After having a part in the formulation of the Russian Confederation of Independent States' constitution put into effect in the 1990's, and observing its historical development through some 20 years of service, I can say I wholeheartedly endorse the confederation of independent states' structure.
It is that which I am hopeful is taking root in Europe today--in the UK, with the attempt by Scotland to break away from English dominance; and in Spain, where there has been provincial unrest for some years now. China and India are prime candidates for break-up, too. Witness the current struggle in Hong Kong for independent status, such that Beijing will not have control of the candidate's list for the province's head. Not to mention countries in Africa, where provincial strife could be cast into check by permitting independence of warring parties and states. Then too, in Iraq several legislators have argued for an independent status of Islamic groups over regions--the Sunnis, the Kurds (which will probably soon assert their own independence) and the Shiites. That is to say, anywhere in the world where there is clear coalesce of groups into an independent state should be permitted to break away from centralized dominance of a ruling class or political system.
The Ukrainian War
Russia took the Crimea and will use it as a key port in the area. I understand China is to develop its maritime significance.
However, Putin has tried to use the rest of the Ukraine as a jumping off point to re-establish the Soviet Empire. In that he has met with much resistance. The Russians in the Southeastern Ukraine might want an independent status for the region, but it is unclear they want Russia to dominate them. Some may, but I think, they are united in trying to establish their own regional governance.
More to the issue at hand, the Russians in the other satellites and in the independent countries of the Baltic geographical area are reluctant to accept the Russian Empire concept. At most, they might argue for independent governmental control in their regions from a central government they believe is adverse to Russian culture. Note that Georgia (nor its part dominated by Russians) is not yearning to re-unite with Russia; nor are Russians in Moldova. In short, the Russian Empire is a dead notion, because nobody but Russians in Russia are for it!
Not only are Russians outside of Russia itself acquiescing to the status quo of independence, but many of these satellite countries have secretly approved of a NATO role in their regions, countries not under NATO, i.e., not NATO members. These lands clearly want to maintain their independent status from Mother Russia! What we are witnessing, ladies and gentlemen, is the emergence of a dominant and pervasive NATO presence in all of Europe, including countries once under control of the Russian government in Moscow.
How Long Will It Take to Establish the Federation of Independent States Worldwide?
What I advocate is to establish the Federation of Independent States' concept worldwide.
This will take centuries--long after I'm dead. But people are feeling their roots and their history, more profoundly than ever before. It is no accident that the movement started in the Russian culture, but it will greatly spread, as people become aware of its advantages over any other system, where decisions are made for regions by a centralized bureaucracy.
Did I see this notion emerging as an alternative form of cohesive interaction? You betcha! Carry on Hong Kong democrats!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
CP #15: Intricacies: Christianity's Doctrine of the Mean
Aristotle was of course famous of his statement of this doctrine, but it appears in Christianity, too. For my recognizing the Christian version, I am indebted to Father Bob McNull of Christ Episcopal Church, Las Vegas.
In Mathew 17, there's an account of Jesus with some of His disciples going up on a mountain and there appears Moses and Elijah talking with (a transfigured) Jesus. After the event, Jesus told those disciples in attendance to tell no one about what they had seen. True, the event was something marvelous and something to rejoice about and spread abroad. But Jesus told them to shut up about it!
Why? Well, just as Jesus criticized the Jewish Pharisees and others who would parade about, praying before men ostentatiously and commending themselves pompously to the Jewish community in general, so He would not want to share memorable moments when He had something to get excited over. The idea is to maintain a level head--don't get worked up or ecstatic (compare to the Christian mystics of the Middle Ages); remain calm and tranquil.
For we are told by St. Paul that we must maintain a posture of ever-vigilance: beware of emotions that can take us over--hate, lust, even grief. And, above all, "Watch out for false prophets....By their fruit you will recognize them." (Mathew 7:18)
In yet another passage in Mathew, Jesus chides the Christians: "Why do you worry about...?" Don't worry, for God will provide your needs, He claims. "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Mathew 6:27) Don't get angry with another person, don't be critical of another; and don't make money your goal in life after which to strive. (Mathew 6:24)
Such a low-keyed individual lives at harmony with his neighbors and can rest assured he is appreciated by his community. I believe it's that person about whom Jesus claims special blessing: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." (Mathew 5:8) Now, in the Epistles, St. Paul also extols the value of the peacemakers in the Christian community since they resolve disputes among its members. I call these peacemakers=mediators, even as the Lord Jesus Christ is our mediator before the Father's Throne. Note that Jesus is God the Son, even as the peacemakers are sons of God.
I don't want to give away the show just yet! I want to tantalize with the notion of a mediator--that all we Christians can be mediators (or, intercessors) one on behalf of another.
Jesus' work on the Cross was just at the beginning of Christianity. He paid it all: His work on the Cross is for all time and final: "It is finished!" Jesus tells us, Thereupon He went to prepare a place for us believers.
Meanwhile, the Church has been sent on its way, to become an everlasting Kingdom of God. God-the Father has given the Holy Spirit to us Christians in order to guide and strengthen us. We, as members of the Kingdom, are never alone, for God-the Holy Spirit is an ever-present power available for counsel, guidance and sustenance. We need but call upon that pervasive Power--as through the Eucharist; and we are delivered for a time from this world's transitory predicament.
In order to know about the position of the mediator in the Christian church, I turn to the social sciences. For it has only been since the rise of Sociology among the respected sciences that the study of group dynamics has been taken up. In the next part of this treatise, I intend to discuss the Christian message's import within the unfolding "New World Order."
In Mathew 17, there's an account of Jesus with some of His disciples going up on a mountain and there appears Moses and Elijah talking with (a transfigured) Jesus. After the event, Jesus told those disciples in attendance to tell no one about what they had seen. True, the event was something marvelous and something to rejoice about and spread abroad. But Jesus told them to shut up about it!
Why? Well, just as Jesus criticized the Jewish Pharisees and others who would parade about, praying before men ostentatiously and commending themselves pompously to the Jewish community in general, so He would not want to share memorable moments when He had something to get excited over. The idea is to maintain a level head--don't get worked up or ecstatic (compare to the Christian mystics of the Middle Ages); remain calm and tranquil.
For we are told by St. Paul that we must maintain a posture of ever-vigilance: beware of emotions that can take us over--hate, lust, even grief. And, above all, "Watch out for false prophets....By their fruit you will recognize them." (Mathew 7:18)
In yet another passage in Mathew, Jesus chides the Christians: "Why do you worry about...?" Don't worry, for God will provide your needs, He claims. "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Mathew 6:27) Don't get angry with another person, don't be critical of another; and don't make money your goal in life after which to strive. (Mathew 6:24)
Such a low-keyed individual lives at harmony with his neighbors and can rest assured he is appreciated by his community. I believe it's that person about whom Jesus claims special blessing: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." (Mathew 5:8) Now, in the Epistles, St. Paul also extols the value of the peacemakers in the Christian community since they resolve disputes among its members. I call these peacemakers=mediators, even as the Lord Jesus Christ is our mediator before the Father's Throne. Note that Jesus is God the Son, even as the peacemakers are sons of God.
I don't want to give away the show just yet! I want to tantalize with the notion of a mediator--that all we Christians can be mediators (or, intercessors) one on behalf of another.
Jesus' work on the Cross was just at the beginning of Christianity. He paid it all: His work on the Cross is for all time and final: "It is finished!" Jesus tells us, Thereupon He went to prepare a place for us believers.
Meanwhile, the Church has been sent on its way, to become an everlasting Kingdom of God. God-the Father has given the Holy Spirit to us Christians in order to guide and strengthen us. We, as members of the Kingdom, are never alone, for God-the Holy Spirit is an ever-present power available for counsel, guidance and sustenance. We need but call upon that pervasive Power--as through the Eucharist; and we are delivered for a time from this world's transitory predicament.
In order to know about the position of the mediator in the Christian church, I turn to the social sciences. For it has only been since the rise of Sociology among the respected sciences that the study of group dynamics has been taken up. In the next part of this treatise, I intend to discuss the Christian message's import within the unfolding "New World Order."
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
CP #14: Intricacies: Aspects of the Religious Experience
Central to Christian Pragmatics is the religious experience. One can have the experience simply by realizing the wonder of the world, of the universe--as when, looking over a scenic wonder, one proclaims "How magnificent creation is!" Or, in watching the birth of a newborn; and seeing it as the handiwork of a mighty God. In such moments a person instantaneously recognizes Being itself: "How Great Thou Art!" Our churches reflect our feeling of the majestic God's presence among us humans.
Another sort of experience engenders the presence of wonder and mystery--when cries out for divine succor. We are lowly in the scheme of things, yet we have many needs. Praying to God in our quiet moments, we cast our cares upon the maker of all things and sustainer of all things in the world. During these intimate moments in which we seek out the ruler of all things, we act as supplicants.
Ultimately, the value of the religious experience is the power of God swept upon us singularly through the Holy Spirit. Through the power received, we are able to endure this life's exigencies and recognize the transitory nature of life itself.
It is the way we come to be at one with the universe, so as to the better (and perhaps, to the longer) live by its principles..
In William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience, justification is provided by alluding to the beneficial effects the experience can have. James cites instances where the experiencers have performed yeomen feats to help members of humanity in times of trouble and distress.
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Another sort of experience engenders the presence of wonder and mystery--when cries out for divine succor. We are lowly in the scheme of things, yet we have many needs. Praying to God in our quiet moments, we cast our cares upon the maker of all things and sustainer of all things in the world. During these intimate moments in which we seek out the ruler of all things, we act as supplicants.
Ultimately, the value of the religious experience is the power of God swept upon us singularly through the Holy Spirit. Through the power received, we are able to endure this life's exigencies and recognize the transitory nature of life itself.
It is the way we come to be at one with the universe, so as to the better (and perhaps, to the longer) live by its principles..
In William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience, justification is provided by alluding to the beneficial effects the experience can have. James cites instances where the experiencers have performed yeomen feats to help members of humanity in times of trouble and distress.
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Tuesday, September 9, 2014
CP #13 Intricacies: Dreams and Visions
Here, we are trying to see the role that dreams and visions play in Christian pragmatics whereby individual believers conduct their normal and everyday activities. Because dreams and visions are so ingrained in religion, I will include some ideas in Judaism to do justice to the role that these play in religion over thousands of years.
Personal Story
When I was ten years old, living in Buffalo, NY, my mother and father divorced. In those days, there was a social stigma associated with getting a divorce, so my mother took her money from the settlement and took my sister, 6 years old than I, and me to New York City, where she completed a degree program at New York University, and set out to look for work as a legal secretary. My sister needed to complete high school and I was still in elementary school.
Anyway, while preparing to move to New York City, we kids--there was another sister who was just about to marry and stay behind--would gather around my mother and try to picture life 500 miles away in the Big Apple. One day in this interim period, I recall having a vision. I pictured an apartment building near a park to the right about a block away, a high school, which if you looked out one of the windows in the front of the apartment, you could barely see the top of it on a side street immediately to the left of the block the building was on. I recall duly reporting the vision to my mother and the sister who was going with us. I think I was trying to reassure them that this move would really be great, since we'd have a nice place to live (from what I could tell in the vision).
