"Every human life is, in principle, sufficient for the discovery of every truth."
Stephen H. Webb, from First Things Blog, 05/06/2008
"Christians believe that God became human in Jesus Christ. If so, it follows that there is something called humanity. That is, humans have a nature, a shared or common nature. Human nature is not just a social construction. Human nature is real. And if it is real, then it is the same everywhere and at every time. It is, in a word, universal."
If Human nature is universal, and we know it's universally flawed, it universally needs healing. And as the first part of the quote states, every human life is capable of finding that truth. But if it's a universal truth that means it can't be an individualistic, relativistic truth except in the sense of applicability to whatever individual state your in compared to that universally well formed , flawless human nature. I'm sure there's a much better philosophical vocabulary for this but I'm at work and supposed to be working.
This reminds me of something I was thinking of concerning pastoral care. Everything we come in contact with, everyone we speak to, can be, and is, a means to affect change in our lives. How we receive it determines its effectiveness. At the Demontraville retreat center they speak of being disposed to hear God speak and you can't be disposed when your listening to your iPod, even if it's in Japanese. (not a rebuke mind you)
So what does the noisy family on the bus say to me and am I disposed to hear it? Is it saying anything to me at all? What does my interaction with co-workers say to me? Especially the thoughts they can't hear but God can? How's that saying go, virtue is what man does when nobody's looking? I was just having a conversation with a co-worker about swearing. Is there a difference between spelling H E L L or just saying it? Is there a heart difference between saying frigging and the more vulgar variences? My mother used to encourage people to say sonofmugatcha, a nonsensical utterance that allows an emotional outburst without offending generally speaking anyones sense of right speech.
Anyway, I would have more to say on this but time constraints....
“When statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos.”
Sir Thomas More
"The opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor under its jurisdiction" - Thomas Jefferson
"In a democracy that is free and robust, an opinion is no more disqualified for being religious than for being atheistic, or psychoanalytic, or Marxist, or just plain dumb" Richard John Neuhaus
Let's Go!
About Me
- macman
- aka, Norbert, closet philosopher, wanna be theologian, loves to read, has no time to read, but occasionally peruses First Things, Aquinas, Dubay and various news items on a blackberry. Plays a Warrior bass guitar but will provide a good home for any strays, especially 5 string frettless. Generally congenial but known to lose his sanity when trying to comprehend politicians and the stock market.
4 comments:
As I learned in some class, there are proven linguistic, psychological effects from swearing - it makes a part of the brain light up, however familiar you are with the word and however much you use it (it would probably be less of an effect if you are accustomed to hearing/using it). It's kind of the linguistic equivalent to zapping yourself and other people in hearing range with a 9 volt battery. This does not happen in the same way for any other words (across a culture - maybe there would be one or two other unique triggers for an individual). So arguing "they're just words" is not admitting the whole truth. Interesting, huh?
A co-worker of mine has an article posted on his wall citing research claiming that swearing in the workplace builds teamwork and boosts morale. In the appropriate time and place of course.
I don't think it's inherently wrong - there is a time and place for it (and an object, of course, being not your fellow man). But it definitely is more than just a word like any others.
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