The Divine Comedy

At LONG last, after a month of reading, i have completed the final canto of the Paradisio, concluding my several-weeks-long study of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. The whole think is sincerely amusing, brilliant, and medieval. I loved Inferno for its gradation of sins...and if Dante were correct in his assumptions about sin, his description would be perfectly accurate. Besides, the punishments are so well thought out and cruel...
Purgatorio was interesting too, basically since i'm not catholic and have no concept whatsoever of purgatory. So just to see what a medieval Roman Catholic thought working off your sins would look like is fascinating.
Paradisio reads more like a work of philosophy than a narrative. I really liked it. Again, very medieval. Earth at center.... moon, sun, all the planets revolving around it. So once you leave earth, you begin working your way through the heavens... and see manifestations of the elect souls...and in the Empyrean heaven are the actual dwelling of all the elect and at the very top God himself. I must share a few quotes from Paradisio, simply to communicate how amusing and beautiful this piece of literature really is.
"The social relations of man demand diversity of gift, which diversity is provided for by the action of the heavens on human natures, but without regard to descent, so that natural heredity is overruled by celestial influences. Whereas we in assigning a man's place to him give heed only to hereditary position or such-like irrelevancies instead of studying his natural gift. Hence general confusion and incompetency. (intro and paraphrase to canto VII"
..."But ye wrench to a religious order him born to gird the sword, and make a king of him who should be for discourse; wherefore your track runneth abroad the road". (Canto VII, see why paraphrases are good?)

"It is devil-planted Florence that corrupts the world, both shepherd and flock, by her florins. But vengeance shall not lag" (Canto IX)

(see, medieval! Devil, vengeance, all that... we still hold on to a lot of medieval conceptions, interestingly....)

Dante has been guided through the heavens by Beatrice, the woman he loved while on earth. He directs his sight on her and pours out his gratitude, while praying that he may live and die worthy of her love, "whereon she smiled upon him and turned to God in whom alone is true and abiding union of human souls." (Canto XXXI)

Lovely. But i'm glad to be done. 'Twas a difficult read. I'm watching out for translations next time. Reading the proverbial "King James Version" of of this book (as i did) is not recommended.

Blessed are...

"Too often we just do what makes sense to us and ask God to bless it. In the Beatitudes, God tells us what God blesses-the poor, the peacemakers, the hungry those who mourn, those who show mercy- so we should not ask God's blessing on a declaration that we will have no mercy on evildoers. We know all too well that we have a God who shows mercy on evildoers, for if he didn't we'd all be in big trouble, and for that, this evildoer is very glad. Rather than do what makes sense to us and ask God's blessing, we'd do better to surround ourselves with those whom God promises to bless, and then we need nt ask God's blessing. It's just what God does."
Claiborne, Shane. The Irresistible Revolution. 219. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2006.

here's hoping the proverbial pen is mightier....

