Time Outs
All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.
- Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
planksip clock with Vergina Sun
Time Outs
Inspired by Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)’s quote, “All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.” The titled responsion is…
From an early age, the timeout is used as punishment, or reset trigger for the mind to realign with the expectation of appropriate self-governed behaviour. One minute for every year lived gives a middle-aged man, or woman, of forty or so minutes to contemplate conduct. From the thousand years after the 5th century AD, these “middle ages” would demand more than sixteen hours of isolation. What would you learn from this timeout?
The Metaphysics of Music
Inspired by Victor Hugo (1802–1885)’s quote, “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” The titled responsion is “The Metaphysics of Music”. What follows is subject to revision, do you have any suggestions?
Metaphysicians and conductors unite in harmonic counterpoint. From within the emotional space confined by felt experience, the actualized awareness of your cognition is a feedback loop of narrative forme. The leitmotif for which is often Hellenic mixed with mathematics.
Clockwise?
Inspired by Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)’s quote, “Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.”. The titled responsion is…
Truth is universal. Relativism, the idea, “There’s no such thing as absolute truth,” is looking at the very dangerous effects of relativism in our society and in the church. One of the first things to know about absolute truth, however, is this: true, absolute truth is universal!
Absolute truth cannot exist apart from a system of interpretation that includes objective moral values, objective religious truth, and objective scientific truth. The word “absolute” comes from the Latin and means “unlimited.” This means that truth can never change.
Theologians have long defined universal truths in terms of what is good. In his book, Theology and Dogmatics, Fr. Maximus the Confessor describes God as “the supreme Good.” For him, God’s existence is an absolute fact, as it is for us humans. Thus, to God, a single act of love is enough to establish the fact that He exists.
In fact, to God, the truth of His existence is an absolute, and only the human mind, intellect, and will can alter it, even to the point of altering God’s existence. In God’s eyes, nothing human is more valuable than a love relationship with Him.
We find love and relationship with our Creator in a variety of places throughout the world. For example, we find it when we take time out of our busy lives to visit a homeless person, to give food and clothing to a poor family, or to read a child a story. And we find it when we go to Church, when we worship God, and when we hear His voice.
Love and relationship with God are the ultimate experience in the world. But what happens if someone in your life becomes obsessed with finding some kind of evidence that God exists? If they believe that He is a being that exists outside of time and space, that He is present in the midst of our lives at all times, and that He can communicate with people directly through His love and relationship with them — then they are living according to the relativism of their belief.
Once you have that kind of obsession with God — if you’re not careful — you can destroy the very truth of God. by believing false things. For example, you might be convinced that you can see God at a Bible study or that God is with you wherever you are — and if you do not take a few moments to remember to stop and reflect on this, you will discover that, in fact, you cannot!
To love God without love and relationship with Him means living according to the relativism of the beliefs that you choose, without God. In fact, it means not seeing yourself as worthy to come into His presence.
The truth of the love and relationship with God is true because love and relationship with God are universal. If it were otherwise, we could never have come to be in the relationship with Him, but we do, because God gave us all of His love.
The truth of love and relationship with God is true because, by doing so, you begin to see the goodness, beauty, and wisdom of God, and recognize that the world, including you, is His. created creation.
Therefore, by loving God is the same as knowing and loving yourself. Because love and relationship with God are two different things, and because by loving God you are truly known, loved, and served.
You can love God, but you cannot love Him without His love and relationship with you. You cannot love God without His presence in your life. Thus, love and relationship with Him, which is true, is an experience. It is the essence of God’s eternal existence.
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