Monthly Archives: January 2010

The Journey towards Renewal

By Robin Bates | Published: January 6, 2010

Today is the Christian Feast of the Epiphany, the day celebrating the three wise men from the east visiting the infant Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Symbolically, this captures the world’s old wisdom systems acknowledging the new dispensation of love and renewal represented by God entering the world and taking human form, […]

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Romanticism, Classicism, and Football

By Robin Bates | Published: January 5, 2010

Peyton Manning  Note: I owe the underlying idea for this post to a reader contribution to Stampede Blue, an Indianapolis Colts fan website.  I have combed through Stampede Blue’s archives and haven’t been able to locate the original post.  If anyone has seen it, I ask that they let me know and I’ll give proper […]

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Beware Gazing at the Palantir in 2010

By Robin Bates | Published: January 4, 2010

John Noble as Denethor    A palantir, as readers of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings know, is a crystal ball into which one may gaze and see events occurring around the world.   Although a seeming marvel, it can warp those who gaze into it.  The palantir holds lessons for us on how we to […]

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Peace on Earth and Good Will to All of You

By Robin Bates | Published: January 1, 2010

“Ring out the old, ring in the new,” Tennyson writes in In Memoriam (see last Friday’s post).  Bells mark different stages in Tennyson’s grieving process, and bells also defined my Sewanee childhood: All Saints’ Chapel has a fabulous carillon, which would play every Sunday afternoon and on special occasions.  So to ring in 2010, I turned […]

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