The Sophia House

In his book, “Sophia House,” Michael O’Brien brings together two people from across a wide gulf of different creeds. In World War II Poland, Pawel Tarnowski, a Roman Catholic and bookseller, gives shelter to David Shafer, a young Hasidic boy fleeing the Warsaw Ghetto.

What follows is an unusual – and often uneasy – friendship between two people whose worlds could hardly be more different. But their love of language, and most of all, truth, allows them to bridge the prejudices and suspicions that characterize mid-twentieth century relations between Christian and Jew.

“A thing is not truly said unless the speaker is willing to offer his own blood as surety for the words that come from his mouth or pen,” David Shafer says to Pawel one night. “The blood need not flow literally, but the willingness to let it flow is essential for authenticity. In the uncertainties of life, the spilling of our blood may be demanded of us, or it may not. That is not our decision. Our act of choice is to be willing.”

“So you believe that what a man says must be backed up with his life,” Pawel replies.

“Yes, if it is to have authority. This is why we must take care with our words. A word changes existence. We must protect the purity of language, for it carries the sacred from one to another.”

This site is the result of unexpected friendships across the gulf of divergent creeds. Elsewhere in cyberspace, some Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, non-denominational Christians, Mormons, Orthodox and even atheists debated everything from transubstantiation to the best TV. shows. Eventually, discord gave way to mutual respect, then, as far as possible in cyberspace, friendships formed.

All we have here are words, but we believe words mean things, and language “carries the sacred from one to another.” We aren’t relativists, and we don’t tolerate fanatics. But if you love truth and truly seek it, come on in.