News for today's 2018

LOVE & BEAUTY: THE 1ST TWO THINGS WE SAY ABOUT GOD

4:04 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /><div class="WordSection1"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">[Previously in God Of Our Silent Tears, the Purple Rider of the Sage, challenged basic assumptions about God including absolute omnipotence and the doctrine of <i>creatio ex nihilo. </i>In Chapter 6, he will begin naming core truths about God's nature -- starting with Love & Beauty, before going on to more divine attributes that tell us how God responds to suffering and evil. God of our Silent Tears is now available to order on line from The Cathedral Bookstore (Los Angeles) </span>http://cathedral-bookstore.myshopify.com/products/god-of-our-silent-tears]<br /><br />             <br /><div class="WordSection1"> <div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">There is no word that is more difficult to use appropriately than ‘God’.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nicholas Lash, <i>The Beginning And End Of Religion<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            If God is a dog drowsing<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            contemplating<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            the quintessential dogginess <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            of the universe, of the whole<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            canine race, why are we<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            uneasy?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            No dog I know<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            would hurl thunderbolts<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            or plant plague germs<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            or shower us with darts <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            of pox or gonococci.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            No. He lies on his back<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            awaiting the cosmic belly rub,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            he wags his tail signifying<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            universal love; he frolics and cavorts . . .<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            But God is all too human . . .<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: -.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                                                </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">From “If God Is A Dog” by Erica Jong,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5in; text-indent: -2.0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                                                <i>At The Edge Of The Body</i><b>  <o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            “God” is a rich word, the richest word. Liberating it from the patriarchal image, the big guy in the sky dominating everything, breaks open the way to see more of who God is. We could write shelves full of books about God. But for purposes of this book, we will look at just a few characteristics of God that mean God can sustain and empower us in the face of tragedy – without being a dominator.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            God is our moral azimuth, the North Star that orients all our values, and our values orient our actions, indeed our whole life. What makes God “God” in our eyes defines what we believe life is about. If God is God by virtue of absolute power, we worship power. If God is God by virtue of knowing everything, we worship knowledge. If God is God by virtue of being the judge of all, we worship judgment. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">            We become like the God we believe in. Our image of God determines what we esteem, what we do, and ultimately who we hope to become.</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Tms Rmn","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Tms Rmn"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> A God who is waiting on the edge of his seat to exact wrathful judgment on a fallen world will have worshipers who judge New York or Baghdad to be evil and bomb the wicked city to oblivion. Because God is the infinite mystery, we cannot prove our beliefs about God with ordinary evidence. But we can discern good religion from bad religion by the effect of the religion on the characters of its adherents. “By their fruits shall you know them.” There are a lot of bad ideas about God claiming to be Christian views, or worse <i>the </i>Christian view.  So in this chapter, we will rethink the meaning of the word “God.” We will ask seriously “what are the defining characteristics of God? What makes God God?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">            As we examine any doctrine of God, we can test it by asking: is this picture of God truly our highest value? Is this image of God genuinely beautiful? Is this God the kind of person we want to become? Our goal in this book is to speak of God in ways that console, strengthen, empower, and liberate -- to engage in “emancipatory God-talk.”</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Tms Rmn","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Tms Rmn"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">  As Archbishop William Temple said, “If you have a false idea of God, the more religious you are the worse it is for you – it were better for you to be an atheist”<i>.</i></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Tms Rmn","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Tms Rmn"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> So let’s examine a few of the basic things the Christian tradition has said about God, things which make all the difference for how God responds to suffering.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="all" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" /></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">    </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">GOD IS LOVE <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt; margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">                        St. John teaches us that God’s very essence is love.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[iv]</span></span></span></a>We experience God’s love in blessings, as the General Thanksgiving in the Book of Common Prayer<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[v]</span></span></span></a>puts it, “our creation, preservation and all the blessings of this life, . . .  the means of grace and the hope of glory.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn6" name="_ednref6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[vi]</span></span></span></a>Love, not power, is the defining essence of God, the very godness of God. God is God not by virtue of omnipotence, but by virtue of omni-love, omni-delight, omni-compassion. This is a claim about the meaning and value of existence that runs directly counter to power narrative Christianity. Canadian theologian Douglas John Hall, speaking particularly of his own Lutheran tradition, says:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        Because for Luther human existence is a frail and uncertain<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        business, divinity for him is not first of all sovereign omnipotence<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        (as it was for Calvin) but astonishing <i>compassion.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[vii]</span></b></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Even before there was a world for God to love, God was already loving. There was a beginning of the universe and the universe will come to an end. But there is no beginning and no end to the divine love out of which the universe is born and into which it will finally merge. