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

Philosophy

February 19, 2018
Year 3, Day 50 | No Comments
Section of The Infant Jesus and St. John the Baptist, Guido Reni, n.d.

My father, a product of the emergence of modern American life in the early twentieth century, died in 1929, of tuberculosis at 36 years of age.  He was not educated beyond some high school, was something of a dandy of the age, leaving six children to the care of others as his only legacy.  He remains a distant shadow in my life.  The last five years of his life he lived away from my mother and the three infants she bore him.  It proved beneficial in that we did not contract his disease, the #1 killer at the time.  There were hospices (sanatoriums) at the time that took in only tubercular patients.  About two years after his death, I inherited… Read more

Rationalizations

February 18, 2018
Year 3, Day 49 | No Comments
Section of The Taking of Christ, Caravaggio, 1602

There is strong motivation among Christians engaged in education and research projects to make the Christian belief in God as rational as possible.  There is a strong underlying feeling among intellectuals drawn to the support of physical evidence for the establishment of truth credentials that whatever is true can, sooner or later, meet the requirements of the human mind to verify itself.  This is presupposition that is imposed on Christians by secular society, even in theistic society for nature.  If achieved it is presumed that there would be more persons numbered in the Christian context of society than there appears to be – even though believers represent a massive number of world citizens.  The actual number would relate to definition… Read more

Lifeline

February 17, 2018
Year 3, Day 48 | No Comments
Section of The Taking of Christ, Caravaggio, 1602

After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to two friends walking to Emmaus.  Assisted by a miracle or prevailing trauma from his death, they didn’t recognize him, presuming he was a friendly local person.  The conversation picked up and the two informed the veiled Jesus of the events of the crucifixion, and the report of the empty tomb, perhaps to be doubted because no corpse was found.  The friendly stranger presented a case to them that we recognize as a Bible study, a sweep of the prophecy of the Messiah from the Old Testament.  Present day students of Scripture might reproduce his conversational outline. The review continued until evening and the meal at the inn when Jesus was recognized during the prayer… Read more

Life Follies

February 16, 2018
Year 3, Day 47 | No Comments
Section of The Descent from the Cross, Rogier van der Weyden, c. 1435

There are different ways in which almost anything can be perceived.  They are true in the contexts in which they are cast, but must be evaluated for their usefulness in the context in point.  Some contexts are neutral. The thermometer registers 120 degrees.  Is that hot?  No, says the natural scientist, it is 120 degrees.  It is a neutral matter registering a fact of nature.  There is, on Route I-15 out of Los Angeles, on the way to Las Vegas the little town of Baker.  Baker’s reputation is that it is a hot spot in California. (It is more likely that it is hotter in Death Valley on the same day.)  There is a large elevated thermometer in Baker, visible… Read more

Happiness

February 15, 2018
Year 3, Day 46 | No Comments
Section of Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michaelangelo, 1508-1512

The words, pursuit of happiness in the documents of the American founding fathers have often appeared in the public press and other literature during my lifetime.  They are found in contexts that either state or imply that there is much yet to be done to make sufficient happiness quotients available in volume generally expected.  Most persons answer variously, even contradictory to one another when asked the question: What do you need to make you happy in life?  The answers usually relate to greater wealth, better health, loving families, and professional success.  All this is related to long life with economic security.  For a great many persons there is added the sense of spiritual status with God, so to meet life… Read more

The Highest Love

February 14, 2018
Year 3, Day 45 | No Comments
Section of The Crucifixion, Pedro Orrente, ca. 1625–30

Today is February 14, 2012 AD.  On the 11th, the pop singer, Whitney Houston was found in the bath, underwater, in a room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Hollywood.  She had died either just before the room break-in or shortly afterward.  Details of the death have not been released as of this writing.  The following day the Grammy Awards were marked by the outpouring of interest, sympathy and love for her.  The news since has been dominated with various details about her life, her music, and the order of events until burial.  Some of the material is in excess, more information or speculation than is needed, but it is related to what I want to address for this Page… Read more

Integrity

February 13, 2018
Year 3, Day 44 | No Comments

We expect something to happen, for good or ill.  The presupposition of life is that the good of it ought to prevail.  So to the work on the issues of spiritual growth that moves persons, closer and closer to full achievement, to a truthful context for our lives.  We can sense the issues in such works as Jonathan Aitken’s biography of John Newton.  Newton is eminent in Church history for his experience and ministry.  This included his effective modeling, first as a sinner of utter disgrace, then as a saintly man seeking to end slavery that he had supported.  He modeled spiritual growth and humility before God.  The negative younger years of Newton included such things as control of a… Read more

Ol’ Folks And Reality

February 12, 2018
Year 3, Day 43 | No Comments
Section of Adoration of the Magi, artist unknown

There are several large factors that form the major belief and conduct patterns in persons growing old. Jesus referred to the conscious period of aging as ending somewhere between seventy and eighty years of age and made the observation applicable to a consciousness of death, with death made acceptable because of the difficulties of earth life and hope for immortality.  The period is made longer or shorter to the degree one is able to sustain health and attitude.  Many persons (devout or pagan) face aging to death with fear.  Others welcome it at some point to be relieved of weakness in declining strength in mind and body, and a feeling of growing detachment from the mainstream of activity in the… Read more

Heart Emotions

February 11, 2018
Year 3, Day 42 | No Comments
Section of Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michaelangelo, 1508-1512

We must never forget that God is understood to be in a mystery for us.  A mystery is true and known but so much information is missing that searching detectives must admit humility in the narrative of the context of the story.  God, in the mystery, offers faith to cover both what is known and unknown to understanding, to wisdom and completion for what can only be known and understood fully in eternity’s context.  The mystery is temporary in earth’s Christian context.  All of this is reflected in the mystery of mankind.  With all of our study of the human situation for self, health, meaning, and other factors of the person, we push back some of the mystery, but there… Read more

Reaching Higher/Deeper In

February 10, 2018
Year 3, Day 41 | No Comments
Section of Noli me Tangere by Hans Holbein the Younger

Art has objectives for imagination in reality, tragedy, humor, faith, beauty, and draws on consciousness of what is, perhaps what ought to be.  It seems multidimensional in that it tells us about the era in which it was originated, something about the originator (sculptor, musician, writer, or painter).  We are permitted to interpret it for ourselves, but need to know what the creator of the art meant to communicate in thought and emotion – so to decide if it was achieved.  We seem forced to consider contexts.  There is much more here that critics in the various fields can develop in book length on insights and details.  Our purpose is to acknowledge here that art is an issue that is… Read more

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