Via the Anchoress:
This, written about 155 AD (three digits, not four), strikes me, an unbeliever, with its simplicity and directness. We humans, I think, have a need for worship, and this is surely one of the best directions for doing so.
“The memoirs of the disciples”. “President”. This is the statement of those for whom all this was new, only three or four generations removed. Christ’s presence is not long out of living memory. Terms must be defined, or have not yet been settled on. (For some reason, I read “President” as “Preside-ent”, he who presides. It’s notable that this person is not referred to as a priest.)
Via Ghost of a Flea:
A “balrog” is a fell monster from The Lord of the Rings; one of them fought with the wizard Gandalf, and almost succeeded in killing him.