Augustine's view towards women

Even though we are done with Augustine’s discussions in class, I found something during the last days that is worth for people to know about him. I have always had this doubt about women in the classical, medieval and even modern eras, where were them that nobody have said anything about them? I know they did not have any political or civil rights and they were almost nobodies in those times. However, I have always asked myself what did philosophers think about women?
This is something that I found about Plato’s view towards women:
“It is only males who are created directly by the gods and are given souls. Those who live rightly return to the stars, but those who are cowards or [lead unrighteous live] may with reason be supposed to have changed into the nature of women in the second generation’. This downward progress may continue through successive reincarnations unless reversed. In this situation, obviously it is only men who are complete human beings and can hope for ultimate fulfillment; the best a woman can hope for is to become a man” (Plato, Timaeus 90e)

So, this is what Augustine’s believed about men and women, hard but true. What I understood about this, is that being a woman is a shame. However, we have demonstrated that it isn’t. Maybe we lack things that men have, but they also lack things that we do have. I am not saying women are better than men, but that we are just a complement.

Romanesque Cathedral

I found some pictures of romanesque cathedrals that show the design Dr. B taught us about. (I can't seem figure out how to get it as an image.)

http://www.brusselspictures.com/wp-content/photos/Italy/Pise.Great.Romanesque.Cathedral.JPG

http://z.about.com/d/goitaly/1/0/Z/9/-/-/pisa-pictures-7.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/u26/dcoleman59/large/43227418.DSC01330_edited.jpg

The Knowledge Mind Game

Why is it that it seems as if the smartest of people seem to have the most difficulty with discovering God and His holy and perfect love for us? Why is it that it seems like the intelligence of the mind sometimes blocks the feelings of the heart? In Book VIII, Augustine spoke of the "extremely learned and most expert in all the liberal disciplines" man known as Victorinus. He converted at an old age, implying a lifelong difficulty of submitting to the Lord. Augustine himself had difficulties. And he noticed that people who were not "intelligent" were discovering God. He tells Alyoius, "What is wrong with us? What is this that you have heard? Uneducated people are rising up and capturing heaven, and we with our high culture without any heart..." Why do we know that we need Him, but it is our minds that help keep us from Him? "I was deeply disturbed in spirit, angry with indignation and distress that I was not entering into my pact and covenant with you, my God, when all my bones were crying out that I should enter into it and were exalting it to heaven with praises." He knew what he needed. He KNEW it. He had the knowledge. But he had not the will. He did not have the heart. He tells his readers that he could will his body to do physical harm to himself. But he could not will to submit to God. His mind can tell his body to move. Why couldn't his mind tell him to will? He was playing a mind game with himself. While he knew what he need to do, he did not know how to do it. How do you make yourself feel?

Why do we strive for knowledge? Why do we feel accomplished when we know and are associated with people who have just as much or even better more knowledge as us? We are warned through Scripture about knowledge. Ephesians 4:17-18 tells us, "You must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts."We are also told by Christ himself that we should be like children: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Mark 10:14-15). I think a lot of times we get preoccupied knowing about Jesus rather than knowing personally Jesus Christ. I think we need to stop focusing on what we can know but instead on how we can live.

I don't know really if this has anything to do with anything at all. But I was just thinking about this while I was reading. 

Holy or Idolatry?

Are relics truly holy and powerful objects which bring physical and spiritual healing, or are they a disguised form of idol worship? And first I want to consider what an idol is. In Webster dictionary it is defined as a representation or symbol of an object of worship. Towards the end of Thursday's class, I could not help but notice in the movie that relics seem much like different types of idols that were considered to be powerful and holy. Whether they were the bones of a saint or a piece of cloth that they wiped their face with, people would travel hundreds of miles risking their life at times to see them in hopes of being healed or freed from sin. To me, that seems a lot like idolatry.

 No one or nothing is holy. To be holy is to be perfect and without fault, blame, or sin. The last time I checked, no one or nothing was, is, or will be holy except God. This reminds be of countless stories in the bible, both in the Old and New Testament about idol worship. God absolutely hates and condemns idol worship. He even killed people who worshiped idols by fire from heaven. In his commandments to us he states that we should not have any gods before him. Gods in this (little 'g') can mean a lot of things. Idols, or gods, is anything that takes the place of or hinders one's relationship with God the Father. It could be some statue, new sports car, football team, or even a relic. If one is worshiping or relying on healing power from a relic, then that is idol worship. 

People are foolish to think that some bones or ancient piece of history could change their lives. The only ancient thing that could change their lives is the Ancient of ancients. God is the only one who has the power to heal and forgive sins. Instead of traveling hundreds of miles to a place which "claims" to have a holy object, healing and forgiveness is only a step away. If we were to seek God like the way we seek other things that we desire, our lives including the whole world would be changed.

Modern Byzantine Icon

Tonight I figured out how to use my webcam. You can do a lot of interesting things with these devices, including making yourself your very own icon! (With a little help in Paint.)

St. Ethan

How Many People Can You Stuff Into A Church?

Alright. So this is using pretty loose statistics just simply because I didn't want to spend too much time researching, but here it is. The Cologne Cathedral is roughly 407,000 cubic meters which is about 14, 375,000 cubic feet (not even the biggest cathedral). The average attendance was about 16,000 people. A single person takes up maybe 3 cubic feet. This means the ratio of people to space is about 1 person to 300 cubic feet. But if they really wanted to use this space, they could shove about 4.75 million more bodies in there. It may be just a tad bit crowded.