Mom decided to take my sister Sheila with her to New York to find a place to live. They knew my vision; and so in the back of their minds, they carried the thought with them. After the trip to reconnoiter the city and locate an apartment, they returned full of news. My sister blurted out, "We found your place and leased an apartment just where you said it would be!" (I had mentioned it would be on the first floor and something about the entrance, I said, was strange. As it turned out, the apartment had a private entrance off the main entrance to the complex.)
When I saw the place upon moving, I confirmed that it was indeed very much like what I had envisioned it to be.
How do you explain this vision (as I remember it) that happened some 60 years ago?
I think it explicable as an anticipatory experience that could take place as it did to my mother and sister in their inaugural trip to New York, which, in having it, they forthwith laid claim to, i.e., took possession of. That is to say, once they saw what I said they would see through my vision, Mom immediately signed the lease! Afterward, they--Mom and Sheila--learned from our neighbors in the area that we were paying too much for the apartment, since it was under municipal rental control; and the rent was thereupon drastically reduced (praise God!). But Mom knew nothing about rental ceilings when she signed the lease, because she never had lived in an apartment in her life!
The Metaphysical Status of Dreams and Visions in Christianity
My vision was an experience I had; and I reported it to my mother and my sister. They, not only accepted it at face value, i.e., as something I had, but its contents were parallel what they saw at the location at which there was an apartment for rent, and as part of the vision, became reasons for laying claim to the apartment, i.e., leasing it.
And in general, the elements of visions and dreams become a portrayal of events and objects in the world to whom a community, not just an individual who has had the vision or dream, can lay claim to as their own property. This is the meaning dreams and visions have, once their contents are shared and adopted by some group.
Note that the book of Revelation is filled with visions, but no one but perhaps the early Church used them as motivating. Now the Zionist-Jews, on the other hand, have on more than one occasion laid claim to the Holy Land, that land flowing with milk and honey, as their own land, given by YAHWEH God in perpetuity to them.
Can't you just imagine how thrilling it was for the Mormons who found their way to the lush plains of Utah to claim the land as God's promise to them! This is what we're talking about here--how the power of God directs human beings through the occurrence of dreams and visions--totally physical, ordinary events that perhaps even dogs and lower forms of life experience regularly--to do miraculous things in their lives! And reap their congratulatory reward, signified in their singing praise to God from whom all blessings come!
I have pointed out to the Jews that think the land in the Near East their sacred property that they could have moved from Europe to South Africa or anywhere other on the planet just by simply refusing to claim the vision as their promised land!
Personal Story
When I was ten years old, living in Buffalo, NY, my mother and father divorced. In those days, there was a social stigma associated with getting a divorce, so my mother took her money from the settlement and took my sister, 6 years old than I, and me to New York City, where she completed a degree program at New York University, and set out to look for work as a legal secretary. My sister needed to complete high school and I was still in elementary school.
Anyway, while preparing to move to New York City, we kids--there was another sister who was just about to marry and stay behind--would gather around my mother and try to picture life 500 miles away in the Big Apple. One day in this interim period, I recall having a vision. I pictured an apartment building near a park to the right about a block away, a high school, which if you looked out one of the windows in the front of the apartment, you could barely see the top of it on a side street immediately to the left of the block the building was on. I recall duly reporting the vision to my mother and the sister who was going with us. I think I was trying to reassure them that this move would really be great, since we'd have a nice place to live (from what I could tell in the vision).
Mom decided to take my sister Sheila with her to New York to find a place to live. They knew my vision; and so in the back of their minds, they carried the thought with them. After the trip to reconnoiter the city and locate an apartment, they returned full of news. My sister blurted out, "We found your place and leased an apartment just where you said it would be!" (I had mentioned it would be on the first floor and something about the entrance, I said, was strange. As it turned out, the apartment had a private entrance off the main entrance to the complex.)
When I saw the place upon moving, I confirmed that it was indeed very much like what I had envisioned it to be.
How do you explain this vision (as I remember it) that happened some 60 years ago?
I think it explicable as an anticipatory experience that could take place as it did to my mother and sister in their inaugural trip to New York, which, in having it, they forthwith laid claim to, i.e., took possession of. That is to say, once they saw what I said they would see through my vision, Mom immediately signed the lease! Afterward, they--Mom and Sheila--learned from our neighbors in the area that we were paying too much for the apartment, since it was under municipal rental control; and the rent was thereupon drastically reduced (praise God!). But Mom knew nothing about rental ceilings when she signed the lease, because she never had lived in an apartment in her life!
The Metaphysical Status of Dreams and Visions in Christianity
My vision was an experience I had; and I reported it to my mother and my sister. They, not only accepted it at face value, i.e., as something I had, but its contents were parallel what they saw at the location at which there was an apartment for rent, and as part of the vision, became reasons for laying claim to the apartment, i.e., leasing it.
And in general, the elements of visions and dreams become a portrayal of events and objects in the world to whom a community, not just an individual who has had the vision or dream, can lay claim to as their own property. This is the meaning dreams and visions have, once their contents are shared and adopted by some group.
Note that the book of Revelation is filled with visions, but no one but perhaps the early Church used them as motivating. Now the Zionist-Jews, on the other hand, have on more than one occasion laid claim to the Holy Land, that land flowing with milk and honey, as their own land, given by YAHWEH God in perpetuity to them.
Can't you just imagine how thrilling it was for the Mormons who found their way to the lush plains of Utah to claim the land as God's promise to them! This is what we're talking about here--how the power of God directs human beings through the occurrence of dreams and visions--totally physical, ordinary events that perhaps even dogs and lower forms of life experience regularly--to do miraculous things in their lives! And reap their congratulatory reward, signified in their singing praise to God from whom all blessings come!
I have pointed out to the Jews that think the land in the Near East their sacred property that they could have moved from Europe to South Africa or anywhere other on the planet just by simply refusing to claim the vision as their promised land!
CP #12: Intricacies: Religious Knowledge in depth
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Monday, September 8, 2014
CP #11 Intricacies: Decision Making Items
Here are some intricacies of Christianity, to get us started delving into how the Kingdom of God is structured.
1. decision making: to decide what to do a Christian should weigh the advantages of acting a certain way so as to provide the most good to the community (i.e., the Kingdom of God).
A commonplace example. I needed to buy a meat item for a church picnic. I weighed two alternatives: I could purchase a pound of cooked bar-b-cue beef or I could purchase a party-tray of chicken filet pieces. Now, if I purchased the beef I would be satisfying myself, since the item is something I really like, but it's rather messy to eat, especially with one's fingers. The chicken filet tray is an item that's really not well-known in the area, since the company has only opened its store recently; but I know the item would take-off in sales in the community once people knew about the store just opening. I would also be taking into consideration how more difficult it would be for kids, etc. at the picnic to handle the bar-b-cue beef than it would be the filet of chicken without getting the meat sauce on their clothes.
So, I reasoned, I would be helping the community more by bringing an item to the picnic that would open up new options in chicken selection than by bringing the beef item that, though tasty, is tried and true; and messy.
Moral: the idea is to choose the course of action, in this case bringing a meat item to the picnic, that you think will be more beneficial to the community, who are eat it.
Just as Jesus to do God's will rather than his own, so we should do that which bears greater claim to enriching the social good rather than satisfying the more our taste buds! Perhaps, the example is a bit corny but you get the idea!
2. Having the will to follow through on doing the thing you believe has greater value to the community: In the example above, I could have gone up to the store (by the way, it's Chick-Fil-A) and, yielding to my stronger inclination, turned around and headed for the store that sells the bar-b-cue beef (which is, Famous Dave's). Here, the Christian calls upon the power of God through the Holy Spirit, e.g., through prayer or by contact with God as by means of the Eucharist, to give him the courage to act in accord with what he has decided is the right thing for him to do, given his dedication to promote the Kingdom of God by what he does.
So, though a Christian may act in accord with inclination, he is motivated to act because of his concern to do the right thing, i.e., the act that benefits the Kingdom the more.
Comment:
Sometimes, St. Paul gives the impression of leaving it to an individual's strong self-will to resist evil and temptation: as when he argues that the Christian should put on the whole armor of God so as to fight off the effects of the Devil. (See Ephesians chapter 6.) Yet at other times, he exhorts one to turn to God and through communion with the Holy Spirit obtain courage and strength to do the right thing (as in Galatians 3:3; Tillich's The Courage to Be).
3. Yielding to the community's judgment of what is the right thing for a Christian to do in a particular situation. Particularly in Mathew but also in Paul's writings, knowledge of what is the right thing for a person to do is not ultimately one's own individual's judgment but is entrusted to the enlightenment of members of the community. I speak here of the role of the mediators in God's Kingdom, who are to settle disputes among members and maintain stability and order.
Indeed, one can view the entire Four Gospels as a defense for rightness of Jesus in going to the Cross for the sake of an unsaved and hell-bent world. Wholly magnanimous, Jesus acted for us all, not out of inclination, but out of duty to His Father.
1. decision making: to decide what to do a Christian should weigh the advantages of acting a certain way so as to provide the most good to the community (i.e., the Kingdom of God).
A commonplace example. I needed to buy a meat item for a church picnic. I weighed two alternatives: I could purchase a pound of cooked bar-b-cue beef or I could purchase a party-tray of chicken filet pieces. Now, if I purchased the beef I would be satisfying myself, since the item is something I really like, but it's rather messy to eat, especially with one's fingers. The chicken filet tray is an item that's really not well-known in the area, since the company has only opened its store recently; but I know the item would take-off in sales in the community once people knew about the store just opening. I would also be taking into consideration how more difficult it would be for kids, etc. at the picnic to handle the bar-b-cue beef than it would be the filet of chicken without getting the meat sauce on their clothes.
So, I reasoned, I would be helping the community more by bringing an item to the picnic that would open up new options in chicken selection than by bringing the beef item that, though tasty, is tried and true; and messy.
Moral: the idea is to choose the course of action, in this case bringing a meat item to the picnic, that you think will be more beneficial to the community, who are eat it.
Just as Jesus to do God's will rather than his own, so we should do that which bears greater claim to enriching the social good rather than satisfying the more our taste buds! Perhaps, the example is a bit corny but you get the idea!
2. Having the will to follow through on doing the thing you believe has greater value to the community: In the example above, I could have gone up to the store (by the way, it's Chick-Fil-A) and, yielding to my stronger inclination, turned around and headed for the store that sells the bar-b-cue beef (which is, Famous Dave's). Here, the Christian calls upon the power of God through the Holy Spirit, e.g., through prayer or by contact with God as by means of the Eucharist, to give him the courage to act in accord with what he has decided is the right thing for him to do, given his dedication to promote the Kingdom of God by what he does.
So, though a Christian may act in accord with inclination, he is motivated to act because of his concern to do the right thing, i.e., the act that benefits the Kingdom the more.
Comment:
Sometimes, St. Paul gives the impression of leaving it to an individual's strong self-will to resist evil and temptation: as when he argues that the Christian should put on the whole armor of God so as to fight off the effects of the Devil. (See Ephesians chapter 6.) Yet at other times, he exhorts one to turn to God and through communion with the Holy Spirit obtain courage and strength to do the right thing (as in Galatians 3:3; Tillich's The Courage to Be).
