On this Day: Fall of the Alamo

     The battle of the Alamo has always been one of those turning-point events which particularly captures my attention and admiration. Stories of sacrifice and courage are (I think) the very greatest of any that can be told and the thirteen-day defense of a sprawling mission by about 130 men against more than ten times their number is among the greatest of these stories.
     I am not an Alamo expert by any means and to date (March 6th, 2019) have never even been close to Texas, so I'll stick to the basic facts in this brief narrative.

The Top Eight Influential Books in My Life

     Have you ever considered which books have had the greatest impact on your life? Besides the Bible, which obviously is the most important Book, I have read hundreds, maybe thousands, of books and they all have more or less helped shape my thinking, but in considering which ones really impacted my thinking, only a handful stand out distinctly. Some are thoroughly Christian, such as The Pilgrim's Progress, and some are classics, like Ben Hur. A few are comparatively unknown, or like The Heir of Redclyffe, were once bestsellers, but now receive only a passing mention in some encyclopedia and are almost entirely out of print. Please note that I do not recommend all these books for all readers; this is simply a list of the books that rise above the crowd when I mentally review the literature I have read. They are not listed in order of importance, because I could not decide on which were the most important. Read them, and see for yourself.

500 Years Ago...

     The early morning stillness was disturbed, gently, by the shuffle of feet on the stone steps of the church. A man, clothed in the drab robes of a monk, unrolled a parchment and glanced over it again, though he had every word of it by heart. A puff of his smoky breath drifted away in the frigid air, but he seemed scarcely to feel the chill. The parchment rustled as he pinned it against the chapel door with one hand while he groped in a pocket of his ample gown with the other. He found what he sought - a small iron nail - and transferred it to the fingers on the corner of the parchment. He lifted a hammer.

     The silence of the sleeping town was abruptly broken by the sharp, determined ring of the hammer against the nail. One nail sank through the parchment, into the wood, and he placed a second against another corner of the document. That one also was driven home, awaking uncertain echoes from the sharp-pointed roofs of the houses in the street behind, and the walls of the castle beyond. The monk began driving in another nail.

     A shutter creaked behind and above him and a man thrust his head out. His hair was tousled, his eyes bleary, and his face flushed with sleep. He blinked. The sight of a monk nailing parchments to the door of the Schlosskirche was not terribly unusual, but it was annoying to be awakened so early in the morning. He stifled a yawn as the monk turned around and looked up, after hammering the fourth and last nail.

      "I give thee good morning, father," he said, as respectfully as he could manage so early in the morning. "Thou art up early to begin thy learned disputes. What is so important that it must needs be brought to light so early?"

     "Good morning," the priest said gravely, pocketing the hammer. "Canst thou read?"

     "Aye, but -"

     "Then come and read what is here written, and thou wilt understand that it is not early, but late. These doctrines ought to have been discussed in long ages past, for mankind has been in woeful darkness for many years and Mother Church must needs bestir herself if they are to have light."

     A bolt rattled inside the chapel door and the monk in the street turned and walked swiftly away. The man at the window stared after him for a few seconds, then hastily withdrew his head and closed the shutter.

     In a wonderfully short space of time - for a man as phlegmatic as a German shopkeeper - he joined the priest who had unbolted the chapel door. "What is it, father?" he asked, after a brief greeting, which the priest had not heard.

     He looked up from perusing the document, which was written in good Latin, defeating the shopkeeper's attempt to read it. There was a dazed expression in his eyes. "It is either hidden truth," he said slowly, as if speaking to himself, "or deepest heresy."

     The shopkeeper fell back a step from him. "Truth - or heresy!" he gasped.

     The priest nodded and went on, as if still speaking to himself. "These questions will cause great commotion, questioning, war, perhaps - and yet... I have had some doubts myself, and if these theses be right, they mark the dawn of a brighter day than the Church has known."

    The sun rose higher, turning the silvery light of early morning to the golden glow of full day. A chill blast of wind accompanied the light, but it quickly passed away and the temperature rose. The priest went back into the chapel and shut the door, leaving the shopkeeper staring at the iron-bound oak. The parchment was still spread on the wooden door before him. Gently, he touched it with one finger, wishing he could read Latin. The words of the two priests had awakened something within him; something that had stirred often before when the chapel priest chanted the mass in Latin. He could not have named what he longed for - he only knew that he, and many others across Germany and the Christian world, hungered and thirsted for a change, a purification. The longing had become an undefined prayer, rising spontaneously from those who were kept in darkness by the few who had the light of learning and wealth.

