Hyperlinks to Current and Previous Blogs Listed Here !
I'm interested in subjects that explore the human condition under various lenses. The words that are underlined and in red are hyperlinks. Below are some descriptive terms that reflect my interests, but not necessarily my 'expertise' [this site will grow, as my mind's awareness and experience of living life continues to grow/develop]:
linguistic philosophy, [non-ancient, ancient philosophy; particularly the applications of 'radical realist perspective' without the 'one-uping' focus as well as philosophical inquisitive reflection] along with the committed investigation of developing and 'understanding' the formulations of reason [i.e. what it means to know what and essentially, living the questions in faith-trust-hope]: visit: Voegelin - Plato & Aristotle: Philosophy of the Myth , Voegelin: Plato-Socrates - The Judgement of the Dead , Voegelin: Drama and Myth of the Socratic Soul .
Women's Studies, Sex & Gender studies, Kyriarchy, Egalitarianism...
Ritual Theory, Critical-Rhetorical Feminism, Social-Ideological Analysis, Hermeneutic of Suspicion & Evaluation, Feminist Theology, Hermeneutics, Exegesis, and Eisegesis visit: here to read definitions and issues addressed within feminist discourse.
Christology- visit:
Introductory Elements of Christology , Declaration Regarding the Safeguarding of Faith in the Mysteries of the Incarnation and of the Most Blessed Trinity from some Recent Errors , International Theological Commission: Theology, Christology, Anthropology
, International Theological Commission: Select Questions on Christology , Outline of The Effects of the Christ Event , Some Thoughts on Living the Resurrection-hope (the Paschal Mystery) , More Pertinent Christological/Theological Information/Resources , The New Christologies: The Recovery of Jesus’ Full Humanity , Imbelli: Who is Jesus?" , The Reality of Jesus: Reshaping the Christological Dogma , What are Theologians saying about Christology? , Rahner: Dogmatic Reflections on the Knowledge & Self-Consciousness of Christ , Jesus Christ, Lord of the Future & Catholic Christian Faith in Jesus Christ: Major Points .
Listening; Social Science of Religion: Theological Anthropology
Psychology: Feminist Jungian Psychoanalytic, Classical Adlerian Psychotherapy, Cognitive-shifting...
Transpersonal, Cultural, Archetypal, Social and Behavioral, Pruysers' Transformational knowledge-objects, Girardian Tringle [theory of desire], Psychoanalytic, unconscious motivation.. hence the Iceberg Metaphor
Perspectivalism, Maieutics, Symbols, Metaphors, Metonymy, Allegory, Midrashim, Semiotics of Images and Words, Belief-Value-Faith Systems.
Politics; the Bill of Rights & the Constitution; political philosophy; culture jamming; transformational activism; political activism ..
Mythology
Joseph Campbell
The Philosophy of Myth .
Astronomy
Primarily pro-life!
Silent No More Awareness: Pro-Life & Pro-Choice persons UNITE! See also, show the American people what an abortion is!
'Person' is a philosophical concept often described in terms of 'personhood' and 'depersonalization' etc. Depersonalization in terms of the 'pro-life' or 'pro-choice' debate are often referring to depersonalization in some form. The Pro-life movement seems to be concerned with 'depersonalization' in terms of 'potential' persons, whereas the Pro-choice movement is concerned about the depersonalization of women being reduced to 'baby-making machines' who are disallowed a 'sense of self'. I am of the opinion that both versions of depersonalization are harmful. Also, the 'self' is a philosophical and psychological concept as well. Since I choose to value the concept of 'persons and personhood' I cannot depersonalize PERSONS who disagree with me, otherwise I would be contradicting myself [which does occur, at times]. I often view abortion as simply a different version or form of potential violence against women, and it is not simply the woman who is making this decision; especially if the man who she had relations with, threatens her with violence, or harasses her into believing that he will revoke his 'love' from her if she doesn't pursue an abortion. Somehow, the common belief is that contraception and abortion are supposed to be ‘solving’ these issues, not causing more issues, which doesn’t always seem to occur. I suppose I am unconvinced with the discussion that a product supplies a woman with a sense of ‘personhood' and that I can see the argument that contraception is in some ways a partriarchal product. An excerpt from Schneiders - Beyond Patching seems to provide some illumination, at least for me, "Thus, feminist spirituality is concerned with giving voice to and celebrating those aspects of bodiliness which religion has covered with shame and silence, particularly those feminine experiences associated with life-giving which have been reduced to sex and those aspects of sexuality which have been regarded as unclean" [pg. 87]. A lot of what I perceive is various forms of depersonalization, differentiation issues and women not being valued as persons. Obviously, this issue is very complex… and these are probably just symptoms of something much larger [perhaps the negative aspects of patriarchy, power systems, harmful dominant cultural narratives and subjugation].
