This summer someone near and dear to me gave me one of those clever computerized watches to replace my classic (old) $8 Timex. Karen-the-Watch features a big screen onto which I can easily sweep dozens of different faces. I picked the one most like my minimalist (old) Timex…
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Perhaps the most famous theologian of the 20th century, Karl Barth was born in Basel, Switzerland in 1886, the son of a professor of Early Church History at Bern. Barth studied at several universities during his theological training, and came under the influence of 19th century liberal theology. After graduating, he became a minister in Geneva from 1909 to 1911, before moving to Safenwil, Switzerland.
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The dreamless state be a mighty foe. /
O good Lord do grant it a great below; /
Send forth thy ministers of fierce flame /
Dear Lord, Thank you for this day /
I ask you that I may /
Pray it, Play it, And Work it /
Most to your pleasure
Impatience is a poison. /
‘Tis a cloud that covers wit. /
It converts sense to chaos /
And teareth cool temp’rance down.
St. Birinus, sometimes called Birin or Berin was consecrated as a bishop and sent by Pope Honorius I to be a missionary to the people of Britain. He was successful in converting the pagan king of the West Saxons…
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Intrusive and dangerous technology has come a long way since Maxwell Smart’s shoe phone…
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Don’t forget the napkins, set the plates so /
Upon the tablecloth with its delicate lace /
Silverware all in an orderly row /
And never, ever neglect to say grace
Something caught my eye; an old horseshoe nailed to the doorframe. I noticed that every door and window had a horseshoe similarly nailed above it. Most of the older houses in this area had a horseshoe over the doorway, so it wasn’t all that noteworthy at the time. However, typically the horseshoes are nailed to the outside of doorways, not the inside, and there was usually only one.
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Without a doubt, one of the finest hymn writers in Protestant Christianity, Isaac Watts was born in 1674, while his father was imprisoned for his nonconformist beliefs. Though often in ill health and clinically depressed, Isaac Watts inherited his father’s steadfast character; a trait which kept him strong through fierce criticism, church splits and other hardships.
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Adil looked around him – /
Memories, an apartment full of memories. /
His beautiful mother. /
His wise father. /
His siblings. /
It would be difficult leaving this place.
For a child, Thanksgiving is sort of like Christmas only without any toys. It’s interesting enough: lots of relatives come to dinner, and there’s turkey and “the good china,” but without Santa Claus and toys it’s not that big a thing.
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“Well, the Goat-Man is a half-man, half-goat monster who lives in the woods here in Swaggart County. They say if you see the Goat-Man, death is certain to follow by the next new moon. Folks have been seeing the Goat-Man.”
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St. Mechtilde of Hackeborn was born in 1240 or 1241 to one of the most important families of Thuringia. She was baptized immediately after her birth, as it was feared that she would die soon after. The priest who baptized her was unconcerned, saying, “This child most certainly will not die, but she will become a saintly religious in whom God will work many wonders, and she will end her days in a good old age.”
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There are multiple facets of Divine Revelation. The main sections are Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, though God also reveals Himself in Creation, and certain saints have claimed to have been given visions.
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There is music around the house today: /
The old refrigerator hums a tune from Frozen /
Handel might envy the washer’s Water Music /
And the off-center dryer waltzes Blue Danube
As soon as the moon’s rays touched our skin, we changed. Wolfish hair replaced bare human skin. We went down on all fours as claws supplanted nails. We howled into the star-studded sky, repeating the ritual that our ancestors had practiced since the days when Vikings ruled the seas. We were wolves.
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yet he always sought to keep the middle ground between the factions. He was fond of saying “In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity.”
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Sometimes I meet some other old man /
And we ask each other where we were /
Memories – some of them surprisingly good /
Others dark enough /
And we were so young /
The theme for the Winter 2022 issue is Fortitude. In addition to fortitude, we will be looking at patience, perseverance, courage, and hope. We want to know how you see these in your own life and the lives of those around you!
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LogoSophia Magazine 