Is Church a Four-Letter-Word with Six Letters in it?

Much of my thinking the past several weeks has been about Church---whatever that is. Since Girard's thought indicates that we have to live together whether we like it or not, the problem of Church just won't go away.

I have completed a five-part series called Christian Community. If you follow this first link, you can follow links at the end of each portion to move on to the next one.

The sermons I have had occasion to preach over this time are all relevant to my thoughts on ecclesiology.

King's Banquet--God's Banquet re: the Parable of the Wedding Banquet & the Guest without the wedding garment brings in more thoughts on the relationship between Church & Empire.

For All Saints, I preached Celebrating the Saints in our Lives. This is more celebratory, but I still can't overlook the fact that some saints have been martyred by their own church.

Then for the Gospel Parable of the Wise and Foolish Maidens: On Gathering with Those who Keep Oil in their Lamps. It is an interesting indication of the work of the Paraclete that many of us feel at least some sympathy for the foolish maidens, even though they are--well--foolish. Maybe it's because we are starting to see more of our own foolishness and need for the oil of God's mercy.

With my interest in fantasy literature, especially for young readers, I commented on two series that have just come to a conclusion, namely the Percy Jackson set about Greek and Roman demigods & The Unwind Dystology by Neal Schusterman:On Healing the Gods and the Social Body. I especially urge you to pay attention to Neal Schusterman as he shows some of the keenest insights into mimetic issues among writers catering to youth & the young of heart.

While on the subject of fantasy literature, I didn't expect much of the small trilogy The Cloak Society but I was pleasantly surprised by the character development & mimetic issues involved. Basically it is about a boy raised in a secret society of super-villains who, on his first job of helping with a bank hoist discovers he has a conscience. This link takes you to what I said about the first volume. You can look of the other two on GoodReads if you want to read those short reviews as well.

And then there is music. Is Girard relevant to music? Well, yes. I read "Absolute Music: the History of an Idea" because of my interest in music & found some Girardian themes you can read about in Rivalry over Pure Music.