Approaching the Throne

Cathedrals have always made me nervous. I’ve been in more than a few while traveling through various corners of the earth, and though I highly appreciate the exquisite artistic works that I have found within, I am the first to admit that the abundant ornamentation (as well as the usual widow asking for ‘alms’ at the door) all comes off a little creepy to me. I find myself holding my breath in a silent reverence throughout every cathedral visit, but strangely enough, I do not find that this reverence that I hold is particularly a reverence toward God. Rather, it is as if the structure of the church itself demands a degree of reverence from me, and out of fear of unintentionally acting like a heathen, I return the reverence it demands. So what is the purpose of the exquisite nature of these “places of worship”? Is it to appease a God demanding our best in worship, to remind us of the sacred act of worship, or perhaps to invoke a sense of awe toward the church itself?

Below is a picture of a cathedral I recently visited in South America. Characteristically ornate, the first thing that strikes me is the distance between the altar and the people. Strangely enough, the word for “cathedral” is actually derived from the Latin word cathedra, which refers to the throne, or presence of, the bishop. For me, however, worship is centered around the presence of God -the incarnate Word in flesh, revealed to mankind as individuals - instead of the distant presence of a mediator or divinity. 
While carefully tiptoeing around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which stands in the midst of the city where God became flesh and left the grave empty, I whispered to my father, “I know this is supposed to be a sacred place, but where is all the joy?” Though it is important to recognize and maintain a sacred reverence toward the presence of God, we can also rejoice that we can “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Perhaps it would be good for Protestant Christianity to adopt a renewed reverence for the “sanctuary”, or place of worship,” but in every manner of worship, we can relax, breathe, and rejoice - for the veil to the Holy of Holies has been torn and we are invited to enter in.

That’s home.

Medieval Icons

So, in following along with Dr. B's discussions on icons, I decided to do a little research. There are numerous images of icons all over the world-wide web, but I found four that I thought I would share for this week's blog. I hope you enjoy. :)

God's in His Heaven

IMG_0060
Originally uploaded by 1DeadMule

Here's a shot I took looking directly up into the dome of the Greek Orthodox church in Malbis. If you click through to the original on Flickr, you can look at it full size. It is God the Father in the center, which makes me wonder if there might have been a shift in eastern iconography over the years. You'll notice the angels and the writers of the four gospels at each 'joint' (help, Dr. B! what's that called?)--that placement of the gospels is standard for (traditional) Catholic and Orthodox architecture alike.

Philosophy Vs. Fortune

I think that life can be symbolized as a line that will sometimes make circles, sometimes curves, maybe it can go to the sky, or just be down on earth, perhaps, or that in a second it can go from 0 to the infinite. You never know how or where your line will go.

Anyone of us can just lose everything in a second: money, possessions, family, friends, and love. However, the only thing we will never lose is our capacity to reason, which is what makes the difference between living things and humans. Boethius’ life is the perfect example of this; he is in jail, disgraced because he thinks he has lost everything in his life. His mind and memories about his old life constitute his internal jail, which will not allow him to feel free. He is sure he has followed Philosophy in all his actions but he just got tricked by the Fortune.

It is very interesting how Boethius express the difference between Fortune and Philosophy in his work “Consolation of Philosophy”. He shows how Fortune can let you “borrow” some things but you will have to give them back, while philosophy will be a sort of guardian angel that will never let you down. So, Boethius’ problem was really that he was missing his past Fortune, and that was the main reason that he was not able to return to the wisdom of philosophy.

We pay a lot of attention to what we gain through our lives. We get excited every time we are being honored or we make some extra money. We love showing everybody what we just bought or just what we have. This book makes me ask myself “is this what really matters in life? Or is it just an illusion?"

(I have more photos, if you wanna see just let me know. I'm going to try to upload them onto Facebook.)

It was interesting to see some of these people really try to become Medieval, Renaissance minded. It was also interesting to see the kind of respect and person-to-person relationships.

Icons that lead to Life

Icons in the church can do much good for a believer.  To a non follower of the Way icons, are great pieces of art, that remain only at that level.  To a daughter/son of  God icons can be a great tool to lead them in a worshipful manner to the Person of Jesus Christ, or focus on the Biblical person depicted.  Icons can be very influential, and helpful.  There is something to seeing something depicted in art, or photography that touches the soul.  

Clearly icons can be used for evil as well.  If the icons themselves become a tool of worship, then they are wrong.  Although, we must remember money, power, fame, and many more things in many of our lives, can become icons of sorts.  The key is just to focus on, and allow Christ to be the center of our lives, as believers.  

Personally I think depictions of Yeshua, and other church figures, are very beneficial.  Also, as one in class brought up the other day, for those who are illiterate.  Pictures can be a form of teaching people the Holy Scriptures.  We must keep Christ the center of our focus, and "seek first His Kingdom."  

A Lady By Any Other Name

Philosophy…is a woman. Perhaps I will find my answer as I continue reading, but right now I would like to ponder why Philosophy is represented as a woman in this work. Women are treated so differently across cultures. A difference is also seen across time within those cultures. To some, woman is merely a tool necessary and useful only for bearing children. She has one purpose and one purpose only. She is not admired, nor is she useful for anything outside of that purpose. In other places and times, she is seen as the epitome of all that is good and beautiful. She is admired for her appearance and sweetness. She is praised for her ability to bring forth life.

Women are still seen differently in different places of life. For surely the waitress in the corner diner is hardly considered equal in stature with the wife of the vice president of a big company. For if the waitress happened to stumble in upon a company party she would certainly be shunned before she could even be handed a dirty glass. It is likely in that scenario that not a single “gentlemen” in the room would so much as open the door for her as she left in embarrassment. My purpose here is to consider context, and I believe it will be useful to keep context in mind as I continue to pursue an answer to my question.

