The Knight, Death and the Devil

I have been reading The Knight, Death and the Devil by Ella Leffland 1990, about Hermann Goring. A man who loved and prayed and by sheer will power (or was it predilection?) stayed fit and until he had to beat pain induced morphine addiction, became even more fit, and loved his first wife indefatigably, yet...Goering? at Church? in Heaven? a man to be lauded for his physique and vigor and spirituality?

The church should definitely be a place to encourage people into good behaviors, and even perhaps to discourage bad behaviors(maybe rather to avoid bad behaviors), but often times I have seen the prejudice of people even in church destroy the reputation of earnest people and abandon the application of their good ideas all because that person carried too much weight, or the fragrance of tobacco, or even worse the suspect odor of a 'potent' mouthwash. However, these personal traits and habits which involve others in only an indirect manner, because of their sentient properties seem to foster overconcern when compared to the concern engendered by such pernicious and objectionable socially involved perfidities such as greed and lust and power mongering which lead to conversations(lifestyle incl.) of violence. 
 
Stress is...hmmm...as stress does.   In this world we will always have the stressed,  at least til God's Leadership(basilea?) be manifested...the  2nd Jerusalem, you know Zion--the Crystal City(no more crying there!).  When there is stress there is blurry, short-sightedness which begets more stress leading to anxiety and then even wrongheadedness.  Alas a great convoluted re-emerging circle of cyclosity.
 
If we could all be healthy, happy and unified harmoniously, we would not experience stress and thus either the repercussions of gluttony, drunkeness, and other escapist conducts would be non existant as their root, having no (real or false) raison d'etre, would demonstrate the ineffectivenss of those behaviors.  But, alas again, somewhere, as I pull another handful of potato chips out of the bag while watching yet another episode of "Ripped From the Headlines", someone is casting an icy glare in the direction of the last person who disagreed with them on some topic of (more than likely ostentatious)import to the both.  In that eye is the entire world of brokeness, for through the eye is viewed the soul and in that soul is the ember of vengeance, just as my stomach closes on something it did not need and is forced to find somewhere to put the excess, it comes out of me somewhere as fat or else, and is manifested as the corrupt fruit of my own realization of inadequacy played out in a binge of overeating.
 
I have often wondered why more people are not as George Washington reportedly was, at peace with himself and humble in his service to America, wanting that freedom he fought for and gaining it for so many people in the process still going on today.  Why could people not be more like my Great Grandfather Isham Tubbs, who when his niece became the first teacher of the County Schools--stepped down from his position as Trustee to the School Board to avoid any suspicion of nepotism.  You cannot throw a stick at any elective office and not clap some form of cronyism on the cheek(Beware!).  It seems to go with the industry of politics today.
 
So we must change those things we need to and can change, and accept those things we cannot and need not, while holding ourselves to those standards of perfection God has seen beneficial that we personally have at individual appurtenance, and while we give to God His great due, let us not become so enamoured of His affection toward us(surely there is some little something that you wish God would change or hurry up about in your life) that we think every one is going to agree with us, or else there will be a grand upbraiding wherein WE are OF COURSE exhonerated of any and everything perverse and thus venerated by all those who should have known better than to cross us to begin with.  Is this the emulation of God and His Son we are to attempt, or is it something else?  Like alowing forgiveness.  Forgiveness of wrong doing, forgiveness of short falling, forgiveness of idiot's thinking.  God has forgiven all of these for each one of us, individually and severally, to some degree or another.  Forgiveness of others, then, rather than reward of our pious selves:  As God covered Adam's reason for shame:   So He expects us to accept that He has covered our shame.(complex syntax is sic)
 
I had a friend.  He liked to juggle.  First he juggled with one ball.  Then he would add the second ball, juggling the two in increasing complexity of patterns until he had to add the third ball just to keep from being redundant.  He developed several patterns with three balls, and was much fun to watch, but the fourth ball was a difficult addition, for sure, and the fifth almost inconceivable.  I have seen juggling talent on TV who were much quicker to the complexity of their art, but they were not my friends.  Right now I don't remember any of those TV juggler's names.  I do remember Frank Henry, my friend.

Forgive me Lord, I am a crone.

The role of the Chorus in modern spiritual warfare

Orthodox is defined as conventional or established.

1st line of chapter nine

"...orthodoxy is not only (as is often urged) the only safe guardian of morality or order, but is also the only logical guardian of liberty, innovation and advance. ..."

"...we cannot help it much by insisting on the Immanent God and the Inner Light: for these are at best reasons for contentment; we can help it much by insisting on the transcendent God and the flying and escaping gleam; for that means divine discontent. ..."

"...if we wish to exalt the outcast and the crucified, we shall rather wish to think that a veritable God was crucified, rather than a mere sage or hero. Above all, if we wish to protect the poor we shall be in favour of fixed rules and clear dogmas. The rules of a club are occasionally in favour of the poor member. The drift of a club is always in favour of the rich one."