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">            God’s love is irreconcilably inconsistent with literal omnipotence because divine love is not just affection for what pleases God. Princeton theologian Diogenes Allen aptly expresses the way God loves when he describes how we are called to love. Allen says we are to love everything in the realm of reality <i>that is independent of us</i>. In other words, we love it even if we can’t control it, and therefore it is not precisely as we would like it to be. Allen writes,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            (W)e must love that which is absolutely independent of us.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            We do recognize differences between good and evil,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            between suffering and happiness. But . . . we are <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            to love them nonetheless; that is, we are not to allow<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            our tastes, desires, preferences, notions of utility,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            or even our moral judgments to prevent our loving them. . .<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            (T)o remove the self is to prevent the operation<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            of our tastes, desires, ideas of utility and the rest<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            from (blinding us to) things as they are – whether useless <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">or useful, good or bad, painful or pleasant, they are to be loved,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            as a whole and in each detail, because they are there.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn8" name="_ednref8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[viii]</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">As long as we are in control, we do not really love things as they are. We love rather the reflection of our own wills, the satisfaction of getting our own way. Loving only what suits our tastes is like gazing fondly into a mirror. To really love is to delight in and cherish things which are not as we would have them be. Human love is so readily ensnared in and twisted by our compulsion to judge!  So to speak of loving that which does not please us, that which is not as we would have it be, we have to imagine love greater than we can experience. At best we know a hint of it on rare occasions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">            Divine love appreciates the sheer reality of something, the suchness of it, its very independence from control. God creates that which is not God, so that God can love an other, love those who are truly different – even that which is ungodly. God relinquishes control so that God can flow out of Godself in love for that which is not God, that which is not like God, that which is not as God would choose for it to be. God loves a world which is sometimes utterly unlovable in our eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">            Divine love shocks our sensibilities. When Jesus revealed divine love, people were appalled. Does this mean God loves sin and evil? I would follow Augustine in saying evil is not a thing to be loved or hated and sin is love disordered. God loves the love which motivates the sinner, even though the sinner’s love is disordered. God’s love recognizes the distinction between good and evil. God loves into them both, but loves differently. The good is loved with celebration and delight. The evil is loved <i>into</i> (note the all important preposition) with grief and reconciling invitation. But God always values the suchness, the is-ness, the being of everyone and everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">            Students routinely ask me, “What about Adolph Hitler? Does God love Hitler? Must we love Hitler?” Simone Weil was the theologian most radically committed to belief in God’s all-inclusive unconditional love. She would insist on loving Hitler, but she died in 1943 as an active participant in the Free French resistance. Love in the face of evil manifests as resistance, not acquiescence or condonation. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">            Once we realize that literal omnipotence and love are mutually exclusive, we have to make a choice. Will we define God as Perfect Love or Total Dominance? Scripture, logic, and much of the Christian tradition are on the side of love. But ultimately we have to search our own hearts. The word “God” represents our most deeply held value. “God” means what we hold to be the highest good, the truest truth, the loveliest beauty. So, what do we regard as the most valuable, the most important thing – love or dominance?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">            The point of defining God as love instead of dominance is not to get God off the hook for evil.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn9" name="_ednref9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[ix]</span></span></span></a>The point is to see how God responds to it, but that may still leave us with an issue to struggle with. A God of love instead of power may not be what we want in the face of life’s troubles. Some of us are reluctant to accept that God’s power is limited because those limitations might undermine our trust that God can deliver us. That objection, however, rests on the assumption that our problems can be solved by power. Much human suffering cannot be redeemed by powerful interventions, understanding “power” to mean dominance and control, but it can be redeemed by divine love. As Douglas John Hall says,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">Who through power tactics, can eliminate the self-destroying habits of a son or daughter fallen prey to hard drugs? What nation through power alone can ensure world peace? . . . There is no sword that can cut away sin without killing the sinner . . . . (T)here are situations where power is of no avail. <i>They are most of the situations in which we human beings find ourselves! . . . </i>They are most of the situations God finds God’s Self in too.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn10" name="_ednref10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[x]</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">There are better ways than dominating power – not quick fixes, but ways that genuinely redeem us and make us whole. Instead of dominance, love is power like the electricity that lights a lamp, or fire that warms us on a cold night. Love heals and redeems. That is God’s kind of power. To change our understanding of God requires us to rethink how we hope to be saved from affliction. To change our understanding of God requires us to rethink our assumption that problems can be solved by Rambo-style interventions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">B.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">    </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">GOD IS BEAUTIFUL<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            <i>How late I came to love thee, O Beauty, so ancient and so fresh.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                                                St. Augustine of Hippo<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        Beauty is the chief attribute of God according to 18th Century American Calvinist, Jonathan Edwards. David Bentley Hart cites the Church Fathers in support of Edwards’ view:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        God is beauty and also beautiful, whose radiance shines upon and is                                          reflected in his creatures . . . the splendor that gathers all things . . . into                                           itself. (<i>De divinis nominibus </i>4.7).