Mary Harwell Sayler's Blog: In a Christian Writer's Life, page 15
April 15, 2019
April 10, 2019
Poetry Editor and Poetry: Ballads: The Story Poem Form
Poetry Editor and Poetry: Ballads: The Story Poem Form: What's so great about the ballad? The form can introduce heroes, legends, Bible stories, or personal stories with which readers can relate.
April 9, 2019
Pray First! Then Write.
Pray First! Then Write.
May this paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer aka Our Father speak to and for Christian poets, writers, and other communicators for Christ.
May this paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer aka Our Father speak to and for Christian poets, writers, and other communicators for Christ.
March 26, 2019
The Gift of Wonder
The Gift of Wonder
Most of us think of Lent as a somber time, but this unique season of reflection on spiritual matters can also help us to become more keenly aware of the ongoing gifts of wonder given by our loving God. In her new book, The Gift of Wonder, Christine Aroney-Sine offers creative practices to help us explore and expand our delight in the Lord.
Most of us think of Lent as a somber time, but this unique season of reflection on spiritual matters can also help us to become more keenly aware of the ongoing gifts of wonder given by our loving God. In her new book, The Gift of Wonder, Christine Aroney-Sine offers creative practices to help us explore and expand our delight in the Lord.
March 25, 2019
Ministry & Writing Resources
Ministry & Writing Resources
These updated hotlinks provide a variety of resources for Christian poets, writers, pastors, and other communicators for Christ - http://marysayler.com/ministry-resour...
These updated hotlinks provide a variety of resources for Christian poets, writers, pastors, and other communicators for Christ - http://marysayler.com/ministry-resour...
March 7, 2019
First Love, God - link
First Love, God:
Clearly God wants us to love other people and ourselves very much but not put what they want –or what we want – before anything God wants.
Clearly God wants us to love other people and ourselves very much but not put what they want –or what we want – before anything God wants.
March 5, 2019
Resources for Lent
Resources for Lent
- These hotlinks to previous posts of short articles and devotionals are meant to help you experience reflection and renewal during the 40 days before Easter.
February 25, 2019
is Our Father still alive?
In case you missed it or want to read again, here's my Bible Talk from Sunday February 24: "is Our Father still alive?"
February 7, 2019
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary
by Brant Pitre gives Christians from all backgrounds a better understanding of the biblical view of the Mother of Christ.
Published by Image, who kindly sent me a copy to review, the book begins with the author’s questioning the church’s teaching about Mary in his attempt to answer his own questions and those often asked by non-Catholics.
As the Introduction says, “This book is written for anyone who has ever wondered what the Bible really teaches about Mary, the mother of Jesus.”
Then, “Eventually, it dawned on me that the reason I had begun to consider Catholic beliefs about Mary ‘unbiblical’ was that I was not paying enough attention to the Old Testament.”
Does this matter? As the Introduction goes on to say, “When it comes to the mother of Jesus, the stakes are high. Mary is a dividing line between Christians. And the issues involved are serious. If Protestants are right about Mary, then both Catholic and Orthodox Christians – more than half of the world’s Christian population – are committing idolatry on a regular basis. If Catholics and Orthodox are right about Mary, then Protestant Christians – a little less than half of the world’s Christians – are missing out on what the Bible as a whole reveals about the mother of Christ.”
As a Christian who sees where both sides are coming from, I was not interested in who's right but in God’s ongoing command to honor our parents. And, my honoring the mother of my Savior seems like the respectful, responsible thing to do. In addition, I’ve often heard – in the early church and onward – peoples of all faiths have been drawn to Mary, who then draws them to Christ.
After reading this book with interest, I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to know more about Jesus’ mother and the biblical parallels between her and various women in the Hebrew Bible. In the chapter, “The New Eve,” for instance, the author draws parallels between Mary and Eve, the latter of whom was referred to in Genesis as “woman” before the Fall and only given a proper name afterwards. Since I’d never noticed that distinction before, I could at last see why Jesus referred to His mother as “woman” a couple of times – not out of disrespect but as making a connection between her and the first woman. For, as the New Testament calls Jesus the “New Adam,” Mary can well be considered the New Eve.