3. Yielding to the community's judgment of what is the right thing for a Christian to do in a particular situation. Particularly in Mathew but also in Paul's writings, knowledge of what is the right thing for a person to do is not ultimately one's own individual's judgment but is entrusted to the enlightenment of members of the community. I speak here of the role of the mediators in God's Kingdom, who are to settle disputes among members and maintain stability and order.
Indeed, one can view the entire Four Gospels as a defense for rightness of Jesus in going to the Cross for the sake of an unsaved and hell-bent world. Wholly magnanimous, Jesus acted for us all, not out of inclination, but out of duty to His Father.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
(GL#1) Globalization Format
The range of topics under the heading Globalization (GL) will offer my overall impression of the movement's current contribution toward establishing some world government (exercising control over a New World Order). And, there is a crying need for world government, given the problems confronting a physical world in dynamic relationship with the forces of nature that go beyond the mere Earth, beyond even the Sun and its planets, to the very upheavals in universal tides and cosmic flows. Specifically, a world government must address itself to a lasting and stable Earth, given the flux of cosmic events impacting it.
Without further ado, I turn to the many topics in this area.
Without further ado, I turn to the many topics in this area.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
CP Part II #10: The Intricacies of Christianity Format
I'm continuing the Christian Pragmatics (CP) theme by looking at some of the techniques Christianity uses and at the same time by endeavoring to explain some of the more difficult Biblical New Testament passages. Believe me, this segment of CP is so surprising that it is unlikely to find many who accept and believe the words I write. Maybe, if the CP writings last, readers in 200 or 500 years will find it more to their liking!
There is a central point to be made in this section: Christianity is not based on reason and is not rational; nor is it based on emotion and is not attitudinal. It is based on our ability to get in touch with the Divine and is cosmic in dimension. That is to say, we, human beings, have the ability to fathom the divine in all its glory!
Why get in touch with that which is rules the cosmos? Because by doing so, we can become at one with the universe. Its principles by which the planets and suns move become what can motivate and can lead us to greater personal enrichment. We truly can become heavenly creatures. And just as a sun moves about in the sky, so even I can move and be directed on this earth by the forces of the universe. The assumption is that in living at one with the principles of Creation, we shall live long and just as important, we shall live well.
But we already know that the principles which govern the entire universe are not known by reason nor by emotion. They are truly beyond human comprehension. The only way, I believe, we can decipher them is through the religious experience. William James in the early 20th Century wrote a book about persons who approached the cosmos religiously entitled The Varieties of Religious Experience. A reader of that book might get the impression that people who have a religious experience are crazy, ready for the nut-house. It is because the people who have religious experiences ought not to talk about them, but only to point out how such experiences have changed the way they live. For, the religious experience is not describable in human language, only its structural effects are known to those who participate in them.
In Christian Pragmatics. I am approaching the topic of the religious experience tangentially. That is, I am going to bring to bear the techniques that Christians use who integrate them into their lives. I will concentrate upon the differences such experiences have upon their daily living and ordinary thinking habits.
For Christians who rely on religious experiences to structure their lives, the work of Jesus in establishing the Kingdom of God heralds another way of living we ought to embrace in order to become spiritually-oriented: Christ has led us to the Way of Harmony with the immutable laws of that govern the universe, i.e., its universal principles. In Christian terms, we of the Kingdom of God live in the world of the Holy Spirit.
There is a central point to be made in this section: Christianity is not based on reason and is not rational; nor is it based on emotion and is not attitudinal. It is based on our ability to get in touch with the Divine and is cosmic in dimension. That is to say, we, human beings, have the ability to fathom the divine in all its glory!
Why get in touch with that which is rules the cosmos? Because by doing so, we can become at one with the universe. Its principles by which the planets and suns move become what can motivate and can lead us to greater personal enrichment. We truly can become heavenly creatures. And just as a sun moves about in the sky, so even I can move and be directed on this earth by the forces of the universe. The assumption is that in living at one with the principles of Creation, we shall live long and just as important, we shall live well.
But we already know that the principles which govern the entire universe are not known by reason nor by emotion. They are truly beyond human comprehension. The only way, I believe, we can decipher them is through the religious experience. William James in the early 20th Century wrote a book about persons who approached the cosmos religiously entitled The Varieties of Religious Experience. A reader of that book might get the impression that people who have a religious experience are crazy, ready for the nut-house. It is because the people who have religious experiences ought not to talk about them, but only to point out how such experiences have changed the way they live. For, the religious experience is not describable in human language, only its structural effects are known to those who participate in them.
In Christian Pragmatics. I am approaching the topic of the religious experience tangentially. That is, I am going to bring to bear the techniques that Christians use who integrate them into their lives. I will concentrate upon the differences such experiences have upon their daily living and ordinary thinking habits.
For Christians who rely on religious experiences to structure their lives, the work of Jesus in establishing the Kingdom of God heralds another way of living we ought to embrace in order to become spiritually-oriented: Christ has led us to the Way of Harmony with the immutable laws of that govern the universe, i.e., its universal principles. In Christian terms, we of the Kingdom of God live in the world of the Holy Spirit.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
(CP-9) What needs to be done to establish the Kingdom
The Kingdom of God can be established on earth--after 2 thousand years!
There's only one institution that needs to be in place; and that Jesus would have agreed to, but not St. Paul.
That's the role of the mediator in the Kingdom. What is that role? I've wrestled with understanding the Gospels; and I know what it is and I know how important it is, but I know I've convince very few Christians.
You have to be a mediator among your community; and that means you have you to defend the Faith when dissension breaks out. It may seem a small matter. St. Paul says some say you are this brother; others say you are that brother; but the importance is you are both of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection.
In the Kingdom of God we are each and every Godlike. And that means we carry with us the sign of the Cross, that we are dedicated to the Kingdom; and will excel in doing what we have to do to keep the Kingdom of believers together. If there's ever a moment of dissension, each of us must bear the burden of squashing it. We must not allow any dissension--I know we like dissension for reasons of debate--but there's no debate here; we must help our brethren.
The role of the mediator has been developed in the social sciences; and it is not my stay to lecture about it. That is all that Christianity is about to keep the Kingdom alive and well. You will see the value of Christian love in the community, if only you do as told, as your plan given by God directs you to live.
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This concludes the Christian Pragmatics (CP) theme. It is offered as a sketch of Christianity's importance to Western Culture today.
.
There's only one institution that needs to be in place; and that Jesus would have agreed to, but not St. Paul.
That's the role of the mediator in the Kingdom. What is that role? I've wrestled with understanding the Gospels; and I know what it is and I know how important it is, but I know I've convince very few Christians.
You have to be a mediator among your community; and that means you have you to defend the Faith when dissension breaks out. It may seem a small matter. St. Paul says some say you are this brother; others say you are that brother; but the importance is you are both of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection.
In the Kingdom of God we are each and every Godlike. And that means we carry with us the sign of the Cross, that we are dedicated to the Kingdom; and will excel in doing what we have to do to keep the Kingdom of believers together. If there's ever a moment of dissension, each of us must bear the burden of squashing it. We must not allow any dissension--I know we like dissension for reasons of debate--but there's no debate here; we must help our brethren.
The role of the mediator has been developed in the social sciences; and it is not my stay to lecture about it. That is all that Christianity is about to keep the Kingdom alive and well. You will see the value of Christian love in the community, if only you do as told, as your plan given by God directs you to live.
-----------------------------------------------------------
This concludes the Christian Pragmatics (CP) theme. It is offered as a sketch of Christianity's importance to Western Culture today.
.
(CP-8) The Christian Mission Today
I can't tell the fortune of Christianity tomorrow. I can only tell what Christianity means today.
Apart from its marvelous works in Africa, South America, and Asia to heal the wounded soul, there is a balm in Gilead that is from the Lord God. People across the continents are welcoming Christian missionaries who carry the Gospel that God loves them.
I'm have been in contact with NGO's all over the world; and I know what greatness they are doing. Particularly, I want to mention the Carter foundation that has done so much to rid children of diseases I don't want to describe. But of course the Bob Gates foundation with his wife have done so much greatness words can't describe, either!
I am predicting a revolution in thought about Africa about the time of 2230. By then all the work of the NGOs will have come to fruition. But it is important to realize that Christians have had so much influence in these activities of the NGOs.
But you don't know the starting point. In the 1990s, I was attending conferences that predicted the Third World countries would revolt and stage a giant rebellion against the forward-advancing countries. At that time, I was so concerned that I sided with the African and Third World Countries. At once, I visited China and assured myself they would prosper.
Praise God, for the USA.
---------------------------------------------------------------
But there's a bite to this. What have the Islamic countries been doing for their people? How could they allow Palestine to waste away for decades? What is happening in Africa that only Uganda seems to come out ahead? Are these Muslims crazy? Look how Iraq has turned out. Look how Syria has come apart, so much so that Israel has had to bomb installations in the Golan Heights. Are Muslims capable of self-governing?
I don't know; and that's why I'm embracing Christianity to further the good of humanity.
Apart from its marvelous works in Africa, South America, and Asia to heal the wounded soul, there is a balm in Gilead that is from the Lord God. People across the continents are welcoming Christian missionaries who carry the Gospel that God loves them.
I'm have been in contact with NGO's all over the world; and I know what greatness they are doing. Particularly, I want to mention the Carter foundation that has done so much to rid children of diseases I don't want to describe. But of course the Bob Gates foundation with his wife have done so much greatness words can't describe, either!
I am predicting a revolution in thought about Africa about the time of 2230. By then all the work of the NGOs will have come to fruition. But it is important to realize that Christians have had so much influence in these activities of the NGOs.
But you don't know the starting point. In the 1990s, I was attending conferences that predicted the Third World countries would revolt and stage a giant rebellion against the forward-advancing countries. At that time, I was so concerned that I sided with the African and Third World Countries. At once, I visited China and assured myself they would prosper.
Praise God, for the USA.
---------------------------------------------------------------
But there's a bite to this. What have the Islamic countries been doing for their people? How could they allow Palestine to waste away for decades? What is happening in Africa that only Uganda seems to come out ahead? Are these Muslims crazy? Look how Iraq has turned out. Look how Syria has come apart, so much so that Israel has had to bomb installations in the Golan Heights. Are Muslims capable of self-governing?
I don't know; and that's why I'm embracing Christianity to further the good of humanity.
(CP-7) Christianity thrives in Western Culture
Christianity in its earliest forms thrived amid calls for austerity and this-world denial. People embraced the movement to lay up treasures in heaven where moth and dust doth not corrupt. And so the monasteries thrived as Christians became part of the world to come, not the world that is. They would rather rejoice in the Christian message of purity of spirit rather than the Christian desire to better mankind. The great monasteries of the Jesuits, the followers of this or that saint became bulwarks of isolation from this world, culminating in St. Thomas Aquinas' tomes hallowing the great works of the Greeks who lived long before did he in the Middle Ages. He could look back to any age because he did not belong to any age, living as he did in a monastery. Poverty, chastity of spirit, longing to be not of this world but of the world to come became the hallmark of Christian charity and love for centuries.
