Stephan's Quintet - Galaxies in Collison

Explanation from Hubble Site. And Science Daily.

Jesus Parables

Back when I was a student at the University of Virginia, I heard a weekend lecture from a prof in the Religious Studies Department by the name of Dan Via. He discussed Jesus' parables from a literary perspective using the categories of Comedy and Tragedy. Subsequently I read his book The Parables and then one of his sources, Interpreting the Parables by A. M. Hunter. What I learned in the latter book has stayed with me all these years. I will follow with a post on it eventually.

This week I did some reading in Via's book for the first time in over twenty years. Now, I am just beginnng to understand some of it that I hadn't earlier. It approaches Jesus from an existential direction and it seems quite contemporary in some ways as it fits with my recent reading regarding postmodernism and foundationalism.

The very fact that Jesus compared the kingdom of God to ordinary, everyday people and activities suggests some kind of analogy between God and man. p. 104

he says regarding the parables,

Because of their aesthetic nature they are in certain ways more effective than propositional statements could be, and because of their realistic and dramatic subject matter they give a particular content to our understanding of our relationship with God and tie it to human experience. p. 65

And this statement has stayed with me all of these years,

It may be agreed that the biblical text transcends the author's self-understanding...the author of artistic works says more than he knows he is saying... p 39

Relationship

"The way to save the world is not through more rules to live by, but through right relationships to live for.
.
.
Relationship is the soul of the universe. "(p 1)

Out of the Question ...Into the Mystery by Leonard Sweet


We need to move from Protestantism's propositional, fact-based, science-objective orientation to relationality. Life and reality: its all about relationship.

I say this even though I'm a research and development engineer, a nerd who's loved and lived science and technology all of his life.

The Christian and Meditation

Meditation and christianity have long been partners, although it has not been at all prominent in Protestant tradition. I would like to learn more about it. Millions of people, of all religions, find value in the contemplative life.

Here's link to an interesting site devoted to a modern, er postmodern christianity and meditation and mysticism.

Ekstasis June 3 2005

Ekstasis Main

A Campbellite selects a quote from a Campbell

"It is a law of our subject, proven time and time again, that where the orthodoxies of the world go apart, the mystic way unites. The orthodoxies are concerned primarily with the maintenance of a certain social order, within the pale of which the individual is to function; in the interest of which a certain "system of sentiments" must be instilled into every member; and in the defense of which all deviants are to be, one way or another, either reformed, deformed, or liquidated. The mystic way, on the other hand, plunges within, to those nerve centers that are in all members of the human race alike, and are at once the well springs and ultimate receptacles of life and all experiences of life."*

*from Joseph Campbell in The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology pp.448-9, Penguin Books, 1987 edition.

Kierkegaard Quote

from Soren Kirkegaard*

"First and foremost, no impatience . . . A direct attack only strengthens a person in his illusion, and at the same time embitters him. There is nothing that requires such gentle handling as an illusion, if one wishes to dispel it. If anything prompts the prospective captive to set his will in opposition, all is lost. . . [The indirect method. . . . loving and serving the truth, arranges everything. . . . and then shyly withdraws (for love is always shy), so as not to witness the admission which he makes to himself alone before God - that he has lived hitherto in an illusion."

I have been all these people: attacker, attacked, and the one under an illusion. Wish that years ago I had read this and taken to heart.




*from p. 93 of Mapping Postmodernism by Robert C. Greer, 2003 Intervarsity Press. His footnote is the following: Soren Kierkegaard, The Point of View of My Work as an Author, in The Modern Tradition: Backgrounds of Modern Literature, ed. Richard Ellmann and Charles Feidelson Jr. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1965), p. 751; cited in Taylor, Myth of Certainty, pp. 25-26

Inerrancy

Am reading Mapping Postmodernism: a survey of Christian options by Robert C. Greer. Learned something new on the topic of inerrancy. I had thought that the general opinion was that it was only the original manuscripts that were inerrant and that our extant manuscripts and modern translations are admitted to have typos, misprints, and other problems. But Greer informs that there are some who believe that God has not left us in this situation; and that he has provided an error free version for our times as well, the King James Version. This does seem to be a more consistent position. If inerrancy means so much, what good is it that only the first readers of the original autographs had the only inerrant copy? But there are well known problems with the KJV that nearly everyone now acknowledges, in part due to the better textual evidence discovered since its publication. This is just one more reason why inerrancy is problematic.

