Heaven on Earth: The Lives and Legacies of the World's Greatest Cathedrals

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That said, the pride and strength shine through, too. None of McBride’s characters portray themselves as victims. No, they plan, scheme, and collaborate to help each other, and in a real-life, gritty way. I loved Chona, doling out credit to her neighbors, writing letters to the newspaper to decry the Klan marches in her town, and protecting young Dodo. How Nate’s character unfolds, slowly, carefully, dangerously, was wonderfully done. Even the “Lowgod” community, murky and spooky as it is, was interesting to watch. There was power in those gatherings, and the coming together of two different groups was smooth and clever, done with mystery novel style.

Before reading this book I was convinced that socialism presented a naïve and alluringly simplistic reading of history without presenting any useful or workable solutions to its diagnosed injustices. Social democratic systems have proven far superior, allowing the 'invisible hand' of capitalism to direct an economy, that human minds are incapable of, whilst occasionally intervening to prevent unfair business practices and to garantee key rights (healthcare for example). After reading this book my convictions have largely remained the same, if not reinforced. The Sacramental View, Transposition, and Media Critique: Divine Encounter in Minari November 13, 2023 Divine knowlege fills a man full of spiritual activity; it will make a man work as if he would be saved by his works, and yet it will make a man believe that he is saved only upon the account of free grace." (178) Poussin’s painting results in the most remarkable discussion. Clark begins at the center of the painting, with Mary, Joseph, and the priest placed on a cross patterned in the marble floor. Clark discusses the mysterious nature of the sacraments, while simultaneously establishing them as “social and natural facts” (143). Through the positioning of the figures and the use of light, Clark observes how the painting primarily communicates Mary’s relationship to Christianity, with the priest figuring much more dominantly than Joseph. Then, the analysis moves to the utter left of the painting, where a figure is half hidden behind a column, with only cloths and veils visible. Clark’s associations flow freely from what this figure is doing there and which meanings she might convey. He identifies her as a primary witness of the event. While she is positioned far away, she is the only one that really observes. But then Clark suggests, because her face is invisible, perhaps she looks out the picture plane. Contrasting his own line of argumentation, this second interpretation relates the divine marriage scene (and the sacrifice of Christ it prefigures) to the outside world. This relation between inside and outside, between divine and earthly, is Clark’s favorite (and arguably the most interesting) connection to make in understanding depictions of alternative worlds. A glorious illustrated history of twenty of the world's greatest cathedrals, interwoven with the extraordinary stories of the people who built them.

Endorsement

the playfulness that disguises serious intent that McBride demonstrated so brilliantly in Deacon King Kong, In What on Earth is Heaven? James Paul explores the radical truth of what the Bible says about heaven and the afterlife, and its relevance for your life here and now on earth.

All the plotlines merged expertly. I wasn’t sure how Moshe would work with Nate, and how Nate would gather with some shady characters, but it gets resolved well toward the end. There were some action scenes that were just riveting, even a little frightening. Dodo’s special relationship with “Monkey Pants” was tremendously imaginative. The ending was not quite what I expected, but still good. And the twist with the body in the well? Huh. Not bad. ETA: Just finished Part II, and dropping my review down to two stars for the moment because I'm flabbergasted and disappointed that McBride decided to play the death of one of the central characters as a diatribe against smartphones. Just incredible. A moment arises with genuine emotional impact and truth, and all of a sudden I'm reading about how capitalism and pop culture erase history, and that the kids these days are all addicted to the Internet?!? JFCThe moral center of the book -- a Jewish woman named Chona who walks with a limp as a result of polio -- finds a dark shadow in the despicable racist Doc Roberts who limps because of a foot deformity As difficult as it is to review a treatise with some deep theology, it will suffice to extract some provoking thoughts from the pen of Brooks. Consider some thoughts about how God uses suffering to strengthen a believer's faith and to give him assurance of His love:

Although at times Clark’s rhetoric can be easily challenged, his determined engagement with the paintings’ visuality is fascinating. Heaven on Earth provides insights into what it means to conduct Clark’s conception of art history—with primacy given to visual analysis, followed by interpretation fed by intuition and parallels to literary, poetic, or documentary source material. The magic of this novel is that while exposing the worst of us, McBride also illuminates the best of us. There is true hope and humanity at work here, even while brutal truths are strongly at play. While McBride is no Pollyanna – some people are just not meant for redemption – he implies that many of us are, and when the chips are down, we will try a little harder.Aesthetically, this is fantastic. The language sings—the book begs to be read aloud (and I frequently did so, interrupting whatever anyone around me was doing). You can feel the passion, the fervor throughout. A few paragraphs from different chapters illustrate this: Assurance is not of the essence of a Christian. It is required to the well-being, to the comfortable and joyful being of a Christian; but it is not required to the being of a Christian. A man may be a true believer, and yet would give all the world, were it in his power, to know that he is a believer. To have grace, and to be sure that we have grace, is glory upon the throne, it is heaven on this side heaven.