The Hall of Fire

Yes, there is a lot that is admirable about Christmas as it is currently celebrated. There is still that undercurrent of peace and goodwill. And many people, myself included, still love it for its spiritual meaning. I'm just a little discouraged -- in a bah humbugish sort of way -- that so much of t...

Christmas has been lost as a religious holiday. Rather than fight the inevitable, I think those of us who still want to celebrate the birth of Christ should move our feast day to another time of year and leave Dec. 25 to Santa, Rudolph and Wal-Mart. Rename the current Christmas as Giftday or Obscene...

TH, I've been teaching a class on the theological concepts that can be found in the Narnia books, so perhaps I can help. :) First, a disclaimer. Lewis was adamant that he wasn't trying to put across Christian themes when he wrote the stories. He said the stories began with images, such as a faun wit...

Which reminds me, I did promise a quote from Thomas Kelley, who happened to be a Quaker. Here's one I love, from "A Testament of Devotion": “Amazing simplification comes when we ‘center down,’ when life is lived with singleness of eye, from a holy Center where the breath and stillness of E...

Jewel, I agree with every word you said. Especially this: I feel that when you are fortunate enough to be in the presence of someone who is close to...well, The Center (for lack of a better term) it is blindingly obvious. And what that person's particular beliefs are is moot...it is where they are ,...

I was only in Africa (Uganda) once, for 11 days, but I agree that the spirit world seems closer, more accessible there. Or perhaps it's just that the people are more aware and accepting of it. My theory: Every culture has its own special gifts for humanity. That doesn't mean every individual in that...

Wampuskitty, I don't find your views peculiar at all. :) <faints> vison, I think you are right that ritual feeds our need for "familiarity, of connectedness, of being a 'part' of something." And probably that's how most believers experience it: as a concrete, unchangeable, defined "g...

<trying to shake the mental image of Dan Blocker singing... anything> My absolute favorite Christmas music is Benjamin Brittain's "Ceremony of Carols." I heard it often as a child because my brother was in a boy's choir that usually sang it in December. After wearing out an album, I now h...

Very interesting thread, Jny. I agree that the separation of body and spirit has been overemphasized in Western thought. Unfortunately, that has been particularly true of Christianity, although I believe that the problem stems from misinterpretation (well, an interpretation different than mine :) )....

When I met my future husband, he was playing fiddle in a Celtic band and I had been playing Celtic harp for my own pleasure for about a year. Soon we started playing together, with our first public performance as a duo a week after our wedding. We've been playing music together for 17 years now, and...

Where's my gift basket? I've been waiting at the door for at least 30 minutes! I can send directions if needed...

In other words, Hi. Such a wonderful group of folks here.