
Search Our Writing:

To Boldly Go…
Sept 15, 2020 | By Ben Colón-Emeric TD ‘22
If you wanted to build the perfect future, what would you do? When the world was brought to a screeching halt by COVID-19, there was talk of dramatic change, institutional upheaval. But how does dramatic change come about? How can we rethink the systems that shape our lives? Imagine for a moment that you have infinite resources and total control over public policy. No longer must you decide if you’re going to trust your mother to cut your hair: the decisions you make can shape anything from world governance, to education, to the direction of scientific research. What future do you choose to build, and how do you get there? I, like many people, would be heavily influenced by the genre that has focused on the future for the better part of one-and-a-half centuries: science fiction.

Beholding Mystery: Tintoretto’s Last Supper and Magnifying the Divine
Sept 14, 2020 | By Sharla Moody BK ‘22
Upon the first viewing, Tintoretto’s Last Supper is wholly disorienting. The painting is a conglomeration of people, color, and mystery grouped under a title that immediately ties it to da Vinci’s older, more famous depiction of the same event. But Tintoretto imagines a less formal, more enigmatic scene. Like da Vinci’s painting, Christ is still central, but the rest of the painting crowds in on all sides, overwhelming the eye and mind. There are angels! And a cat! And so many people!

WONDERFUL CREATURES: An Interview with Marilynne Robinson
Sept 14, 2020 | By Raquel Sequeira TD ‘21+.5
“If you ever wonder what you’ve done in your life, and everyone does wonder sooner or later, you have been God’s grace to me, a miracle, something more than a miracle…It’s your existence I love you for, mainly.”
– Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

Thanos and Theodicy: Why don’t we just fix the world? (Part 1)
Feb 22, 2019 | By Bradley Yam SY '21
Imagine that you are given a glove that granted you magical god-like powers over all of human life everywhere. You would only need to snap your fingers, and it would in some way make the world perfect. It would be whatever version of perfect you choose. Minmax human suffering and happiness? Done. Eradicate systemic oppression and inequality? Done. Eliminate scarcity of everything, everywhere? Done!

Logos Reviews: Eden Reimagined in First Cow
July 28, 2020 | by Sharla Moody BK ‘22. Sharla is majoring in English
NOTE: Spoilers ahead
Kelly Reichardt’s minimalist film First Cow[1] premiered in August of 2019 at Telluride and enjoyed an extremely limited release in March this year before it was pulled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this week, it was made available for rental on digital, and I was able to enjoy what has been hailed as one of the best movies of the year.[2] Slow and friendly, the film concerns the adventures of Cookie, a trapper and cook in the Oregon Territory in the 1820s, and his new companion, King-Lu, a Chinese immigrant with a fuzzy history and fuzzier intentions.

Mad Men’s Beatitudes
Oct 27, 2013 | By Evy Behling TC '17
Thanks to Netflix and my (non)existing free time, I’ve recently started to watch Mad Men. The show, if you haven’t seen it, presents a compelling portrait of the dark side of the early 1960s, when America’s consumer culture was coming into full fruition. The main character is the continually frustrating Don Draper, portrayed by Jon Hamm. Don seems to be searching for a purpose beyond his grey-flannel-suit job as an ad man on Madison Avenue. He’s pretty disillusioned, between his difficult childhood and his participation in World War II as a soldier. Even when his long-lost brother tracks him down, Don pays him off to stay away. He is so clearly running away from his past and from himself. Advertising, to him, is a path to happiness:
Upcoming Events:
-
Weekly Meetings
THURSDAYS 5-7PM, Branford College Trumbull Room
Discuss with us what it means to think Christianly and write for our publication.
-
Philosophy of Everyday Life Seminar
THURSDAY SEPT 11TH 6:15-7:45PM, Elm Institute
Join us at the Elm Institute for a private version of the Elm’s popular seminar “The Philosophy of Everyday Life”. Readings will be focused on Friendship. No prior reading required. Food provided.
-
Divinity School Private Archival Tour
THURSDAY SEPT 18th, 9AM, Yale Divinity School
We will be looking at the Yale Divinity School’s missionary collection, specifically focusing on letters from international ecumenical movements from America to China. We will be looking at how these relate to our theme of freidnship in a more nuanced way. We will be walking up from cross-campus at 8:30 am, but you can also meet at the YDS gates at 9 am.
-
William Blake Private Exhibition Tour
THURSDAY OCT 2ND, TIME TBA
Peter Wicks of the Elm Institute will guide us through the traveling exhibition ‘William Blake: Burning Bright’ at Yale Center for British Art. No previous experience with art or William Blake required.