“Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the some of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts – to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you: the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent – the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand – and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.” Exodus 31:1-18 NIV Student Bible

“So, let me put my arms around this: God anointed Bezalel as a Master Artist. Next, He anointed Bezalel as a Master Teacher. God then anointed Oholiab with artisan and teaching skills – (note the order of anointing – Artist first, Teacher second) – placing Oholiab as ‘Sous Chef’ next to Bezalel. Hmmm……God “chose” them and filled them with the Spirit, with skill, ability and knowledge of the arts. (I like to think of these two as the first Interdisciplinary Artists. Multi-faceted for multi-purpose.)

God then anointed the artisans as Teachers…there were to be hundreds of artisans and craftsmen needed to complete the plan. We now have the first Artist Teachers and the first Creative Community!

With this, God set His ‘creative brief’ into motion. The Temple needed the Artist’s Touch. And so, in perfect order, with infinite knowledge, the Artist Teachers strategically executed the Master Plan.

But O! the woe…Where is the Church today? The arts are all but void in so many of the Christian churches. The lingering question in my spirit…If God anointed the artist teachers, then how do we make the ‘change of the century’ and allow God’s creative heart back into the Church? And in turn, give validity and purpose back to the Artist…turning O! the woe into O! the Joy!”

If you listened to an Agatha Christie story from Librivox, it might have been my Poirot rendition, or it might have been the collaborative work.

But if you’ve heard either, you’re lucky. Two books by Agatha Christie are out of copyright in the US but few other places in the world. The people who own the rights don’t like the idea of free audiobooks at all.

Alex

I have been doing a daily (as in seven days a week) podcast called ‘Mister Ron’s Basement’ wherein I read humorous stories from the public domain. As of today, I have uploaded 442 episodes. Authors include well-known names such as Twain, Harte, O Henry, etc., but more often I ressurect long-forgotten and little known authors who really deserve to reach modern audiences.

This includes writers such as George Ade, Stephen Leacock, Ellis Parker Butler, Fanny Fern, Marietta Holley, Josephine Dodge Daskam, C. B. Lewis (M. Quad), Charles Battell Loomis, Bill Nye, Max Adeler, Hugh McHugh, George W. Peck, Frances Whicher, H. C. Bunner, Thomas Bailey Aldritch, Palmer Cox, James M. Bailey, Francis Durivage, Metta Victoria Victor, Frank R. Stockton, and many, many more. This past week, I posted stories by Seba Smith, an almost totally forgotten, but highly influential (and very funny) American humorist from Maine.

My reading style is hit or miss to be sure (the early episodes are much harder to listen to than the newer ones), but most of the stories’ humor hold up well. I tend to avoid stories that lean on dialect humor (which was immensely popular long ago). Each story is introduced by a fair-use swatch of old-time music from the late 19th or early 20th century. All of the stories pre-date 1923, and represent a golden era of (mostly) American classic humor.

You can find Mister Ron’s Basement at http://slapcast.com/users/revry.