Before Tolkien 3: Wagner’s VALKYRIE – Ron Dart
Wagner's "Ring of the Nibelung" is a cycle of four operas that tell the story of the hero Siegfried and a magic ring. In this third session on Wagner's "The Ring of the Nibelung, Ron Dart completes his talk on "The Rhinegold" (the preliminary scenes of the Opera cycle), then walks us through Act I: The Valkyrie.
The previous sessions can be viewed here:
Before Tolkien 1 – Richard Wagner's THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG: Then and Now
The Sheep and Goats in Context – Santo Calarco
It was the last days of Jesus’ earthly life. According to Matthew it was his last parable of his last teaching and it concerned the last days1. Yes I am referring to the parable of the Sheep and the Goats. What was the point Jesus was trying to make in this parable?...
‘Being the church in Abbotsford’ – Reflections by Henry Smidstra
Being the church in Abbotsford. Ron Dart, J.H.Hans Kouwenburg, J. Christopher Reiners, eds. Abbotsford. Mill Lake Books,...
Tradition, Traditions and Traditionalism: Seeing from the Summit by Ron Dart
Review of Anna Yin’s ‘Inhaling the Silence’ – by Ron Dart
Anna Yin, Inhaling the Silence: Poems (Mosaic Press, 2013). Hannah Arendt, in her classic tome of political philosophy, The Human Condition, highlighted, in an acute way, how the West had given itself to a driven and hyper active existence (vita activa)....
When America Went to Hell – Brian Zahnd
When America Went To HellBrian Zahnd “How I wish that you of all people would understand the things that make for peace.”—Jesus (Luke 19:42) Whether or not slavery was the direct cause for the first shots fired upon Fort Sumter in April of 1861 is a matter of...
J. Philip Newell’s ‘Christ of the Celts’ – excerpts on the Cross from ch. 6 – Paying the Piper
Paying the Piper ...Countless numbers of men and women in the Western world have found the church's traditional teaching on the cross either perplexing or offensive, especially the suggestion that Christ's death is a type of payment for sin. Who exactly...
Dostoyevsky’s ‘House of the Dead’ – A Prison Chaplain’s Response by Henk Smidstra
Dostoyevsky’s book, House of the Dead, is based on the authors’ personal experience with the Russian justice system over one hundred and fifty years ago in Siberia. Dostoyevsky had been arrested in 1849 and at first been sentenced to death for being involved...
Christ or antichrist? by Kevin Miller
Back in January 2011 when I first embarked on Hellbound?, I had no idea how deeply political the idea of hell could be. For me, the film was more of a personal journey, my attempt to grapple with a concept that had both repelled and fascinated me throughout my...
Windbag Speeches: The Cruelty of Talking Too Much – Brian Zahnd
Windbag Speeches: The Cruelty of Talking Too Much by Brian Zahnd The only detailed story of the satan in the Old Testament is found in the tragedy of Job. In the first two chapters the satan accuses Job before God and trouble shortly ensues. In three...
The Crafty Serpent and the Wise Serpent – John Donne Sermon CXXVIII
Sermon CXXVIII An anniversary sermon, preached at St. Dunstan's, Genesis iii. 24 SERMON CXXVIII. AN ANNIVERSARY SERMON, PREACHED AT ST. DUNSTAN'S, UPON THE COMMEMORATION OF A PARISHIONER, A BENEFACTOR TO THAT PARISH. Genesis iii. 24. And dust shalt...