Girls were called to the convent to live a life of purity and isolation. Oh yes, they would venture forth to teach little children how to play with one another under supervision, but the idea ingrained through the Christian message was self-denial of worldly pleasures, because these were the result of one's sinful nature--even as St. Paul had warned in his Epistles.
1. The First Awakening to Christians that they could be of this world
I think the greatness of Max Weber in his epic-changing The Protestant Ethic early in the 20th Century was to point out that Christianity could alter its message to accept the ethos of the day such as capitalism and permit the making of lots of money for purposes to benefit those engaged in commerce and trade. Capitalism could be a worthy Christian endeavor. That is to say, the Protestants were prepared to become entrepreneurs and managers of businesses and stewards of the Christian message. The melding of the two was possible through the concept of hard labor for the sake of godly, Puritanical living. Ever since the 17th Century, Christian Bible-touting businessmen have become rich while extolling the virtues of a saintly existence on earth!
The change wrought in the Christian message has become enormous. No longer was the Kingdom of God a promise of the world to come. It could exist through human effort on this planet. They took as their motto according to Weber Proverbs 22:29 "Seest thou a diligent man to his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men." I take it that capitalism is so worthy as to command the audience of the most respected of mankind and not be concerned with what the trifle of men think about such labor and reward.
2. The Second Awakening of the Christians that as to their human condition and existential situation
This movement in Christianity starting around WWI is known as the Rise of the Social Gospel, and it has occurred in the US primarily. It is a major change in Christian thought that not only are we are brothers keeper, as the Old Testament hinted at, but we are in charge of each other's welfare!
This movement among Christians has meshed with the blacks fight for equality, the women's emancipation from household drudgery, and the Third World insinuation into world politics. The results are unfathomable. It has led to programs to end discrimination in housing, in education, and in the workplace. Of course, social programs of this dimension take centuries to achieve their end results, but it is important to realize that people like Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm-X initially led the way.
The basis for Christian involvement in social amelioration is John Locke's philosophy that all men are created equal. In the Bible, we are exhorted to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Everyone is worthy of salvation by God and should abide by God's plan for his life. So it is natural to assume that we are our brother's keeper.
Homelessness, poverty, and conditions of servitude have always been with us; but with Christian charity, we reach out to improve the social conditions of our brethren.
Because this feature of Christianity is really new, one cannot speculate what its ultimate effect will be. I can only say that Christianity is moving ahead with these projects to end poverty. Now it is true that the only weapon so far advanced to achieve the goal is re-distribution of wealth, which the wealthy do not accept as a vehicle for social change. There should be other means available, not yet advanced, that will achieve this end, too.
You can see that changes in Christian living take centuries to happen; and this not without human agony over the changes. But I am sure they will take place as society and culture accept better living conditions for people.
The remarkable feature of Christianity is that it is at the forefront of social amelioration!
3. Society's response for equality of peoples
In every case, I believe, society exacts the same from every group desirous of equal treatment under the rule of law: CLEAN UP YOUR ACT!
That means each group or sect or race must measure up to the standards the society sets for participating membership. They are living in a mess; and society insists the group clean it up in order to maintain a measured amount of influence and control over the entire social entity.
For the women in search of equality, it has meant getting a good education in order to compete in a man's world and playing down the impediments of being a woman on earth.
For the blacks it means, establishing a rule of law in their neighborhoods, so that gangs do not go rough-shot over the old and the feeble. They must do that in their neighborhoods, nobody is going to do it for them. They need local leadership that enforces quiet and peace in their neighborhoods. Got it? At that moment in history, they'll achieve equality.
Then, and only then, the Kingdom of God will be established on earth.
Girls were called to the convent to live a life of purity and isolation. Oh yes, they would venture forth to teach little children how to play with one another under supervision, but the idea ingrained through the Christian message was self-denial of worldly pleasures, because these were the result of one's sinful nature--even as St. Paul had warned in his Epistles.
1. The First Awakening to Christians that they could be of this world
I think the greatness of Max Weber in his epic-changing The Protestant Ethic early in the 20th Century was to point out that Christianity could alter its message to accept the ethos of the day such as capitalism and permit the making of lots of money for purposes to benefit those engaged in commerce and trade. Capitalism could be a worthy Christian endeavor. That is to say, the Protestants were prepared to become entrepreneurs and managers of businesses and stewards of the Christian message. The melding of the two was possible through the concept of hard labor for the sake of godly, Puritanical living. Ever since the 17th Century, Christian Bible-touting businessmen have become rich while extolling the virtues of a saintly existence on earth!
The change wrought in the Christian message has become enormous. No longer was the Kingdom of God a promise of the world to come. It could exist through human effort on this planet. They took as their motto according to Weber Proverbs 22:29 "Seest thou a diligent man to his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men." I take it that capitalism is so worthy as to command the audience of the most respected of mankind and not be concerned with what the trifle of men think about such labor and reward.
2. The Second Awakening of the Christians that as to their human condition and existential situation
This movement in Christianity starting around WWI is known as the Rise of the Social Gospel, and it has occurred in the US primarily. It is a major change in Christian thought that not only are we are brothers keeper, as the Old Testament hinted at, but we are in charge of each other's welfare!
This movement among Christians has meshed with the blacks fight for equality, the women's emancipation from household drudgery, and the Third World insinuation into world politics. The results are unfathomable. It has led to programs to end discrimination in housing, in education, and in the workplace. Of course, social programs of this dimension take centuries to achieve their end results, but it is important to realize that people like Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm-X initially led the way.
The basis for Christian involvement in social amelioration is John Locke's philosophy that all men are created equal. In the Bible, we are exhorted to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Everyone is worthy of salvation by God and should abide by God's plan for his life. So it is natural to assume that we are our brother's keeper.
Homelessness, poverty, and conditions of servitude have always been with us; but with Christian charity, we reach out to improve the social conditions of our brethren.
Because this feature of Christianity is really new, one cannot speculate what its ultimate effect will be. I can only say that Christianity is moving ahead with these projects to end poverty. Now it is true that the only weapon so far advanced to achieve the goal is re-distribution of wealth, which the wealthy do not accept as a vehicle for social change. There should be other means available, not yet advanced, that will achieve this end, too.
You can see that changes in Christian living take centuries to happen; and this not without human agony over the changes. But I am sure they will take place as society and culture accept better living conditions for people.
The remarkable feature of Christianity is that it is at the forefront of social amelioration!
3. Society's response for equality of peoples
In every case, I believe, society exacts the same from every group desirous of equal treatment under the rule of law: CLEAN UP YOUR ACT!
That means each group or sect or race must measure up to the standards the society sets for participating membership. They are living in a mess; and society insists the group clean it up in order to maintain a measured amount of influence and control over the entire social entity.
For the women in search of equality, it has meant getting a good education in order to compete in a man's world and playing down the impediments of being a woman on earth.
For the blacks it means, establishing a rule of law in their neighborhoods, so that gangs do not go rough-shot over the old and the feeble. They must do that in their neighborhoods, nobody is going to do it for them. They need local leadership that enforces quiet and peace in their neighborhoods. Got it? At that moment in history, they'll achieve equality.
Then, and only then, the Kingdom of God will be established on earth.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
The American Rich and Famous
I've been watching programs, like "E!News," that I don't usually watch. My tastes in fashion and design are more plebian.
Anyhow, what impressed me was how stilted they conduct themselves, relatively little spontaneity; and how sterile and picture-book their houses and ballrooms and cars are, as if they were simply living in a hotel or in a hospital room! Or, driving a taxi. You don't see magazines thrown about, hair a bit messy; and houses that are in need of some repair!
I recall going to a Japanese art exhibit a few years ago. The artist was also a student of culture. He claimed that the essence of good art is in the idiosyncratic mars and mistakes retained in a work that adds character and charm to it. I personally believe his philosophy is profound. We want to be remembered as an individual human being with all the peculiar faults and idiosyncrasies that we personally have. And we want to enjoy them and want our friends to know us as individuals!
I feel sorry that our culture wants stilt men and women to model after--and model homes that don't look lived in; have no distinguishing features aside from their being mausoleums. I don't think it really does. The emotional blah kids their raising is proof that this isn't the best of all living styles.
Anyhow, what impressed me was how stilted they conduct themselves, relatively little spontaneity; and how sterile and picture-book their houses and ballrooms and cars are, as if they were simply living in a hotel or in a hospital room! Or, driving a taxi. You don't see magazines thrown about, hair a bit messy; and houses that are in need of some repair!
I recall going to a Japanese art exhibit a few years ago. The artist was also a student of culture. He claimed that the essence of good art is in the idiosyncratic mars and mistakes retained in a work that adds character and charm to it. I personally believe his philosophy is profound. We want to be remembered as an individual human being with all the peculiar faults and idiosyncrasies that we personally have. And we want to enjoy them and want our friends to know us as individuals!
I feel sorry that our culture wants stilt men and women to model after--and model homes that don't look lived in; have no distinguishing features aside from their being mausoleums. I don't think it really does. The emotional blah kids their raising is proof that this isn't the best of all living styles.
Monday, June 9, 2014
You don't understand the Ukrainian Crisis
When I was in Russia, Moscow, in the late 1980s, I help found the Russian Federation of Independent States. I understood then that some would have financial problems in order to exist, but after all that's what international banks are for. Moreover, I saw the amount of corruption going on and still exists to this day in every one of these satellite countries and in Russia. But that's politics.
The IMF has been delegated to help clean up the corruption mess of the Russian satellites. Of course, it has no jurisdiction in Russia. If the corruption isn't cleaned up, everyone of the satellites will go under, I can guarantee it. Nonetheless, the US has been working with Georgia; and has taken a leadership role in Moldova and of course, in the Ukraine.
I see this as an opportunity to reform the satellites for the sake of democracy and for their own independence. Yes, maybe, I did see how to create this opportunity when I was in Russia working on their new Constitution.
Let me get to the situation today. The Ukrainians are bankrupt. I would hope the IMF would go in there and clean up. Short of that I have no solution. Let them go to Russia, whose own corruption far excels anything the world has seen since the Middle Ages.
There's some satellite countries who are running to Russia. The Armenians won't be accepted into the EU ever, so I understand their plight. I'm not against the Customs Union, but each nation must remain independent. Being a member of the Customs Union does not preclude this.
Then, there are a few satellites who have run to Russia because they are insolvent. Russia ought not to serve as a banker, any more than should the US. I understand the EU bank is doing fantastic.
But now we come to the globalization part. I won't allow the satellite Russian countries to fall into the hands of Russia. Try me. I'll annihilate you. You say to me you can play the oil hand; and I'll show you what the international community will do to someone who holds it captive. They will destroy your fields; they will do whatever to bring Russia in line without a President Putin. I won't see the Russian people suffer anymore but I won't have you. You want more suffering of the Russian people, President Putin?
Anyway, I've decided to remove you from the Presidency of the Russian Government with every strength I have, not for my sake, but for the concern I have for the independence of the Russian Confederate Republics.
So, you say, I'm a lowly person in the USA complex. No, dear President, I'm with the globalization project that is in control of getting order in this world. You can contact me in Germany. You are ancient history.
The IMF has been delegated to help clean up the corruption mess of the Russian satellites. Of course, it has no jurisdiction in Russia. If the corruption isn't cleaned up, everyone of the satellites will go under, I can guarantee it. Nonetheless, the US has been working with Georgia; and has taken a leadership role in Moldova and of course, in the Ukraine.