Not in favor of the death penalty
Taphonomy, Multiregional Evolution Theory, Evolution of Homo sapien Origins- watch this! ], Paleoanthropology, Anthropic Principle, Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Entanglement, Consciousness - Awareness
Communication subjects: Gender and Communication, Interpersonal, Intercultural
Art, Art History, Music, Music Theory, Film Studies, Environmental Rhetoric, Ecophilosophy, Ecopsychology & Ecotheology , Rhetoric of Advertising, Language[s], Communitarianism, Memetic Evolution, Poetry
[In my own words and thought-imagery--]The Three Synoptic Monotheistic Traditions:
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.. it's a trinity! lol
Christianity: particularly Roman & Eastern Catholicism as well as the Orthodox Tradition -visit: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops [or USCCB] website.
Visit this site if you'd like to learn more about the Pontifical Council for Religious Dialogue or Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace . Also visit CAPP or Catholic Social Teaching website.
Read more about interreligious and ecumenical dialogue, other declarations, decrees or constitutions of the Church, in the Vatican II Documents listed below:
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church .
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation .
Constituion on the Sacred Liturgy .
Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World .
Decree concerning
the Pastoral Office of Bishops
in the Church .
Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests .
Decree on the training of Priests .
Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life
Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity
Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity
Decree on Ecumenism .
Decree on Catholic Eastern Churches
Decree on the Media of Social Communications
Declaration on Religious Freedom
Declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian Religions .
Declaration on Christian Education .
If needed, here are the Vatican II Documents in other languages
.
The Code of Canon Law
The Bible [Gospels = Christian Midrashim on Jesus Christ / Jesus the Christ. The gospel accounts are a mixture of theology and history [i.e historiography]. The gospel narratives are also written chronologically 'backwards': 1)resurrection 2)Passion/Death etc.]:
Or, read about The Creed: What Christians Believe and Why It Matters ; I Believe in God: A Reflection on the Apostles’ Creed ; Part II: A Reflection on the Apostles’ Creed - Theology and its Language & God ; the Interpretation of the Bible in the Church
, Instruction Concerning the Historical Truth of the Gospels , Pontifical Biblical Commission: The Historicity of the Gospels .
"Reading any body of literature involves a specialized mode of perception in which every culture trains its members from childhood. As modern readers of the Bible, we need to relearn something of this mode of perception that was second nature to the original audiences. Instead of relegating every perceived recurrence in the text to the limbo of duplicated sources of fixed folkloric archetypes, we may begin to see that the resurgence of certain pronounced patterns at certain narrative junctures was conventionally anticipated, even counted on, and that against that ground of anticipation the biblical authors set words, motifs, themes, personages, and actions into an elaborate dance of significant innovation. For much of art lies in the shifting aperture between the shadowy foreimage in the anticipating mind of the observer and the realized revelatory image in the work itself, and that is what we must learn to perceive more finely in the Bible" [Robert Alter - The Art of Biblical Narrative pg 62].