</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn11" name="_ednref11" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Tms Rmn","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Tms Rmn"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xi]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">Scripture attests to the beauty, the splendor, and the glory of God.</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn12" name="_ednref12" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Tms Rmn","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Tms Rmn"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xii]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> St. Gregory of Nyssa retold the story of Moses as a quest for the beatific vision, for the ever-expanding beauty of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        Moses: though he is filled to overflowing, says Gregory,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        he always thirsts for more of God’s beauty, . . . ; and<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        such is the action of every soul that loves beauty: drawn on<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        forever by a desire enkindled always anew by the beauty that <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        lies beyond the beauty already possessed, receiving the visible<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        as an image of God’s transcendent loveliness, . . .</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn13" name="_ednref13" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Tms Rmn","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Tms Rmn"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xiii]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">Consider the implications for our relationship with God, and for our sense of what life is about, if we thought of God primarily in terms of beauty to be enjoyed rather than dominating power to be feared. This ancient understanding of God has been understated in recent centuries. But today we are in the midst of a reawakening of theological aesthetics, and are rediscovering the relationship between art and religion.</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn14" name="_ednref14" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Tms Rmn","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Tms Rmn"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xiv]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">                        What does God’s beauty have to do with God’s response to suffering? Perhaps everything. Philosopher Marilyn McCord Adams says that God’s beauty redeems even “horrendous evils,” the kinds of suffering which make life seem no longer worth living. Her argument rests on the following points:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            1.         God is so unimaginably greater than creation that God is of a totally                                  different order from our earthly experience or us.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            2.         God’s goodness includes God’s beauty, which is immeasurably greater                                     than “created goods or ills.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            3.         “Contemplation of Divine Beauty” engulfs the harm we have suffered, even                      “horrendous evils.”</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn15" name="_ednref15" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Tms Rmn","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Tms Rmn"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xv]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">God redeems by the power of Divine Beauty to attract, console, and heal rather than the power of domination.</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn16" name="_ednref16" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Tms Rmn","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Tms Rmn"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xvi]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Desire is the tug of the infinitely beautiful vortex that is God. Delight, the culmination of desire, is our foretaste of ultimate joy. Even horrors grow dim in the light of resplendent glory. St. Paul said, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us.”</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn17" name="_ednref17" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Tms Rmn","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Tms Rmn"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xvii]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            This hope for healing in the “kindly light” of God’s glory does not mean some greater good of cosmic order justifies the sacrifice of individual victims. In order to fit the goodness of God, the restoration must be sufficient to make each and every victim of evil whole, to give them such a good thing that it makes their life worthwhile despite the horrors they have endured. Such horrors are so great that they can be defeated only by the incomparable goodness of God.</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn18" name="_ednref18" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Tms Rmn","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Tms Rmn"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xviii]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">            The redemption of each individual is essential to the morality of God. Ivan Karamazov lamented over the suffering of a little girl left to freeze in an outhouse on a Russian winter night. To his credit, he would not have his own eternal bliss purchased by such an atrocity. But finally, Ivan has missed the point. The little girl’s suffering does not purchase his eternal bliss. Her eternal bliss redeems her from the atrocity she suffered – an atrocity which was not part of God’s plan but was always contrary to God’s will. David Bentley Hart, who takes Ivan’s argument quite seriously and respects Ivan’s protest as essentially Christian, says:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        . . . (O)ne might even suspect Ivan of a willingness to freeze<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        (the little girl) forever in the darkness of her torments – as a   <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">                        perpetual symbol of his revolt against heaven – rather than <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">release her into a happiness he thinks unjust.</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn19" name="_ednref19" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Tms Rmn","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Tms Rmn"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xix]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">Heaven, the beatific vision, eternal bliss – our destiny in union with God – is not a cosmic good purchased by the blood and tears of individuals. Rather it is the redemption of each individual from wrongs that were just that – wrongs – torments that should never have had to be endured. It is finally arriving at the joy upon which “the strange beauty of the world” depends. . . .<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><br clear="all" /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />  <div id="edn1"> <div class="EndnoteText1" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">Such a diverse lot as constructive theologian Gordon Kaufman,  feminist theologian, Sallie Macfague, Catholic transcendental theologian, Karl Rahner, and liberation theologian, Dororthee Soelle, agree that our definition of God  matters very much because God images shape who we become and determine our values.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn2"> <div class="EndnoteText1" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Cheryl A. Kirk-Dugggan, <i>Refiner’s Fire </i>(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001) p. 156.