Month: March 2015

Notes

11.3.15

– Start using dash before separate entries.

– Humans are naturally promiscuous, and possessive! But the promiscuity is more primitive (biological). Possessiveness seems to be a later evolutionary development (psychological) due to the introduction of monogamy (religious/cultural)…
Is morality nothing more than the by-product of the dynamic interaction of religion & culture?

– Psychologizing the Gospel
Politicizing the Gospel
Philosophizing the Gospel
Spiritualizing the Gospel
Naturalizing the Gospel
Culturalizing the Gospel
Socializing the Gospel
A robust & evolving Theology is necessary to help us do ALL these things with maximum faithfulness to the significance of the original revelation!

– Ministry for the sake of personal spiritual formation, instead of the other way around!

– Each age/culture is conducive for a certain type of person. This society is most unfavorable for me & my kind!

– Do all these (so-called) ministries have eternal value? Does mine?
“And he said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.’ ” – Luke 16:15
Can one also say that what is despicable in my society/church is eternally glorious?!
You are those who use religion to justify yourselves, but that is not going to change your ultimate destiny……

– Mary – the humanity of Jesus, the motherhood of GOD & the femininity of mankind (including me)!

– Spiritually, what is your category & caliber?

– What place do I have in GOD’s world?
What place does the Kingdom have in my life?

– How & why does religion become so ungodly/inhuman?!
– Is it wrong to (want to) be sexy?

– If the body is more than clothing, & life more than food, then is the pursuit of sexual pleasure better than the ambition to become rich?
How is lust different from, or similar to, gluttony?
In sexuality, virtue/utilitarian ethics functions better than deontological/legal ethics!

– Extensive justification for expanding the Torah through creative, radical reinterpretation!
Clarify & contemporize

– Bring him before GOD ~ bring him before the elders/priests/judges

– Exodus 31:14-15 – “It is holy for you” ~ “It is holy to the LORD.”

– Leviticus 25:42
For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.
In Christ, the inclusion of (non-Christian?) Gentiles in the prohibition of slavery!

– Chronologically, the story of Esther comes after Ezra-Nehemiah!

– Citizens – native & adopted

– Religious law, church dogma, theological understanding, spiritual wisdom

– Exodus 31:13
“You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.’ ”

– Knowledge –> skill –> virtue –> wisdom!

– Hyper-careful – over-reading of the Text!

– How is it like to be circumcised without anesthesia?!
Worshipping this God ALWAYS involves sacrifice, because he takes great delight in our sufferings for His sake!

– Heavenly drama
Canonical stories

– “Saved from Sacrifice: A Theology of the Cross” – Mark Heim
“We are not reconciled with God and each other by a sacrifice of innocent suffering offered to God. We are reconciled with God because God at the cost of suffering rescued us from bondage to a practice of violent sacrifice that otherwise would keep us estranged, making us enemies of the God who stands with our victims. We are reconciled with each other because, at the cost of suffering, God offered us an alternative to our ancient machinery of unity. So long as our peace depends on scapegoats, we are never truly reconciled with each other. We only appear to be one community until the next crisis, at which point the short straw of exclusion will be drawn by some one or more of us.”

– What could be more important than a good theology of atonement?

– I want a perfect body.
I want a perfect soul.
Can I get/have both?

– It is the lack of happiness that drives people in search of GOD/eternity/perfection……
So be it, for it is good!

– I must find a life-giving system, and become a slave to it. Then I shall be saved!

– I must urgently, seriously and radically reform my whole idea & practice of entertainment!
Sanctify the Sabbath!!!

– Praying
Vs.
Ogling

12.3.15

– “What’s broken is stronger when it mends!” – Joshua Radin
So now you know how one grows! Hmmm… You thought it would be less painful  😉

– I wanna get things done AND live in the moment,
I wanna attain perfection AND have fun,
I wanna be very disciplined AND be fully free,
I wanna be a master AND a slave,
I wanna be in control AND be swept away,
I wanna achieve greatness AND enjoy each day.
There is no other way to be saved, but to find out how one can do/have BOTH – now here is something worth dying, or rather living, for!
AMEN.