When considering when The Consolation of Philosophy was written, different ideas from above come to mind. To answer my original question, I must once again, ponder. Why a woman? Within these cultural ideas…is Philosophy useful? Yes, in this work she is useful. But does she serve a sole purpose? Perhaps – I will have to wait and find out. Is that purpose procreation? Somehow I doubt that it is physical procreation, but I would not be surprised if she somehow comes to serve as a provider of spiritual and/or mental procreation before the duration. Is she highly praised and admired? Is she adorned and put on a pedestal? Is she gracious and beautiful? How can we tell these things about her from this work? All of these questions spark interest in my mind and are helping me get to the place where I discover why Philosophy is a lady…

The Love of Wisdom

While reading book one of The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius, my mind recalled a portion of St. Augustine's Confessions. In book III, iv 8, Augustine tells of hunger for God - his starvation for Truth. At the age of eighteen, young Augustine began to search for Truth in the pages of philosophy. While reading Cicerco, he discovered that the Greek word philosophia means "love of wisdom." After years of misery, Augustine found the Truth...
I found Boethius to be in a similar state when Philosophy comes to comfort him. This instance seemed familiar to me -this voice of reason, of transparancy, of Truth- speaking clearly to the disheartened man. Then I turned to Proverbs chapters 8 and 9, where wisdom calls out to those who will listen. Boethius remembers how Philosophy implanted herself in him and told him, "Follow after God." Wisdom in Proverbs speaks of how she was there with God "in the beginning," and that "He who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord." I have grown up in a culture where Philosophy is portrayed as the deepest thinking, the greatest understanding, the highest knowledge...the journey of the search for Truth. But after reading Confessions and then Consolation, two works I knew almost nothing about until recently, I was directed to Proverbs, a book from which I have been taught for longer than I remember. And in the pages of Proverbs, I made the connection between Wisdom and Philosophy. Wisdom itself is rooted in the character of GOD...Philosophy is the search for that characteristic, that Truth. They have the same end, the end where Augustine found what he had been desiring his whole life: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." ~Proverbs 9:10. "The fear of the LORD": the realization of Who He is, and the response to that revelation, is the deepest wisdom, the greatest philosophy....
All this time I thought the two were separate. Now I know that they find their source in One Who knows me and Whom I have known for much of my life...the One from which comes every good thing, the One Who gives us the "love of wisdom."

Medieval Medicine

You know the other day in abnormal psych. we were talking about the medieval view of illness mental and physical. They mostly relied on faith based healing and if you were sick it must be the devil. I was thinking that I would hate to live in that time if I happen to be a sickly person. But what I didn't realize was that not everyone has evolved with society in letting professional doctors heal the sick. I read this article the other day entitled Trials for Parents Who Choose Faith Over Medicine. I couldn't believe the horrible story that followed about a poor 11 year old girl whose parents let her die because they believed God would heal her and it was going against there religion to take her to a hospital. Also it said that they wanted to stay out of jail on the grounds of the religious freedom. The article said that in the United States, 300 children have died in the last 25 years because medical care was withheld on religious grounds. There was also a pastor quoted who said that jesus never took anyone to a doctor, he offered healing only by faith. I know i shouldn't be shocked when I hear stories of people taking things that are told to them and without questioning it believing it, and that belief makes them do something horrible. You would think that after so many years that the human race would have evolved enough to realize that intelligence and a healthy questioned of your surrounding is the way to survive in this world. DID theses people every think that maybe God uses doctors to heal? and that the people Jesus healed had tried to be healed in other ways. I am a christian and I dont share this view at all. Anyway I guess this article just upset me a bit and I wanted to share it. here is a link for the article in the new york times.
 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/21faith.html?ref=health

St. Augustine and John Newton: Influential Sinners

A study of the life of St. Augustine brings to mind the life of another man of historical significance--slave trader John Newton. Both men were alike in three ways: they led sinful lives while trying to avoid the truth of the gospel, they had godly mothers who cared about their spiritual conditions, and they both went on to write about their sinful pasts in the hopes of being a positive influence on the lost.

Like many young men living in the declining days of the Roman Empire, Augustine sought to indulge himself in as many selfish endeavors as possible while claiming to be searching for the truth. He abandoned the Christian teachings of his mother to pursue the cult-like religion of Manicheism. His religion allowed him to seek worldly pleasures while he supposedly searched for the truth, but after he read the Greek classics and still did not find satisfying answers, Augustine turned to Paul's gospel letters, and the change in his life began. Like Augustine, John Newton led a life made even more wicked by the fact that he committed every cruel act associated with slavery. He also rejected the Christian teachings of his childhood. Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, Newton was press-ganged into naval service and later endured abuse as the servant of a slave trader in Africa. He had been living as an "infidel and libertine" when a storm at sea forced him to turn to God. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a'Kempis and the Bible began to have a strong impact on his spirit as Newton began to turn to the Lord.

It is said in Proverbs 22:6 that parents should "train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." The mothers of Augustine and Newton believed in this and their efforts helped lead to their sons' salvations later in life. As Augustine's mother Monica watched her son drift farther from the faith she had taught him as a child, she grieved to think that he might never return to God. Augustine writes of her constant prayers and tears for him, saying that she "suffered greater pains" in his "spiritual pregnancy" than when she originally gave birth to him. He also writes of her ecstatic joy when her years of faithful prayers were finally answered when he chose to follow Christ. Newton was also blessed with a devout mother who knew the importance of teaching her son how to read Scripture and to memorize hymns and the Reformed catechism while he was quite young. Newton's mother died when he was six, and his father, stepmother, and others did nothing to encourage him in his faith. But the influence of those early Christian teachings could never be erased, even when he was living deeply in sin, and later the prayers of his future wife, Mary Catlett, helped lead him back to the God he had known as a child.

Both Augustine and Newton felt led in their later years to to share with others how terribly they had fallen into sin and how great was the God who pulled them out and forgave them. Augustine wrote a detailed account of his past life in his Confessions. It reads like a letter or journal to God Himself, and because it is so deeply personal, Confessions is often considered the first true autobiography in literature (others had been written before but were not so personally revealing). Today theology students study the contributions of St. Augustine because of their great impact on Christian thought and doctrine. John Newton's most influential written work may not have the length of Augustine's, but the few verses of "Amazing Grace" are beloved around the world. Newton, along with some help from William Cowper, wrote many hymns, but the words of the lost, blind person in "Amazing Grace" are the ones that have touched more hearts than perhaps any other hymn in history. Not only did Newton influence millions with "Amazing Grace," but years after his slave trading days were over and he had become a respected clergyman, he also influenced Parliament to abolish the slave trade in England.

