26.3.14
Marquee
Hauteur
Jackanapes
Fussing
Impassive
Simper
Parasol
Chummy
Blotch
Titter
Debark
Paterfamilias
Factitious
Knoll
Mound
Dalcroze
Lacquer
“Fleurs du mal”
Impertinent
Category: Study Notes
Words
25.3.14
– Renaming ‘lust’ – whatever happened to ‘passion’?!
– “Aankhon Dekhi”
Flying or falling?
Philosophy – the contemplation of freedom in the light of death, & vice versa.
Finitude & creativity
Imagination & inquiry
NOT afraid to make a fool of myself!
Bringing that something extra-special – a vital nuisance – to those I live with!
Being consistent, no matter what the cost……
– “The Third Testament for the Third Millennium.”
– naff
– “lobbyist briefings dressed up as scientific research”
– Detritus
– Conviction without certainty
– Re-enchantment without supernaturalism
– Empathy & rage
– Desire without cruelty can never be called ‘lust’!
– Inter-religious theology
Wow! 🙂
– Interlopers
– Subtext
– Parvenu
– Authoritative commentary
Expository explanation
– Dharma – cosmic, moral & social order
– Hymns, proverbs & parables to doctrine, philosophy & ethics
– Metaphysical ~ spiritual ~ divine
– ALL revelation is both natural & supernatural!
– Karma (ritual), jnana (knowledge) & dharma (morality)
– Cosmos, matter & consciousness
Self, man & GOD
– Dvaita, Visishtadvaita & Advaita
– Indenture
– Exposé
– Fructuous
– Riposte
– Space law
– Warrior-saint
– Logophilia
Post-liberal, post-evangelical, post-theist, post-Christian, post-secular – can I be all at once?!
Realism/crisis & idealism/irony
Free, open-ended enquiry, autonomous value judgments & openness to divergent views
Contemporary credibility
Meaning + purpose = value
Ultimate orientation
Nihilism is ALSO a way of making sense of things!
The interaction of religion, culture & personality in (dynamically influencing & determining) one’s faith is fascinating!
Philosophy is basically our attempt to face & cope with the contradictions (intellectual), tensions (existential) & conflicts (relational) common to the human condition. And theology is doing this with reference to a transcendental/eternal/ultimate framework…
Self-centredness & the impersonal universe
Intentionality, improvisation & inter-dependence
Green governance
Environmental rights
Scribbles
24.3.14
Moving from the permissible to the possible!
Grace – order & freedom, openness & diversity!
The theological virtue of fuzziness
Liberal – modest, generous & progressive; inclusive, dialectic & existential (empirical, rational & contextual)
Apostles of political correctness
Liberal orthodoxy
Certainty >> arrogance
Fear >> aggression
The Creator is also the destroyer,
The Redeemer is also the ruler,
And the Sustainer is also the reviver.
GOD creates,
Man innovates, repairs & develops…
Celtic Christianity & revivalist hymns
Liberal, secular & humanistic Christianity
Etiolation
Haulm
Limpid ~ luculent
Recondite ~ abstruse
Revision, reconstruction & emancipation
“Reaping the whirlwind”
Postmodern Neo-orthodoxy
Axiology
Liberal, progressive & constructive
Vs.
Orthodox, conservative & systematic
Reflective, imaginative & relevant faith
Existence, faith & values
Unitarianism
“In the love of truth, and in the spirit of Jesus, we unite for worship of God and the service of man.”
Internal authority – reason, conscience & intuition
Transcendentalism
Realism, historicism & pragmatism
Industrialisation, capitalism & globalisation
The discourse of experience & tradition
Liberal ~ reformist; Liberation ~ revolutionary
Not radical enough?
Fundamentalism, evangelicalism & confessionalism
Post-theistic religious/mystical naturalists
Relativity & relationality
Wholeness & flourishing
Experiences
19.3.14
– Dr. Brooke Magnanti
– I think he was tempted/attracted by my New Theology, & fearing that he would succumb, he fled the scene in haste! 😉 Mmm… Looks like it…
– Divine Women on BBC
– elide elision
20.3.14
– Buddhist hedonists (Tantra) & Hindu materialists (Charvaka)!
– Erotic philosophy, sexual psychology & sensual spirituality
– “The human spirit is prey to the most astounding impulses. Man goes constantly in fear of himself. His (erotic) urges terrify him. The saint turns from the voluptuary in alarm; she does not know that his unacknowledgeable passions and her own are really one…” – George Bataille
– Rhetoric & reality
Intuition & argument
– The New (understanding of the eternal) Law:
1. Be reverent – toward GOD/spirit (Life/truth/world).
2. Be self-aware (not acting out of identity-vocational unconsciousness).
3. Be thoughtful (not acting out of sheer impulse).
4. Be loving – respect & care for the other.
5. Be responsible – concern for justice (includes planet & social-cultural welfare).
– ‘Random acts of kindness’
‘Pay it forward’
– ‘Corporate slavery’
‘Brain-drain’
– Break the blinders & shackles, to recapture the energy & wonder!
– Private, personal & public
– Do not let the ego (will) act by itself, or to be taken over, either by the id (desire) or by the superego (faith). But let the ego express the outcome of a dynamic interaction of the id & superego, moderated by reason!
– Purpose is nothing but focused passion (self-expression) & clarified burden (world-response)!
– Sea-change
Seismic shift
Vertical panorama!