Analysis of Biblical Narratives: Bodoff: God Tests Abraham, Abraham Tests God , Wiesel: The Sacrifice of Isaac: A Survivor’s Story - MOST EXCELLENT .
Brock, S. "Genesis 22: Where Was Sarah?" ExpTim 96 (1984) pp. 14-17
Judaism
Visit: Judaism - Fixing the World
Islam
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson
Visit: Concise Facts About Islam
, Muslims for a Safe America and Why Do Muslim Women Wear the Hijab? . See also Islamic Traditions & the feminist movement: confrontation or cooperation? and Hamza Yusuf: On Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris
. Yusuf: Holocaust Denial Undermines Islam . Hamza Yusuf - Advice to Muslims . Hamza Yusuf: Message to Muslim youth, and all people . Who Speaks For Islam? , Yusuf: Why I came to Islam , Yusuf: The Dangers of Heedlessness , Music Video: If I wasn't Muslim by Damir Niksic - funny!
Other traditions:
Moyers: On Faith & Reason , watch more interviews under the ‘Watch & Listen’ Tab on the site.
Martin Amis: Getting into the mind of a so-called God Killer, and the difference between ISLAM and ISLAMISM .
People who have faith in the notion of personalizing others [personhood isn't ontological]; who are alive with vitality, convictions, and awareness; who are differentiated enough to hear others perspectives and seek to understand and elaborate on their own and others thoughts and perspectives without any, less or controlled, judgment. I also seek connection and community with other consciously-evolving 'faith-filled' [in the broadest sense of the term] reflective persons that are also in the committed pursuit of acquiring transformational knowledge, to absorb and explicate this knowledge in its various forms, within a hermeneutic of humility, in the assistance of Wisdom, in the Spirit of hope. I suppose that this is the projective creedal enclave I seek, yet I still try to recognize difference without obliterating ‘the other’ rhetorically based on differences [i.e. objectification]. Click here to read a perspective on what it means to be Fully Human .
Forms of stewardship: Earth, Fertility, Sexuality, Spirituality, Consumption of products, Consumption of energy, Our bodies, Our relationships, Our Emotions, Intellectual, Familial, Global Community, Government, Charity, Healthy forms of self-denial.... Is there ever a time in which we are not stewards? See also, Gandhi's list of the 'The Seven Deadly Social Sins' which reflect a lack of stewardship, among other things.
'Person' is a psychological concept [and philosophical concept with different meanings not to be associated with the statement below] often described in terms of 'personhood' and 'depersonalization' etc. This is incorporated within the saying 'There are no 'individuals' in the Church, only 'persons'. The Church is described as living out a large narrative as one family or the 'body of Christ' as each has their particular role, vocation, and function. As a family, we all subscribe to a common story [the Bible, Tradition and traditions] that draws us together in a way to have a common language in which to talk to one another and about our experiences with, or even sometimes, without God, the absolute intangible; each person's life adds to the narrative [more on this in the book: Introduction to Pastoral Care and Counseling written by Gerkin]. John Paul II also made the comment in the book 'The Way to Christ' that 'the Church is not an undifferentiated mass' either. Hopefully all persons of any Tradition strive towards becoming differentiated in terms of their family, spouse, friends, their own concept of God [that one's understanding of God is not Gods' 'whole self', yet recognizing that their perspective of God is a means in which to enter into a[n asymmetrical] relationship with God through the committed pursuit of reason; and also not to abuse other persons with their understanding and perception of God and force others to conform to their particular understanding of their asymmetrical relationship with God], community and Tradition[s] of origin!
Differentiation, which is the opposite of emotional-fusion, is: "one's ability to maintain your sense of self when you are emotionally and / or physically close to: others / one's Tradition - religion / community / politics / ideologies - especially as these people or these concepts become increasingly important to you. Differentiation permits you to maintain your own course when lovers, friends, and family pressure you to agree and conform. Well-differentiated people can agree without feeling like they are 'losing themselves,' and can disagree without feeling alienated and embittered. They can stay connected with people who disagree with them and still 'know who they are'. They don't have to leave the situation to hold onto their sense of self [Passionate Marriage, Schnarch, 56]."