     He sighed and walked back to his shop. At the door he paused and looked back. He could still see the parchment, a frail rectangle of light against the dark oak doors of the church. A shaft of the morning sun lit it up with golden brilliance and he smiled. Somehow, he knew that another light was dawning. He stepped into his shop and closed the door, content to await God's timing.

The monk who nailed the parchment to the door of the Schlosskirche of Wittenberg was Martin Luther.

The parchment contained 95 theses, or questions, based on the Bible instead of the teachings of the Catholic church.

The date was October 31st, 1517 - the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Isaiah 9:2

Celebrate the great blessing of the Reformation! Thank God for the brave, faithful men and women who have gone before us. They endured - and many still endure - great tribulation for the sake of Jesus and the full Gospel.

Felix Mendelssohn wrote the great Reformation Symphony (Symphony no. 5) to celebrate the presentation of the Augsburg Confession, and the Reformation. It is well worth hearing, as he recounts, in music, the longing of oppressed people for the full truth of God's word, the dawning of the Reformation, and the struggle through the ages of persecution, ending with the triumphant declaration that God truly is a mighty fortress for His people, and that His truth will - and does - prevail.

(If you don't want to listen to the whole thing, at least listen to the finale.)

On a different note:

Lamplighter Publishing is giving away MP3 downloads of their audio drama, The Haunted Room. (I wrote a review of the book, The Haunted Room, some time ago.) This is an excellent story, although parts of the drama are - well - very dramatic. I don't recommend it for younger listeners and, as always, parents should be aware of what their children are taking in, and preferably, check it out themselves first.

If you want to download The Haunted Room, visit this page:  http://www.lamplighter.net/haunted

Simply fill out the form and they will send you an email with the information to download. Enjoy!

Interesting Fact of the Day: Cannon shots in classical music, and their historical significance

What famous classical piece of music has 16 cannon shots written into the original score and includes portions of at least four other pieces of music?

And what connection does this classical piece by Tchaikovsky have with Napoleon Bonaparte?

As most everyone knows, Napoleon was a French dictator and general who made France a world superpower.  His power was finally broken, in the providence of God, by the British at Waterloo in 1815.  But the allied victory at Waterloo would not have been possible if it had not been for his disastrous campaign into Russia.  This campaign marked the beginning of the end for French dominion.

The Russians were comparatively poorly equipped and trained, no match for the French from a military point of view.  They were forced to resort to "scorched earth" tactics, retreating before the French army and destroying everything before them.  The French were thus forced to rely on an inadequate supply line for provisions in their advance to Moscow.  When they arrived in Moscow, they found the city in flames and learned that Tsar Alexander would rather sacrifice his capital than capitulate with them.  To make matters worse, the brutal Russian winter was coming.  Napoleon had no choice but to turn his dispirited Grand Armee around and leave.

The retreat from Moscow became one of the most discouraging pages in French military history.  Thousands of soldiers succumbed to the cold and starvation and the ones who survived were too dispirited and disorganized to win the War of the Sixth Coalition.  Napoleon was banished to the island of Elba, giving Europe a brief respite from his empire-building wars.

Now, to answer the first two questions:
The 1812 Overture has 16 cannon shots written into the score.

5 shots signify the French - Russian battle of Borodino; 11 more shots punctuate God Save the Tsar in the finale of the overture. It includes fragments of Lord, save thy people, La Marseillaise, U Vorot, Vorot, and God Save the Tsar. 

The 1812 Overture was written by Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky to commemorate Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Tchaikovsky's home country.  This Wikipedia article explains the overture more fully, and it is amazing how this piece comes to life (at least, for me) after reading the article.

While the Russian Orthodox faith was mostly apostate and the Czarian rule of Russia was little, if at all, better than Napoleon's rule of France, God used the Russian campaign to break the power of the deist French dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.

So, if you are interested in listening to the 1812 Overture, check out this YouTube video (music only).  It is an amazing musical commemoration of Russian and world history.

Hurricane Irma: The Weekend I Took 9 Dogs to Church

I'm sure everyone reading this blog has either experienced hurricane Irma or seen it on the news.  Just for the record though, I will mention that it was the largest recorded storm in the Atlantic (outside of the Carribean) with peak sustained wind speeds of about 185 mph.  It was larger than the state of Florida, and predicted to travel right up the middle of the state after making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane.  That's a strong storm!

