Mirabile Visu

Rachel and I walked about 20 miles during our long weekend together in Washington D. C. Our final adventure, before my flight home, took us to the Washington National Cathedral (the Episcopal Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul).

The Space Window on the south aisle of the National Cathedral contains a piece of lunar rock that was presented to the Cathedral by the astronauts of Apollo XI

The Episcopal Church, USA (ECUSA) currently threatens to rip itself apart over the issues of homosexuality and women's ordination. The 2003 confirmation of a non-celibate homosexual bishop brought feelings about the liberalizing influences within the denomination to a head.

The introduction of Liberal Protestantism ... complicated the nature of Anglican diversity, for Liberal Protestants did not value the historic instruments of Anglican unity. They did not believe many of the items in the historic creeds, did not consider the ecumenical councils binding, and held to an understanding of Scripture that was at odds with the way that Evangelicals, Anglo-Catholics, and even Broad Church Anglicans had affirmed its primacy. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, it became commonplace for Liberal Anglicans to reject belief in the bodily resurrection of Christ (William Sanday), the deity of Christ (The Myth of God Incarnate), and even the existence of God (the Sea of Faith Movement). — William G. Witt

The current controversies within ECUSA are a clanging contrast to the sublime beauty of their National Cathedral:

Washington National Cathedral is the sixth largest cathedral in the world and the second largest in the United States. (St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is the largest church in the world and Saint John’s in New York City is the largest cathedral in the United States.)...The exterior of the Cathedral is almost the length of two football fields....The principal building material of the cathedral is Indiana limestone, chosen because it is superior for both construction and carving....The Cathedral is a solid masonry structure, the limestone blocks are laid one on top of the other with mortar between them. The flying buttresses are also solid stone and they help hold up the walls by bracing them....The Cathedral weighs 150,000 tons. The average piece of stone weighs 300 pounds. The heaviest stone in the Cathedral is the 5.5-ton boss over the west balcony.

Begun in 1907 and completed in 1990, the National Cathedral was built to stand for a thousand years. Rachel and I entered at the crypt level and saw engraved inscriptions dedicating this amazing building to the glory of God. Yes, God prefers obedience to sacrifice (1Sa 15.22), and one could disdain this architectural wonder as a diversion of an immense amount of money that could have been "given to the poor" (cf. Mat 26.9). However, the Cathedral is a fait accompli, its builders intended it for God's glory, and I encourage everyone to visit it and let the God of beauty minister to you there.

Bethlehem Chapel, crypt level, National Cathedral, November 5, 2006.

When Rachel and I ascended to the Cathedral nave, the sky-rocketing space took my breath away.

• The Cathedral nave, from the marble floor to the vaulting, is ten stories high.
• The Cathedral’s center tower is as tall as a thirty-story building.
• The central tower is 676 feet above sea level, making its top the highest point in the District of Columbia.

Here's the main altar:

And here's one of the famous Rose Windows, the West Rose Window:

• There are 215 stained glass windows in the Cathedral.
• The north rose window is the Cathedral’s largest stained glass window at 26 feet in diameter.
• More than 10,500 pieces of stained glass make up the west rose window.

The phenomenon of beauty is one reason I believe in the existence of God. In spite of the ECUSA's troubles, and my disinclination to encourage big church buildings, the National Cathedral lifted my heart and mind to the heavens.

A Day At The Museum

Like Alex in Everything Is Illuminated, I didn't always appreciate history. Perhaps unlike Alex, though, I always craved meaning and purpose. In time I came to appreciate the fact that with a greater apprehension of history comes a deeper sense of meaning and a clearer sense of purpose.

Ergo, museums draw me. And of course there are no museums like the Smithsonian complex in Washington D. C. After our jaw-dropping tour of the In The Beginning exhibit at the Sackler Gallery (see previous post), Rachel and I tried to take in as many of the Smithsonian galleries as we possibly could. Having once collected butterflies, I quite enjoyed the insect gallery at the Museum of Natural History. I found the ornithology display rather Hitchcockian, but appreciated it nonetheless. It's always a pleasure to see a T-Rex of course, along with various fossil R.O.U.S's.

