David Russell Mosley Advent 3 December 2015 The Edge of Elfland Hudson, New Hampshire Dear Friends and Family, As I continue to apply for jobs, applying for nearly three for every one I don’t get, I can’t help but reflect on what it means to be a theologian. Whenever I meet new people and they ask the inevitable question, “What do you do?” I always end up answering, somewhat bashfully, “I’m a theologian.” It was easier when I was still... Read more
David Russell Mosley Advent 1 December 2015 The Edge of Elfland Hudson, New Hampshire Dear Friends and Family, About a month or so ago I finished reading an excellent little book called Imaginative Apologetics: Theology, Philosophy and the Catholic Tradition. Some of you who know me will know that I have some issues with modern apologetics. For those unfamiliar with the term, apologetics means a defense. In most Christian circles these days it means a reasoned defense of the main... Read more
David Russell Mosley Ordinary Time 28 November 2015 The Edge of Elfland Hudson, New Hampshire Dear Friends and Family, Today is the last day of the year. I don’t blame you if you didn’t realize that New Year’s Eve was actually tonight. After all, it’s never the same one year to the next. For those who didn’t know, tomorrow is the first day of Advent, which is the first season of the Christian Calendar. Tomorrow begins a period of fasting... Read more
David Russell Mosley Ordinary Time 27 November 2015 The Edge of Elfland Hudson, New Hampshire Dear Friends and Family, Well, another few weeks has gone by and I haven’t posted anything. This hasn’t been due to a lack of ideas, or even a lack of events in my own life on which I could write. Instead, I think a lot of it come from sloth. Sloth and getting out of the habit of writing, anyway. You see, I’m a stay-at-home... Read more
David Russell Mosley Ordinary Time 5 November 2015 The Edge of Elfland Hudson, New Hampshire Dear Friends and Family, I apologize for my lack of communication over the past month. I’ve had to submit my thesis corrections (I’m still waiting to hear back on the results), and I’ve had some other life things come up. But enough with excuses! I will endeavor to return to a regular posting schedule of at least twice a week. Lately at the church my... Read more
Letters from the Edge of Elfland
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In