There are several of these images in the İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri (Istanbul Archeological Museums): the Good Shepherd statuettes.

In the early centuries of the church, no images of Christ were sculpted, painted, or drawn. Rather artists depicted Jesus symbolically, and one of the commonest depictions was of him as the Good Shepherd.

This metaphor is derived from Jesus’ teaching in John 10.

“I am the good shepherd,
…   Read more →

My third and last installment of a few amateur reflections on the text and score of St. Matthew Passion by the venerable J. S. Bach (1685–1750).

This guy really is doing something with what he has composed. So there is real merit (and marvelous fruit) in not only just listening to the work, but also looking at it closely.

So also for all texts. Particularly, the Bible. The text, rather than being a plain-glass window, is actually a stained-glass window.…   Read more →

Last week we had an unusual date, February 22. The actual date itself was unusual: 2/22/22. And it was a “Twosday,” that fell on a Tuesday!

About this, Barry Markovsky, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of South Carolina, wrote an article in Conversations.

It’s true the number pattern stands out, impossible to miss. But does it mean anything? Judging by the thousands of commemorative products available for purchase online, it may appear to.…   Read more →

We knew this already: People are quicker to jump to the worst conclusions when they are stressed.

Yup, stress makes you a pessimist. Nothing new here, but now it’s proven. By a group of researchers from the Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research. In “Under Threat, Weaker Evidence Is Required to Reach Undesirable Conclusions,” published in The Journal of Neuroscience the other day.

I.e., when under stress people…   Read more →

Getting old, say most old folks, ain’t fun. But did y’all know, old folks (and that includes me), that we are kinder than most? It’s a proven fact.

So saith a new study, from researchers in Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA, and USC, Los Angeles, CA, in “Oxytocin Release Increases With Age and Is Associated With Life Satisfaction and Prosocial Behaviors,” published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.

Oxytocin is a neurochemical widely known for…   Read more →