Volume 6 Series

Mystery: Detecting Truth in the Darkness A good mystery brings the reader into the mind of the detective: searching for clues, questioning suspects, and coming to conclusions.  We like to play along, hoping to crack the case before the ultimate reveal. In a way, it feels like our real lives as we try to piece together the parts of our existence and discover what they mean.  That is why mysteries are the perfect playground for the cultural apologist who seeks to explain what the facts about our world actually mean. Contributors "The Gospel of Murder" by Annie Nardone on Human Darkness  "Serial, Healing and the Silence of God: The Hunger for Order and Truth in a Postmodern Mystery" by Erica Milecki McMillan on Seeking Truth  "Light for the Seekers" by Sojourner Howfree on the Inquisitive Mind  "An Elementary History of Deduction" by Seth Myers on the History of the Genre  "The Secret of Father Brown" by G.K. Chesterton on Detective Methodology  "The Inheritance of Hiram Percy Maxim" by Brian Melton on Consequences  "Rationalism, Meaning, & Love: Sherlock's Ethos as a Key to Unlock All Mysteries" by Jasmin Biggs on the Pursuit of Truth  "What Mean These Stones? Archaeology, Poetry & Mystery" by Ted W. Wright on Excavating Humanity  "Gizem Dagl" by Karise Gilliland on the Mountain of Mystery  "Agatha Christie and Worshiping False Gods" by Jacqueline Wilson on Self-Examination  "God as Revealer of Mysteries and Fountain of Love" by Jesse W. Baker on Divine Revelation  "The Mystery of Our History: How Knowledge of the Church Fathers Can Strengthen the Church" by Kimberly Hyland on the Importance of the Past  "The Mystery of Love" by Donald Catchings on Defining Love  "Time Warping With God" by Tim Mcguire on Dreaming  "Mystery and Meaning in the Multiverse: Everything Everywhere All at Once" by Seth Myers on Searching Through the Chaos  "Book Review: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith" by Rebekah Valerius on a Wise Lady Detective    Volume 6, Issue 1, Spring 2023 240 pages   Cover illustration by Virginia de la Lastra 

King Arthur and his legendary Camelot inspire the reflection on the best of humanity and true virtue: faithful friends and comradery, chivalry, courtly love, perseverance to purpose, and the Divine fulfillment of a promise. The enduring appeal of Camelot is the Gospel message told within a Medieval tale: stories where agape love take form with a faithful company persevering to victory led by the King Who Came. The King Arthur Legendarium presents this timeless tale with new scholarship and new tales woven by modern creative members of the fellowship of beauty.    Contributions & Contributors "Return to the Timeless Legend" by Annie Nardone, Issue Editor, on Revisiting Chivalry and Adventure "The Myth of Arthur" by G.K. Chesterton poetic honoring of King Arthur "Medieval Virtue: Arthur and Sir Gawain, Women and Men" by Seth Myers on Classical and Arthurian Virtue "True History of the Holy Grail" by Donald Williams, Issue Editor, on Galahad, Sola Gratia, and the Graal "To Help the Wrong'd" by Camilo Peralta on Sanctuary in Idylls of the King "Take Up the Tale" by Malcolm Guite on His Poetic Retelling of the Arthurian Epic "The Coming of Galahad" by Malcolm Guite Ballad of Galahad's Childhood "The Virtuous Arthur" by Josh P. Herring on Resolving a Tension Between C.S. Lewis and Spenser "Death and the Knight" by Roger Maxson on the True Knight and Victory over Death "Arthur and Abbey" by Elizabeth Martin on Edwin Austin Abbey's Galahad Mural Cycle "Avalon" by Justin Wiggins on The Sacred Isle of Avalon "Malory's Apocalyptic Vision" by Joshua S. Fullman on Malory's Le Morte D'arthur. "Galahad and the End of the Quest" by Junius Johnson on An Imagined Tale of Galahad "The Sword in the Stone - A Triolet" by Karise Gililland pens a Medieval Poem "Arthur & Regeneration in T.S. Eliot's Waste Land" by Seth Myers on The Search for Regeneration "Enid and Gereint" by John Tuttle on A Romance in Arthur's Kingdom "Always Once and Future" by Donald W. Catchings, Jr. on Arthur as Archetype "C.S. Lewis, Merlin, and Messy Apologetics" by Stephan Bedard on C.S. Lewis and Pragmatic Christian Apologetics "Faerie Queen and the Holy Knight Red Crosse" by Seth Myers on Red Crosse's Symbolic Virtue of Holiness   Volume 6, Issue 2 Summer 2023 280 pages Cover illustration: Virginia de la Lastra

