Posts

Showing posts from March 6, 2016

"The Divine Comedy" by Dante (trans. Allen Mandelbaum). A Short Review

Image
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri My rating: 5 of 5 stars With regard to this particular edition, not knowing Italian, I can't vouch for the quality of the translation, but I can say the following. The format is poetry (rather than prose), and the rhythm normally flows well. The translation is by Allen Mandelbaum (4 May 1926 – 27 October 2011), an award-winning translator of many classics. Along with the core material, there are a truck load of end notes that are knowledgeable (the annotator understands his Christianity and his Catholicism, as well as the historical innuendos and incidents of the text). I found myself regularly turning to the end notes to either assure myself of what I had gathered, or to instruct me in what I had completely missed. Simply because of my ignorance of hagiographa, medieval history and hoary-headed sages, I kept returning to the end notes making the reading slow and sluggish. All told, it was enjoyable to read Dante's "Commedia". T

"Liberating Black Theology" by Anthony B. Bradley. A Review

Image
Liberating Black Theology: The Bible and the Black Experience in America Anthony B. Bradley Crossway 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, IL 60187 USA www.crossway.com ISBN: 978-1-4335-1147-9; $17.99; 28 February 2010 Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Michael W. Philliber for Deus Misereatur. Biblical and Black 5 Stars of 5 It was bound to happen. It was Black History Month , I had just gone to a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial service, and then attended my quarterly Presbytery meeting where my denomination is presently in the topsy-turvy toils of hammering out how to pursue racial reconciliation. So there I was at a Lifeway bookstore looking for commentaries on Proverbs to help with a new sermon series when I turned around and saw it, squeezed in tight between other books on pastoral issues. I thought to myself, “Well, I’ve never read this fellow, but the book looks perfect for this month,” and snatched up a copy of “Liberating Black Theology: The Bible and the Black Experience

Litany for the Dying (for Fr. Charles Hageman) - 10 March 2016

Image
(I am praying this today for my dear friend in Midland, TX, Fr. Charles Hageman) LITANY FOR THE DYING. O  GOD the Father; Have mercy upon the soul of thy servant.      O God the Son;      Have mercy upon the soul of thy servant.      O God the Holy Ghost;      Have mercy upon the soul of thy servant.      O holy Trinity, one God;      Have mercy upon the soul of thy servant.     From all evil, from all sin, from all tribulation;      Good Lord, deliver  him.     By thy holy Incarnation, by thy Cross and Passion, by thy precious Death and Burial;      Good Lord, deliver  him.     By thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension, and by the coming of the Holy Ghost;      Good Lord, deliver  him.     We sinners do beseech thee to hear us, O Lord God; That it may please thee to deliver the soul of thy servant from the power of the evil one, and from eternal death;      We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.  That it may please thee mercifully to pardon all  his  sins.  

Give Ear, O Shepherd of Israel - 6 March 2016 AM

Image
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth; stir up your might and come to save us! Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, as we pray on behalf of your Church wherever she gathers; including this congregation; Church on the Rock; City Church; Community Abundant Life Church; Covenant Life Church; Crossings Community Church; The Cube; Dayspring Church of Christ; and Everlasting Gospel Lighthouse Church. May she have strength to endure the heat of day and the gloom of night. May she have courage to maintain her witness with honesty and integrity. May she be comforted in her tribulations and hold faithful in her good fortunes. Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved! Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, as we pray for those who are pursuing ordination in Gospel ministry – in our own church and in our families….May they be shaped by the hands of the master artisan into good unde