Search Our Writing:
Hope and Horror in the Cross
Jan 25, 2016 | By Tori Campbell MC '16
As a child, I grew up both terrified and fascinated by the sculpture of a dying man that hung on the wall of my grandmother’s church. As the priest evenly intoned through the mass, my gaze would slide up to the statue, darting back down when I saw the nails in the statue’s wrists. A few moments later, my eyes would inch their way up again. Invariably, I would end up having nightmares that night, related to the wrongly-accused Jesus hanging on the cross. After a few years, this image of the cross became somewhat sanitized in my mind; it gained the somewhat more dignified title of “crucifix.” Overall, the genre of statue seemed more artistic, somehow more tragically romantic, than frightening. There may, however, be some wisdom in my childhood fear. In fact, the biblical account of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ actually has more in common with a horror movie than a romance. That said, in the midst of the cross’ darkness, God’s justice and love for humanity becomes clearer than ever before, and the object of horror becomes a beacon of hope.
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:
A Reflection: Just a Closer Walk with Thee
Sept 16, 2016 | By Pedro Enamorado ES '17
I am weak but Thou art strong
Jesus keep me from all wrong
I'll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee
My heart melts with the beauty of this confession. I, a creature of clay and breath, can lean on the Lord of Glory. It makes me pause. It makes me sigh tenderly in delight. What is it like to stand on an immovable rock while the earth around you trembles? I am small and frail. And while the seas rage and the winds blow, and the world crumbles into itself, I stand unshaken on the Rock. Greater is my Lord's healing comfort than those of my mother's arm when I knew that her love would ease my fevers. And as my father's prayers cast away my terrors in the night, His intercession pours courage into my trembling bones. Great is His strength.
Road Less Traveled
Aug 26, 2017 | Unknown
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
What is God's Purpose for Romance?
Feb 14, 2014 | By Chris Matthews
My first experience with the mysterious power of romance came in the sixth grade. There was a girl in my grade who had gone mostly unnoticed by me in previous years. But suddenly and without warning, she began to have a dramatically different effect on me. Close physical proximity caused unexplained physical reactions: sweaty palms, a racing pulse, and an almost complete incapacity of speech. There were also emotional effects. I was excited at the prospect of her presence, anxious and terrified when she was present, and saddened when I expected her to be present and she was not. It went on for more than two years. It had shocking effects on my life. It filled my thoughts and daydreams and it impacted what I wore, who I wanted as friends, where I wanted to be, even what music I enjoyed. All the while, I had little to no relationship with the object of my romantic obsession and just a superficial knowledge of what she was really like.
On Magic
Feb 14, 2014 | Unknown
Perhaps in the modern world we do not believe
in sorcerers or witchcraft. But we do know what Taylor
Swift means when she says that she was “enchanted”
to meet you. Magic and sorcery have not left this
world. We experience magic in modern love.
Perks of Being a Wallflower, a film based on the book
by Stephen Chbosky, ends with this beautiful, tumblr-
favorite voice-over by the main character, Charlie
(Logan Lerman): “This is happening, I am here and I
am looking at her. And she is so beautiful. I can see it.
This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story.
You are alive, and you stand up and see the lights
on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder.
And you’re listening to that song and that drive
with the people you love most in this world. And in
this moment I swear, we are infinite.”
Upcoming Events:
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Weekly Meetings
THURSDAYS 5-7PM, Branford College Trumbull Room
Discuss with us what it means to think Christianly and write for our publication.
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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.
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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.
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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.