Another biblical parallel occurs between Mary and the “Queen Mother” of the Old Testament. For example, the wife (or wives) of a king was not referred to as the Queen Mother, but his biological mother had that particular title. And so, with her Son Jesus as the King of Kings, Mary would understandably be placed in that royal category.
Other parallels can be found in the Ark of the Covenant that contained the Word of God and with Rachel, who weeps for her lost children. But, Dr. Pitre - a graduate of Notre Dame and present Research Professor of Scripture and Theology at the Augustine Institute - explains far better and more knowledgeably than I in this thought-provoking, easy-to-read, engaging book that, I pray, will help to heal the Marian rifts among us.
Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019, poet-writer, reviewer
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary, hardback
Published by Image, who kindly sent me a copy to review, the book begins with the author’s questioning the church’s teaching about Mary in his attempt to answer his own questions and those often asked by non-Catholics.
As the Introduction says, “This book is written for anyone who has ever wondered what the Bible really teaches about Mary, the mother of Jesus.”
Then, “Eventually, it dawned on me that the reason I had begun to consider Catholic beliefs about Mary ‘unbiblical’ was that I was not paying enough attention to the Old Testament.”
Does this matter? As the Introduction goes on to say, “When it comes to the mother of Jesus, the stakes are high. Mary is a dividing line between Christians. And the issues involved are serious. If Protestants are right about Mary, then both Catholic and Orthodox Christians – more than half of the world’s Christian population – are committing idolatry on a regular basis. If Catholics and Orthodox are right about Mary, then Protestant Christians – a little less than half of the world’s Christians – are missing out on what the Bible as a whole reveals about the mother of Christ.”
As a Christian who sees where both sides are coming from, I was not interested in who's right but in God’s ongoing command to honor our parents. And, my honoring the mother of my Savior seems like the respectful, responsible thing to do. In addition, I’ve often heard – in the early church and onward – peoples of all faiths have been drawn to Mary, who then draws them to Christ.
After reading this book with interest, I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to know more about Jesus’ mother and the biblical parallels between her and various women in the Hebrew Bible. In the chapter, “The New Eve,” for instance, the author draws parallels between Mary and Eve, the latter of whom was referred to in Genesis as “woman” before the Fall and only given a proper name afterwards. Since I’d never noticed that distinction before, I could at last see why Jesus referred to His mother as “woman” a couple of times – not out of disrespect but as making a connection between her and the first woman. For, as the New Testament calls Jesus the “New Adam,” Mary can well be considered the New Eve.
Another biblical parallel occurs between Mary and the “Queen Mother” of the Old Testament. For example, the wife (or wives) of a king was not referred to as the Queen Mother, but his biological mother had that particular title. And so, with her Son Jesus as the King of Kings, Mary would understandably be placed in that royal category.
Other parallels can be found in the Ark of the Covenant that contained the Word of God and with Rachel, who weeps for her lost children. But, Dr. Pitre - a graduate of Notre Dame and present Research Professor of Scripture and Theology at the Augustine Institute - explains far better and more knowledgeably than I in this thought-provoking, easy-to-read, engaging book that, I pray, will help to heal the Marian rifts among us.
Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019, poet-writer, reviewer
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary, hardback
January 17, 2019
Poetry Editor and Poetry: The WrEN Award for Poetry
Unlike other awards that prize a single poem, The WrEN Award for Poetry aims to honor poets, who consistently produce well-written, compelling poems. Therefore, each entry consists of a batch of 3 to 5 single-spaced pages of unpublished poetry submitted as one of these three categories: Traditional Forms, Free Verse, and Poetry for Children.
For more, see: Poetry Editor and Poetry: The WrEN Award for Poetry and follow The WrEN Award page on Facebook.
For more, see: Poetry Editor and Poetry: The WrEN Award for Poetry and follow The WrEN Award page on Facebook.
In a Christian Writer's Life
Discusses the Bible, Christianity, the church in all of its parts as the Body of Christ, and the work and play of a Christian writer. For discussions on poetry, see my blog the Poetry Editor & Poetry
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