The THREE Persons of the Trinity are well DIFFERENTIATED,non-subjugated and relational! lol
To learn about the difference and relatedness of the meaning of the words Faith, Belief and Tradition, click here ! If you'd also like to have a better understanding of the concept of evil as deprivation/privation, click here . To learn more about the concept of sin click here . And visit sources of academic explorations on sin as deprivation .
Let us NOT be plaster-cast Human Beings, Christians or even Americans; let us ask the pertinent questions, whether or not we're sure that they are the pertinent questions. Let us continue to evolve the understanding of what it means to know. -NL
"Knowledge isn't power; knowledge is truth" [?]
"Nothing is sweet or easy about community. Community is a fellowship of people who do not hide their joys and sorrows but make them visible to each other in a gesture of hope." - Henri Nouwen
Modern industrial civilization has developed within a certain system of convenient myths. The driving force of modern industrial civilization has been individual material gain, which is accepted as legitimate – even praiseworthy – on the grounds that private license yield public benefit in the classic formulation. Now it has long been understood that a society that is based on this principle will destroy itself in time. It can only persist with whatever suffering and injustice it entails as long as it is possible to pretend that the destructive forces that humans create are limited, that the world is an infinite resource and that the world is an infinite garbage can. At this stage of history, either one of two things is possible. Either the general population will take control of its own destiny and will concern itself with community interests guided by values of solidarity, sympathy and concern for others, or alternatively there will be no destiny for anyone to control. As long as there is some specialized class in a position of authority, it is going to set policy in the interest that it serves. But the conditions of survival, let alone justice, require rational social planning in the interests of the community as a whole, and by now that means the global community. The question is whether privileged elites should dominate the mass media and should use this power as they tell us they must namely, to impose ‘necessary illusions,’ and to manipulate and deceive the stupid majority and remove them from the public arena. The question - in brief - is whether democracy and freedom are values to be preserved or threats to be avoided. In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than values to be treasured; they may well be essential to survival. “ - Noam Chomsky
"A group of rabbis, many centuries ago, argued about which was the most important passage in the Bible- the one that sums up the purpose of all of the Scriptures. The "winner" was "This is the record of Adam's line-when God created man' he was made in the image of God" (Genesis 5:1). That verse is followed by a series of "begats" telling the genealogy of ten generations of Adam and Eve's descendants. The Rabbis, however, read this verse as affirming that all of humanity has one ancestor and that every human being is made in the divine image. Why, the Talmud asks, was all of humanity descended from one couple? There are several answers given, including one that says no person should be able to say that their ancestry was superior to another's. Another says that this establishes the life of every human being as equal to an entire world. Thus we have the famous dictum, "One who destroys a single human life destroys an entire world; and one who saves a single human life saves an entire world." Human life in this world is considered the highest ethical imperative in Judaism.Every single human being who has ever lived or who will ever live must be considered as made in the divine image and worth the life of the entire world. Anyone who takes this doctrine seriously must see in every human being a face of God. It then becomes impossible to intentionally harm or degrade any person." - “Judaism: Fixing the World†Philip J. Bentley
"Social reform can only begin when individuals start becoming responsible for themselves. You can't reform a society without the members of that society changing inwardly. It starts with the individual, then the family, then the society, then beyond. So let us all look at ourselves, and determine how we can be better in order to make the world a better place. Let us repent and move forward to blossom as examples and guiding lights for the cause." -Sherry
"Don't change the way you look, change the way you see." [?]
"Language mirrors life and in turn creates images of life." -Carolyn Osiek
One of things that 'tests my faith' is the rhetoric on Christian radio stations; the stuff that they try to pass off as 'faith' on there illustrates at least to me, a discontinuation of the meaning of the word 'faith'. Perhaps I need to meet some person who values this rhetoric in order to get an idea of what they value from what they're hearing that I'm perhaps missing..