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn3"> <div class="EndnoteText1" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Quoted in Kenneth Leech, <i>True Prayer</i>. (San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers, 1980) p. 3.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn4"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> I John 3 and 4, particularly 4:16.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoEndnoteText"><br /></div></div><div id="edn5"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Book of Common Prayer, in its various editions and adaptations, contains the order of worship for churches of the Anglican Communion. Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer originally redacted it during the reign of King Edward VI. Cranmer drew most of the prayers from earlier liturgical text. But the General Thanksgiving is his own composition.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn6"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText"><br /></div><div class="MsoEndnoteText"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[vi]</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Book of Common Prayer (New York: Church Publishing, Corp., 1986) p. 101.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn7"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText"><br /></div><div class="MsoEndnoteText"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[vii]</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Douglas John Hall, <i>The Cross In Our Context: Jesus And The Suffering World</i>, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003) p. 22.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn8"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[viii]</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Diogenes Allen, <i>The Path of Perfect Love.</i> (Cambridge: Cowley Publications, 1992) p. 15. Allen is drawing on Simone Weil’s comments on Irish Murdoch’s <i>The Unicorn. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn9"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref9" name="_edn9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[ix]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> If God is love – not dominance – the logical problem of evil misses the point rather badly. Literal omnipotence, which is the foundation stone of our logical problem, is inconsistent with our most basic claim about God’s nature. This rejection of omnipotence does not completely resolve “the problem of evil.” It does not deny that God has substantial power. To say God is not omnipotent is not the same as saying God is helpless or uninvolved. Maybe God cannot prevent all evil, but could God prevent some of the horrendous evil and affliction that is apparently tolerated? If penicillin could eventually be discovered and save so many lives, could it not have been discovered centuries before? The existential cry of “why” remains. But the tidy logical knot that seemed to disprove the Christian God has not done any such thing. It has only contributed to the refining of our language, to reminding us that talk of literal omnipotence is reckless and unreasonable.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn10"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[x]</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Douglas John Hall, at 98-99.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn11"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; tab-stops: -1.0in -.5in .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in 6.5in 7.0in 7.5in 8.0in 8.5in 9.0in 9.5in 10.0in 10.5in 11.0in 11.5in 12.0in 12.5in 13.0in;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref11" name="_edn11" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xi]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> David Bentley Hart, <i>The Beauty Of The Infinite</i>, p. 177.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn12"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; tab-stops: -1.0in -.5in .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in 6.5in 7.0in 7.5in 8.0in 8.5in 9.0in 9.5in 10.0in 10.5in 11.0in 11.5in 12.0in 12.5in 13.0in;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref12" name="_edn12" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Psalm 27:4; Zechariah 9:17; 1 Chr. 16:29; 2 Chr. 20:21; Psalm 90:17; John 17:24.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn13"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref13" name="_edn13" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xiii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> David Bentley Hart, <i>The Beauty Of The Infinite</i>, p. 195.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; tab-stops: -1.0in -.5in .05pt .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in 6.5in 7.0in 7.5in 8.0in 8.5in 9.0in 9.5in 10.0in 10.5in 11.0in 11.5in 12.0in 12.5in 13.0in;"><br /></div></div><div id="edn14"> <div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref14" name="_edn14" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xiv]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Hans Urs Von Balthasar, <i>The Glory Of The Lord: A Theological Aesthetics</i> trans. Brian McNeil (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1989). David Bentley Hart, <i>The Beauty Of The Infinite</i>. See generally, <i>Art, Theology, and the Church</i>, ed. Kimberly Vrudny and Wilson Yates (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2005). “Creation’s being is God’s pleasure; creation’s beauty is God’s glory; a Taboric effulgence, upon all things . . . that proclaims God’s    splendor . . . . The delightfulness of created things expresses the delightfulness of God’s infinite distance. For Christian thought, then delight is the premise of any sound epistemology: it is delight that constitutes creation and so only delight can comprehend it . . . .” David Bentley Hart, <i>The Beauty Of The Infinite</i>, pp. 252-253.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn15"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xv]</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Adams, p. 147.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn16"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref16" name="_edn16" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xvi]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Cheryl Kirk-Duggan says the beauty of the divine image in the human soul draws us toward the contemplation of God’s beauty in just this way: “If every human being is created <i>imago dei </i>[in the image of God]<i>, </i>then (they creatively express) . . .holiness. That holiness . . . is resplendent in color, light, sound, fury, and love. Such holiness is beautiful and aesthetic. Aesthetics is a body of knowledge that comes from experiencing imagination, sensation, and the feeling of the idea of the beautiful. Beauty, along with truth and goodness, is a transcendental, a property that must accompany being and exists within every being. Beauty, therefore, is a path for the desire and longing that goes back and forth between God and us.” Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, p. 155.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn17"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref17" name="_edn17" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xvii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Romans 8: 18.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="edn18"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref18" name="_edn18" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xviii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Adams, p. 155.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><br /></div></div><div id="edn19"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref19" name="_edn19" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xix]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"> David Bentley Hart, <i>The Doors Of The Sea</i>, pp. 88-89.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div></div>

