June 18, 2023, column from the Amarillo Globe-News:

Wondering about Michelangelo, Lewis and post-truth

By Mike Haynes

Just wondering …

                … whether you knew that before painting his famous Sistine Chapel ceiling in Rome from 1508 to 1512, Michelangelo primarily was a sculptor, having done the Pieta – Mary holding the body of Jesus – in 1498 and his David statue in 1501.

He had little experience with frescoes – paint on wet plaster – but he created some of the best of those in history on the chapel ceiling, lying on his back on a scaffold.

                That’s what Mark White told people attending a June 8 preview reception for “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition,” which began June 9 at Amarillo’s Arts in the Sunset and is open for 38 days through July 23. White is one of the organizers who helped bring the colorful, remarkable exhibit to Amarillo although it has visited mostly larger cities such as Dallas, Oklahoma City, New York and London.

                The display lets you see 34 separate images as close as you want to stand. If you were in the chapel at the Vatican in Rome, they would be 66 feet above you, and you would be crammed into the room with scores of other tourists.

                This way, you can study that short space between the famous fingers of Adam and God or the troubled face of the prophet Jeremiah from a foot away if you want.

                My wife, Kathy, and I have recommended the Amarillo exhibit to several people. I even suggested to a friend in Lubbock that it’s worth a drive from the Hub City. Anyone with an interest in art, history or religion should go to https://chapelsistine.com/exhibits/amarillo and reserve their tickets. Arts in the Sunset is at 3701 Plains Blvd.

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Just wondering …

… how familiar Sam Heughan is with Christian writer C.S. Lewis.

                It seems that Lewis, who died in 1963 and whose best-known works probably are “Mere Christianity” and “The Chronicles of Narnia,” shows up everywhere, including in the 2022 book by “Outlander” actor Heughan called, “Waypoints: My Scottish Journey.”

                Heughan plays Scottish Highland fighter and lover Jamie Fraser in the immensely popular novels and TV series, “Outlander” (which will begin its Season 7 on Starz tonight). Apparently, he read the Narnia stories as a kid or just knows about Lewis from growing up in the United Kingdom, because I noticed three references to the British author in Heughan’s book.

                The actor intersperses elements of his life story with accounts of a recent 96-mile hike along the West Highland Way in Scotland. Twice, in describing the beauty of the Highland forests, lochs and mountains, he writes that it’s as if he had stepped out of a wardrobe into a marvelous new land – an obvious reference to Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

                Then Heughan reflects on how, during part of his multi-day hike, “I’ve been in such a hurry to get there that I’ve missed out on the pleasure of the journey.” And he includes a quote from “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”: “Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different?”

                The “Outlander” star ends his wilderness journey with the opinion that walking and noticing the details of nature – such as mushrooms – are preferable to driving a car or riding his motorcycle.

C.S. Lewis

                C.S. Lewis, known to walk for pleasure around Oxford, England, expressed the same sentiment about taking the slow route through the countryside.

                Heughan also includes a quote from “The Lord of the Rings,” by Lewis’ Christian friend, J.R.R. Tolkien. Heughan’s dad even named the actor’s brother Cirdan after a Tolkien elf. And Sam Heughan’s first name must have come from one of Tolkien’s hobbit characters, because he says his father sometimes called him “Samwise.”

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Just wondering …

                … whether most people missed an astute comment that Icelandic entrepreneur Haraldur Thorleifsson made in a Twitter exchange with Elon Musk. The tweets were about Thorleifsson being let go from Twitter’s payroll without notification, but I’m more interested in this observation by the Icelander:

                “A lot of people on the left don’t seem to realize that the US is living in a post-truth, post-reason, post-ethics world. Reality doesn’t matter anymore, right and wrong don’t matter, facts are no longer a thing.

"It’s all gone. Act accordingly.”

                For Christians, the way to act is made clear in the God-inspired book known as the Bible.