-NL
"Metaphors can hurt. Metaphors can distort. Metaphors can kill. Metaphors can oppress; liberate or inspire." "They merely need to play upon stereotypes and capitalize on deeply felt emotions to be compelling" [Weems, Renita J. Ch. 4 “‘Yet I Will Remember My Covenant with You’: The World of Romance and Rape†in her book, BATTERED LOVE: Marriage, Sex, and Violence in the Hebrew Prophets. Overtures to Biblical Theology Series. (Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 1995) 82-119].
The thinking child is not antisocial (he is, in fact, the only type of child fit for social relationships). When he develops his first values and conscious convictions, particularly as he approaches adolescence, he feels an intense desire to share them with a friend who would understand him; if frustrated, he feels an acute sense of loneliness. (Loneliness is specifically the experience of this type of child- or adult; it is the experience of those who have something to offer. The emotion that drives conformists to "belong," is not loneliness, but fear- the fear of intellectual independence and responsibility. The thinking child seeks equals; the conformist seeks protectors."
"When you think you know everything, they give you a bachelor's degree. When you realize that you really don't know anything, they give you a master's. And when you finally come to realize that nobody else knows anything either, they give you a doctorate." Aileen O'Donoghue's The Sky is not a Ceiling: An Astronomer's Faith
"From a theological perspective, sacred power is a problematic phenomenon. In their study of religion, sociologists and anthropologists have made the sacred a central category. The sacred, they tell us, is experienced as awe-inspiring, as manifesting higher power and as radically distinct from the profane. The sacred is said to ground the fundamental values of society and define people’s collective identity. Emile Durkheim, one of the founders of sociological science, has argued that every society generates a set of sacred values that stabilizes its foundation, may not be questioned and summons people to become servants of the common good. The greater the inequality in society, the greater also the sacralization of the governing power. Kings and princes are enthroned in the context of divine liturgies. Following Durkheim’s functional definition of religion, a good number of sociologists now interpret all institutions embodying a total ideology as religions. Seen from this perspective, Fascism and Communism have been called religions: they provided an authoritative interpretation of the world, celebrated their doctrine in ritual assemblies and sacralized their teaching and their leadership so that questioning them became taboo." Gregory Baum, Theological Reflections on Power in the Church
"It began on April 16, 2006, following a sunrise service in Phoenix, Arizona. It ended on September 3, 2006, at a celebration in the Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, DC. Between those two dates, more than five million steps were taken, at least three pairs of shoes per person were worn out, over 2,500 miles were registered and 12 states were crossed. These fascinating facts constituted just a few of the dimensions of the journey undertaken and completed by a group of people, who called themselves "Crosswalk America." The purpose of their walk was to lift up another face of Christianity that is quite different from the Christianity seen in the media today. They walked to publicize something they called the 'Phoenix Affirmations' that involve these principles:
• Christians must have an openness to other faiths
• Christians must care for the earth and its ecosystem
• Christians must value artistic expression in all its forms [**my insertion: I may disagree with this comment]
• Christians must welcome and include all persons
• Christians must oppose the co-mingling of Church and State
• Christians must seek peace and end systemic poverty
• Christian must promote the values of rest and recreation, prayer and reflection
• Christians must embrace both faith and science [**my insertion: but not as subjects with the same aim or scope]
It was the hope of this group, who certainly put their bodies where their mouths were, to raise in the national awareness the presence of the progressive Christian movement throughout America. They were tired of having the Christian faith, to which each walker was deeply committed, constantly identified with the negativity of the anti-abortion movement and the anger of the anti-homosexual stance employed by so many who use the name Christian. They wanted to demonstrate that those who are committed to Christ would not set the citizens of this land against each other over differing religious beliefs and practices. Their desire was to turn the present course of Christianity in America away from its divisive pro-war, anti-female, anti-gay public face, where those who disagree are relegated to an emotional status somewhere between being excommunicated and burned at the stake, to a religion identified with the words 'love' and 'inclusion.' -Excerpt from Spong's article "Crosswalk America Arrives in Washington, DC"
Acts of Peter and Paul, Chapter 5: 17-42: Trial before the Sanhedrin: Then the high priest rose up and all his companions, that is, the party of the Sadducees, and, filled with jealousy, laid hands upon the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, led them out, and said, "Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life."
