by Peter James | Sep 27, 2024 | Thomas Tallis
People have strong music preferences. I watch the drama play out in churches in real-time. Some people are passionate about traditional music, while others are equally fervent about contemporary music. The same was true in sixteenth century England. Catholics were...
by Peter James | Sep 26, 2024 | Okuhhatuh
It had been seven years since Okuhhatuh (O-kuh-ha-tah) or Making Medicine (1848-1931) had been with his Cheyenne people in Oklahoma. His fellow warriors had vivid memories of Making Medicine, leading them in battle to retaliate for white settlers killing buffalo and...
by Peter James | Sep 25, 2024 | Thomas Traherne
In terms of the longest wait for posthumous recognition, perhaps the seventeenth century poet Thomas Traherne (1636-1674) wins the prize. He was virtually forgotten for two hundred years. Not much is known about him. He was the son of a shoemaker. His parents died...
by Peter James | Sep 24, 2024 | Paul Dunbar
Here’s a quote worth pondering: “Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” While it’s commonly attributed to Oscar Wilde, no one is quite sure where the quote originates. The Psalmist expresses a similar sentiment, “I praise you, Lord, for I...
by Peter James | Sep 23, 2024 | Augustine of Hippo
When I was a pastoral newbie in the 1970s, the cathartic approach to anger was all the rage. The let-it-all-out method of venting anger was in vogue and counselors even created “rage rooms” so clients could blow off steam. Recent research has called this...