Hello. I have decided to take the month of September off from this blog, to focus on other things. We’ll see what things I can come up with when I return. But right now, a little burned out from posting the kind of material this site deserves. Peace be with you.

A Rainy Day for You

In a vision, I saw why Christ didn’t mind that the Gospel was not written until later, with imprecision. That the important parts of religion, to save, could be gotten from many sources, and is intrinsic in the system of the world. The Chrisian message should still be spread, because there is truth in it, and it has the power to help lost souls, but the Lord need not rely on chance encounters to come upon a soul with the Spirit. There is hope for everyone, in other words, those whom the Word has not been literally spread to, those who misunderstand it, those who seem to function perfectly well without it. And I think this is a wondrous thing. This is the kind of God I can believe in.

With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
                – Steven Weinberg

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
                – Thomas Jefferson

The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.
                – Hubert H. Humphrey

We are none of us infallible — not even the youngest of us.
                – W. H. Thompson

Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it.
                – Christopher Morley

Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep insights can be winnowed from deep nonsense.
                – Carl Sagan

Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.
                – Unknown

[Book. The previous is at alquemie.com.]

I wake up, and the world is different. Though the question that comes to mind is a familiar one, and that is an unfortunate thing. Where am I? There is white everywhere. The walls are white, the bed I’m in is covered in white sheets with a white pillow, the curtain, partially open, is also white. There is a window behind where the curtain is closed, which I can tell by the sunlight streaming in, lighting up rectangle patterns bouncing on the folds of the curtain. I have never been here before, or have I? Is it one of those memories where you can’t remember if it really happened or if it was merely part of a dream? I think I must investigate these present surroundings…

Emil Nolde: Autumn Sea VII

Click on the pic for a larger version.

Who seeks for heaven alone to save his soul,
May keep the path, but will not reach the goal;
While he who walks in love may wander far,
But God will bring him where the Blessed are.

– Henry van Dyke

after the end of the universe, all the impossible things happened
as the light returned to imagining, as the night unveiled its silver gears
patterns revealed the void with which they were all composed of
and time began to change into space, all to occur by their seeing
as love collected the memory of all that didn’t happen, or ever could

I am a believer, a Christian, but there are two things which I roll around in my mind about the faith. I have no problem with the resurrection, or even the virgin birth — the former, in my mind merely a science beyond our knowing, and the latter is an unlikely, but scientifically possible event. One thing is why it seems that Jesus seemed to be predicting an apocalypse very soon after his death (and rise). All the early believers seemed to think He’d be right back, especially Paul. The other thing is whether Jesus was God. The term “Son of God” was generally applied to the king, and did not necessarily mean he was made of the same substance. Jehovah’s Witnesses, in fact, don’t believe He was equal with God. If anyone out there has some good literature that teases these questions out, leave a comment. I’ve done some reading on both, and have yet to come upon something really convincing on either.

When love comes to town I’m gonna jump that train
When love comes to town I’m gonna catch that flame
Maybe I was wrong to ever let you down
But I did what I did before love came to town

I was there when they crucified my Lord
I held the scabbard when the soldier drew his sword
I threw the dice when they pierced his side
But I’ve seen love conquer the great divide

When love comes to town I’m gonna catch that train
When love comes to town I’m gonna catch that flame
Maybe I was wrong to ever let you down
But I did what I did before love came to town

– U2

Jackson Pollack: Full Fathom Five

Click on the pic for a larger version.

The idea of “conviction” is complex. It involves the conceptions of authoritative examination, of unquestionable proof, of decisive judgment, of punitive power. Whatever the final issue may be, he who “convicts” another places the truth of the case in dispute in a clear light before him, so that it must be seen and acknowledged as truth. He who then rejects the conclusion which the exposition involves, rejects it with his eyes open and at his peril. Truth seen as truth carries with it condemnation to all who refuse to welcome it.