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May 30, 2017
Hugh HefnerPlayboy Mansion16236 Charing Cross RoadLos Angeles, CA 90024
Dear Hugh,
I have had a few days to reflect on Larry Speaks’ funeral service and I wanted to share a few thoughts with you.
When I think of the 34 years I knew Larry it reminds me of all the laughs we had together. Larry’s funeral was a happy occasion as we laughed at the many stories about Larry’s life. There was the occasion that Larry gave a neighbor of his a chance to work at Larry’s SOUTHERN FRUIT AND GROCERY STORE because his neighbor had nothing to do and that would keep him busy. We will call him Barry. Barry was a little strange but tried to be very helpful, but he was trying to kill a fly with a fly swatter and accidentally busted the electric OPEN sign near the front window. Also Barry would ignore Larry’s instructions not to talk politics with the customers and get into arguments with the customers. Eventually Larry had to tell Barry that his help was no longer needed after a while. Larry said probably the first hint he got that Barry couldn’t handle the job was when Barry filled up his car tank with gas and he shook his car because Barry said that allowed more gas to get into the tank!!! As you know I am writing you a series of letters on Solomon’s efforts to find a meaning and purpose to life. In the Book of Ecclesiastes what are all of the 6 “L” words that Solomon looked into? He looked into learning (1:16-18), laughter, ladies, luxuries, and liquor (2:1-3, 8, 10, 11), and labor (2:4-6, 18-20). HUGH, you have been around the best comics in the world but HAS COMEDY PROVIDED YOU ANY ANSWERS? Probing the area of LAUGHTER was one of Solomon’s first places to start. In Ecclesiastes 2:2 he starts this quest but he concludes it is not productive to be laughing the whole time and not considering the serious issues of life. “I said of laughter, “It is foolishness;” and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” (2:2). Then Solomon asserted the nihilistic statement in Ecclesiastes 2:17: “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Keith Krell in his article, “3. Trivial Pursuits (Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26),“ notes:
What would it take to make you happy? What if you had the wealth of Bill Gates or Donald Trump? Would this make you happy? What if you had the success of Oprah or Martha Stewart? Do you think you could be happy? What if you had the brains of Carl Sagan or Stephen Hawking? Do you think you could be happy? Let me guess. Your answer is, “I don’t know, but I’d sure like to give it a try.”
A few people have been able to possess wealth, success, and intelligence just as I described. Solomon, the third king of Israel, was one of them. In some ways he had everything. He had a thousand wives and concubines, enormous wealth, international respect, and unparalleled wisdom. What he didn’t always have, however, was a reason for living. He didn’t always have happiness. He fits the pattern of the highly gifted, extremely ambitious person who climbs the ladder of success—only to contemplate jumping off once he’s reached the top.39
In the first eleven verses of Ecclesiastes chapter one, Solomon examined three broad categories in his search for the key to life: human history, physical nature, and human nature. Now in 1:12-2:26, he narrows his search to his own personal experience.40 In a sense he takes us on his own spiritual sojourn as he searches for satisfaction in life. In the memoirs that follow Solomon informs us that he sought satisfaction in four broad categories, but wound up empty-handed.
- Humor (2:2). Solomon writes, “I said to myself, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.’ And behold, it too was futility. I said of laughter, ‘It is madness,’ and of pleasure, ‘What does it accomplish?’”57 Solomon mocks “laughter” as “madness.” I’m not surprised he labeled it “madness.” Do you really think the leading comedians of our day are sincerely satisfied with life? Has humor given them an inside track on human happiness? Hardly.58 It is easy to seek to lose ourselves in comedy and entertainment whether it is in a theater, in front of our TV, or on-line. Although it can seem like a great escape, it leaves us empty in the end.
_____Francis Schaeffer quoted Woody Allen in his book WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE? (co-authored by Dr. C. Everett Koop):…One of the most striking developments in the last half-century is the growth of a profound pessimism among both the well-educated and less-educated people. The thinkers in our society have been admitting for a long time that they have no final answers at all.
Take Woody Allen, for example. Most people know his as a comedian, but he has thought through where mankind stands after the “religious answers” have been abandoned. In an article in Esquire (May 1977), he says that man is left with:
… alienation, loneliness [and] emptiness verging on madness…. The fundamental thing behind all motivation and all activity is the constant struggle against annihilation and against death. It’s absolutely stupefying in its terror, and it renders anyone’s accomplishments meaningless.
Allen sums up his view in his film Annie Hall with these words: “Life is divided into the horrible and the miserable.”
Many would like to dismiss this sort of statement as coming from one who is merely a pessimist by temperament, one who sees life without the benefit of a sense of humor. Woody Allen does not allow us that luxury. He speaks as a human being who has simply looked life in the face and has the courage to say what he sees. If there is no personal God, nothing beyond what our eyes can see and our hands can touch, then Woody Allen is right: life is both meaningless and terrifying.__Solomon’s experiment was a search for meaning to life “under the sun.” Then in last few words in the Book of Ecclesiastes he looks above the sun and brings God back into the picture: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” _______________________
As you know the sermon WHO IS JESUS? was Larry’s favorite sermon and he gave hundreds of that CD copies away. Let me share a little from that message but first let me give you some background information.