– Add burpees to my exercise regime

– Freak-out days:
Sunday
Tuesday
Thursday
Saturday
Working days:
Monday
Wednesday
Friday
Only 3 days a week working?!
Hmmm…… Just alternate days starting from Sunday  😉

Rules for freak-out days:
No meat-eating. Food moderate quantity. Ice-cream & chocolate allowed only on weekends (Saturday & Sunday). Porn only on alternate freak-out days (max. one session of 1 to 1 & half hours in 4 days). Do the time-bound (alarmed) chores only. Lenten abstinence to be observed. Otherwise you are absolutely free! Continue SFG meeting on every 4th Saturday, & church on every Sunday (St. Luke’s twice a month & AMC first week of every month), except the weekend of the SFG meeting.
A little work (urgent chores) might have to be done on freak-out days.

Rules for working days:
Only fruit diet. 1 hour rigorous exercise. 4 hours study. Wednesdays fasting with 15 min. exercise. Check calendar & do all chores. No afternoon nap. Ministry activities.
No entertainment or relaxation on working days.

Follow contemplative rhythm (Zen Habits) on all days!

A system that encourages spontaneity & nurtures creativity, but is also goal-oriented & character-forming!
But will this just make me more indulgent and selfish?? Well, I will have to try it & see what happens……
So no more one month annual vacation, right?
😉

– Start training in a sport, music or martial art

– Movies:
“The 36th Chamber of Shaolin”
Taking Theology out of the seminary, to equip & empower the laity! Otherwise the war is all but lost……

13.3.15

– Maybe I should just listen (more attentively & reverently) to my own body/emotions instead of being controlled & directed wholly by some artifical rule/system!

– The challenge of leisure & the problem of boredom

– What are the innumerable ways in which we hurt ourselves, others & the world, by “kicking against the goads”?
There is a way in which the drive to change & improve things can become a dreadful curse!
Why can’t we just let each other be??
What is really wrong with us is NOT our faults & defects, but the fucked up way in which we deal with this fallen reality……
REPENT
……NOW!
But HOW do we change this inborn/ingrained attitude??!

– When you play music as ‘background’ keep it at a much lower volume than when you are actually listening to it. Turn it off whenever you are thinking/reading/writing.

– Time to take charge (by letting go)!
READY?

– Sexuality = romance
Sex = marriage bed
Love = possession
Relationship = family
WOW! What a neat & sick fantasy……

– “So, Mr. Joseph, what do you do?”
When will I have the guts to say I do nothing. Or I just live. Or I observe, think & learn (and also share)? Or I explore & experiment spirituality (or the art of living)?
Who I am will always be more (& to a certain extent, even other!) than what I do.
Actually, ‘Christian ministry’ as my answer to the original question would be a lie/facade now! Am I bold to get & stay naked, in public?? Or would I rather not be myself than embarrass/offend others closely associated with me, or would I instead take the risk of exposing the emperor’s new clothes (contemporary social/cultural/religious/moral conceit & vanity) by stripping myself down first?!

– Tummy/belly – is it harder to be like G. K. Chesterton or to be like Bruce Lee?  😉
If I am all about being spiritually original/authentic, then why should I try to imitate someone else’s body alone?

– Reclamation of homo sapiens will be an arduous exercise in exhumation! Get on your masks, folks… We’re going deep down & far back……!

– “What I’ve felt,
What I’ve known
Never shined through in what I’ve shown.
Never be.
Never see.
Won’t see what might have been.

What I’ve felt,
What I’ve known
Never shined through in what I’ve shown.
Never free.
Never me.
So I dub thee unforgiven.”

– “Was he the one causing pain
With his careless dreaming?
Been afraid,
Always afraid
Of the things he’s feeling
He could just be gone.
He would just sail on,
He would just sail on…

How can I be lost?
If I’ve got nowhere to go?”

15.3.15

– “Bad writers tend to have the self-confidence, while the good ones tend to have self-doubt.”

