Preachers

August 11, 2018

Year 3, Day 223 | No Comments

Section of Adoration of the Magi, artist unknown

I knew the broad strokes of the life of Newton, but Jonathan Aitken’s, John Newton, is the first complete biography I have read on Newton. Newton is most famous in our era for writing the most revered hymn of the Church, Amazing Grace. He used, in the lyrics, the word wretch. He described himself as a wretch, even before his conversion. It is something of presumption that some editions of the hymn in current publications have edited out wretch for a less objectionable word for the unredeemed person. The hymn is his personal story. If there are those who wish to communicate a different approach to human life than that given by historical writers they should write their own lyrics. … Read more

Stewardship

August 10, 2018

Year 3, Day 222 | No Comments

Section of The Infant Jesus and St. John the Baptist, Guido Reni, n.d.

Stewardship as God would have it may not be consistently taught in the church. Persons are so taken with wealth concepts that when money is the main topic of discussion they shy away from a fully developed understanding of stewardship. The tendency of most people is to avoid any discussion of their personal finances. They are sensitive about it, and feel some threat in any serious treatment of money – more sensitive about their personal finances than the intimate sexual experience of their marriages. We are fairly well informed that money matters are among the most cited causes of problems leading to break-up of marriages – even within marriages that survive. Marriage break-up is often so complicated and personal that… Read more

God’s Nature

August 9, 2018

Year 3, Day 221 | No Comments

The nature of God is related to perfection, and that understanding is important to anything the human being understands about God. Violation of the perfection of God, for any reason, requires some special procedure so to meet the requirements for future relationship with God. Perfection requires ransom for mankind in the imperfection which has been labeled sin in the context of the Judeo-Christian Scripture. Perfection is a problem in that it is total. God is perfect in love, perfect in justice, perfect in holiness, and so we may proceed with observations relative to his person. The common references to the attributes of God refer to these factors, and theology develops them for students interested in following descriptions of the nature… Read more

Doubters

August 8, 2018

Year 3, Day 220 | No Comments

Section of The Crucifixion, Pedro Orrente, ca. 1625–30

We here discuss an important factor in the intellectual/emotional life of mankind. For the want of a better symbol we refer to doubt. Words related to doubt (as also applies to doubt itself), are so full of emotional context, that we feel like we are in a mine field when we approach the theme. There is skepticism, which may carry an emotional burden greater than mere doubt. Doubt has many heroes, starting in our context with the age of Socrates in the western world. It tends to call upon the restrained intellect more than the dancing emotions like joy. It tends to assume that what is known implies the unknown, unless the unknown has a course unrelated to what is… Read more

Suffering

August 7, 2018

Year 3, Day 219 | No Comments

Section of Christ and the Woman of Samaria, Benedetto Luti, 1715-20

Suffering is as much a part of our lives as the air we breathe. We birth in suffering. There is greater mystery to it than we find in physical analysis we encounter in the compounds of elements in our lives. In the scientific context of life we have a fairly firm grasp on the benefits of this or that factor and the dangers, even when a good factor overly applied will become harmful, and a harmful factor in low measure may not make any difference to health in natural course. The whole story becomes a serious and complicated matter for civilization. At this writing the world population is facing impending tragedy, not from collision with space objects, not with atomic… Read more

Good Will

August 6, 2018

Year 3, Day 218 | No Comments

A person forced against his will is of the same opinion still. This is an old saying that is true – sometimes and false at other times. Northern Africa was deeply touched by Christian faith in the half millennium plus after the Crucifixion of Christ. The cities and land areas were then conquered by a marauding Islam army, an army that moved forward until it was stopped in Spain after sweeping west over northern Africa. During the invasion, the people were often subject to horrors even to death for their Christian faith, and forced to become Muslim. Two or so generations later northern Africa was virtually all Muslim by choice. Similar methods are used today relative to force so to… Read more

Stewardship

August 5, 2018

Year 3, Day 217 | No Comments

A few years ago I wrote to the editor of U S A Today (then the equal in readership with the Wall Street Journal) expressing my surprise that established financial advisors and planners writing for the paper, did not recommend that financial clients or any other persons building nest-eggs for the future make charitable contributions. These counselors were established men and women in the field of financial planning who, as a special service, evaluated portfolios presented to the publisher, large and small, from readers who were willing to reveal their financial records. They sometimes included details, such as the cost of incidentals in personal day to day functioning, but they said nothing, and I mean nothing, about giving to Church,… Read more

Generations

August 4, 2018

Year 3, Day 216 | No Comments

Section of The Descent from the Cross, Rogier van der Weyden, c. 1435

There is a massive feeling and teaching related to life in nature that may curse generations. It is the illusion that all persons should somehow achieve in money-making, in doing something exciting, in travelling for purpose, in offering leadership, in being physically attractive in the light of generational styles, in gaining a collegiate experience – in the life through points of view that if gained in conduct make a person appear and feel successful. Not to gain the American Dream for many persons is to fail, to have been lacking in ambition, to belong to those who have to rely on others, to lack vision for self and family – and the like negatives. What does all this mean? For… Read more

Dependence

August 3, 2018

Year 3, Day 215 | No Comments

We reiterate our dependence upon God as a continuous experience, moment by moment for devout persons seeking to live the most successful lives – successful as God defines success. Under God, that person is most successful (as God counts success) who lives responsibly as a serving child of God with righteous motivations that are seasoned by meekness, humility, grace and love. Because we as human beings are incapable of following through adequately even to our own faithful evaluation, God provides the resources, both human and spiritual, to accomplish what he means for us to accomplish. Our motivation is entirely related to obedience to God, obedience found in the precepts of Scripture. That obedience is not in the light of a… Read more

Economics and Economists

August 2, 2018

Year 3, Day 214 | No Comments

The economy of a society ought to function at highest level on the needs (life survival items) of persons, and some reasonable preferences (wants/desires). This means practicality fitting to mortal persons believing in orderly planning. It ought to grow out of a free society which, when rightly managed, encourages simplicity. Although preferred value thinking is not in favor of wealth for wealth’s sake, the monetary cost of labor and resources is evaluated in terms of money (acceptable tender or form of exchange). Savings are necessary to cover the security of individuals in the management of the ups and downs inevitable in faulty human functioning, change and aging indigenous to the human situation. Interest rates relate to borrowing reconciled with collateral,… Read more

Monthly Archives: August 2018