Some thoughts.
It is so multifaceted but always desires the good and pleasure of the loved one. The highest love is to accept, protect and give of itself without the need to be loved. It partakes of joy, truth, beauty, gratitude and generosity. It seeks to make the other the best and most joyful that they can be.
Sunday, 15 November 2009
REFLECTION
Is life worth living - the ultimate question. It calls for reflection, an examination of all of life.
The art of thinking must result in the art of living. It must be energised by emotion but requires toil of the mind. There must be a critique of illusions and prejudices. It can never end in debating. It requires courage to act in the face of evil and self-denial in the face of egotism.
Joyful, truthful living is seen to be the end of wisdom - an invigorating lucidity. The Bible describes the beginning of wisdom as fearing God. Eternal life is to know Him. Christ,the Wisdom of God made man, is 'the Way, the Truth and the Life.' The seal of this truth, His resurrection.
Words of wisdom should be as a pebble in a pond whose ripples continue to spread out far beyond its own circumference.
The art of thinking must result in the art of living. It must be energised by emotion but requires toil of the mind. There must be a critique of illusions and prejudices. It can never end in debating. It requires courage to act in the face of evil and self-denial in the face of egotism.
Joyful, truthful living is seen to be the end of wisdom - an invigorating lucidity. The Bible describes the beginning of wisdom as fearing God. Eternal life is to know Him. Christ,the Wisdom of God made man, is 'the Way, the Truth and the Life.' The seal of this truth, His resurrection.
Words of wisdom should be as a pebble in a pond whose ripples continue to spread out far beyond its own circumference.
Saturday, 7 November 2009
TIME
Thoughts gathered.
'Make every moment learning,sharing and caring.'
As bees, draw the nectar from every flower and turn it into honey to revitalise the lives of others.
In this fast-changing and troubled world, make music of every moment, and dance to your words.
Make life an art form of beauty and truth in ever-present reality.
'Give the mundane its beautiful due.'
'...redeeming the time for the days are evil.
Ephesians 5 vs 16
'Make every moment learning,sharing and caring.'
As bees, draw the nectar from every flower and turn it into honey to revitalise the lives of others.
In this fast-changing and troubled world, make music of every moment, and dance to your words.
Make life an art form of beauty and truth in ever-present reality.
'Give the mundane its beautiful due.'
'...redeeming the time for the days are evil.
Ephesians 5 vs 16
Thursday, 5 November 2009
PARLIAMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
Desiderius Erasmus 1517
'I enter the court of kings...I see every outward sign of the highest offices and humanity....It is all paint and varnish. Everything is corrupted by open faction, or by secret grudges and animosities.'
'...they stab one another with pens dipped in the venom of malice.'
Cyril Joad late 20th century.
'Modern civilization is the result of endowing with the fruits of a dozen men of genius a population which is emotionally at the level of savages and culturally at the level of schoolboys.'
Further thoughts:
'Civilisation is a thin veneer over animal instincts and easily overturned.'
'I enter the court of kings...I see every outward sign of the highest offices and humanity....It is all paint and varnish. Everything is corrupted by open faction, or by secret grudges and animosities.'
'...they stab one another with pens dipped in the venom of malice.'
Cyril Joad late 20th century.
'Modern civilization is the result of endowing with the fruits of a dozen men of genius a population which is emotionally at the level of savages and culturally at the level of schoolboys.'
Further thoughts:
'Civilisation is a thin veneer over animal instincts and easily overturned.'
Thursday, 29 October 2009
LAZY BODIES, LAZY MINDS
We suffer from 'over-nutrition and under-exertion'.
Diligence is a forgotten virtue. Toil, unacceptable.
'Sweat and skill make good travelling companions'.
As affluence increased we seem to have lost them on the way.
Diligence is a forgotten virtue. Toil, unacceptable.
'Sweat and skill make good travelling companions'.
As affluence increased we seem to have lost them on the way.
PLAYGROUND BULLY?
A recent statement by the Secretary for Education:
Children must be given career guidance from the age of 7. They apparently need to be exposed to the workplace from an early age.
Any different from children at the coal face?
Slave labour in another form?
What happened to playing, acting out our dreams of being teachers, doctors, firemen and cowboys?
Another way - children need the sunlight of good literature.
Children must be given career guidance from the age of 7. They apparently need to be exposed to the workplace from an early age.
Any different from children at the coal face?
Slave labour in another form?
What happened to playing, acting out our dreams of being teachers, doctors, firemen and cowboys?
Another way - children need the sunlight of good literature.
THE ECONOMY
Market fundamentalism believes the economy can govern all of life.
This is true only of commodities. Health, education and justice have become commodities, citizens, consumers. Man has a soul and cannot live this way without becoming dehumanised.
Politicians forget this at their peril.
This is true only of commodities. Health, education and justice have become commodities, citizens, consumers. Man has a soul and cannot live this way without becoming dehumanised.
Politicians forget this at their peril.
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
POLITICS
The art of living together, sharing and caring for the good of all.
It is to regulate man's innate tendency to self-interest. There has to be a balance between individual autonomy and corporate responsibility for the good of society.
Law regulates society.The question is who decides what the law shall be. We all want to choose whom we shall obey - man has an inborn disposition to resist the law.
If the predominant ethos of the ruling party is self-gratification in a consumerist economy, what hope is there for moral order in society, which seems no longer to exist?
It is to regulate man's innate tendency to self-interest. There has to be a balance between individual autonomy and corporate responsibility for the good of society.
Law regulates society.The question is who decides what the law shall be. We all want to choose whom we shall obey - man has an inborn disposition to resist the law.
If the predominant ethos of the ruling party is self-gratification in a consumerist economy, what hope is there for moral order in society, which seems no longer to exist?
Sunday, 25 October 2009
THE GOSPEL
The good news that man can now live a beautifully true life in the likeness of Jesus Christ giving God cause to rejoice over us with singing.
In Mozambique the message went out to beer-sodden villagers that they will not be able to live in the light if they have not received the salvation provided by Christ. Perhaps light to them is more precious as they live in spiritual and physical darkness unknown to us.
In Mozambique the message went out to beer-sodden villagers that they will not be able to live in the light if they have not received the salvation provided by Christ. Perhaps light to them is more precious as they live in spiritual and physical darkness unknown to us.
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
WHAT IS THE CHIEF END OF MAN?
The Westminster Confession of Faith starts with this question. The answer - 'to glorify God and enjoy Him for ever'.
Another way would be to say: To walk in fruitful fellowship with God in the beautiful world He has made, bringing both great joy.
At creation, God came walking in the cool of the day in the garden He had prepared, seeking out the man made in His image. It was a guilty Adam who hid from Him through fear, the fruit of disobedience. He sought to cover those parts God had intended to bring about god-given fruitfulness. Now they brought him only shame.
Man has been hiding from God ever since, seeking only to murder Him. It is through grace that God has made a way to restore that fellowship, the fruit of Christ's death to cover men's shame, and to replace fear with joy.
'This is eternal life, that they may know You....that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.''
John 17
Another way would be to say: To walk in fruitful fellowship with God in the beautiful world He has made, bringing both great joy.
At creation, God came walking in the cool of the day in the garden He had prepared, seeking out the man made in His image. It was a guilty Adam who hid from Him through fear, the fruit of disobedience. He sought to cover those parts God had intended to bring about god-given fruitfulness. Now they brought him only shame.
Man has been hiding from God ever since, seeking only to murder Him. It is through grace that God has made a way to restore that fellowship, the fruit of Christ's death to cover men's shame, and to replace fear with joy.
'This is eternal life, that they may know You....that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.''
John 17
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