Robert Silverberg's Majipoor novels, with comparisons to Jack Vance

Robert Silverberg's Majipoor

(For a quick introduction to Silverberg's Majipoor, see Welcome to Majipoor. For the Wikipedia article on these works, go here.)

I confess -- I originally posted this in my own domain, which no longer exists, several years ago, and discovered that someone had archived it, so I'm re-publishing it as part of this blog. It has been lightly edited, and the links are still good.

In his Lord Valentine’s Castle, (New York: Bantam Books, 1981) Robert Silverberg, (a five-time Nebula award winner, but not for this book) has created a fascinating world. Silverberg has written about that world again, in Majipoor Chronicles, (New York: Bantam, 1989) in Valentine Pontifex (New York: Bantam, 1989), in Sorcerers of Majipoor, (New York: HarperPrism, 1996) in Lord Prestimion (New York: HarperCollins, 1999), in The King of Dreams (New York: HarperCollins, 2001, in "The Seventh Seal," (in Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy, edited by Silverberg--New York: Tor, 1998) and possibly in some other works.

Warning: if you are wondering about whether to read these books, but are the kind of person who doesn't want to know about what happens until you have finished a book, you should not read this web page further. I recommend the books to you. I have found them worth reading, and reading again.

Majipoor’s geography and government

The planet is very large, probably as large, or larger, than Jupiter or Saturn. (As a reviewer points out, Silverberg claims that it is the largest inhabited planet in fantastic literature, but isn't as large as Larry Niven's Ringworld. The Ringworld is supposed to be a manufactured object.) However, because of a lack of heavy elements, gravity is not oppressive. Most of it is covered by water, but the land areas combined are larger than those of any other inhabited planet. There are four main land areas, Alhanroel, Zimroel, Suvrael, and the Isle of Sleep. There is also one large archipelago. Castle Mount, on Alhanroel, is very tall--so tall, thirty miles high--that there are weather machines near its top, producing a breathable atmosphere for the inhabitants of its cities, and its Castle. Other features, including the oceans and rivers are also, as it were, larger than life. So are some of the manufactured objects, especially the Labyrinth, a vast underground city several miles deep, and the Castle, with thousands of rooms, on Castle Mount.

The Piurivars, an indigenous race, who used to be found on all continents, are almost all confined to a large reservation in Zimroel in Castle. (Some of Silverberg's other writing about Majipoor goes back long before Castle, including before the Piurivars were moved to the reservation.) This species is also known as metamorphs, or shape-shifters, because they have the ability to alter their appearance, even their structure, to mimic other species.

There are four powers of the government throughout most of the books. (There are stories going back before all four were established, and a fifth power is established at the end.) These are the Pontifex, who issues decrees relating to commerce from the Labyrinth, in Alhanroel; the Coronal, who is the ceremonial head of government, carrying out the decrees of the Pontifex, from the Castle, also in Alhanroel; the Lady, sending out, with her subordinates, dreams of peace and goodness from the Isle, and the King of Dreams, sending out dreams to punish criminals from Suvrael. The Coronal becomes Pontifex on the death of an old Pontifex. The new Pontifex chooses a Coronal, usually from a small group of those trained to lead, but does not choose his own relatives. The Coronal’s mother becomes the Lady. The King of Dreams is a hereditary office, passed down within the Barjazid family.

One interesting aspect of the governmental institutions that Silverberg created is that Coronals don't like their jobs very much. They must sign countless documents, and attend countless ceremonies, and listen to countless speeches by various minor functionaries. They are expected to make Grand Processionals every few years, which takes them around Majipoor for as much as five years at a time. They look forward with real horror to moving to the Labyrinth, where they will live as Pontifex when they succeed to that office, coming above ground but rarely.

Culture
Majipoor is so large that its human rulers invited non-humans to come and help colonize it, thousands of years before the time of Castle, the first book written. As a result, there are several species who have lived on Majipoor for a long time. The Skandars are tall and covered with fur, and have four arms. The Su-Suheris have two heads. The Ghayrogs lay eggs. Hjorts and Vroons and Liimen are obviously non-human. These species are all living in harmony, and share a single culture, more or less, and a common language. They travel and work together, and live in the same cities, and have the same government.

There is an indigenous species, the Piriuvar, or metamorphs, who are not part of the common culture, although a few of them do live among the other species, and communication is possible.

The first book describes how Valentine, the Coronal, has been deprived of his memory, and his rulership, but becomes aware of his loss, and, with a group of associates, including humans, Skandars, a Hjort, a Vroon, and even an alien being, (a tourist on Majipoor) regains his memory and his position. During this story, Silverberg often gives us just names of great cities, without any description, or with a very modest description. In no case, except for a city inhabited mostly by Ghayrogs, does he describe one of these cities as having a different culture. The cultural differences in the mostly Ghayrog city, Dulorn, are because Ghayrogs don’t sleep, except at one season of the year, not because they wish to be separate, or others from them.

One theme, spread throughout the Majipoor books, is how the Piurivars were originally mistreated, and how they finally come to accept a role as part of the common culture.

The second book in the series, Chronicles, is a group of stories. Silverberg uses a fictional device. It has been possible for citizens of Majipoor to store their memories and experiences in such a way that they can be re-lived. The book relates these experiences, which are re-lived by Hissune, one of the main characters in the first three books, and are part of his training to take Valentine’s place as Coronal.

In the very first of these episodes, “Thesme and the Ghayrog,” Silverberg takes us back to a time long before Valentine and Hissune, when non-human species are new on Majipoor. Thesme has decided to live in isolation in the forest. She finds an injured Ghayrog, and helps him recover. She eventually has sexual experiences with him. Finally, she tires of this, and returns to living with her family and human acquaintances, but the episode closes with the understanding that humans, Ghayrogs, and other species are going to work together in harmony to tame Majipoor.

Silverberg's use of Culture Compared with Jack Vance's Work
In case anyone wonders, Silverberg has read Vance, and, in fact, he says: "Vance was an influence so far as the design of the planet was concerned -- I borrowed his Big Planet concept, though I designed my own." (Interview with Jim Freund, Ellen Datlow, and Mike McCoy, September 7, 1997.) Actually, I didn't know this when I decided to start this comparison. I just knew that Majipoor was way too homogenous to be a Vance creation.

The most thorough treatment of Vance's propensity to invent culture is "People are Plastic: Jack Vance and the Dilemma of Cultural Relativism," by Tom Shippey, in Jack Vance: Critical Appreciations and a Bibliography, Edited by A. E. Cunningham (Boston Spa and London: The British Library, 2000, pp. 67 - 84) Shippey's first paragraph says, in part:

. . . Vance’s work should not be treated as merely whimsical or decorative, but should be seen as centrally preoccupied with one of the most acute moral dilemmas and major intellectual developments of our age: a dilemma and a development furthermore which tend to be avoided or left unfocused, to our detriment, in literature of the mainstream. The intellectual development is that of social or cultural anthropology, . . . and the dilemma it generates is, to put it bluntly, whether any sense of absolute value, or of ‘human nature’, can survive a thoroughgoing acceptance of the cultural relativism recommended so forcefully by so many anthropologists.

Silverberg's creation has a culture, and there are local variations, but nothing like those of Vance. Every city, almost every neighborhood, seems to call upon Vance's creative powers, as he invents new types of clothing, food, occupations, amusements, language, religion and courtship for so many of these. Or, perhaps, it's the other way around. Vance adds neighborhoods and cities so he can have places for his permutations of culture to inhabit. Majipoor does have a few isolated pockets where there is a separate language, or a separate religion, (even, in Prestimion, an area where several intelligent alien species live) but they are in the minority on the planet, and Silverberg does not dwell on them.

Silverberg uses some of his creative powers in describing variety in the landscape, (or sometimes in the seascape) and in the animals and plants that inhabit it. Besides the several diverse species of intelligent beings that have come to Majipoor, there is an abundant variety of supposedly non-intelligent life there. The most spectacular of these are the sea-dragons, immense beasts that migrate in herds, in paths that take them years, around the planet. They can swim, and have wing-like appendages, but cannot fly. In Castle, Valentine and his companions travel with the dragon-hunters to reach the Isle of Sleep. On the way, a giant sea-dragon attacks their ship, and some of his companions are lost. Valentine, himself, with his giant human female bodyguard, is swallowed by the dragon. The bodyguard finally cuts a tunnel in the side of the dragon, and they escape. In Pontifex, we, and the central culture, find that the sea-dragons are highly intelligent, and have the power to send their thoughts to other intelligent beings at a great distance, but the central culture lived in ignorance of that for thousands of years.