When they heard this, they went to the temple early in the morning and taught. When the high priest and his companions arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin, the full senate of the Israelites, and sent to the jail to have them brought in. But the court officers who went did not find them in the prison, so they came back and reported, "We found the jail securely locked and the guards stationed outside the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside."
When they heard this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss about them, as to what this would come to. Then someone came in and reported to them, "The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area and are teaching the people." Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them in, but without force, because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
When they had brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, the high priest questioned them, "We gave you strict orders (did we not?) to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man's blood upon us." But Peter and the apostles said in reply, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him." When they heard this, they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death.
But a Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up, ordered the men to be put outside for a short time, and said to them, "Fellow Israelites, be careful what you are about to do to these men. Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important, and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed, and all those who were loyal to him were disbanded and came to nothing. After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census. He also drew people after him, but he too perished and all who were loyal to him were scattered. So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God." They were persuaded by him.
After recalling the apostles, they had them flogged, ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them. So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Messiah, Jesus.
Temptation: Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him. No one experiencing temptation should say, "I am being tempted by God"; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own [distorted]desire. Then [distorted] desire conceives and brings forth sin[ or bondage], and when sin[/bondage] reaches maturity it gives birth to [spiritual] death. Jas 1:12-15
"The only thing I cannot tolerate is an intolerant god. Pride breeds intolerance, subjugation and alienation of the self and of 'the other' [see pride systems blog ].." NL
Acts 17:16-21 -Paul in Beroea: While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he grew exasperated at the sight of the city full of idols. So he debated in the synagogue with the Jews and with the worshipers, and daily in the public square with whoever happened to be there. Even some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers engaged him in discussion. Some asked, "What is this scavenger trying to say?" Others said, "He sounds like a promoter of foreign deities," because he was preaching about 'Jesus' and 'Resurrection.' They took him and led him to the Areopagus and said, "May we learn what this new teaching is that you speak of? For you bring some strange notions to our ears; we should like to know what these things mean." Now all the Athenians as well as the foreigners residing there used their time for nothing else but telling or hearing something new.
Acts 18:12-15 – Accusations before Gallio: But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him to the tribunal, saying, "This man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the law." When Paul was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the Jews, "If it were a matter of some crime or malicious fraud, I should with reason hear the complaint of you Jews; but since it is a question of arguments over doctrine and titles and your own law, see to it yourselves. I do not wish to be a judge of such matters." And he drove them away from the tribunal.