I see this as an opportunity to reform the satellites for the sake of democracy and for their own independence. Yes, maybe, I did see how to create this opportunity when I was in Russia working on their new Constitution.
Let me get to the situation today. The Ukrainians are bankrupt. I would hope the IMF would go in there and clean up. Short of that I have no solution. Let them go to Russia, whose own corruption far excels anything the world has seen since the Middle Ages.
There's some satellite countries who are running to Russia. The Armenians won't be accepted into the EU ever, so I understand their plight. I'm not against the Customs Union, but each nation must remain independent. Being a member of the Customs Union does not preclude this.
Then, there are a few satellites who have run to Russia because they are insolvent. Russia ought not to serve as a banker, any more than should the US. I understand the EU bank is doing fantastic.
But now we come to the globalization part. I won't allow the satellite Russian countries to fall into the hands of Russia. Try me. I'll annihilate you. You say to me you can play the oil hand; and I'll show you what the international community will do to someone who holds it captive. They will destroy your fields; they will do whatever to bring Russia in line without a President Putin. I won't see the Russian people suffer anymore but I won't have you. You want more suffering of the Russian people, President Putin?
Anyway, I've decided to remove you from the Presidency of the Russian Government with every strength I have, not for my sake, but for the concern I have for the independence of the Russian Confederate Republics.
So, you say, I'm a lowly person in the USA complex. No, dear President, I'm with the globalization project that is in control of getting order in this world. You can contact me in Germany. You are ancient history.
Monday, May 26, 2014
The End of Violence in Society
Society has always had its violent behavioral groups.
Society can end violence. It's well known violent behavior is part of the male gene syndrome and the elements have been isolated and identified by many university scientific groups. What my friends are suggesting, if there were a group of male individuals who would be willing to subject themselves to experiment under controlled conditions to ending the violence in the male syndrome, it would be a step forward to a new world. I don't know if there is such a group of males available. All I know is that scientists might welcome their participation and they can have enjoyable sex and produce many children. Listen, if I didn't believe we've got the answer to violence, I'd tell you so!
Society can end violence. It's well known violent behavior is part of the male gene syndrome and the elements have been isolated and identified by many university scientific groups. What my friends are suggesting, if there were a group of male individuals who would be willing to subject themselves to experiment under controlled conditions to ending the violence in the male syndrome, it would be a step forward to a new world. I don't know if there is such a group of males available. All I know is that scientists might welcome their participation and they can have enjoyable sex and produce many children. Listen, if I didn't believe we've got the answer to violence, I'd tell you so!
Sunday, May 11, 2014
(CP-6) Meta-Elements of Religious Knowledge
Unveiling God's Plan for your life
Religious knowledge is practical knowledge, and it is revealed to the individual believer. The guiding truth is God's plan for each of our lives within the cosmic schemata.. It is your intended contribution to the establishment of God's everlasting Kingdom. Even as Jesus endeavored to carry out God's plan for His life, including dying on the cross for the sake of the Kingdom, so we are exhorted to do what God intends each of us to accomplish in our lifetime.
Now the Kingdom is a community of believers. In Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus outlines how we are to relate to one another for the sake of the Kingdom. We should not act out of anger but love. In this chapter, he stresses the attitude we are to maintain in our dealings with one another. Essentially , we are to act as mediators for the sake of harmony and peace in His Kingdom--abandoning the intention to "do the right thing" irrespective of its affects on those around us nor without concern of how others will respond to our acts. Just as Jesus is our Mediator before the Father, so we are mediators to one another in the Kingdom of God.
Failing to show compassion in their actions was the very sin of the Pharisees. For the Christian there is no such thing as "tough love!" .
But how can we know God's plan for each of our lives? St. Paul talks of this in I Corinthians 12. He speaks of one's having spiritual gifts, some delegated to one person and some to others. Our bodies and minds display our inclinations and talents from within, just as Jesus instructed through His parables to make use of God's natural gifts we possess. For we are the temple of God.
And then Jesus adds in Matthew Chapter 5, "You will be blest!"
Applying the religious knowledge we receive
Since religious knowledge is practical and useful for us, when we apply the religious knowledge we receive to our lives, we live by the promise that God shall supply all our needs. We virtually conjoin ourselves through the power of God to the principles of the universe. It is that power Jesus called upon to do His miracles. We attune ourselves through prayer and worship to the cosmos (see the discussion of the Eucharist service). Importantly, we come to know ourselves as Children of God, retaining in ourselves godlike qualities that give us courage to live a beautiful life, despite its vicissitudes; and die with the hope of eternal life. We are never alone.
Religious knowledge is practical knowledge, and it is revealed to the individual believer. The guiding truth is God's plan for each of our lives within the cosmic schemata.. It is your intended contribution to the establishment of God's everlasting Kingdom. Even as Jesus endeavored to carry out God's plan for His life, including dying on the cross for the sake of the Kingdom, so we are exhorted to do what God intends each of us to accomplish in our lifetime.
Now the Kingdom is a community of believers. In Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus outlines how we are to relate to one another for the sake of the Kingdom. We should not act out of anger but love. In this chapter, he stresses the attitude we are to maintain in our dealings with one another. Essentially , we are to act as mediators for the sake of harmony and peace in His Kingdom--abandoning the intention to "do the right thing" irrespective of its affects on those around us nor without concern of how others will respond to our acts. Just as Jesus is our Mediator before the Father, so we are mediators to one another in the Kingdom of God.
Failing to show compassion in their actions was the very sin of the Pharisees. For the Christian there is no such thing as "tough love!" .
But how can we know God's plan for each of our lives? St. Paul talks of this in I Corinthians 12. He speaks of one's having spiritual gifts, some delegated to one person and some to others. Our bodies and minds display our inclinations and talents from within, just as Jesus instructed through His parables to make use of God's natural gifts we possess. For we are the temple of God.
And then Jesus adds in Matthew Chapter 5, "You will be blest!"
Applying the religious knowledge we receive
Since religious knowledge is practical and useful for us, when we apply the religious knowledge we receive to our lives, we live by the promise that God shall supply all our needs. We virtually conjoin ourselves through the power of God to the principles of the universe. It is that power Jesus called upon to do His miracles. We attune ourselves through prayer and worship to the cosmos (see the discussion of the Eucharist service). Importantly, we come to know ourselves as Children of God, retaining in ourselves godlike qualities that give us courage to live a beautiful life, despite its vicissitudes; and die with the hope of eternal life. We are never alone.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
(CP-5) Religious Knowledge: The Format
Religious knowledge is the theological proof of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. He lives today, enabling us who believe to access the Trinity God. And, what we believers gain is religious knowledge, which is unavailable to the un-believer.
This knowledge is personal--it's for me! It is directed to the believer himself. It is knowledge that the believer should use in his day-to-day activities. It could make him rich--in this the Texan preachers are right about, whenever the believer wants to make riches his goal--it could lengthen his life, and so forth. The believer in God through Jesus Christ as his access--sets the use of the religious knowledge he gains to his own advantage.
Since I live this knowledge daily and for the past upteen years, it is readily something I can discuss. In the Bible, it first appears in Genesis Chapter 1 verse 31 "and behold it was very good!" After God made the heavens and the earth and made man in God's image, He declares, "it is good!"
This is also evaluative knowledge. We work 6 days a week and on the seventh, we rest to look it all over, to see how far we've progressed in just one week! You know, going to church. a truly foreign environment, enables us to get away from the everyday and to evaluate how we're doing. Performing prayers enables us to get to the spiritual realm and away from the routines. In the spiritual, we come as penitents knowing we could have done better and using this moment of reflection to seek God's power to do better henceforth. It's that simple. But if you don't do that evaluation, from the Christian viewpoint, you're depriving yourself of an invaluable tool for personal growth.
You can't always keep going and going. You've got to take stock of how you're doing toward the goals you have set for yourself. Sunday morning, in church, is the time for evaluating your performance, even as God did after crating the world. The environment is set for the evaluation process.
Let me take today as an example from my life. I've got worlds of things I'm involved in and some of them could be important. But I took the day off, though I didn't go to church, and lying in bed reflected on how I'm doing, and I prayed a lot and just got away from everything mundane. I didn't leave the house until after 6 PM, then only to get groceries. Nevertheless, in those hours of complete solitude, I rehearsed what I've been doing recently and took stock of myself. As a Christian, that always implies what St. Paul called "edification--" how am I helping my fellow man to live better by what I am doing. Sure, I saw I could have done better and I've learned to do better!
In New Age Philosophy, it's the third eye, the one that knows what's really going on. But whatever it's called every human being needs to use it as a guide-post. God bless you!!
I've introduced you to religious knowledge; and I know you'll have a lot of questions about it. It's the most vital aspect of our faith. I can only get you started on your religious journey. It's up to you to follow through. Now, I must go on to the meta-elements of religious knowledge.
One more thing in this introduction. The human body is the temple of God. So, I can approach the Lord Jesus Christ today--you won't believe it; but I can't believe it, it's just the religious experience. But the fact is we're just humans; and we're not rational! And I welcome the religious tune-up of today! It got me to know what I must do, so off I go, refreshed!.
This knowledge is personal--it's for me! It is directed to the believer himself. It is knowledge that the believer should use in his day-to-day activities. It could make him rich--in this the Texan preachers are right about, whenever the believer wants to make riches his goal--it could lengthen his life, and so forth. The believer in God through Jesus Christ as his access--sets the use of the religious knowledge he gains to his own advantage.
Since I live this knowledge daily and for the past upteen years, it is readily something I can discuss. In the Bible, it first appears in Genesis Chapter 1 verse 31 "and behold it was very good!" After God made the heavens and the earth and made man in God's image, He declares, "it is good!"
This is also evaluative knowledge. We work 6 days a week and on the seventh, we rest to look it all over, to see how far we've progressed in just one week! You know, going to church. a truly foreign environment, enables us to get away from the everyday and to evaluate how we're doing. Performing prayers enables us to get to the spiritual realm and away from the routines. In the spiritual, we come as penitents knowing we could have done better and using this moment of reflection to seek God's power to do better henceforth. It's that simple. But if you don't do that evaluation, from the Christian viewpoint, you're depriving yourself of an invaluable tool for personal growth.
You can't always keep going and going. You've got to take stock of how you're doing toward the goals you have set for yourself. Sunday morning, in church, is the time for evaluating your performance, even as God did after crating the world. The environment is set for the evaluation process.
Let me take today as an example from my life. I've got worlds of things I'm involved in and some of them could be important. But I took the day off, though I didn't go to church, and lying in bed reflected on how I'm doing, and I prayed a lot and just got away from everything mundane. I didn't leave the house until after 6 PM, then only to get groceries. Nevertheless, in those hours of complete solitude, I rehearsed what I've been doing recently and took stock of myself. As a Christian, that always implies what St. Paul called "edification--" how am I helping my fellow man to live better by what I am doing. Sure, I saw I could have done better and I've learned to do better!
In New Age Philosophy, it's the third eye, the one that knows what's really going on. But whatever it's called every human being needs to use it as a guide-post. God bless you!!
