The Singer and The Song

      Tonight I'm going to give the stage to Calvin Miller and his poetic narratives The Singer and The Song. The Singer parallels the Gospels while The Song resembles the book of Acts. Both books are wise, witty, sad, triumphant and joyful. Even if you're not a religious person and read them only for the exciting narrative, they're worth reading. What follows are a few quotes from both of them:

I knew a blind man
whom a surgeon
helped to see. The
doctor never had a
lover such as he.
It is in such a way
that singers love
composers.
*******************
Hate sometimes
stands quite
close to love.

God too stands
often near to
evil -- like silent
chessman --
side by side.
Only the color
of the squares
is different.
*******************
A healthy child is
somehow very much
like God. A hurting
child, his son.
*******************
To God obscenity is not uncovered
flesh. It is exposed intention.
Nakedness is just a state of heart.
Was Adam any more unclothed when
he discovered shame? Yes.
*******************
A finale is not always the best
song but it is always the last.
*******************
Decision is the key to destiny.

"God, can you be merciful and send
me off to hell and lock me in
forever?"

"No, Pilgrim, I will not send you
there, but if you chose to go
there, I could never lock you out."
*******************
Love is substance. Lust, illusion.
Only in the surge of passion
Do they mingle in confusion.
*******************
Creativity can sometimes be a curse.
Ask Dr. Frankenstein.
*******************
The day of one's death is
a good day to be really alive.

      I highly recommend both books.