Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
I've taken something of a "Lenten Break" since Ash Wednesday. I find it more and more frustrating to opine on social and political matters to either a)liberals, who like my old cat only hear the sound of their own voice, or b)conservatives, who can't get themselves to think outside the box at a time when …
Continue reading "Some Thoughts on Same Sex Civil Marriage–from 2004"
With the central event of the Christian calendar coming up, I'd like to link to some of my past pieces for the occasion. If you're looking for something different for this, I can recommend the following: Good Friday They Tell Us What To Do and We Do It Every King is Proclaimed by Soldiers Cross …
SM 30 423 (1970?) This French contribution to the "Jesus Music" era is different in many ways. Given its reference to the liturgy on the back cover, it's probably Roman Catholic in at least its target audience. As opposed to the "garage band" origin and feel of much of the work of the era, or …
Roka LP-7316 (1973) If the previous Puerto Rican album was a conservative throwback for its day, this one is anything but: it's a hard-driving rocker, some of which isn't particularly Hispanic in flavour. And it varies in style too, from very fast pieces to very slow ones. If the goal was to reach into the …
Continue reading "Inri Ezel: Aunque La Tierra Tiemble Debemos De Cantar"
EC-101 (1971) For a departure from the recent postings, this one and the next feature albums from Puerto Rico. The recent election of a Latin American Pope has put the spotlight on this largely Roman Catholic world, but Latin America also has a strong Evangelical and Pentecostal presence, one that is changing both Latin America …
Seeing this was heartening: Truro Anglican's bishop, +John Guernsey, finally pulls the plug on Truro's rector Tory Baucum's "reconciliation" with Episcopal bishop Shannon Johnston. This was doubtless a hard pill for Baucum to swallow (as one could feel in his response) but that's what happens in situations like this. It's good to note that the …
Continue reading "Ending Well (Hopefully) for Truro Anglican"
Amidst all the adulation surrounding the elevation of Jorge Bergoglio to become Pope Francis I, there is one thing that many overlook: that he started out his academic career as a chemist. New Atheists would have us believe that scientific education will make us like them. But this is only true when we make science …
St. Francis SFPS-2 (1967) Up to now the early post-Vatican II albums have come from the U.S. But there was activity in this field in the U.K. also, and probably the best known artist/song writer to get things started was Sebastian Temple. Born in South Africa, he emigrated to the UK, where he spent many …
Continue reading "Sebastian Temple: Sing! People of God, Sing!"
FEL 810F-6242 (1966) One of the early "sensations" of the post-Vatican II Catholic music world was the young nun Sister Germaine Habjan, who produced this album of songs and narrative (Episcopal ministers Ian Mitchell and Frederick Gere also included narrative) based on Scripture and other sources. By later standards it's a plain album, but it's …
As we march through this Lenten season, complete with the silliness over the sequester and the post-modern version of the Great Refusal, we come to yet another saga in the Anglican/Episcopal world--the volte-face that has taken place by the Truro Anglican Church and its rector, Tory Baucum, vis-Ã -vis the Episcopal Bishop of Virginia, Shannon Johnston. …
Continue reading "Truro, Baucum, Johnston and the Occupational Hazard of Anglicanism"
Positive Infinity 