Augustine wrote that "those who are known to many are to many a personal influence to salvation." Both Augustine and Newton were infuenced by others and were an influence themselves, both good and bad. The same thing can be said of great literature as it continues to speak to us, and our words and actions today can be an influence for ages yet to come.

Icons of the church

I want to talk about the icons of the church. For the longest time I have heard about but not really known much about Byzantine art and icons, but when Dr. B taught the class on the subject it really helped me understand them better. Last semester i was able to go to the Greek orthodox church in downtown Mobile. It is beautiful in that it is so colorful and full of stained glass windows and icons everywhere. Growing up my entire life I have never been inside a building or even a church like that one. With a better understanding of the purpose of icons in the church I know realize why there was so many icons at every inch of the building, each having a meaning of its own to bring one's attention to God. However, i would like to talk about my response to the icons of the church. I think it is great to have images which brings one's attention back to God but not to the point of having so many that one would forget God and just focus on the icons themselves. A way one could relate this to present day is the worship of angels or even the Bible itself. The reason we have the Bible is to get to know God by the way he revealed himself to us through His Word. The Bible points us to God and who he is. It should be respected and shown reverence but not to the point of totally focusing on the Bible and worshiping the book because it is from God. We are not to worship the Bible but the one who inspires it and who is the Author and Creator of all things. In the same way, icons are helpful in pointing us to God and should do only that. 

Self and Soul

Despite having an introverted and reflective personality I had never really thought of the differences between self and soul; that is until it was brought up in class. Now I wondering just what is self? And how does it relate to the soul?

We said in class that memory and your conscious life is self, which makes prefect sense. But I can't help but think that memory and conscious thought are part of the body; it's in the hardware of the brain. We can't think without our RAM and ROM so to speak. So does that mean when we die our self dies? Or does the soul, a spark of the divine, gain an imprint of the self? Should, can something timeless have imprinted on it something from the finite? Or is it possible that memory and therefore self is not just a part of the brain?

My rambling may not make much sense, but it's a little scary to think that while souls can be saved the self might be doomed to fade out of existence.

Augustine's stained-glass

So, since I was the only one with a camera in class the other day, I figured I would just use the picture for my blog this week. :) Enjoy.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone

I was watching an episode of Twilight Zone last night which baffles me because that show pretty much scares me. But in the episode a man is going about his business day after day doing exactly the same things. He gets up every morning at 7:00 and goes through his normal morning routine. Then he walks down the street to the bus stop and sits on the bench and waits exactly 5 minutes before the bus arrives. He gets off the bus at the 3rd stop and walks to his office. He does the same mindless work he does everyday and at 5:00 he grabs his coat and hat, waves goodbye to his secretary and proceeds out the door to the bus stop. He again waits 5 minutes before the bus arrives, rides 4 stops back to his house, pats the cat sitting on his doorstep and walks inside. After taking off his coat and hat and hanging them on the coat rack, he grabs the news paper, sits down on the couch in the same seat he does every afternoon, takes off his shoes and slips on his slippers. He sits and reads the news paper for 30 minutes before getting up and fixing his dinner. He sits at the table and eats his meal then he gets up, burshes his teeth and gets ready for bed. He sets his clock for the next morning, turns out the lights and is in bed by 8:00. The next day he does the same thing... and the day after that. No change in his routine at all. Then one day at work he starts to think about his life. Its always the same day after day and he promises himself that the next day he will change what he does. Get off a stop early and walk the rest of the way to work maybe. So, the next day he wakes up, goes through his normal morning routine, grabs his coat and hat and heads for the bus stop. Anxious to see what happens he gets on the bus and sits in the same seat he does everyday. When the 2nd stop came, the one he was going to get off on that day, he couldn't move. He just sat there like his legs were paralized. he tried to ask someone to help him up but everyone else was frozen, locked in their own little world. Soon, the doors closed and proceeded to the next stop. The man without even thinking about it rose from his seat and walked off the bus. When he was off the bus, the man tried his hardest to walk away from his office but his legs seemed to only go one direction. Then the man noticed something he hadn't before, there were strings attached to his feet and on his hands. he tried to pull the strings off his feet but everytime he pulled, his feet would rise and fall. Frustrated, the man looked up to follow where the string was coming from and thats when he saw him. His own puppet master. The man began to scream but no one of the street noticed and then suddenly he fell limp.

What if we are all controlled but a puppet master? We only live when they are willing to move us... and when they are finished we drop limp like the man in the show. Our whole life is based around what other people want us to do. How other people see our lives. But what if one day we notice like the man in the show that we are being controlled by someone else. Will we do something about it... try to change what we are? Like the man in the show will we simply fall limp or will we find a way to cut our stings?

The Twilight Zone scares me. Haha

Perfection Defined

It appears to me that the true and common pursuit of every philosopher's ideals is our reconciliation to genuine perfection. From Homer's search to discover the will of the gods in The Iliad, through Aristotle's venture of defining happiness and even Socrates' quest through virtue for the ultimate good, we again find ourselves asking the same question through Augustine: "Who can possibly fix this colossal mess we've made?'

Of all of the philosophers we've gotten to know recently, I think Augustine has come the closest to true reconciliation. He recognizes that the symphony of creation played in perfect harmony until Genesis 3, when corruption entered and our mess began. In Book VII of Confessions, Augustine writes:
"It was obvious to me that things which are liable to corruption are good. If they were the supreme goods, or if they were not good at all, they could not be corrupted. For if they were supreme goods, they would be incorruptible. If there were no good in them, there would be nothing capable of being corrupted . . . If they were to be deprived of all good, they would not exist at all. If they were to exist and to be immune from corruption, they would be superior because they would be permanently incorruptible . . . Either it would be an incorruptible substance, a great good indeed, or a corruptible substance, which could be corrupted only if it were good. Hence I saw and it was made clear to me that you made all things good."