"Objectivity is the fruit of authentic subjectivity." - Bernard Lonergan
"Kierkegaard's theology focuses on the single individual in relation to an unprovable, yet known God. Much of his writings were a directed assault against all of Christendom, Christianity as a political and social entity. His target was the Danish State Church, which represented Christendom in Denmark. Christendom, in Kierkegaard's view, made individuals lazy in their religion. Many of the citizens were officially "Christians", without having any idea of what it meant to be a Christian. Kierkegaard attempted to awaken Christians to the need for unconditional religious commitment." ~Wiki
“In 1968 our progressive Jewish youth movement hosted a group of young Czech Jews for a conference near Edinburgh. They stayed on for an additional week – and the Russians marched into Prague, cutting them off from their country and their families….they taught me something very special about the Bible in the time we were together. We studied some Bible texts and they were incredibly good at understanding them, picking up all the nuances very quickly. I was surprised as they had never studied the Bible before.‘It’s easy,’ they explained. ‘You see, in Czechoslovakia, when you read a newspaper, first you read what is written there. Then you say to yourself, “If that is what they have written, what really happened? And if that is what really happened, what are they trying to make us think? And if that is what they are trying to make us think, what should we be thinking instead?†You learn to read between the lines and behind the lines. You learn to read a newspaper as if your life depended upon understanding it-because it does!’…Sometimes the same applies to the Bible, sometimes we just have to learn how to read.â€
Magonet, Jonathan. A Rabbi’s Bible (SCM Press: London, 1991) p. 25
"The pursuit of widsom especially joins man to God in friendship." - Thomas Aquinas
"Wisdom is the chief and leader: next follows temperance; and from the union of these two with courage springs justice. These four virtues take precedence in the class of divine goods." - Plato
"The pursuit of truth is in one way difficult and in another way easy. It is difficult for no individual is able to contribute much. It is easy for by the contribution of all a certain grandeur is achieved." - Aristotle
"With few exceptions, men look to other men- not women- to affirm their manhood, whether as coaches, friends, teammates, co-workers, sports figures, fathers or mentors.
This contradicts the conventional wisdom that women hold the key to heterosexual men's sense of manhood. It's true that men often use women to show they measure up—especially by controlling women sexually—but the standards that are used are men's, not women's. Men also may try to impress women as "real men" in order to start and keep relationships with them, to control them, or to get sexual access and personal care. This isn't enough to prove they're real men, however. For affirmation of that, they have to go to a larger male-identified world—from the local bar to sports to work, which is also where they're most vulnerable to other men. Whether in locker rooms or the heat of political campaigns, when a man is accused being a "wimp" or of otherwise failing to measure up, it almost always comes from another man. And when a man suspects himself of being less a real man, he judges himself through a patriarchal male gaze, not from woman's perspective.
Although men often use women as scapegoats for their bad feelings about themselves, women's role in this is indirect at most. If other men reject a man's claim to "real man" standing, how his wife or mother sees him usually makes little difference, and if women's opinions do matter to him, his manhood becomes all the more suspect to other men. Women's marginal importance in manhood question is plain to see in the risks men take to prove themselves in spite of objections from wives, mothers, and other women who find them just fine the way they are. The record books are full of men who seize upon anything—from throwing Frisbees to extreme sports to being the first to get somewhere or discover something—as a way to create competitive arenas in which they can jockey for position and prove themselves among men" Allan G. Johnson – The Gender Knot pp 56-58.
"Even with talent, knowledge makes a slow, if not a bloody entrance. To learn thoroughly is a vast undertaking that calls for relentless perseverance. To strike out on a new line and be more than weekend celebrity calls for years in which one's living is more or less constantly absorbed in the effort to understand, in which one's understanding gradually works round and up a spiral of viewpoints with each complementing its predecessor and only the last embracing the whole field to be mastered." [**my insertion: I would rather have him say, to provide a cohesive connection of the thought of those who came before him, and to add another angle to the multifaceted gem of truth; but hey, that's just me! I'm not Bernard Longergan...] - Bernard Lonergan
"Assuming that male/female difference is the oldest and only important social difference, white middle-class-often heterosexual, often Christians- feminists have constructed accounts of women's experience that falsely universalize a particular cultural, religious, and class perspective." And later..."Confronting feminist anti-Judaism, as well as all other types of oppression, is part of a process through which we face the fact that there is no reason why becoming feminist should suddenly free us from the other forms of hatred that mark our world or the groups to which we belong; that without continual self-examination and vigilance we are as likely to use feminism to perpetuate other forms of domination as to overcome them; and that feminism at best commits us to struggle against traditional forms of dominance, it does not guarantee that we will be successful.†Plaskow: Feminist Anti-Judaism and the Christian God .
