Reading Slayers called to my mind a salient difference between Protestantism and Catholicism: direct access worship vs. mediated worship. What do I mean? Catholicism–and Orthodox Churches, for that matter–have an order of the priesthood. Three levels exist within the priesthood: diaconate, presbyterate, and episcopate. The bishop has full power to perform any of the seven… Read More Examining Light Novels: Direct Access vs. Mediation
I’m now reading the fourth volume of Slayers: “The Battle of Saillune.” If memory serves me right, the original three seasons skipped over this story arc. The novel concerns a palace intrigue to slay Prince Philionel in order to stage a coup d’état. Lina, Gourry, and Sylphiel sneak into the city of Saillune in order… Read More Examining Light Novels: On Rebellion
I have every intention of making this my last article on Spice and Wolf. Nine is the elvish number for luck, and nine articles of Spice and Wolf ought to whet anyone’s appetite to explore this series further and perhaps even the Middle Ages. (I’ll save my next series as a surprise.) Over the course of… Read More Examining Light Novels: Medieval and Modern Castes
This time, a passage on the culinary excesses of clerics in Spice and Wolf struck me. It was not remarkable for bringing out how much priests love fine dining. The joke runs that one thing modern bishops and the apostles have in common is never turning down a meal. Instead, I was surprised by the following… Read More Examining Light Novels: The Rotund Angel Physician
Those of you familiar with Spice and Wolf know that much of the plot centers on trade. On the other hand, the conflict often concerns how Lawrence must weigh intangible goods like friendship against his more tangible business deals. Lawrence must make a living, but he recognizes the poverty of commerce in comparison to richness of… Read More Examining Light Novels: On Good Works and Goods
Volume thirteen stands as the most interesting of Isuna Hasekura’s three “Side Colors” volumes of Spice and Wolf so far. This volume features a novella about the shepherdess Nora and her dog Enek. From her adventure with Lawrence at Ruvinheigen in volume two, she gains the capital necessary to enter a seamstress apprenticeship program. However, her… Read More Examining Light Novels: On Female Deacons
Volume twelve of Spice and Wolf can only be described as boring. (The Japanese have a proverb that only a fool buys complete collections of books. It just might be true!) The story features a journey undertaken by Lawrence and company with a famous silversmith named Fran Vonely. Fran has a near encyclopedic knowledge of local… Read More Examining Light Novels: A Bored God