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

God and Nature

December 26, 2018
Year 3, Day 360 | No Comments
Section of Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michaelangelo, 1508-1512

This is a summary Page of the main ideas of the four years of TODAY’S PAGE possible here, near the end of the third year, because the release of the manuscript in final editing is taken by me as the beginning of whatever ministry and meaning this project may have, first to my family, and then onward to the parents and students considering the meaning of Christian education for life and effective functioning for persons both in the natural/humanistic context (without consideration of deity) and in the natural/Christian context. Nature and Super-nature: The world system is the same for both Christian and non-Christian. A value system is built into the context of life and is articulated in Scripture, but is… Read more

Change In Foundations

December 25, 2018
Year 3, Day 359 | No Comments
Section of The Taking of Christ, Caravaggio, 1602

When I was a child, growing into my adult life I heard the statement: Christmas is for the children. This likely originated in the awareness of the birth of a child long ago who became eminent in what he decided to do. The gifts of the Magi became inspirational to the interpretation. It seems clear that the children are featured at Christmas time, and much of the tradition of Christmas is related to appeal of light, color, tinsel, toys, programming, food (candy) and the like focused on child fantasy and expectation with the overlap to the adults, especially family plans for the holiday. Christmas has largely morphed into a holiday from a holy day. Business has replaced the church in… Read more

Searchers

December 24, 2018
Year 3, Day 358 | No Comments
Section of The Taking of Christ, Caravaggio, 1602

In academic journals there may appear articles, lengthy and short, reciting evidence for this and/or that point-of-view relative to some issue. Recent to this writing there appeared various defenses for the date (possible) for the birth of Christ appearing in the January/February, 2014, issue of Biblical Archaeology. There are four dates bandied about relative to Jesus’ birth. The two leading ones are 4 B.C. and 1B.C. One archaeologist made firm defense for 4 B.C. Another, in countering the first, not only argued in favor of the 1B.C. date, but wrote: The most often preferred candidate, the 4 B.C. eclipse, is, in my view, far and away the least likely one. (In human search analysts don’t permit the possibility of a… Read more

Gifting

December 23, 2018
Year 3, Day 357 | No Comments

The model of cerebral thought in Scripture is found in comparisons/contrasts/experiences/analogies found in parables of reality or mythology generally found in nature. The process permits the receiver of the information to interpret life from experience that is perceived to be the reality of experiences in the course of the womb of nature in which persons incubate for what follows. From our lives (private) inter-personal lives (social) form. This becomes reality for a person, driven by all the factors related to belief, motivation and interpretation for life. This includes factors that are often contradictory such as the collision of emotions (feelings) with reasons (logics). Cerebral functioning is necessary to both. Parables include directing the individual with the responsibility to extract truth… Read more

Humility

December 22, 2018
Year 3, Day 356 | No Comments
Section of Christ and the Adulteress, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop, ca. 1545–50

These Pages were begun for me in private interest for family members – in writing to make sure they understood what I was about in life, both as a family person and as a member of society – for living the Christian life order, as biblically outlined. The approach was to accent the common grace offered to all persons in world nature – and divine grace for those fulfilling requirements and desire to incorporate it. This was to include my thought and conduct in which I practiced being my own person in the variant contexts of other persons. I neither wanted to be a hypocrite nor did I want to offend those who did not share my context for life…. Read more

Books

December 21, 2018
Year 3, Day 355 | No Comments
Section of The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

Rummaging through my files as I review materials to pass on to one of my great grandsons who appears to be preparing for a professional life similar to mine, and both of us aware of the significant shifts in problems, sources, developments, and progress that he will face – I pause often to determine whether or not this or that is worth his attention for usefulness. I found an article from LIFE magazine for March 9, 1959 – now sixty years ago. It summarized the then current situation of the Harvard University Library. It was perceived as the greatest collegiate library in the world and second only to the Library of Congress among all libraries. It was seen as a… Read more

Humility

December 20, 2018
Year 3, Day 354 | No Comments
Section of Noli me Tangere by Hans Holbein the Younger

These are days when arrogance, self-expression, even narcissism, are somewhat stylish. Narcissus pined away to death for the love of himself, a love stimulated by the reflection of his face mirrored back at him from the water. During the last quarter of the twentieth century, numerous books were written about the popular turn toward individual self-esteem. They reviewed its value and damage. A new word has been coined for popular self-interest: selfie, and when applied to a group, selfies. A national news report noted the selfie word addition to the dictionary. It began with the new technology that easily permits a person to photograph rather easily one’s own image. A group may no longer be a social unit, but a… Read more

Generalists/Specialists

December 19, 2018
Year 3, Day 353 | No Comments
Section of Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michaelangelo, 1508-1512

One of the evaluation interests of my life has been to analyze the differences between those persons known as specialists and those who are generalists. The specialists tend to look at life through different lenses than the generalists. Analysts and the public generally look at both through interpretive lenses. The most respected appear to be the specialists, but generalists tend to guide society. Specialists are fewer in number, paid better, are presumed to have more information about the topic/problem that has gained predominant attention, and are less likely, when established, to be the subjects of personal scrutiny. There are benefactors and scoundrels in both groupings as there are also in the general population. The generalists are concerned about the whole… Read more

Sign-Off

December 18, 2018
Year 3, Day 352 | No Comments
Section of The Crucifixion, Pedro Orrente, ca. 1625–30

The date of this writing is May 27, 2015. Like the dated Pages for four years of daily readings, this Page is not written on the date assigned to it. The last Page of the four series was written long ago when the theme was emphasized to my mind. Pages were often generated by something that occurred on the day of writing but suitable to my plan for another date related to life, my wanderings and an irresistible desire to write to my family and Christian students, including their parents, about the meaning of life and the impact of learning for both the natural and spiritual contexts for life – with their overlaps and differences. One goal was to help… Read more

Drunkenness

December 17, 2018
Year 3, Day 351 | No Comments
Section of Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michaelangelo, 1508-1512

Perhaps no law has been sneered at in the United States as the Prohibition Amendment added to the American Constitution after World War I.  It was heralded as one of the great liberating factors of history, and identified as permanent, presumably never to be repealed, to assure better life for the masses, especially for individual families.  I remember well when it was repealed a little more than a decade later.  Repeal came during the early part of the Great Depression.  President Roosevelt said that if it meant return to the saloon conduct of the earlier years of the nation, we would regret the repeal.  In easy flow of American ingenuity, saloon keepers simply changed the name of their establishments from… Read more

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