free enneagram test
So I re=took the the enneagram test after a year or so away from it. I'm (according to the free short test) the "reformer" type and then "helper".
I thought I would be the enthusiasist or something...
Friday, September 29, 2006
I'm a WHAT?
free enneagram test
So I re=took the the enneagram test after a year or so away from it. I'm (according to the free short test) the "reformer" type and then "helper".
I thought I would be the enthusiasist or something...
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Ascetic Polemic
An ascetic is "a person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion" (Yahoo Dictionary). It is to this topic that Nietzsche turns his analysis in his Third Treatise.
Asceticism, most commonly thought of as abasement, is viewed by Nietzsche as "a holy form of excess" and a priest's "best tool of power" (67). It is a life of selfishness rather than selflessness. People that pursue it are actually "thinking…of what is most precisely indispensable to them" and "the truest and most natural conditions of their best existence, of their most beautiful fruitfulness" (76).
Asceticism is viewed as "life against life" (85). A practitioner "treats life as a wrong path that one must finally retrace back to the point where it begins; or as an error that one refutes through deeds" (83).
Richard J. Foster addresses this topic in the book Celebration of Discipline. "Scripture declares consistently that forcefully that creation is good and is to be enjoyed. Asceticism makes an unbiblical definition between a good spiritual world and an evil material world and so finds salvation in paying as little attention as possible to the physical realm of existence" (84). A better pursuit of freedom is found in simplicity, which sets "possessions in proper perspective" and "knows contentment in both abasement and abounding" (84).
WORK CITED
Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline. New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1988.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. On the Genealogy of Morality. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1998.
Asceticism, most commonly thought of as abasement, is viewed by Nietzsche as "a holy form of excess" and a priest's "best tool of power" (67). It is a life of selfishness rather than selflessness. People that pursue it are actually "thinking…of what is most precisely indispensable to them" and "the truest and most natural conditions of their best existence, of their most beautiful fruitfulness" (76).
Asceticism is viewed as "life against life" (85). A practitioner "treats life as a wrong path that one must finally retrace back to the point where it begins; or as an error that one refutes through deeds" (83).
Richard J. Foster addresses this topic in the book Celebration of Discipline. "Scripture declares consistently that forcefully that creation is good and is to be enjoyed. Asceticism makes an unbiblical definition between a good spiritual world and an evil material world and so finds salvation in paying as little attention as possible to the physical realm of existence" (84). A better pursuit of freedom is found in simplicity, which sets "possessions in proper perspective" and "knows contentment in both abasement and abounding" (84).
WORK CITED
Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline. New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1988.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. On the Genealogy of Morality. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1998.
Nietzsche & Sartre -- two great tastes that taste great together!
The language and style of Nietzsche really pushes my buttons. I often miss out on the big picture because I am hung up on some of his individual -- and incendiary -- statements.
Sartre's writing on atheistic existentialism is much easier for me to understand, and is helping me piece together Nietzsche. Nietzsche can mention the word "rape" and he's easy to refute as an extremist. Sartre, not so much!
My professor asked me how I would argue against Nietzsche's view without appealing to scripture. I honestly don't know how I would argure against atheistic existentialism without appealing to scripture. One person presupposes the existence of God as a starting point and, another doesn't. How is that gap bridged? Any ideas out there?
Sartre's writing on atheistic existentialism is much easier for me to understand, and is helping me piece together Nietzsche. Nietzsche can mention the word "rape" and he's easy to refute as an extremist. Sartre, not so much!
My professor asked me how I would argue against Nietzsche's view without appealing to scripture. I honestly don't know how I would argure against atheistic existentialism without appealing to scripture. One person presupposes the existence of God as a starting point and, another doesn't. How is that gap bridged? Any ideas out there?
Sartre!
I'm finding the Sartre reading to be little bit easier going that that of Nietzsche.
World religions offer people meaning and purpose. Spiritually is something seen as preceding humankind. Existentialism, as described by Sartre, inverts this idea: "Man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world—and defines himself afterwards" (187). People created God in the quest for meaning.
It is an empty quest, because "Man simply is. Not that he is simply what he conceives himself to be, but he is what he wills...Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself" (188). The sooner the idea of God is abandoned, the better, in the thinking of the French existentialist: "...what man needs is to find himself again and to understand that nothing can save him from himself" (206). Heaven is an idea that distracts from the real goal of "a future to be fashioned, a virgin future that awaits him" (192)...
Significance is not something to be found because it is not something that exists in and of itself. He states, "Life is nothing until it is lived; but it is yours to make sense of, and the value of it is nothing else but the sense you choose" (204).
As a Christian, my knee-jerk reaction* would be to critique existentialism as an "anything goes" description of life. After all, Sartre describes man as free, but he also describes him as "responsible for everything he does" which implies some sort of morality (192). I was intrigued by his description of existentialism as an optimistic philosophy of life. It is only by Christians "self-deception, by confusing their own despair with ours that Christians can describe [existentialists] without hope" (206).
* The knee-jerk reaction is a frequent malady of the Christian subculture that is often attributed to excessive time kneeling in prayer.
World religions offer people meaning and purpose. Spiritually is something seen as preceding humankind. Existentialism, as described by Sartre, inverts this idea: "Man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world—and defines himself afterwards" (187). People created God in the quest for meaning.
It is an empty quest, because "Man simply is. Not that he is simply what he conceives himself to be, but he is what he wills...Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself" (188). The sooner the idea of God is abandoned, the better, in the thinking of the French existentialist: "...what man needs is to find himself again and to understand that nothing can save him from himself" (206). Heaven is an idea that distracts from the real goal of "a future to be fashioned, a virgin future that awaits him" (192)...
Significance is not something to be found because it is not something that exists in and of itself. He states, "Life is nothing until it is lived; but it is yours to make sense of, and the value of it is nothing else but the sense you choose" (204).
As a Christian, my knee-jerk reaction* would be to critique existentialism as an "anything goes" description of life. After all, Sartre describes man as free, but he also describes him as "responsible for everything he does" which implies some sort of morality (192). I was intrigued by his description of existentialism as an optimistic philosophy of life. It is only by Christians "self-deception, by confusing their own despair with ours that Christians can describe [existentialists] without hope" (206).
* The knee-jerk reaction is a frequent malady of the Christian subculture that is often attributed to excessive time kneeling in prayer.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Nietzsche
I find much of Nietzsche repulsive and obscene.
Nietzsche describes a world without God and bereft of objective truth. He states in Genealogy of Morals, "To speak of right and wrong per se makes no sense at all" (188).
What Nietzsche describes as "pursuit of affirmation" sounds more like extreme narcissism to me (186). To wit, "No act of violence, rape, exploitation, destruction, is intrinsically unjust" (188). This isn't a philosophy to build a society -- it's a blank check for a "Superman [to] overcome the herd" (187).
Good is "all that enhances the feeling of power" (188). Every week I work with men who have exerted power over other individuals. We don't refer to their actions as good, we call the actions as they are, namely, abuse.
WORK CITED
Pojman, Louis J. Who Are We. New York: Oxford, 2006.
Nietzsche describes a world without God and bereft of objective truth. He states in Genealogy of Morals, "To speak of right and wrong per se makes no sense at all" (188).
What Nietzsche describes as "pursuit of affirmation" sounds more like extreme narcissism to me (186). To wit, "No act of violence, rape, exploitation, destruction, is intrinsically unjust" (188). This isn't a philosophy to build a society -- it's a blank check for a "Superman [to] overcome the herd" (187).
Good is "all that enhances the feeling of power" (188). Every week I work with men who have exerted power over other individuals. We don't refer to their actions as good, we call the actions as they are, namely, abuse.
WORK CITED
Pojman, Louis J. Who Are We. New York: Oxford, 2006.
Missing?
Missing the sand betwwen my toes.
Missing the faces I used to know.
Longing for the heat of the summer sun.
Longing for peace - not the undone.
Why does the spinning never pause?
When the season is lost to a cause?
Where can you find what you'd like like to be-
How can the future be so clear to you and not me?
Missing the hands the held me so tight.
Missing the dreams that just fall out of sight.
Longing for happiness and the light of day.
Longing for shadows to to run far away.
Who can I call in in wind and in rain?
How can you know my loss and my pain?
Where can you stop and take so much time?
What love is so beautiful, patient and kind.
Spinning lives and racing places -
mold my time, my heart and my paces.
Stand close to me and hold me upright.
You alone understand both my dark and my light -
and I will hold on, hold on, hold on
so tight.
Missing the faces I used to know.
Longing for the heat of the summer sun.
Longing for peace - not the undone.
Why does the spinning never pause?
When the season is lost to a cause?
Where can you find what you'd like like to be-
How can the future be so clear to you and not me?
Missing the hands the held me so tight.
Missing the dreams that just fall out of sight.
Longing for happiness and the light of day.
Longing for shadows to to run far away.
Who can I call in in wind and in rain?
How can you know my loss and my pain?
Where can you stop and take so much time?
What love is so beautiful, patient and kind.
Spinning lives and racing places -
mold my time, my heart and my paces.
Stand close to me and hold me upright.
You alone understand both my dark and my light -
and I will hold on, hold on, hold on
so tight.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Guess WHO's back?
I'm taking a break from recording my quest for the meaning of life so I can plug my favorite TV show.
The second season of Doctor Who premieres this Friday night, Sept. 29, at 8pm on Sci-Fi Channel. It's a mixture of science fiction, adventure, comedy, and soap opera which somehow results in one of the most consistently entertaining programs on television. Check it out!
(Sci-Fi is also running a marathon of season one episodes earlier that day from 8 am - 4 pm.)
Friday, September 22, 2006
Time Out
I went to a seminar today regarding autistic disorders and the presenter talked about possible reactions to stimulus that are hard to imagine: a sound triggering a taste in the mouth, a touch triggering a color, or eye contact being physically painful.
As Louis J. Pojman writes in Who Are We, "We can imagine a world with different physical laws--where Einstein's laws do not govern, where water is not wet nor fire hot, where mice are smarter than humans, and babies are born from elephants--but we cannot imagine a world without time."
It's funny, isn't it? We can't see time, taste it, feel it, or smell it. Even our "measurement" of it is arbitrary -- what is a minute? Or a second? Yet we all orient our lives around time.
As Louis J. Pojman writes in Who Are We, "We can imagine a world with different physical laws--where Einstein's laws do not govern, where water is not wet nor fire hot, where mice are smarter than humans, and babies are born from elephants--but we cannot imagine a world without time."
It's funny, isn't it? We can't see time, taste it, feel it, or smell it. Even our "measurement" of it is arbitrary -- what is a minute? Or a second? Yet we all orient our lives around time.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Marxism
Interesting reading last night on one of the most influential thinkers of history -- Karl Marx.
The theses of Marxism appear so strange. A system that seeks to overthrow oppression via a dictatorship? Society eliminating the crime and greed of all individuals? Class struggle being THE determining factor in human history? It's hard to believe how much these ideas continue to influence the world today.
Pojman poses the question, "...could a nation's religious tradition affect its economic-political development?" (165) I would answer in the affirmative, giving no other evidence than the evening news. It also made me think of an investigation conducted by sociologist Max Weber: "…capitalism thrived in only certain parts of Europe…he concluded that religion held the key, for it was in Protestant countries that capitalism flourished, while Roman Catholic countries held on to tradition and were relatively untouched by capitalism" (Henslin 171).
I think Marx had some interesting things to say about religion. "Religion is the sigh of an oppressed culture, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people" (Pojman 161). Religion is indeed a painkiller for a harsh world, especially when it keeps its adherents disconnected from reality. Often the church is used to mop up the mess left by society. (Example: soup kitchens in a country where the minimum wage hasn't been raised since 1997.)
Marx wanted change and abandoned religion in the process. "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of men, is a demand for their real happiness" (Pojman 161). I wonder what he would have made of Christian activism that strives to make "His will done on earth as it is in heaven?"
WORKS CITED
Henslin, James M. Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1995.
Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We?: Theories of Human Nature. New York, NY: Oxford, 2006.
The theses of Marxism appear so strange. A system that seeks to overthrow oppression via a dictatorship? Society eliminating the crime and greed of all individuals? Class struggle being THE determining factor in human history? It's hard to believe how much these ideas continue to influence the world today.
Pojman poses the question, "...could a nation's religious tradition affect its economic-political development?" (165) I would answer in the affirmative, giving no other evidence than the evening news. It also made me think of an investigation conducted by sociologist Max Weber: "…capitalism thrived in only certain parts of Europe…he concluded that religion held the key, for it was in Protestant countries that capitalism flourished, while Roman Catholic countries held on to tradition and were relatively untouched by capitalism" (Henslin 171).
I think Marx had some interesting things to say about religion. "Religion is the sigh of an oppressed culture, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people" (Pojman 161). Religion is indeed a painkiller for a harsh world, especially when it keeps its adherents disconnected from reality. Often the church is used to mop up the mess left by society. (Example: soup kitchens in a country where the minimum wage hasn't been raised since 1997.)
Marx wanted change and abandoned religion in the process. "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of men, is a demand for their real happiness" (Pojman 161). I wonder what he would have made of Christian activism that strives to make "His will done on earth as it is in heaven?"
WORKS CITED
Henslin, James M. Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1995.
Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We?: Theories of Human Nature. New York, NY: Oxford, 2006.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
A Recurring Theme
Choosing the good for it's own sake is becoming a recurring theme in my reading. I took note of Pojman's description of Immanuel Kant's view of true goodness:
"One must perform one's moral duty solely for it's own sake"..."Some people conform to the moral law because they deem it in their own enlightened self-interest to be moral because they do not act for the sake of the moral law"..."unless he performs these acts because they are his duty, he is not acting morally, even though his acts are the same ones they would be if he were acting morally" (Pojman 129-30).
Last week I read in his commentary of Augustine: "Morality does not consist in following rigid rules against one's nature but having a transformed character whereby one does the right thing out of a moral motive" (Pojman 78)...
To go back even earlier, Aristotle wrote in Nicomachean Ethics: "...someone who does not enjoy fine actions is not good; for no one would call a person just, for instance, if he did not enjoy doing just actions..." and "an end pursued in its own right is more complete than an end performed because of something else..."
I guess this could all be looked at as splitting hairs -- after all, the same action can be performed, despite one's motive or disposition.
But this line of thought is causing me to examine my own moral choices/lifestyle. Do I choose the good because it's culturally enforced or because its worthy in and of itself?
"One must perform one's moral duty solely for it's own sake"..."Some people conform to the moral law because they deem it in their own enlightened self-interest to be moral because they do not act for the sake of the moral law"..."unless he performs these acts because they are his duty, he is not acting morally, even though his acts are the same ones they would be if he were acting morally" (Pojman 129-30).
Last week I read in his commentary of Augustine: "Morality does not consist in following rigid rules against one's nature but having a transformed character whereby one does the right thing out of a moral motive" (Pojman 78)...
To go back even earlier, Aristotle wrote in Nicomachean Ethics: "...someone who does not enjoy fine actions is not good; for no one would call a person just, for instance, if he did not enjoy doing just actions..." and "an end pursued in its own right is more complete than an end performed because of something else..."
I guess this could all be looked at as splitting hairs -- after all, the same action can be performed, despite one's motive or disposition.
But this line of thought is causing me to examine my own moral choices/lifestyle. Do I choose the good because it's culturally enforced or because its worthy in and of itself?