I've introduced you to religious knowledge; and I know you'll have a lot of questions about it. It's the most vital aspect of our faith. I can only get you started on your religious journey. It's up to you to follow through. Now, I must go on to the meta-elements of religious knowledge.
One more thing in this introduction. The human body is the temple of God. So, I can approach the Lord Jesus Christ today--you won't believe it; but I can't believe it, it's just the religious experience. But the fact is we're just humans; and we're not rational! And I welcome the religious tune-up of today! It got me to know what I must do, so off I go, refreshed!.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
The Point/Counterpoint Dichtomy
I was introduced to the conceptual dichotomy in the mid-1970's, while I was an Instructor (non-ranked) in Philosophy at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a community college. I had just completed getting an MA in Higher Education at the University of Chicago--taking evening classes. I persuaded the college through the Public Relations Administrator to permit me to edit a journal in higher education that would present the views and ideas of Instructors about teaching I would then try to circulate among other colleges for support. We only had one issue! Anyway, this administrator chose the name for it--Counterpoint. He explained that since it would offer the ideas of those who taught, not administrators and heads of departments in higher education, the title was descriptive. If it were an educational journal typical in the field, he said, he would have recommended Point. Thus, the conceptual distinction: point/counterpoint.
It turns out that society is built on such a distinction. The "point" in the social hierarchy are those who head organizations, such as corporations and governments. They are the CEOs at the very top of the social chain of command. Whereas, the "counterpoint" is composed of members of the mass media to the extent that they offer critiques of the establishment, and would you believe, the religious clerics and leaders, e.g., Jesus; and the social leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm-X--all of whom serve as the conscience of society. The counterpoint's mission is to remind those in control of society to "do the right thing," implying they are privy to ethical and moral knowledge.
It will be seen at once the importance of the distinction. Those in power, wielding enormous control over the rest of society, must be checked. Their power must never become "unbridled." The power of the counterpoint group comes from the people, who upon occasion are motivated to rise up against the established power structure, e.g., during the French Revolution.
It turns out that society is built on such a distinction. The "point" in the social hierarchy are those who head organizations, such as corporations and governments. They are the CEOs at the very top of the social chain of command. Whereas, the "counterpoint" is composed of members of the mass media to the extent that they offer critiques of the establishment, and would you believe, the religious clerics and leaders, e.g., Jesus; and the social leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm-X--all of whom serve as the conscience of society. The counterpoint's mission is to remind those in control of society to "do the right thing," implying they are privy to ethical and moral knowledge.
It will be seen at once the importance of the distinction. Those in power, wielding enormous control over the rest of society, must be checked. Their power must never become "unbridled." The power of the counterpoint group comes from the people, who upon occasion are motivated to rise up against the established power structure, e.g., during the French Revolution.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Developing the Christian Pragmatics' Theme (CP-4a)
plan version: 4/24/14
I've been away from the field of Theology for some 50 years! Anyway, I have received peer reviews of the 4 items that comprise my initial attempt to develop my own Christian theology; and I've been encouraged enough to go on further with the project!
What I plan to do is offer one application or use of a particular concept within the Christian Pragmatics' theme and then move on to the next concept. So, when the initial version of Christian Pragmatics is completed, it should contain one application of each of the Christian Pragmatics' topics --the project thus surveyed in scope; but no topic covered in depth (which would include more than one application of the concept).
1. The first topic in CP is the religious experience--the application presented--the Eucharist or Mass.
then the other topics or concepts will follow and each offered with an application. I have tentatively identified the topics, but I won't indicate the application in this outline:
2. Religious knowledge
3. Christianity embedded in culture: the social Gospel
4. Our Christian life in the world of the power grid: the Christian's mission
5. CP in contrast to current trends in theology
I've been away from the field of Theology for some 50 years! Anyway, I have received peer reviews of the 4 items that comprise my initial attempt to develop my own Christian theology; and I've been encouraged enough to go on further with the project!
What I plan to do is offer one application or use of a particular concept within the Christian Pragmatics' theme and then move on to the next concept. So, when the initial version of Christian Pragmatics is completed, it should contain one application of each of the Christian Pragmatics' topics --the project thus surveyed in scope; but no topic covered in depth (which would include more than one application of the concept).
1. The first topic in CP is the religious experience--the application presented--the Eucharist or Mass.
then the other topics or concepts will follow and each offered with an application. I have tentatively identified the topics, but I won't indicate the application in this outline:
2. Religious knowledge
3. Christianity embedded in culture: the social Gospel
4. Our Christian life in the world of the power grid: the Christian's mission
5. CP in contrast to current trends in theology
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
I' m introducing, Bishop Dan Edwards
He's Episcopalian bishop of Nevada I've met with him; and I was surprised by his administrative skills. He can save the Episcopal Church in USA. He should be given a leading role in USA church governance. He must go to National Cathedral. Incidentally, can he bring me with him? .
Sunday, April 6, 2014
(CP-4) The Eucharist (or, Mass)
About the Nature of Religion
Emile Durkheim wrote much on this topic. What he could not see in the 19th Century was how religion becomes imbedded in a culture. The prime example is China. There's really no Confucianism today; it's the Chinese Culture! The Chinese just naturally place their passed parents in urns on their mantelpieces all over the country! They live in accordance with the teachings of Confuscius naturally, without thinking about it.
We're seeing the same thing in the West. There are Christian nations, the USA being a prime example (the Fundamentalists are right! Really?). A common complaint in Christian nations today is that the religion, Christianity, is waning. No, it's not waning, there's just no need to go to a specific place to practice it. Religious experiences are omnipresent. The preparations for the experience are within the structures of our court system and permeate our governmental, administrative apparatus; our social justice movements toward equality of the races, of the genders--of human being citizens; our outreach through corporate business worldwide, through our military bases around the world; through our cultural extensions to other cultures.
Nevertheless, I hope we always retain moments of the religious experience in our Christian churches, howbeit there be many fewer churches. In my opinion, there's nothing that can approach the Eucharist in the beauty and serenity of the Christian message acted out in this particular parishioner's religious practice. For me, it's the epitome of the religious experience in Christianity.
The Eucharist in its Meta-Elements
1. The Calling by God to worship. At eleven A.M. or so on Sunday morning, the church bells toll. It's time for church service. The organ loudly proclaims God is in on His throne, awaiting us parishioners. Hymns describing God's majesty, our humility are sung as the liturgical procession heads toward the altar, led by the cross of Jesus signifying our dedication to this moment we regard important for guiding our lives.
The priest leads the processional to the altar and declares the Service has begun by saying a prayer, invoking God's presence among those in attendance.
2. The Identity of the called. "Now, hear ye this!" The scriptures are read. God's response to the invocation is to declare to all who are in attendance the delight that He takes in those seeking Him. All those in the church are to listen to His words meant for us. We are the hearers of the Word.
3. The moment of instruction for us, the people of the Now generation. The presiding priest assumes an instructional role at the podium. He delivers the sermon in the service intended to strengthen the relationship between God and man by pointing out how we can improve our communication with God by doing as he, God's representative in the service, instructs us. He exhorts us, as if he were a salesman selling a medical product that would add years to our lives should we buy it and use it asap. And, the product he sells is free! It's our spiritual redemption; the cost only to pledge our souls to serious contractual relationship with God (e.g., the conversion call to the altar) to do God's will in our lives..
4. God's power sought. The parishioners together acknowledge our allegiance to Christian principles in the famous Nicene Creed said in unison. Followed by the Prayers of the People to make especial mention of our needs. Thereupon, we acknowledge our weaknesses and human frailties in the most important and illuminating statement of our humble condition in the world that He has created--the Confession of Sin. We, as parishioners, are sinners who cannot carry out God's plan for each of our lives without continual help that only God can provide to each and every one of us . "Please, Most Holy, Most High, help us!" We need help in dealing with some human malady or disease. We need God's spirit to design our transactions with one another, and in our personal, inner life. Help Almighty One! Give us Thy Spirit; and permit us the partaking in Thy power!
5 God's power received. Acting as God's emissary, the presiding priest conducts the Holy Communion ceremony. The stage is set for playing out the Last Supper of our Lord at the Communion Table. We are to be not only the onlookers to that event in remembrance but become its participants, even as the presiding priest proceeds to obtain for us God's special gift, His most precious body and blood In this way, we exhibit our Godlike being as we communicate with our inner nature of God in us.
We are welcomed at the altar to receive the symbols of God's power severally dispensed to us by the priestly representatives of God. We become recipients of the gifts of God in our hands. He has extended to us the elements of His most Holy Spirit to be retained in our being for a time to come. We feed on these elements in our hearts.
6. We who have received God's gifts express our gratitude. We sing a hymn, the liturgical procession exits; we are left alone in our pew, refreshed and exhilarated. We, the remaining congregation declare in heartfelt gratitude, "Thanks be to God!" 'You've done it again for
each of us!'
Now we know the Trinity through our religious experience: God the Father, creates us according to His design, God the Son establishes for us a way to gain knowledge of His design for us; and God the Holy Spirit enables us to carry out God's plan for our lives through the continuing inflow of God's power and might into our being through partaking in the religious experience.
Emile Durkheim wrote much on this topic. What he could not see in the 19th Century was how religion becomes imbedded in a culture. The prime example is China. There's really no Confucianism today; it's the Chinese Culture! The Chinese just naturally place their passed parents in urns on their mantelpieces all over the country! They live in accordance with the teachings of Confuscius naturally, without thinking about it.
We're seeing the same thing in the West. There are Christian nations, the USA being a prime example (the Fundamentalists are right! Really?). A common complaint in Christian nations today is that the religion, Christianity, is waning. No, it's not waning, there's just no need to go to a specific place to practice it. Religious experiences are omnipresent. The preparations for the experience are within the structures of our court system and permeate our governmental, administrative apparatus; our social justice movements toward equality of the races, of the genders--of human being citizens; our outreach through corporate business worldwide, through our military bases around the world; through our cultural extensions to other cultures.
Nevertheless, I hope we always retain moments of the religious experience in our Christian churches, howbeit there be many fewer churches. In my opinion, there's nothing that can approach the Eucharist in the beauty and serenity of the Christian message acted out in this particular parishioner's religious practice. For me, it's the epitome of the religious experience in Christianity.
The Eucharist in its Meta-Elements
1. The Calling by God to worship. At eleven A.M. or so on Sunday morning, the church bells toll. It's time for church service. The organ loudly proclaims God is in on His throne, awaiting us parishioners. Hymns describing God's majesty, our humility are sung as the liturgical procession heads toward the altar, led by the cross of Jesus signifying our dedication to this moment we regard important for guiding our lives.
The priest leads the processional to the altar and declares the Service has begun by saying a prayer, invoking God's presence among those in attendance.
2. The Identity of the called. "Now, hear ye this!" The scriptures are read. God's response to the invocation is to declare to all who are in attendance the delight that He takes in those seeking Him. All those in the church are to listen to His words meant for us. We are the hearers of the Word.
3. The moment of instruction for us, the people of the Now generation. The presiding priest assumes an instructional role at the podium. He delivers the sermon in the service intended to strengthen the relationship between God and man by pointing out how we can improve our communication with God by doing as he, God's representative in the service, instructs us. He exhorts us, as if he were a salesman selling a medical product that would add years to our lives should we buy it and use it asap. And, the product he sells is free! It's our spiritual redemption; the cost only to pledge our souls to serious contractual relationship with God (e.g., the conversion call to the altar) to do God's will in our lives..