Essentially, Augustine claims that there must be an ultimate, incorruptible source of good to make "all things very good" (Gen. 1:31). That creation must have been, at its birth, solely good, is the only true resolution to our currently immutable quest for reconciliation. Humanity is simply trying to get back to Genesis 2 - where good reigned by nature, and corruption - though in itself, existed in the garden simply as a by-product of all things being good - had not yet been granted the authority to corrupt.

Clearly, humanity is a lower form of the ultimate source of being, of good, since we are capable of being corrupted and yet, our Creator is not. Ravi Zacharias, a Christian apologist, put it this way: "When I was doing my doctrinal examination for the denomination which I am affiliated with, the opening question was, 'God is perfect, explain.' And I just gave a one-line answer, 'He is the only being existent in this world, the reason for his existence is in Himself; every other existing entity finds a reason for their existence outside of themselves. In that sense, He alone is perfect, His very existence is uncaused, He just exists."

This infinite person of being - of constance and immune to corruption-is precisely what a mortal lacks and desperately seeks, as the reason for our existence is found in Him, a being beyond ourselves. When we pursue reconciliation apart from the incarnate source of perfection, the "I AM"; then our philosophia, or as Augustine puts it, "love of wisdom" becomes disjointed. Consequentially, we find ourselves in the upper room of the library drinking excessive amounts of coffee and trying to sort through idea after idea ... valiantly attempting to find some common ground to build our philosophical foundations upon.
And that's just it - the purpose of all of our upper-library rants is to discover truth in that our God, the Creator God, the relational God, is the source of perfection for which we long for and relentlessly pursue, whether we acknowledge that He is our prize or not. "In order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." -Colossians 1:2-3

"So too let rejoice and delight in finding you who are beyond discovery rather than fail to find you by supposing you to be discoverable." (Book 1, Confessions).

We're really just on our way home ...

Hard to get past

The "sinful infant" subject makes me think and ponder- not by any means unable to move forward, but it's hard to get past blindly. I'm not necessarily in agreement or disagreement on this subject, it simply strikes an odd chord with me. It brings up numerous questions and points. I'll ask questions lastly, making a few argument-like points first.

I can see where he gets the idea that infants are sinful, self-centered in fact. Self-centered-ness is definitely a form of arrogance, the root of all sin. A child thinks nothing of any other. The child only sees others as a source of fulfillment of their many desires and needs. A child will scream, cry, kick, bite, hit, or hold it's breath until it gets what it wants. It is in fact greedy with this, as well. Suckling the mother's breast, far past it's tummy's extent- often vomiting up the excess, wasting it- simply because it enjoys it. It is jealous, as Augustine pointed out, pushing its sibling away from the fountain of nourishment, or being otherwise violent and fussy. It expects all it sees to fulfill whatever need or desire comes to its fancy, regardless of relationship.
However, a baby is not conscious of these things. It is simply following instinct. It is better to be stuffed than possibly starve. The child knows nothing of itself, it is not conscious of others either. It is not capable of analyzing relationships or desires, neither will it then think that it doesn't care who cares for it, as long as it is cared for. It is not conscious of these things at all. It is driven by instinct- it also learns through conditioning what works and what does not work in order to be nourished. It does not ponder how, it is simply taught-- in a similar fashion as muscle memory works. One does not think about why one holds a pen a certain- it simply happens. You may be thinking about it now, or have thought about it before, but it was learned by thoughtless doing.
...Yet, I cannot imagine why an infant would push away another child.

So question:
Is the infant really not conscious of everything: others, self, its own actions?
At what point/age does it become conscious of others?
Of self?
If the infant is not conscious of self, does this mean an infant does not have a soul?
Is the soul asleep; and if so does it wake up as it becomes conscious?
When does a child begin to sin?
What happens to an infant when it dies?
Can one consider an infant's instinct selfish?
Is the selfish really more natural than selfless?

@_@

St. Augustine to Kevin Bacon

St. Augustine wrote Confessions which shares a name of a book by Jean-Jacques Rousseau who was a composer during the same period as Mozart who had a student by the name of Beethoven who was portrayed in the movie Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure which starred Keanu Reeves who also played in the Matrix alongside Laurence Fishburne who played in the movie Mystic River alongside Kevin Bacon. Yeah, that happened.

Manichaeism

As other people have said before, this is also my first time to write in a blog, I did not know how to get into a blog not even what to write on it. But everyday you learn new things right?
What was interesting for me about reading “The Confessions” was that I started to question myself hundreds of questions while I was advancing in the reading. One of these questions was about the “good” and the “evil”. Therefore I decided to look more about the Manicheans, and why did Saint Augustine really reject their ideas.
So this is what I found:
For Manicheans, there are two eternal roots, Ahriman is the god of the Old Testament, the god of darkness, and Hormuz is the god of the New Testament, the god of the Light. We as humans are made of these two roots, our body will be the perverse side, while our souls are some piece of divinity that is suffering because of its incarceration in the body and its carnal desires. (This part will relate us to Plato’s ideas)
At first the two substances were separated. However, there was a disaster and both roots mixed, and since that day, they have been in a perpetual struggle, which symbolizes the history of human progress.
Saint Augustine studied Manichaeism for a while because he was trying to understand the origin of the evil. However, he rejected this theory because the evil should not be seen as a substance, instead, as the lack of good, as Plotino explained. By that way, he discovered that God never created the evil, but it just existed when the good was not present. To resume, the evil resides in the counter position of what is sensible to God.