Monday, September 18, 2006
The Minister's Black Veil Review
Veils are things most people associate being worn by brides in weddings or by women and men of specific religious groups. Today the selection of a bridal veil is left to the discretion and fashion taste of the bride. Over time the covering of a persons face, either through a veil or mask can be seen as an act of protection or the hiding away of identity. Veils have been used for religious purposes since before Biblical times, but one example of veil usage stands out in the book of Exodus.
"The Radiant Face of Moses
34:29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD. (Bible Gateway / www.biblegateway.com)"
Moses, the leader of the Israelites wears a veil to protect the eyes of his people from the brightness of his face after spending time in the presence of God. It seems that Moses reveals his face before God to assure that there is nothing separating him form God's presence, but his concern for his family and friends causes him to shield them from this uncanny glow.
The Minister in Hawthorne's short story is also a man of God determined to wear a veil, but his motivation was one to induce fear and control over his congregation instead of shielding them from something they could not absorb.
" Such was the effect of this simple piece of crape, that more than one woman of delicate nerves was forced to leave the meeting house. Yet perhaps the pale-faced congregation was almost as fearful a sight to the minister, as the black veil to them. (Pg 105, Charters)"
Perhaps the minister could have been fearful of his congregation and possibly desired to make up for the own human insecurity he carried in is heart by placing a holy veil between him and them. If he retained such a distance, he might possibly be a more effective minister than if he relied upon his own personality and wits. Was it possible that the minister was afraid to be himself, unguarded and imperfect as it might jeopardize his effectiveness as a young minister as well?
The effect of his veil did prove to make him a more powerful speaker. His words were no louder or spirited, but the veil he wore spoke volumes to the hearts of the people that listened. The reaction of the congregation was visible: ladies left the room in fear and listeners raised their hands to their chest in conviction. After the message, the Minister was usually swarmed with crowds of people desiring to walk with him, speak on a one-on-one basis, or invite him to Sunday dinner. No one came near him. No one begged his attentions. He simply retired to his home and closed the door.
The villagers that had been so quiet in the minister's presence began to mutter out loud as to what could be the reason for this sudden change in his clerical attire. Was he ill? Was he trying to teach them something? Was he hiding some secret sin? The questions to this abrupt change stewed in the kettle of controversy and fear.
Fearful rumors concerning the minister only increased as he continued carrying on his duties. Before the funeral of a young village woman, a parishioner was said to witness the minister leaning over the body of the dead girl and her body was said to shudder at the closeness of his revealed face. Other witnesses at the girl's funeral looked backwards in the funeral procession almost expecting, "that the minister and the maiden's spirit were walking hand in hand. (Pg. 108, Charters).
The minister had always been a joyful asset to happy occasions, but his presence at weddings now placed a shroud of death over what should have been lively and exciting event. His presence turned the rosy-cheeked bride pale with dread. Some even thought the spirit of the recently buried maiden had taken residence in the once blushing bride. Even his own demeanor proved to be distressing as he gave the wedding toast to celebrate the nuptials.
"At a that instant, catching a glimpse of his figure in the looking glass, the black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others. His frame shuddered his lips grew white he spilt the untasted wine on the carpet and rushed forth into the darkness. For the Earth, too, had on her Black Veil. (Pg 108, Charters)"
Gossip was the only means of communication within the village concerning the reasons why the veil had taken residence upon the minister's face. The oppressive nature of the veil kept all from asking him the reason for the wearing of it. Even the elders and leaders of the church were unable to confront the minister Mr. Hooper concerning the details of the black veil.
Mr. Hooper seemed to enjoy the discomfort caused by his higher-ups. Perhaps the young minister had taken some abuse or criticism from the church leaders in the past and now they were powerless to even look him in the eye. The black veil that initially had separated him from humanity was now providing him with the power and control that had previously been missing in his life.
The only person that had more concern for Mr. Hooper than for personal discomfort of approaching the veiled face was his wife. She was not afraid of the crepe divider, not at first.
Elizabeth holds hope out to Mr. Hooper; "there is nothing terrible in this piece of crepe, except that it hides a face which I am always glad to look upon. Come, good sir, let the sun shine from behind the cloud. First lay aside your black veil; then tell me why you put it on. (Pg. 109, Charters)"
Mr. Hooper refuses the hope she offers and insists that she or no one else can come behind it until he dies. Mr. Hooper mourns that his spirit is faulty and unable to visible to the world due to its weakness. The minister rejects his wife and the hope she offers to him. The secrets of his heart he wishes to be comforted, but his inability to be vulnerable to her confidence closes the last door of human intimacy. Elizabeth once hopeful is now taken over by the terror of the black veil and she leaves him to his own delusions. Mr. Hooper can't comprehend why his dear Elizabeth could not abide the veil and takes no responsibility for the loss of his loving wife.
Mr. Hooper was an excellent minister. The black veil he wore provided him with the kind of power over men and women that many desire. He used that power to gain disciples and grow a faithful and obedient congregation. Sadly, the minister had to sell all happiness to succeed in station in life.
Simple pleasures like taking a daily walk became impossible as the people that he wished to see would flee form his presence and those he had no desire to see would chase after him like his shadow. Children ran from him as soon as they caught sight of him. Slowly but surely the black veil he thought would empower him, had become a prison allowing no light, hope or love entrance. Mr. Hooper had lost his life, his sanity to a swatch of fabric. It is a common ailment of mankind though, to sacrifices everything that makes them human in order to attain a bizarre sense of perfection.
Mr. Hooper did gain many converts, but the power to convict sin and offer grace was an offer only available to his flock and not to his own heart.
Death for most believers is a time that is focused upon release form mortal chains and transfers citizenship to heavenly residence. Heaven is a place of forgiveness and release from the sin of life but Mr. Hooper holds close to his fear and his black veil even in death.
"Why do you tremble at me alone?...Tremble also at each other! Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled only for my black veil? What, but the mystery which it obscurely typifies, has made this piece of crepe so awful? When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend; the lover to his best-beloved; when man does not vainly shrink form the eye of the Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and lo! On every visage a Black Veil! (Pg. 114, Charters)"
Mr. Hooper is buried with the black veil upon his face, how sad an ending for a man obsessed with living perfectly. In one aspect Mr. Hooper was correct, mankind wears many different kinds of veils to hide the inner man. Some men and women pursue selfish goals, while attempting to wear a veil of false humility. Other people live in secret sin, while walking about pointing at the weakness and visible sin in the lives of their peers. All humanity wears one mask or another. The saddest of veils are the ones that steal, kill and destroy like the black veil Mr. Hooper wears eternally.
Mr. Hooper offered salvation to other but was numb to the salvation he needed in his own life. His mistake was wearing his "cross" instead of bearing it. His ideal of perfection made it impossible for his to expose the needs of his own heart - forgiveness of sin. Being tied up in performance and success are sure means of either falling on your face or putting a mask on to hide the imperfections.
The minister in this short story should have followed after Moses' veil example in being transparent before God and protecting his people from fear. Manipulating peoples' behavior by force with fear only creates a congregation of puppets and players. Perfect love cast out fear it doesnt wear it around his face.
Works Cited:
1. The Bible Gateway/ www.biblegateway.com, Exodus
Chapter 34:29-35
2. The American Short Story and Its Writer, Ann Charters:Copyright 2000 by Bedford/St. Martins. Boston, MA 0211
"The Radiant Face of Moses
34:29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD. (Bible Gateway / www.biblegateway.com)"
Moses, the leader of the Israelites wears a veil to protect the eyes of his people from the brightness of his face after spending time in the presence of God. It seems that Moses reveals his face before God to assure that there is nothing separating him form God's presence, but his concern for his family and friends causes him to shield them from this uncanny glow.
The Minister in Hawthorne's short story is also a man of God determined to wear a veil, but his motivation was one to induce fear and control over his congregation instead of shielding them from something they could not absorb.
" Such was the effect of this simple piece of crape, that more than one woman of delicate nerves was forced to leave the meeting house. Yet perhaps the pale-faced congregation was almost as fearful a sight to the minister, as the black veil to them. (Pg 105, Charters)"
Perhaps the minister could have been fearful of his congregation and possibly desired to make up for the own human insecurity he carried in is heart by placing a holy veil between him and them. If he retained such a distance, he might possibly be a more effective minister than if he relied upon his own personality and wits. Was it possible that the minister was afraid to be himself, unguarded and imperfect as it might jeopardize his effectiveness as a young minister as well?
The effect of his veil did prove to make him a more powerful speaker. His words were no louder or spirited, but the veil he wore spoke volumes to the hearts of the people that listened. The reaction of the congregation was visible: ladies left the room in fear and listeners raised their hands to their chest in conviction. After the message, the Minister was usually swarmed with crowds of people desiring to walk with him, speak on a one-on-one basis, or invite him to Sunday dinner. No one came near him. No one begged his attentions. He simply retired to his home and closed the door.
The villagers that had been so quiet in the minister's presence began to mutter out loud as to what could be the reason for this sudden change in his clerical attire. Was he ill? Was he trying to teach them something? Was he hiding some secret sin? The questions to this abrupt change stewed in the kettle of controversy and fear.
Fearful rumors concerning the minister only increased as he continued carrying on his duties. Before the funeral of a young village woman, a parishioner was said to witness the minister leaning over the body of the dead girl and her body was said to shudder at the closeness of his revealed face. Other witnesses at the girl's funeral looked backwards in the funeral procession almost expecting, "that the minister and the maiden's spirit were walking hand in hand. (Pg. 108, Charters).
The minister had always been a joyful asset to happy occasions, but his presence at weddings now placed a shroud of death over what should have been lively and exciting event. His presence turned the rosy-cheeked bride pale with dread. Some even thought the spirit of the recently buried maiden had taken residence in the once blushing bride. Even his own demeanor proved to be distressing as he gave the wedding toast to celebrate the nuptials.
"At a that instant, catching a glimpse of his figure in the looking glass, the black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others. His frame shuddered his lips grew white he spilt the untasted wine on the carpet and rushed forth into the darkness. For the Earth, too, had on her Black Veil. (Pg 108, Charters)"
Gossip was the only means of communication within the village concerning the reasons why the veil had taken residence upon the minister's face. The oppressive nature of the veil kept all from asking him the reason for the wearing of it. Even the elders and leaders of the church were unable to confront the minister Mr. Hooper concerning the details of the black veil.
Mr. Hooper seemed to enjoy the discomfort caused by his higher-ups. Perhaps the young minister had taken some abuse or criticism from the church leaders in the past and now they were powerless to even look him in the eye. The black veil that initially had separated him from humanity was now providing him with the power and control that had previously been missing in his life.
The only person that had more concern for Mr. Hooper than for personal discomfort of approaching the veiled face was his wife. She was not afraid of the crepe divider, not at first.
Elizabeth holds hope out to Mr. Hooper; "there is nothing terrible in this piece of crepe, except that it hides a face which I am always glad to look upon. Come, good sir, let the sun shine from behind the cloud. First lay aside your black veil; then tell me why you put it on. (Pg. 109, Charters)"
Mr. Hooper refuses the hope she offers and insists that she or no one else can come behind it until he dies. Mr. Hooper mourns that his spirit is faulty and unable to visible to the world due to its weakness. The minister rejects his wife and the hope she offers to him. The secrets of his heart he wishes to be comforted, but his inability to be vulnerable to her confidence closes the last door of human intimacy. Elizabeth once hopeful is now taken over by the terror of the black veil and she leaves him to his own delusions. Mr. Hooper can't comprehend why his dear Elizabeth could not abide the veil and takes no responsibility for the loss of his loving wife.
Mr. Hooper was an excellent minister. The black veil he wore provided him with the kind of power over men and women that many desire. He used that power to gain disciples and grow a faithful and obedient congregation. Sadly, the minister had to sell all happiness to succeed in station in life.
Simple pleasures like taking a daily walk became impossible as the people that he wished to see would flee form his presence and those he had no desire to see would chase after him like his shadow. Children ran from him as soon as they caught sight of him. Slowly but surely the black veil he thought would empower him, had become a prison allowing no light, hope or love entrance. Mr. Hooper had lost his life, his sanity to a swatch of fabric. It is a common ailment of mankind though, to sacrifices everything that makes them human in order to attain a bizarre sense of perfection.
Mr. Hooper did gain many converts, but the power to convict sin and offer grace was an offer only available to his flock and not to his own heart.
Death for most believers is a time that is focused upon release form mortal chains and transfers citizenship to heavenly residence. Heaven is a place of forgiveness and release from the sin of life but Mr. Hooper holds close to his fear and his black veil even in death.
"Why do you tremble at me alone?...Tremble also at each other! Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled only for my black veil? What, but the mystery which it obscurely typifies, has made this piece of crepe so awful? When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend; the lover to his best-beloved; when man does not vainly shrink form the eye of the Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and lo! On every visage a Black Veil! (Pg. 114, Charters)"
Mr. Hooper is buried with the black veil upon his face, how sad an ending for a man obsessed with living perfectly. In one aspect Mr. Hooper was correct, mankind wears many different kinds of veils to hide the inner man. Some men and women pursue selfish goals, while attempting to wear a veil of false humility. Other people live in secret sin, while walking about pointing at the weakness and visible sin in the lives of their peers. All humanity wears one mask or another. The saddest of veils are the ones that steal, kill and destroy like the black veil Mr. Hooper wears eternally.
Mr. Hooper offered salvation to other but was numb to the salvation he needed in his own life. His mistake was wearing his "cross" instead of bearing it. His ideal of perfection made it impossible for his to expose the needs of his own heart - forgiveness of sin. Being tied up in performance and success are sure means of either falling on your face or putting a mask on to hide the imperfections.
The minister in this short story should have followed after Moses' veil example in being transparent before God and protecting his people from fear. Manipulating peoples' behavior by force with fear only creates a congregation of puppets and players. Perfect love cast out fear it doesnt wear it around his face.
Works Cited:
1. The Bible Gateway/ www.biblegateway.com, Exodus
Chapter 34:29-35
2. The American Short Story and Its Writer, Ann Charters:Copyright 2000 by Bedford/St. Martins. Boston, MA 0211
Only 3 favorite books?
I have to say that choosing just three favorite books is very difficult, but here are a few of they many favorites I have!
Watership Down by Richard Adams
"CHORUS: Why do you cry out thus, unless at some vison of horror?
CASSANDRA: The house reeks of death and dripping blood.
CHORUS: How so? Tis' but the ordor of the alter sacrifice.
CASSANDRA: The stench is like a breath from the tomb.
Aeschylus, Agamemnon
The primroses were over."
The overwhelming darkness in the opening of Watership Down compelled me to discover the root of the problem. In the meadow of life, why so much reference to death and sacrifice? It may be a morbid beginning that caught my attention, but the first time I read it I was about thirteen years old and had recently gone through the ongoing illness and death of my older sister. There was comfort in this book knowing that someone else knew about death and the effects it has on a person, a family and a community. This book was on my bookshelf then and it remains there now as a reminder of the lives encountered along the way.
------------------------------------------------------------
The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the un fashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninty-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green plant whose ape-descented life forms are so amazingly primitave that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea...."
The immediate tone of the writer made me want to say, "Earth is not insignificant!". "We are more sophisticated than loving our digital toys!" Or are we? The sarcastic humor of this book carried me thorugh the entire series at a time that reading for entertainment had been lost to me. The story of relentless man against the world, the universe really, had a way of drawing my imagination back to life. This book made reading fun again after a self induced dry season.
---------------------------------
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
"We have been lost to each other for so long. My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust..."