Having read Spindler's Man in the Ice, I found the display dedicated to that 5,300-year-old Neolithic hunter a wonderful shrine to the mystery of his life and death. I was also intrigued by a nearby display of a man of antiquity "taming a goat." I had no idea that taming a goat took so long, but the gentleman in the display obviously would not give up!
Because of my work, I'm most interested in the Ancient Near East exhibits. Mummified cats don't have much to do with my areas of specialty, but cats have never gotten over their deification in antiquity, have they? The attitude that "humans are just household staff/furniture" shows right through the sarcophagus of this specimen. I know a couple of his/her descendants who have definitely inherited the regal disdain for mere humans; they let me know by leaving a "present" on top of my suitcase.

Also, though I don't know much about Egyptian heiroglyphics, I recognize a rock star swinging a mic stand when I see one:
Okay, I'll get serious. My interest in artifacts of the ANE and of the Mediterranean world has to do with their potential to illuminate biblical texts.

Cistophoros (or cistophorus, cistophor), a silver coin first issued in the Kingdom of Pergamon (Pergamum) in the 2nd Century B.C., meaning "chest bearer", relating to the cista mystica, the serpent-entwined chest or basket of the Dionysian Mysteries, that originally appeared on it. It was a type of tetradrachm worth 3 denarii in Roman times.

For example, this tedrachm from Pergamum (Pergamos) features the Aescuplapian serpents worshipped in that city. Pergamum worshipped the serpent in connection with Dionysias (Bacchus), as a fertility symbol and a god of healing. (Hislop claims that serpent worship was brought to Pergamum from Babylon in the time of Darius.) Since Pergamum was the capital of the region (and cultural center) until AD 133, it may have been this serpent worship that prompted Christ's words to the Pergamum Christians (in Revelation 2.13): "I know where you live -- where Satan has his throne."

Speaking of Babylon, I was excited to see this pottery sculpture of a Babylonian man in the Smithsonian's ANE display:
Notice the conical crown and hat-like brim of the turban, the shoulder length hair and trimmed beard, the necklace and pendant, and full-length robe. It's because of artifacts like these that we can visualize how people of the Arabian peninsula looked in the time of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar!

I know that it's fashionable among Darwinists and other skeptics Bible these days, but this much is certain: unlike more recently originated "holy books," the Bible, Old Testament and New, originated in a real cultural and historical matrix. The Smithsonian even displays a signet ring attributed to "Jotham, son the Judaean king Uzziah, who 'built Elath and restored it to Judah.'" (2Chron 26.2). The ring was "found in the third level of Tell el-Kheleifeh...The inscription reads 'belonging to Jotham.'...The seal indicates Jotham's function as an official of Elath, whose approval was needed on various economic transactions."

The Bible is not a book of fairy tales that occurred in a remote but unspecified time (long, long ago) in a mythical place (far, far away). It is primarily a history book, anchored by specific names, dates and cultural allusions to well known geographical and historical settings. Anyone can verify this by spending a day at the museum. Whether or not one accepts the supernatural elements in the biblical stories, the Bible's authors intended it to be read as a report of historical events.

Give Me A '63 Lincoln

I recently perused several dozen anti-Taliban cartoons and pictorial spoofs on the internet ... and I was not amused. Half the cartoons were obscene, most of them were hate-blinded and almost all advocated dealing with the Taliban (and terrorists-in-general) by a simple application of overwhelming force (e.g., nuking the entire country of Afghanistan into a lakebed). I suppose that by now some of the cartoonists have realized that Taliban totalitarianism and Islamic jihadism is not a problem that can be bombed into oblivion, but I was appalled by the ignorance and stupidity displayed by these American artists. Mind you, I hate terrorism and despotism, and I love political cartoons. I am not opposed to the use of military force and I profoundly respect and support our U. S. troops wherever they are deployed. However, I detest the delusion that a people's ideology can be changed by force and epithets.

I salute those who recognize that an ideological enemy must be respected and understood before it can be defeated. I congratulate those who condemn the perpetrators of evil, but who do not confuse those perpetrators with their dissenters of the same nation, race or religion.