Scattered throughout the books are descriptions of strange landscapes, soil, geological formations of many types. Also, I have not counted, but there must be names, and, in some cases, descriptions, of at least a hundred different species of plants, and as many animals. In both Pontifex and Prestimion, some animals have been produced (by genetic engineering?) for evil purposes. Except for these, the culture of Majipoor lives in general harmony with the land, the sea, and their non-intelligent inhabitants. The variety of natural features, living and non-living, has probably not been matched in any other works of fantastic literature.

It is true that, having established a nearly homogenous culture on the largest inhabited planet in the first three books about Majipoor, Silverberg departs somewhat from that in later writings. The Mountains of Majipoor (New York: Bantam: 1996) presents a story that takes place several hundreds of years after Valentine has departed the scene. Harpirias, a young noble, is sent to a newly-discovered group of humans that have been geographically isolated for thousands of years. They speak a different language, have a different religion, etc. However, Harpirias is able to learn the language, and to understand them. If Vance had written about the same situation, there would surely have been some incomprehensibility between the two cultures. (Mountains also presents the Piurivars as not having been completely homogenized yet.)

Sorcerers of Majipoor (New York: Harper Prism, 1998 -- excerpt from novel here) takes place long before Valentine's time. In it, Silverberg describes how many religious cults, each bizarrely different, have arisen. However, these are all manifestations of the same thing:

In a thousand cities, furious mages came forth, saying, "This is the way of salvation, these are the spells that will restore the world," and the people, doleful and frightened and hungry for salvation, said, "Yes, yes, show us the way." In each city the observances were different, and yet in essence everything was the same everywhere: processions and wild dances, shrieking flutes, roaring trumpets. (p. 33)

Revenge

Since this is fantastic fiction, there is plenty of opportunity for bizarre crime. The first book begins shortly after one such has been committed. Valentine, the Coronal, has had his body taken over by another, who now masquerades as Coronal. Some of his consciousness, but not all—not enough even to remember that he was Coronal—has been placed in a different body. The story of the first book is the story of Valentine’s quest, which is, at first, undertaken very reluctantly, to overthrow the false Coronal and restore harmony to the realm.

At the end, Valentine and his followers discover that one of the Barjazid family members has had his mind placed in what had been Valentine’s body.  The force behind this awful act, however, was a group of metamorphs (Piurivars), who have masqueraded as humans, one of them even assuming the form of the King of Dreams, the usurper’s father. When the plot is unmasked, and Valentine is back in his rightful place, one of his friends proposes vengeance upon the Piurivars. Valentine does not agree: “But I think also we must reach toward those people, and heal them of their anger if we can, or Majipoor will be thrown into endless war.” (Castle, p. 444) He also did not seek vengeance on the human who was the tool of the Piurivars: "Lord Valentine . . . had gently and lovingly sought even to win the soul of his enemy the usurper Dominin Barjazid, in the last moments of the war of restoration." Pontifex, p. 49.

There are three stories in the Chronicles that also demonstrate that vengeance is not central to Silverberg’s characters. In one, a merchant has been sold shoddy goods. While he is meeting with the man who sold them to him, he impulsively pushes him out the window of the hotel room into the river, to his death. The river is so boisterous that the body will not be found. Things go along well enough for a while, but eventually the King of Dreams starts sending terrible dreams to the murderer. He flees, taking on new identity, again and again, each time escaping for a while. Finally, he becomes a pilgrim in the Isle, where pilgrimage from level to level, toward the center, usually takes many years. After some years there, he sees a man who looks like the merchant he murdered. He converses with the man, who turns out to be the son of the dead man. The son says that he does not want to punish the murderer. He has already been punished, and all that the son wants is to find out what happened to his father.

Another story concerns the establishment of the King of Dreams. Dekkeret, a noble from the Castle, has business in Suvrael, which is mostly an oppressive desert wasteland, and hires a Barjazid as a guide into the interior. While on the journey, he is beset by terrible dreams, and almost dies while sleepwalking during one. He discovers that the guide has been sending them, using an apparatus he wears on his head to project dreams from his own brain. Barjazid asks if the noble will punish him. The noble says that he will not. Instead, he wants Barjazid to come to Castle Mount, to show the apparatus to the Coronal and others. This Barjazid’s son, Dinitak Barjazid, will become the first King of Dreams.

In a third story, a shopkeeper is visited by two rascals, who tell her that she has inherited one of the great homes in a city far away. For a significant sum, they will process her claim to the estate. She pays them, and goes to claim her inheritance, finding that she has no such claim, and that the rascals have been saying the same thing to many others. Through a long series of circumstances, the girl does become mistress of this same great home. One day she sees the rascals. She has them arrested, because they have defrauded many, but asks that their punishment be slight, because her circumstances are so much better, because of what happened to her as a result of the swindle.

A fourth story details an episode in the conquest of the Piurivars by Stiamot, the Coronal. In Prestimion, which takes place much later, we read that Stiamot, many years later, tried to travel to ask forgiveness of the Danipiur, the leader of the Piurivars, but died before he was able to finish that journey.

Silverberg said (in the interview cited above, with Freund, Datlow, and McCoy) that "I knew that Lord Valentine's Castle needed a sequel to deal with the problem of the disgruntled Shapeshifters." He said the same thing in other interviews.

There is another interesting aspect of revenge in Pontifex. The Piurivars have a long memory. They remember sacrificing two sea-dragons in their holiest place, on land, long before humans came to Majipoor. They believe that they have so defiled the place, and themselves, that they abandon it. However, the greatest of the sea-dragons tells (through telepathy) Faraataa, Piurivar leader who thinks he is leading his people to atone for this sin:

The gods gave themselves willingly, that day in Velalisier. It was their sacrifice, which you misunderstand. You have invented a myth of a Defilement, but it is the wrong myth. . . . The water-king Niznorn and the water-king Domsitor gave themselves as sacrifices that day long ago, just as the water-kings give themselves yet to our hunters as they round the curve of Zimroel. (p. 362--this idea, of a willingness to be sacrificed by intelligent beings, is reinforced in "Seventh Shrine.")

Silverberg's characters don't always feel that they need revenge. The sea-dragons go further--they willingly offer themselves as victims.

Religion, with comparison to Jack Vance

Although he doesn't spell out its theology, clearly Majipoor, and, presumably, Silverberg, consider that religion is important, and often, although not always, beneficial. Not so with Vance, who never presents religion as anything but empty, and usually dangerous, ritual. Vance's priests, or the equivalent, are usually greedy and hypocritical.

The Lady of the Isle, although a living human person, is, in a sense, worshipped by the inhabitants of Majipoor. They address prayers to her. There is, however, another sort of deity for Majipoor, understood as above all, and, somehow, influencing and controlling events.

Here is a dialog near the end of Castle (p. 375):

Deliamber said . . . "It may be that the present troubles of the realm are the beginning of the retribution for the suppression of the Metamorphs."
Valentine stared at him. "What do you mean by that?"
"Only that we have gone a long way, here on Majipoor, without paying any sort of price for the original sin of the conquerors. The account accumulates interest, you know. . . . perhaps the past is starting to send us its reckoning at last."
"But Valentine had nothing to do with the oppression of the Metamorphs," Carabella protested. . . .
Deliamber shrugged. "Such things are never fairly distributed. What makes you think that only the guilty are punished?"
"The Divine--"
"Why do you think the Divine is fair? In the long run, all wrongs are righted, every minus is balanced with a plus, the columns are totaled and the totals are found correct. But that's in the long run. We must live in the short run, and matters are often unjust there. The compensating forces of the universe make all the accounts come out even, but they grind down the good as well as the wicked in the process."
"More than that," said Valentine suddenly. "It may be that I was chosen to be an instrument of Deliamber's compensating forces, and it was necessary for me to suffer in order to be effective."

Pontifex, in a sentence, is about the long run--righting all wrongs. It is a story of sin, sacrifice, and redemption. The book begins by describing how the life of Majipoor is falling apart, with the agents being, in part, the metamorphs, and ends with the establishment of these Piurivars as equal and participating members of the society of Majipoor. Throughout the book, there is frequent mention of higher powers:

"We have no choice in that: it is the will of the Divine. Is that not so?" (p. 24. The speaker is Aximaan Threysz, an ancient and respected Ghayrog matriarch and farmer.)
"Noor groaned. 'The Divine spare me!'" (p. 27. Noor is an government agricultural agent.)