How may people have felt their story is lost, nothing or something to be cleaned up - like dust. The Red Tent retells Dee-nah's story ( she was the daughter of Leah, Rachel,Zilpha, and Bilhah - the wives of Jacob of the old testament). Although much ficional leway is taken with the story, Diamant succeeds in telling womans story with more realistic truth about the ancient daily struggles faced and makes them situations any woman can relate to in the present day. This story is every womans story. It embraces the full experience of life and teaches the reader how to carry on in hope and faith for the future.
Watership Down by Richard Adams
"CHORUS: Why do you cry out thus, unless at some vison of horror?
CASSANDRA: The house reeks of death and dripping blood.
CHORUS: How so? Tis' but the ordor of the alter sacrifice.
CASSANDRA: The stench is like a breath from the tomb.
Aeschylus, Agamemnon
The primroses were over."
The overwhelming darkness in the opening of Watership Down compelled me to discover the root of the problem. In the meadow of life, why so much reference to death and sacrifice? It may be a morbid beginning that caught my attention, but the first time I read it I was about thirteen years old and had recently gone through the ongoing illness and death of my older sister. There was comfort in this book knowing that someone else knew about death and the effects it has on a person, a family and a community. This book was on my bookshelf then and it remains there now as a reminder of the lives encountered along the way.
------------------------------------------------------------
The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the un fashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninty-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green plant whose ape-descented life forms are so amazingly primitave that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea...."
The immediate tone of the writer made me want to say, "Earth is not insignificant!". "We are more sophisticated than loving our digital toys!" Or are we? The sarcastic humor of this book carried me thorugh the entire series at a time that reading for entertainment had been lost to me. The story of relentless man against the world, the universe really, had a way of drawing my imagination back to life. This book made reading fun again after a self induced dry season.
---------------------------------
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
"We have been lost to each other for so long. My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust..."
How may people have felt their story is lost, nothing or something to be cleaned up - like dust. The Red Tent retells Dee-nah's story ( she was the daughter of Leah, Rachel,Zilpha, and Bilhah - the wives of Jacob of the old testament). Although much ficional leway is taken with the story, Diamant succeeds in telling womans story with more realistic truth about the ancient daily struggles faced and makes them situations any woman can relate to in the present day. This story is every womans story. It embraces the full experience of life and teaches the reader how to carry on in hope and faith for the future.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Rome if you want to
"Rome wasn't built in a day", was a phrase my Dad aways used to say ( and still does). I have always been fascinated at his focus and ability to accomplish what I thought were impossible tasks. As a police officer, he wore a uniform to work everyday. That act of conforming always seemed too restrictive for me to abide. Ironically, I've worked for the Salvation Army for the last seven years and every Sunday morning what do I wear? I wear a navy blue uniform to church. There I go conforming to something I thought I never would.
Rome though reminds me of my life in general. There are always errands to run for my family and myself. There are always houshold projects, cleaning and laundry to be done. There are long work hours, time spent on college projects and many things that need "builidng" everyday.
So everyday I try to build Rome a little more. I seek to do and excellent job in ministering to the youth of my church. I always do at least two loads of laundry a day in order to keep Rome from becoming buried in whites. I am in my last sememster of my BA program and I can't even begin to procees the days that have gone into buliding that part of Rome.
Rome wasn't built in a day and my life wasn't either. At times I wish my life looked perfect like a pristine, white gallery in Rome, but the truth of the matter is I don't live there. That kind of house would look funny in my neighborhood.
I remember asking my Dad when I was a small child, "How long did it take to build Rome then?" He would just smile and tell me to look it up in an encyclopedia.
Some projects are bigger than we can understand, just as I couldn't understand the vastness of Rome as a small child. My life and Rome have a great deal in common, I just need the patience and persistance to see it built in full.
Rome though reminds me of my life in general. There are always errands to run for my family and myself. There are always houshold projects, cleaning and laundry to be done. There are long work hours, time spent on college projects and many things that need "builidng" everyday.
So everyday I try to build Rome a little more. I seek to do and excellent job in ministering to the youth of my church. I always do at least two loads of laundry a day in order to keep Rome from becoming buried in whites. I am in my last sememster of my BA program and I can't even begin to procees the days that have gone into buliding that part of Rome.
Rome wasn't built in a day and my life wasn't either. At times I wish my life looked perfect like a pristine, white gallery in Rome, but the truth of the matter is I don't live there. That kind of house would look funny in my neighborhood.
I remember asking my Dad when I was a small child, "How long did it take to build Rome then?" He would just smile and tell me to look it up in an encyclopedia.
Some projects are bigger than we can understand, just as I couldn't understand the vastness of Rome as a small child. My life and Rome have a great deal in common, I just need the patience and persistance to see it built in full.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Rockin' at The Salvation Army?
Call it alternative, punk, emo, screamo, or hardcore. Whatever you call it, it’s not music you would normally associate with The Salvation Army. But a youth group in Warren, Pennsylvania may change all that with its unique concert outreach.
Warren County is located in rural Northwestern Pennsylvania. An active Salvation Army corps helps out its most needy residents by providing food, clothing, and utility assistance. Embers Youth Group is an integral part of its ministry to the community, too, since one out of four people in the county is under the age of eighteen.
“Our corps wants to see young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible,” says youth ministries director Tara Eastman. “We look at religious education as something that provides an education for living. The emphasis is on putting what we believe into action.”
Teenagers get together every Friday night for a recreation time where they can choose between video games, shooting hoops, pool, ping-pong, surfing the web, or just hanging out. The last part of the night finds the group over snacks talking about faith and how to apply it with each other, and at home, school, and work. Youth also participate in morning worship, Sunday school, volunteer activities, youth councils, and summer camp.
It’s a well-run program that has experienced growth over the last eighteen months. But when a survey of Warren County high school students revealed that only about fifty-six percent participate in weekly religious activities, Eastman began to pray for an opportunity to connect with some of the young people who weren’t connected to a church.
Enter Annie Chaos, a 17 year-old high school student that the youth ministries director met during a round of visitation at the local student union. Well-connected to the local music scene, she was interested in organizing some sort of fun community event for her peers.
“There aren’t a lot of activities offered for teens. And always hanging out at restaurants can get expensive,” says Ms. Chaos. “I suggested putting on a punk show because it would give young people something they would want to do at a price they could afford.”
Convinced that this opportunity would meet both of their objectives, the high-schooler and youth director went to work. They chose a Sunday night during a long weekend off school, when they knew nothing else would be going on. They secured the services of four Christian punk bands for the event. Chaos got commitments from fellow students to run the PA system and take tickets at the door. Eastman asked for adult volunteers from the corps to run a snack bar and mix in with students during the show. Public Service Announcements for the show were run in the local paper and radio. Posters were displayed around town. Many more invites were sent via e-mail and myspace.
All the hard work paid off during a cold January night. Over 160 young people packed themselves into The Salvation Army gymnasium to hear the music and message of Last Tuesday, Staple, The New Ending, and Clearview. The basic needs of eight children living in the third world were sponsored through a special collection. Youth received a corps calendar of events. Many people believe that the corps and the young people of the community were brought closer together that night.
“We were surprised at the number of adults who showed up to support us,” says Chaos. “Sometimes adults assume young people are bad because of their clothes or hairstyle. But I was accepted at The Salvation Army.”
The adults were impressed with the teens, too. Eastman explains: “I had a few skeptical volunteers who were afraid that I secretly invited them to be there as bouncers. But once they saw how well the young people behaved, they wanted to know how soon I could plan another youth event.”
The benefits of the unique outreach continue to this day. New young people have found a church in The Salvation Army and are present at youth group and in morning worship. Existing corps members are more aware of the young people in the community and are looking for ways to lend a hand. Another two or three shows are planned for the next year.
Embers Youth Group would encourage other youth groups to follow suit and try an outreach event. As one teen was overheard to say during the show, “What good is the best youth group in the world if people don’t know about it?”
The punk movement is known for a do-it-yourself tenacity, creativity, and discontent with the status quo. All characteristics, Eastman is quick to point out, it shares with The Salvation Army. “Teens are hungry for something real to base their lives on. They want to make a difference and be involved. The Salvation Army can help young people meet those needs.”
Warren County is located in rural Northwestern Pennsylvania. An active Salvation Army corps helps out its most needy residents by providing food, clothing, and utility assistance. Embers Youth Group is an integral part of its ministry to the community, too, since one out of four people in the county is under the age of eighteen.
“Our corps wants to see young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible,” says youth ministries director Tara Eastman. “We look at religious education as something that provides an education for living. The emphasis is on putting what we believe into action.”
Teenagers get together every Friday night for a recreation time where they can choose between video games, shooting hoops, pool, ping-pong, surfing the web, or just hanging out. The last part of the night finds the group over snacks talking about faith and how to apply it with each other, and at home, school, and work. Youth also participate in morning worship, Sunday school, volunteer activities, youth councils, and summer camp.
It’s a well-run program that has experienced growth over the last eighteen months. But when a survey of Warren County high school students revealed that only about fifty-six percent participate in weekly religious activities, Eastman began to pray for an opportunity to connect with some of the young people who weren’t connected to a church.
Enter Annie Chaos, a 17 year-old high school student that the youth ministries director met during a round of visitation at the local student union. Well-connected to the local music scene, she was interested in organizing some sort of fun community event for her peers.
“There aren’t a lot of activities offered for teens. And always hanging out at restaurants can get expensive,” says Ms. Chaos. “I suggested putting on a punk show because it would give young people something they would want to do at a price they could afford.”
Convinced that this opportunity would meet both of their objectives, the high-schooler and youth director went to work. They chose a Sunday night during a long weekend off school, when they knew nothing else would be going on. They secured the services of four Christian punk bands for the event. Chaos got commitments from fellow students to run the PA system and take tickets at the door. Eastman asked for adult volunteers from the corps to run a snack bar and mix in with students during the show. Public Service Announcements for the show were run in the local paper and radio. Posters were displayed around town. Many more invites were sent via e-mail and myspace.
All the hard work paid off during a cold January night. Over 160 young people packed themselves into The Salvation Army gymnasium to hear the music and message of Last Tuesday, Staple, The New Ending, and Clearview. The basic needs of eight children living in the third world were sponsored through a special collection. Youth received a corps calendar of events. Many people believe that the corps and the young people of the community were brought closer together that night.
“We were surprised at the number of adults who showed up to support us,” says Chaos. “Sometimes adults assume young people are bad because of their clothes or hairstyle. But I was accepted at The Salvation Army.”
The adults were impressed with the teens, too. Eastman explains: “I had a few skeptical volunteers who were afraid that I secretly invited them to be there as bouncers. But once they saw how well the young people behaved, they wanted to know how soon I could plan another youth event.”
The benefits of the unique outreach continue to this day. New young people have found a church in The Salvation Army and are present at youth group and in morning worship. Existing corps members are more aware of the young people in the community and are looking for ways to lend a hand. Another two or three shows are planned for the next year.
Embers Youth Group would encourage other youth groups to follow suit and try an outreach event. As one teen was overheard to say during the show, “What good is the best youth group in the world if people don’t know about it?”
The punk movement is known for a do-it-yourself tenacity, creativity, and discontent with the status quo. All characteristics, Eastman is quick to point out, it shares with The Salvation Army. “Teens are hungry for something real to base their lives on. They want to make a difference and be involved. The Salvation Army can help young people meet those needs.”
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
My Soul is Blessed Tonight
I'm so glad that class has moved on from Greek philosophy to Augustine. There were some things about Aristotle that really engaged my mind, but Augustine blesses my soul. (I catch myself neglecting my notes from time to time because I'm so caught up in the reading.)
God reigns gloriously supreme in Augustine's reckoning. Running away in denial is futile, as the saint writes: "…where does he go or where does he flee save from Thee to Thee—from God well-pleased to God angered?" (58) We seek to fill our appetites with the pleasures of sin, but the appetite is misdirected. It is in reality a hunger for God: "Seek what you seek, but it is not where you seek it. You seek happiness in the land of death, and it is not there. For how shall there be happiness of life where there is no life?" (60)
Despite all the talk of grace, we Christians often want to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, don't we? (That is supposing we even have bootstraps…) I identified with Augustine's reliance on himself for self-control. I think of how long I struggled with different sins in my life for so long thinking I could overcome by my own sheer force of will. I, like the saint, "… did not think of [God's] mercy as a healing medicine for that weakness, because I had not tried it. I thought that continency was a matter of my own strength" (101)…
The readings put me in mind of the wonderful testimonies of our learning community. Such desires to cut through it all just to know and be known by God in an ever-deepening love affair...
WORK CITED
Augustine, F.J. Sheed (trans.). The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward, 1970.
God reigns gloriously supreme in Augustine's reckoning. Running away in denial is futile, as the saint writes: "…where does he go or where does he flee save from Thee to Thee—from God well-pleased to God angered?" (58) We seek to fill our appetites with the pleasures of sin, but the appetite is misdirected. It is in reality a hunger for God: "Seek what you seek, but it is not where you seek it. You seek happiness in the land of death, and it is not there. For how shall there be happiness of life where there is no life?" (60)
Despite all the talk of grace, we Christians often want to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, don't we? (That is supposing we even have bootstraps…) I identified with Augustine's reliance on himself for self-control. I think of how long I struggled with different sins in my life for so long thinking I could overcome by my own sheer force of will. I, like the saint, "… did not think of [God's] mercy as a healing medicine for that weakness, because I had not tried it. I thought that continency was a matter of my own strength" (101)…
The readings put me in mind of the wonderful testimonies of our learning community. Such desires to cut through it all just to know and be known by God in an ever-deepening love affair...
WORK CITED
Augustine, F.J. Sheed (trans.). The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward, 1970.
The Folly of Sin
I wasn't sure what I would make of Augustine after reading the short introduction to his life and thought in Who Are We. On one hand, transitioning from philosophy to "...the will, rather than reason, [as] our dominant feature" (Pojman 75) found me at ease in familiar territory. On the other, I wasn't sure what to make of the Great Chain of Being and Just War theory.
There is a warmth and candor present in The Confessions despite the passage of time and translation of the original language. As Augustine recounts his spiritual journey, I couldn't help but get the sense that he is telling the story of the whole human race. He must have been a great man.
Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. Augustine's description of adolescence isn't that different from what young people go through today: "My one delight was to love and be loved" (Augustine 23) illustrates the question am I capable of love. "Someone cries 'Come on, let's do it'—and we would be ashamed to be ashamed" (31) is a great description of peer pressure if I ever heard one.
In Book Two, Chapter IV, Augustine describes a long list of sins and explains that each of them is a shallow reflection of an attribute of God. He states: “…the soul is guilty of fornication when she turns from You and seeks from any other source what she will find pure and without taint unless she returns to You. Thus even those who go from You and stand up against You are still perversely imitating You” (Augustine 29).
The great tragedy of our sin is that we're trying to fulfill a genuine desire with a counterfeit that can never ever satisfy.
WORKS CITED
Augustine, F.J. Sheed (trans.). The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward, 1970.
Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We?: Theories of Human Nature. New York, NY: Oxford, 2006.
There is a warmth and candor present in The Confessions despite the passage of time and translation of the original language. As Augustine recounts his spiritual journey, I couldn't help but get the sense that he is telling the story of the whole human race. He must have been a great man.
Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. Augustine's description of adolescence isn't that different from what young people go through today: "My one delight was to love and be loved" (Augustine 23) illustrates the question am I capable of love. "Someone cries 'Come on, let's do it'—and we would be ashamed to be ashamed" (31) is a great description of peer pressure if I ever heard one.
