Jesus the Tekton
Timber Framing, Poetic Knowledge & the Curse of Sin
We stood at the ridge marking our property line, admiring our neighbor’s mature forest of mixed hardwoods and looking back with not a little distaste at the tangle of vines, thorns, and immature saplings on our side of the line—the mess from which we had just emerged. I counted fourteen holes in my shirt and more in my skin. We generally avoid this grim section of our otherwise beautiful farm but went that day to survey the forest and develop a timber-management plan.
Standing on the ridge, I realized that I had never fully appreciated the thorns and thistles of Genesis 3:18—which is to say, I had a superficial grasp of the curse of sin. I said as much to my companion, a professional forester and Christian, who remarked that it would make a great object lesson for our students—if we could find a way to get them there without getting cut to pieces. The insight struck with force: “No,” I said, “we’re going to go right through it! But just once a year; I don’t have enough shirts to spare.”
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Mark Perkins is a priest in the Anglican Province of America and Chaplain and Assistant Headmaster of St. Dunstan’s Academy in Roseland, Virginia.
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on Christianity from the online archives
32.4—July/August 2019
on Probability, Death & the Existence of God by Graeme Hunter
27.5—Sept/Oct 2014
on Growing Vegetables as a Primer in Moral Philosophy by Rachel Lu
more from the online archives
31.4—July/August 2018
Life & Love Are Real Despite Theatrical Illusions by Anthony Esolen
32.6—November/December 2019
Historical Truth, Beguiling Stories & Three Kinds of Hearers by Anthony Esolen
31.1—January/February 2018
on Taking the Measure of the Deserving & the Undeserving Poor by Martin Bordelon
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
