Dante Alighieri’s world was fraught with dissention, confusion, and disarray. Caught between two worldviews—the glorious worldview of fading Christendom and the deleterious worldview of emerging Renaissance—Dante (1265-1290) was in a very real sense a man out of time. The remarkable explosion of wealth, knowledge, and technology that occurred during the late Medieval period leading up to the Renaissance completely reshaped human society. No …
An Engine of Freedom
On this day in 1787 a constitutional convention convened in Philadelphia with representatives from seven states. Though the meeting was not authorized by Congress, they were among the most eminent men in the young American republic—and several were actually members of Congress. Their purpose was to draft amendments to the Articles of Confederation. Under other circumstances, the meeting might have been considered a coup …
The Nicene Council
The first Ecumenical Council was convened in the Byzantine city of Nicea on this day in 325 by the recently converted Roman emperor, Constantine. It was a momentous occasion—the first time the church had convened a universal synodical meeting since the time of Peter, James, John, Barnabas, and Paul at Jerusalem to discuss the initial outreach of the largely Jewish …
Penman of the Revolution
Widely known as the “Penman of the Revolution,” John Dickinson (1732-1808), wrote many of the most influential documents of the period—from the Declaration of Rights in 1765 and the Articles of Confederation in 1776 to the Fabius Letter in 1787 which helped win over the first States to ratify the Constitution: Delaware and Pennsylvania. Having studied law in England, Dickinson was devoted to the English common law …
Birth of a Nation
The independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv as British rule in Palestine came to an end on this day in 1948. Immediately, all of its Arab neighbors declared war and vowed to destroy the nation altogether. Arab troops greatly outnumbered the entire Jewish population, but of the 85,000 Jews in Palestine, 30,000 took up arms to defend …
The Panama Canal
President Theodore Roosevelt authorized the start of construction on the Panama Canal on this day in 1904. The fifty mile canal crossed the Isthmus of Panama and enabled ships to travel from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans without having to undertake the long voyage around South America. The construction–which continued for just over a decade–involved many innovative engineering and medical advances, employed …
St. George’s Day
The Patron Saint of England, Lybia, Lebanon, and Greece, George was a Syrian Christian soldier who quickly rose through the ranks of the Roman the army into the Imperial Guard by virtue of his valor and vision. However, he had the temerity to confront the Emperor Dioclesian concerning his harsh, unjust, and bloodthirsty decrees. For his candor and courage, George …
Aggravated Gossip
“Gossip, even when committed in the name of justice, is still gossip–only now, it is gossip aggravated by self-righteousness.” Maurice Baring
Cleveland at 216
April 19, 2012: First settled on this day in 1796, Cleveland remained a sleepy little village at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River on the shores of Lake Erie for nearly two decades. But the nearby exploits of naval commander Oliver Perry during the War of 1812 highlighted its strategicposition. The completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal in 1832 and the …
A Radical Take on the 90-10 Rule
J.C.Penney opened his first Golden Rule Store, in Kemmerer, Wyoming on this day in 1902. His life credo was, “You can’t outgive God.” He proved it by building amulti-million dollar commercial empire while always giving away ninety-per…
The Devil’s Radio
“Fire and swords are slow engines of destruction, comparedto the tongue of a Gossip.” Richard Steele“Gossip is the Devil’s radio.” George Harrison “Gossip is what you say about the objects of flattery when theyaren’t present.” P.J. O’Rour…
Gossipy Hobgoblins
”Unspoken expectations and unfounded assumptions are the most destructive hobgoblins of any enterprise.” Richard Loveland
Handel’s Messiah
Thefirst public performance of Handel’s Messiahwas held in Dublin, Ireland on this day in 1742. George Frideric Handel was a Baroque composer from Magdeburg who had lived in England for thirty years. The previous summer he was invited to…
A Mountebank’s Resurrection
“When I was a little child,bishops expressed doubts about the Resurrection, and were called courageous.When I was a girl, G. K. Chesterton professed belief in the Resurrection, andwas called whimsical. When I was at college, thoughtful people express…
Good Friday at Parish
Hewas the king of glory, the Morning Star, the image of the invisible God, thefirst born of all creation—by Him all things were created in heaven and onearth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers orauthorities. All thin…