Rock Band Correlation

So far, "Confessions" has really surprised me. At the beginning, it reminded me of a
section from "It's all Downhill from Here" by Andrew Schwalb. In this particular
section, he confessed every sin he had committed in the past twenty-four hours. That
was my original "Confessions". Andrew Schwalb is the lead singer of one of my favorite
bands, Project 86. He has always been sort of a hero of mine, which made it all the
harder to read. To see an idol become human before your eyes is a concept often
presented, but rarely well. Only real world examples come to mind. St. Augustine
surprised me with these confessions. People these days have trouble writing sins in
diaries, let alone public works. It actually gave me a good idea for a Bible study. I
could get everyone at my Bible study to write down the worst thought they had that week
and put it in a hat. At random, I could draw from the hat and read it. Of course, this
would never work. Most people would write something subtle. One or two would write
something slightly more realistic. I doubt that any one of them would be honest though.
Regardless, this book has made me think a lot and I enjoy it. I haven't enjoyed a
required English course book since my junior year of high school. (To Kill a Mockingbird)

I'm so glad we're on blogspot.com. I already have two blogs on here. This will be my third.

Seeing God

In Confessions both Augustine and his mother get some kind of word from God. His mother saw a young man in her dream, and Augustin heard the voice of a child telling him to read the word of God.

I was talking the other day about how my friends viewed God. One of my friends [someone in this class, although I won't mention who.. ")] said that since seeing Bruce Almighty he occasionally sees God with the face of Morgan Freeman.... I do not know that I would be able to take my prayer life seriously if I saw Morgan Freeman, but to each his own.

For me trees have always been a thing of beauty and strength. When I feel defeated or upset and need an escape sometimes I see myself as a little girl curling up under a tree for comfort and shelter. Sometimes I see God as a figure like my dad, giving me a hug when I need one.

I think everyone has a different view of God... and I'd love to hear what some other people picture.

But I think this ties in very well with the iconography we discussed in class today. Sometimes I draw these images as an expression of how I feel, and as I draw I pray. I don't just see a comforting image, but I see myself running to God. Even if I don't want to think about the circumstances in my life I have to deal with them, and I can deal with them by going to God for help. I think images like that, of God and of Biblical scenes, can be an expression by the artist and a reflection of the viewer's own thoughts. Sometimes when you see images portraying God (like Morgan Freeman) it can put a face to the God you're talking to.

Trebuchets and other fun ways to break things

Wikipedia had a link to a Scientific American  piece on the trebuchet.    Good reading for Thomas and his crack team.

Restaining

St. Augustine's Life as a Man shows his intense love to be all he can be! After his conversion his mentality is to restrain himself from aspects of life he feels are sinful. He believes sin keeps him away from existing with God. He ends Chapter 1 thanking God for his many talents and that "I (he) exist(s)". Although many of these restraints are necessary, some have possibly gone overboard in scrupulousness. Some of his restraints may keep him from fully participating in the existence with God. Details will follow as WE explore who Augustine is.

Iron Choice...

So, just like some others, this is my first blog.  I really feel like a renaissance man of sorts, doing this cutting edge thing of "blogging."  Therefore, would I be called a bloggER?  Not sure.

"I sighed after such freedom, but was bound not by an iron imposed by anyone else but by the iron of my own choice."  I find myself agreeing with St. Augustine in this matter.  Many times I found myself and others around me chaining themselves to the iron of their own choices.  Those who are believers and followers of the Way have already been set free, by just that, or Him.  So, why is it that we who are still human, even after our "re-birth" seem to feel captured by our own ambitions or lack their of.  

"I was afraid of being rid of all my burdens as I ought to have been at the prospect of carrying them."  St. Augustine, of course, speaks truth so eloquently with this sentence.  Many followers of Christ can not fully imagine themselves without all the baggage.  It is almost an intimidating thought to think of themselves free of burdens, and sin.  The iron shackles that are around their feet, and wrists, are simply there because they have not chosen to remove them, Christ unlocked them, but did not necessarily take them off.  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of Wisdom, he that has an ear let him hear the words found in Scripture by our dear St. Augustine.  

"Oh the Sick Irony"

Funny how we've taken this simple song and made it a favorite kids' tune to hum, sing, and dance to over the years... and yet, if we took a leap back into the history of time and sang it loud and proud for the people of the Middle Ages, I doubt they would join in with merry glee! "Ring around the Rosie," a description of the symptoms of the Black Plague; "Pocket full of Posies," the least you could do to help with the rotting smell of your skin; "Ashes, Ashes, We all fall down," the inevitable outcome of the disease: death. I can only wonder what catastrophe our generation will encounter that will simply become child's play because reality of context is lost over time...We need a renewed respect for history and our embarrassing ignorance extinguished!

*Click the video link below for the full effect!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ8NLuawDxc

This is definitely a new experience...

So I have never done one of these blog things before. I haven't even read one. So hopefully you can cut me some slack on my first blog ever.

One thing I was wondering while I was reading was what guys thought about Augustine's mother Monica in Book IX. Augustine said that she "served him [her husband] as her lord." I would think that most girls would not like the sound of that. Especially in the feminist world of today, women do not like to be considered under men let alone their servants. Even worse are the "many wives married to gentler husbands [who] bore the marks of blow and suffered disfigurement to their faces." I know there are no women who look for abuse in a potential mate. But what do the men think about this? Do guys want a girl to be their servant? Do they want someone to beat? I do realize that the times are different. But does this appall men as it does women? Maybe the whole beating thing would. It definitely didn't appall Monica though. She just thought the other women were idiots for back talking their husbands while they were angry. I definitely was shocked when I read that. I thought that was ridiculous. Why on earth did she not care? Who thinks, "That wife was so stupid, getting herself beaten up like that?" Monica is the idiot! But is she? I started to wonder, why is the issue of the "service" of women such a big deal? The Bible says in Ephesians 5:22-24 and also Colossians 3:18 that wives should submit to their husbands in everything as to the Lord. It also says in I Peter 3:1 that wives should be submissive so if their husbands do not believe, "they my be won over without word but by the behavior of their wives." In light if that, Monica was living according to the Bible. As much as I want to frown upon it, she was doing what God commands. Even though this generation looks down upon the "submissive wife," God still commands Christian women and wives to submit to their husbands.

