Oh 'great'

This poll at Crosswalk.com really surprised me. At first I thought, maybe I didn't have to write this book! I had envisioned my audience as the respondents to #2 or #3. Of course, that audience would be less likely to frequent a site like Crosswalk. I still think the majority of North American Christians have more of a lukewarm, vaguely-defined faith that desperately needs a more dynamic, more deeply biblical vision of heaven.

And actually, it's likely that the same need exists among some of the 77 percent here who think heaven will be "great." My book argues that heaven will be much more than respite, much more than leisure, much more than worship. It will be a cosmos where everything is made right. "Great" doesn't begin to describe it.

Sin: "as the leech sticks to the skin ..."

I write in Chapter 3 that "sin oozes, [it] creeps...", but this is even better (quoted in a forthcoming publication of CICW):

The Zaire rite offers its prayer of confession this way: “Lord our God, as the leech sticks to the skin and sucks human blood, evil has invaded us. . . Who will save us, if not you, our Lord?”

• Related Chapter: 3

Course on The Medieval City

Speaking of urban studies, here's a delectable course at St. Olaf: The Medieval City: History and Historiography.

In this course, we will explore both the history and historiography of the medieval urban environment, focusing on the period after 1100. We will begin with two general surveys of medieval European cities, then read a series of articles and books on specific topics, accompanied by selected primary sources. The last third of the class will offer you time to work on a major research project and prepare a twenty minute presentation on your work.

• Related Chapter: 5