Thinking about Bibles in the Holiness churches of my childhood this morning. Thompson Chain Reference was standard issue. Everyone who wanted to study the Bible had one of these. (Needless to say, Holiness churches were KJV-only.) The conceit of the Thompson–and what made it appealing to Holiness folks–was that it was not a study Bible full of “man’s opinions”; it was a study Bible that directed you back to the text itself.
I mentioned last month going to an old time music jam where Steve and Nancy Dickey were present. I went again tonight and recorded him playing. He’s about to turn 82.
I was never good at being young but I’m going to be great at being old.
It’s strange how a competent biography that attempts to explain someone’s motivations and context can make them more sympathetic. Because, y’all, if Ann Lee was operating today, not one of us would think she’s worth listening to. Not that anyone is holding her up as a model, but you know what I mean
In 1773, Ann Lee and other Shakers were arrested for causing a disturbance during a service at Christ Church in Manchester. Afterwards she was questioned by ministers. Richard Francis, Ann the Word: Once when recounting the tale of this religious interrogation, Ann said she spoke for four hours and the ministers - the ‘greatest in those parts’ (suddenly we hear the illiterate daughter of a blacksmith talking) - ‘said that I spoke in seventy two different tongues, and that I spoke them more perfect than any in their knowledge were able to do.
You could read today’s Cory Doctorow column or you could watch this Nathan MacIntosh bit. 😉
Another good thing today: it’s Wendell Berry’s 92nd birthday. Happy birthday, uncle Wendell!
First day of school around here. It’s nice to see the buzz of activity again. Kids walking in their first day of school outfits. Big yellow buses rolling around town. I love these cycles of life. Even the neighborhood cat Ralph was enjoying it as she sat with some kids waiting for their bus.
Also, about that last post, could you monotheists please let the rank and file know this is a complicated question, please? Most of the Christians where I live think anything that isn’t fundamentalist Christianity is straight up demons. If we’re going to start encouraging a more enchanted world, then we also need to figure out how to avoid turning it into “Witch Trials 2, Now With Surveillance”.
I appreciate the nuance in “Christianity and the problem of the gods”. These issues are why I don’t find monotheism compelling. Even the most generous monotheism ends up twisting itself into knots. For me, John Michael Greer’s book A World Full of Gods is not only persuasive but somehow more natural