Issue
Peace on Earth
Vol. 13, No. 6 • Nov/Dec 2004
In every instance in the lyrical arts, but especially Christmas music, we sing what we feel. If you want to know what a certain group believes about the biblical message, go to a Christmas service and ask why a certain repertoire is chosen. In some cases the choice of old-fashioned music represents keeping a wall […]
All Articles (12)
Christmas Songs from the Heart
In every instance in the lyrical arts, but especially Christmas music, we sing what we feel. If you want to know what a certain group believes about the biblical message, go to a Christmas service and ask why a certain repertoire is chosen. In some cases the choice of old-fashioned music represents keeping a wall […]
Earth on Peace and Peace on Earth
Early in Mark Twain’s classic work The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is an interesting scene in which Tom and Huck witness Injun Joe in an act of wicked deception. Twain writes that the boys stood dumb as they “heard the stony-hearted liar reel off his serene statement, they expecting every moment that the clear sky […]
Terrifying Peace
In the name of peace, the world brings terror on earth. In the name of justice, the baby in the manger brings peace on earth. It should not be surprising to us that we continue to think in worldly ways about this matter. Eight centuries before Christ, King Ahaz, refusing to trust the prophet’s promise […]
When Peace Seems Out of Reach
Silent Night, Holy Night! All is calm, all is bright round yon virgin mother and child Holy Infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace. (Joseph Mohr, 1792-1848; tr. John F. Young, 1820-85) Will you catch it this year? That illusive feeling called the Christmas spirit? Usually it’s brought on by healthy doses of […]
Christmas Proclamation
In some ways, Christmas decontextualizes the historical Jesus more than any other time. We do not know at what time of the year he was born. There was almost definitely no snow on the ground in Judea. And there is no proof, beyond strong and early tradition, that Christ was born at Bethlehem. Even David […]
“The First Christian: Universal Truth in the Teaching of Jesus” by Paul F.M. Zahl
From the pen of Paul F. M. Zahl, formerly Dean of Cathedral Church of the Advent (Episcopal) in Birmingham, Alabama and now dean of Trinity Episcopal School of Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, comes a provocative, yet timely, Christological meditation. Zahl argues for a Jesus of Nazareth who was essentially dis-continuous with Second Temple Judaism and […]