In Book Two, Chapter IV, Augustine describes a long list of sins and explains that each of them is a shallow reflection of an attribute of God. He states: “…the soul is guilty of fornication when she turns from You and seeks from any other source what she will find pure and without taint unless she returns to You. Thus even those who go from You and stand up against You are still perversely imitating You” (Augustine 29).
The great tragedy of our sin is that we're trying to fulfill a genuine desire with a counterfeit that can never ever satisfy.
WORKS CITED
Augustine, F.J. Sheed (trans.). The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward, 1970.
Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We?: Theories of Human Nature. New York, NY: Oxford, 2006.
Monday, September 11, 2006
"Excuse me Ms. Liberty is you light going out?"
The New Colossus 1883
By: Emma Lazarus
Poem Review
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Outside the reach of the welcoming arms of the statue of liberty and Ellis Island lie gates that separate and guards that keep watch over the borders of the land behind the golden door: America. It is perplexing to comprehend the contrast of the attitude of the lady in this poem to that of many Americans today.
Once upon a time, America - the melting pot, was a country known for its freedom, democracy and openness to immigrants; but this unique freedom seems to be dimming from plain view. There is much debate within the United States on what makes an individual American. Those individuals that have immigrated into this country legally in recent years often feel a sense of disgust for those people that break through the borders illegally. Some legal immigrants sense that border runners have cheated their way into the country, but there is little consideration as to why the border runners are so intent to make their way into the U.S. While some dismiss the poor living conditions, non-sustaining wages, and government oppression as poor reasons for flight to America. It is interesting that legal immigrants often relocate to the U.S. for the very same reasons. The difference simply being that some individuals have the resources or connections to be processed legally, while others may not.
The New Colossus, written by Emma Lazarus in 1883; seems to be writing about a much different country than we live in 2006.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
The United Kingdom seems to match this description at the time this poem was penned, but the atmosphere and global appearance of the United States is currently alike this image of an impassable, aggressive entity that the writer so negatively portraits. Its as if our county has become like an imposing, uncaring parent tied up in nominal details of their childs life while turning a blind eye to their basic daily needs.
Compassion, strength and hope are the words that come to mind as Lazarus describes the Mother of the Exiles in the next phrase.
Here our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged Harbor that twin cities frame,
Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! cries she
Imagine the warmest most steadfast welcome an individual can receive and before them stands, Mother of the Exiles. Her arms are open to the world, inviting the weary world entrance into two cities (and an entire country) full of possibility. Her wish is that the excessive, wealthy and privileged people of the world would stay in the lands that they had succeeded so to provide a new land of opportunity for those that had no splendor in life.
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
This Mother of the Exiles was not interested in welcoming people into her land that could provide something for her benefit. She was intent on accepting, caring for and welcoming those people that no one else desired.
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tosses to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
I cant help but wonder where I would be (and if I would be) had my great-great grandmother and grandfather had not been permitted to enter this county from Wales over a hundred years ago. What was it that drew my distant relatives to come to this country? For most immigrants then, it was the hope for a better present and future for themselves and their families. Today it is the same desire, to have the life that is only possible in America: a life full of opportunities, potential and the American dream.
The Mother of the Exiles raised her lantern to the huddled masses even before a segment of Lazaruss poem was placed on the base of the statues platform. Her poem was found after her passing by a New York arts patron in a collection of writings gathered to raise funds to purchase the platform for the statue in 1883. Upon the discovery, the last five lines of the poem were placed upon the platform that Lazarus had prior to the death had helped to raise funds for. After twenty years of visitors to the statue, school textbook accounts of the poem and the inclusion of the sonnet in a Berlin Broadway musical; the entire poem was placed over the main entrance to the statue in 1945.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/LIBERTY/lazarus.html)
In this country, there is great debate over what makes a person an American. Some strictly say citizenship is the key, association of a particular religion for some holds some importance, others it is a commitment to pledge allegiance to the flag, and still others say that training and education are critical to acquire citizenship. (In the Monitor, 8/21/06;USA Stories: World Wide Web) While it is important to consider the effects that overpopulation could possibly have upon individual opportunity and the stability of the countrys economic structure, it is the dramatic turn in attitude towards potential immigrants that raises some serious questions.
In the year 1883, Lazarus a wealthy New Yorker, wrote a poem to welcome a population of individuals that in 2006 that many privileged political or socially important individuals would refuse to consider becoming Americans. It would be naïve to assume that all American citizens were pleased by the great influx of immigrants to American in the 1800s. The bias that many Mexican and Iranian immigrants face today is very similar to the difficulties faced by the Welsh and Irish immigrants of Lazarus day, but many Welsh and the Irish did immigrate successfully into America.
The current attitudes of many Americans concerning present day immigration policy cause me to wonder if the new immigrants will succeed in even gaining the opportunity to attempt the American dream? It is the fluidity or multicultural diversity that has provided America to be a country that is unique to all others. It is the willingness to open the golden door and absorb the ideas and perspectives of new blood that has always kept our county vital and progressive. If this country, often referred to as the melting pot is taken off of the stove due to fear of who and what we dont know or understand, we are in danger of become stale and spoiled by our own self absorption.
Emma Lazarus poem The New Colossus is a reminder of the optimistic, compassionate heart that yearned for people, all people, to be free. It is that free America that I desire to live in, learn in and pledge allegiance too. Light you lantern America, the world is watching and praying to see the light of hope shining bright.
By: Emma Lazarus
Poem Review
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Outside the reach of the welcoming arms of the statue of liberty and Ellis Island lie gates that separate and guards that keep watch over the borders of the land behind the golden door: America. It is perplexing to comprehend the contrast of the attitude of the lady in this poem to that of many Americans today.
Once upon a time, America - the melting pot, was a country known for its freedom, democracy and openness to immigrants; but this unique freedom seems to be dimming from plain view. There is much debate within the United States on what makes an individual American. Those individuals that have immigrated into this country legally in recent years often feel a sense of disgust for those people that break through the borders illegally. Some legal immigrants sense that border runners have cheated their way into the country, but there is little consideration as to why the border runners are so intent to make their way into the U.S. While some dismiss the poor living conditions, non-sustaining wages, and government oppression as poor reasons for flight to America. It is interesting that legal immigrants often relocate to the U.S. for the very same reasons. The difference simply being that some individuals have the resources or connections to be processed legally, while others may not.
The New Colossus, written by Emma Lazarus in 1883; seems to be writing about a much different country than we live in 2006.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
The United Kingdom seems to match this description at the time this poem was penned, but the atmosphere and global appearance of the United States is currently alike this image of an impassable, aggressive entity that the writer so negatively portraits. Its as if our county has become like an imposing, uncaring parent tied up in nominal details of their childs life while turning a blind eye to their basic daily needs.
Compassion, strength and hope are the words that come to mind as Lazarus describes the Mother of the Exiles in the next phrase.
Here our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged Harbor that twin cities frame,
Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! cries she
Imagine the warmest most steadfast welcome an individual can receive and before them stands, Mother of the Exiles. Her arms are open to the world, inviting the weary world entrance into two cities (and an entire country) full of possibility. Her wish is that the excessive, wealthy and privileged people of the world would stay in the lands that they had succeeded so to provide a new land of opportunity for those that had no splendor in life.
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
This Mother of the Exiles was not interested in welcoming people into her land that could provide something for her benefit. She was intent on accepting, caring for and welcoming those people that no one else desired.
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tosses to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
I cant help but wonder where I would be (and if I would be) had my great-great grandmother and grandfather had not been permitted to enter this county from Wales over a hundred years ago. What was it that drew my distant relatives to come to this country? For most immigrants then, it was the hope for a better present and future for themselves and their families. Today it is the same desire, to have the life that is only possible in America: a life full of opportunities, potential and the American dream.
The Mother of the Exiles raised her lantern to the huddled masses even before a segment of Lazaruss poem was placed on the base of the statues platform. Her poem was found after her passing by a New York arts patron in a collection of writings gathered to raise funds to purchase the platform for the statue in 1883. Upon the discovery, the last five lines of the poem were placed upon the platform that Lazarus had prior to the death had helped to raise funds for. After twenty years of visitors to the statue, school textbook accounts of the poem and the inclusion of the sonnet in a Berlin Broadway musical; the entire poem was placed over the main entrance to the statue in 1945.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/LIBERTY/lazarus.html)
In this country, there is great debate over what makes a person an American. Some strictly say citizenship is the key, association of a particular religion for some holds some importance, others it is a commitment to pledge allegiance to the flag, and still others say that training and education are critical to acquire citizenship. (In the Monitor, 8/21/06;USA Stories: World Wide Web) While it is important to consider the effects that overpopulation could possibly have upon individual opportunity and the stability of the countrys economic structure, it is the dramatic turn in attitude towards potential immigrants that raises some serious questions.
In the year 1883, Lazarus a wealthy New Yorker, wrote a poem to welcome a population of individuals that in 2006 that many privileged political or socially important individuals would refuse to consider becoming Americans. It would be naïve to assume that all American citizens were pleased by the great influx of immigrants to American in the 1800s. The bias that many Mexican and Iranian immigrants face today is very similar to the difficulties faced by the Welsh and Irish immigrants of Lazarus day, but many Welsh and the Irish did immigrate successfully into America.
The current attitudes of many Americans concerning present day immigration policy cause me to wonder if the new immigrants will succeed in even gaining the opportunity to attempt the American dream? It is the fluidity or multicultural diversity that has provided America to be a country that is unique to all others. It is the willingness to open the golden door and absorb the ideas and perspectives of new blood that has always kept our county vital and progressive. If this country, often referred to as the melting pot is taken off of the stove due to fear of who and what we dont know or understand, we are in danger of become stale and spoiled by our own self absorption.
Emma Lazarus poem The New Colossus is a reminder of the optimistic, compassionate heart that yearned for people, all people, to be free. It is that free America that I desire to live in, learn in and pledge allegiance too. Light you lantern America, the world is watching and praying to see the light of hope shining bright.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Aristotle & Spiritual Formation
I will examine the key philosophical concepts of Aristotle, as recorded in Nicomachean Ethics, and propose applications for their adaptation in the practice of Christian spiritual formation.
The use of a Greek philosopher to inform Christian practices may be questioned by some, and justifiably so. After all, an authority no less than Saint Paul warned that, “…the wisdom of the world is foolishness in God’s sight” (1 Corinthians 3:19 NIV). A closer examination of this verse within the context of the epistle, however, makes it clear that he is addressing divisions in the Corinthian church caused by immature individuals who were idolizing different teachers. Saint Paul was evidently schooled enough in philosophy to address the Areopagus in Athens. Furthermore, he demonstrated a willingness to use Greek philosophy to explain some aspects of the Gospel in a way that the Athenians could understand. (This is recorded in the Book of Acts, chapter 17.)
It is true that Aristotle’s thought differs in some respects from traditional Christianity. This is reason enough to disqualify his body of work entirely in the estimation of some Christians. This need not be. As Michael Joseph Brown wisely points out, “Scholars do the best they can in analyzing the evidence at their disposal, but sometimes their analysis is wrong…Regardless of the reasons for a mistaken analysis, being wrong on some issues does not make one wrong on all issues” (128-129).
Perhaps the most compelling reason for practitioners of soul care familiarize themselves with Aristotle is that perhaps no one else in history has so extensively explored and defined the philosophy of human nature. As Richard J. Foster addresses in Celebration of Discipline, “Superficiality is the curse of our age…The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people” (1). In a culture where wearing a Christian t-shirt passes as an example of righteous living, we desperately need the seminal writings of Aristotle to both challenge and inform our thinking about virtue and moral knowledge.
The meaning of life is a riddle that people have pondered throughout history. Perhaps the answer has become even more elusive in our postmodern age. Aristotle offers a response to the age-old question: happiness (Aristotle 3). That answer may appear too simplistic, or maybe even naive, but this most likely results from a misunderstanding of the philosopher’s definition versus a contemporary colloquial understanding of the term. Happiness—eudaimonia in the original Greek—means “living well and doing well” (Aristotle 3). It is “a life directed toward worthwhile goals” (Pojman 64) and is characterized by excellence.
Incorporating the Aristotelian view of life’s purpose into a spiritual formation context could be transformative for Christians. An unfortunate characteristic of Evangelicalism is that it often utilizes guilt as a motivating factor for change in its adherents. This has resulted in a kind of deficit thinking norm among Christians in whom there is much obsession with defeat and inadequacy. However, adopting a vision of life motivated towards excellence in all things would result in a thriving individuals captivated more by the possibilities of new life in Christ than the prospect of “slipping up.” It is the difference between putting a car in drive versus just sitting there staring in the rear view mirror. After all, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV). A life devoted to Christ should be one characterized as living well and doing well!
Often Christians appear to value altar experiences and beliefs more than the actual lived out experience of obedience. Aristotle argues that the highest good is a lived out reality. “…It matters quite a bit whether we suppose that the best good consists in possessing or using…For someone may be in a state that achieves no good—if, for instance, he is asleep or inactive in some other way—but this cannot be true of the activity; for it will necessarily act and act well. And just as the Olympic prizes are not for the finest and strongest, but for the contestants—since it is only those who win…The same is true in life…only those who act correctly win the prize” (Aristotle 11). The philosopher’s deliberations can inform and enlighten our teaching on holy living, as we, like Saint Paul encourage people to “Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24).
Nicomachean Ethics is not an easy read, but the diligent reader will be rewarded with much insight into subjects such as justice, friendship, truthfulness, and generosity. The book exposes how shallow is much of our thinking. Often people hold beliefs without ever delving beneath the surface of a topic. In the context of religion, this often results in a faith that sounds great in the confines of the church but is inadequate for the complexities of life. Incorporation of this kind of introspection should be a goal of every spiritual formation program.
George Barna writes in Growing True Disciples that, "...most born-again adults are limited in their ability to grow spiritually because they have failed to set any goals for their spiritual development..." (36) Adopting Aristotle's concept of excellence (living and doing well) as the goal of life is an excellent strategy for stimulating Christian growth.
WORKS CITED
Barna, George. Growing True Disciples. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook, 2001.
Brown, Michael Joseph. What They Don’t Tell You. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2000.
Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row, 1988.
Life Application Bible (NIV). Grand Rapids, MI, 1991.
Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We? Theories of Human Nature. New York, NY: Oxford, 2006.
Aristotle and Irwin, Terence (tran.). Nicomachean Ethics. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1999.
The use of a Greek philosopher to inform Christian practices may be questioned by some, and justifiably so. After all, an authority no less than Saint Paul warned that, “…the wisdom of the world is foolishness in God’s sight” (1 Corinthians 3:19 NIV). A closer examination of this verse within the context of the epistle, however, makes it clear that he is addressing divisions in the Corinthian church caused by immature individuals who were idolizing different teachers. Saint Paul was evidently schooled enough in philosophy to address the Areopagus in Athens. Furthermore, he demonstrated a willingness to use Greek philosophy to explain some aspects of the Gospel in a way that the Athenians could understand. (This is recorded in the Book of Acts, chapter 17.)
It is true that Aristotle’s thought differs in some respects from traditional Christianity. This is reason enough to disqualify his body of work entirely in the estimation of some Christians. This need not be. As Michael Joseph Brown wisely points out, “Scholars do the best they can in analyzing the evidence at their disposal, but sometimes their analysis is wrong…Regardless of the reasons for a mistaken analysis, being wrong on some issues does not make one wrong on all issues” (128-129).
