This
semester Derek is continuing his studies in the New Testament,
focusing on the book of Acts and the epistles of Paul. He is also
taking an evening class on the writings of Dorothy Sayers, the great
mystery writer. The first story started out promising with a
mysterious body appearing in someone's bathtub, wearing nothing but
an expensive pair of glasses! It just gets better from there!
Neither
of us had read any of Dorothy Sayers' writings before class started,
nor did we know much about her at all. One of the things that has
struck us is that we all have things in our past, but what defines
our character is how we move on in response to those events. Sayers
was raised in a Christian family, but had some events in her life
that could have ruined her and her faith had she let them. Instead
she was able to produce fantastic stories as well as plays and even
theological writings that are great to read even after all these
years because she didn't let things derail her faith. We're looking
forward to learning more as the semester continues.
I found the book on P.D. James that I mentioned when we were talking on Sayer's. The title is, "Time to be Earnest". I'll read it and let you know what I think. Also, I can't wait for you to read "Five Red Herring" by Sayer's...enjoy!
ReplyDeleteCorrection on the James title. "Time to be in Earnest", a fragment of autobiography by P.D. James.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely looking forward to reading "Five Red Herrings!" You'll have to let me know if "Time to be in Earnest" is good.
ReplyDeleteWhat funny timing, I just put a hold on that same story (Whose Body) and I'm waiting to get it from the library! I read some of the other Lord Peter books out of order years ago and really liked them... something made me think of them the other day and I decided to go back and start at the beginning with that one. What a cool class, I hope you keep enjoying it, Derek! Nathania, are you reading along too?
ReplyDeleteI think you will definitely enjoy "Whose Body"! Nathania has been listening to an audio version of "Clouds of Witness" while feeding the baby at night (with headphones, thankfully, or I would be less happy about this idea).
DeleteWhat you said about how we respond to the events in our lives reminds me of a great quote I heard in a movie recently (An Old-Fashioned Christmas on Netflix). I liked this quote so well I posted it up on the refrigerator. It says, "One's station in life does not determine one's character."
ReplyDeleteIt's always nice to find a good quote for the fridge! I like your quote because it reminds us that we're more (or possibly less) than our outward level of success! It's easy to get caught up in finding your value in your career, but your inner character matters a great deal more.
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