Temporary

November 10, 2018

Year 3, Day 314 | No Comments

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

The most practical and perceptive persons in the world are well aware of the temporary context of virtually everything in nature, and especially meaningful for all that touches their lives. The temporary factor touches rocks that erode, no matter how hard the granite. Even the magnificent Mount Rushmore faces formed by the visionary artist, Borglum, when I was young, had to be repaired a few years ago to counter erosion, especially the cracks that were threatening the refinement of the great sculpture. More than sixty years ago, a forensic student of mine gave a reading of the centuries-old Great Stone Face of New England, a story that cemented itself in my mind. The natural formation fell and disappeared a few… Read more

Clues To Mature Theology

November 9, 2018

Year 3, Day 313 | No Comments

Related to our life’s objectives is the investigation of lay theology. For this there are key words/concepts to consider: Bible, theistic, eclectic, philosophy, culture, language, faith, God. There is only enough space to offer suggested directions for laypersons of limited Bible/theology education to attend. The following merely touch the issues. Christians ought to resort to the underlying presupposition that Scripture offers what we need to know as authoritative background for our present beliefs and actions. Further, that our present beliefs/actions should not violate any of the teachings of Scripture, rightly interpreted, especially in areas which are vital to effective faith. That is a large enough assignment, but after that the details may prove difficult to agree upon for consistency. If… Read more

Clues To Life Success

November 8, 2018

Year 3, Day 312 | No Comments

Section of Adoration of the Magi, artist unknown

After several decades of professional life I discovered from the thrust of Scripture, the clarification of biblical principles, and the discoveries of what worked in the maturing process of my personal life including both natural and spiritual meaning – that God is an affirmative person. He has no negatives. He can use negatives in his communications with mankind because, as many knowledgeable communicator knows, effective communication is in the terms of the persons receiving the communication. In such an understanding Moses set up the extravaganza of Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. The negatives (curses) were shouted from one mountain and were acknowledged from the other with Amen registering that both they and God know the message. The other mount shouted affirmatives… Read more

Scholarship

November 7, 2018

Year 3, Day 311 | No Comments

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

Man yearns for certainty. This yearning is likely exacerbated by the lingering feeling that there is so much of life that is changing, transient, guessed, and uncertain. Why can we not nail things down? We start at this corner of life, and a neighbor starts at another corner. There follows considerable sauntering around in the hope that we can settle. Instead we find that the complications are even larger than we thought when we discover there are many others starting at other points, and the milling about becomes even greater than we thought sincerity, search and work would permit. We settle assuming that there may be some relief, agreement and assurance. For reality implications that mix of matters becomes common… Read more

International Peace

November 6, 2018

Year 3, Day 310 | No Comments

This is being written on the close of the 2012 Olympics in London, U.K, also known as Great Britain. It has been an excellent Olympics XXX – of the modern age. Today the American team in Basketball won the gold medal with a score of 107 to 101, playing the Spanish team. The American team included Kevin Love from the Minneapolis professional team, and the Spanish included Mario Rubio from the same team. (Both Olympic teams were manned by excellent players, some from professional teams in the sport.) Rubio is a Spanish citizen, but did not play in the game while recovering from an injury. He represented his country for the team. The Olympics had nothing to do with either… Read more

Cavalier Children

November 5, 2018

Year 3, Day 309 | No Comments

Section of Christ and the Adulteress, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop, ca. 1545–50

We do not manage embarrassment well, especially when the challenges appear against our most cherished idealistic contexts of life in matters we hold as pride factors. These include family, national identity, personal image of self, religious orientation, and other areas of what might be termed sacred personal precincts to us, either as individuals or social groupings. We commonly overly react; give them too much time; permit them more consideration than they deserve; and, allow them to guide us to some degree in our lives relating to self and others. The fear of embarrassment may cost us some important experiences of our lives. If vulnerable to the point we may permit our formations of others on a shallow basis. I have… Read more

Sayings

November 4, 2018

Year 3, Day 308 | No Comments

Growing old requires education so to become tolerant of emerging generations. Historically the gift of long life was seen as given of God for appropriate conduct, so to have some influence with God. Aged persons were seen as important to a community for counsel, peace, problem solving and benediction. The modernization of life with industrialization, national economies, changing family profiles and values, and a half dozen or so other influences, the aged have become somewhat superfluous. They even become, for some analysts, a burden to be insulted for requiring maintenance resources. I have read a number of these perceptions. Only now and then are elders credited for the enormous infrastructure ceded to the future, to the improved order of things… Read more

Intentionality

November 3, 2018

Year 3, Day 307 | No Comments

Section of The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

Virtually all substantive matters in our lives, personal or corporate with others, are complex, or vexing. We are likely without all the information and facts needed to include, exclude, delay, amend, or incorporate factors into the context with which we are dealing. The wise person goes along in what is believed, given acceptable evidence, with what seems most positive and beneficial to healthy mind, body, and future solutions. This demands humility of the human being, which precludes a number of negatives, like anger, and introduces affirmatives like consideration, patience, and whatever is necessary for decision making in an imperfect world context. Humility is the Christian answer to doubt. This, and this, and this, I firmly believe, but not so sternly… Read more

Rise and Fall

November 2, 2018

Year 3, Day 306 | No Comments

We use language in various eras to accent or moderate ideas and actions, so adding-to or taking-from the context of interest relative to virtue or evil. How far up do we perceive the good or how far down the evil? Gibbon in his classic, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chose the word fall (evaluating firmly a social failure to a stern negative conclusion) in characterizing that history. In generations long after Gibbon, Toynbee chose the words dead end to characterize the fall of even modern nations. They were born, rise, flourish, decline and reach a dead end – perhaps like a box canyon with no dynamic future. Both historians are saying the same thing,… Read more

Breaking the Mold

November 1, 2018

Year 3, Day 305 | No Comments

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

There are problems in society that seem to be perpetual. Some of them suggest that in standard societal life we do not really address main points that would change the profiles of mankind in society, both in personal and social life. One of these contexts has been mentioned rather often in literature, but usually in passing, without much effort in addressing solutions, or in communicating the ways persons follow for life survival and functioning. Just one short article in The Week (11/12/2012, pg. 23) will provide citation that can be replicated from other publications: …. If people with your surname in 1800 were members of the elite, you’re likely to be elite, too; if your family name was linked to… Read more

Monthly Archives: November 2018