During the last two years of his life, Seneca wrote a series of letters to his friend Lucilius, in which he gave his friend moral counsel. They are often published as "Letters from a Stoic" today. Interestingly, Seneca was an advisor to Nero and very likely could see the pattern of untimely deaths among those …
Continue reading Saving Time: A Reflection on Seneca’s First Letter
I haven't seen Christopher Nolan's Odyssey. I don't know if I will. The internet seems divided. Some call it one of Nolan's greatest achievements; others call it a desecration of Homer. I suspect the truth is somewhere between those extremes. Great artists have always reimagined great works, and viewers have always been free to embrace …
Continue reading Whether You See the Movie or Not, Read the Book
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4P95oSpOFSoAZkYdI2qPjA?si=1P2ShZqWTyy3Z7-FIg50fQ After last reading of the pilgrims’ assault and triumph over Giant Despair and of their coming to the Delectable Mountains and what the Shepherds there revealed to them, we come now to the end of their journey and to the end of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. In these final pages, the company meets …
Continue reading Valiant-for-truth, Enchanted Ground, & Death
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3hQsnQUwVYTtH74JMOwOEQ?si=Psxwla1YQSS_1-75KjIKEw In our previous reading, Christiana and her ever-increasing company of pilgrims added Feeble-mind and Ready-to-Halt as well as Gaius' daughter, Phoebe, as James' wife. They then came to the town of Vanity and stayed in the house of Mnason, finding the town much less hostile to pilgrims that it was during Christian’s time. While …
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6m7nHYIIg1udg33QIHo9an?si=AJY5BP62RcOgQlQwdZT0gA When we last left Christiana and her companions, they added another pilgrim to their party, an older man named Honest, and then came upon the house of Gaius, where they were able to stay for over a month. We pick up the story once more with the pilgrims still resting in Gaius' house. Here …
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3T3r2JrW6N1d8aHT3qV1oF?si=SJFc76HMSluq7RLoyelxRw Having previously ventured through the Valleys of Humiliation and the Shadow of Death and defeated the giant Maul in combat, we continue onward with the pilgrims' journey. Over the course of this stage, they meet a fellow pilgrim named Honest, who recounts for them the pilgrimages of Mr. Fearing and Mr. Self-will. Lastly, they …
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5KGQq9ZO6lvR0nNOgmlkJm?si=PtPWU0RXQtK4S0PouoeSaQ When we last left Christiana and her fellow pilgrims, they had left Interpreter's House with a new companion to be their guide and protector, Great-heart. Together they came upon the place of deliverance, found the hanged bodies of Simple, Sloth, and Presumption, and began their climb up the Hill of Difficulty. In our present …
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7naGqwxhKj7vpyuQBXTEwR?si=bBhf2TqkT7yxzdcInEIttQ In our previous reading, Christiana, her four sons, and Mercy set forth upon their journey and entered through the Wicket-Gate. Though Mercy was fearful of being rejected for not having a received a letter from the King as Christiana had, the Keeper assured her of her acceptance. In our present section, the pilgrims continue …
https://open.spotify.com/episode/40wWIMlsOcPt21KskeueTm?si=04BxaQ7PTr-g4P2PtZqSGA Last week, we began our journey reading through the second part of the Pilgrim's Progress. There we met Christiana, Christian's wife, as she wrestled with the guilt of having mocked Christian's desire to become a pilgrim. After some visions in the night and a visit from Secret, Christiana resolved to set forth for the …
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6wwxABqLDlMaXmCHnXaHYd?si=Kl5rerI-TpCBcX45J09BtQ As we begin reading Part II, we are greeted again by Bunyan who transmits this story to us as the sharing of his dream, and from the very first paragraph, we discover the subject of this tale: Christian's wife and children that he left behind in the City of Destruction. Yet unlike the First …
Continue reading Christiana, the City of Destruction, & Mrs. Timorous
B. C. Newton 