LOVE & BEAUTY: THE 1ST TWO THINGS WE SAY ABOUT GOD

[Previously in God Of Our Silent Tears, the Purple Rider of the Sage, challenged basic assumptions about God including absolute omnipo...

The Sure Wild Thing!

2:14 PM Tukiyooo 0

The Sure Wild Thing!

Click to enlarge. Source Data: St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Are you an educator in Atlanta talking about Common Core? Join us this Friday.

1:32 PM Tukiyooo 0

<i>There are going to be some exciting discussions about teaching and education that you won't want to miss in Atlanta this Friday.  Here's information on the taping of the 4 episodes this Friday at the NPR studios in Atlanta. If you're interested, please respond soon as space is limited. I'll be there! Join us!</i><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1845653030" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;"><br /></span></span></span></b><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1845653030" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">SEPTEMBER 6</span></span> – THE IGNITE SHOW LIVE AUDIENCE INVITATION</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Please join us</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> as we raise awareness and respect for education with <i>The Ignite Show</i> – and</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">help us create the live audience we need</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> for high energy when we are in studio!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">RSVP to: <a href="mailto:mail@theigniteshow.com" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">mail@theigniteshow.com</span></a></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1845653031" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">8:15-9:10</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> – One full show with Special guests:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">- Heather McGovern / Kentucky Educator</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">- Sharon Whitworth and Cheri Dimar  /Project Team Leads for Jefferson County</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The Kentucky PTA Story – The First State to Implement Common Core State Standards shares their story</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1845653032" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">9:15-10:10</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> – Four <b><i>Tech Times with Cool Cat Teacher</i></b> (Vicki Davis) (<a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://coolcatteacher.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</span></a>)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Watch as nationally known educator shares technology tips and insights for the K-12 classroom!</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1845653033" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">10:15-11:15</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> -- One full show with Special guests:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Carlos Contreras - Intel, Corp. - Education Manager</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Otha Thorton, General Dynamics - Senior Operations Analyst</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Learn of the Corporate Support to the Common Core State Standards – nationally!</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1845653034" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">12:30-1:15</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> – One full show with Special guests:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">-Delia Pompa Vice President for Education at NCLR (National Council of La Raza),the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States -PTA President Otha Thorton</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Hear the Parent Story in terms of the Common Core State Standards</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1845653035" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">1:45-2:45</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> – One Full show with Special guests:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">- Moderator: Carlos Contreras/ Education Manager at Intel Corporation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">- Mike Wiernicki/ Math Coach at Henry County Board of Education</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">- Elijah Newsome - HS student (11th gr) from Henry County</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">- Chauncey Newsome</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">- Lauren Baucom / NC - HS Algebra Teacher</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Listen to variety of voices talk about the  impact of the math Common Core State Standards on Student Success!</span></i></b><br /><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></i></b><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><i><span style="color: #404040;">BACKGROUND/PROJECT DESCRIPTION</span></i></b><i><span style="color: #404040;"></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #404040;">Teachers Ignite was recently contracted by The National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) in partnership with The Hunt Institute to produce four Special Episodes of <i>The Ignite Show</i>  (<a href="http://www.theigniteshow.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #404040;">www.theigniteshow.com</span></a> ) focusing on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This is work is also in collaboration with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Education Association (NEA), and the Parent Teacher Association (PTA).  These web-based shows will launch in the Fall of 2013 and will be accompanied by teacher resources to assist in implementation of the standards as well as other information for parents and general public to become more familiar with the standards.  There will be distribution of these shows to all constituents of these organizations.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">The Ignite Show works to raise awareness and respect for education and educators</span></b><span style="color: #404040;">through the voices of teachers, parents and students. All that we do focuses on inspiring student centered classrooms.</span></div></div>