Generous Orthodoxy

In Generous Orthodoxy on page 59 Bryan McLaren quotes a mentor of his as having said "Scratch the paint of a liberal and you'll find an alienated fundamentalist underneath." Coming from a fellowship, the churches of Christ, that fractured a religious body over having pianos in worship, I know what he is talking about. This is one example among many of particular doctrinal points that could get one into trouble. Such rule keeping and enforcement, I think, has produced a lot of liberals. Some of these are so liberal that they switched to the Baptists. Some went to seminary/grad school where they fanned out to cover the theological spectrum.

The Meaning of Light

"Arthur Young has pointed out the simple but profound truth that we do not actually see light. Instead, we see by light and with light."

from The Unfolding Self by Ralph Metzner, p164, Origin Press 1998.

And Ralph cites the following in the endnotes on p. 291

"Light is not an objective thing that can be investigated as can an ordinary object. Even a tiny snow crystal, before it melts, can be photographed or seen by more than one person. But a photon, the ultimate unit of light, can be seen only once: its detection is its annihilation. Light is not seen; it is seeing." (Arthur Young, The Reflexive Universe, p. 10)

The meaning of light is of interest to me because I've made my living, beginning in grad school over thirty years ago, by pushing around and capturing light. The connection between the physical aspects and spiritual are fascinating.

Assumptions, Presuppositions and Sheep

Back in the 70's I read an obituary in Physics Today of a young physicist who had passed before his time. In the eulogy to the man, it was mentioned that he was so careful in making assumptions that if he saw a hillside with sheep grazing, he would only go so far as to say 'the side of each sheep that is in view is white'. As if to say that what is not seen could turn out to be another color. Now, that seems kind of ridiculous. But, in a laboratory, whether scientific or engineering, that kind of skepticism has its place.

We can't live our entire lives being skeptical like that but using this approach occasionally in disciplined way has value.

not been tagged but I'll play anyway

I just tagged myself.

Four Jobs I’ve Had:

-Nightwatchman at bubblegum factory (superbubble).
-Grad Student
-Visiting Prof. U. of Virginia
-R&D for ORNL

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over:

The Last Temptation of Christ - it's the music and sociological detail, not the Irish Jesus.

Four Books I Could Read Over and Over:

The Masks of God - Joseph Campbell (Ok, its a series of books)
The Story of Civilization - Will and Ariel Durant (once again a series)
Meditations on the Tarot - originally by Anonymous but now known to be V. Tonberg
ummm... I have to think some more about this one


Ten Places I've Lived:
Pocahontas, AR; Comanche and Velma Alma, OK; Lansing, MI; Rector, AR; Searcy, AR; Augsburg, FRG;Memphis, TN; Charlottesville, VA; Knoxville, TN

Four TV Shows I Watch:

-Hardball with Chris Matthews
- Countdown with Keith Olbermann
-UT Sports and Baylor Women's basketball where my niece plays

Four Places I've Been On Vacation:
-Jonesboro, AR
-Memphis, TN
- Los Alamos, NM
- Disney World

Four Websites I Visit Daily:

Travisblog
Abductive
Jim West's Theology Blog


Four of My Favorite Foods:

Tuna Curry
Any kind of Salmon dish
spaghetti with chili, peppers, onions, and lots of cheese
Any salad with Blue Cheese


Four Places I'd Like to Be Right Now:

I'm here at home already
Northern Europe

Psychology, Freud, and Politics

"...but one gift from Freud we ought never neglect; his return to the sources of culture in Mediterranean myths, rooting psychology not in the brain, or genetics, or blind evolution, but in the poetic basis of mind, whose imagination is structured by mythical configurations..."

from the article Point of View: The Gods, Disease, and Politics by James Hillman in Parabola Vol 29(4) p 72, 2004.

James Hillman is not a pop psychologist and his writings are difficult for me because I'm not well read and I'm a modern, ie. a disciple (whether I like it or not) of that dirt philosophy of Newton and John Locke.

Church of Christ Biology Professor and Evolution

I've recently discovered a Church of Christ Biology Professor who in my opinion is stepping in the right direction. His name is Daniel Brannan and he teaches at Abilene Christian University.

At the Metanexus site he reviews a book, Philip Clayton's God and Contemporary Science. Dan and Phil are tackling the boundary between Science and Theology.

Disingenuous

Disingenuous

1. Not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating 2. Pretending to be unaware or unsophisicated; faux-naif

From Bartelsby.com American Heritage Dictionary site


How I see it used.

When someone makes a good argument and you do not want to acknowledge or address it, you can always accuse them of being disingenuous. Then you can move on.

Love those Saturn pictures

From one of NASA's "Image of the Day" series.