Mystery and Light

August 16, 2018

Year 3, Day 228 | No Comments

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

Mystery is a New Testament word that carries its largest meaning in silence. The word is translated from that meaning, as noted in concordances. In Romans the Apostle Paul addresses both the ignorance of mankind relative to God in mystery, and the revelation of God’s message to the extent he makes himself known. God will never be identified in nature, but nature will never be fully identified without God. God is silent about much of what we would like to know. What he is silent about we are left to leave the matter there and in faith accept the silence of God or conjecture about what the silence covers. (Romans 11:25) The conjectures, noted by the Apostle, may turn into… Read more

Education

June 22, 2018

Year 3, Day 173 | No Comments

Section of Noli me Tangere by Hans Holbein the Younger

Students should choose the education/training they need, for both life and occupation. That ought to be done with counsel from those who have received formal education, and with insights from some who have not, especially from those gratified with choices they made. The first objective for the Christian student is, or ought to be, to glorify God, to develop as a thoughtful and cultivated person with conviction to serve society, and that most practically in beginning with his or her family. The large context is identified as a search for truth for life. Truth is an affirmed objective for both Christian and secular thinkers and doers, but the processes and conclusions may differ. Sincerity and respect for both contexts is… Read more

Minority Opinion

April 27, 2018

Year 3, Day 117 | No Comments

It is said that early on to the emancipation of slaves in the United States that Lincoln polled his cabinet on the matter. The Secretaries all voted Nay, and Lincoln voted Aye. He then added, according to the story: The Ayes have it. Authority trumped majority. That action plus the legalization of citizenship approved by Congress, and attached to rights (righteousness) related to the meaning of all humanity have likely made Lincoln, a revered President of our nation. Driven by the morality of life, he did not hesitate to identify that morality with God. If officials of government referred to God in our everyday national life as he did they might be rather roughly treated by critics, professional and lay,… Read more

Veiled Miracles

March 24, 2018

Year 3, Day 83 | No Comments

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

We return to the mystery of miracles. Anything God does in nature that nature has not done within its own laws qualifies as miracle–working in that the actions and processes are not originated and carried through within the laws of nature. Anything God does includes a miracle factor in it – origin. Those actions of God that utilize the natural processes I perceive as providences – so to keep clear the differences between variant extra-natural occurrences and natural experiences. These providences we sometimes call miracles. They are not perceived most truly as miracles except through language accepted in analysis related to them. Joseph in prison in Egypt interpreted the dreams recorded to his attention in Genesis. His interpretations turned out… Read more

Society and Persons

March 21, 2018

Year 3, Day 80 | No Comments

On a CBS news program, for Mother’s Day, 2014, the story was told of a family with something of a bizarre history. The father, a certified anthropologist, was researching a primitive tribe near the headwaters of the Orinoco River in South America. It required significant effort to get to the tribe, but the professor was tenacious for purpose, and proceeded with his appointed task, in an accepting spirit for the culture odd by nearly all standards of modern society. One of the young women, barely out of her childhood caught his attention. They synchronized well, and cared for each other. They were married, and he took his young bride to America when he returned home. She adapted, or appeared to… Read more

Open Secret

March 10, 2018

Year 3, Day 69 | No Comments

There is a prevailing perception in Scripture that is not interpreted adequately to faithful congregations, confirmation classes, and students – or the general public. It is stipulated firmly in the writings of Solomon, but appears, especially in references to methods related to life patterns, even of God’s order for nature. Jeremiah here notes that God used, in his creative work, that wise pattern he offers to mankind. Solomon makes clear that our assignment is to gain knowledge, extrapolate from that knowledge for ourselves in understanding and from that understanding act in wisdom. Overarching that pattern of intellectual and physical conduct there is an authority (power attached to spiritual meaning) that makes the thoughtful experience of the individual (or society) practical… Read more

Interpretation

March 3, 2018

Year 3, Day 62 | No Comments

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

An analyst well known to the public at large, to leaders in government, and reputed to believe in God as a factor in society, recently recited in a carefully worded list the indications that he interpreted as dangerous decline for America. The factors included a number of unresolved issues: seventeen trillion dollars national debt; political/partisan conflict; military/defensive retraction; costs and confusion in application of recent laws such as health care and same sex marriage; education in some confusion; economy slow in recovery from recession; inability to resolve issues related to a troubled/violent world scene; lack of effective leadership shown in the statistics of loss of confidence by voters; and, general malaise in society. After listing the problems, the analyst stated… Read more

Acquisition and Faith

January 30, 2018

Year 3, Day 30 | No Comments

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

A major theme of Scripture is to accent a Christian culture, and illustrate it. This is partly done in offering critique about the dangers in a wholly human (nature) culture. One of the secrets in understanding all this is to attend to the motivation factor. The balance of selfishness (self) and altruism (others) makes an interesting study. For example, the emphasis of a person may be so strong in self orientation that nearly everything is done to protect the interest of that individual. Wealth may be sought for the purpose of accumulation. The individual, or group of individuals (family or corporation), seeks wealth for the purposes identified by a closed entity for various reasons that may be identified as selfish. … Read more

Addiction

January 20, 2018

Year 3, Day 20 | No Comments

A free society is the only society in which persons can get to know themselves – to the degree anyone may know personal self. Freedom relieves us from some external distractions (like oppressive governments), but we may create our own distractions so as to mute our freedom. Escape from external restricting influences does not mean freedom is gained if the individual provides various substitutes for self-defeat that distorts a life meant to find balance (golden mean). The complications of life are such that we will never know, during the earth sojourn, what comprises all of the life we live. Life is one, characterized on earth as generated from life, through birth, to a maturation process and goal perceived in growing… Read more

Education And Training

January 1, 2018

Year 3, Day 1 | No Comments

Section of Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michaelangelo, 1508-1512

It was rather easy for me to decide what the theme for the first day of the year ought to be – the value of wisdom (natural/spiritual) as a primary objective of a person’s life to maturity. The earlier it is included in the nurture of a life, the better it is for that person, and those with whom he/she has to do. Newspapers, magazines, or other serious news outlets should have a department for the communication of news about wisdom. The general approach ought to be a current daily story of the meaning and application of wisdom for the good and truth of a person, a family, a community, a nation – the world. Instead the public is informed… Read more

Category Archive: Values