In Greek theater the chorus represented the knowledge and wisdom of  hindsight and mass consensus...we see Chesterton making a similar argument for the power of democratic resolution of tradition--otherwise how did it become tradition?   Perhaps it was from between the continuations we learn that Chesterton is speaking of his own personal philosophy of the role of Orthodoxy.

From my own perspective, I note that God has set tradition and so far as I know is the only one to successfully challenge orthodoxy to grow into a ever expanding edification of the least among us by means of challenging the establishment.  

Conundrum? Anyone?

Apologetically Chesterton

Recent quotes:

"If I say, "Mediæval documents attest certain miracles as much as they attest certain battles," they answer, "But mediævals were superstitious"; if I want to know in what they were superstitious, the only ultimate answer is that they believed in the miracles. If I say "a peasant saw a ghost," I am told, "But peasants are so credulous." If I ask, "Why credulous?" the only answer is—that they see ghosts. Iceland is impossible because only stupid sailors have seen it; and the sailors are only stupid because they say they have seen Iceland...

...it is exactly where biology leaves off that all religion begins...



A false ghost disproves the reality of ghosts exactly as much as a forged banknote disproves the existence of the Bank of England—if anything, it proves its existence."

G K Chesterton circa 1908



http://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/7/6/16769/

What good is there?

What good is there in saying 'I will be wrong'?  Is this not an understatement?  Aren't understatements rather more sarcastic than edifying?  Now, that is not to say that sometimes one's attention must not be gotten in some unexpected way.  But if I am coaching you and one of the most ubiquitous statements you hear me make is that 'YOU are GOING to screw up', what are you going to remember I told you?  Will this build confidence in the thing you need to further the accomplishment of whatever goal we have set?  (Have we(why) even set a goal, if in the doing we are going to be wrong?)  In other words it would seem to me, at least, that negative construction does nothing for the furtherance of common good much less the individual except under very personal and private conditions(perhaps even only by divine appointment).

So to return again to the begining, I say, 'What good is there?'  There is good in the image I am of God.  There is good in the image You are of God.  There is good in the image We are of God.  If, then there is this good, let us work to accept, develop and share that good into the image, construct and potential that God would have His creation to be.

My ole Uncle Buster, a self taught and Royal Course at St Andrews tested golf pro always said, "Never tell someone what is the wrong thing to do, always tell them what is the right thing to do  Otherwise the image they deal with in the accomplishment of the good is muttled by the image of the wrong, and the good is at best inconsistant and sporadic".

So we need, as one of God's voices, to be attracting, encouraging, and positively accommodating.  Build somone up today.  If God sees the need to destroy our construction, we can live with that, can't we?  I bet He will rebuild even better than before.

If we insist on declaring the destructive ability of God, then we should remember the destruction of the personality of Jonah, when by his own words, Ninevah was saved and Jonah dissappointed.   Would you be a Jonah?   

What is God if He is not

What is God if He is not more than I can imagine, perceive, or assimmilate?  I do not know, but since He is more than all the above, I must have faith to accept Him at His Word.  His Word is written severally in nature, in my mind and heart, and in scripture.  These facets of His Word will harmonize in a beautiful, mystical, edification.  His Word is creative, accretive, regenerative.   His Spirit is nurturing, forgiving, encouraging.  His Essence is All knowing, Ever Present, All Powerful.  He is God.

soitenly

'Soitenty'(sic) is one of those words that you can be absolutley sure  is in somebodyelse's dictionary(it is not in mine).   Somebodyelse always knows fershoor.  But in my own mind and heart my body plugs along hopefully.  My soitency being just personal enough, and my faithlessnes just strong enough, that I know fershoor I, maybe not you,  "work my faith out in fear and trembling".   Soitenly!  nyert nyert nyert...

Why Ichabod Crane was convinced to outrun his horse

The Baptist (c)onvention(sic) has participated if not led the fastest and largest growth of the Christian church in all but perhaps its inceptual history, and now throes and convulses in light of a changing need of those very presbytery on which it depends. As stated there before by Dr D @ aintsobad the post-modern is a tough sell to make by the one glomming onto the materiale of the past. The day of ushering in the new prospects to replace the flustered and weary is waning at a 'late modern techno' rate. The new day rests on the ability of leadership to understand Rev 22:10-11HCSB He also said to me, "Don't seal the prophetic words of this book, because the time is near. Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness; let the filthy go on being made filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; and let the holy go on being made holy.", which I believe to say that we cannot change others, we can only change ourselves while encouraging those about us by dehypocracising our words and deeds through becoming sacrfice to our neighbors and stepping stones to our brothers, thereby honoring God with His purview and fruits.