Because it was so strong and we live in a mobile home, we deemed it would be prudent for us to get out of the way, so we evacuated to church.  A number of other families had the same idea, so we all got to camp out Sunday afternoon - Monday morning.  It was so much fun!

For those who are wondering about the title:  I have a litter of 6 Border Collie puppies right now, plus my three breeding dogs.  I couldn't exactly leave them behind, so they got to come along.

Book/ Radio/ TV Series Review: The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger Rides

By Fran Striker

Rating:  4 out of 10

    Hold onto your hats as you read this rip-roaring tale!  Filled with intrigue, action, and gun-slinging cow punchers who use colorful language and bleed freely, this story will keep you on the edge of your seats!  Look out for the blazing six-guns as you--- but wait:  is this the kind of book Christians should be reading?

Book Review: The Deerslayer, by James Fenimore Cooper

The Deerslayer

By James Fenimore Cooper

Rating:  7 out of 10

    Set in the wilderness of upstate New York just at the beginning of the French and Indian War, this story is the first of James F. Cooper’s famous “Leatherstocking Tales”.  Natty Bumpo, or the Deerslayer is the main character.  His simple honesty and unusual skill with the long rifle, added to his quickness in wilderness warfare, bring him safely through a sudden Indian attack, and a short captivity.

Book Review: The Deerslayer, by James Fenimore Cooper

The Deerslayer

By James Fenimore Cooper

Rating:  7 out of 10

    Set in the wilderness of upstate New York just at the beginning of the French and Indian War, this story is the first of James F. Cooper’s famous “Leatherstocking Tales”.  Natty Bumpo, or the Deerslayer is the main character.  His simple honesty and unusual skill with the long rifle, added to his quickness in wilderness warfare, bring him safely through a sudden Indian attack, and a short captivity.

How I Filmed the War

By Geoffrey H. Malins

Rating:  6 out of 10 stars

    This book is an account of an early cinematographer’s experiences as he filmed important action in World War I.  Malins was the official cinematographer for the British government, and he describes life in the trenches, the spirit of the soldiers, especially the British troops, and various other experiences, such as filming from an early airplane over German lines, the visit of the King of England, and the action of the first tanks.  He shows the horrible conditions the men fought and lived under, and the devastated condition of the country as it was left behind the German troops.

    The early process of “making a film” was also described, and is interesting to read.  This was back in the days of silent films; in other words, motion pictures with no sound; and the film was literally cut into pieces for editing.

My Thoughts:

    How I Filmed the War is a true and realistic account of life on the front lines during WWI, but it is certainly not a book everyone should read.  While it is important to know history, and the sacrifices which were made so that we can be free, as a nation, reading a somewhat detailed account of these hardships and sacrifices can be too much for some people.  For my own part, what bothered me most about the book was the callousness of many of the soldiers to taking human life.  The jokes of the snipers when they “got their man” are a disgusting look at our fallen nature, and are all the sadder because they are true words spoken in a non-fiction work, and not merely invented from general stories of the war.  There is also some very questionable language in it, and more is implied than is written.

    Malins also is not writing from a Christian perspective, and somewhat pardonably, views the British as the saviors of the world, as they forced back the German invasion of France.

    So, while this book does have a great deal of educational value, as an eyewitness account of one of the worst wars in the history of man, it most certainly has some serious drawbacks, and discretion will be needed in discerning if it should be read, and who should read it.

Links:

Librivox:  How I Filmed the War

Gutenberg:  How I Filmed the War

Book Review: To Have and To Hold, by Mary Johnston

To Have and To Hold, by Mary Johnston

Rating:  4 out of 10 stars

    To Have and To Hold is Mary Johnston’s best known novel, and is set in the early days of America, in the settlement of Jamestown.  It is a romance novel, telling the story, in the first person, of Captain Percy’s hasty marriage, and the wild, unpredictable adventures to which it led.

Family trip to Old St. Augustine (December, 2015)

Back when we used to live in Palm Coast, we would go to old St. Augustine every winter and spend time touring the streets, and admiring the Christmas light displays.  We would usually eat at a pizza restaurant, and then finish off with ice cream before loading up to head home.  It was a fun tradition that was eagerly anticipated and enjoyed every year, until we moved from Palm Coast out to the country.  That was twelve years ago, and we didn't make it over to St. Augustine again...

That is, until this year.