Oh St. Augustine, Thou makes't me find such funny things...

Greetings fellow Honors kids!! So I have to admit, I haven't had much time for Augustine but I did manage to find a funny little video for your personal enjoyment...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_3jLE9gqwc


Just goes to show that the spirit of the Medieval time period is still going strong.. I guess to some people, the Middle Ages never dies... I know this has nothing to do with Augustine, but I thought it would be nice to show..

Toodles ya'll!

I was thinking about the question that Dr. Mitchell asked in class on Thursday: does Augustine denounce some things unnecessarily? I think that the answer is no. Everyone has different struggles and experiences in life that can influence choices. I think that many of the things that Augustine deplores were struggles for him earlier in his life. I also think that the lifestyles that people, even Christians, live today is completely different than what would have been expected in Augustine’s time. Our society is dominated by technology and everything that goes along with it, such as distasteful movies, music, and video games. Worldly, sinful things are so easily accessible and accepted today that sometimes we do not stop and think about it actually being a sin. James 4:4 says “…Whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.” In today’s society, we have become so accustomed to things of the world that most of the time we do not even view them as things of the world. I believe that Augustine truly understood that he could not have a lukewarm life. He had to choose between the world and God, and even though to some, his denouncing of sin is over-exaggerated, I think that he chose to hate things of this world in order to live for God 100 percent.

A Round About point?

Good Lord this blog is stressing my out and after days of trying to come up with something meaningful and thought provoking to say I have given up. I’m just going to write whatever comes to mind and maybe eventually it will wrap around to some kind of point. I dislike open assignments for some reason. There is a part of my nature that likes to have a plan and a course and guidelines. I read all the rules so I know exactly what I can and cannot do (Yes, I have actually read the student handbook…lame, I know). I’m very observant of road signs and cling to routine.
But there is this other part of me that rails against the norm, a secret part of me that balks at orders and hates to be herded into conventional thinking. I am a soul that screams at the injustices of the world. But for some reason it is this part of myself that I censor the most carefully. Why is that? It is because I have been taught since birth to play nicely, to follow the rules because they are there for a reason? Is it because I recognize that no matter how much I rant, rail, and preach in a college setting one day I will graduate and have to live in the real world? A society shaped by rules and obsessed with not offending anyone by having any thoughts except those that are politically correct. One day I will join the work force of America where team playing is essential for employment. Free thinkers are not often team players, but do I really want to be a team player? No.
What this has to do with Augustine…I’ll let you figure that one out.
Yours,
Danyelle McCutcheon

Confession is Good for the Soul

Ah St. Augustine! He is thorough, I will give him that. Some might say that he is overly verbose and spends far too much time thinking about everything he has ever done wrong. To dwell on sin is indeed not what we are called to do, however, it is in those first few hours, days, or even weeks of being delivered that we are enlightened to the seriousness and magnitude of our iniquities. For when we are saved we are instantly filled with the Holy Spirit. He Who then indwells us is the very Spirit of God, Who cannot be in the presence of sin. With this in mind it is therefore not surprising that we should instantly become aware of these offenses. After becoming aware of them, we feel the need to confess them, in accordance with the written Scriptures that we then, based on our salvation, choose to take as truth. After confessing them, we feel relieved and refreshed. And so, perhaps those who say that St. Augustine is too wordy have either never experienced true confession or have forgotten what it is like when you do. Confession is good for the soul, and though I don’t necessarily agree that massive amounts of people should be free to read your personal confessions, if you must write them down, do your best to make them as interesting as possible in the event they do get published some day when you are dead and gone.

So speaking of confessions...

"It was all done for a giggle, as if our hearts were tickled to think we were
decieving those who would not think us capable of such behavior and would have
profoundly disapproved. Why then did I derive pleasure from an act I would
not have done on my own?...As soon as the words are spoken 'Let us go and do
it,' one is ashamed not to be shameless."

Augustine's words spark fond memories for me, as awful as that sounds! They remind me of the escapades of my youth...or of the past 3 semesters! There are a few of us who have a little habit of collecting the best signs we can find and displaying them on our walls. Here's a sample:





It was speaking of driving without auto insurance just so you know! (top)
Yes, the "No Parking" sign is in my bathroom. (bottom)

So there you have it! It's not just Augustine and his merry band of thugs running around taking things just for kicks!

Medieval Life

Here is a video I came across on youtube today summarizing different aspects of Medieval life. It's very interesting indeed.

The Prince and the Count

Two of my favorite works of literature are "Hamlet," by William Shakespeare, and "The Count of Monte Cristo," by Alexander Dumas, and it is interesting to note the similarities between the two stories. First, Hamlet and Edmond Dantes become victims of betrayal. Hamlet's uncle kills King Hamlet, and men Edmond thought he could trust allow him to be sent to prison on false charges. Second, in both cases, the motives behind the perpetrators' actions are greed, lust, and fear. Finally, both Hamlet and Edmond are initially suicidal, overwhelmed by the pain of their circumstances. However, they put their suicidal thoughts behind them when they realize a purpose for themselves--the pursuit of vengeance and a desire to make their betrayers suffer as much as they have. On the surface, one might not think that these two stories with such different settings--medieval Denmark and Napoleonic France--would have so much in common, but a careful study of "Hamlet" and "The Count of Monte Cristo" is fascinating.

O dear confused Augustine,
You cry out to God because you don't understand.
You wonder what your life and struggles mean.
Friends have tried to give you a hand.

Trouble with women has always haunted you.
Having a relationship with God has always presented questions.
Thankfully,you, Augustine, discovered believing in God is something you can do.
Newfound faith can now help you meet life's expectations.

