Month: April 2014
Stuff
24.4.14
– Revamp!
Life-tracker
Mind-map
Project-management app
25.4.14
– Non-moral goodness & non-moral badness
– Club sports
Vs.
National sports
– Polarizing figure
– Body of work
– Hard Talk:
Philip Glass with Steven Sakur
Paul Krugman with Sara Montague
Happenings
23.4.14
– There are no successes & failures when it comes to people. There are only those who (know to) deal with failure in a winning way, and those who don’t!
– Maybe challenging the primacy of family is exactly what we need to save our world today!
– Canons
– Worship = submission + acceptance + celebration!
– Joe, do you (still) have the guts to be contemplative in the midst of this mad culture?!
Can you feel those eyes piercing you?
– Is the line between negotiable & non-negotiable, objective or subjective?
– “You got my point?”
– Who said I’m not petty?
Who said I’m not lazy?
Who said I’m not anxious?
Were these sins/vices Hitler’s or Stalin’s main fault?
Pettiness includes conceit.
Laziness includes incontinence.
Anxiety includes cowardice.
Is violence a root or branch or fruit level evil?
– The labour (intensity) of joy & the stedfastness (tenacity) of love
– My ministry is just my hobby. The inward life is my work!
– Social lubricant
– Do you hate anything consistently & passionately?
– Do the monks in the monastery contribute anything to the world??
– What was Jesus doing for the first thirty years of his life?
Is that meant to be a role-model for us too?
O how we demean him when we seek to imitate him!
– My task is to get acquainted with Life, & introduce people to it!
– My aim is to constantly immerse myself in leisure, without any inkling of idleness!
And to be truly available to the world around me…
Really?
Yes, to commune deeply with my body, with the earth & with friends……
To live fully!
And then to die gladly.
– Why don’t I have online conference (for spiritual formation), even if only one person (Kiruba) is involved regularly?
Mature ~ nuanced
Seek Vision!
Innovative interpretations, based on creative philology & historiography, leading to theological breakthroughs!
The static text & the dynamic tradition – elasticise (‘expanding spontaneously to fill the available space)!
‘Rewriting the Text’ – all translations are interpretations, and vice versa!
Historicist theologies
Kosher ~ proper
Don’t kill & eat those animals whose milk/hair, etc. you can use.
What is the meaning of this commandment??
Num.12:9
Num.12:8a
Distinguish:
Icon
&
Idol
“Voice without form”…
Just like smell without taste, or sensation without touch!
The “Akedah”
Targum, Talmud & Mishnah
Homiletical commentaries
Face-to-face conversation ~ spiritual French kissing!
Eye-contact, smiling, hand-shake, etc.
Observe ~ guard ~ keep
Wordplay
Phraseology
Logos & Sophia
Philology
Linguistics
Literature
Knowledge, language & books
Miscellaneous
22.4.14
– Mr. Nirmal Kumar Stephenson
– Sociality & meaning – objectivity, subjectivity & relationality!
– Hermeneutics & phenomenology
– Awareness, attention & observation
– Bankrupt interactions
– Is my lack of stamina related to my reduced kidney function??
– “Theory of Communicative Action”
“Holy Mother, pierce me through,
In my heart, each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.”
Distinguish:
Faith,
Religion &
Theology
Would the vocation of 2 persons with the same SHAPE profile, & living in the same context, be identical?
Rediscovering GOD => reinventing the self => recreating the world!
Salvation – liberation, rejuvenation, healing & enrichment
Experience, conception & communication
Theological anthropology & the psychology of religion
Passim
A robust, viable & constructive theology!
Alterity
Are Anthropology & Cultural Studies the same?
Merold Westphal
Langdon Gilkey
Neighbour – you are both identical to me and other than me!
…In
&
With
Things
21.4.14
– If you want to be treated like an adult, then stop acting like a child!
– Erotic thrillers
Oooh!
– Mrs. Esther Frederick (1935 -2014):
May she rest in Peace.
In the name of the Father, & of the Son, & of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Will the sowing of this righteous seed into the soil produce a harvest of peace among her family left behind?
