Sanctuary! Laws and Lore

I’ll bet when you glanced at my title, you thought of Victor Hugo’s hunchback, Quasimodo, standing in a portico of Notre dame de Paris, holding aloft the unconscious maiden he has just rescued from the gallows and bellowing, “SANCTUAREEEEE!”  It’s a thrilling cry that reverberates down the ages.  But it’s much older than Hugo’s 19th … Continue reading Sanctuary! Laws and Lore

More on Lies and Lying

Simon’s post about lying reminded me of an interesting (I hope) thing I read years ago, bout deception, speech, and oath-taking. I think maybe it was Stephen Pinker who pointed out that, while animals can practice deception, (2 of the most famous examples being a bird feigning a broken wing, and an opossum playing dead) … Continue reading More on Lies and Lying

The Bible and the Final Frontier

My husband and son went to DC this past weekend for a guys' sports trip - encompassing  a college basketball game and wrestling match at son's alma mater, American U, and hiking around his undergrad haunts in the beautiful spring-like weather. They went to the National Cathedral for Mass Sunday morning and were surprised and … Continue reading The Bible and the Final Frontier