whoa, it's been awhile. perhaps more of my ranting will be publicized after finals/ uni graduation. my last few weeks of being a uni student are interesting; i've noticed a few things. The one on my mind right now is being brought about by sitting in BCM today - that's baptist collegiate ministries. So, we good little christian kids all have lunch together, listen to music, and then are treated to an encouraging message by a notable speaker of the week. I've been ticked by speakers before, but today really did it for me. So, a kinda loud southern guy in a suit. Hmmm... okay. Step one: not identifying with his audience. Sure. I can get over appearances.... but his message is no better... ranting, rambling... what's he talking about? Abundant life maybe? then he talks about the ministry he's involved in... telethons with Billy Graham crusades. he asks us trivia questions about Mr. Graham, the Graham family, the number of years of his ministry, his kids, how many people are saved because of Billy....
as can be imagined, most of the college students have no idea.
His basic point seemed to be "if you're not saved, you're missing out, cause jesus loves you and died for you"
and if you are saved "hand out these billy graham tracts to people, cause they know who he is and people are more interested in what you have to say than you think. As a matter of fact, there was this one time i was in the grocery store and i was talking to this lady..." then proceeds to give several anecdotes of people he's given tracts to.
"cause there's nothing better than giving these things out to people, all the houses and cars and pleasure in the world can't compare..."
Just a few points on this one:
1)contrary to what it seems, i'm not really knocking this guy. he seemed fine, nice, "genuine" enough. but he had several misconceptions about my generation and it's view on life and faith. Maybe he should stick to handing out his tracts to people his age. that's fine.
2)but we postmoderns know diddly about billy graham and church-as-usual. And most college students dont give a darn about either. Handing out billy's tracts aren't going to do much if anything.
3)yes, we would like to invest ourselves in other people's lives, and we'd like to think that our friendship and discussions are better methods of "evangelism" than pretty pieces of paper.
4)as we grow up, we're not going to become just like you. your methods arent going to work anymore. billy's going to die. The world's not just going to change...it has already changed, and we do things differently. and the way we do things is NOT wrong or unbiblical.
5)we dont really care so much about houses and cars. this is another generational thing. The baby-boomers can be super materialistic and will say things like "ask any college student, they'll tell you they want to be rich and sucessful!" i hear that in church all the time. and i'm not so sure that's true anymore. of course, who wouldnt mind having extra cash and a ferrari? But ask us what we really want, and it's to enjoy life. We dont have to be affluent, or even own a car. we just want to enjoy what we do, where we are, and the people we're around.
6)we dont want anecdotes. we want truth.
7)let's say i'm not saved. so...i'm missing out on some intangible "love" and some dead person and handing out tracts in the grocery store. whoop-de-do. but tell me there is more to learn, more truth, more meaning, something reasonable and logical and live-able without putting on a suit and being rich and doing these churchy things.. then maybe i'm in. we can talk more about it. (please note-talk, not tracts)
8)church as usual, telethons, crusades, tracts... yeah, we don't like that stuff. at all. (back to point 4)

The stuff we're being told... again, "church-as-usual" is not reaching the unchurched of our generation. It's not even cutting it for the churched kids. Tell me you don't long for church to be more than it is? Surely you hope for more? Ok... well, i do.

Beloved

I was reading the last few verses in the book of Jude this morning:

20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

I've read these verses before. I even had them underlined in my Bible. Except for one word. Guess which word i did not underline.
Beloved.
Why? Did i not think it necessary? But it's there for a reason...look at verse 21. Keep yourselves in the love of God. Love is apparently important-and we only love him because he first loved us. Did i not think myself beloved the last time i read this? i wish i could remember when that was. i found strength in these verses apparently, they told me something to do. But i saw them more as an order from a general than a gentle command from a loving Father who asks this because he loves me. i am stunned that i never realized this before. of course i thought God loved me. He loves everybody, it's not that hard to learn that in Sunday School. but me? really, personally, me? have i ever felt it this way before? i can remember times i have felt overwhelmed by his love - but again, it was only love as a big, universal thing - now, i feel as though it is entirely directed at me. as though i am the sole object of his love. through experiences in my life, i can understand it better now than when i first read this. i am humbled and in awe. i am beloved.

The Thinker's Lord's Prayer

I often catch myself praying in a really similar manner to this one. Good luck keeping up.