4. God's power sought. The parishioners together acknowledge our allegiance to Christian principles in the famous Nicene Creed said in unison. Followed by the Prayers of the People to make especial mention of our needs. Thereupon, we acknowledge our weaknesses and human frailties in the most important and illuminating statement of our humble condition in the world that He has created--the Confession of Sin. We, as parishioners, are sinners who cannot carry out God's plan for each of our lives without continual help that only God can provide to each and every one of us . "Please, Most Holy, Most High, help us!" We need help in dealing with some human malady or disease. We need God's spirit to design our transactions with one another, and in our personal, inner life. Help Almighty One! Give us Thy Spirit; and permit us the partaking in Thy power!
5 God's power received. Acting as God's emissary, the presiding priest conducts the Holy Communion ceremony. The stage is set for playing out the Last Supper of our Lord at the Communion Table. We are to be not only the onlookers to that event in remembrance but become its participants, even as the presiding priest proceeds to obtain for us God's special gift, His most precious body and blood In this way, we exhibit our Godlike being as we communicate with our inner nature of God in us.
We are welcomed at the altar to receive the symbols of God's power severally dispensed to us by the priestly representatives of God. We become recipients of the gifts of God in our hands. He has extended to us the elements of His most Holy Spirit to be retained in our being for a time to come. We feed on these elements in our hearts.
6. We who have received God's gifts express our gratitude. We sing a hymn, the liturgical procession exits; we are left alone in our pew, refreshed and exhilarated. We, the remaining congregation declare in heartfelt gratitude, "Thanks be to God!" 'You've done it again for
each of us!'
Now we know the Trinity through our religious experience: God the Father, creates us according to His design, God the Son establishes for us a way to gain knowledge of His design for us; and God the Holy Spirit enables us to carry out God's plan for our lives through the continuing inflow of God's power and might into our being through partaking in the religious experience.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
(CP-3) Religious Significance of the Gospels
The Gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke, John contain a certain degree of historical record but interpreted by believers who wanted to cherish the life of Jesus remembered in oral sayings and print. As such these Gospels are testimonials to the power of Jesus, if He so willed it. These writings are like the testimonials at AA meetings, if you will. They contain reference to what God through Jesus, His Son, has done in the lives of those early-on Christians; and attests to the power of God in Jesus.
But some ministers of the Gospel today claim that the Gospels contain promises of what God will do in the life of the believer who simply requests that God through Christ Jesus act on his behalf. They cite such references as Matthew 7 to claim that God will grant the believer riches galore, e.g., money, a job; if only he ask of God to work miracles in his life. However, such references must be placed in the context of Jesus' own life. He was not rich; He dealt with sinners and even Samarians, i.e., non-Jews, as if they too could be among the believers in His Kingdom of God.
The critical writing in Matthew that places all such promises in perspective is Matthew 26, where Jesus and God are alone together. "Oh My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me!" Then, knowing that He ought not be in charge of events on earth, but His Father only, Jesus adds, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou will!"
It is in our critical relationship of man to God that our religious response to God's calling occurs. We are to pursue relationship with God; so as to know Him and come to recognize our part in His plan.
If this be the basis for our relationship to God through Jesus--that is, to know God so as to know what we must do to further His kingdom--then at once the teachings of Jesus are instructive of how we can improve in our knowing God; and thereby partaking of His Power and Will in our lives. That, translated to the whole of the Gospels means, we are to take those teachings as instructions to walk "nigh with God" in order to align ourselves with His power and His will for our lives; and thereby benefit from our relationship cultivated through our interactions with Him The religious value of the Synoptic Gospels is to enable us to know God through Jesus; and to create a lasting relationship with Him throughout all of our experiences on earth. HIS WILL BE DONE THROUG OUR LIVES!
'
But some ministers of the Gospel today claim that the Gospels contain promises of what God will do in the life of the believer who simply requests that God through Christ Jesus act on his behalf. They cite such references as Matthew 7 to claim that God will grant the believer riches galore, e.g., money, a job; if only he ask of God to work miracles in his life. However, such references must be placed in the context of Jesus' own life. He was not rich; He dealt with sinners and even Samarians, i.e., non-Jews, as if they too could be among the believers in His Kingdom of God.
The critical writing in Matthew that places all such promises in perspective is Matthew 26, where Jesus and God are alone together. "Oh My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me!" Then, knowing that He ought not be in charge of events on earth, but His Father only, Jesus adds, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou will!"
It is in our critical relationship of man to God that our religious response to God's calling occurs. We are to pursue relationship with God; so as to know Him and come to recognize our part in His plan.
If this be the basis for our relationship to God through Jesus--that is, to know God so as to know what we must do to further His kingdom--then at once the teachings of Jesus are instructive of how we can improve in our knowing God; and thereby partaking of His Power and Will in our lives. That, translated to the whole of the Gospels means, we are to take those teachings as instructions to walk "nigh with God" in order to align ourselves with His power and His will for our lives; and thereby benefit from our relationship cultivated through our interactions with Him The religious value of the Synoptic Gospels is to enable us to know God through Jesus; and to create a lasting relationship with Him throughout all of our experiences on earth. HIS WILL BE DONE THROUG OUR LIVES!
'
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Christian Pragmatics (CP-2): The Meta-Elements
I'll offer the Meta-Elements by way of discussing the Calling of Samuel in the Old Testament, I Samuel, Chapter 3. Not all the elements appear in the Old Testament, but that will become apparent-- which ones do; which ones don't.
In the format item, I mentioned that Christian Pragmatics is a kind of religious experience. In the calling of Samuel, we have described a paradigm of the Jewish religious experience, containing 3 Meta-Elements.
1. The Calling by God 3 times. It is mentioned that visions were not used as a sign of God's presence; simply, the word.
2. The Identity of the called--Samuel's reply. In each case, Samuel, the 'I,' responds, "Here..."
Eli, the High Priest, acts at this stage as an interpreter of the calls from God.
3. The communication from God with an injunction: "Take this communication to Israel." In essence, he learns he is chosen to be a prophet to his people. Note, Eli is apparently to act on God's plan for the young boy's life.
That's the first 3 Meta-Elements retained in Christian Pragmatics. There's three which Christianity adds:
4. God's power requested by the parishioner. See Mathew 7 v. 7-8: "Ask, and it shall be given you..."
5. God's power received by the parishioner. "For everyone that asketh, receiveth..."
6. The Gift of God in the transaction, acknowledged by the parishioner: "Thanks be to God."
I will apply these Meta-Elements to the Eucharist (or, Mass), which I consider a paradigm practice in Christian Pragmatics; but first I need to place the Gospels--Mathew, Mark, Luke and John--in religious perspective. Specifically, just what do these Gospels mean in Christian Pragmatics?
In the format item, I mentioned that Christian Pragmatics is a kind of religious experience. In the calling of Samuel, we have described a paradigm of the Jewish religious experience, containing 3 Meta-Elements.
1. The Calling by God 3 times. It is mentioned that visions were not used as a sign of God's presence; simply, the word.
2. The Identity of the called--Samuel's reply. In each case, Samuel, the 'I,' responds, "Here..."
Eli, the High Priest, acts at this stage as an interpreter of the calls from God.
3. The communication from God with an injunction: "Take this communication to Israel." In essence, he learns he is chosen to be a prophet to his people. Note, Eli is apparently to act on God's plan for the young boy's life.
That's the first 3 Meta-Elements retained in Christian Pragmatics. There's three which Christianity adds:
4. God's power requested by the parishioner. See Mathew 7 v. 7-8: "Ask, and it shall be given you..."
5. God's power received by the parishioner. "For everyone that asketh, receiveth..."
6. The Gift of God in the transaction, acknowledged by the parishioner: "Thanks be to God."
I will apply these Meta-Elements to the Eucharist (or, Mass), which I consider a paradigm practice in Christian Pragmatics; but first I need to place the Gospels--Mathew, Mark, Luke and John--in religious perspective. Specifically, just what do these Gospels mean in Christian Pragmatics?
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Christian Pragmatics (CP-1): The Format
Christian Pragmatics is the study of how Christians respond to the revelation of God's presence in their lives. It will be recalled from the Scriptures that Jesus said words to the effect that "Where there are two or three gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them." Christians claim to have a close spiritual relationship to God through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is anticipated in the Old Testament by the calling from God for Samuel to become a Jewish prophet. His response amounted to the words, "Here, I am, Lord."
The paradigm of a typical response is the Eucharistic Service, or "the Mass," performed at Christian churches around the world adhering to Catholic and Episcopal (Protestant) liturgies.
I use the concept of Christian Pragmatics as an inclusive term of Christian worship. This worship is really a response of the parishioner to his calling from God. It is really a testimony of his or her encounter with God. And this testimony bears witness that God's power penetrates being--all that is and evermore shall be. For God's power is the eternal creating Force of the universe.
The concept of Christian Pragmatics can be viewed as having properties or component elements; and these are taken up as "Meta-Elements" of the concept in the next CP item in the Didactics series.
In theology, this concept is named "the religious experience" and is applied to religions in general, not simply Christianity. Paul Tillich used it extensively throughout his theology; and I studied theology at Union Theology, where he had been teaching for many years. I did my M.A. thesis on Tillich's notion of the religious experience. He tended to use it as a Kantian thing-in-itself and didn't try to unpack it further. Through use of a property list for the concept, each property a Meta-Element, I am attempting to analyze it further into components. I am limiting my analysis to Christianity, simply because I am interested in using the concept of the religious experience in a Christian context, though its property list as I am developing it, i.e., through the Meta-Elements, I believe could apply to the religious experience in other religions. . .
The paradigm of a typical response is the Eucharistic Service, or "the Mass," performed at Christian churches around the world adhering to Catholic and Episcopal (Protestant) liturgies.
I use the concept of Christian Pragmatics as an inclusive term of Christian worship. This worship is really a response of the parishioner to his calling from God. It is really a testimony of his or her encounter with God. And this testimony bears witness that God's power penetrates being--all that is and evermore shall be. For God's power is the eternal creating Force of the universe.
The concept of Christian Pragmatics can be viewed as having properties or component elements; and these are taken up as "Meta-Elements" of the concept in the next CP item in the Didactics series.
In theology, this concept is named "the religious experience" and is applied to religions in general, not simply Christianity. Paul Tillich used it extensively throughout his theology; and I studied theology at Union Theology, where he had been teaching for many years. I did my M.A. thesis on Tillich's notion of the religious experience. He tended to use it as a Kantian thing-in-itself and didn't try to unpack it further. Through use of a property list for the concept, each property a Meta-Element, I am attempting to analyze it further into components. I am limiting my analysis to Christianity, simply because I am interested in using the concept of the religious experience in a Christian context, though its property list as I am developing it, i.e., through the Meta-Elements, I believe could apply to the religious experience in other religions. . .
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Lessons from History II: Principle of "lead a little" "nudge a lot!"
