Romance

I am not thinking of the googly eyed teen crush kind of silliness. The romance that is currently plaguing my mind is that of memories where one only remembers the nice, fun things, forgets the unpleasant or completely rewrites an event in a positive light.
     This is something that we all do, usually unconsciously. I think that simply being aware of this tendency can help us keep some things a little straighter. Numerous tests have revealed that human memory is selective and unreliable. We tend to remember the things that are most important to us or that have most deeply affected us on some non superficial level.

One thing I try to do is write lots of things down. This frees up my mind from having to remember many trivial things. Like a grocery list.
But this should also make us realize that the way we remember a conversation or argument may not exactly be accurate, especially for those who spend more time formulating their next argument instead of listening to the other person.
            So what consideration do we give this?  Argue less, listen more, and give others the benefit of the doubt.

It's not magic, part two

     In response to a question regarding my definition of magic, I performed a little research and came across multiple definitions, from pagan, Wiccan, Christian, and Islamic sources that all were in agreement with the definition I gave.  Below are links to these sources, if you are interested.

http://www.llewellyn.com/encyclopedia/article/109

http://qntm.org/what

http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/magical-confusion.html

http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/an_introduction_to_paganism/what_is_magick.asp

http://www.al-islam.org/180-questions-about-islam-vol-2-various-issues-makarim-shirazi/41-what-magic-and-how-does-islam-view

     To go a little further in my discussion and thoughts on magic, attempting to manipulate a situation that would be normally outside of our realm of influence, through the use of ritual, is magic.  My argument is that manipulation of that sort is not that which is done by the Christian church.  The whole point of the Christian life is relationship with God.  We should never seek to manipulate God.  It is no different than the way we would treat any other person.  Manipulation is not love.

Really Beautiful Women

Now be honest with yourself. What were you thinking when you read this title?  Cheerleaders?  Hollywood actresses?  Porn stars?

How we define beauty exposes a lot about us. There are many things that are directed by, controlled by, and we articulate by, our definition of beauty. George Santayana wrote "A Sense of Beauty", which is considered an important contribution to the philosophical discussion of beauty. Graham Harmon has further defined beauty. But they are both coming from wrong presuppositions. To argue whether beauty is subjective or objective is starting from a wrong foundation. To talk about external appearance, on whether ones opinion on that is subjective or objective, is remarkably vacuous. This would be similar to discussing the beauty of the paper bag that holds a diamond.

I cannot even to begin to explain just how shallow and empty it is to place value on external appearance. Why focus on something that is fleeting, certainly no more than 40 years, when ones soul will last forever. We ignore the health of the eternal soul, to enrich the body that fades so quickly.  With that in mind, I'll end with a photo which sums up true beauty.

Bodily Functions

One would think that an adult would have some grasp on what constitutes good manners. Obviously manners are to some degree culturally defined and driven, but each culture does have those boundaries.

To sit down at a meal or in casual company, there are certain things one does not expect to experience. Common courtesy should be common but it seems that far too many people didn't learn that which ought to be common. Maybe it’s just me but flatulence, belching, chewing with the mouth open, gulping, snorting and scratching seem best left to the bathroom. Personally, nothing destroys the calm of a meal quicker than one of these.
Again, and it seems like I constantly return to this theme, its about love for neighbor. Shouldn't we be attentive enough to these small things to give consideration to those around us?

The Why of What

Why do we love, like, show interest in, or spend time doing things?  The answer for some of these things is very easy. We go to work so we can support ourselves and our family. We eat because we are hungry and we sleep because we are tired. But what about everything else?  Why do we watch movies, listen to music, involve ourselves in sports, either watching or playing, eat dessert, have sex, drink wine, socialize, go to church, read books, learn things or go on vacation?

One could write or talk for a long time on each of these subjects, but i am going to approach this from a different angle. This will not be a talk on which of these things are acceptable and which are not. That is much too Protestant. Instead i am going to suggest a single possible motivation behind them all.

The motivation behind these things may simply be distraction. We very well could be doing different actions, either sinful or not, as a way of distracting ourselves. One thing the early church fathers talk about is silence. Learning to sit alone, for a lengthy period of time and do nothing. Simply sitting in silence and examining what is in ourselves. Eventually, they say, we will discover that we are empty shells.  This sort of practice should reveal that without God have and are nothing. It is only then that we can really learn to throw ourselves on the mercy of God and find solace in him alone.

We may find that all of these other things, good and bad, merely distract us from that which is ultimately important, understanding our relationship with God and how bad off we are apart from him.

The width of the path

     In a recent conversation with a friend of mine, he mentioned his rationale for leaving his church of five years and starting a new church.  Apparently, after five years of attendance, it finally occurred to him that the church had become "legalistic".  In his words, the pastor was including "a lot" of personal opinion into his sermons.  In his words, "its unavoidable though, there is no way to avoid that."  The way he saw it, that church had fabricated a very narrow path that pretty much only they were walking.  But that was really easy. But (according to my friend), doing so leaves no potential for living by the lead of the Holy Spirit, it instead is a life of a list to daily check off.
     His new church, on the other hand, was a church of grace.  He now feels so much more alive.
     I have had a few thoughts on this, that I have not yet mentioned to him.  Really, it seems to me, that he has only moved from one man made path to another.  The first was a very narrow, tight-shoed legalistic path.  But really, the second is still a path declared and identified by some leader, this one slightly wider.
     This is the problem with all Protestant churches.  Because they reject the authority of the historic church, they have no where else to go but to human invention.  They can choose to follow Luther or Calvin or Wesley or Graham or Hinn or the local Baptist pastor down the block.  Regardless of who they choose, it is still a man made following.
    The argument of the historic church, that is, the Eastern Orthodox Church, is that we believe and live the same as the apostles.  We live and embrace the historic faith.  Our worship has been exactly the same for the last 1700 years.  And prior to that, the only changes are slightly longer prayers.
So for my friend, moving from one Protestant church to the next is only a circular movement.  Step away from men and follow the path of the apostles.
     Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Pretty

     Who is defining "pretty" for us?  Who are we listening to?  Looking back over the last many decades, it is very clear that the dominant voice is subjective and driven by instant gratification and the pushing of the envelope.  As I commented to a co-worker the other day, "Why is it that the attire that was worn by prostitutes thirty years ago is commonly worn by the average high schooler today?"  Why is the standard for what is acceptable changing for the worse?  Why do moral decline as a society develops and grows?  It seems that spiritual maturity declines to the same proportion that societal maturity develops?
     Ultimately, we must ask: "Who do we believe regarding the way we attire ourselves?"  The world or the Church?  Ever fluctuating society or the standard of church tradition?  The next thing to address is the problem of articulating and communicating "that" standard to our culture.
     But it has to start with us.