Lanta Davis
@lantadavis.bsky.social
Author: #BecomingbyBeholding
Reader. Professor. Part-time van dweller.
Asking life's big questions at the John Wesley Honors College.
Reader. Professor. Part-time van dweller.
Asking life's big questions at the John Wesley Honors College.
To train their attention and awaken a sense of wonder, I invite students to draw three flowers.
They might not always be artistically perfect, but they almost always make me smile.
They might not always be artistically perfect, but they almost always make me smile.
November 10, 2025 at 10:33 PM
To train their attention and awaken a sense of wonder, I invite students to draw three flowers.
They might not always be artistically perfect, but they almost always make me smile.
They might not always be artistically perfect, but they almost always make me smile.
My dad once dressed up as the Easter bunny to hand out Halloween candy.
Kids were very confused.
Kids were very confused.
October 31, 2025 at 11:15 PM
My dad once dressed up as the Easter bunny to hand out Halloween candy.
Kids were very confused.
Kids were very confused.
Reposted by Lanta Davis
Musicians Matthew Clark & Ordinary Time are performing in MD! Also: new books by Grace Hamman (on medieval virtues) & Ben Palpant (interviews w/ 17 poets); @lantadavis.bsky.social on a bone-decorated crypt in Rome; & a song by Mark Shiiba inspired by said crypt. artandtheology.org/2025/10/28/r...
Roundup: “Ask of Old Paths,” “An Axe for the Frozen Sea,” Crypt of the Three Skeletons, and more
Upcoming Maryland concerts: Matthew Clark and Ordinary Time | Review of “Ask of Old Paths” by Grace Hamman | Ben Palpant interviews 17 poets | Lanta Davis on bone chapels and their stra…
artandtheology.org
October 28, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Musicians Matthew Clark & Ordinary Time are performing in MD! Also: new books by Grace Hamman (on medieval virtues) & Ben Palpant (interviews w/ 17 poets); @lantadavis.bsky.social on a bone-decorated crypt in Rome; & a song by Mark Shiiba inspired by said crypt. artandtheology.org/2025/10/28/r...
This mandala is made completely from sand. Tibetan Buddhist monks painstakingly created it over several weeks.
Since part of the point of mandalas is their transience, it's rare to see one. Monks usually brush up the sand, put it in a jar, and disperse it.
Since part of the point of mandalas is their transience, it's rare to see one. Monks usually brush up the sand, put it in a jar, and disperse it.
October 21, 2025 at 8:38 PM
This mandala is made completely from sand. Tibetan Buddhist monks painstakingly created it over several weeks.
Since part of the point of mandalas is their transience, it's rare to see one. Monks usually brush up the sand, put it in a jar, and disperse it.
Since part of the point of mandalas is their transience, it's rare to see one. Monks usually brush up the sand, put it in a jar, and disperse it.
Just finished my weekend reading of Athanasius's Life of Antony and Jerome's Life of Paul the Hermit.
There were demons, centaurs, satyrs, a raven that delivers daily bread, and lions that help dig a grave.
Exactly the kind of wild, weird ride I love.
There were demons, centaurs, satyrs, a raven that delivers daily bread, and lions that help dig a grave.
Exactly the kind of wild, weird ride I love.
October 19, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Just finished my weekend reading of Athanasius's Life of Antony and Jerome's Life of Paul the Hermit.
There were demons, centaurs, satyrs, a raven that delivers daily bread, and lions that help dig a grave.
Exactly the kind of wild, weird ride I love.
There were demons, centaurs, satyrs, a raven that delivers daily bread, and lions that help dig a grave.
Exactly the kind of wild, weird ride I love.
At that special age where you try to decide if you want to buy--and then live in--the pirate ship you find on Facebook marketplace.
October 18, 2025 at 12:58 AM
At that special age where you try to decide if you want to buy--and then live in--the pirate ship you find on Facebook marketplace.
My colleagues at the JWHC are brilliant, delightful people, and some of the best teachers I've ever known.
Those qualities come out in their writing, too.
Those qualities come out in their writing, too.
www.audiobooks.com/promotions/p...
If you have 8.5 hours and 10 bucks to spare, The Bible Told Them So is half-off until September 5.
If you have 8.5 hours and 10 bucks to spare, The Bible Told Them So is half-off until September 5.
50% OFF The Bible Told Them So: How Southern Evangelicals Fought to Preserve White Supremacy
Why did southern white evangelical Christians resist the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s? Simply put, they believed the Bible told them so. These white Christians entered the battle certa...
www.audiobooks.com
August 12, 2025 at 4:31 PM
My colleagues at the JWHC are brilliant, delightful people, and some of the best teachers I've ever known.
Those qualities come out in their writing, too.
Those qualities come out in their writing, too.
Summer moves at the same speed as a Tuesday afternoon in January.
August 5, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Summer moves at the same speed as a Tuesday afternoon in January.
My dad, who is over 65 and 200+ pounds, can still backflip off the low dive.
June 27, 2025 at 4:31 PM
My dad, who is over 65 and 200+ pounds, can still backflip off the low dive.
The first time we met my baby bro.
So why am I making that face?
My angelic-looking brother is stepping on my foot.