I am of the opinion, developed over these last five years, that President Obama is on the verge of greatness! He appears to be using a principle of 'bottom-up' leadership, by which a leader leads through consensus building. The fundamental task in this type of leadership is to keep everybody focused on the aims and objectives he is intending to achieve.
Let's look at some of these objectives.
1. Obamacare. This objective is not only important for the country but for the entire mass of humanity. It will establish the wherewithal to monitor and control the healthcare of human beings received from recognized and approved healthcare providers.
To even establish the means for such a monumental project has been herculean, but to get the system functioning is a tribute to technological innovation and ingenuity!
Along the way, President Obama has had to step back looking for where consensus lie , ever mindful of the ultimate goal. Witness how he has yet again delayed implementing new standards for insurance policies. Opponents comment: Why doesn't he just give up?
2. Foreign policy. In Syria, he has been unable to reach consensus among US partners, principally, the EU. In the Ukraine, he is forging ahead of the EU, temporarily, by offering support including financial assistance. His objective is clear nonetheless: stop heavy-handed treatment of the poor and downtrodden by tyrants.
3. The Green Earth Project. Because of the need for a constant flow of oil, he has only kept the development of proven oil reserves to a minimum.
4. Upgrading the US military. Currently, the Administration is making the military technologically advanced beyond what anyone could possibly imagine. I applaud the President in his steadfastness to this objective, which is always at odds with Congressional interest to keep things as they are in their several districts.
Furthermore, he appears committed to ensuring the military's endeavors worldwide on behalf of peace are supported.
Let's look at some of these objectives.
1. Obamacare. This objective is not only important for the country but for the entire mass of humanity. It will establish the wherewithal to monitor and control the healthcare of human beings received from recognized and approved healthcare providers.
To even establish the means for such a monumental project has been herculean, but to get the system functioning is a tribute to technological innovation and ingenuity!
Along the way, President Obama has had to step back looking for where consensus lie , ever mindful of the ultimate goal. Witness how he has yet again delayed implementing new standards for insurance policies. Opponents comment: Why doesn't he just give up?
2. Foreign policy. In Syria, he has been unable to reach consensus among US partners, principally, the EU. In the Ukraine, he is forging ahead of the EU, temporarily, by offering support including financial assistance. His objective is clear nonetheless: stop heavy-handed treatment of the poor and downtrodden by tyrants.
3. The Green Earth Project. Because of the need for a constant flow of oil, he has only kept the development of proven oil reserves to a minimum.
4. Upgrading the US military. Currently, the Administration is making the military technologically advanced beyond what anyone could possibly imagine. I applaud the President in his steadfastness to this objective, which is always at odds with Congressional interest to keep things as they are in their several districts.
Furthermore, he appears committed to ensuring the military's endeavors worldwide on behalf of peace are supported.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Good Resources
I am recommending really great resources for ideas in stimulating thought and action! Currently, those below:
1. The GPS program of Fareed Zakaria on CNN Sundays can boast of a fine list of books on political matters, far better than CSPAN's-2. His list contains provocative entries and is consistently up-to-date in the point-of-views expressed having merit.
2. BBC-radio, heard in Las Vegas in the middle of the night, has notable in-depth analyses of current events occurring--especially in Africa. I've found the series on Nigeria that traces its military intervention into the political arena to the 1960s particularly enlightening.
3. When I was in El Paso, I discovered that travelers from South-of-the-Border brought with them rumors about what could be happening in the countries from which they had just come. These conjectures, though fanciful, were nonetheless useful in prompting me to do related factual research upon which the rumors might be based. (see "What's Up John?" 7/13/13 item,)
Here, in Las Vegas, I think, because visitors come from all over the globe, the rumor mill is churning out a veritable landfill! I find rumors, no matter how preposterous, fun; and grist for serious study on some topic of current interest.
4. I'm a good resource, too. I posted in scribblings today, May 10, 2014, an item in What's up? that can help my friends. If it proves useful, I'll continue to do so, but only under scribblings,
1. The GPS program of Fareed Zakaria on CNN Sundays can boast of a fine list of books on political matters, far better than CSPAN's-2. His list contains provocative entries and is consistently up-to-date in the point-of-views expressed having merit.
2. BBC-radio, heard in Las Vegas in the middle of the night, has notable in-depth analyses of current events occurring--especially in Africa. I've found the series on Nigeria that traces its military intervention into the political arena to the 1960s particularly enlightening.
3. When I was in El Paso, I discovered that travelers from South-of-the-Border brought with them rumors about what could be happening in the countries from which they had just come. These conjectures, though fanciful, were nonetheless useful in prompting me to do related factual research upon which the rumors might be based. (see "What's Up John?" 7/13/13 item,)
Here, in Las Vegas, I think, because visitors come from all over the globe, the rumor mill is churning out a veritable landfill! I find rumors, no matter how preposterous, fun; and grist for serious study on some topic of current interest.
4. I'm a good resource, too. I posted in scribblings today, May 10, 2014, an item in What's up? that can help my friends. If it proves useful, I'll continue to do so, but only under scribblings,
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Lessons from History I: Is Russia a Christian Nation?
Background material about my philosophy of history
I majored in history in undergraduate school. But I never developed a philosophy of history until I studied Jewish history under Rabbai Jonathan Plaut, who was the Rabbai in the Reformed tradition at Temple Emanuel, San Jose, California when I knew him. His father was an illustrous scholar in the Reformed movement before him. His instruction on the significance of history in understanding the Jewish mind enriched my discernment how one's past is embedded in one's own self-identity. Accordingly, I embrace some notion of the collective unconscious espoused by psychoanalysts, early in its analysis of the mental, such as (I think) Karl Jaspers.
Understanding history in terms of cultural clashes
To question the existence of the collective unconcious is to fail to take history seriously. Stalin, in an apparent effort to rid Russia of non-Russian ways, attempted to kill off its Armenian population, as had the Turks during WWI, Hitler tried to rid Germany of any remnant of Jewish influence by waging a holocaust on the Jewish people. Pol Pot of Cambodia aimed at killing off those who embraced Western ways, particularly, inculcated by the French, in order to return his nation to its humbler beginnings. Mao of China wanted to return his country to its agrarian beginnings, too, forsaking Western influence as alien to the Asian Mind. Today, the Afghans bolt at giving up their tribal traditions.
Some nations have attempted to integrate the "new" with the "old." You can see this in Africa, where Christianity is accepted within a broader framework of native religions whose elements still remain; and you can see this in Haiti whose people are known to practice indigenous voodo yet go to Catholic church on Sunday. The "old" in China is Confusianism that has been embedded into the very fabric of Chinese culture; and the "new" is Buddhism and Chrisitianity--the latter only accepted to a modest degree, today, because of its insistence on affecting the everyday life of the believer, whereas the former emphasizes a spiritual, non-practical ascendence of the believer through everyday religious practice. The important point is that the "old" has precedence within a cultural framework. The "new" must be integrated into its primordial foundation. Indeed, most cultures have a religious structure inherent to them, because it is the means by which a societal member is identified as a person or being of that culture. It is not an accident that churches in the US had retained the birth and death records of their parishoners long before the local government were given that task regarding its citizenry.
Let's look at Russia today as a case-in-point how instructive paying attention to the remembered beginnings of a people is. For, I regard the Russian mind today as molded from its origins when Russians were Tartars. Essentially nomadic, the Tartars were a fierce, rough society, strongly rooted in their traditions that could be carried with them and practiced wherever they went. Each clan was an outspoken group, dedicated to boldly insinuate their interests into the society at large. The Tsars had a tough time controlling these independent groups, who would go their own way; so did Stalin; and so does President Putin in 2014! Currently, the Muslims want their own independence to become just like the other satellite states who have asserted themselves as independent nations. Yet The Russian Confederation of Independent States, composed of its several states, each work together to retain the overall Federation structure, while maintaining their separate languages and their own governmental structure and politic.
It is true that the Eastern Orthodox Church was established centuries ago in Russia, but I see it as an "add-on" to be integrated with what had gone before.
One may ask, why did some Russian authorities urge me to stay on in Russia after I had provided input from the 1980s into the makings of the new Russian Constitution. It is because I understood their point of view and respected who they are as a people with longings and potentials especial to them.
I majored in history in undergraduate school. But I never developed a philosophy of history until I studied Jewish history under Rabbai Jonathan Plaut, who was the Rabbai in the Reformed tradition at Temple Emanuel, San Jose, California when I knew him. His father was an illustrous scholar in the Reformed movement before him. His instruction on the significance of history in understanding the Jewish mind enriched my discernment how one's past is embedded in one's own self-identity. Accordingly, I embrace some notion of the collective unconscious espoused by psychoanalysts, early in its analysis of the mental, such as (I think) Karl Jaspers.
Understanding history in terms of cultural clashes
To question the existence of the collective unconcious is to fail to take history seriously. Stalin, in an apparent effort to rid Russia of non-Russian ways, attempted to kill off its Armenian population, as had the Turks during WWI, Hitler tried to rid Germany of any remnant of Jewish influence by waging a holocaust on the Jewish people. Pol Pot of Cambodia aimed at killing off those who embraced Western ways, particularly, inculcated by the French, in order to return his nation to its humbler beginnings. Mao of China wanted to return his country to its agrarian beginnings, too, forsaking Western influence as alien to the Asian Mind. Today, the Afghans bolt at giving up their tribal traditions.
Some nations have attempted to integrate the "new" with the "old." You can see this in Africa, where Christianity is accepted within a broader framework of native religions whose elements still remain; and you can see this in Haiti whose people are known to practice indigenous voodo yet go to Catholic church on Sunday. The "old" in China is Confusianism that has been embedded into the very fabric of Chinese culture; and the "new" is Buddhism and Chrisitianity--the latter only accepted to a modest degree, today, because of its insistence on affecting the everyday life of the believer, whereas the former emphasizes a spiritual, non-practical ascendence of the believer through everyday religious practice. The important point is that the "old" has precedence within a cultural framework. The "new" must be integrated into its primordial foundation. Indeed, most cultures have a religious structure inherent to them, because it is the means by which a societal member is identified as a person or being of that culture. It is not an accident that churches in the US had retained the birth and death records of their parishoners long before the local government were given that task regarding its citizenry.
Let's look at Russia today as a case-in-point how instructive paying attention to the remembered beginnings of a people is. For, I regard the Russian mind today as molded from its origins when Russians were Tartars. Essentially nomadic, the Tartars were a fierce, rough society, strongly rooted in their traditions that could be carried with them and practiced wherever they went. Each clan was an outspoken group, dedicated to boldly insinuate their interests into the society at large. The Tsars had a tough time controlling these independent groups, who would go their own way; so did Stalin; and so does President Putin in 2014! Currently, the Muslims want their own independence to become just like the other satellite states who have asserted themselves as independent nations. Yet The Russian Confederation of Independent States, composed of its several states, each work together to retain the overall Federation structure, while maintaining their separate languages and their own governmental structure and politic.
It is true that the Eastern Orthodox Church was established centuries ago in Russia, but I see it as an "add-on" to be integrated with what had gone before.
One may ask, why did some Russian authorities urge me to stay on in Russia after I had provided input from the 1980s into the makings of the new Russian Constitution. It is because I understood their point of view and respected who they are as a people with longings and potentials especial to them.
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