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Mystical Theology of Dionysius: Transcendental God-Talk. Conclusion. Part Five.

December 17, 2018 By Henry Karlson

In the Mystical Theology, Dionysius taught us about our apprehension of the truth, reminding us not only of our limitations in regards to the declaration of the truth, but also that proper engagement of the truth will be had in and through our union with it. Central to his discussion is that the absolute truth, which we name as God (and many other, similar names, related to our notion of divinity), transcends us and so will never be comprehended by… Read more

The Spirit of Virginity

December 14, 2018 By Henry Karlson

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In his exile, St. John Chrysostom wrote letters to his friend and companion, the deaconess St. Olympia, hoping to inspire her and encourage her in the midst of their common trials and tribulations. She had become despondent, not merely because she had been falsely accused of setting fire to the cathedral, but because it looked like her life’s work, to make the church better, was being destroyed. Chrysostom told her to be of good cheer, to see herself in the… Read more

We Must Be Wise Like Noah With The Environment

December 12, 2018 By Henry Karlson

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Jesus, warning his listeners to be ever watchful, ever diligent, to preserve the spirit of the end in their lives, said that the days of the Son of Man, his days, the eschatological era which he set up, will be like the days of Noah: As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man. They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day when… Read more

There Is No Truth Without Beauty

December 11, 2018 By Henry Karlson

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“That’s what the truth teaches. Emotion has nothing to do with it. Who cares if you like it or not. You just have to accept the cold, hard facts. Don’t be a snowflake. Toughen up.” Such is the dark, ugly mentality of so many of us when we talk about the nature of the truth. There is, of course, some validity to such statements. The truth does not depend upon us and our emotional attachment to it – however, the… Read more

Mystical Theology of Dionysius: Transcendental God-Talk. Conclusion. Part Four.

December 10, 2018 By Henry Karlson

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Kataphatic theology, when done right, offers up an approximation for the absolute truth by rendering the absolute truth in a conventional form. Due to its relative nature, there can be various levels of approximations which would adequately represent the absolute truth. Nicholas of Cusa, considering the infinite number of approximate representations are possible for the absolute truth gave the example of someone trying to turn a polygon into a circle by adding more and more sides to the polygon. Each… Read more

The Doves of Peace and the Pope

December 7, 2018 By Henry Karlson

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On the final Sunday of January, 2014, when Pope Francis, with the help of children, released two doves representing peace into the air, those two doves were immediately attacked by a hooded crow and a yellow legged gull. Pope Francis was continuing a tradition when he had children from war torn countries brought to the Vatican to release the doves with him. He wanted to show that despite the war and conflict going on, there is a reason for hope…. Read more

Absolute And Relative Infinity

December 6, 2018 By Henry Karlson

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God is infinite, while all created beings are finite. This is a very traditional philosophical convention used to express the distinction between God’s ultimate, unlimited transcendence and the limited quality contained by contingent being. The assumption that lies behind this convention is that infinity means unlimited, implying that whatever is limited is finite. For what is finite is what is bound or limited, while the infinite is the negation of such bounds, making it unlimited and without end. This assumption… Read more

For All Have Sinned

December 4, 2018 By Henry Karlson

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In the epistle to the Romans, St. Paul references Psalm 14, where the Psalmist declared: “The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any that act wisely, that seek after God. They have all gone astray, they are all alike corrupt; there is none that does good, no, not one” (Ps. 14:2-3 RSV). Thus, we read in Paul: What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all; for I… Read more

Mystical Theology of Dionysius: Transcendental God-Talk. Conclusion. Part Three.

December 3, 2018 By Henry Karlson

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As we engage God, as we grow as a result of that engagement, our understanding and apprehension of the truth will grow. We will reflect upon what we learn, explore it and develop further our appreciation of the truth. Then, when we speak of it, we will do so in a new, improved form. It will approximative the absolute truth better while still being another form of relative truth. It will be greater than our previous exploration of the relative… Read more

American Sodomites Demand A Wall

November 29, 2018 By Henry Karlson

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The city of Sodom was a city of extreme selfishness and luxury. The people who lived there built a wall around the city to keep outsiders out so they can preserve the wealth they built up on the backs of others for themselves. While some aliens, like Lot and his family, could live side by side with the Sodomites, they were ill treated and disrespected, as the people of Sodom did not want to share their material goods with anyone…. Read more