– Movies:
“Thirst”
What about sexual vampirism??
He remains a ‘priest’ (devout Catholic) forever, irrespective of his will!
Contrast this intractable priesthood with the accidental fatherhood of “Flowers of War”…

“Ragamuffin”
What are the differences & similarities between St. Francis’ & Rich Mullins’ story?
Was Rich Mullins (or Brennan Manning) a ‘saint’?
What are the differences & similarities between Rich Mullins’ story & mine?

17.3.15

– Iconoclastic anarchist!

– Attack the sacred cow(s)…
But won’t that get you killed?!
Hmmm… even so, would that cure this people of their superstitions??

– Muslim: the Hindus are idol worshippers!
Hindu: the Muslims are cow slaughterers!

– Conservatives: the Liberals are immoral & proud intellectuals!
Liberals: the Conservatives are timid & childish folks!

– Exploration + experimentation = evolution!

– I am being torn between an idealism moderated by pragmatism, and a radical utopian vision that is both terrifying & irresistible!
What should I do??
Cost-benefit analysis
Vs.
The leap of faith

– Has this relationship reached its expiry date??
Nothing can last forever, right?
Isn’t change (including death) the essence of life itself?
It is often the hardest thing to throw away something that one cherishes (& strongly sanctioned/indoctrinated to revere), even when it has rotten……

– I am also torn between my flesh (desire for physical survival & social acceptance) and the spirit (the drive to sacrifice all for the sake of certain passions & values)!

– My dreams for the future
Vs.
Her pitiful predicament

– Do you remember the impassioned speech of the heroine at the deaddiction meeting in the movie “Nymphomaniac”?
Never forget it!  ;-l

– icon·o·clast:
noun
– : a person who criticizes or opposes beliefs and practices that are widely accepted
Full Definition
– 1  : a person who destroys religious images or opposes theirveneration
– 2  : a person who attacks settled beliefs or institutions
Examples
– notorious as an iconoclast, that music critic isn’t afraid to go after sacred cows
Origin: Medieval Latin iconoclastes, from Middle Greek eikonoklastēs,literally, image destroyer, from Greek eikono- + klan to break — more at clast.
First use: 1641
Synonyms: bohemian, boho, counterculturist, deviant, enfant terrible, free spirit, heretic, nonconformist, individualist, loner, lone ranger, lone wolf, maverick, nonconformer
Antonyms: conformer, conformist
a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs

Related Words freethinker; character, codger, crackbrain, crackpot, crank, eccentric, freak, kook, nut, oddball, screwball, weirdo; eight ball, misfit, outsider; aberrant, anomaly

Near Antonyms adherent, follower, supporter; sheep

– lib·er·tar·i·an:
noun
– : a person who believes that people should be allowed to do and say what they want without any interference from the government
Full Definition
– 1  : an advocate of the doctrine of free will
– 2 a  : a person who upholds the principles of individual liberty especially of thought and action
– b  capitalized  : a member of a political party advocating libertarian principles
– libertarian  adjective
– lib·er·tar·i·an·ism noun
First use: 1789

– ec·cen·tric:
adjective
– : tending to act in strange or unusual ways
– : strange or unusual
– : not following a perfectly circular path
Full Definition
– 1 a  : deviating from an established or usual pattern or style

– b  : deviating from conventional or accepted usage or conduct, especially in odd or whimsical ways

– 2 a  : deviating from a circular path; especially  : elliptical 1

– b  : located elsewhere than at the geometrical center; also  : having the axis or support so located

synonyms see strange

– ec·cen·tri·cal·ly \-tri-k(ə-)lē\  adverb

Origin: Middle English, from Medieval Latin eccentricus, from Greekekkentros, from ex out of + kentron center.