"By the Divine, if you could know how I long to see the sun again!" (Valentine speaking, p. 47)
"But is he acceptable to the Divine, my friends?" (A human, claiming that Valentine should not be Coronal, pp. 129-130)

Actually, the humans who came to Majipoor long ago are not the only beings who have sinned. Their sin was not "original sin," or not the original one on the planet. The Piurivars sinned, at least in their own eyes, by sacrificing two sea-dragons, before humans ever came to the planet. Here is a dream of a Piurivar:
"In the beginning was the Defilement, when a madness came over us and we sinned against our brothers of the sea," he cries. "And when we awakened and beheld what we had done, for that sin we destroy our great city and go forth across the land. But even that was not sufficient, and enemies from afar were sent down upon us, and took from us all that we had, and drove us into the wilderness, which was our penance, for we had sinned against our brothers of the sea. And our ways were lost and our suffering was great and the face of the Most High was averted from us, until the time of the end of the penance came, and we found the strength to drive our oppressors from us and reclaim that which we had lost through our ancient sin. . . ." (Pontifex, p. 118)

Throughout the Majipoor books, it is clear that there is a higher power. The land-dwelling inhabitants speak of The Divine. The sea-dragons speak of "That Which Is." (All words capitalized in the original.)

(An aside here: in my view, Silverberg has a genius for naming characters, or at least for inventing names. Not all fantastic writers have been so good. Tolkien was, but he was drawing on the languages that he had created to produce those names. Silverberg, so far as I know, did not create any languages for Majipoor, but there is music in some of the names above these lines: Deliamber, Carabella, Aximaan Threysz.)

An on-line chat, apparently held in 1999, and apparently no longer available on-line, includes the following:

R Silverberg: Advocating any doctrine seems to me a violation of the reader-writer relationship.

OrsonScottCard: Obviously I'm not a fan of the genre.

RSilverberg: Exploring, yes. Peddling, no,

RSilverberg: Christianity is at least as worth exploring as atomic theory.

RSilverberg: In fiction, I mean.

. . .

RSilverberg: I was once asked to provide a quote for a Christian novel by Roger Elwood. He was astounded when I pointed out I wasn't Christian.

RSilverberg: And that Zeus was about as real to me as Jehovah.

I believe Silverberg has set out to explore Christianity in the Majipoor writings. It isn't the only thing he explores, and I doubt if he would say it's the main one, but it's part of the exploration. What has he explored? At least four themes closely related to Christianity. As I have said, one of these is revenge, or, rather, forgiveness and love instead of revenge. He has also explored sacrifice, in several ways. Valentine goes to the Piurivars, knowing that he may be killed, in Pontifex, because he is willing to be sacrificed for the good of Majipoor as a whole. Dekkeret's lovely cousin dies, killed by a madman who is trying to kill Prestimion, in Prestimion. Her death brings Dekkeret, who will eventually become Coronal, to Prestimion's attention. The Water-Kings, or seadragons, allow the Piurivars to kill them in a sacrificial ritual. Several warriors die gladly so that their leaders may live. A third is sin, and its consequences. Although there is forgiveness, evil leads to destruction, desolation, and death. Tying all these together is the theme of redemption. Valentine, and, later, Prestimion and Dekkeret, realize that Majipoor needs redemption--some act of love to free them from the consequences of wrong.

Sorcerers of Majipoor: revenge and religion

Sorcerers of Majipoor is set long before the time of Valentine. The plot is this: sorcerers have become prominent in the land. Most people consult them. The wealthy hire them to tell the future, and find things, and even, sometimes, to perform magic. The Pontifex is dying. Coronal Confalume (remembered for the throne he had built, in the marvelous Castle, the throne that Valentine ascended) will become Pontifex. He has chosen Prestimion to be the next Coronal. Although a Coronal's son has never succeeded a Coronal to the throne, Confalume's daughter, Thismet, and her sorcerer, persuade Thismet's twin brother, Korsibar, that he is the man most fit to succeed. (He is not--he is selfish, vain, and shallow, and has not paid much attention to the details of government.) The sorcerer casts a spell of confusion on everyone but Korsibar when the Pontifex dies, and Korsibar seizes the crown and proclaims himself Coronal. Confalume, the new Pontifex, still confused, does not dispute this rash act. Prestimion decides that he cannot accept Korsibar, and that no one should, so rebels. Many follow him, including, apparently, his distant cousin, Dantirya Sambail, the Procurator, the most powerful man on Zimroel, the second-largest continent of Majipoor. Eventually, there is war. Dantirya Sambail betrays Prestimion, and suggests to Korsibar that Prestimion be lured into the valley below a great dam, then have the dam breached. Prestimion escapes, but most of his army, and thousands of innocent farmers, do not. Prestimion, never a believer in sorcery, flees to the city where the most powerful sorcerers live, and decides to try again to remove Korsibar by force. He raises another army, this time with sorcerers in it. Thismet decides that she has no place in Korsibar's Castle. Her sorcerer has left her for her brother, the false Coronal. Her brother does not give her any power, and ignores her. She leaves Castle Mount, and travels to join Prestimion, and becomes his consort. Battle is joined again. Thousands perish, including Korsibar and Thismet, both slain by her former sorcerer, who betrays Korsibar. Prestimion, still not been a devotee of sorcery, reluctantly decides that the only thing that will heal Majipoor is to have the two most powerful sorcerers perform one last sorcery--they make everyone in the whole world, including themselves, forget that Korsibar ever existed, that wars were ever fought, that the dam was breached. Only Prestimion and two of his friends, Septach Melyn and Gilaurys, will remember. The three of them believe that these terrible events, and their effects, are over.

A word about sorcery--in the two previous Valentine books, there is a little sorcery. Two of the races, Vroon and Su-Suheris, have what might be called extra-sensory powers. Autifon Deliamber, who is with Valentine almost from the beginning of his restoration, is a Vroon. Deliamber is able to find ways for Valentine and his companions to travel, by projecting himself, or his senses, ahead to find safety. There is little else in the Valentine books that indicates that sorcery had any prominence. In Sorcerers, it seems that sorcery has recently come to prominence, in part because of the recent arrival of the two races that are most likely to practice it. (Others, including humans, also do.) Apparently it loses its appeal, and its influence, during the reign of Prestimion, or some time after that.

Religion, in Sorcerers, is fractured. There is still some acknowledgement of the Divine. However, it is clear that sorcery has become not only a wide-spread practice, but belief in it has become a religion, or many religions:

So there was no contending against the tide of magic and fear. In a thousand cities furious mages came forth, saying, "This is the way of salvation, these are the spells that will restore the world," and the people, doleful and frightened and hungry for salvation, said, "Yes, yes, show us the way." In each city the observations were different, and yet in essence everything was the same everywhere, processions and wild dances, shrieking flutes, roaring trumpets. Omens and prodigies. Sorcerers, p. 33.

Clearly Silverberg understands, as some authors of fantastic fiction do not, (No less than Tolkien, a faithful Roman Catholic, has been accused of this) that religion plays an important part, often positive, sometimes not, in the lives of people, and this should be reflected even in fantastic worlds. Here are two examples, spoken by Prestimion, from page 264:

"Item two, Korsibar's done something foul and dark and blasphemous by crowning himself like that. Such deeds are inevitably repaid on high. . . ."

"It's well known I have no use for sorcerers and such-like flummery. To that extent I'm a skeptic; but that doesn't mean I'm godless, Dantirya Sambail. There are forces in the universe that punish evil: this I do believe. The world will suffer if Korsibar's left to go unopposed. My own private ambitions aside, I feel he must be taken down, for the good of all."

Near the close of Sorcerers, Prestimion, like Valentine,  rejects violence. He has Dantirya Sambail in his power:

Nothing unhappy had befallen him that Dantirya Sambail had not had a hand in, somewhere. Prestimion felt himself grow hot with fury. Strike at him, he thought, and you are striking at all your misfortunes in a single thrust. . . .
"Go ahead," the Procurator said, "Shove it home, cousin!"

