In a prior article in this series where I spotlighted Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick”, I wrote about a man’s obsession with fate and challenging the ways of God. In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (RAM) we see a different yet Christian-inspired poem which depicts another thematic cycle. In RAM, we see a narrative poem/tale of a man seeking atonement for killing a defenseless bird (an Albatross). When we speak of atonement, we speak of the guilty, of... Read more
You’ve all seen the headlines haven’t you? It goes something like this. First, there is a mass shooting in some part of main street USA. People die. Children die. Always, always, children get caught in the shooter’s cross-hairs until the shooter is brought down or else, takes his own life. Then there is the aftermath. Mass shootings always bring the issue of gun control to the forefront. It’s like a nightmarish math formula really. First the child dies... Read more
In this fourth installment, I explore a chapter within Fydor Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov” Chapter 4 of Book II entitled “The Grand Inquisitor” is an important “short story within a book” that all people, believers and non-believers should read. The Brothers Karamazov is Dostoevsky’s “tour-de-force” novel and it’s considered by many to be his best for its content. I mention this solely to differentiate the author’s style versus his content. Although Dostoevsky’s style can leave a bit to be... Read more
In this third installment within this series, I tackle one of the most important and engaging novels of the early 21st century. Yann Martel’s 2001 novel, “The Life of Pi” was an astounding, bestselling success. The book eventually seeded a 2012 major motion picture release which provided a surprisingly good adaptation of Martel’s wonderful novel. There are 3 key themes to this novel. The Story of God is not unique to a subset or category of people. The main... Read more
In the first article in this series, I wrote about “Moby Dick”, the story about a man’s arrogance and the challenge of the Whale “as God” that led to the entire crew’s downfall. With Paul Coelho’s “The Alchemist, we have a very different tale of a shepherd boy’s quest to find a treasure and yet finding life along the way. In Coelho’s enormously popular book, a repeating message about finding one’s “personal legend” or path drives the narrative forward. ... Read more
He’s there sometimes y’know. Whether you’re in a neighborhood library, in a bookstore or even online at your favorite eBook vendor. Apart from the Bible, the Quran and really any of the sacred texts, there are some amazing classic poems & novels that contain God-inspired themes. While this is no secret, we’re not always told about this when we are assigned to read some of these works by our schools. If you endeavor to read these on your own, you... Read more
The morning breaks. You awake or perhaps you don’t. Or maybe you move yourself, go through the motions as you’ve come to know them. A short coffee brings you only to a higher state of wakefulness. You dress in the mirror and look at what appears. Sometimes it’s not even you or is it? The drive engages you with it. The world that is… There’s no hiding from the freeway. And then you see it. It’s always there. The... Read more
Across the span of human history, sacred texts hold a unique place within it. Regardless of any of the current secular thinking on Earth, these books have shaped and reshaped both ancient and modern thinking and civilization. They continue to do so. Among the numerous religious texts throughout time, no one can argue that major sacred texts such as the Bible, the Quran and the Bhagavad Ghita have greatly influenced philosophy, laws and the very core of civilized society. ... Read more
Can We Live Without Desire? In a prior article entitled “Why Do We Exist?”, I touched upon the first of the 4 noble truths of Buddhism which relate to suffering (referred to as Dukkha). According to this ancient Dukkha, all of the suffering that we experience is a function of our wants and desires. Buddhism thus, equates our expectations or wanting to the suffering that we inevitably experience throughout our lives. The Buddhist thinking here is simply that we... Read more
What is faith? In our current days, we hear the word “faith” tossed around in everything from God to man. Most often, the synonym for faith (trust) is used more often. How many of us are told to “trust the science”. Or, haven’t we all heard the famous U.S. Marine Corp battle cry/slogan “Semper Fidelis” which means “always faithful”. In our own USA, don’t we even label our currency with “In God We Trust”? Some will argue that to... Read more
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