Daily pages of reflection...for knowledge, understanding, to wisdom
Section of The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci Section of The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

Culture

May 24, 2019
Year 4, Day 144 | No Comments
Section of The Infant Jesus and St. John the Baptist, Guido Reni, n.d.

For thousands of years it has been held that spitting upon a person, especially spitting on the face of a person is severe degradation.  The point was included in the Law of Moses.  Recovery from such an act took seven days of privacy for the degraded person.  The practice and the throwing of one’s shoe, remain as signs of dehumanizing persons in some cultures to the present day.  None is taken as more the testimony of degradation as spitting in the face of a rejected human being.  Chapter 9 in John’s Gospel is entirely taken up with the act of Jesus using his own spittle, accenting its qualities by mixing it with the dirt of the ground, plastering it on… Read more

Church and church

May 23, 2019
Year 4, Day 143 | No Comments
Section of The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

In common, mankind lives in nature’s context.  It is in the context of mortality, but there is a second context of immortality.  Mortality’s life is ours by physical birth: immortality’s by choice (faith).  For those persons following the affirmative choice for immortality (identified in the New Testament as Hope), mortality becomes nature’s womb period for immortal life, gained in spiritual birth (adoption).  (Romans 8:23)  The explanation is addressed in Scripture (Romans 8).  The theme was the center of conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.  (John 3)  We may assume that Nicodemus accepted the meaning of Christ, as found in his later effort to gain a fair trial for Jesus, and his claim for the body of Jesus after the crucifixion.  He… Read more

Pandemics

May 22, 2019
Year 4, Day 142 | No Comments
Section of The Crucifixion, Pedro Orrente, ca. 1625–30

This is being written in late September, 2011 (reviewed in 2017).  There has been an increase in both serious and casual attention to, and discussion about, the safety of earth.  The increase is registered in both secular and religious contexts.  Almost all have registered some comparisons to biblical accounts of the end of the world.   The topic has become current because of significant changes in climate, changes that appear to have speeded up.  Changes are no longer measured in micro concepts, but macro.  The melting of ice at the poles (principally the North Pole) is presumed to mean flooding for seaports, and the demise of animals, like the polar bear. (For the first time, the bears are being monitored and… Read more

Signs

May 21, 2019
Year 4, Day 141 | No Comments
Section of Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michaelangelo, 1508-1512

Related to our life’s objectives and professional appointments is the investigation of the nature and life preparation of persons.  For this there are key words/concepts to consider: appearance and health; knowledge to understanding leading to wisdom; poise and presentation; teachable and communicable, and commitment to duty.  Education will continue for personal/social life, and professional career.  There are included important sub-factors in each of the main concepts.  Perhaps not finding a sufficient number of competent persons from his own citizens, Nebuchadnezzar instructed his minister of personnel to draw from even from the captive persons of Israel those competent to carry leadership and responsibilities related to the management of the kingdom.  Reading the King’s instructions is striking in that they were ordered… Read more

Common Sin

May 20, 2019
Year 4, Day 140 | No Comments
Section of Christ and the Woman of Samaria, Benedetto Luti, 1715-20

This date has been reserved for discussion about those attitudes and conducts that do not grow out of external temptation so much as from human nature.  Humanists often refer to it as flawed human nature.  Biblical theologians tend to refer to it as depravity found in human nature registered in births passed down through the generations.  This condition is that addressed in the redemption of Jesus Christ.  When resolved in the redemptive enterprise carried through by Jesus Christ and ministered to mankind by the Holy Spirit, we have the main thrust of the Christian gospel.  In this there appears practice of faith, prayer, righteousness, spiritual maturing (learning and application), culture, witness and the life of the Church.  Church, in this… Read more

Depravity

May 19, 2019
Year 4, Day 139 | No Comments
Section of Christ and the Woman of Samaria, Benedetto Luti, 1715-20

The accent for this day in these Pages has been on mankind’s condition as generated from an ancient time period in which we have limited reflective communication about God and morality except through Scripture.  According to Scripture the recognition that mankind, in both male and female, partly through choice and partly through disguise, became imperfect in both physical and spiritual life.  The penalty for the choice was physical suffering and death seen especially in physical labor to pain from childbirth and ultimate decline to physical death.  Spiritually the penalty was found in the incompetency of the fallen (imperfect) person to meet the standards of God so to inherit his rejection – if there is no repair.  The only recourse for… Read more

Starting at Go

May 18, 2019
Year 4, Day 138 | No Comments
Section of Adoration of the Magi, artist unknown

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 suggestive directions for laymen of limited bible/theology education to attend.  The following touches on the matter.  The Christian ought to resort to the underlying presupposition that Scripture offers what we need to know as background for present beliefs and actions.  Further, that present beliefs and actions should not violate any of teachings of Scripture, especially in areas vital to effective faith.  That is a large enough assignment, but after that the details may prove difficult.  If it were not so there would not be so many variant… Read more

Gospel

May 17, 2019
Year 4, Day 137 | No Comments
Section of Adoration of the Magi, artist unknown

The last words of Jesus to the eleven Apostles and friends gathered before him, just before his Ascension, related to a sweeping objective: that the gospel of redemption in Christ is to be disseminated in the world, and that he would be with them in the process.  They put together from other communications from him that the conclusion of that objective would trigger his return in the plan of God.  Nothing in the two thousand years since that challenge to them has changed relative to the command.  This primary Mission Statement remains as the primary duty of the church to the world.  The adoption of the concept of world evangelization was born, and has proved successful so that other religions… Read more

Clues To Life – Contradiction

May 16, 2019
Year 4, Day 136 | No Comments
Section of The Infant Jesus and St. John the Baptist, Guido Reni, n.d.

Related to our life’s objectives is the understanding of contradictions.  For this there are key words/concepts to consider: hypocrisy, paradox, rationalization, carnality, emotionalism, evidence and conclusions, personality, jealousy, escapism, pride and revenge.  Society is full of contradictions, and they commonly hurt mankind.  If ultimately encountered for repair, they make the people of the contradictions appear to be ignorant, prideful, resistant of progress, sometimes ugly and sinful.  The contradiction of slavery now appears evil to us.  The contradiction of the fathers of the nation in arguing for freedom and equality, made public a lie of slavery, yet many of them held slaves.  Today we have enormous problems in our culture.  The culture is confused about sexual orientation, so resorts to various… Read more

Church/Evidence/Nature

May 15, 2019
Year 4, Day 135 | No Comments
Section of The Infant Jesus and St. John the Baptist, Guido Reni, n.d.

Pope Francis was installed in his office in 2013.  He was one of the favorites among the Cardinals in the election of the previous Pope, but did nothing but discourage his colleagues from electing him.  He acquiesced on the next election, and began a popular and open pontificate that has gained world-wide attention and approval.  His task is both simple and difficult.  It requires a sweeping effort to change the leadership and procedures in the Vatican (the difficult part), and the declaration of humane concerns to solutions (the easy part).  It is understood that the style that relates him closely to the common people (easy part even if fatiguing) does not necessarily mean that he will be successful (becoming difficult… Read more

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