"What a pleasure that would be," said Prestimion. "But no. No, cousin, no." Not like this; not the slaughter of a prisoner, even this one. He could not. He would not. All his wrath had turned away. There had been enough killing for now. (pp. 598-9, emphasis in original)

Prestimion has him put into prison. He also puts a Vroon wizard, who changed sides more than once during the conflict, into the charge of a man named Barjazid, and tells him to take the wizard to Suvrael, the desert continent. The wizard has been working on devices to contact the mind at a distance.

Lord Prestimion: revenge and religion continued
An aside, before I consider the main plot and themes of this work. In Chronicles, Hissune accesses a memory left behind by Dekkeret, which has this statement in the second paragraph. "It was as an act of penance that Dekkeret had undertaken a voyage to the burning wastes of barren Suvrael." (p. 100) Prestimion gives more of the background of this story. Prestimion sees Dekkeret, a commoner, and believes that he has qualities of greatness. He elevates him to the Castle, to training for leadership. Part of that is a trip to Zimroel. After many days as a bureaucrat, Dekkeret goes on a hunting trip. The guides are not friendly, and don't respect Dekkeret and his companion, a noble from the Castle. The quarry animal appears. He goes after it, and kills it, running past his guide as he engages the animal. It develops that the beast has injured the guide, and, when Dekkeret returns to the scene, she is dead. Others do not blame Dekkeret. Indeed, the woman probably would have died in any case, but Dekkeret asks for assignment to Suvrael as penance.

Lord Prestimion continues Sorcerers. Several things which seemed settled aren't really settled. Varaile, a young commoner, with a wealthy widower for a father, is in charge of her household. A servant leaps to her death out of a window, killing two tourists in the street. Others are affected, also. There is a madness that strikes randomly. Not everyone is affected, but too many are. People have horrible headaches, or stop functioning for a few minutes, or go mad, and attack others, or jump off boats. As nearly as anyone can understand, they are in despair. Prestimion, now Coronal, thinks that these troubles are because so many of the citizenry are trying to deal with the changes that came about as a result of the enormous sorcery he ordered, which was designed to put all memories of Korsibar, and the war, out of people's minds. They don't seem able to remember how their friends, relatives, or acquaintances died, or they have forgotten that they existed. They have made up stories about how and why missing people are missing. Confalume, still Pontifex, does not remember that he had any children. He cannot remember Thismet and Korsibar. Prestimion fears that there is a price to pray for the suppression of all this truth.

Besides his two friends, who know what has happened, Prestimion tells Dantirya Sambail enough of what happened to explain why the latter is imprisoned, because Prestimion doesn't feel that he can keep the second most powerful man on the planet in jail for no apparent reason. Dantirya Sambail does not beg forgiveness, and escapes. Prestimion tells a few others, also. He has told his Su-Suheris mage, Maundigand-Klimd (who, by the way, claims, and acts as if, his sorcery is a science, not magic). Prestimion tells his mother, who has become Lady of the Isle, one of the powers of Majipoor, and Variale, who has become his wife, while on a visit to the Isle. In his despair, he tells them: "I thought I was healing the world. Instead, I was destroying it. I opened the gateway for this madness that consumes it now, the full dimensions of which have only become apparent to me today." (p. 394) A little later, Variale remarks that Prestimion must hate Dantirya Sambail, who seems to be at large, and raising an army to rebel. Prestimion realizes that he does hate him.

The King of Dreams

King concludes the second trilogy. Dantirya Sambail's poison-taster, Mandralisca, is a consummately evil man. He establishes a kingdom of his own in Zimroel, with five of Sambail's nephews as fronts for his leadership. A Barjazid, kept by Dinitak from coming to the Castle, goes to Mandralisca, with the secret of thought-projecting helmets that can be used to attack enemies in another continent. Mandralisca uses a helmet to send horrible dreams to members of Prestimion's family. Prestimion's brother is driven to take his own life by Mandralisca's visitation. Prestimion, now Pontifex, believes that the government must go to war against Mandralisca and his followers. However, Dekkeret, now Coronal, hopes that there is some method short of outright war. He, like Valentine, wants to win by projecting goodness. Dinitak Barjazid, now Dekkeret's best friend and confidante, also has the secret of the thought-projecting helmets. He acts to protect Dekkeret from evil thought projection, and Mandralisca is overthrown, without a war. Just before his final overthrow, one of Mandralisca's most trusted lieutenants, Thastain, an innocent farm boy placed into events he has not understood, understands how evil Mandralisca is, and gives his life to protect Dekkeret. Septach Melyn, Prestimion's old friend, as a representative of the Pontifex, kills Mandralisca, but dies himself.

During the time leading up to Dekkeret's expedition to Zimroel to overthrow Mandralisca, he receives powerful messages, apparently from the Divine, that he must do something to change the way things are done on Majipoor. At the end, he decides that what he must do is to set up Dinitak Barjazid as the first King of Dreams, who will punish evil-doers all over the planet.

Mr. Silverberg, himself, found the previous incarnation of this document, and e-mailed me about what I had said about religion and his work. See here.

Thanks for reading! Read Silverberg, if you wish.

Sunspots 626

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Education: National Public Radio has published an in-depth report on the pluses and minuses of school voucher programs.

Ethics: Rerum Novarum, an encyclical issued in 1881, by Pope Leo XIII, on the treatment of laborers, and a lot more. Sample (from paragraph 28):
Neither must it be supposed that the solicitude of the Church is so preoccupied with the spiritual concerns of her children as to neglect their temporal and earthly interests. Her desire is that the poor, for example, should rise above poverty and wretchedness, and better their condition in life; and for this she makes a strong endeavor. By the fact that she calls men to virtue and forms them to its practice she promotes this in no slight degree.


Finance: Relevant reports on a study of repaying loans, which found that people who mentioned God when talking about paying back loans were less likely to pay them back.

Health: National Public Radio details two good methods for washing our hands. (Confession: I don't use either of them.)

History: Some historical facts you didn't learn in school, from Listverse.

Humor: (Sort of) Scientific American reports further on the question of why people take their empty shopping carts to a cart corral, or don't. The report is mostly interesting comments, from returners and non-returners.


Politics: Listverse tells us that free speech is being attacked from many sides, in many ways.

(And history) FiveThirtyEight discusses US political scandals of the past, and points out that even when Presidents were involved in some really bad stuff, many congresspeople stuck by them.

Science: (and Christianity) Relevant strongly defends the concept of human-caused climate change.

Wired reports that scientists have made functioning mouse ovaries with a 3-D printer. Really.

Listverse describes 10 fascinating facts about plants.



Image source (public domain)

Patience, endurance, perseverance in the Bible

Some of the Biblical admonitions to believers, to be patient, to endure, to persevere:

Matthew 10:22 You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved.

Luke 8:15 Those in the good ground, these are those who with an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and produce fruit with perseverance.

Luke 21:17 You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake. 18 And not a hair of your head will perish. 19 ... By your endurance you will win your lives.

Romans 2:5b God; 6 … will pay back to everyone according to their works:” 7 to those who by perseverance in well-doing seek for glory, honor, and incorruptibility, eternal life;

Romans 5:3b but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope: 5 and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 8:23b we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees? 25 But if we hope for that which we don’t see, we wait for it with patience.

Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 13: [Love] 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

2 Corinthians 6:3 We give no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our service may not be blamed, 4 but in everything commending ourselves, as servants of God, in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, 5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; 6 in pureness, in knowledge, in perseverance, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love,

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, 23b gentleness, and self-control.

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints:

Philippians 1:9 For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, 11 strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy,

1 Timothy 6:9 But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation, a snare, and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

2 Timothy 2:12 If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us.
23 But refuse foolish and ignorant questionings, knowing that they generate strife. 24 The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but be gentle toward all, able to teach, patient,

Titus 2:2b older men should be temperate, sensible, sober minded, sound in faith, in love, and in perseverance:

Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the saints, and still do serve them. 11 We desire that each one of you may show the same diligence to the fullness of hope even to the end, 12 that you won’t be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherited the promises.

Hebrews 10:35 Therefore don’t throw away your boldness, which has a great reward. 36 For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him who has endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, that you don’t grow weary, fainting in your souls.

1 Peter 2:19 For it is commendable if someone endures pain, suffering unjustly, because of conscience toward God. 20 For what glory is it if, when you sin, you patiently endure beating? But if, when you do well, you patiently endure suffering, this is commendable with God. 21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps ...