Sunset photo of the Lincoln Memorial by Kaaren Graciano

I pray for myself and my fellow Americans, that we would rediscover the nobility that our forefathers demonstrated in the face of war. And that if possible, our nobility would not come at the high price they paid for theirs. God, give us the grace to "overcome evil with good" (Rom 12.21).

Salute To The American Soldier

Photo by Kaaren Graciano, Arlington, VA, September 2006

You have carpeted beaches with your bodies so your fellows could wrest island hills from the imperialist aggressor. You have liberated death camps so skeletal survivors could be "born again." You have fought unpopular wars against fanatical foes, but have always done your duty and never decided that the price of honor was too high. You have insured, at high cost, that Saddam will never again remunerate the families of suicide bombers. For this and infinitely more, I salute you, I thank you.

This photo and the one above it, by Roderick.
The Viet Nam Memorial, Washington D. C., Nov 2006

In The Beginning

Part of the Smithsonian Castle.

Rachel and I agreed to prioritize some of the Smithsonian museums on our walks, as there was a spectacular display of biblical manuscripts, called "In The Beginning" at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. The display included fragment samples from the Cairo Genizah, and manuscripts from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi Library and much more. Never again in my life do I expect to see so many examples of the world's most important biblical manuscripts all under one roof. The good news is that you can see the display online at:

In The Beginning: Bibles Before the Year 1,000

Upscale and Downhill In Rosslyn

The apartment bldg. in Rosslyn where Rachel lives. Photo by Kaaren Graciano.

As one of my first adventures in the Washington D. C. metropolis, I walked the neighborhood where Rachel lives, the Rosslyn district of Arlington. Any neighborhood that has public (commissioned) art is pretty classy in my book. Within a few block's of Rachel's apartment I found "Cupid's Garden" and "Chicago Titan":
(No, I don't know what Mr. Chicago is doing in Arlington, VA, but I can see why he hasn't shaved.)

I enjoyed walking the canyon-like parts of Wilson Street. The buildings climb skyward a few more stories than in my home neighborhood.
And then there's the Metro. It's just like the London Underground (The Tube), and makes zipping around greater D. C. a breeze. As further evidence that Rachel is a true Smarty Pants, she's figured out how to walk downhill both to and from work. She walks downhill in the morning to one Metro station, then after work takes the subway to the Metro station just past her apartment building, and walks downhill home!

Metro Photo by Kaaren Graciano, Sep 2006

The Other Washington

At the beginning of November, I altered my routine again to walk in Washington D. C. I spent a long weekend in our nation's capital visiting our daughter Rachel (affectionately known as Coco). It was the week of her swearing-in at the State Department. I must admit I was busting my buttons with pride as our Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, led Rachel and her fellow officers in their oath of service.

Speaking of Dr. Rice, I must say she spoke with all the intelligence and poise for which she is known in the media. It would be a privilege to work with such a person. I don't envy her the foreign policy challenges she faces, but I wish her God's blessing!

Rachel was hired by the State Dept. and has done her training with 92 fellow classmates, some of whom are shown here posing with Secretary Rice. (The arrow points to Rachel.)
There were 93 embassy and consulate positions open, among which this class of new Foreign Service Officers would be posted. My wife and I are very proud that in spite of the competition, Rachel won her first-choice posting and will spend a two-year tour in Tel Aviv, Israel. (She will study Hebrew full-time in D. C. until leaving for the Middle East in August, 2007.)

While I'm bragging, we were tickled to read in a The New York Times article on "The Foreign Service Exam" by TAMAR LEWIN (December 17, 2006), that the test is "perhaps the nation's leading smarty-pants exam":

THE path to the Foreign Service has always been straight and narrow: the first step is the written test, perhaps the nation's leading smarty-pants exam. Since 1932, hundreds of thousands of applicants have grappled with a half-day of questions on geography, English usage, history, math, economics, culture and more.

"It's like being on a golf course," said Justin Norton, a 26-year-old who flunked the test this year and last, but wants to take it again. "You've got all the sand traps, the water hazards. I remember I didn't understand the question about economies of scale. I remember something about Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance. And sometimes even when I knew it, like a question about George Kennan and containment policy, I got it wrong anyway."