– Christian Theology’s dialogue partners:
NT & Patristic – Religion (Judaism/OT, Greco-Roman, etc.)
Medieval – Greek philosophy
Reformation – Classical languages/literature
Enlightenment modernity – Science
Postmodernism – cultural studies!
– Maybe the Parousia & my death are identical events!
– Legacy ~ resurrection ~ immortality
– Memento mori » radical living » eternality!
– Movies:
“Mulholland Drive
”
Memories & dreams intertwine!
Identity, narrative & desire.
How do you know the difference between illusion (subjective perception) & reality (objective facts)??
A cinema about cinema!
‘Persona’ by Ingmar Bergman.
Pornography – ambition, sexuality & the performing arts
Nuggets
20.4.14
– Easter – the New has entered into the Old, NOW! And one day soon, the Old will completely pass away and be replaced by the New……
Therefore, rejoice, praise & celebrate!
– Prostitution & the Eucharist!
– …the Living IS among the dead – Alleluiah!
BLESSED EASTER, folks
– Mrs. Esther Frederick
She expired.
She died.
She passed away.
She is no more.
She is with the Lord.
She has gone to Heaven……
Vignettes
19.4.14
– The cruelty of apathy!
– What is necessary (for survival) is automatically important (for life), right?
– Distinguish:
Ordinary
&
Boring
– Is theology a second-rate option for those who lack the immediate experience of GOD’s glory (presence & power)??
– Imagine a fellowship where people of diverse occupations live together in harmony, simplicity & generosity. And all goods & services could be freely shared based on need.
E.g. The farmer could produce & distribute food to others according to their need. The doctor could provide health-care, etc. So they mutually satisfy each other.
No money would be required in any step of this process, because of the radical inter-dependence of the members! Each person’s needs is met by the others in the commonwealth society……
– Contemporary/ postmodern theologians
– “Toward a Theology of Eros – transforming sexuality at the limits of discipline”
– “The Crucified God”
– “Our Idea of God: An Introduction to Philosophical Theology”
– “Rethinking Fundamental Theology”
– Liberal/progressive/ revisionary theology
– Constructive theology
– Event-word-response
– History, politics & revelation
– Nature
Vs.
Will
Vs.
Desire
– Conversation, discussion & debate
– The negation of the obviously negative is the only positive that is clear!
– Religion, philosophy & science
– Israel/Apostle’s religious experience + their understanding/articulation » biblical theology.
My interpretation of Scripture in the light of my experience (& vice versa) » my theology!
– So HOW can I now rebuke those who ‘abuse’ divine revelation for their own selfish gain??
– Christogram
Rantings
17.4.14
– The Messiah complex:
J.K
&
J.C
– Stripping of the altar
– Remember His death,
Proclaim His resurrection,
Expect His return.
– The greatest, & only sins are:
Pettiness, laziness & anxiety
– Aspiration
Vs.
Ambition
– The church (‘the religious’) is the priest of the world!
– The institution of the priesthood is accompanied by the ritual of feet-washing.
– Apostolic succession, ecclesiastical hierarchy & Christian mission
– Rom.14:17
“Take, eat!”
“Take, drink!”
– Jn.13:7,12b
– Authority
&
Sacrifice
Responsibility
&
Service
– The high Calling of consuming Him together, & thereby offering ourselves to GOD by laying down our lives for each other, in the Body!
– Ministry = love + truth + program!
– “Denying & betraying the One we follow is part of the whole process, bro! So we cannot avoid failure (the Cross).
Only a disciple can deny or betray! All others are not even in the game He is playing……”
– en.bookfi.org
WOW!
Pensees
16.4.14
– Controlling, demanding & threatening each other…
– TT – alternate block with top-spin (forehand), otherwise you will unnecessarily tire yourself out by hitting heavy top-spin shots continuously during practice…
– I should have waited for at least 2 days (48 hours) after blood-donation, before any physical exertion. And I should never again combine watching with either fasting or rigorous exercise.