Thanks for reading. Be patient.

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 48

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion of "Impressions from Above" continues:

CHAPTER IX
CONVICTIONS FROM ABOVE -- RESULTS OF BEING LED BY THEM

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do all that is written therein; for then thou shalt have thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." -- Joshua 1: 8.

Impressions which are of God ripen into convictions. They are to convictions what the blossom is to the fruit. No impression should be followed until it has thus ripened. When it has it must be obeyed, and God will always bless such obedience with blessed and abundant fruitage.

The results are so sweet and soul-satisfying that simply a review of them is an inspiration.

The following are among the many fruits which abound in all who are thus led.

Calmness. A holy calm possesses the soul which is conscious that God is leading. It may be led contrary to natural inclinations, and like Paul, against the protests of countrymen and bosom friends, yet amid all oppositions, it may be as peaceful as Galilee beneath the Master's silencing command.

Confidence. Righteousness always inspires confidence. The promise that "The Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken," finds in them fruitful fulfillment. Trusting not in self or human help, but in the "living God" alone, they are as "bold as a lion." They can speak to frowning Sanhedrins, or, like Luther, to an angry Diet, if God gives the message, and fearlessly leave the results with Him. They sow the seed that He commands, and expect Him to send the sunshine, the shower and the harvest.

They are Free from Fret. God never leads people to fret and worry. Hence, those who keep all their ways committed to Him, never do. "Anxious for nothing, but in everything with prayer and thanksgiving," they let their requests be known to God, and thus possess the peace that passeth understanding. If the seed they have sown does not come up the next morning, they do not dig it up to see what is the matter, but having done their best believe that God will do the rest. Instead of fretting and groaning under corroding care, they "cast all their burdens upon the Lord," He sustains them, and they sing:

"This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long."

Blessed salvation that saves from sin, and also from friction and from fret!

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Sunspots 625

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: An article on the National Association of Evangelical's web site, indicating that almost 90% of "evangelical leaders" don't believe that pastors should endorse politicians from the pulpit. This survey was taken before President Trump's executive order of last week on (more or less) this subject. Christianity Today discusses the executive order, and says, among other things, that only a small minority of churchgoers believe that pastors should endorse politicians from the pulpit.


Computing: (or something) Elon Musk wants to attach our brains to the internet. We're a long way from being able to do this, but, if we could, there are all kinds of issues. "Could I be hacked?," for example.

Benjamin L. Corey asks "How many people in your local community does your church provide comprehensive medical care for?"

Finance: Listverse reports on the hidden costs of shopping at dollar stores.

Humor: (Not exactly) Listverse describes how people survived 10 different bear attacks. (In most or all cases, the bear was surprised. Normally, they don't go around looking for people to attack.)

(Also not exactly) Scientific American reports that all the TVs in the US Food and Drug Administration have been set to show only the Fox News channel.


Politics: NPR reports that President Trump doesn't like compromising, and claims that he hasn't done so.

NPR also informs us that, as of May 6, there are 129 people officially in the race for President of the USA in 2020. Plus some more who may end up running.

Science: Scientific American reports that, contrary to dogma, nerve cells in a single organism do not have identical DNA.

FiveThirtyEight reports on how many insects there are in the world. The answer? A lot, but not as many as there used to be.

Scientific American has a historical essay on our obsession with lawns.

Listverse reports on 10 strange objects in space, including an asteroid, planets, and galaxies.

Sports: (and finance) National Public Radio reports on the shockingly low pay of minor league baseball players.


Image source (public domain)

Christianity is about doing more than it's about not doing

Christians, unfortunately, are too often known for what we are against, rather than what we are for. We are also unfortunately known for what we don't do, rather than what we do.

Both of these misconceptions have some validity, because of the behavior of some people who say that they are Christians. But that's not the emphasis of the Bible. The Bible tells us that we should be for some things, and that we are to do some things. (Sure, there are things we shouldn't do, like stealing or adultery, and things we should be against, like child abuse. But these sorts of positions shouldn't define us. Not according to the Bible.) And, the Bible teaches, our attitude, not just what we do, is critically important.

In James 4:17 the Bible explicitly condemns sins of omission: To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.
A sin of omission is about something we should do, but don’t; a sin of omission is when we don’t do the things we know we should.

But, some may say, the New Testament is about doing good. Not the Old Testament -- it's about not doing bad. And Christians are supposed to pay attention to the Old Testament, too. Yes, we should. It was the Bible for Jesus, and for the early church, and it was the foundation for the Gospel. But is the Old Testament just about not doing things? The Ten Commandments might seem to be that sort of rules: don't bear false witness, don't commit adultery, don't murder, etc. But, when Jesus was asked about which commandment was the greatest, here's what he said: Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37, and elsewhere, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, which passages, of course, are in the Old Testament.) These two great commandments tell us what believers ought to do -- love God, and love other people. When Jesus was asked to specify who a neighbor is, he told the story of the Good Samaritan, a member of a despised ethnic/religious group, indicating that our neighbors aren't just people who live near us, and/or act and look like us.

Here's another “rule,” from an Old Testament prophet: Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah tells us what we ought to do, and what our attitude should be, just as the two great commandments do. Be just, be humble, be merciful.

Let's go to the New Testament for further guidance. In fact, let us go to the heart of Christ's teaching, the Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 5:5“… Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
The Beatitudes are not mostly about not doing things, but about doing things, and about our attitude: being merciful, making peace, etc.

The Golden Rule is also part of the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 7:12 Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

Back to the Old Testament. God wanted the Israelites to keep from worshiping idols, and, in order to do that, they were told to wipe out certain tribes that were already living in the Promised Land. But He also told them to treat aliens -- people who weren't Israelites -- respectfully and generously, and, in fact to love them:
Deuteronomy 10:19 Therefore love the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. In other words, treat them in the same way Jesus indicated in the Golden Rule. (These directions for dealing with aliens, foreigners and strangers are repeated elsewhere in the five books that begin the Old Testament.)

Let's look at another central Christian text: 
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, 23b gentleness, and self-control. The Fruit of the Spirit is about our attitudes, not about what we shouldn’t do. 

And another:
The heroes (and heroines) of faith in Hebrews 11 are named because of what they did, not because of what they didn’t do.

And there are the final instructions of Christ:
Matthew 28:18 Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19  Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20  teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.  
Go, make disciples, baptize and teach are all things to do.

Examples of sins of omission in the Bible:
•    Matthew 11:20-24. The Galilean cities did not repent.
•    Matthew 25:26 “But his lord answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and gather where I didn’t scatter. 27 You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest. …”
•    The Judgment scene in Matt 25:41-46. Jesus used that scripture to condemn sins of omission.
•    One thief on the cross did not believe and repent. (Luke 23:39-43)
•    The rich man did nothing for Lazarus. (Luke 16:19-31).

What should we be doing? Believe; repent; forgive/ask forgiveness; be baptized; take communion; praise and witness; obey Christ’s commands; be a Christ-like example; give, including to the needy; meet with other Christians for worship, learning and mutual encouragement; pray for other Christians; love other people; absorb the Bible; find ways to serve. That's a lot of doing, but God can help us do these things.

We must not forget that salvation is not the result of what we do -- we can't earn it. It's the result of what Christ did, in dying and being resurrected.

Thanks for reading.

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 47

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion of "Impressions from Above" continues:

 Clark in his excellent book on "The Offices of the Holy Spirit," says:

"Whenever the will of God is clearly revealed in the Bible in regard to any subject, our duty in regard to that subject is determined. We are not to expect an inward revelation in addition to the outward one to show us what to do.

"If Jesus says: 'Do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honor thy father and mother,' we need no other revelation in regard to our duty in these particulars.

"And the Scriptures do go into more detailed directions than we should imagine, until we acquaint ourselves thoroughly with them. If the Christian lady wishes to know how she may dress so as to please God, she finds that women are 'To adorn themselves in modest apparel;' and with God's providence and the Holy Spirit to assist the sincere inquirer in determining, I think few would be left long in doubt.

"If we want to know what kind of talk is acceptable to God, we read (1) that we are to let no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouth, nor any foolish talking, and (2) that our talk ought to be good 'to the use of edifying.'

