Welcome

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From The Editor

Émile Durkheim, a French philosopher wrote about the “sacred and the profane” dichotomy just over one hundred years ago.  His argument was that the sacred were those things that were set apart in society, those things that transcended the everyday mundane existence. These were, typically, things that represented the interests of the group and were manifested in sacred symbols. Everything else was just the profane. The word “profane” has acquired a sort of mild evil connotation since that time but it means, in essence, those things that exist in the ordinary, everyday world and do not have a sacred aspect to them.

This journal is not about that.  Unlike Durkheim, we believe that the sacred can also be the ordinary and the ordinary can also be sacred.  Jesus was an ordinary man.  But he was also extra-ordinary.  He was also God and thus our prime example of the sacred in the ordinary.  Another example might be setting a dinner table. An otherwise ordinary event. However, when setting a table for Passover or Easter communion, the activity can become sacred.

We are looking for writings that reflect this sentiment.  We seek the sacred as it exists in the ordinary; the miraculous in the mundane.  This can be revealed in poetry, prose, plays, testimonies and academic writings.  When all else fails, it might even be found in sermons.  John Donne is an excellent example.  We take inspiration from his poem, “The Flea,” in which he mixes the sacred with the ordinary.  In fact, Donne hits the big three topics for literature all in the same poem: religion, death and sex.  

If you have something that shows us the sacred in the ordinary, and is maybe a little bit edgy as well, please consider submitting it.  The guidelines will give you the details.

We intend to follow this path and see where it leads us.

We hope you enjoy the journey with us.