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No. 16

CONTENTS

Essays

Table Manners
Joey Earl Horstman
"It comes as no surprise to me that our first sin--the gaff handed down to us from Adam and Eve--involved not drugs or alcohol or rock and roll, but plain and simple food." In this essay, the author describes the simple joys--and trials--of sharing a meal, with humorous examples from his own household.

On Finding Home
Thom Mannarino
Saint Augustine once wrote that human restlessness was an indication that earth was not our true home, that we are all meant for some other city. The road there is a lifelong journey, the author discovers, one not measured in miles, but in lives affected along the way.

Spending the Currency of Our Lives
Tricia O'Connor Elisara
As consumers, we feel "listless, uninspired, and unimpressed. We have cut ourselves off from the wonders of God." What will wake us up to the sense of wonder that we experienced when we were younger? This essay examines ways in which we can become less obsessed with mindless acquisition and more concerned with nurturing a "coherent, spiritually attentive soul."

Studies

Why Love Can't Wait
The Lonely Social Ethic of Martin Luther King, Jr.
William Edgar

Martin Luther King was disappointed that whites were so lethargic about racism in America, but even more so that the Evangelical church of the '50s and '60s did more to further racial oppression than to hinder it. Nevertheless, King looked to the Bible as his inspiration for the strategies of nonviolent resistance that he would espouse, and created a revolution in the civil rights movement.

Making Peace with the Past
A New Kind of War Memorial for the Twenty-First Century
Rachel Hostetter Smith

War memorials have traditionally been sacred sites that celebrate victories, remember the fallen, and perpetuate the myth that though war is costly, it is nonetheless glorious. In the past decade, however, there have risen "antiheroic" monuments--memorials that incarnate the horror and absurdity of war. This study analyzes the work of artists such as Jenny Holzer, who are creating astonishing gardens and memorials across Europe.

Pain as Ritual
Hearing Voices from the Alternative Culture
Heather Webb

So, why are so many young people getting tattoos, nose rings, eyebrow rings, multiple earrings, and rings in other unimaginable places? Doesn't it hurt? Yes, and that's just the point. According to the author of this study, pain has become a ritual that provides identification with an alternative culture, and a symbol for painful events the devotee has endured.

The Mars Hill Interview

The Lessons of Everyday Life
A Conversation with Robert Coles
James A. Sparrell and Katherine Kellogg Towler

Robert Coles's many publications have influenced the fields of psychology, sociology, medicine, literature, and documentary studies. In this interview, he talks about his friendships with such significant figures as Dorothy Day, William Carlos Williams, and Anna Freud, and his views on the role of the church in a secular world. Regardless of the topic, Dr. Coles always brings the conversation back to the reality of daily life and what it has to teach us.

Reminders of God

The Writing Life

Fiction

The Stranger-Father
John H. Timmerman

Poetry

Holy Spirit
Del Doughty

Beethoven Bridge
Ann Lauinger

Explanation
Christine Perrin

At the Wedding
Carl Winderl

The Year of Jubilee
David Rozema

The Walk Back on Sunday
Jay Robinson

Ichthyology
Charles W. Pratt

Bogliasco
William Shullenberger

Views and Reviews
Music

Essay: We're Gonna Party Like It's (Still) 1999
A Millennial Testimony to Rock and Roll
Douglas Thorpe

Interview:

Away Out on the Mountain
Skip Gorman Finds the Heart of the Old West
James A. Sparrell

Reviews:

Art and Soul, Renee Rosnes
Andrew Lee

On How Life Is, Macy Gray
Dave Urbanski

Black Diamond, Angie Stone
Dave Urbanski

Music Also Reviewed
James A. Sparrell and Dave Urbanski

Books

Essay:

Baseball 2000
Sacrifice, Grace, and the Suicide Squeeze
David W. Frauenfelder

Reviews:

Keepsakes & Other Stories, Jon Hassler
Joey Earl Horstman

When Courage was Stronger Than Fear: Remarkable Stories of Christians Who Saved Jews from the Holocaust, Peter Hellman
James Vescovi

Books Also Reviewed
Sheryl Cornett

Film

Essay:

Normalizing The English Patient
Why the Film Is Not the Book
Jon Wallace

Reviews:

Magnolia
Roy Anker

Snow Falling on Cedars
Joan Zwagerman Curbow

Films Also Reviewed
Scott Emmert and Joey Earl Horstman

Risvolti
Timeless graffiti from the broad canvas
Compiled by James Vescovi

Mars Hill Contributors