axegrinder

"There was much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust."

"ALMIGHTY God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

"O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother; For Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen."

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"Remember that there is a meaning beyond absurdity. Be sure that every little deed counts, that every word has power. Never forget that you can still do your share to redeem the world in spite of all absurdities and frustrations and disappointments."

"The only thing I can recommend at this stage is a sense of humor, an ability to see things in their ridiculous and absurd dimensions, to laugh at others and at ourselves, a sense of irony regarding everything that calls out for parody in this world. In other words, I can only recommend perspective and distance. A modest certainty about the meaning of things. Gratitude for the gift of life and the courage to take responsibility for it."

"But now that so much is being changed, is it not time that we should change? Could we not try to develop ourselves a little, slowly and gradually take upon ourselves our share in the labor of love? We have been spared all its hardship ... we have been spoiled by easy enjoyment. ... But what if we despised our successes, what if we began from the beginning to learn the work of love which has always been done for us? What if we were to go and become neophytes, now that so much is changing?" (The Journal of My Other Self)

"We sit by and watch the Barbarian, we tolerate him; in the long stretches of peace we are not afraid. We are tickled by his irreverence, his comic inversion of our old certitudes and our fixed creeds refreshes us; we laugh. But as we laugh we are watched by large and awful faces from beyond: and on these faces there is no smile."

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

For Some Questions, Motives Are Irrelevant

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When in debate, please don't respond to a challenge with "But why would they do that?" That is irrelevant when it comes to the truth or falsity of a position, the harm or benefit of an action.

I find this response regularly comes up, especially when talking about politics. It is not that important WHY George W Bush or Barak Obama does something. Maybe Bush is incompetent. Maybe Obama is wittingly pursuing a socialist agenda. Maybe not. Either way, we should judge their ideas and actions, as well as the results. Leave the motives to God. The same goes for global warming, gay marriage, the economy, war, etc, etc.

I'd like to extend this point to say something about conspiracy theories. Listen, nothing would surprise me. Is it possible that world leaders have secret societies? Sure, I guess that's possible. However, I don't need to know these usually unprovable things in order to know that certain of their actions have negative results.

Try not to get sucked into the distractions that bombard you if you watch TV news and pundits or listen to them on the radio. Ask "is the action good?" not "is it patriotic?"

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Holy Week Greetings

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I would like to offer all those who aspire to be Holy Fools my warm regards and sincere prayers on your behalf. May you find yourselves in the embrace of the Trinity this Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.