Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Alphabet Soup
So, you are standing at the gates of Edinburgh castle and you look down the street. Marvelous view. isn't it? Immediately on your right, that yellowish wall in the foreground there is the "Scots Whiskey Heritage Center" -- a grand and glorious place to visit, tour, and have a tasting, but I digress. You see this week we are at "X" here in Alphabet Soup. Tough letter. That large crown steeple you see that's a hint to our destination.
You proceed down the "Royal Mile," leaving behind the castle, headed toward Holyrood Palace. You walk past St. Gile's Cathedral - that large crown steeple, then you walk past Tron Church, the more conventional steeple you see in the photo above. Before long, the site you see here on your right greets your eye. This is our destination this week. This is the John KnoX House. (OK, so sue me, it doesn't start with X, but it's the best I could do)Knox, of course, is that most famous of Calvin's disciples, bringing Calvin's point of view back to England and Scotland where he became pastor of St Gile's and the Reformation came to Scotland complete with Knox's debates with the very Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots and all the intrigue and the eventual union of Scotland and England that followed. For here was born my specific flavor of faith - Prebyterianism.
Knox resided in this particular house for a while, but it is not especially historic other than it still stands and has been used to house a museum dedicated to this faithful servant of the Lord. It's a great place to learn some important church history.
Of all the displays and things in the house, this window was part of my favorite. The room that features this window is empty save for a couple of pews. The pews are complete with bibles and hymnals, and one other very important thing - speakers.Speaker that play, in rich Scottish brogue, someone reading, quite well, the text of some of Knox's better sermons. While not as grand as hearing them in St. Giles, it is a lovely setting and the sermons sing to this Calvinist heart. The experience in enhanced by the fact that the Royal Mile is, in season, a very crowded place, but this particular attraction is not so crowded. (Gee I wonder why?) I have to say I was pleasantly pleased that I could sit for an extended period undisturbed and listen. Such solitude is not easy to come by in so crowded a tourist locale.
The Knox house is a must for any serious student of Christianity if you find yourself in Edinburgh.
Related Tags: Edinburgh, John Knox, Presbyterians, house