Perhaps the most compelling reason for practitioners of soul care familiarize themselves with Aristotle is that perhaps no one else in history has so extensively explored and defined the philosophy of human nature. As Richard J. Foster addresses in Celebration of Discipline, “Superficiality is the curse of our age…The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people” (1). In a culture where wearing a Christian t-shirt passes as an example of righteous living, we desperately need the seminal writings of Aristotle to both challenge and inform our thinking about virtue and moral knowledge.
The meaning of life is a riddle that people have pondered throughout history. Perhaps the answer has become even more elusive in our postmodern age. Aristotle offers a response to the age-old question: happiness (Aristotle 3). That answer may appear too simplistic, or maybe even naive, but this most likely results from a misunderstanding of the philosopher’s definition versus a contemporary colloquial understanding of the term. Happiness—eudaimonia in the original Greek—means “living well and doing well” (Aristotle 3). It is “a life directed toward worthwhile goals” (Pojman 64) and is characterized by excellence.
Incorporating the Aristotelian view of life’s purpose into a spiritual formation context could be transformative for Christians. An unfortunate characteristic of Evangelicalism is that it often utilizes guilt as a motivating factor for change in its adherents. This has resulted in a kind of deficit thinking norm among Christians in whom there is much obsession with defeat and inadequacy. However, adopting a vision of life motivated towards excellence in all things would result in a thriving individuals captivated more by the possibilities of new life in Christ than the prospect of “slipping up.” It is the difference between putting a car in drive versus just sitting there staring in the rear view mirror. After all, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV). A life devoted to Christ should be one characterized as living well and doing well!
Often Christians appear to value altar experiences and beliefs more than the actual lived out experience of obedience. Aristotle argues that the highest good is a lived out reality. “…It matters quite a bit whether we suppose that the best good consists in possessing or using…For someone may be in a state that achieves no good—if, for instance, he is asleep or inactive in some other way—but this cannot be true of the activity; for it will necessarily act and act well. And just as the Olympic prizes are not for the finest and strongest, but for the contestants—since it is only those who win…The same is true in life…only those who act correctly win the prize” (Aristotle 11). The philosopher’s deliberations can inform and enlighten our teaching on holy living, as we, like Saint Paul encourage people to “Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24).
Nicomachean Ethics is not an easy read, but the diligent reader will be rewarded with much insight into subjects such as justice, friendship, truthfulness, and generosity. The book exposes how shallow is much of our thinking. Often people hold beliefs without ever delving beneath the surface of a topic. In the context of religion, this often results in a faith that sounds great in the confines of the church but is inadequate for the complexities of life. Incorporation of this kind of introspection should be a goal of every spiritual formation program.
George Barna writes in Growing True Disciples that, "...most born-again adults are limited in their ability to grow spiritually because they have failed to set any goals for their spiritual development..." (36) Adopting Aristotle's concept of excellence (living and doing well) as the goal of life is an excellent strategy for stimulating Christian growth.
WORKS CITED
Barna, George. Growing True Disciples. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook, 2001.
Brown, Michael Joseph. What They Don’t Tell You. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2000.
Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row, 1988.
Life Application Bible (NIV). Grand Rapids, MI, 1991.
Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We? Theories of Human Nature. New York, NY: Oxford, 2006.
Aristotle and Irwin, Terence (tran.). Nicomachean Ethics. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1999.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Live Long and Prosper
I'm not a big television watcher and rarely schedule an evening around a program. But I made an exception last night. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, TV Land played 4 episodes in a row from the original series.
I'm glad I took the time. Star Trek brought me so much enjoyment as a child and it was fun to see that the magic was still there. It made me nostalgic for my old Mego figures and model kits!
I'm glad I took the time. Star Trek brought me so much enjoyment as a child and it was fun to see that the magic was still there. It made me nostalgic for my old Mego figures and model kits!
Friday, September 08, 2006
Bucky is not Robin Hood
It is difficult to even bring up the entire situation concerning the Bucky persuit and apprehension without many people simataniously shouting "Shut Up" at me.
But I will try to make a point that is derived out of the situation, but not directly about Bucky himself.
Here's the situation. Bucky was in jail because he had broken the law/and had an "extensive" criminal record. If you don't mind, take a look at this statement concerning his repeated attempts to escape.
____________________________________________________
"Phillips, who is 43 and has an extensive criminal record, ... escaped from the Alden jail by using a can opener to pry open a kitchen ceiling. This was not the first time Phillips tried to escape from a jail. Phillips was an inmate at Chautauqua County Jail in 1992 when authorities there learned his then-girlfriend planned to smuggle a handcuff key to him during a visit, Deputy Douglas E. Walter said in an interview."
Deputies intercepted the girlfriend when she arrived at the jail, found the key and thwarted the escape plot, Walter said." - online artice ( no url))
___________________________________________
There are many people that don't like cops in general. Some may have personal reasons for such feelings, but I find myself becoming frustrated by the nastsy and negative language being used to describe the police.
I have a simple suggestion. Think about all the men and women that have worked round to clock in heat, rain and darkness all to protect the community at large from an allegedly violent criminal. How can their efforts to protect cause so many to react agressively?
Why are people calling the police names and then speaking about Mr. Phillips like he's Robin Hood? The cops are just doing their job. Would you rather have violent people running around shooting at you or the people you care about; or would you prefer to consider the time, energy and effort devoted to the protection of the community?
I realise that everyone is tired about hearing about this entire situation, but I;m haveing a difficult time processing the angst and suspicion againt the police - specifically the two officers that were injured last week. Some think that they shot at Mr. Phillips first - or that the actions of CPS (removing his grandchildren from thier mother's home) aggrivated and caused him to shoot the police in revenge. First off CPS (child protective services) and the police are two seperate entities. In all cases, CPS seeks to maintain a family unit unless they feel that the children are being abused, neglected or in a situation that is too dangeous for thier presence to continue in a home. If that safety can't be established or maintained in the home, CPS with "temporarily" remove the children from the home until the situation is resolved.
Back to my point, Bucky killed that police officer by shooting him in the leg. The bullets from the high powered rifle severed the main artery in his leg ( in most cases when shot in a main artery the person will bleed out within 3 minutes - essentailly the person will be legally dead.) So the officer bled to death within 3 minutes - the paramedic arrived about 25 minutes after the incident, he was then was revived by paramedics, sent to a hosptial in Buffalo,later the doctors attempted to save his life by amputating his injured leg, but this was not enough to save his live. The officer died - all because he was trying to protect people like us.
I don't mean to come on so strong - but human life is treated too carelessly anymore. At least this cop cared enough about other humans to risk and give his life - for us. He was only 32 years old he had a family. He was human too.
"Tony Longobardo of Schenectady told Capital News 9 that he and his family initially thought Joe, a 32-year-old member of the state police Mobile Response Team, would survive the gunshot wound that first cost him a leg, then his life.
... Longobardo died three days after being shot in western New York while on surveillance duty in the search for escaped convict Ralph ``Bucky" Phillips....Before joining the state police, Joe Longobardo served in the Marines and then in a Schenectady County-based unit of the New York Air National Guard. ...
Tony Longobardo told the Albany television station that everything his son did was aimed at serving the community....
Joe Longobardo is survived by his wife and their one-year-old son. His funeral is Monday morning in Saratoga Springs. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-09-07-06 1056EDT".
Forgive the length of this rant, but it seems weird to me that the person that should be seen as a hero is being looked at by many as a thing, an instigatior or a killing machine.
Weird when he was the one that was killed.
So do me a favor, show some respect. Even if you don't care for policemen, try to look at the man who died as a young married man who by his death leaves his wife as a widow and his 1 year old child without a father.... because he thought about and cared for his community.
This whole situation is going to continue to be a media circus. People are going to talk about it alot. I suppose my hope would be that all the families hurting because of it would receive some comfort. I hope that Mr. Phillips' grandchildren can rest knowing that he wasn't harmed when taken into custody and I hope that the police officers that have been working around the clock and go home to be with their families. I hope that the people injured or the family of the officer that was killed can know that no one else will be in danger and that their sacrifices were noticed by someone, somewhere. ( I noticed)
Good night Pennsylvania and New York - get some rest, you've earned it!
But I will try to make a point that is derived out of the situation, but not directly about Bucky himself.
Here's the situation. Bucky was in jail because he had broken the law/and had an "extensive" criminal record. If you don't mind, take a look at this statement concerning his repeated attempts to escape.
____________________________________________________
"Phillips, who is 43 and has an extensive criminal record, ... escaped from the Alden jail by using a can opener to pry open a kitchen ceiling. This was not the first time Phillips tried to escape from a jail. Phillips was an inmate at Chautauqua County Jail in 1992 when authorities there learned his then-girlfriend planned to smuggle a handcuff key to him during a visit, Deputy Douglas E. Walter said in an interview."
Deputies intercepted the girlfriend when she arrived at the jail, found the key and thwarted the escape plot, Walter said." - online artice ( no url))
___________________________________________
There are many people that don't like cops in general. Some may have personal reasons for such feelings, but I find myself becoming frustrated by the nastsy and negative language being used to describe the police.
I have a simple suggestion. Think about all the men and women that have worked round to clock in heat, rain and darkness all to protect the community at large from an allegedly violent criminal. How can their efforts to protect cause so many to react agressively?
Why are people calling the police names and then speaking about Mr. Phillips like he's Robin Hood? The cops are just doing their job. Would you rather have violent people running around shooting at you or the people you care about; or would you prefer to consider the time, energy and effort devoted to the protection of the community?
I realise that everyone is tired about hearing about this entire situation, but I;m haveing a difficult time processing the angst and suspicion againt the police - specifically the two officers that were injured last week. Some think that they shot at Mr. Phillips first - or that the actions of CPS (removing his grandchildren from thier mother's home) aggrivated and caused him to shoot the police in revenge. First off CPS (child protective services) and the police are two seperate entities. In all cases, CPS seeks to maintain a family unit unless they feel that the children are being abused, neglected or in a situation that is too dangeous for thier presence to continue in a home. If that safety can't be established or maintained in the home, CPS with "temporarily" remove the children from the home until the situation is resolved.
Back to my point, Bucky killed that police officer by shooting him in the leg. The bullets from the high powered rifle severed the main artery in his leg ( in most cases when shot in a main artery the person will bleed out within 3 minutes - essentailly the person will be legally dead.) So the officer bled to death within 3 minutes - the paramedic arrived about 25 minutes after the incident, he was then was revived by paramedics, sent to a hosptial in Buffalo,later the doctors attempted to save his life by amputating his injured leg, but this was not enough to save his live. The officer died - all because he was trying to protect people like us.
I don't mean to come on so strong - but human life is treated too carelessly anymore. At least this cop cared enough about other humans to risk and give his life - for us. He was only 32 years old he had a family. He was human too.
"Tony Longobardo of Schenectady told Capital News 9 that he and his family initially thought Joe, a 32-year-old member of the state police Mobile Response Team, would survive the gunshot wound that first cost him a leg, then his life.
... Longobardo died three days after being shot in western New York while on surveillance duty in the search for escaped convict Ralph ``Bucky" Phillips....Before joining the state police, Joe Longobardo served in the Marines and then in a Schenectady County-based unit of the New York Air National Guard. ...
Tony Longobardo told the Albany television station that everything his son did was aimed at serving the community....
Joe Longobardo is survived by his wife and their one-year-old son. His funeral is Monday morning in Saratoga Springs. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-09-07-06 1056EDT".
Forgive the length of this rant, but it seems weird to me that the person that should be seen as a hero is being looked at by many as a thing, an instigatior or a killing machine.
Weird when he was the one that was killed.
So do me a favor, show some respect. Even if you don't care for policemen, try to look at the man who died as a young married man who by his death leaves his wife as a widow and his 1 year old child without a father.... because he thought about and cared for his community.
This whole situation is going to continue to be a media circus. People are going to talk about it alot. I suppose my hope would be that all the families hurting because of it would receive some comfort. I hope that Mr. Phillips' grandchildren can rest knowing that he wasn't harmed when taken into custody and I hope that the police officers that have been working around the clock and go home to be with their families. I hope that the people injured or the family of the officer that was killed can know that no one else will be in danger and that their sacrifices were noticed by someone, somewhere. ( I noticed)
Good night Pennsylvania and New York - get some rest, you've earned it!
I need Fishermans eyes.
I need Fishermans eyes.
I was just reading the account of Peter last night.He and his frineds were out fishing but there were no fish to be caught. Jesus appears and tells them to try again so they do and the nets are overflowing with fish. In fact the net is so full that another boat has to be called out to help, the nets start to tear and the boats start to sink with the weight of the load.
Peter cowers in Jesus presence when he realises this situation occured by Jesus doing. Peter tells him he's not worthy to be in his persence. Jesus tells him to get up - "Now you are going fishing for people".
Peter had to come to God as he was ( dirty, sweaty, salt fo the earth fisherman) and God did amazing things in and through him. God purposed his life to seek out, catch and bring souls home to God. What some may have considered to be an unlikely candidate for Godly work was used for a divine purpose.
May I not be afraid to come to God, as I am. It's necessary that I accept that the things I may not like about myself (ie. cowering like Peter) as that "thing" may be the very tool that God is planning to help seek after hurting, weary and hopeless souls. In this moment and every moment may I say, "Okay, lets go fishing."
Thank you that you love me, take me and teach me as I am. Help me to look at others with fisherman's eyes
I was just reading the account of Peter last night.He and his frineds were out fishing but there were no fish to be caught. Jesus appears and tells them to try again so they do and the nets are overflowing with fish. In fact the net is so full that another boat has to be called out to help, the nets start to tear and the boats start to sink with the weight of the load.
Peter cowers in Jesus presence when he realises this situation occured by Jesus doing. Peter tells him he's not worthy to be in his persence. Jesus tells him to get up - "Now you are going fishing for people".
Peter had to come to God as he was ( dirty, sweaty, salt fo the earth fisherman) and God did amazing things in and through him. God purposed his life to seek out, catch and bring souls home to God. What some may have considered to be an unlikely candidate for Godly work was used for a divine purpose.
May I not be afraid to come to God, as I am. It's necessary that I accept that the things I may not like about myself (ie. cowering like Peter) as that "thing" may be the very tool that God is planning to help seek after hurting, weary and hopeless souls. In this moment and every moment may I say, "Okay, lets go fishing."
Thank you that you love me, take me and teach me as I am. Help me to look at others with fisherman's eyes
Thursday, September 07, 2006
I Survived Nicomachean Ethics!!!
Reading Nicomachean Ethics hasn't been without its challenges. More that once I felt like the kid in the Far Side cartoon who raises his hand and says to the teacher, "May I be excused? My brain is full." I do, however, think I got the gist of Aristotle's philosophy in the end. (I'll find out for certain when I get my 2nd essay paper back!)
There are a few aspects from Nichomachean Ethics that I will incorporate into future spiritual formation/mentoring activities.
George Barna wrote in Growing True Disciples that, "...most born-again adults are limited in their ability to grow spiritually because they have failed to set any goals for their spiritual development..." (36) Aristotle's argument for excellence (living and doing well) as the goal of life was well argued. Stimulating individuals towards excellence in all things is a far cry from a list of dos and don'ts. It will result in a more holistic growth in the end.
Sometimes Christians value our belief in sanctification more than the actual lived out experience. But faith without works is dead -- "activity" actualizes "the state". Aristotle can add a lot to teaching on faith and works.
There are a few aspects from Nichomachean Ethics that I will incorporate into future spiritual formation/mentoring activities.
