Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Christian Time Traveling
Our cathedral pilgrimage was essentially a journey back through time. Although there are cathedrals built in contemporary architectural styles, our interest generally does not point in that direction. We’re interested in the Romanesque and Gothic styles mainly due to their beauty and because they reflect the medieval attitude. That “God-centric” culture produced buildings and works…
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Saint Remi and His Basilica
The baptism of Clovis I, King of the Franks, by the Bishop of Reims, Saint Remi, was a pivotal event in the Christianization of the Franks. A few blocks from the Reims Cathedral is a basilica dedicated to the Saint. Our Cathedral Pilgrimage didn’t restrict us to visiting only “cathedrals,” a church as beautiful and…
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Reims – City of Kings
During my first encounter with Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims I stumbled upon the spot where Clovis, King of the Franks, was baptized a Christian. His baptism made Reims the birthplace of Christianity in France and the place where future kings would be crowned. That precedent led Joan of Arc to fight for the coronation of…
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First Stop – Reims
Reims was the first stop on our cathedral pilgrimage as we journeyed counterclockwise around the Île-de-France. Reims is the birthplace of Christianity in France. Around the year 500 A.D. Clovis, king of the Franks, was baptized here by Saint Remi, the Bishop of Reims. This started the tradition of the kings of France being crowned…
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Preparing for a Pilgrimage
Once we decided to do a cathedral pilgrimage we had to choose the location and extent of our journey. Columbia University’s Mapping Gothic showed us that our task would not be an exhaustive one. We were going to have to be selective. Since the Gothic style was invented in the Île-de-France (the region surrounding Paris)…
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A Cathedral Pilgrimage
A pastor once told me that his ministry was becoming less liturgical and traditional which was allowing him to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s work. As a protestant monastic community our journey has been the exact opposite. We have tried to plumb the depths of the Christian tradition, taking on a more liturgical…
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The Ring of Truth
The Ring of Truth: Wisdom of Wagner by Sir Roger Scruton takes us on a philosophical and technical journey through Wagner’s masterful tetralogy, The Ring of the Nibelung. Scruton offers us his insights and critique on what has, sadly, become an often undervalued and misjudged opera. It is a story of mythic figures and heroes,…
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Christmas Concert 2022
We had the wonderful opportunity of sharing the Christmas message at Abundant Living in Buena Vista, New Jersey. Pastor Ken and his wife, Kim, have been friends of Life Mission Fellowship for over 25 years. Each Advent Season they graciously invite us to present our Christmas program led by our music director, Jared Barton, and…
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Wagner’s Ring Cycle
Life Mission Training Center recently had the pleasure of hosting a lecture on Richard Wagner delivered by a friend of ours, the knowledgeable Dave Murphy. This was the first of four planned lectures on Wagner’s Ring Cycle (Der Ring des Nibelungen); each lecture will cover one part of the four-part opera. Wagner spent an astonishing…
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Reconciliation – God is reconciled to us
“Reconciliation, a central theme in the New Testament, primarily has to do not with our attitude toward God but with God’s attitude toward us and our wrongdoing.” John Goldingay What’s interesting about Goldingay’s quote and his work on reconciliation is that it’s so relational. The finished work of Christ is finished because God has overcome the…
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