Category Archives: books

Superstition and Science

In July, 1819, up the Arkansas River several score miles from here, a remarkable conversation took place that could have only happened in the Old West of cowboys and Indians. The conversation involved an Indian, but not a cowboy, rather … Continue reading →

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Narrative History Rescues the Past

“Narrative History Rescues the Past”–You’re not likely to see this headlining the latest news feed, though subtle truth rarely makes the news. Moreover, narrative history is rarely sensational, rarely fantastic, and is (unfortunately) not imaginary, rather based on real people … Continue reading →

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In Praise of Every[hu]man

Pre-eminent American historian Carl Becker in 1931 sounded a theme for the 1930s when he pronounced, “Everyman His Own Historian.” The great American composer Aaron Copland in 1942 composed “Fanfare for the Common Man,” a wonderful piece for horns and … Continue reading →

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The Sanctity of Life

In my last post, I discussed Just War. To continue… The key to solving the issue, the plague, of war, just or unjust, is for humans to adapt a culture of life. We are raised from infancy in a culture … Continue reading →

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Healing History

Two thousand years ago Titus Livius, in his History of Rome, declared that his book, indeed any narrative history of human events told with empathy and truth, is therapy for mental malaise, especially the malaise that is a product of … Continue reading →

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Time and the Church

The Church, that is, organized Christian religion, has always struggled to make sense of time. The date of Christian holy days, such as Easter and Christmas, has been under dispute for centuries. Some Christians in the past, and even today, … Continue reading →

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The Sea Mark and Missionaries

] Available for purchase at https://ash-hill-publishing.square.site/product/the-seamark-captain-john-smith-s-voyage-to-new-england/3JRKUU7G76G7HYTWCBP7U7TF?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false I was a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair at Brock University in Ontario in 2010, during which time I taught a class on the History of the First Nations of Canada and researched Anglican missionaries … Continue reading →

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History and Miracle

What is a historian to do about miracles, events in time that break the rules of natural law and sensory evidence, products of a supernatural force, that is, God? The easiest approach is, of course, to reject all theism, to … Continue reading →

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Captain John Smith: Conqueror, Colonizer, Commissioner

The Sea Mark: Captain John Smith’s Voyage to New England, published by University Press of New England (http://www.upne.com/1611685169.html), juxtaposes three different mentalities and activities: the conqueror, colonizer, and commissioner. Smith the conqueror was a soldier who believed that whoever was … Continue reading →

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Love and the Constitution

Is our society founded on Christian virtues and teachings? What is the greatest Christian teaching? What is the essence of Christianity? What is the one truth above all others that sums Christianity, Christian teachings, Jesus’s life? Love. If our society … Continue reading →

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