Monthly Archives: December 2011

by - 5 Comments

Gothic Architecture- Beyond Utility

All public architecture… has significance beyond its mere utility.

-Spiro Kostof

Near the middle of the 12th century, a new philosophy in France challenged the Romanesque precedent of self-denial and austerity. Under the banner of Abbot Suger’s lux nova (God is light) dogma and with the cathedral as a sort of political battle cry, the Gothic style became an intellectual and innovative charge. The impetus was religious and national, and vouched for the new found allegiance of church and state; therefore, the marvel and beauty of the facades of these cathedrals advertised the prosperity and ascendancy, the sickle and the scepter, of the city. These large basilica churches built during the 11th-14th centuries present more than functional solutions to township or religious needs. They are symbols in stone.

Continue reading →

by - 20 Comments

Why did Methuselah live so long?

There is a dynamic interplay in the story of Noah that has intrigued me recently.

Methuselah’s age as recorded in the Bible has become the stuff of trivia, factoid, debate. But have you ever wondered why he was the one who lived the longest?

Methuselah’s name is significant. It means, “when he dies, it will be sent.” The it, of course, being the flood. This means that Noah wasn’t the only one to get the revelation concerning the destiny of the world. His great grandfather Enoch did too. Once Enoch saw this revelation, he began to walk with God.

Revelation changes us.

It has the power to radically alter our life habits, to the point where our friends may wonder if we are the same person as before.

Noah in a sense inherited the revelations of the godly men before him. Noah was born into something that was already set in motion by God. He came on the scene right in the midst of it. Then God came in and revealed the situation to him and also the way of salvation.

That must have been a decisive moment in his life. The impact of the revelation must have been staggering. To put it in Watchman Nee’s words, he saw “a world under water.” How could he live the same? In a sense, that moment defined him. His life could be dived by the before and after. This revelation produced a deep inward realization about everything.

Continue reading →