In my own experience I feel like Jesus took natural morality combined with the message of love and helped shape it and bring it into our hearts. One of my favorite sculptures is The Ecstasy of St Teresa by Bernini. It continues to blow my mind and remind me that God isn’t a tame withdrawn Being but a whirlwind of ecstatic love.
To pierce her heart with the love of God. Not to harm her but to pierce through the skin (that outer layer that protects us) with the ecstasy of God’s love. You can see that ecstasy on her face. We should all be so lucky to experience at least a moment when our image of God/Jesus is transformed from the removed-in-the-sky people to the wild and love-crazed-wrap-you-in-tight-embrace beings that have created us to love and be loved. There is a verse in the Bible (I’m terrible at memorizing) where God tells the Israelites they need to circumcise their hearts. In other words, get rid of the skin that protects you from feeling. I believe the arrow in the heart reflects that. (This is just my opinion but it is based on reading I have done.)
I think you need to clarify a little. It sounds a lot to me like you are suggesting that everyone needs to " live his own truth" god's plan inherently offers sacrifice and change. Maybe you are saying this is a personal relationship between God and the individual so we don't need to judge where others are? Christ came to show us how to be in the world but also to lift a standard and it does include overcoming the natural world.??
Oh, but surely, Louisa, had I meant to say. "live your own truth," — that is, if I had meant to contradict everything else I have ever said or believed — I would have said exactly that. No? What I said was that each is his own path. This is obvious but also painful, and it does seem to me that many Christians don't want to look at it. You might say the prodigal son should not have wandered off. His older brother did say it, bitterly enough, and missed the feast. But his father simply rejoiced at the prodigal's return. Would it be best if more men obeyed the moral hierarchy and stayed piously at home - and then stewed in bitterness at the wastrels who got the fatted calf? Or should everyone be a wastrel in order to enjoy the pleasure of the return, in the event he survived? Each is his own path, and I think it may often be best to praise the God of all, drink the wine, and let the world be the world. But it's not as easy as Henry Cavill made it sound!
Christ's parables did have a way of showing us our own folly whether we are the older son or the younger son. The message of the prodigal son to me is that there is no limit to Christ's love, forgiveness and hopes for us. Whether we come to ourselves early or late, we will always in the crucial nanosecond called mortality have the opportunity to keep looking at ourselves in the mirror and see him and want him ( humbling painful and joyful at the same time) I do understand what you are saying better. But I will continue to strive to teach my many children that it is when we start to see the world for what it is and accept that His way is different because it is linked to eternity and light, and we desire to die to the world, that is when he begins to be able to really change us. And once we are changed He can make more out of us and we could have ever made of ourselves. But yes.
He is helping us all on our own path, if we will let him,to see our own folly. I know you well Andrew , which is why I questioned and asked for clarity. You and Spencer have opened the eyes of my understanding in many ways.
So, what was the game? I started the original The Witcher again. I always have a session of TW3 running. I’m about ready to defeat the Wild Hunt for the 20th time or so (you do that sort of thing when it’s your all-time favorite game). And it’s going to be a long wait for TW4, but it looks like it will be worth it.
Jesus is indeed the Way and the Truth and the Life (I often heard the last as Light, which He also is, particularly in John’s Gospel), but the gospels are silent about much of what concerns our daily lives, although there is pretty much everything we need in His 2 Great Commandments. Living them, however is a bit trickier. Who is my neighbor? My BIL would state that all 21-50 million illegal aliens are all our neighbors and should be welcomed with open arms. Others don’t want many who are here now and have been for generations. Jesus was silent on many OT proscriptions, and it was fleshed out by the other books in the NT (Peter being told to eat 3 times of all previously proscribed foods for instance). We all are prone to a rush to judgement of others, while cutting ourselves break after break. However there is much Jesus did not directly teach which is still true.As fallen humans we can all deceive ourselves without guidance outside of our own faulty consciences. It does require additional guidance from moral teaching. Does not mean that we should be burning “witches”, or others that don’t stand up to our judgement. When we blink, it is amazing that we can close our eyes with those 2x4’s in them.
Prostitution (procreation), drug dealing (medicine) leaving for Mexico to make things .(making goods cheaper for everyone)
Add , guns (used to murder) vs (security & protection) knives, (stabbings) vs (culinary delights ) even science itself (abortion & assisted dying) vs (digital communication to do your job )
All for good or bad !
It seems If it is revealed through are thoughts & ingenuity , but it is the heart that’s described by Solzhenitsyn which directs the use of such human inventiveness though it is only God who can make use of both sides of Solzhenitsyn human heart in progress to the kingdom .
The inventiveness isn’t to blame for negativity of its use , rather one must remember in this fallen world the negativity does by its nature contrast with good to reveal the good along with truth & beauty .
Perhaps in eternity we’ll know the “good”, ”truth” & “beauty” instinctively & not need the contrast for comparison to teach us ?
It seems there is an instruction manual out there , we’er just too stubborn & stiff necked & illiterate to read & understand it yet ?