"If we are in doubt how to treat our enemies and those who have injured us, we are told explicitly, 'Love your enemies,' 'Pray for them that despitefully use you,' 'Avenge not yourselves.' And if our civil or personal rights are invaded, we are asked, 'Why do ye not rather suffer wrong than go to law?' and told that charity, which is perfect love, 'seeketh not her own.' And the universal duty of Christians when praying is, 'Forgive, if ye have aught against any man.'

"If we want to understand our obligations to the civil magistrates and rulers, we are told to honor them, to obey them in all things, not in conflict with our duty to the King of kings, to pray for them, and to pay tribute to them.

"If we are at a loss as to how far we may join in the pleasures and customs of the world, we are enjoined not to be conformed to the world, and assured that 'If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.' It is to the written Word then that we are first to look for the knowledge of our Christian duties as well as for the knowledge of salvation."

In applying these tests all light should be welcomed, the Scriptures should be diligently studied, good books read, wise counselors conferred with, and above all the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit should be constantly claimed.

All the conditions mentioned in the preceding chapter should also be met. Converted, cleansed, filled, acknowledging God's guidance, persistently praying and believing for it, and patiently waiting for and expecting it in the use of all known means, it will be freely and graciously given.

Only a few of the practical questions which are daily arising have been noticed, but the same process of testing will apply to all.

It is the gracious privilege of every Christian in this way to be so assuringly convinced of the truthfulness and divinity of his convictions, that with Isaiah he can exclaim:

"For the Lord God will help me; therefore I shall not be confounded; therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know I shall not be ashamed." 

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Sunspots 624

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Reports on surveys about how much Americans read the Bible, here and here. Not very much, unfortunately.

Christianity Today reports on surveys of scientists, in many countries. Bottom line: many scientists do not believe in God, but most of these are not strongly anti-God.

Benjamin L. Corey argues that the so-called Prosperity Gospel isn't really Christian at all.

An article in Relevant asks "What would Jesus Post?"


Finance: (or something) Listverse tells us about 10 famous people who killed someone, but got off with small penalties.

Health: Relevant says that at least 300,000,000 people have malaria, and over 400,000 people died of it in a recent year. Malaria has not been conquered.

Home-based palliative care is much better for sick elderly people than hospitals, and cheaper, too, according to National Public Radio.

History: Listverse gives examples of nepotism by US Presidents (and, of course, their relatives). John Adams was the first, and Donald Trump probably won't be the last.

Humor: (Sort of. Not funny at all to some people) Wired tells us that Amazon will sell you a device that will assess the clothing you have on, and help you figure out what to wear. (And what to buy from Amazon, I guess.)
 

Politics: FiveThirtyEight says that a border wall won't stop drugs from coming into the US.

Sojourners says that the proposed border wall "would be a 2,200-mile-long monument to racism," and documents this claim. The article also says that it would be ineffective.

Science: Scientific American discusses shopping cart behavior -- leaving a shopping cart in a place other than the designated spot.


Image source (public domain)

What scriptures to post in courtrooms, on lawns, etc.

"For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). But, often with tears in their eyes, [they] demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course, that's Moses, not Jesus. I haven't heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere.
"Blessed are the merciful" in a courtroom? "Blessed are the peacemakers" in the Pentagon? Give me a break!”
― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country (source)

Vonnegut, probably not a believer himself, had a point.

Some people have deeply committed themselves toward placing the Ten Commandments in courtrooms, or in or next to other public buildings. See Roy Moore for a widely publicized example.

Why do people do this? I can only speculate. Some, no doubt, believe that the Ten Commandments are a foundation for our laws. Some want to honor God. Some are probably desiring to see the Commandments posted for their own political advantage. Some want the U. S. to be an explicitly Christian nation. There are probably other reasons. On the other hand, government often sees posting of the Ten Commandments as putting one religion ahead of another, and has banned the practice.

The Ten Commandments, with the exception of the Command to honor one's parents, are warnings against sins of commission -- don't commit adultery, don't give false testimony in court, don't worship idols, don't want other people's possessions, etc. Sins of commission are, generally, easy to spot. Either I have stolen from someone, or I haven't. So, laws against things are often easier to enforce than laws for things. But there are also sins of omission. Things that we should do, but don't. Let's look at some other possibilities for posting publicly, as Vonnegut suggested.

How about the Beatitudes?
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the gentle,
for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
(Text notes in the World English Bible indicate that the first three of these are based on the Old Testament: 5:3 on Isaiah 57:15 and 66:2, 5:4 on Isaiah 61:2 and 66:10,13, and 5:4 on Psalm 37:11. So Vonnegut isn't completely correct about the source of the Beatitudes. But, mostly, he is. It was Jesus.)

The Beatitudes are not mostly about not doing things, but about doing things, or about our attitude: being merciful, making peace, hungering after righteousness, etc. We may respect, honor, and try to follow the standard of the Beatitudes, but we don't make laws commanding people to be pure in heart, or to be gentle, and, if we did, they would be most difficult to enforce. But maybe it would be a good idea to post these in courtrooms, except that doing so would tend to violate them -- it might not be making peace, or being gentle.

There are some other candidates for such posting, if it were allowed.
One such is the Golden Rule, which, like the Beatitudes, comes from the Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 7:12 Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

Here's another, from the Old Testament:
Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good.
What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
That doesn't come from Moses, but would presumably, not be offensive to Jews or Muslims, or Christians. But it's similar to the Beatitudes, in that it's about out attitudes, not about things we shouldn't do.

And then there's St. Paul, in Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. The Fruit of the Spirit is, again, about our attitudes. And, instead of outlawing various behaviors, it, as it were, inlaws them. The Fruit of the Spirit is not from the Law of Moses, but it is compatible with it. Read on:

In Matthew 22, Jesus stated the two most important commandments:
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ (Deuteronomy 6:5) 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39  A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Leviticus 19:18) 40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
These two are also not so much about what we shouldn't do, but about what we should. And they are from the Mosaic Law, as quoted by Jesus. People who want to put signs in their front yard, or on their wall, or even in a courtroom, should consider these alternatives!

Thanks for reading!

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 46

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion of "Impressions from Above" continues:

Associates. There are so many societies and lodges which crowd their claims upon people that the question of affiliation with them often arises. Such action should be summoned before these scrutinizing tests.

S. If the society has only worldly aims, is controlled by worldly people, and is sustained by worldly expedients, then the Scripture commands: "Come out from among them and be ye separate," and "Be not conformed to the world," should settle the matter without further investigation.

R. Would affiliation with it be right? Would time and money thus spent be for the glory of God? Would it lead to saying or doing anything that Jesus would not approve?

P. Is the way open for spending the time which would be thus taken without infringing on other sacred duties? Is there no other providential barrier?

R. Is it reasonable to unite with it? Will spirituality be blurred or brightened? Is it the best investment for the time and money it will take?

Will my example in uniting be such as I will be glad to have young converts and others follow? Have I reason to believe that Jesus would do likewise were He in my place? If there is doubt about a rightful answer to any of the above questions, reason will demand a stop, and refuse to affix her signet until the doubt disappears. He who turns a deaf ear to any one of these four friendly counselors does so at his peril, and sooner or later will find that he has grasped thorns instead of roses.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Sunspots 623

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:


Christianity:  Christianity Today reports on a Gallup poll that says that the thing most churchgoers are really looking for is solid Bible teaching in the sermon.

Christianity Today also reports on how the Coptic Christians of Egypt have forgiven those responsible for deadly terrorist bombings of their places of worship.

A Relevant writer asks why so many Christians don't seem to be bothered by sexual harassment scandals.


Finance: Listverse on the unexpected origins of some famous companies. (Example: Samsung started as a grocery store!)

Health: Statnews on the care of Alzheimer's patients at home, with state assistance, in North Dakota (which has a high occurrence of Alzheimer's.)

National Geographic reports that Dubai is well on the way to becoming one of the greenest cities on earth.

National Public Radio examines the possibilities of getting hearing aids over the counter.

Politics: Listverse gives capsule biographies, and photos, of 10 important, powerful North Koreans, who aren't part of their leader's family. They are all male.

Science: The Principles and Goals of the March for Science.

A Scientific American writer tells how climate change is affecting Bangladesh, and how it will do so in the near future.

National Public Radio reports on developments that may lead to an artificial womb, and on some of the issues that would raise, if it came to be.

NPR also reports that a caterpillar may be able to consume plastic bags, so that they are biodegradable.

(or something) Wired reports that thieves with two $11 devices can fool your wireless car key system, and steal your vehicle.

