Ray Daley

Jason Mills

Luke Foster

Andrew Jensen

Antony Paschos

Kelly Toughill

Lorna McGinnis

Nestor Delfino

Nicole Walsh

Patrick Honovich

Taija Morgan

For over a decade, the Bards and Sages Quarterly has been a showcase for both new and established authors to share their speculative works. The short stories presented in each issue serve as a delightful sampler of the speculative genres. Whether your preference is sword and sorcery, time-travel, space exploration, gothic horror, urban fantasy, or any of the speculative genres, you are sure to find something to love in the pages of this magazine. Stories in this issue by Andrew Jensen, Antony Paschos, Jason Mills, Kelly Toughill, Lorna McGinnis, Luke Foster, Nestor Defino, Nicole Walsh, Patrick Honovich, Ray Daley, and Taija Morgan. A Sample of what you will find: An aspiring author visits a bookshop for inspiration and finds surprising news when browsing the bookseller's special collection of magical books in That First Page. Snow White’s evil stepmother attends a self-help meeting of recovering evil witches in Witches Anonymous. Murderous desperadoes attempting a train robbery get a bit more than they bargained for in The Santa Fe Five. Special notice: For information on potential trigger warnings in our titles, please visit our trigger warnings page at bardsandsages.com

Bards and Sages Quarterly (April 2023)

Christian higher education institutions across North America are experimenting with radical shifts in educational content and delivery. Cyber education is becoming a common supplement or replacement for embodied learning, especially since the global coronavirus pandemic. Most theological educators have embraced the shift online, finding ways to leverage technology to enhance teaching; very few consider how technology itself impacts theological students, particularly those being educated for pastoral ministry. What effect do shifts toward online courses have on those enrolled in programs of pastoral formation? Are future ordinands being adequately trained? When developed well, Web-based learning can strengthen intellectual virtues. However, it can also inhibit character virtue formation and self-differentiation. Internet usage has been shown to negatively affect social well-being, resulting in higher rates of anxiety, depression, and isolation in students; furthermore, it alters behavior, making learners more distracted, less empathetic, and less able to concentrate and contemplate. Theological schools should, therefore, articulate clearer standards for student formation and strengthen aspects of embodied learning to prepare clergy for ministry in an increasingly complex church and world.

Virtual Culture and Online Pastoral Education

Glassroom Learning

After uncovering dig sites in Northern Israel, Archaeologist Alex Turner brings a Idol of an ancient Canaanite God back to the Royal BC Museum, The god seeking to regain power uses it's ethereal followers to find those it can consume as well as to serve it.

The Diety

Jason Mills

Books

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