Showing results by narrator "Adriel Brandt" in All Categories

Parzival is a romantic poem written by Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. Regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Middle Ages, the romance was the most popular vernacular verse narrative in medieval Germany. Dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, the poem tells the story of the Arthurian hero Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail. The most notable elements of the work are an emphasis on the importance of humility, compassion, and sympathy. Richard Wagner based his famous opera Parsifal on Parzival.

First published in 1887, Ten Great Events in History explores certain historical events that the author considered to be inspiring, based on the advance of individual freedom. These events include the Greek struggles against the Persian Empire, the Crusades, Columbus and the New World, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the Dutch struggle against Spain, and Britain’s conquest of India. Although many may argue that certain of these were in fact acts of oppression, the book contributes an informative perspective and an engrossing narrative.

William H. Taft’s speech regarding the tariff law and the extremely controversial Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909 is a vital address in US history for anyone interested in economics and US political history as a whole.

Wealthy aristocrat Edward and his wife, Charlotte, invite The Captain, Edward’s childhood friend, and Charlotte’s niece, Ottilie, to their estate near Weimar. The Captain and Charlotte fall in love, as do Edward and Ottilie, who do not hesitate to consummate their infatuation; the results include infanticide, suicide by starvation, and death from a mysterious illness.

One blessing, or in some ways curse, we have been given is the ability to think and rationalize. With this comes a constant internal battle in which we debate within ourselves what the right moral choices are. Bonar expands on how conscientious we truly are and which patterns emerge in our daily lives.

The first pages of the bible illustrate a journey from being divinely created to falling from grace. Ever since the path started leading downward, humanity has been cursed with many trials. But hope remains when we accept a God who is harsh in his sentence, but righteous and true in his execution.

We have been thoroughly introduced to the violent and often savage ways God punishes His people. But Horatius Bonar expands on a method far more powerful than any direct force. Learn more about how a father’s silence can lead to a feeling of ultimate desperation in his children.

Balaam, son of Beor, is known to us as a non-Israeli prophet who, despite his initial refusal to curse the Israelis, was eventually overcome by wickedness. Horatius Bonar explores in depth the nature of this duality. He details the fate and torments of anyone who allows themselves to be guided by a divided heart.

The essence of Christianity is to have faith. A blind faith, some would say, but Horatius Bonar takes this far away from the otherwise negative context it is used in. He illustrates how all the miracles, as performed by prophets such as Moses, were so great because of this unyielding faith being able to receive God’s full power.

What armor would we wear when considered in a biblical sense of the glorious war? None of ornate metal but one that has a more spiritual defense. Bonar reflects further on the resolve, mental strength, and faith needed in order to build up a defense against sin and against evil.

If there is one tactile gesture that has immense metaphorical value in the bible, it is the kiss. The most famous kiss was one of betrayal, but others would be for good. Bonar further interprets the kiss Oprah gives her mother-in-law in great detail and shows how truly complex this symbol can be.

Balaam looks around at the Israelis who have suffered and wandered, but are now so close to glory. Horatius Bonar describes a man overlooking the encampment and feeling a certain conflict rise within himself. We see, along with him, the weary Israelis on one side and on the other, the land of milk and honey within their grasp.

Ninteenth-century Scottish churchman and poet Horatius Bonar muses on the biblical journey from sin to sentence. Mainly remembered as a highly skilled hymnist, Bonar starts by describing a world created similar to the heavens, with perfection and beauty shaping its every detail. Once tainted by sin, the celestial path leads down and Bonar’s sermon focuses more on the darkness humanity finds itself in after falling from grace.

If we ask ourselves what it means to disobey God, we can recall many references to his cruelty and relentlessness in punishing those who refuse his word. These punishments go very deep and Bonar takes this biblical theme as a launching pad for discussing the frivolous nature of the so called human remedies. How we are a race of diversions and entertainments, façade and masquerades, in short, creators of a superficial and temporary solace.

Sharing his analysis of the phrase ‘go and possess the land’, Horatius Bonar reads deeply into the meaning of ownership. In some ways this entails a reflection on the biblical sense of nationalism. The Israelis, first wanderers and to some extend forced nomads, are told to settle and identify with this one place, one land, one city.

One of the first biblical stories we are told as children is the one of David and Goliath. We learn about the small, weak man slaying the giant with nothing but a rock. In this, Bonar compares the carnal weapons, Goliath being great of stature and physically superior, to the spiritual cloak David wears by being on the side of God.

The way of Cain, Horatius Bonar explains, leads to a barren world marked by the way of blood. Bonar details the haunted life lead by Cain once he had poisoned it with the murder of his brother. How despair, banishment, and fruitfulness would enter the lives of those who reject the right choices, as defined by the Bible, first given to them.

Horatius Bonar shows himself as a very passionate hymnist in this sermon focusing on the Fig-Leaves Adam and Eve use to cover themselves after acquiring the knowledge of shame. He shares his views on how a fig-leaf, a pure and beautiful form of vegetation, can’t possibly shield Man from his loss of innocence. In Bonar’s mind, the one thing that can save us from the anger and wrath of God, is the rituals we now associate closely with the Catholic faith.

Horatius Bonar allows us to learn more about his interpretations of God as a father to all the people. The phrase ‘Oh that they were wise’ laments humanity and its inability to choose a path of constructiveness and righteousness. Bonar reflects further on these characteristics that shapes human nature in a manner that is, in his mind, unteachable.

Scottish reformer John Knox taught that Mass was an idolatrous practice. In 1550, the Roman Catholic church brought a charge against him for this controversial position. He defended this belief in front of the council of the North, stating, “I do affirm the Mass to be, and at all times to have been, idolatry and abomination before God.” His thorough, scriptural argument was so convincing that he was allowed to continue his preaching unhindered.