Sports: FiveThirtyEight has studied NBA players who are slow to get back on defense. (Too often, because they are complaining about a foul call or no-call.)


Image source (public domain)

The Deryni novels by Katherine Kurtz

I recently finished the Deryni novels, by Katherine Kurtz. There are, so far, sixteen of these works, published over a span from 1970 to 2014, an impressive output, indeed. (Kurtz has written other books.)

What is a Deryni? The Deryni are people with magical/psychic powers. Many of them can read the minds of others well enough to know if they are telling the truth. A few of them can heal serious sickness or wounds. They can communicate with other Deryni over long distances, using telepathy. They have built a network of portals, places where they can magically travel, almost instantaneously over long distances, from one portal to another. The Deryni mostly live among ordinary people, and can't be told from them by appearance. They can marry non-Deryni. Some Deryni can appear to be someone else. (One Deryni, Camber of Culdi, took on another man's appearance for years, for unselfish reasons.) The only humans with Deryni powers have one or more Deryni ancestors.

The setting of these works is from AD 903 to 1128, in a fictional Europe, probably the British Isles. The geography appears to be fictional, too. The culture is based on the culture of the area during the times specified. That is, government is by a hereditary monarchy and aristocracy. The most important people live in castles, or other impressive dwellings, with their subordinates. The church is very powerful, in some things more so than the king. There are several female orders, and several male ones, all related to the church. There are priests, and bishops, and archbishops, one of which is always the highest authority in the land of Gwynedd, where almost all of the books take place. There is no mention of a pope in any of the books. The religion practiced is a form of Catholicism, or much like Catholicism. Young men of high blood become pages, squires, and knights. There are battles, using swords, lances, knives and bows and arrows.

Much of the plots involve Deryni keeping themselves secret from non-Deryni, especially from most of the church hierarchy, who persecute, and even kill, people with Deryni powers. There are evil Deryni who misuse their powers, which is one reason, other than fear of the unknown, that leads to occasional persecution of the Deryni. Most of the Deryni are not evil, however. I would say that, although there are important plots in all of these books, that they are also character-driven, and, furthermore, rely on descriptions -- their setting. Kurtz seems to enjoy describing church and state ceremonies. In most cases, ceremonies of state, such as becoming a knight, or swearing fealty to the king, are both spiritual and temporal. The books also have lots of descriptions of what the characters are wearing, and of the dwellings they inhabit.

Kurtz is not shy about allowing her characters to die. Some die by violence, in battle, or by magic. Some die from sickness.

The kings of Gwynedd are all members of the Haldane family. All of them possess some psychic, or magical, powers, although not all who have such abilities are held to be Deryni.

A few years ago, I attempted to ask, and answer, the question, "what makes a novel a Christian novel?" My answer is this:
A Christian novel should include three things. First, some sort of important choice between good and evil. Second, there should also be evidence that a character has hope, beyond despair. These two are, in my opinion, required conditions for a Christian novel. Third, such a work should also contain at least one of the following options, as a significant part of the plot, or the theme, or as an attribute of an important character: 1) A Christ-figure 2) Belief in important orthodox Christian doctrine, on the part of a narrator or character 3) Practicing prayer to a monotheistic divine being 4) Having a relationship with such a monotheistic divine being in other significant ways, including receiving guidance from him, or being placed in his presence. (For more discussion of these points, see this earlier post.)

How do the Deryni novels measure up?

There are many choices between good and evil, and the protagonists almost always choose the good.

Several characters exhibit hope beyond despair. For example, Camber searches for a Haldane to place on the throne, even though there doesn't seem to be one. He finds such a man. There are several occasions where there is hope that children will prove to be worthy kings.

These two required conditions are met.

As to the optional conditions, I'm not sure that any character in these novels qualifies fully as a Christ figure. But there is plenty of belief in orthodox Christian doctrine. Here, for example, is a quotation from The Quest for Saint Camber:

“Why? Don’t you think God has a plan for each of us?” “Well, of course,” Dhugal said uncomfortably. “But only in a general sort of way. We have free will.” “To an extent,” Duncan agreed. “But what was my will, set against the will of God, Dhugal? He wanted me to be His priest. I’m not sure I ever had a choice in the matter—not really. Not that I mind,” he added. “Not now, at any rate, and not for many years—though I certainly minded after your mother’s death. “But there’s a certain heady comfort in knowing one has been chosen, warts and all. I don’t know why He wanted me so badly, but other than that one brief flare-up of rebellion—which may have been all in His plan anyway—I’ve been content in His service. No, more than content. He’s brought me joy."

Several characters, in most or all of the books, offer sincere prayer to God, or they are described as spending time in prayer, sometimes for hours. There may be occasions where someone received direct Divine guidance, but I can't think of one such.

There are two other features that are relevant. One of them is that every chapter, in all sixteen of these books, begins with a Biblical quotation. (A few of these are from the Apocrypha, or other non-canonical sources.) Another feature is that there are four Archangels who are occasionally dimly perceived, and exert influence, especially during the practice of Deryni magic for good causes.

I am satisfied that the Deryni novels, by Katherine Kurtz, are Christian in nature, without being preachy. They read, rather, like historical fiction, in imagined times, but with a Christian world-view.

Thanks for reading. Read Kurtz.

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 45

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion of "Impressions from Above" continues, going from considering if, and who, to marry, to this topic:

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Every believer soon after conversion feels a heart longing for the blessed baptism of the Holy Spirit, which will fully cleanse from all inbred sin, and thus give complete victory over fear, impatience, unbelief, pride, and all the uprisings which are felt from time to time in the heart which has not accepted the Holy Spirit as its complete sanctifier. This longing may find but incomplete expression, yet a deep heart hunger it is there, and craves satisfaction.

A strong impression soon conies to such a soul that complete victory is provided through the atonement, that God requires entire holiness, and that it should be sought and received as definitely as conversion. Flying to the fourfold tests for light it is found first.

S. That the feeling is Scriptural. God commands: "Be ye holy." The Word also declares: "Be ye filled with the Spirit." "This is the will of God, even your sanctification." "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness."

It also promises cleansing from "All filthiness of the flesh and Spirit," and that "We being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life."

Jesus also promised that He would send the Holy Spirit, and commanded His disciples to tarry until they received Him. The Apostles and members of the early church received this induement and the Word declares that it is for all believers.

Prophets, Apostles and Jesus possessed this experience, and under its influence their lives glowed with holy fire.

Scripture command, precept, promise, experience and prophecy, all combine to show that every believer may claim by faith this precious legacy, and be as conscious that the Holy Spirit fully sanctifies as he is that Jesus fully forgives. Glory be to God for such assurance!

R. In regard to the rightfulness of such an experience there can be no doubt. If it is right to obey God, to be pure, and live a holy life, then this is right.

P. Next, is it attainable? If the conditions of receiving it are such that they can not be met, then all are providentially debarred from this privilege. On the other hand, however, they are simple, plain and practicable. A complete consecration which yields every power and possession entirely to God forever, and then a present faith in the promises which offer the gift of the Holy Ghost, are the sole conditions upon which this priceless boon is granted. These conditions all can meet who will, so that
this voice unites with the two preceding in proclaiming, that the impulse to be filled with the Spirit, is of God.

R. That such an experience is "a reasonable service," is seen from the following facts: God commands it and promises it.
The wisest and most successful saints have claimed it and proclaimed it.

It satisfies the longings of the soul.

It delivers from besetments, and gives new power to work for God and resist the devil.

It convinces the world as nothing else will of the divinity of our religion.

God has given it to all who have met the conditions, and "He is no respecter of persons."

It is the only thing that will enable one to be perfectly holy.

Without it, it is impossible to be free from carnality.

With it growth in grace is greatly facilitated.

Without, our joy can not be full.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

The New Earth and caring for the environment we have now

Tomorrow is Earth Day. E. Stephen Burnett has written a fine blog post, with plenty of scriptural material, on how care of the current earth relates to the New Earth.

You may also want to read my own post, more extensive, but not on the New Earth, about what the Bible says about environmental stewardship.

Thanks for reading. Read Burnett!

Sunspots 622

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Christianity Today discusses the significant role played by single women missionaries in translating the Bible.

Sojourners reminds us that the Resurrection of Christ was first revealed to women, and women were the first to tell others about it. (The article says that the men were in hiding).