George Barna wrote in Growing True Disciples that, "...most born-again adults are limited in their ability to grow spiritually because they have failed to set any goals for their spiritual development..." (36) Aristotle's argument for excellence (living and doing well) as the goal of life was well argued. Stimulating individuals towards excellence in all things is a far cry from a list of dos and don'ts. It will result in a more holistic growth in the end.
Sometimes Christians value our belief in sanctification more than the actual lived out experience. But faith without works is dead -- "activity" actualizes "the state". Aristotle can add a lot to teaching on faith and works.
Words & Meaning
It's inevitable that languages change over time. Often we don't actually learn the definition of a word -- we infer its meaning by its usage and the other words around it. So we're often a little fuzzy on the precise definition of a word. Sometimes the process can completely bungle the meaning: my learning cohort was surprised last semester when we looked at the dictionary meaning of prodigal.
I heard one time that English has something like a quarter of a million distinct words, but the average adult only has a vocabulary of approximately 50,000 words. How does that affect us when we're trying to convey something so important as the Gospel? I think this can create some real hurdles. I wonder how many people sitting in churches this Sunday will get the meaning that the pastor intends? It's so important to define words like holy, sanctify, grace, etc...
I heard one time that English has something like a quarter of a million distinct words, but the average adult only has a vocabulary of approximately 50,000 words. How does that affect us when we're trying to convey something so important as the Gospel? I think this can create some real hurdles. I wonder how many people sitting in churches this Sunday will get the meaning that the pastor intends? It's so important to define words like holy, sanctify, grace, etc...
Cutting Corners
How many wrongs occur, not because people have chosen to be out and out evil, but because they've taken a shortcut to having a good result. You know, the idea of the ends justifying the means and all that. (Think King Saul doing most -- but not all -- of what he was commanded to do. He was genuinely surprised at his rejection.)
I can recount from my own life -- but won't -- the number of times I've created a big mess because I "cut corners" for an expedient resolution to something.
But the fruit looks so pleasing to the eye sometimes...
I can recount from my own life -- but won't -- the number of times I've created a big mess because I "cut corners" for an expedient resolution to something.
But the fruit looks so pleasing to the eye sometimes...
Summer Dreams and moonbeams
This summer working at camp was a time to get out of my world, make new friends and best of all meet him…
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The moment was one that she had replayed over and over again in her mind’s eye. His strong muscular arms enfolded her waist. His hands rested upon her hips as he leaned in pausing with his face so close that she could feel his breath.
This summer working at camp had been a time to meet new people, make new friends and best of all meet him…
If she had known that he was promised to another maybe she would not have kissed him in the moon- light. If she knew he was motivated out of lust and not love would she restrained her heart from beating too fast as he walked past her every day. She had the choice to go on that walk with him that cool summer evening. Her mind may have said no, but her heart refused to listen to reason. Romance had made the choice for her.
She fell in love. He kissed her in the moonlight and left at the end of the week to go home to his girlfriend. Her mind hated her heart for betraying her so foolishly. Romance is unpredictable. Loving couples spend their entire lives attempting to maintain romantic love in the midst of reality. Love is the ordered form of organized chaos and romance is chaos unrestrained. Although the heart and mind of this girl felt betrayed, it was romance that really made her a fool.
Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream is a mystical play focused only on the way that love and the race into it is a road full of confusion, emotional outbursts and chaos. It is necessary to define the different aspects of romance and love in order to find truth in the whole matter of romantic relationships. Simply put some romances are meant to be short lived, others are strewn with spats, jealousy and conflict, and then there are the “true loves” that endure forbidding family members and insincere rivals, It is only possible for “true love” to endure when it is lived out honestly in the reality of daily life.
The background of this play falls upon the wedding festivities of Theseus (the Duke of Athens) and Hippolyta (the Queen of the amazons). In the midst of their preparations the Duke is drawn into a dispute between a father (Egeus) and daughter (Hermia) regarding the decision of allowing her to marry for love or to brush aside her feelings to concede to the tradition of marrying the spouse decided upon by her father. Hermia’s father desires that she marry the man he has chosen, but she is not in love with him. Hermia is forced to decide to marry a man she does not love (Demetrius) or be sent away to live as a nun or be put to death. Hermia and her true love Lysander decide that the only way they are to be wed is to run away through the forest and seek sanctuary with Lysander’s aunt. Helena, a young woman obsessed with Demetrius and the romance they once had, overhears Herima and Lysander’s plan of escape. She realizes that this may be an opportunity to regain his affection and tells Lysander of Hermia and Lysander’s plans to run away together. Lysander no longer has any affection for Helena, but follows her directions out of his spite towards Demetrius.
Upon entering the forest, the two couples are no longer alone in their conflict. In fact, their lives are about to be tested and toyed with by Oberon (King of the Fairies), Titania (the Fairy Queen), and Puck the wood fairy. The forest is brimming with activity as a group of laborers also gather to secretly rehearse a play they hope to perform for the wedding celebration of Theseus and Hippolyta.
The king and queen of the fairies have a great difficulty in keeping the peace in their relationship as they quibble over the rights each one has over an orphaned boy.
In his frustration, the king accuses the queen of loving the mortal Duke and she in turn accuses the king of being in love with the Amazon bride to be. Their argument can’t be settled and she goes off to be attended to by her court before she goes to sleep. The king decides to trick the queen into loving someone ugly in hopes that she will loose interest in the orphaned child and release him to become the king’s page.
Magic and potions are introduced when Puck, the fairy king’s servant, is called to retrieve a charmed flower from cupid to control who loves whom. When the petals of this flower are touch the eyes of a sleeping victim they are helpless to fall in love with the first person or thing that their waking eyes see. Upon witnessing a dispute between Helena and Lysander, the king of the fairies instructs Puck to touch Lysander’s sleeping eyes with the charmed flower in order that Helena will have her love and the other couple would be free to marry without interference form Lysander. Puck confuses Demetrius with Lysander and creates more chaos as Hermia realizes her true love no longer loves her. Her feelings are more hurt when she sees Demetrius gazing lovingly upon Helena, her newfound rival. Love is found, love is lost and the once adored Hermia now understands the feelings of rejection experienced by the overwhelmed Helena.
The king of the fairies is unaware of Pucks error as he is wrapped up in his own scheme of revenge and trickery. Puck comes across the laborers rehearsing in the woods and chooses to turn Bottom, the most charismatic actor of the group, into a donkey-faced suitor to be viewed by the flower altered eyes of the Fairy Queen. The Queen falls in love with the donkey faced Bottom and his every whim is attended to by the fairy court. Bottom is enthralled by the beauty surrounding him but is confused by the unaltered affection of the fairy queen despite his ugly appearance.
Puck has realized now that he has cast a spell upon the wrong man’s eyes and seeks assistance from the fairy king to restore the couples to rights. Oberon causes a thick fog to fall upon the wood so that the lovers can’t find each other. All four lovers fall into a deep sleep. Puck is sent to touch the eyes of Demetrius with a correcting potion and correctly carries out the task.
Meanwhile, the king of the Fairies sees that his plan to trick the queen is resulting in her paying absolutely no attention to him and grows jealous of her attentions towards donkey- faced Bottom. He casts a deep sleep over Titania and Bottom and uses the eye remedy to restore her love toward him. In his sleep, Bottom is restored to his normal form and sleeps on the edge of the wood until morning. The king and queen of the fairies are reconciled and are once again happy in the love they hold for each other; and the quarrel is forgotten.
Demetrius, Hermia, Lysander and Helena are found sleeping on the edge of the forest by Ergus, the duke and his fiancé’ Hippolyta. The Duke and Hermia’s father listen attentively as Lysander makes a pledge of his love to Helena and Demetrius restates his ongoing devotion to Hermia. In this odd turn of events, the Duke grants permission for them to marry for love and invites the two couples to join him and be wedded at the upcoming festivities. Ergus is not pleased at this decision, but does nothing to interfere with his daughter’s wedding plans.
Bottom wakens to find his mind full of images and dreams from the night before, but rushes off to find his fellow actors in order to attempt a performance for the wedding of the duke. The actors assemble and hurry off to the court in order to be considered by the wedding party as a source of entertainment and are chosen by the duke to perform their short comedy tragedy.
The play performed by Bottom and his friends tells a tale of love between separated lovers that when finally given the chance to meet are met with disaster. The girl goes to the garden and is pursued by a lion that injures her and she flees. The man goes to the garden to meet his love only to find her bloodstained scarf and kills himself thinking his love dead. She returns, to find her love dead and takes his sword and in grief ends her own life.
The players bumble through the tragedy, but their errors in execution of the play turn this tragedy into a comedy as the wedding guests take the errors as intentional farce. The newly wedded Duke gives his approval of their efforts and they are rewarded with tokens of appreciation.
The couples climb the stairs to bed at “fairy time” (midnight) and go to sleep in the arms of their true loves arms. Bottom returns home and looks to the night sky to ponder the night in the woods and the love he received from the Queen of the fairies.
Puck wraps up the story and tries to make good on the chaos of the entire Dream and
states,
“Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:”
Puck enjoys all the meddling with the foolish mortals relationships, but he’s willing to mend things given a little direction and help. Puck really could be considered the risk in all the romances explored in this play. Romance is composed of risks, hope and excitement. If romance is to last, the conflicts of romantic relationships must be balanced with grace forgiveness and unselfish love. We have to be willing to “mend “ if romance is going to live a long life.
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Summer camp is a place where love can grow, bloom and die at such a fast pace. It is a greenhouse of social and cultural societies. Various people are thrown together to work, live and play together; they are tossed together and create this magical microcosm functioning apart from but still touching the lives and macrocosm of the outside world.
While summer camp romances and friendships live or die by the interest or whim of the members of that “camp world”, the couples in Midsummer Nights Dream are initially limited in their reality by the authorities in their daily lives. It is only when the “fairies” have a chance to take action, however bumbling the efforts, that the couples are freed to marry for love. This reversal of control is much like the first year camp staffer experiencing the freedom to make his or her own bumbling choices their first time away from home.
The first time away from home is an opportunity to create your own life. Demetrius and Hermia simply wanted to start their life together. Helena desired to mend her relationship with Lysander and regain the love they once had. Egeus hoped to make the best decision to provide for his daughter’s future. Theseus and Hippolyta were committed to each other and through the festivities of their marriage were able to bring two other couples into loving committed relationships.
Not everyone is looking for the same things from their relationships. In this play, the whim of romance could have turned all the characters lives upside down. Demetrius could have lost his love to death by her decision to choose him. Hermia could have been put away in isolation due to the decision to commit to Demetrius. She could have also made the choice to follow her father’s wishes and marry a man she did not love, in order to save her own life. Helena, Demetrius, Hermia and Lysander all would have suffered if Hermia had chosen to marry out of obedience and not for love. Her father may have had the satisfaction of making that decision; but he wouldn’t have to live with the consequences of it.
Love is unpredictable, even the King and Queen of fairies knew that. While most of the love relationships in this play bounced around between courtly love, erotic love, puppy love, lust love, unrequited love, romantic love and instantaneous love; it is obvious that true love was the inspiration for the creation of this play. So many of Shakespeare’s plays focus on the tragedy of love lost or love unrequited so it’s wonderful to read and watch a play (in the midst of it’s frivolity) have a truly happy ending.
______________________________________________________________________
My summer at camp may not have had a happy ending, but it was my hope for true love that eventually helped it to be delivered into my real life. Love is a risky proposition. There are risks for looking foolish, living with heartache or losing your love to another. True love is worth all of the risk to invite moonbeams on cool summer evenings, to welcome romance into the everyday and to live magically in fairy time and the real time of my life.
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The moment was one that she had replayed over and over again in her mind’s eye. His strong muscular arms enfolded her waist. His hands rested upon her hips as he leaned in pausing with his face so close that she could feel his breath.
This summer working at camp had been a time to meet new people, make new friends and best of all meet him…
If she had known that he was promised to another maybe she would not have kissed him in the moon- light. If she knew he was motivated out of lust and not love would she restrained her heart from beating too fast as he walked past her every day. She had the choice to go on that walk with him that cool summer evening. Her mind may have said no, but her heart refused to listen to reason. Romance had made the choice for her.
She fell in love. He kissed her in the moonlight and left at the end of the week to go home to his girlfriend. Her mind hated her heart for betraying her so foolishly. Romance is unpredictable. Loving couples spend their entire lives attempting to maintain romantic love in the midst of reality. Love is the ordered form of organized chaos and romance is chaos unrestrained. Although the heart and mind of this girl felt betrayed, it was romance that really made her a fool.
Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream is a mystical play focused only on the way that love and the race into it is a road full of confusion, emotional outbursts and chaos. It is necessary to define the different aspects of romance and love in order to find truth in the whole matter of romantic relationships. Simply put some romances are meant to be short lived, others are strewn with spats, jealousy and conflict, and then there are the “true loves” that endure forbidding family members and insincere rivals, It is only possible for “true love” to endure when it is lived out honestly in the reality of daily life.
The background of this play falls upon the wedding festivities of Theseus (the Duke of Athens) and Hippolyta (the Queen of the amazons). In the midst of their preparations the Duke is drawn into a dispute between a father (Egeus) and daughter (Hermia) regarding the decision of allowing her to marry for love or to brush aside her feelings to concede to the tradition of marrying the spouse decided upon by her father. Hermia’s father desires that she marry the man he has chosen, but she is not in love with him. Hermia is forced to decide to marry a man she does not love (Demetrius) or be sent away to live as a nun or be put to death. Hermia and her true love Lysander decide that the only way they are to be wed is to run away through the forest and seek sanctuary with Lysander’s aunt. Helena, a young woman obsessed with Demetrius and the romance they once had, overhears Herima and Lysander’s plan of escape. She realizes that this may be an opportunity to regain his affection and tells Lysander of Hermia and Lysander’s plans to run away together. Lysander no longer has any affection for Helena, but follows her directions out of his spite towards Demetrius.
Upon entering the forest, the two couples are no longer alone in their conflict. In fact, their lives are about to be tested and toyed with by Oberon (King of the Fairies), Titania (the Fairy Queen), and Puck the wood fairy. The forest is brimming with activity as a group of laborers also gather to secretly rehearse a play they hope to perform for the wedding celebration of Theseus and Hippolyta.
The king and queen of the fairies have a great difficulty in keeping the peace in their relationship as they quibble over the rights each one has over an orphaned boy.
In his frustration, the king accuses the queen of loving the mortal Duke and she in turn accuses the king of being in love with the Amazon bride to be. Their argument can’t be settled and she goes off to be attended to by her court before she goes to sleep. The king decides to trick the queen into loving someone ugly in hopes that she will loose interest in the orphaned child and release him to become the king’s page.
Magic and potions are introduced when Puck, the fairy king’s servant, is called to retrieve a charmed flower from cupid to control who loves whom. When the petals of this flower are touch the eyes of a sleeping victim they are helpless to fall in love with the first person or thing that their waking eyes see. Upon witnessing a dispute between Helena and Lysander, the king of the fairies instructs Puck to touch Lysander’s sleeping eyes with the charmed flower in order that Helena will have her love and the other couple would be free to marry without interference form Lysander. Puck confuses Demetrius with Lysander and creates more chaos as Hermia realizes her true love no longer loves her. Her feelings are more hurt when she sees Demetrius gazing lovingly upon Helena, her newfound rival. Love is found, love is lost and the once adored Hermia now understands the feelings of rejection experienced by the overwhelmed Helena.