It is not an easy exam to study for. The State Department suggests reading a good daily newspaper for a year. There are prep books, and at places with lots of applicants, like the Fletcher School at Tufts University, maybe even a study group. But mostly, people prepare on their own, looking through a world atlas, the Constitution or the word problems they did on the SAT.

Still, the exam gets rid of most applicants. More than three-quarters of the 17,000 to 20,000 who take the exam each year flunk. Even those who pass often remember for years the lacunae in their general knowledge exposed by the test.... (emphasis mine)

Rachel passed the exam on her first try. Not bad for a home-schooled girl whose higher education never included college!

I was intrigued to learn all the different titles that Rachel has as a Foreign Service Officer, including a military rank. She is a vice-consul, a third secretary and a first lieutenant. In view of the New York Times article, we're now addressing Rachel as, "Vice-Consul, Third Secretary, First Lieutenant Smarty Pants Coco."

Thankful 2006

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving! I hope the pet turkey I photographed in N Tacoma survived the day!

I'm grateful for the opportunity Thanksgiving brings to stop and reflect on the many things there are to be thankful for in this crazy world. I'm so very thankful for my wife, daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren. I'm thankful for my extended family spread geographically from Tacoma to Washington DC (in one direction) and from Tacoma to Cabo San Lucas (in another). I'm thankful for my friends who have sacrificed (and would sacrifice) so much for me and who make my work possible. I'm thankful for the meaning and purpose that Jesus Christ has given my life. I'm thankful for the guiding light that is the Holy Bible, and for my friends who follow it authentically. I'm thankful to live in a city where God is at work.

“Hey! I don’t have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I’ve failed as much as I’ve succeeded ... but I love my wife, I love my life, and I wish you my kind of success.”

— Dicky Fox, in the film, Jerry Maguire

Pentecost Walk in Tacoma

My walking project is small potatoes compared to Tom Demaree's. Tom and his friends have walked 6,000 miles across the length and breadth of the United States, praying for our country as they go. Now Tom and his friend Kevin Roberts are going to specific cities across our nation and walking with the concerned citizens in each location. On October 21st they came to Tacoma.
Tom and Kevin lead what they call a Pentecost Walk. You can read about it at www.pentecostwalk.org. I was asked to design the route for the Tacoma walk, so I included our beautiful Wright Park, as well as Tacoma General Hospital and other points of historic and civic interest. Tom stopped the parade on the northern border of Wright Park to exhort the pastors who were among the 70 (or so) walkers.
We couldn't have planned better weather for the Pentecost Walk. It was a glorious day and our route included lots of fall color.
Autumn is a metaphor for death, but there was a wonderful sense of life among the people who walked with us this day.

Love, Snow and Nightfall

Love, snow and nightfall cover a multitude of sins. Tacoma is overall a beautiful city, but even the gritty parts are pretty at night. Crisp autumn nights are allowing me to grap some night shots. Here's a couple of our tall buildings downtown with freeway ramps along the right border of the photo. On the horizontal footbridge crossing the bottom third of the photo, you can see the two glass sculptures that stand like giant glowing swizzle sticks above the 15th st. offramp.
Zooming out a little allows you to see the permanent outdoor display cases of Chihuly glass sculptures on the east (right) end of the footbridge. (Please click on the photo to expand it.) You can also now see the glow of Pacific Ave. on the left. Thanks in part to the University of Washington Tacoma campus across Pacific Ave. from the Historical Museum (the domed building of the old Union Station), and an array of upscale restaurants, the streets of downtown Tacoma have come back to life in recent years.

As in other big cities, there are districts of Tacoma that never sleep. Here you see the steam rising from the industrial flats between downtown Tacoma and NE Tacoma on the far horizon.

Then there's our distinctive wooden event dome, glowing like a flying saucer in its ring of spotlights.

And here's what the new bridge construction looks like at night. Instead of raw concrete and iron rebar you see a string of pearls.

Linked Destinies

Nope. I didn't take these photos, but I knew you'd like them. My friend Sherry Lorentzen sent them to me. The new Narrows Bridge is actually further along than shown here; it's now getting its road bed installed.