"One must have to learn to recognize and try to understand their 'inherited' misrecognized transformational object before they can form and develop a 'new' understanding of the 'meaning' of their transformational object. One should also be aware of their subjectivity in terms of identifying that object as being transformational, and know the limitations of that object, and our terms of describing it. When one does this, they open themselves up to a potential experience of the sense of 'really being' alive and real with others, including with themselves. Let us embrace our subjectivity, and without giving up our values while at the same time remaining open to listening to others thoughts, continue to embrace our intersubjective truth.." -NL [See: The Search for the Transformational Object ]
"The journey of becoming truly alive begins with discovering self-awareness, and the realization of the emptiness of our in/tangible personal and cultural idols." -NL
Time Sensitive, oil on linen, 2000, by Martina Nehrling titled “Confusion: Disorientation and Synthesis.â€
With some of the artists or genres below, I enjoy either particular parts, sounds, lyrics or the entire song.. for various reasons.
Beck, Brandi Carlile, Enigma, Moby, Mellowdrone, Andrew Bird, Calexico, ELO, ABBA, The Beatles, The Doors, Brian Vander ark - The Verve Pipe, Buckethead, Massive Attack, Live, Iron and Wine
Many, many others… I have my father to thank for his 8,000+ record collection and all the music he introduced me to over the years; Thanks Dad, you rock!
Oldies, 80s-90s, Rock, Alternative, Classical, Ambient, Down-Tempo, Indie, Ethnic Fusion, Trip Hop, Electro, World Music, New Age; just about anything except stuff that sounds alike or is demeaning in some way, which is just about everything "popular" on the radio today.
I primarily prefer director's cuts. With some of the films below, I enjoy either particular scenes, the cinema photography, sounds, etc or the entire film.. for various reasons. I experiment with the particular meanings, symbolism and interpretations one can draw from a film when using various lens in which to perceive its content.
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I don't watch TV; I use YouTube.com .
However, I must admit that I am an avid 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' fan...
CURRENT MOON moon phase info
"The video arcade is down the street. Here we just sell small rectangular objects, their called books. They require a little effort on your part and make no beebeebeebeeps" [NeverEnding Story]
The 'Father', The 'Son', The Holy Spirit.
A mystery to ponder: God is neither male nor female, God is suggested to be the 'best' characteristics of 'both, and beyond'. God 'is' Spirit / love.. God the intangible, yet tangible through a[n asymmetrical] relational, subjective and intersubjective experience[s]. Subjectivity makes room for free-will, and hopefully, openness to other persons who adhere to different Traditions, essentially their way of experiencing God that is true for them, which also informs me and my expression of a[n asymmetrical] relationship with God. Nonetheless, I value my intersubjective Tradition and subjective transformational objects!
The Trinity 'labels' [i.e. Father, Son, HS] is meant to reflect an EQUAL RELATIONSHIP [hence the RELATIONAL language of the words Father and Son; the Holy Spirit is the representation of the love between the Father and Son], all 3 persons [-philosophical word - intangible notion] being EQUAL and ONE [I'm currently learning about Trinitarian Feminism, see Harold Wells: Trinitarian Feminism: Elizabeth Johnson’s Wisdom Christology ]. The Son is the Self-conceptualization of the Father [Augustine]. One of the expressions of the Father's role is the Creator; The Son's role: Redeemer; Holy Spirit's role: Sanctifier. The Catholic understanding, or experience of God, is a communal understanding of God as expressed in terms of the Trinity. Another thought, the THREE Persons of the Trinity are well DIFFERENTIATED,non-subjugated and relational!
A way in which to approach the incomprehensible mystery of God as described in terms of the Trinity: I am [your name here]. You are also a daughter or son, a sister or brother, a wife or a husband. You 'are' all these 'labels', each which has a function in the particular role, but you still are one being.
Another metaphorical example: God is the mouth, Jesus is the Word, and the Holy Spirit is the breath [Augustine?].
More Heroic Persons Listed Here !