The king of the fairies is unaware of Pucks error as he is wrapped up in his own scheme of revenge and trickery. Puck comes across the laborers rehearsing in the woods and chooses to turn Bottom, the most charismatic actor of the group, into a donkey-faced suitor to be viewed by the flower altered eyes of the Fairy Queen. The Queen falls in love with the donkey faced Bottom and his every whim is attended to by the fairy court. Bottom is enthralled by the beauty surrounding him but is confused by the unaltered affection of the fairy queen despite his ugly appearance.
Puck has realized now that he has cast a spell upon the wrong man’s eyes and seeks assistance from the fairy king to restore the couples to rights. Oberon causes a thick fog to fall upon the wood so that the lovers can’t find each other. All four lovers fall into a deep sleep. Puck is sent to touch the eyes of Demetrius with a correcting potion and correctly carries out the task.
Meanwhile, the king of the Fairies sees that his plan to trick the queen is resulting in her paying absolutely no attention to him and grows jealous of her attentions towards donkey- faced Bottom. He casts a deep sleep over Titania and Bottom and uses the eye remedy to restore her love toward him. In his sleep, Bottom is restored to his normal form and sleeps on the edge of the wood until morning. The king and queen of the fairies are reconciled and are once again happy in the love they hold for each other; and the quarrel is forgotten.
Demetrius, Hermia, Lysander and Helena are found sleeping on the edge of the forest by Ergus, the duke and his fiancé’ Hippolyta. The Duke and Hermia’s father listen attentively as Lysander makes a pledge of his love to Helena and Demetrius restates his ongoing devotion to Hermia. In this odd turn of events, the Duke grants permission for them to marry for love and invites the two couples to join him and be wedded at the upcoming festivities. Ergus is not pleased at this decision, but does nothing to interfere with his daughter’s wedding plans.
Bottom wakens to find his mind full of images and dreams from the night before, but rushes off to find his fellow actors in order to attempt a performance for the wedding of the duke. The actors assemble and hurry off to the court in order to be considered by the wedding party as a source of entertainment and are chosen by the duke to perform their short comedy tragedy.
The play performed by Bottom and his friends tells a tale of love between separated lovers that when finally given the chance to meet are met with disaster. The girl goes to the garden and is pursued by a lion that injures her and she flees. The man goes to the garden to meet his love only to find her bloodstained scarf and kills himself thinking his love dead. She returns, to find her love dead and takes his sword and in grief ends her own life.
The players bumble through the tragedy, but their errors in execution of the play turn this tragedy into a comedy as the wedding guests take the errors as intentional farce. The newly wedded Duke gives his approval of their efforts and they are rewarded with tokens of appreciation.
The couples climb the stairs to bed at “fairy time” (midnight) and go to sleep in the arms of their true loves arms. Bottom returns home and looks to the night sky to ponder the night in the woods and the love he received from the Queen of the fairies.
Puck wraps up the story and tries to make good on the chaos of the entire Dream and
states,
“Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:”
Puck enjoys all the meddling with the foolish mortals relationships, but he’s willing to mend things given a little direction and help. Puck really could be considered the risk in all the romances explored in this play. Romance is composed of risks, hope and excitement. If romance is to last, the conflicts of romantic relationships must be balanced with grace forgiveness and unselfish love. We have to be willing to “mend “ if romance is going to live a long life.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summer camp is a place where love can grow, bloom and die at such a fast pace. It is a greenhouse of social and cultural societies. Various people are thrown together to work, live and play together; they are tossed together and create this magical microcosm functioning apart from but still touching the lives and macrocosm of the outside world.
While summer camp romances and friendships live or die by the interest or whim of the members of that “camp world”, the couples in Midsummer Nights Dream are initially limited in their reality by the authorities in their daily lives. It is only when the “fairies” have a chance to take action, however bumbling the efforts, that the couples are freed to marry for love. This reversal of control is much like the first year camp staffer experiencing the freedom to make his or her own bumbling choices their first time away from home.
The first time away from home is an opportunity to create your own life. Demetrius and Hermia simply wanted to start their life together. Helena desired to mend her relationship with Lysander and regain the love they once had. Egeus hoped to make the best decision to provide for his daughter’s future. Theseus and Hippolyta were committed to each other and through the festivities of their marriage were able to bring two other couples into loving committed relationships.
Not everyone is looking for the same things from their relationships. In this play, the whim of romance could have turned all the characters lives upside down. Demetrius could have lost his love to death by her decision to choose him. Hermia could have been put away in isolation due to the decision to commit to Demetrius. She could have also made the choice to follow her father’s wishes and marry a man she did not love, in order to save her own life. Helena, Demetrius, Hermia and Lysander all would have suffered if Hermia had chosen to marry out of obedience and not for love. Her father may have had the satisfaction of making that decision; but he wouldn’t have to live with the consequences of it.
Love is unpredictable, even the King and Queen of fairies knew that. While most of the love relationships in this play bounced around between courtly love, erotic love, puppy love, lust love, unrequited love, romantic love and instantaneous love; it is obvious that true love was the inspiration for the creation of this play. So many of Shakespeare’s plays focus on the tragedy of love lost or love unrequited so it’s wonderful to read and watch a play (in the midst of it’s frivolity) have a truly happy ending.
______________________________________________________________________
My summer at camp may not have had a happy ending, but it was my hope for true love that eventually helped it to be delivered into my real life. Love is a risky proposition. There are risks for looking foolish, living with heartache or losing your love to another. True love is worth all of the risk to invite moonbeams on cool summer evenings, to welcome romance into the everyday and to live magically in fairy time and the real time of my life.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Introspection and a free groaner at no charge!
There was a lot to chew on in tonight's readings in Nicomachean Ethics. I hope my post doesn't come off as too fragmented.
"After spending the largest amounts, he will refuse a small amount, and so destroy a fine result" is a quote I'm going to pull out the next time I serve on an allocations committee at church.
I enjoyed the sections on the virtues such as mildness, friendliness, truthfulness, etc. I like the way Aristotle delves so deeply into each subject. I wonder how much time Aristotle spent just in contemplation about these topics?
It makes me wonder how to incorporate this kind of introspection in a spiritual formation program. So often we rush into defining an answer to every issue before really delving into the subject. The result is too often a faith that sounds great in the confines of the church but is inadequate for the complexities of life.
I did a small group once that was just magic. It was the right mix of inquisitive individuals in a very loving environment. We would go through only a couple of verses from the Sermon on the Mount every week. (Occasionally I still run into some of these people around town and the subject of the small group still comes up.)
The section about justice is begging for a second read. One idea that impressed me was justice being pictured as the mean between doing injustice and suffering injustice.
I'll leave you all with a real groaner:
"...it is more proper to the generous person to give to the right people than to take from the right sources..." reminds me of an old joke. A parishioner complains to his pastor that a donation to the church came from gambling winnings. "We can't accept that money because it's tainted," argues the parishioner. "The only thing that's tainted about that money," replies the pastor, "is that there 'taint enough of it!"
"After spending the largest amounts, he will refuse a small amount, and so destroy a fine result" is a quote I'm going to pull out the next time I serve on an allocations committee at church.
I enjoyed the sections on the virtues such as mildness, friendliness, truthfulness, etc. I like the way Aristotle delves so deeply into each subject. I wonder how much time Aristotle spent just in contemplation about these topics?
It makes me wonder how to incorporate this kind of introspection in a spiritual formation program. So often we rush into defining an answer to every issue before really delving into the subject. The result is too often a faith that sounds great in the confines of the church but is inadequate for the complexities of life.
I did a small group once that was just magic. It was the right mix of inquisitive individuals in a very loving environment. We would go through only a couple of verses from the Sermon on the Mount every week. (Occasionally I still run into some of these people around town and the subject of the small group still comes up.)
The section about justice is begging for a second read. One idea that impressed me was justice being pictured as the mean between doing injustice and suffering injustice.
I'll leave you all with a real groaner:
"...it is more proper to the generous person to give to the right people than to take from the right sources..." reminds me of an old joke. A parishioner complains to his pastor that a donation to the church came from gambling winnings. "We can't accept that money because it's tainted," argues the parishioner. "The only thing that's tainted about that money," replies the pastor, "is that there 'taint enough of it!"
The Importance of Creative Activities for Youth
I was on vacation last week and didn't spend a lot of time browsing the news. As I caught up on the local newspaper today at work I discovered that I had a letter to the editor published last week. How cool is that?
Thank you for your editorial of August 23, Supporting art, music, which related the protective factors associated with student involvement in band and orchestra.
The 40 Developmental Assets framework, promoted by Healthy Communities-Healthy Youth of Warren County, has long recognized the importance of creative activities in youth development. Artistic expression is extremely valuable for young people. It provides them with constructive ways to spend time. It develops their skills, which builds their self-esteem. Perhaps most importantly, it gives them a way to transform difficult feelings into something meaningful and life affirming.
Parents may find it interesting that our most recent survey of adolescents reveals that creative activities is the least reported developmental asset out of a list of 40. Only 18% of young people in Warren County spend three or more hours a week involved in creative activities.
Summer vacation is quickly coming to a close and young people will soon be adjusting to a new routine. It is a wonderful time for families to discuss what kinds of creative activities appeal to their children. Find out about artistic opportunities that match their interest at school and in the community. If you discover that you share a common appreciation, consider making it a family activity once a week.
Art, music, writing, dance, and drama are all fun hobbies that can help young people develop in healthy ways.
Thank you for your editorial of August 23, Supporting art, music, which related the protective factors associated with student involvement in band and orchestra.
The 40 Developmental Assets framework, promoted by Healthy Communities-Healthy Youth of Warren County, has long recognized the importance of creative activities in youth development. Artistic expression is extremely valuable for young people. It provides them with constructive ways to spend time. It develops their skills, which builds their self-esteem. Perhaps most importantly, it gives them a way to transform difficult feelings into something meaningful and life affirming.
Parents may find it interesting that our most recent survey of adolescents reveals that creative activities is the least reported developmental asset out of a list of 40. Only 18% of young people in Warren County spend three or more hours a week involved in creative activities.
Summer vacation is quickly coming to a close and young people will soon be adjusting to a new routine. It is a wonderful time for families to discuss what kinds of creative activities appeal to their children. Find out about artistic opportunities that match their interest at school and in the community. If you discover that you share a common appreciation, consider making it a family activity once a week.
Art, music, writing, dance, and drama are all fun hobbies that can help young people develop in healthy ways.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Surviving or Thriving?
I’m entering my third week of class finally feeling like I’m finally getting it. Professor Rob’s lecture served as a good overview of Aristotle, and Nicomachean Ethics has turned out to be quite readable. Life is good. And speaking of good…
Aristotle argues that the “highest human good [is] happiness, also identified with ‘living well’ or ‘doing well’.” Virtue results from an individual’s character, and care must be taken to develop one’s character. Pleasure is the result of doing good and not an end in itself.
There are a lot of wonderful applications here for spiritual formation in my current situation. I attend a Salvation Army corps where the overwhelming majority of people we come into contact with live in poverty. With the poverty come other associated problems, such as lack of education, neglect, addiction, health problems, learning disabilities, and physical abuse.
We Sallies have a tendency to address the more obvious black and white (evangelical) sins, while never getting around to promoting thriving behaviors in individuals. In other words, we’ll encourage you to quit smoking, but may never get around to addressing your need to get a GED. (I’m not making a generalization of the whole worldwide denomination, just my little corner of it.) This has really been bothering me for the last year, but Aristotle finally showed me why.
Virtue has to grow out of one’s own character development and I think that could be better emphasized in our programs that address the formation of individuals. (Now I AM talking about the whole denomination!) Often our mentality is like that of, well, an army where we just tell people what to think and do. In the long run we do a disservice to both our members and the denomination by not teaching people why to do the right thing -- for the right reason -- at the right time. Thriving members will lead to a thriving denomination, if I’m following the philospher’s line of thinking correctly...
Finally, I need to wrap my head around the concept of pleasure being the result of doing well, because I need to be able to articulate it to others. I met a young man from inner city Pittsburgh at a recent youth camp who questioned the logic in working at McDonald’s for a few bucks a week while other young people in the neighborhood were living the good life by selling drugs.
Aristotle argues that the “highest human good [is] happiness, also identified with ‘living well’ or ‘doing well’.” Virtue results from an individual’s character, and care must be taken to develop one’s character. Pleasure is the result of doing good and not an end in itself.
There are a lot of wonderful applications here for spiritual formation in my current situation. I attend a Salvation Army corps where the overwhelming majority of people we come into contact with live in poverty. With the poverty come other associated problems, such as lack of education, neglect, addiction, health problems, learning disabilities, and physical abuse.
We Sallies have a tendency to address the more obvious black and white (evangelical) sins, while never getting around to promoting thriving behaviors in individuals. In other words, we’ll encourage you to quit smoking, but may never get around to addressing your need to get a GED. (I’m not making a generalization of the whole worldwide denomination, just my little corner of it.) This has really been bothering me for the last year, but Aristotle finally showed me why.
Virtue has to grow out of one’s own character development and I think that could be better emphasized in our programs that address the formation of individuals. (Now I AM talking about the whole denomination!) Often our mentality is like that of, well, an army where we just tell people what to think and do. In the long run we do a disservice to both our members and the denomination by not teaching people why to do the right thing -- for the right reason -- at the right time. Thriving members will lead to a thriving denomination, if I’m following the philospher’s line of thinking correctly...
Finally, I need to wrap my head around the concept of pleasure being the result of doing well, because I need to be able to articulate it to others. I met a young man from inner city Pittsburgh at a recent youth camp who questioned the logic in working at McDonald’s for a few bucks a week while other young people in the neighborhood were living the good life by selling drugs.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Where the heck did Kahunaville go?
I was greatly suprised when the anchor resturant at the Walden Galleria Mall was totally and completely gone when I went to visit it today. I suppose it is more than the idea of the resturant dissappearing and more the dissappearing of my old life that is bothering me.
My family and I used to take our old church and family on daytrips to the Buffalo Museum of Science ( which thank god is still there), Niagra Falls, The Freeway in Hamilton, Ontario, Fort. Niagra, Niagra University, and the Genessee Country Museum (thank god they were all is still there). After a visit at one of the above attractions we would almost always go to Kahunaville for dinner. The food was ok, but the atmosphere was fun. Water and light shows, game arcade, animated oversized turtles (my son used to be afraid of them), and memories galore.
If you had never been to the mall before, you never would have know what you were missing.
I knew though.
I miss the people that we used to pack into the white maxi van, I miss the friendships that grew out of those times, I miss the days that my kids were little and amazed by everything they saw and did on those trips. Happy memories for all of us.
"The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of God stands forever." This is one of my favorite verses from the Bible - it is so true. Things change, people change, but God - he's the rock I need to hold on to.
I hope that the relationships that were built on all those "Kahunaville" trips don't fade like the flowers. I know that many people have moved on from Gen Next - in so many ways.
It is my hope that they havent' moved away from God and that they haven't forgotten all the ways God reached out to them and others.
May the days we spent together be remembered for more then the places we used to go - but the lives that were changed and the difference we tried to make. Yeah we still "Got your back". We love you and we miss you...
Cheers to Kahunaville and you.
My family and I used to take our old church and family on daytrips to the Buffalo Museum of Science ( which thank god is still there), Niagra Falls, The Freeway in Hamilton, Ontario, Fort. Niagra, Niagra University, and the Genessee Country Museum (thank god they were all is still there). After a visit at one of the above attractions we would almost always go to Kahunaville for dinner. The food was ok, but the atmosphere was fun. Water and light shows, game arcade, animated oversized turtles (my son used to be afraid of them), and memories galore.