In my own experience I feel like Jesus took natural morality combined with the message of love and helped shape it and bring it into our hearts. One of my favorite sculptures is The Ecstasy of St Teresa by Bernini. It continues to blow my mind and remind me that God isn’t a tame withdrawn Being but a whirlwind of ecstatic love.
Why is that angel about to stab her with an arrow?
To pierce her heart with the love of God. Not to harm her but to pierce through the skin (that outer layer that protects us) with the ecstasy of God’s love. You can see that ecstasy on her face. We should all be so lucky to experience at least a moment when our image of God/Jesus is transformed from the removed-in-the-sky people to the wild and love-crazed-wrap-you-in-tight-embrace beings that have created us to love and be loved. There is a verse in the Bible (I’m terrible at memorizing) where God tells the Israelites they need to circumcise their hearts. In other words, get rid of the skin that protects you from feeling. I believe the arrow in the heart reflects that. (This is just my opinion but it is based on reading I have done.)
Thanks.
I think you need to clarify a little. It sounds a lot to me like you are suggesting that everyone needs to " live his own truth" god's plan inherently offers sacrifice and change. Maybe you are saying this is a personal relationship between God and the individual so we don't need to judge where others are? Christ came to show us how to be in the world but also to lift a standard and it does include overcoming the natural world.??
Oh, but surely, Louisa, had I meant to say. "live your own truth," — that is, if I had meant to contradict everything else I have ever said or believed — I would have said exactly that. No? What I said was that each is his own path. This is obvious but also painful, and it does seem to me that many Christians don't want to look at it. You might say the prodigal son should not have wandered off. His older brother did say it, bitterly enough, and missed the feast. But his father simply rejoiced at the prodigal's return. Would it be best if more men obeyed the moral hierarchy and stayed piously at home - and then stewed in bitterness at the wastrels who got the fatted calf? Or should everyone be a wastrel in order to enjoy the pleasure of the return, in the event he survived? Each is his own path, and I think it may often be best to praise the God of all, drink the wine, and let the world be the world. But it's not as easy as Henry Cavill made it sound!
Christ's parables did have a way of showing us our own folly whether we are the older son or the younger son. The message of the prodigal son to me is that there is no limit to Christ's love, forgiveness and hopes for us. Whether we come to ourselves early or late, we will always in the crucial nanosecond called mortality have the opportunity to keep looking at ourselves in the mirror and see him and want him ( humbling painful and joyful at the same time) I do understand what you are saying better. But I will continue to strive to teach my many children that it is when we start to see the world for what it is and accept that His way is different because it is linked to eternity and light, and we desire to die to the world, that is when he begins to be able to really change us. And once we are changed He can make more out of us and we could have ever made of ourselves. But yes.
He is helping us all on our own path, if we will let him,to see our own folly. I know you well Andrew , which is why I questioned and asked for clarity. You and Spencer have opened the eyes of my understanding in many ways.
So, what was the game? I started the original The Witcher again. I always have a session of TW3 running. I’m about ready to defeat the Wild Hunt for the 20th time or so (you do that sort of thing when it’s your all-time favorite game). And it’s going to be a long wait for TW4, but it looks like it will be worth it.
Jesus is indeed the Way and the Truth and the Life (I often heard the last as Light, which He also is, particularly in John’s Gospel), but the gospels are silent about much of what concerns our daily lives, although there is pretty much everything we need in His 2 Great Commandments. Living them, however is a bit trickier. Who is my neighbor? My BIL would state that all 21-50 million illegal aliens are all our neighbors and should be welcomed with open arms. Others don’t want many who are here now and have been for generations. Jesus was silent on many OT proscriptions, and it was fleshed out by the other books in the NT (Peter being told to eat 3 times of all previously proscribed foods for instance). We all are prone to a rush to judgement of others, while cutting ourselves break after break. However there is much Jesus did not directly teach which is still true.As fallen humans we can all deceive ourselves without guidance outside of our own faulty consciences. It does require additional guidance from moral teaching. Does not mean that we should be burning “witches”, or others that don’t stand up to our judgement. When we blink, it is amazing that we can close our eyes with those 2x4’s in them.
Prostitution (procreation), drug dealing (medicine) leaving for Mexico to make things .(making goods cheaper for everyone)
Add , guns (used to murder) vs (security & protection) knives, (stabbings) vs (culinary delights ) even science itself (abortion & assisted dying) vs (digital communication to do your job )
All for good or bad !
It seems If it is revealed through are thoughts & ingenuity , but it is the heart that’s described by Solzhenitsyn which directs the use of such human inventiveness though it is only God who can make use of both sides of Solzhenitsyn human heart in progress to the kingdom .
The inventiveness isn’t to blame for negativity of its use , rather one must remember in this fallen world the negativity does by its nature contrast with good to reveal the good along with truth & beauty .
Perhaps in eternity we’ll know the “good”, ”truth” & “beauty” instinctively & not need the contrast for comparison to teach us ?
It seems there is an instruction manual out there , we’er just too stubborn & stiff necked & illiterate to read & understand it yet ?