In 1979 I went on a mission trip to Toronto and then to Europe with my good friend David Rogers. We were involved with the group Operation Mobilization (OM). After the OM Mission Conference in Belgium, David went to Austria and I went to England. In Manchester, England our group went to the homes of Muslims and Hindus and shared the gospel.
Fast forward several years later, I got involved in my family business, but David continued in missions and moved to Spain.
Now the illustration from the sermon WHO IS JESUS? by Adrian Rogers:
The other day we called our son David in Madrid, Spain. Momma Bear is burning up our telephone and our bill is going to be big, talking to David and Kelly and little Jonathan. It is an amazing thing that in Memphis, Tennessee when she picks up a phone she eliminates everyone that doesn’t have a phone. And then when she dials the first digit that deals with the country Spain she eliminates all other countries. And then when she dials a couple more digits she eliminates all the other cities in Spain except Madrid. And then when she dials a couple more digits she eliminates a lot of people in a particular city in Spain. And then when she dials that last digit it eliminates every home except the very last home which belongs to our son David.
That is amazing that there are billions of people in the world and with a phone you can start closing the focus. My friend that is what the Old Testament does.
In Genesis 3, we read about the One who will bruise the head of the serpent. In Genesis 12, He is going to come from the seed of Abraham. In Genesis 22, we read about the sacrifice of Isaac on the very mountain where Jesus was later crucified! The entire book of Leviticus is filled with pictures of blood-atoning sacrifices for sin. You’ll read about the prophetic crucifixion of Jesus in Psalm 22. In Micah 5:2, it is told clearly that Jesus will be born in Bethlehem. There is only one person on the end of the line and his name is Jesus.
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No wonder Larry chose the song YOURS WILL BE to be sung at his funeral. It blessed me tremendously today when I heard it sung. Look it up on You Tube “Yours will Be (The Only Name)” by Big Daddy Weave
Yours will be
The only name that matters to me
The only one whose favor I seek
The only name that matters to me
Yours will be
The friendship and affection I need
To feel my Father smiling on me
The only name that matters to me
And Yours is the name, the name that has saved me
Mercy and grace, the power that forgave me and Your love
Is all I’ve ever needed
Yours is the name the name that has saved me
Your Mercy and grace, the power that forgave me and Your love
Is all I’ve ever needed
When I wake up in the Land of Glory
With the saints I will tell my story
There will be one name that I proclaim
The answer to find meaning in life is found in putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The Bible is true from cover to cover and can be trusted.
Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Everette Hatcher, everettehatcher@gmail.com, http://www.thedailyhatch.org, cell ph 501-920-5733, Box 23416, LittleRock, AR 72221
Francis Schaeffer has rightly noted concerning Hugh Hefner that Hefner’s goal with the “playboy mentality is just to smash the puritanical ethnic.” I have made the comparison throughout this series of blog posts between Hefner and King Solomon (the author of the BOOK of ECCLESIASTES). I have noticed that many preachers who have delivered sermons on Ecclesiastes have also mentioned Hefner as a modern day example of King Solomon especially because they both tried to find sexual satisfaction through the volume of women you could slept with in a lifetime.
Ecclesiastes 2:8-10 The Message (MSG)
I piled up silver and gold,
loot from kings and kingdoms.
I gathered a chorus of singers to entertain me with song,
and—most exquisite of all pleasures—
voluptuous maidens for my bed.
9-10 Oh, how I prospered! I left all my predecessors in Jerusalem far behind, left them behind in the dust. What’s more, I kept a clear head through it all. Everything I wanted I took—I never said no to myself. I gave in to every impulse, held back nothing. I sucked the marrow of pleasure out of every task—my reward to myself for a hard day’s work!
1 Kings 11:1-3 English Standard Version (ESV)
11 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.
Francis Schaeffer observed concerning Solomon, “You can not know woman by knowing 1000 women.”
Featured artist is Mark Cazalet
Contemporary Christian Art – The Rt Revd Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Published on Apr 10, 2012
Contrary to much opinion, the current scene of faith-related art is very much alive. There are new commissions for churches and cathedrals, a number of artists pursue their work on the basis of a deeply convinced faith, and other artists often resonate with traditional Christian themes, albeit in a highly untraditional way. The challenge for the artist, stated in the introduction to the course of lectures above, is still very much there: how to retain artistic integrity whilst doing justice to received themes.