Are you an educator in Atlanta talking about Common Core? Join us this Friday.

There are going to be some exciting discussions about teaching and education that you won't want to miss in Atlanta this Friday. Here&#...

It Must Be Labor Day

12:27 PM Tukiyooo 0

It Must Be Labor Day

I just got called into work and will be there all fucking day. I see I am going to have to explain to someone not to take the name of the ho...

You're Gettin' A Wet Ass Either Way Now Honey.

11:55 AM Tukiyooo 0

You're Gettin' A Wet Ass Either Way Now Honey.

The Year 2092

11:25 AM Tukiyooo 0

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDE3qiQbPVETOO3OAuSzQcimZ5BrEEugq7tgNWGQfa33JVHDvnDYMxXGXoboACcIimYBwyv1fREkbOWvg35P8TRpZnzY4-am_N6SxJhh2mj3EuDqGDatciId1iLbTE2BmTx9dmzVXaZ5A/s1600/Residential+Construction+Employees+per+Capita.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDE3qiQbPVETOO3OAuSzQcimZ5BrEEugq7tgNWGQfa33JVHDvnDYMxXGXoboACcIimYBwyv1fREkbOWvg35P8TRpZnzY4-am_N6SxJhh2mj3EuDqGDatciId1iLbTE2BmTx9dmzVXaZ5A/s320/Residential+Construction+Employees+per+Capita.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />Assuming that the Fed has permanently put a stop to all future recessions and recent trends can therefore remain in place, then 2092 is looking to be quite the year! That's when residential construction employment per capita will have made a full recovery!<br /><br />I'm only bringing it up because, as seen in the following link, party hats are still in such short supply! Reserve yours early!<br /><br /><b>September 1, 2013</b><br /><a href="http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130901/BIZ13/309019957/1185/BIZ13">America resilient 5 years after worst GDP loss since ’30s</a><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>The signs of resilience are everywhere: Households continue to spend. Businesses are investing and hiring. Home sales are rebounding, and the automobile industry is surging. Banks have healthier balance sheets, and credit is easing. All this coincides with the economy shedding the excesses of the past, such as unmanageable levels of consumer and corporate debt.</i></div><br />Sales are "surging" as <a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/TCMDO">we shed the excesses of the past</a>! And credit is easing so we can borrow even more! Hurray!<br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>“We are in a much better place than we were five years ago,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pa. “Consumers are feeling much, much better; certainly investors are.”</i></div><br />It is Mark Zandi's vast knowledge of the inner workings of our economy that I admire most. <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/01/wisdom-of-mark-zandi.html">Take his decision to purchase Florida real estate near the peak.</a> Genius! What a relief it must be to him, both as a consumer and as an investor, to directly participate in one of the healthiest and most robust <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/deadcatbounce.asp">dead cat bounces</a> in all of recorded history! Is it any wonder he's filled with such optimism?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLEGC2aV3fPx8ebLNdELCpotplVD4iw5Mlh3J8Ye7HYVfpI09_Cvd-AZ3RIHhm8cN_R-tzY2tFm9JrW2iDBXZGrIdwLpzZjs5RAL7RYZB1Vr8zDLJsUiloJKQvJf2CDRXg4_owOh5ilY/s1600/Florida+Real+Estate.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLEGC2aV3fPx8ebLNdELCpotplVD4iw5Mlh3J8Ye7HYVfpI09_Cvd-AZ3RIHhm8cN_R-tzY2tFm9JrW2iDBXZGrIdwLpzZjs5RAL7RYZB1Vr8zDLJsUiloJKQvJf2CDRXg4_owOh5ilY/s320/Florida+Real+Estate.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br /><b>See Also:</b><br /><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/08/when-sure-things-break-part-ii-musical.html">When "Sure Things" Break Part II (Musical Tribute)</a><br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=m0E">St. Louis Fed: Residential Construction Employees per Capita</a><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=m0I">St. Louis Fed: Florida House Price Index / CPI</a>

The Year 2092

Click to enlarge. Assuming that the Fed has permanently put a stop to all future recessions and recent trends can therefore remain in place,...