Law and Order of the Middle Ages

As most people would already presume, life during the medieval times was much different than it is today. Their diets, clothes, houses, and general ways of living were hardly in comparison to ours. Another great area of their lifestyles that differs from ours is law and order. Their ways of justice and punishment vary greatly from those of the twenty-first century. In most views, it was much more difficult to keep order during the Middle Ages, because there was no democracy. There were many who opposed the feudal system, and as a result, wreaked havoc.
The main way to bring forth law and order during medieval times, was through harsh laws. The criminal often underwent excruciating trials that are far different than the ones we have today. Each accused individual then went through many different ordeals. Perhaps the most common was by combat. In this, the suspect was to battle against a strong fighter while in full armor. If they were innocent, then God would grant them the strength to defeat their much stronger opponent.
Another ordeal that was often used was by fire. They were forced to hold a very hot piece of metal for a short length of time. Within a few days, if the wound healed, they were innocent by the help of God. Another option, would have been an ordeal by bread. The accused was forced to swallow a whole piece of bread without chewing. If they choked, they were found guilty. There was one more common ordeal to be used during this time. It is the ordeal by cold water. The idea here is that the water is pure. Therefore, it would repel the guilty and sink the innocent. So, if they were innocent, they would sink, which doesn't seem at all logical to our democratic society.
Our ideas about justice and law vary greatly from those during the Middle Ages. Perhaps, their views would work in our generation. The accused are automatically subject to some sort of torture so that their guilt will be surfaced. Would crime diminish if we took these precautions? Whose to know; but, it is still something to ponder.

Beyond Discovery

I find myself constantly wanting to explain things, to find answers, to give definition to ideas I don't understand. After all, that is what being an Honors student is about, right? Asking the questions, digging beyond the story to go deep enough to see its meaning...yet when I can't describe what I believe about these texts, these questions, these ideas...when I can't point directly to what the absolute truth of the matter is, where am I? Who am I? Do I fail when I don't know? Or do I find victory there?
St. Augustine asked these same questions in Confessions. He tells God that if a man cannot understand Him, he (Augustine) cannot be expected to explain Him to that man. Augustine quotes Exodus, when God gave the Israelites food from Heaven. They asked, "What is this?" They could not explain how God provided, or even what exactly His provision was. But they did not have to comprehend it to gather it and live. Augustine challenges the man unable to explain God to ask the same question, "What is this?" But he never promises that the man will always receive an answer. Augustine says to God, "So too let him rejoice and delight in finding you who are beyond discovery rather than fail to find you by supposing you to be discoverable." (Book I. vi 10)
Is it better to expect to explain God and all the ways of His universe, or to expect never to be able to understand Him so that I can rejoice all the more when I come one step closer to knowing Him deeply?
I will never be able to fully understand justice, virtue, morality, the hearts of men...or God, who created them all. But I have decided that by accepting that I will never know it all, I am preparing myself to discover as much as I can by putting my faith in the One who does. I will never stop searching, questioning, seeking; but I am overwhelmed that even as I ask without understanding, "What is this life and all it contains," I can live trusting the Source of life.
My God and His ways are beyond discovery. Part of finding Him is losing myself in the hopelessness of fully knowing Him in this life...and the promise of knowing Him fully in the next.

Holding Out For a Hero

I find it fascinating that the West still has an obsession with heroes in the medieval sense. Books like Tolkein's Lord of the Rings and Lewis' Narnia series are still popular today and have been given the modern treatment with very successful movie franchises. It's not just literature either, television, video games, and even some music is dedicated to the medieval hero. I suppose the classic black and white of good and evil that was so commonplace in the era never looses its appeal.

~Jeremy B

Medieval Art

Here is a pretty good slide show i found on YouTube.

It is full of some pretty good pictures and some really weird ones.

While you watch the slide show there is Gregorian chant. 

So if you don't like the music you can just mute it.

- Josh A

When I googled "mideval" this website quickly caught my eye:
http://http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/

It's an introduction to various mideval writings, from Chaucer to Everyman. Biolographies and eassies are also included, and are an interesting look into the mideval times.

I was thinking about that scene from Monty and it reminded me of Lewis' the discarded image. Sir Bedemere's systematic, however comical, reasoning was a brilliant reflection of the Medieval mind. I also think that it's interesting that the stereotypical view of the Medieval man, namely stupid and dirty. In this scene, whether intentionally or not, the two views are juxtaposed. It shows the disparity between the two images and another piece of symbolism that once again may not have been intentional,the stereotypical view eventually won. The stupid reasoning eventually overcame and warped the systematic methodical reasoning, but it was funny so I dont think anyone really cared. But i think that's about it on that so yeah. haha

Monty's Medieval

In the midst of a (not so) scholarly pursuit of medieval perspective, I observed this brief example of medieval monasticism depicted in the first five seconds of this YouTube video:

Somehow, I don't think this was quite the self-discipline that Augustine was pursuing after his conversion ... 

How's that for a 5-minute blog, Dr. Mitchell? :)

-Amy

Pavane (preview of coming attractions)

pavane
Originally uploaded by 1DeadMule

Charissa and Josh from two years ago...good times

The phrase Homo Viator as the provides the clearest contrast (in a nutshell) between the medieval and modern world.  Homo Viator, Man on the Way, stands in contrast to the modern effort to render man at home in the world by overcoming nature, including human nature.  Sometimes, that's all to the good--I wouldn't want to do without indoor plumbing or the Bill of Rights--but the remaking of nature can be a destructive enterprise.  Destructive of nature and of human communities and persons.  For some critics of modernity, like the novelist Walker Percy, it's a matter of being at home with our homelessness.  In other words, restoring Homo Viator in a post-modern age.

The Pilgrimage Commences

Homo Viator, Man on the Way--Augustine to Milton.  Using the technology of the postmodern age to recover something of the medieval.  It's still with us in bits and pieces.  The shards of Christendom.