This lecture is part of Lord Harries’ series on ‘Christian Faith and Modern Art’. The last century has seen changes in artistic style that have been both rapid and radical. This has presented a particular problem to artists who have wished to express Christian themes.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and…
Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website.
http://www.gresham.ac.uk
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education
2012 & 2013
Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, artist in residence
2007
West Dean College Summer School, artist in residence
2004
Palestine/Israel Pilgrimage with Biblelands, artist in residence
2003
Egypt Pilgrimage with Biblelands, artist in residence
2001
Assembly, South West Arts artist in residence at Bath Rugby Club
1988-9
Commonwealth Universities Scholarship: Baroda University, Gujerat State, India
1986-7
French Consul National Studentship Award: L’Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris
Awarded one-year residency at the Cite-Internationale-des-Arts, Paris
1983-6
Falmouth School of Art: BA Fine Art
1982-3
Chelsea School of Art: foundation course
1977-82
Stowe School, Bucks
solo exhibitions
2012
Metaphysical Landscapes, Mark Cazalet and Roger Wagner, Snape Maltings, Suffolk
2010
A Plot of Ground, Jason Hicklin and Mark Cazalet, Beardsmore Gallery, London
2008
Stations of the Cross, Salisbury Cathedral
2008
Everyday Epiphany, Beardsmore Gallery, London
2006
Seeing as Beleiving, Catmose Gallery, Rutland
2005
Travelling with open eyes, Guildford Cathedral
On Shifting Ground, Images from Palestine & Israel, All Hallows by the Tower, London
2004
An Egyptian Apocrypha, St Katherine Kree, London
2002
Bath Rugby Residency Drawings, Museum of Rugby, Twickenham
2001
The Sound of Trees, Six Chapel Row Contemporary Art, Bath
2000
West London Stations of the Cross, Carden Gallery, Kensal Green Cemetery, London
The Four Quartets, Lady Margret Hall, Oxford University
1998
Cathedrals of Industry, Museum of London
1996
Paradoxes and Paradigms, Lichfield Cathedral
1995
Intangible Worlds, East West Gallery, Blenheim Crescent, London; Royal Over-Seas League House, Edinburgh and London
1994-6
The Path to Calvary, Rocket Contemporary Art at The Gallery, Cork Street, London; touring to: Lincoln Cathedral, Usher Gallery, Lincoln; Winchester Cathedral; Lady Margaret Hall College Chapel, Oxford University
1993
Pictures out of India, The Nehru Centre, London
1992
Indian Rhythms, Wycombe Museum Gallery, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Christopher Hull Gallery, London
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Mark Cazalet, 1944
Raising of Lazarus
Angels in Peckham
Mr and Mrs Hosea
Mark Cazalet was educated at Stowe and then Falmouth College of Art, and his work has been shown in a number of exhibitions. He is capable of painting in a range of different styles and indeed it is possible to see the influence of a variety of different artists in the work he has done, Iconic, Spencer and Roualt, for example.
Everyday Epiphany III
In contrast to Nicholas Mynheer Cazalet does not confine himself to Biblical subjects and does not like the description “Christian Artist”, for he would want to say that even when painting other subjects, there can be a religious response. He also likes to involve others, schools and communities in producing a work of art together. He is, I think, at his strongest and most original in his cityscapes, as in this epiphany and in this study of gasholders.
Kensal Rise Gasholders, Sunrise, Midday and Evening
West London Stations of the Cross
Veronica’s Veil
Jesus Condemned
Not surprisingly, but very effectively, he has sought to set the story of Jesus in this city setting as in his series of the Stations of the Cross. Whilst believing that the Bible expresses timeless truths, he thinks they come alive for us by giving them a contemporary setting.
Jesus’s childhood at Nazareth
Three Johannine Miracles, The Blind Man
However, he thinks that Christianity is essentially a hidden and oblique exercise, and this should be reflected in art by Christian artists. Artists are prophets and seers on the edge of things suggesting a different way of seeing and understanding life.
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
The Tree of Life, Chelmsford Cathedral
The Cross of the Nations, Doha, Quatar
Altar Frontal, Holy Trinity, Bosham
Notting Hill Carnival, St Clement, Notting Hill
Cazalet works in a range of materials, textiles, glass, and mosaic as well as painting. He has received a good number of commissions for churches, in which these different media have been used in a way which both responds to what is desired by the commissioner and the liturgical setting.
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Judas
Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem
Although fully conscious that there is no “symbolic order” that unites our society, and that the old images have lost their freshness he is optimistic that there are fresh ways of treating the themes that can break through to people’s feelings. (The influence of Anna Maria Pachco here?)
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Related posts:
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Ecclesiastes 2-3 Published on Sep 19, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 16, 2012 | Derek Neider _____________________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how secular […] By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE PART 162 A look at the BEATLES Breaking down the song ALL WE NEED IS LOVE Part C (Featured artist is Grace Slick)
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FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE Part 118 THE BEATLES (Why was Tony Curtis on cover of SGT PEP?) (Feature on artist Jeffrey Gibson )
Why was Tony Curtis on the cover of SGT PEPPERS? I have no idea but if I had to hazard a guess I would say that probably it was because he was in the smash hit SOME LIKE IT HOT. Above from the movie SOME LIKE IT HOT __ __ Jojo was a man who […] By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE Part 101 BEATLES,(MANY CHRISTIANS ATTACKED THE BEATLES WHILE FRANCIS SCHAEFFER STUDIED THEIR MUSIC! Part B) Artist featured today is Cartoonist Gahan Wilson
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The Daily Hatch 