Yosemite wildfire caused by illegal marijuana growers?

11:15 AM Tukiyooo 0

Some interesting news concerning the <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/01/progress-made-against-yosemite-wildfire-but-smoke-spreads/">cause of the huge Yosemite "Rim" fire in California</a>: <br /><blockquote>The massive forest fire that has scorched 333 square miles in and around Yosemite National Park may have been sparked by illegal marijuana growers, according to one fire official in Tuolumne County.<br /><br />The San Jose Mercury News reports that Todd McNeal, chief of the Twain Harte Fire Department, told a community meeting that it was "highly suspect that there might have been some sort of illicit grove, a marijuana-grow-type thing."<br /><br />McNeal, who has 23 years of experience with Forest Service, the National Park Service and other agencies, said at the Aug. 23 meeting that investigators know the fire is human caused since there was know lightening in the area.</blockquote>While talking about marijuana, here's an odd tragedy of a man who was <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/02/atv-victim-reportedly-died-in-booby-trap-near-marijuana-plants/?test=latestnews">killed by his own booby trap</a> protecting his marijuana crop, according to police:<br /><blockquote>A New York man died after being nearly decapitated by a booby trap he set to protect marijuana plants on his property.<br /><br />Daniel R. Ricketts, 50, who owns property and a residence on Saw Mill Road in Albany County, was identified as the victim on Sunday, the Times Union reports.<br /><br />Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said Ricketts was driving an ATV on his property on Saturday afternoon when he was nearly decapitated after running into a nearly invisible wire that was part of fortifications he made near four large marijuana plants.</blockquote>

Yosemite wildfire caused by illegal marijuana growers?

Some interesting news concerning the cause of the huge Yosemite "Rim" fire in California : The massive forest fire that has scorch...

Words from the dying: Slow down and treasure the little moments

10:58 AM Tukiyooo 0

Words from the dying: Slow down and treasure the little moments

Words of advice from those on their death beds who wish they had slowed down and enjoyed life a little more: They want us to focus less on ...

New 24-Inch All-In-one PC: Acer DA241HL

8:51 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Computer peripheral manufacturer company Acer recently made entry in the smartphone and tablet section but it’s not over yet, Acer look forward in this section and ready to make entry in all-in-one PC.  Acer is now going to introduce 24-inch all-in-one PC running on Android. Acer announced that device will be available in market in mid October. First of all device will launch in selected countries.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DrSFURjdxOs/UiSzQRLZVDI/AAAAAAAAARg/GEgTQSuz7sA/s1600/599x400xacer-da241HL-599x400_jpg_pagespeed_ic_DWI8xF9_kB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DrSFURjdxOs/UiSzQRLZVDI/AAAAAAAAARg/GEgTQSuz7sA/s1600/599x400xacer-da241HL-599x400_jpg_pagespeed_ic_DWI8xF9_kB.jpg" title="Acer DA241HL" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">androidos</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Acer DA241 HL is the name assigned to the device and it will powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 quad-core processor. The device will run on Android 4.2 OS. Display of 24- inch comes with full HD resolution and touch supportable panel on board. Through this device you can download the apps from Google Play.USB port and HDMI out slots will also available in device.<br /><br />According to Acer “With the DA214HL, Acer introduces the first Full HD touch 24-inch AiO based on Android Jelly Bean 4.2 and featuring NVIDIA Tegra quad-core performance. Users can now find on their home PC the same familiar interface used on other Android devices, such as smartphones and tablets that are increasingly popular for media consumption, web browsing or social media interactions,”. Other specifications are not clear at the moment.<br /><br />Price: €429. <br /><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/100638775997274345522" rel="author">Anil Swami</a></div></div>

Computer peripheral manufacturer company Acer recently made entry in the smartphone and tablet section but it’s not over yet, Acer look forw...