I'm grateful that the road-widening on both approaches to the bridges is nearing completion, because the traffic is finally starting to flow a little more smoothly on Hwy 16. That's the highway that connects Tacoma to the Washington peninsula and to the beautiful city of Gig Harbor. I teach in Gig Harbor every Wednesday night, and as I spend time on the peninsula side of our bridge, I have a growing awareness of the intangible links between the communities of Gig Harbor and Tacoma. I believe that our two communities are going to become an increasing blessing to each other.

Well, Hello, Dahlia! Reprise

My Master Gardener tells me that I'm the only person she knows who says, "Doll-yuhs." She says, "Dowl-yuhs." I asked our friend Kevin from Yorkshire which way he pronounced the flower name. He said, "Day-leahs."

Well, whichever way you say it, it still doesn't smell like a rose, but it is a dramatic bloom. I couldn't resist these two on N 51st St. today.

May Your Soul Prosper

I've been walking through some upscale neighborhoods lately, around N Parkview Ln and N Lexington. I've seen some gorgeous houses, many with a Puget Sound view. I particularly liked the stylish entry of the house pictured above.

As I walk in our wealthier neighborhoods, I pray an inverted version of 3 John 1:2. In the first century, Christians generally had a vibrant faith but often faced economic and physical hardship. Therefore, the apostle John prayed that his friend, Gaius, would "prosper and be in health, just as your soul prospers." In other words, John prayed that his friend would be as healthy physically and economically as he was spiritually. Today, in our culture we tend to be more prosperous externally than we are internally. Therefore, I pray for my wealthy neighbors that their soul may prosper, even as they are doing well physically and financially.

Finding Community At Salmon Beach

Salmon Beach residents, Roxanne, Amelia and Timothy

Salmon Beach is perhaps Tacoma's most secluded neighborhood. Consisting of about 80 homes on stilts, it's located at water level on Tacoma's western shoreline, just south of Pt. Defiance Park. (If you use GoogleEarth, take a look at the satellite image of the long, single-file line of houses that comprise this neighborhood.) The only access to Salmon Beach is by way of long and steep footpaths from the cliff-top above, or by water. Residents must leave their cars in parking lots at the top of the cliff and hand carry their groceries down to their homes.

My friend, Terry, and I descended the terraced stairway to Salmon Beach today, and walked the single, narrow, sometimes tunnel-like foot path that comprises the neighborhood's one "street." We met long-time resident Roxanne and her children, and chatted about life on the waterline. The view is spectacular. One of the best views of the Narrows Bridge is from Salmon Beach, and "Beachers" can also see parts of Gig Harbor across the water, and some of the Olympic Mountains in the distance. Residents can fish, swim and boat from their front porches and decks (the saltwater of the Sound was crystal clear today).
Not that living at Salmon Beach is without its inconveniences. One man told us about having to lug over a hundred pounds of tools up the hill for work each day (the cliff-top parking lot is not secure against theft). I've already mentioned having to carry groceries down. Then there's the storms. Roxanne said that in our most recent windstorm she and her family had to evacuate their house because the sea-level wind was lifting it off its pilings.

But perhaps the biggest reason people choose to live at Salmon Beach in spite of its drawbacks is because of the sense of community they find there. When Roxanne's family had to evacuate their house, a neighbor with a secure building immediately took them in. If there's a heavy job to be done, the neighbors pitch in. If someone finds a cedar log floating free in the sound, they'll get a Salmon Beach neighbor to bring a second boat and lug the log to shore. Then 3 or 4 families will work together to cut and split it into firewood. Terry and I walked past beautiful firewood piles today!

The southernmost house of Salmon Beach

I must admit I envy the folks of Salmon Beach. They are surrounded by natural beauty and enjoy a real sense of community. And they have art! For example, they have Chloe, the mermaid by Marilyn Mahoney, and a totem pole by Chris Brooks.

Not to mention wildlife!

What Salmon Beach residents don't have are some of the building permits they need to improve their houses, and confidence that their cars up at cliff-top won't be tampered with at night. We're praying for you about those things, Beachers!