A Spiritual Journey: Forgetting, A Pagan Guide, Remembering A vision of beauty stirs love, the more absolute the beauty, the greater the love. Scripture teaches Christians to look through the image, the icon of God, to the eternal that one can find in the beloved. The image of God in each human is eternal, but itself is an icon, another window to the Love Himself. This divine Love rectifies every other love that has led to God, incorporates all beauty,... Read more
Some disagreements can be settled by science. What is the chemical composition of this cookie? Ask science. Some questions cannot be settled by science. To give one simple example, math questions are answered by scientific investigation. So far, so obvious. Science herself cannot choose between big ideas regarding the makeup of the cosmos. Take idealism and materialism/physicalism. Either big picture of reality could be true and everything science finds also true. For example, science could proceed just as it does now if... Read more
Lent is a profound spiritual journey, but sometimes for me it is just about the lack of meat. Sometimes a little and even obvious truth is needed. Here’s one: Lent is not mostly about gluttony, but helps expose gluttony. Christianity claims we are happier (eternally) if we learn to control our passions, including for food and drink. Of course, this giving up is so we can have money and time to give to charity, helping the poor. The time and money... Read more
There is film to watch, a poem to ponder, and a lesson to be learned. That’s a good weekend. The motion picture, no mere movie, The Enchanted Cottage* is hard to find, harder to watch, but worth the effort. Dante’s Purgatory is easy to find**, harder to understand, but lifesaving. Together they both display the transformative power of love, God’s love. Pause. This is not schmaltz, a false love, but a costly divine love that sees as only God sees. As... Read more
If devils exist exactly as the New Testament describes them, they cannot serve as evidence to a certain kind of skeptic. Devils are devilishly easy to find, but damnably hard to prove. Teaching Inferno last week brought devils to mind at the same time I got some good questions from a social media interlocutor. He (evidently) considers Satan and devils a problem for a modern Christian and asked me about both. I think Satan exists as do devils and that... Read more
There is hope for those of us who started badly. We can end well. Thank God. Love waits for our consent, waiting for us to turn from distractions, to beauty. Jesus told a story about a son who ran away from his good home to pursue lesser loves. He gave up a father who loved him for people who showed him a good time, because they loved his money. That ended, as such trades always do, in a pig pen.... Read more
I asked for new voices and got some outstanding writers! Today we hear from the erudite James R. Harrington. James R. Harrington earned his M.A. in Ancient History at California State University Fulleron and is a member of the Torrey Honors Institute. James has been a classical educator in a variety of settings over the past thirteen years. He lives in Houston with his wife, Sharon, and their daughter. Mr. Harrington responded to thoughts on his first post. He wrote about the... Read more
God recalls. If God wishes, any truth, any event, is brought forward in the Divine Mind. Nothing needed is lost and not one good thing, not a sparrow fallen to the ground or a kind word quietly said to a friend, is forgotten. All can be recollected if needed or desired and brought out to shouts of joy from God’s children. We forget, but God does not. Nothing is lost that should be recalled and nobody’s good deeds are left... Read more
I once painted air conditioners on a roof. This was a good summer job as far as pay went and I learned a good bit about the world. One thing I learned is that for some people, for some reason, some jobs were grinds. Some of the men I worked with remain models in my memory of doing an honest days work for an honest days pay while flourishing. My Uncle Roddy was one of them, now gone to glory, and he... Read more
People, especially people’s troubles, are not fit entertainment, but can be entertaining. That’s not good. We need justice, but doing justice is not so we can make a Netflix series and gaze slack jawed at the bad guys and marvel at their talk. A Christian is called to love his enemies and that’s hard to do if they are providing your amusement for the evening. Social media can send a swarm of us after the latest example of someone breaking... Read more
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