First use: circa 1630

Synonyms: bizarre, bizarro, cranky, crazy, curious, odd, erratic, far-out, funky, funny, kinky, kooky (also kookie), offbeat, off-kilter, off-the-wall, outlandish, out-of-the-way, outré, peculiar, quaint, queer, queerish, quirky, remarkable, rum [chiefly British], screwy, spaced-out, strange, wacky (also whacky), way-out, weird, weirdo, wild

Synonyms: character, codger, crack, crackbrain, crackpot, crank, flake, fruitcake, head case, kook, nut, nutcase, nutter [British slang], oddball, oddity, original, quiz, screwball, weirdo, zany, odd duck, piece of work

eccentric:
adjective
different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion

Related Words aberrant, abnormal, addlepated, flaky; extraordinary, fantastic (also fantastical), freak, freakish, freaky, phantasmagoric (or phantasmagorical), phenomenal; atypical, rare, singular, uncommon, uncustomary, unique, unusual, unwonted; conspicuous, notable, noticeable, outstanding, prominent, salient, striking; atrocious, outrageous, shocking; crotchety, idiosyncratic, nonconformist, nonmainstream, out-there, unconventional, unorthodox; baffling, bewildering, confounding, mystifying, perplexing, puzzling

Near Antonyms average, commonplace, everyday, garden, normal, ordinary, prosaic, routine, run-of-the-mill, standard, typical, unexceptional, unremarkable, usual, workaday; conformist, conservative, conventional; expected, familiar, knee-jerk, predictable; common, customary, frequent, habitual, regular, wonted

eccentric
noun
a person of odd or whimsical habits

Synonyms character, codger, crack, crackbrain, crackpot, crank, flake, fruitcake, head case, kook, nut, nutcase, nutter [British slang], oddball, oddity, original, quiz, screwball, weirdo, zany

Related Words bohemian, maverick, nonconformist, quixote; coot, geezer; curio, rarity; freak; fantast, fantastico

Phrases odd duck, piece of work

Near Antonyms conformer, conformist, follower, sheep

– an·ar·chist:
noun
– : a person who believes that government and laws are not necessary
Full Definition
– 1  : a person who rebels against any authority, established order, or ruling power
– 2  : a person who believes in, advocates, or promotes anarchism or anarchy; especially  : one who uses violent means to overthrow the established order
– anarchist or an·ar·chis·tic \ˌa-nər-ˈkis-tik, -(ˌ)när-\  adjective
First use: 1678

– mav·er·ick:
noun
– : a person who refuses to follow the customs or rules of a group
Full Definition
– 1  : an unbranded range animal; especially  : a motherless calf
– 2  : an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party
Origin: Samuel A. Maverick †1870 American pioneer who did not brand his calves.
First use: 1867
Synonyms: dissentient, dissenting, dissident, heterodox, iconoclastic, heretical, nonconformist, nonorthodox, out-there, unconventional, unorthodox
Antonyms: conforming, conformist, conventional, orthodox
Synonyms: bohemian, boho, counterculturist, deviant, enfant terrible, free spirit, heretic, iconoclast, individualist, loner, lone ranger, lone wolf, nonconformist, nonconformer
Antonyms: conformer, conformist

maverick:
adjective
deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices

Synonyms dissentient, dissenting, dissident, heterodox, iconoclastic, heretical, nonconformist, nonorthodox, out-there, unconventional, unorthodox

Related Words free-spirited, freethinking, nontraditional; apostate, defecting, renegade; schismatic (also schismatical), sectarian, separatist

Antonyms conforming, conformist, conventional, orthodox

2maverick

noun

a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs

Synonyms bohemian, boho, counterculturist, deviant, enfant terrible, free spirit, heretic, iconoclast, individualist, loner, lone ranger, lone wolf, nonconformist, nonconformer

Related Words freethinker; character, codger, crackbrain, crackpot, crank, eccentric, freak, kook, nut, oddball, screwball, weirdo; eight ball, misfit, outsider; aberrant, anomaly

Near Antonyms adherent, follower, supporter; sheep

Antonyms conformer, conformist

– Is there a difference between love & pity?
Is compassion different from affection?

– “Peace be with you,
Your peace I take (not) away from you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, but be of good cheer!
It is good that I go away, for if I leave, then (…… the subversive memory)”

– What (kind of) ministry is someone like me supposed to do among a people like this??
Are you willing to risk or sacrifice your marriage, family & ministry for the sake of these (new) views/beliefs?! Is it worth the (high) price??