If you had never been to the mall before, you never would have know what you were missing.
I knew though.
I miss the people that we used to pack into the white maxi van, I miss the friendships that grew out of those times, I miss the days that my kids were little and amazed by everything they saw and did on those trips. Happy memories for all of us.
"The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of God stands forever." This is one of my favorite verses from the Bible - it is so true. Things change, people change, but God - he's the rock I need to hold on to.
I hope that the relationships that were built on all those "Kahunaville" trips don't fade like the flowers. I know that many people have moved on from Gen Next - in so many ways.
It is my hope that they havent' moved away from God and that they haven't forgotten all the ways God reached out to them and others.
May the days we spent together be remembered for more then the places we used to go - but the lives that were changed and the difference we tried to make. Yeah we still "Got your back". We love you and we miss you...
Cheers to Kahunaville and you.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Missing Gene, Grandpap and Annie
I don't know what it is. Possibly it's a part of getting older and look back to see the people that have made such an influence on you throughout life, but I find myself missing certain people lately. Oddly enough they are all influences in the area of music...
1. Grandpap Dunn - He always had time to sit with me, sing to me and sing with me while we puttered in his garden. I miss him as I felt such a connection to him even though I grew up 3 hours away from him. His last words to me were - "Keep working till Jesus comes."
2. Annie Immordino - Annie and I were friends, neighbors and band mates. She could play anything instrument she set her mind to and never allowed the cancer she battled to affect her joy in performing. Annie passed away less than one week of when Grandpap passed - one funeral to the next... how I miss singing with her - joy, energy and sweet harmony.
3. Gene Eugene - I never met Gene, but the music he created, produced and worked on was such a part of who I was and was to become in the 90's. Honest lyrics, honest faith and stiving to grow closer to God all in tune with the melodies he wrote - from the heart.
Read a bit about him - listen to his music - let it reach your heart like it has and continues to touch mine.
The rain makes me melancholy,
Tara
Gene Eugene
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gene Eugene
Born April 6, 1961
Canada
Died March 20, 2000
Huntington Beach, California
Gene "Eugene" Andrusco (April 6, 1961 - March 20, 2000) was a Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musician. Andrusco was best known as the leader of the funk/rock band Adam Again, a member of The Swirling Eddies (credited as Prickly Disco) and as a founding member of the roots music supergroup Lost Dogs.
Acting
Andrusco was a child actor who appeared in such programs as Bewitched (where he played young "Darrin Stevens"), The Screaming Woman (TV Movie), Gidget Gets Married (TV Movie), Jake and the Fatman, The Bold Ones and Cannon. Eugene was also a voice actor, lending his voice to several animated series, including Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, The Barkleys and The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972-1974).
Music
Many years later, Gene would form a funk/rock band called Adam Again and become the owner of the Green Room recording studios in Huntington Beach, California. Gene recorded and produced hundreds of albums at the Green Room including albums by the Aunt Bettys, The Choir, Daniel Amos, Michael Knott, Crystal Lewis, Plankeye, Starflyer 59, and others.
In 1987, Eugene, Ojo Taylor and another investor formed Brainstorm Artists International (B.A.I.), which became an important label in the development of the West Coast Christian alternative music scene. Though the record label focused primarily on modern rock artists, B.A.I also released significant contributions from early rap and hip-hop artists like Dynamic Twins and Freedom of Soul. It was also at this time that Eugene discovered future Myrrh Records artist Anointed and went on to produce their first few albums.
In 1990, Eugene joined the rock band The Swirling Eddies, where he was known as "Prickly Disco". The following year, Gene, along with Terry Scott Taylor, Derri Daugherty, and Michael Roe, formed the alt-country supergroup, the Lost Dogs. Some of his most innovative work was with CCM pioneer Jon Gibson on the albums "Love Education" "Jesus Love's Ya" which is featured in TIME/LIFE'S "100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music".
Gene Andrusco died in his sleep on March 20, 2000 in his studio. Friends said that Eugene hadn't been feeling well in recent weeks and complained of headaches the day before his death. Eugene divorced singer Riki Michele in 1994, but the two remained close until the time of his death.
[edit]
Influence and Tributes
In July of 2000, several artists joined together with Eugene's old band Adam Again, to pay tribute to the artist at the Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell, Illinois. Performers including The Choir's Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong, The 77s' Michael Roe, Mike Knott, Riki Michele and others performed over two hours of Eugene's music. The show was recorded and released as a 2 CD set the following year.
Also in 2000, The Choir recorded "Hey Gene," a song written about their friend, for their Flap Your Wings album.
In 2001, Daniel Amos released their 2 CD album, Mr. Buechner's Dream, which included a song written about Eugene entitled "Flash In Your Eyes."
Also in 2001, Northern Records released a tribute album called A Live Tribute Recording For Gene Eugene, which featured artists like Starflyer 59, D.A.S., The Violet Burning, Undercover, Michael Knott, Steve Hindalong, Altar Boys and The Prayer Chain.
In 2002, the rock band Jars of Clay recorded one of Eugene's songs, entitled "Dig", for their Furthermore - From The Studio: From The Stage album,
Also, in 2002, singer-songwriter and session-musician Richard Swift (Starflyer 59) recorded Eugene's song "Jimmy", originally featured at Lost Dogs second album Little Red Riding Hood, for his 7" entitled Buildings in America.
"Jimmy" was also recorded by Jesse Sprinkle (Poor Old Lu) on his 2006 solo release The Corner of an Unlit World (Blind Record).
In 2004, for the 20th anniversary of the Cornerstone Festival, a DVD was released entitled 20 Years and Counting, which includes a tribute to several artists that regularly performed at Cornerstone and had recently died, including Eugene, Mark Heard, Vince Ebo and Rich Mullins.
In 2005, Daniel Amos released their DVD documentary, The Making of Mr. Buechner's Dream. The video, shot mostly in Eugene's Green Room studio during the recording of the band's Mr. Buechner's Dream CD, includes a tribute to the late friend and engineer. Archive footage of Eugene in the studio is also shown.
1. Grandpap Dunn - He always had time to sit with me, sing to me and sing with me while we puttered in his garden. I miss him as I felt such a connection to him even though I grew up 3 hours away from him. His last words to me were - "Keep working till Jesus comes."
2. Annie Immordino - Annie and I were friends, neighbors and band mates. She could play anything instrument she set her mind to and never allowed the cancer she battled to affect her joy in performing. Annie passed away less than one week of when Grandpap passed - one funeral to the next... how I miss singing with her - joy, energy and sweet harmony.
3. Gene Eugene - I never met Gene, but the music he created, produced and worked on was such a part of who I was and was to become in the 90's. Honest lyrics, honest faith and stiving to grow closer to God all in tune with the melodies he wrote - from the heart.
Read a bit about him - listen to his music - let it reach your heart like it has and continues to touch mine.
The rain makes me melancholy,
Tara
Gene Eugene
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gene Eugene
Born April 6, 1961
Canada
Died March 20, 2000
Huntington Beach, California
Gene "Eugene" Andrusco (April 6, 1961 - March 20, 2000) was a Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musician. Andrusco was best known as the leader of the funk/rock band Adam Again, a member of The Swirling Eddies (credited as Prickly Disco) and as a founding member of the roots music supergroup Lost Dogs.
Acting
Andrusco was a child actor who appeared in such programs as Bewitched (where he played young "Darrin Stevens"), The Screaming Woman (TV Movie), Gidget Gets Married (TV Movie), Jake and the Fatman, The Bold Ones and Cannon. Eugene was also a voice actor, lending his voice to several animated series, including Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, The Barkleys and The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972-1974).
Music
Many years later, Gene would form a funk/rock band called Adam Again and become the owner of the Green Room recording studios in Huntington Beach, California. Gene recorded and produced hundreds of albums at the Green Room including albums by the Aunt Bettys, The Choir, Daniel Amos, Michael Knott, Crystal Lewis, Plankeye, Starflyer 59, and others.
In 1987, Eugene, Ojo Taylor and another investor formed Brainstorm Artists International (B.A.I.), which became an important label in the development of the West Coast Christian alternative music scene. Though the record label focused primarily on modern rock artists, B.A.I also released significant contributions from early rap and hip-hop artists like Dynamic Twins and Freedom of Soul. It was also at this time that Eugene discovered future Myrrh Records artist Anointed and went on to produce their first few albums.
In 1990, Eugene joined the rock band The Swirling Eddies, where he was known as "Prickly Disco". The following year, Gene, along with Terry Scott Taylor, Derri Daugherty, and Michael Roe, formed the alt-country supergroup, the Lost Dogs. Some of his most innovative work was with CCM pioneer Jon Gibson on the albums "Love Education" "Jesus Love's Ya" which is featured in TIME/LIFE'S "100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music".
Gene Andrusco died in his sleep on March 20, 2000 in his studio. Friends said that Eugene hadn't been feeling well in recent weeks and complained of headaches the day before his death. Eugene divorced singer Riki Michele in 1994, but the two remained close until the time of his death.
[edit]
Influence and Tributes
In July of 2000, several artists joined together with Eugene's old band Adam Again, to pay tribute to the artist at the Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell, Illinois. Performers including The Choir's Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong, The 77s' Michael Roe, Mike Knott, Riki Michele and others performed over two hours of Eugene's music. The show was recorded and released as a 2 CD set the following year.
Also in 2000, The Choir recorded "Hey Gene," a song written about their friend, for their Flap Your Wings album.
In 2001, Daniel Amos released their 2 CD album, Mr. Buechner's Dream, which included a song written about Eugene entitled "Flash In Your Eyes."
Also in 2001, Northern Records released a tribute album called A Live Tribute Recording For Gene Eugene, which featured artists like Starflyer 59, D.A.S., The Violet Burning, Undercover, Michael Knott, Steve Hindalong, Altar Boys and The Prayer Chain.
In 2002, the rock band Jars of Clay recorded one of Eugene's songs, entitled "Dig", for their Furthermore - From The Studio: From The Stage album,
Also, in 2002, singer-songwriter and session-musician Richard Swift (Starflyer 59) recorded Eugene's song "Jimmy", originally featured at Lost Dogs second album Little Red Riding Hood, for his 7" entitled Buildings in America.
"Jimmy" was also recorded by Jesse Sprinkle (Poor Old Lu) on his 2006 solo release The Corner of an Unlit World (Blind Record).
In 2004, for the 20th anniversary of the Cornerstone Festival, a DVD was released entitled 20 Years and Counting, which includes a tribute to several artists that regularly performed at Cornerstone and had recently died, including Eugene, Mark Heard, Vince Ebo and Rich Mullins.
In 2005, Daniel Amos released their DVD documentary, The Making of Mr. Buechner's Dream. The video, shot mostly in Eugene's Green Room studio during the recording of the band's Mr. Buechner's Dream CD, includes a tribute to the late friend and engineer. Archive footage of Eugene in the studio is also shown.
In philosophy class news...
I find that while my appreciation of different philosophies has grown, I still can't honestly say that I am moving any closer to having a definitive opinion as to the state of humankind.
For instance, I posted a response to a classmate that was critical of Aristotle's view of society. I believe that a ruling class of elitists will become oppressive, no matter how noble the purpose they start out with. So it would appear that my opinion of mankind is that it is bent towards evil. But I also strongly believe that everyone in society should at least have a shot at realizing their potential as they see it -- and that sounds like a pretty optimistic view of humanity. I keep thinking myself in circles.
I'm beginning to wonder if these reading assignments aren't meant so much to give the class a smorgasbord of philosophies to choose between as a primer on how different philosophies have influenced (and are influencing) Christianity.
For instance, I posted a response to a classmate that was critical of Aristotle's view of society. I believe that a ruling class of elitists will become oppressive, no matter how noble the purpose they start out with. So it would appear that my opinion of mankind is that it is bent towards evil. But I also strongly believe that everyone in society should at least have a shot at realizing their potential as they see it -- and that sounds like a pretty optimistic view of humanity. I keep thinking myself in circles.
I'm beginning to wonder if these reading assignments aren't meant so much to give the class a smorgasbord of philosophies to choose between as a primer on how different philosophies have influenced (and are influencing) Christianity.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Inegalitarianism and Deliberative Abilities
Aristotle is profound, but my classmates and I are really struggling with his ideas regarding natural slaves and woman's inferiority to man. I couldn't help but chuckle when I read the description of Aristotle's ideal society which (naturally) put philosophers at the pinnacle. His inclusion of slavery in his plan wouldn't have raised an eyebrow because that's just the way the world worked back then. But I do think it would have been refreshing for Plato, Aristotle, etc.to ask the slaves what they thought about the whole arrangement...
It makes me wonder what inegalitarian systems are in operation right now which we don't see because they've been in operation our whole lives? How about appalling working conditions in the third world so we can enjoy "low, low prices"?
Does promoting college to some students while promoting technical training to others come from an honest assessment of their abilities and/or potential or is it just another example of the deliberative view of Aristotle's day?
It makes me wonder what inegalitarian systems are in operation right now which we don't see because they've been in operation our whole lives? How about appalling working conditions in the third world so we can enjoy "low, low prices"?
Does promoting college to some students while promoting technical training to others come from an honest assessment of their abilities and/or potential or is it just another example of the deliberative view of Aristotle's day?
Forms and Archetypes
The assigned readings are fostering a growing appreciation in me for Plato and Aristotle. I found the text regarding Islamic and eastern thought very interesting, but I feel like the sheer number of different worldviews I’ve surveyed over the last two weeks has made it hard for me to settle my mind and evaluate the “truthiness” of each one. (To steal a word from the Colbert Report.)
Plato’s Theory of Forms has been occupying my thoughts as of late. I initially dismissed the theory because it sounded so farfetched: Outside of space and time exist words and objects in perfect forms. These forms are discernable to our souls.
If I am following the philosopher’s thoughts correctly, humankind can recognize the relative goodness of a particular action because the soul can access the perfect Form of the Good. I have a harder time swallowing his example of a slave boy who was able to do geometry in his soul. (I wish I had a soul like that in junior high--it would have made math period a much more pleasant experience!
It was an interesting enough theory, but it just seemed a little “far out” for me. But something about it continued to nag at me. Then it finally occurred to me this morning--archetypes!
In creative writing and literature classes I learned about archetypical types: the traits and motivations that define characters. Whether you analyze the latest Hollywood blockbuster or an ancient epic poem, you’ll find that a hero fits a particular template, as do villains, mentors, sidekicks, etc. (Plots also follow similar patterns.)
Are archetypes in literature just another example of Plato’s Forms?
Plato’s Theory of Forms has been occupying my thoughts as of late. I initially dismissed the theory because it sounded so farfetched: Outside of space and time exist words and objects in perfect forms. These forms are discernable to our souls.
If I am following the philosopher’s thoughts correctly, humankind can recognize the relative goodness of a particular action because the soul can access the perfect Form of the Good. I have a harder time swallowing his example of a slave boy who was able to do geometry in his soul. (I wish I had a soul like that in junior high--it would have made math period a much more pleasant experience!
It was an interesting enough theory, but it just seemed a little “far out” for me. But something about it continued to nag at me. Then it finally occurred to me this morning--archetypes!
In creative writing and literature classes I learned about archetypical types: the traits and motivations that define characters. Whether you analyze the latest Hollywood blockbuster or an ancient epic poem, you’ll find that a hero fits a particular template, as do villains, mentors, sidekicks, etc. (Plots also follow similar patterns.)
Are archetypes in literature just another example of Plato’s Forms?
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