Ethics: Sojourners examines the recent bombing of an airfield in Syria, and concludes that the action was not justifiable under Just War Theory, mostly because, they say, Mr. Trump did not have "right intentions." (Some of the criteria for a Just War were met.)

Humor: (Sort of) Nature tells us why and how our shoelace knots fail.

(and, again, sort of) Listverse tells us a lot about the history of the design of playing cards, both artistically and structurally.


Politics: FiveThirtyEight tells us that Mr. Trump is hardly the first US President to become more hawkish soon after installation in office, and tells us why this is so.

Scientific American discusses some of the challenges to building a border wall (and some of the kinds of damage such a wall would do.)

Science: Listverse discusses 10 extinct species that some scientists want to bring back to life.

Listverse also discusses the 10 most important scientific discoveries of the past 10 years.

The New York Times reports that climate change has re-routed an Alaskan river.

The Washington Post reports on a specimen of a giant worm-like mollusc. (Molluscs are the phylum to which clams, oysters, snails and slugs belong.)



Image source (public domain)

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 44

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion of "Impressions from Above" continues, continuing on the subject of marriage,  from the previous post:

R. The sanction of Scripture being secured, then comes the test: Is it right? Will it wrong anyone?
Is there any physical or other disability?

At this point the Christian will remember that it is written: "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus," and also further that, "Whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

If he finds that he is actuated by some minor motive, like the gratification of self, or bettering his position in society, or gaining wealth, or merely getting a housekeeper, and that God's glory is not his chief aim in the matter, he should wait until he knows that it is.

P. Next, does the way open? Providential barriers at this point have often settled this as well as other questions. If uncontrollable circumstances make the union an impossibility that proves the divine seal is not upon it, or that it must be deferred.

R. Finally, is it reasonable? Tastes may be so different, education so diverse, ambitions so opposed, and temperaments so unfitting, that this alone would show that they are not divinely mated.

But where these tests are all met, and there exists on the part of both persons a conviction that God unites them, and this conviction deepens as the days fly, there can be no doubt as to its divinity.

The careful application of these principles would prevent many hasty, unwise and unscriptural marriages, and hence dry up the fountain which feeds so many divorces.

It would lead to such unions as God delights to own, and families whose days would be as the "days of heaven upon earth."
 

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Sunspots 621

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: (And Christianity) A Relevant writer argues that marketers effectively isolated Contemporary Christian Music artists from the world at large, when they might have appealed to that world. The writer says that "Christian" film-makers are being steered in the same direction, when they shouldn't be.

Christianity: Christianity Today on the awful consequences of corruption, mostly (but not entirely) in other countries, where, in some, it's "normal."


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware tells us about an on-line audible pronunciation tool, which works in several languages.

Gizmo's also points to a source of music that can be used as background, etc., without violating copyright.


Education: The New York Times considers the question of whether pre-school teachers need college degrees.

History: Listverse reports on 10 ancient businesses. (Mostly from a thousand or more years ago.)

Listverse also reports on 10 islands in the Atlantic Ocean that you've probably never heard of. (I had heard of one of them.)
 
Science: Scientific American has posted a video, under 90 seconds, of a badger burying a dead cow. Really. (It took the badger longer than that.

Wired explains why it is so hard (or impossible) to prevent the production of sarin gas (the kind recently used in Syria).

Scientific American reports on a study about how couples can continue to be attracted to each other.

Scientific American also tells us that an asteroid is going to come pretty close to the earth on April 19.

Listverse describes 10 kinds of rocks that smell bad (or stink).


Image source (public domain)

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 43

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion of "Impressions from Above" continues:
Marriage. Usefulness and happiness for life may depend upon the rightful settlement of this question. How can people be sure their union is of God? Shall fancy, feeling or infatuation decide the matter, or shall it be submitted to reason, right and God? Let us apply the tests. Two persons are drawn towards each other, and feel that perhaps they should be one.

5. First of all they ask: "Would our union be Scriptural?" They find on general principles that marriage is commended in the Word. God instituted it. He declares that "It is not good for man to be alone," and that "Marriage is honorable to all."

They apply the principles of Scripture to their own peculiar cases. If one proves to be an unconverted person, then the explicit Scripture command: "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers," makes further testing needless. Many rush blindly over this mandate to regret it when it is too late.

It may be that both are believers, but that one of them is divorced from a former companion for other than the one cause for which Scripture allows divorce, and that, therefore, it would be an adulterous union.

A member of a church, of which I was pastor, once called for me to perform his marriage ceremony. He was a noble Christian man.

I asked him a few questions, and soon learned that his proposed wife had a husband living, and while divorced by the law of the land, he was not sure that the sin on the part of her husband set her free by the law of Christ. I read to him Matt. 5:32 and parallel passages, and explained to him that on account of these Bible truths I was not free to perform the ceremony. "Then," said he, "I am not free to have it performed." He continued, "She is the only woman I ever loved, but I should have thought of this before. I dread to break the news to her, but I must be true to Christ."

He was all broken down, but remained loyal to his Convictions.

It may also be found that one of the persons is breaking sacred betrothal vows. Then the Scriptural rule of "doing as one would be done by" and honesty in paying sacred vows, prohibits the fondling for a moment of a new affection.

When the hearts of a man and woman have been united, and they have acknowledged it to each other, and promised to be one for life, they should hold their union as sacred as if the public ceremony had already been said. They are united in God's sight, and before Him have no more right to allow alienation than if the public seal had been already set. He who tramples upon betrothal vows plays with chain lightning, and will suffer for it.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Sunspots 620

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Christianity Today interviews an author of a study on cohabitation vs. marriage, which found that marriage is considerably better for the children involved.

It seems that Vice President Pence won't eat a meal alone with a woman other than his wife. Sojourners discusses this, and the reaction to this behavior.

(And Science) A pastor writer in Christianity Today has been in dialog with geneticists who are getting close to the possibility of producing "designer babies." He considers the morality of such activity.


Education: There is a British apostrophizer -- he adds (or deletes) misplaced apostrophes on billboards.



Health: National Public Radio reports that lonely people are more deeply affected by colds.

NPR also reports that the infant death rate has dropped significantly, world-wide, in recent years.

History: Listverse on how socks (the things we wear on our feet) changed history.

Politics: (or something) NPR reports on a man who spent 25 years in prison for crimes that he didn't commit has had his story written by a prominent TV executive. He explains his attitude, in spite of the wrong done to him.

Science: National Public Radio reports that there were far fewer cases of microcephaly, associated with the Zika virus, in Brazil, than were predicted.



Image source (public domain)

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 42

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion of "Impressions from Above" continues:
I had always felt that if I was converted I would be called to preach. Soon after my conversion, the words: "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel," was applied to me in a wonderful way. I felt that God was calling me. I was "unspeakably" diffident, and did not see how I could ever succeed, but dare not say no. I mentioned it to but one person, but did all I could to prepare for it. I was assured that it was Scriptural and right, but the way did not open to preach for over four years. I began my studies preparatory to conference examination, and felt sure in my heart that God would unfold the gift within in some way, and that in His time the way would open.

It opened first by my being given charge of a rural Sunday-school, and next by being sent for to preach in a neglected neighborhood, where a revival at once broke out, and a class was organized which stands today. When conference came I was duly recommended and given work, and God has let the fire fall all along. To Him be glory forever!

To a woman called to preach the way of work often seems more hedged up than to a man, because the church may not officially recognize her call, or provide for her preparation to fill it as with her brother. God, however, if He be fully followed, will open a way through every hedge, and lead His loyal children to the work to which He calls; and the four-fold test being met they will be as certain of the divinity of their call as of their own existence.

I know a successful woman preacher, wife of a Methodist minister, who, when called to preach, was firmly opposed by her father.

All the tests of a genuine call were met, but his opposition continued to increase. She was of age, but shrank from crossing her father's will. Finally a call came to aid in revival work. She felt that she must obey God rather than man, and decided to accept of it. "Tell Bro. _____ that you come without your father's consent," was the painful message which followed her from her father's lips as she left her home for the ripe harvest field.

She had scarcely reached her destination, however, when a letter reached her from him giving full and free consent.

God tested her obedience and tried her faith, and then melted the opposition, and blessed her ministry to the salvation of many.

In His own time and manner He will thus level all mountains which are in the way of all who fully follow Him.

A call to mission work can be tested the same as a call to the ministry.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.