A (thoughtful) Christian review of The Golden Compass
My very wise (and talented) friend Joy Reid has written what is probably the most common-sensible review of The Golden Compass that I have yet come across, especially written by a practicing Christian. You can read it here. Her daughter’s comment regarding people who are “easily influenced” by films is priceless.
“They talk of days for which they sit and wait and all will be revealed…”
Yes, I know their music has the subtlety of an aircraft carrier and their lyrics are often teeth-grindingly sexist — but I grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, and so the part of me that will always be a naive 16-year-old will always love them. And now, I’m one of the twenty million or so fans who are fascinated by their reunion gig this past Monday night at the O2 in London. And the fact that the show has received rave reviews and everyone (except for the band, of course) is talking about a tour just keeps the fire stoked. I’ve been listening to Led Zeppelin all week long, amused at how songs like “Misty Mountain Hop” or “The Immigrant Song” sound to me now, now that I’m about three times as old as I was when I first heard them. For all their flaws, their best work can span the decades as effortlessly as classics by the Beatles or Dylan or the Dead.
Last night I was poking around online checking out what Led Zeppelin fans have to say, when I found this amazing sentence in the Wikipedia entry for Robert Plant:
He is known for his powerful style, often mystical lyrics, and wide vocal range.
Okay, fair enough. After all, he does sing about Valhalla and Thor and Tolkien’s ringwraiths and a lady who’s buying a… well, you know. Meanwhile, Bron-Yr-Aur, broken levees and forests echoing with laughter have a shimmering presence within my imaginal consciousness. And perhaps the signature piece “Kashmir” (quoted in this post’s title) comes closest to being a bona fide song about spiritual searching. But as much as I love Robert Plant (at least, when he’s not being demeaning to women), I just can’t wrap “mystical” around him. Mythical, yes; otherworldly, for sure. But he just ain’t mystical; not by my definition of the word anyway. (more…)
Celtic Compline
Here’s something lovely that I discovered on the web this morning: A Celtic Liturgy for Late Evening, composed by Adrian Worsfold, a British blogger who calls himself Pluralist.
It’s quite lovely. True to his pluralist sensibility, he draws from Christian, Jewish, and Druidic sources, and has created rubrics for the service to allow portions of the liturgy to be omitted as a way of including those with differing theologies or faith traditions. It is a leaderless service and suitable for both individual or group use.
