For this edition of JoySightings, I am returning to the parables of Safed the Sage:
The Curves and the Tangents
The Woodpecker
William Eleazar Barton (1861-1930) created the character Safed the Sage and the first published book of his parables dates from 1915. He was a prominent Congregational pastor, and I believe his parables were first published in the denominational Sunday School newsletter that he edited. These short vignettes soon became a popular and widely-distributed regular feature of a number of periodicals, eventually reaching an audience of over three million readers.
He graduated from Berea College in 1885, received his MA from Oberlin Graduate School of Theology in 1890 and was ordained in 1885. He married Esther Treat Bushnell of Johnsonville, Ohio in 1885 and they had 5 children. Esther is given the name Keturah in Safed’s parables. They had four sons, and the frequently mentioned ‘daughter of the daughter of Keturah’ was named Helen.
Barton was also a noted scholar on Abraham Lincoln. His published writings are very extensive, as you can see online. I found it fascinating that the Congregational Library and Archives in Boston, MA, has 5 linear feet of materials from Barton, including sermons, letters, and photographic materials, including “lantern slides”. I think it would be fascinating to see these things.
In order to see a listing of podcasts in the JoySightings series, go to dailybiblereading.info and let your mouse hover over the New Episodes menu entry. The link to the Joy Sightings Table of Contents will appear below that. To listen to more episodes— whether from the web site or from your DBRP listening app for your smart device, search for underscore and a three digit number. The other episodes with parables of Safed the Sage go from edition _001, _002, and so on to _011. Searching for _002 brings up four results, and the JoySightings one is among them.
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