Our father, who art in heaven.
Our? why do we say our? isn't it just me praying? hmm... but maybe not, this could be prayed in a communal prayer type thing. okay.
Father. okay, father... why do we use father? Ah, okay, joint heirs with christ perhaps.
who art...
now, why is that verb conjugated that way? Shouldnt it be is, you know, singular? Father... is ... but maybe that is correct. I just learned it wrong. okay, okay...
Heaven. You are in heaven. But aren't you also everywhere...but your presence is concentrated there, fully known there. alright. Where is heaven anyway? If i went far enough could i find it? Is it in another dimension-type thingy? Ah! stop it! i'm praying...
Hallowed be thy name.
Hallowed. Now that just sounds creepy. Makes me think of halloween. Like jack-o-lanterns. Scary stuff my parents warned me about. but i know that's not what it means. Revered, glorified. okay.
Be thy name. Let's say YOUR name. Much better. Glorified be your name. What is your name? Don't you have a lot of those? Jesus, Yaweh, Jehovah, I AM? augh...sorry...
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Ah, this shouldnt be so bad. But wait? Kingdom? What is that? The physical kingdom you will have on earth? The attributes of you/ your kingship? Your kingdom...oh, gosh, well, it's got to be a good thing, so, yeah, may it come...
and your will?
don't get me started there... your will? What is that? that all men may know you? That you be worshipped by every nation, tribe and tongue? That you be glorified by all creation? But how can i even think about that, when i've got so many things and am often so worried about your will for me...today? Ah, golly, how selfish i am...your will? Well, may it be done.
On earth as it is in heaven.
yes, heaven...wherever it is, i can get there through you. And i'm here on earth because of you. And there's a reason for that. Okay, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Yes, i think that means give us (hmm, that "us" again...) what we need. Yes... what do i need? I need food. I need sleep. I need love. I need you. I think it can stop there... wait... i need adventure, i need to learn, i need...no, stop... you know what i need...mostly for my brain to slow down... ah! help.
And day? what does day mean? I don't know greek...well, maybe a couple of things, but not biblical greek. And don't even get me started about that in the hebrew...
And bread...yeah, i like bread. Do we need to go into the body of christ and all the other metaphors for bread? No, i didnt think so.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Ah, this i can agree with. Wait. I have to forgive too...okay, well, that isn't so hard, i mean, forgiving is alright, but does that include the "forgetting" that we are often told goes with it? I don't remember "Forgive and Forget" anywhere in the bible. But maybe i'm wrong. Yes, please forgive me, and give me the strength to forgive, for i have been forgiven of so much.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Yes, please don't do that. Gosh. But i am told that you do not tempt...but you do test us... also that the devil is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Deliver me...what does that mean? Does it NOT mean "give me the strength to hold out" and just straight-up "get me outta here"? but i know we are given the strength to endure...and Daniel was delivered from the lion's den, even though he had to stay in there all night, it did end... ah, gosh, again, deliver me from evil.
Evil..oh, yeah, evil. What is evil anyway? Are we talking about the devil here? or just evil? Do i need to get philosophical with this? I will anyway. What is it? Let's think in terms of Platonism. There can't be pure evil, because there is no form of evil. Evil must only be a deficient of the good. So it is weak. Ah, but it is not, we see it rampant everywhere we look.... deliver me, indeed.
For thine is the kingdom and the glory and the power forever...
kingdom again...and glory... glory... yes, i can agree, you are glorious. All that you have done is truly glorious...though i do not confess to understand. And power.. yes, perhaps it is not seen in all its fullness, but i acknowledge that you are most high, most powerful. Forever. Ah, does that mean for all of time or outside of time? Is time completely arbitrary? How do you see time? well, okay, forever. Ah Lord, help me.
Amen...um.. no, i'm done.

Dreams make life...

So, i have more or less recovered from finals and become my usual self. As i was driving through town today, i noticed a sign outside a business: "Dreams make life tolerable." WHAT!? This was supposed to be a good day? Man, how discouraging. A life that is merely tolerable... i don't know if i could deal with that, day in, day out. Each day. Tolerable.

I can just imagine:
Bob: "Hey Jim, how are you doing today?"
Jim: "Well, ya know, i'm tolerating."
Bob: "Yeah, me too, these dreams of mine make it tolerable. See you tomorrow."

But as cynical as i am towards this, perhaps there is a bit of truth. Yeah, maybe dreams make life "tolerable". But (as someone mentioned the other day)...Christ said... "I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). I am so blessed to know Him, and the mercy and grace he gives in my life make it so much more than tolerable, even when it really stinks sometimes. It is an abundant life, walking with Him, knowing Him, living out His will for my life. With Christ, i can smile. Even when it's raining. Even when i fail. Even when i have no dreams left. HE gives me life. Life more abundantly.