Tag Archives: Christianity

Beyond Tenebrae

Posted on March 25, 2021 by smellincoffee

Beyond Tenebrae: Christian Humanism in the Twilight of the West© 2019 Brad Birzer258 pages Most people, including myself until a few years ago, would describe humanism as a worldview championing the possibility of, and the need for, humans living moral, … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Selections from Jesus, Son of Man

Posted on March 3, 2021 by smellincoffee

Earlier I posted comments for Kahlil Gibran’s moving Jesus, Son of Man, and now share some quotations from it. Then He looked at me, and the noontide of His eyes was upon me, and He said, “You have many lovers, … Continue reading →

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The Screwtape Letters

Posted on December 23, 2020 by smellincoffee

In the 1940s, as war waged in Europe, another war raged in England:  a struggle for one man’s soul. Advised by his uncle Screwtape, a young demon faced with a new convert to Christianity must work overtime to stifle his … Continue reading →

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Diabolical fragments: selections from Screwtape

Posted on December 16, 2020 by smellincoffee

I recently re-read The Screwtape Letters for Advent, and would have posted a review but realized I rather liked the draft review I’d written in 2013 more, so now I’m trying to graft the best of one onto the other, … Continue reading →

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Selections from “A Grief Observed”

Posted on November 21, 2020 by smellincoffee

A Grief Observed was not written as a book, but was published as such from four reflective notebooks that Lewis kept while reeling from the death of his wife, Joy. The collection is raw, intimate, and personal; we find Lewis … Continue reading →

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Selections from “How Dante Can Save Your Life”

Posted on August 13, 2020 by smellincoffee

Review of Book Great art speaks with wisdom and authority to what is eternal in the human condition. The presence of God radiated from the Chartres cathedral so powerfully that it even pierced the dark wood into which I had … Continue reading →

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How Dante Can Save Your Life

Posted on August 13, 2020 by smellincoffee

How Dante Can Save Your Life: The Life-Changing Wisdom of History’s Greatest Poem © 2015 Rod Dreher 322 pages Selected Quotations How Dante Can Save Your Life is one man’s account of how that Renaissance poet’s epic  tale of a … Continue reading →

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How Jesus Became God

Posted on January 7, 2020 by smellincoffee

How Jesus Became God: The Exhalation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee © 2014 Bart Ehrman 416 pages When did the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth begin to regard him as not just a prophet worth following, but actually … Continue reading →

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The Lost Gospel of Mary

Posted on December 21, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Lost Gospel of Mary:  The Mother of Jesus in Three Ancient Texts © 2012 Frederica Mathewes-Green 178 pages   We are presently in the season of Advent,  an ideal time to take a look at a question of mine: … Continue reading →

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