So why am I making that face?
My angelic-looking brother is stepping on my foot.
June 25, 2025 at 4:04 PM
The first time we met my baby bro.
So why am I making that face?
My angelic-looking brother is stepping on my foot.
So why am I making that face?
My angelic-looking brother is stepping on my foot.
3 years ago, I learned to drive my dad's semi truck, which was so big and hard to drive, he nicknamed it the Beast.
I wrote my book in the mornings, then hauled grain in the afternoons.
My dad now has a proper hired man, who transformed the Beast into a Beauty.
I wrote my book in the mornings, then hauled grain in the afternoons.
My dad now has a proper hired man, who transformed the Beast into a Beauty.
June 20, 2025 at 6:04 PM
3 years ago, I learned to drive my dad's semi truck, which was so big and hard to drive, he nicknamed it the Beast.
I wrote my book in the mornings, then hauled grain in the afternoons.
My dad now has a proper hired man, who transformed the Beast into a Beauty.
I wrote my book in the mornings, then hauled grain in the afternoons.
My dad now has a proper hired man, who transformed the Beast into a Beauty.
After roaming around Ireland and England looking at Harry Clarke stained glass, I'm so grateful for the journey but a little sad that I've now seen the last one on my list.
June 10, 2025 at 4:24 PM
After roaming around Ireland and England looking at Harry Clarke stained glass, I'm so grateful for the journey but a little sad that I've now seen the last one on my list.
I got to play with a hawk today.
His name is Pierce. And I think I'm in love.
His name is Pierce. And I think I'm in love.
June 3, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I got to play with a hawk today.
His name is Pierce. And I think I'm in love.
His name is Pierce. And I think I'm in love.
This made me laugh out loud in the art museum:
Titled "Reader of Dostoevsky"
Titled "Reader of Dostoevsky"
May 28, 2025 at 5:09 PM
This made me laugh out loud in the art museum:
Titled "Reader of Dostoevsky"
Titled "Reader of Dostoevsky"
Maybe one of the strangest sacred artworks I've seen:
This bearded woman is Wigelfortis, a folk saint who was miraculously given a beard to avoid marriage. But then her father had her crucified anyway.
This bearded woman is Wigelfortis, a folk saint who was miraculously given a beard to avoid marriage. But then her father had her crucified anyway.
May 27, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Maybe one of the strangest sacred artworks I've seen:
This bearded woman is Wigelfortis, a folk saint who was miraculously given a beard to avoid marriage. But then her father had her crucified anyway.
This bearded woman is Wigelfortis, a folk saint who was miraculously given a beard to avoid marriage. But then her father had her crucified anyway.
International travel requires a very high tolerance for feeling stupid.
May 26, 2025 at 3:52 PM
International travel requires a very high tolerance for feeling stupid.
London public transit is a form of art.
May 23, 2025 at 10:10 AM
London public transit is a form of art.
When you're too cheap to take a taxi, sometimes you find yourself meandering through the woods that inspired Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood.
May 21, 2025 at 6:40 PM
When you're too cheap to take a taxi, sometimes you find yourself meandering through the woods that inspired Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood.
Thinking of making this my teaching mug.
May 20, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Thinking of making this my teaching mug.
Dogs weren't allowed at Cambridge.
So Lord Byron brought a bear.
So Lord Byron brought a bear.
May 17, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Dogs weren't allowed at Cambridge.
So Lord Byron brought a bear.
So Lord Byron brought a bear.
Ely Cathedral's octagonal ceiling.
Eight is the number for baptisms, symbolizing Easter and the new creation.
Eight is the number for baptisms, symbolizing Easter and the new creation.
May 17, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Ely Cathedral's octagonal ceiling.
Eight is the number for baptisms, symbolizing Easter and the new creation.
Eight is the number for baptisms, symbolizing Easter and the new creation.
A prayer nut, intricately carved from boxwood.
The level of detail on these Dutch devotional objects is astonishing.
The level of detail on these Dutch devotional objects is astonishing.
May 16, 2025 at 11:07 AM
A prayer nut, intricately carved from boxwood.
The level of detail on these Dutch devotional objects is astonishing.
The level of detail on these Dutch devotional objects is astonishing.
After reading 20(!) Agatha Christie novels this spring, I was stoked to watch her Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the world.
May 15, 2025 at 9:56 PM
After reading 20(!) Agatha Christie novels this spring, I was stoked to watch her Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the world.
Titian's Allegory of Prudence, one of my favorite depictions of practical wisdom.
The Latin inscription above the faces isn't clear in my photo, but it says, "Learning from Yesterday, Today acts prudently lest by his action he spoils Tomorrow."
The Latin inscription above the faces isn't clear in my photo, but it says, "Learning from Yesterday, Today acts prudently lest by his action he spoils Tomorrow."
May 14, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Titian's Allegory of Prudence, one of my favorite depictions of practical wisdom.
The Latin inscription above the faces isn't clear in my photo, but it says, "Learning from Yesterday, Today acts prudently lest by his action he spoils Tomorrow."
The Latin inscription above the faces isn't clear in my photo, but it says, "Learning from Yesterday, Today acts prudently lest by his action he spoils Tomorrow."