In a fast-paced society that prizes utilitarian productivity, leisure and play can be difficult to enjoy without guilt. Rather than resist this cultural tide, the church often inadvertently baptizes such workaholism, spiritualizes the idolatry of productivity, and participates in the functional desecration of the physical creation that God declared "good." But leisure is not only fun; it is essential for our spiritual health.    This issue of An Unexpected Journal explores the theological and philosophical foundations for the sacredness of play, along with lighter reflections on how various sports, hobbies, and leisure activities reveal the goodness and character of God.     Contributors "The Curse of Gnosticism and the Cure of Play: Why Leisure is Essential for Spiritual Health" - Jasmin Biggs on the Imago Dei & Its Implications for Play "Leisurely Rambles: Hiking & Birding as Sacred Play" - Annie Nardone on Hiking and Birding "Vortex" (Short Story) - Molly Hopkins on Workaholism "Taylor Swift, T.S. Eliot, and C.S. Lewis: Eras for the Ages" - Seth Myers on Taylor Swift's Timeless Themes "The Arrow That is Not Aimed: Flow in the Art of Archery and Writing" - Megan Joy Rials on Archery and Writing "Leisure the Basis of Education: Applying the Sabbath Principle to the Classroom" -Alex Markos on Sabbath and Education "Fly Fishing and the Fall" - Jim Swayze on Fly Fishing "Obeying the Rules of the Game" - Zak Schmoll on Power Soccer "Sea Reflections" - Tiffany Kavedzic on God's Character "Pursuing the Tempest: Why We Chase" -  Zachary Biggs on Storm Chasing and Landscape Photography "How My Horse Taught Me to Be a Parent" - Annie Crawford on Horsemanship and Parenting "In The Image of a Playful God: Flourishing Through Playfulness And Connection" - Anna Beresford on Play & Connection "Bones Will Sing: Dance in Spiritual Formation" - Rachel Bruce Johnson on Incarnational Embodiment "Craft and Glory" - Molly Hopkins on Hobbies and Craftsmanship "Forgiveness in the Foam" (poem) - Dwayne Sheridan on Cosplay and Redemption "Take Me Out To The Ballgame: How Baseball Can Restore Our Senses And Our Souls" - Sandra G. Hicks on Baseball "Counterpunching Trials With Joy: Boxing As A Unique Parallel To Christian Sanctification" - Matthew Hill on Boxing "Kings Over Bishops: The Play of Chess in Late Medieval and Early Modern England as a Representation of the Relationship Between the Sacred and the Secular" - James L. Underwood on Chess and History "Bombs, Board Games, and Bede the Venerable: But Mostly Chess" - Seth Myers on Board Games and Chess   Fall 2023; Volume 6, Issue 3. 310 pages Illustrator: Virginia de la Lastra  

Dostoevsky Sober Hope: Finding Faith in the Bleak Midwinter   As winter descends to end the year 2023, it is a time for contemplation: a time to revel in the joys and find balm for the woes of the past year, a time to find the courage to hold on, and the hope to thrive in the new year. Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821 - 1881) faced his own bleak (and Russian!) winters, from childhood play amongst the impoverished at his father's medical clinic to a last minute reprieve from the Tsar's firing squad for discussing banned books followed by ten years of prison camp and military service in exile. While his novels, such as Crime & Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov demonstrate human depravity they also give glimmers of grace, love, and beauty which have made him one of the most beloved novelists of all time.   It is our hope that as you find time to relax during the holiday season (making it a habit for the new year!), that you will find these discussions deeply meaningful. Awaiting for you within are discussions of his characters from novels and short stories alike, Dostoevsky-inspired poems, and reviews of films, books, and even contemporary music which reflect the light and warmth he dared to find in his own bleak winter.   CONTRIBUTORS "Dostoevsky for Our Times" by Editorial introduction by Seth Myers. DOSTOEVSKY: THE FUNDAMENTALS "Dostoevsky the Culturally Active Christian" by William Collen "Dostoevsky's Narrative of (Un)Belief: From Psychology to Theology" by John Givens  "Underground Apologetics" by George Scondras  "A Midterm in Russian Literature" by Tom Sims THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV "The Brothers Karamazov and the Existential Problem of Atheism" by Josiah Peterson  "Fifty Shades of Bleak: The Karamazov Principle Explored" by Matthew Lilley  "Dear, Kind God: A Divine Dilemma" by Grant Walker Broadhurst THE IDIOT "Beauty in Tragedy: The Idiot, Dostoevsky, and Eucatastrophe" by Clark Weidner  "Interpreting Prince Myshkin: The Idiot" by Joshua Jo Wah Yen  CRIME AND PUNISHMENT "What Would I Be Without God?" by Sojourna Howfree  "By Their Fruit: An Allegorical Tale" by Brian Melton SHORT STORIES AND POEMS "Crazy Love: The Action and Call of Grace in Dostoevsky's 'The Dream of the Ridiculous Man'" by Theresa Pihl  "The Heart of Christ and Dostoevsky's 'The Christmas Tree and a Wedding'" by Christy Luis  "2057 Carnot Street" by Patricia Newberry  "Another Magi's Journey" by Awara Fernandez  "Necropolis and the Soul's Well" by Katie Windham REVIEWS "From Literature to Film: Adapting Dostoevsky's Works" by Mary Lou Cornish  "Soul Survival Kit: Tolstoy and Dostoevsky" by Seth Myers . "Dostoevsky, Man About Town: Gulags, Muscovite Gentlemen, and Murakami" by Seth Myers  "Review of James Scanlan's Dostoevsky the Thinker," by Seth Myers "Dostoevsky in Midnights' Metropolis: Midnights' Anti-Hero and Marvel-ous Heroes" by Seth Myers  Volume 6, Issue 4, Advent 2024 330 pages Cover Image: Riz Crescini 

Texas authors have once again allowed their creative minds to open up and expand the Universe in which they live with short stories that capture one's emotions through the everlasting medium of storytelling.   This sixth volume of award-winning short stories takes readers on a personal ride of growth and understanding, then a jaunt through history both factual and fictional, then a trip of magic, suspense, and much more. Those are just a few of the emotions one will experience as they read the 14 winning short stories from prolific Texas authors.