– Androgyny
– ‘Differently-abled’
‘Special needs’
– Planning Commission
– Judicial reform
– Manslaughter
– Calm, steady, clear
Vs.
Anxious, insecure, confused
– Attention, observation, awareness
– Distinguish:
Immediacy
&
Urgency
– The burden of survival » misery & despair!
– Uncertainty, loneliness & inadequacy
– I think I should attend church only on special occasions (holy days/festivals). Not on all alternate Sundays as I do now!
– Being, time & thought
– Choiceless consciousness!
– Education – how do we raise healthy & responsible children?
– Dying & living » living & dying » dying & living!
– Realizing freedom ~ discovering life!
– Docudrama
– J. Krishnamurthi videos:
The Challenge of Change
Total Freedom
– Unlearn & relearn:
How to breathe?
How to walk?
How to talk?
How to think?
How to see?
– Is it possible to live without money?!
– Commune
Clan
Cult
Tripper
Sesshin
Pygmalion
“I-thou” & “All-is-one”
Myth, ritual & bliss
Sunyata
Samadhi
News
15.4.14
Zen Effects – Allan Watts biography
‘Aware unself-consciousness’
Crypto-currencies + crowd-funding!
The Statue of Responsibility Project
‘Paradime shift’
Mock modesty, studied objectivity, cautious opinion…
From dour Puritan to joyful pagan!
Alimony
The Beats
Fuck ministry, Joe! Just live……
Pederasty
Dollar
Gyzym
Shrew
Hung jury
Poverty, religious community & liberated sexuality
Vs.
Consumerism, family & careerism
Suburban bourgeoisie
Lugubrious
Spiritual showman
I Ching
Exotic, esoteric & sensual spiritualities!
But do they make you selfish, lazy & stupid?
That is a feminine trait (sentimental attachment), nothing ‘childish’ about it…
Just let her be!
Insanity, ecstasy & liberation!
Is the New Age spirituality just another ‘opium of the masses’, like Hollywood showbiz, that numbs & blinds them to the structural evils & cultural diseases under/within which they exist?
This is why we still need (Christian) theological ethics!
Experimental, FOREVER!
If we are to be dynamic, radical, audacious, committed & ecumenical, then we will also be erratic, immature, spontaneous, incoherent & unsettled…
HALLELUJAH, AMEN.
The Great Command – you must be in awe of Life itself, before you can love anyone (including yourself) rightly!
Baptism: Clot & ice + FIRE = blood & water!
Conscious labour & intentional suffering
The pain of loneliness is far more preferable than the burden of a stagnant & stale relational arrangement!
The enemy (of the spirit) is NOT the body, but the mind!
Being there when push comes to shove is more important than being regular to the periodic meetings…
Sensual pleasure & spiritual liberation
Iridescent
The wisdom of health!
Beauty >> wonder >> joy!
Self – the quaking, messy vortex of this isolated, fearful, repressed & defensive bag-of-skin!
Blither
Wheedle
Impish
Naughty, mischievous, funny, risqué
When the other does what pleases you, out of their own accord, even without you asking or telling, then the joy that comes from that kind of love is incomparable. It is far superior to the other person responding to your request by sacrificing what they actually want!
Isn’t this true of any intimate relationship – spiritual or social?
– Can you have intimacy, commitment & belonging, without possessiveness, jealousy & manipulation?
– Maybe all formal programs – not only the church worship service, but also the small group meetings – should be radically modified to sustain & promote spiritual growth in this new, ever-changing context!
Fixed group meetings should not be the only modality of fellowship & ministry. Appointments for individual counseling, telecommunication, etc. should also be used often. Strategy should be more flexible & relevant.
– Love – what one does for the other should be done freely & voluntarily, not out of fear or obligation. And what one expects of the other should be expressed gently without any notion of demanding or compelling.
– Druid
– Christian legends
– “I want to nurture you like a flower… And then enjoy watching you bloom & blossom gloriously, in every way, my baby! :-* ”
– This room is my temple, my laboratory, my playground!
Immanuel Joseph's Blog 