– Distinguish:
Productive
&
Fruitful
– Redefining chastity
– Distinguish:
Communitarian
&
Communist
– Collectivism
– “I shouldn’t give up” » “I must go on” » “I keep pushing myself” » “I am so tired” » “I want to give up” » shut-down/freak out » “I can’t give up!” » “I must go back & keep on” » restart!
– Korazin & Bethsaida
Vs.
Tyre & Sidon.
Capernaum
Vs.
Sodom
– Seasonal – during summer, close the windows & curtains in the day and open them at night. During winter, open the curtains & windows in the day, & close them at night.
– Could death be a man’s greatest achievement?!
– “WHAT is written in the Law?” he (Jesus) replied. “HOW do YOU read it?”
– If you lived in faith & love, then you can die peacefully, as you joyfully look forward to a glorious future!
– “And who is my neighbour?”
– “The religious leaders (chief priests & experts in the law) stood up to test Jesus.”
– “Go & do likewise” – pay it forward!
Glory » Grace
Grace » gratitude
Gratitude » generosity!
– Neighbour-ing!
– “Quickly” according to GOD means “surely” according to us.
– Holocaust – Did Hitler have a conscience? Did he feel any guilt or remorse at all?
– GOD in myself,
GOD in the other,
GOD in all nature &
GOD, beyond life & death!
– Scripture & Psychology ~ Theology & Interpretation
– “The one who CAN accept this SHOULD accept it.”
– Place his hands on them & pray for them.
Bless them & teach them.
Embrace them & heal them.
– HOW did the little children RECEIVE Jesus?
– Who knows/loves/has the REAL Jesus??
– Peter
Vs.
The rich young ruler
Who is more favored/rewarded by the Lord?
– Betrayed, accused, condemned & handed over!
– Bishops, theologians & lawyers stood up against Him!
– So what is YOUR version of the Gospel?
– Angels, demons & strange quirks!
– His voluntary slavery has become the ransom & atoning sacrifice, that has set me free from all bondage!
– The one who loves power/position is NOT fit to be a leader. And the one who loves to serve others is fit for holding authority.
– ……impoverishing & punishing ourselves so wantonly!!
We are all closet sado-masochists……
All beliefs that produce guilt, shame, hatred (of self & the other) & fear – FUCK them all!
“I like the word limits/control instead of lines/laws”
“WE set down the rules based on our (evolving) beliefs/values! GOD is the one who sets us free (from bondage to fear) to do it, enables us with courage & guides us with wisdom in this serious adventure & exciting challenge……”
“Spiritual childhood to adulthood!”
Notes
18.3.14
– “He who has a why to live for, can bear with almost any how.”
– Voluntary slavery is an oxymoron. So is involuntary freedom!
– The heat is on! Are you ready??
– Patriarchy, (women as) property & (prohibition against) covetousness.
– Nobody knows & understands me as well as me.
And nobody knows & understands you as well as you
Psychological hygiene
Libretto
“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.”
“Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfil the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”
Your destiny is what you make of your fate, & what your fate makes of you!
“The questions & tasks that form man’s destiny, are different and unique for each individual, and at each moment. Thus it is impossible to define the meaning of life in a general way. ”
Life = growing + suffering + dying
What meaning do I give to life?
Vs.
What meaning does life give to me?
The Gift of obligation! The threat of eternal consequences protects us from giving up even in the face of a meaningless, excruciating existence &/or death……
“The greatest courage is the courage to bear/endure (even embrace) suffering!”
Suffer-ing
Words from Nietzsche used for psychotherapy, in the concentration camp of a war fought by Hitler!
How does man seek, find & make meaning, when GOD seems to be anything but present?
“…they should keep their courage, in the certainty that the hopelessness of our struggle did not detract from its dignity and its meaning.”
“There are only 2 kinds of people in this world – the decent & the indecent. No group consists entirely of one or the other kind.”
“Life in a concentration camp tore open the human soul and exposed its depths.”
Pensees
13.3.14
– Alternative lifestyles – divine law, social order & individual freedom
– What can one gain (learn) by stripping life down to its bare essentials?
– Alyssa Siegel’s response to her father
– Human nature:
Total depravity
Vs.
Potential goodness
– Intrinsic motivation
Vs.
External locus of control
– Personal referents
Mythical signifiers
– Moral norms (social)
Vs.
Ethical convictions (personal)
– Emulate – moving from admiration to imitation.
– dulcet
– Jesus/Bible/Church
Vs.
Christ/Scripture/Spirit!
– BF
– Shanthuru Premkumar, Julie Goldberg & Chandran – Brussels.
Wow!
– Discernment » discretion
– I ridicule, condemn & curse the IPL (Cricket)!
– How can anyone live in lust or greed or anger or pride or cruelty??
– Pensees – my blog does not have articles which preach/say something, only vignettes which suggest/ask something!
Goads to provoke your soul…… launching pads for you to take-off on your own jumps, & points of departure for your own wanderings……
The dance of intersections & divergences!
– Desire-believe » feel-think » express-respond » belong-relate & build-repair!
– Blogging about blogging,
Movies about cinema,
Talking about communication…
– Words, images & impressions
– Light, texture & colour
– Observation & articulation » analysis & synthesis » evaluation & inferences » implications & application
– Advocating a message
Vs.
Insinuating a mood
Artful ~ subtle ~ indirect!
– Ingratiate with…
– Item numbers & comedy pieces
– Empowering women
&
Female-objectification
– Fucking socialites!
Culture » celebrity,
then
Celebrity » culture!
It’s a vicious circle…
– Love:
Passion
Vs.
Commitment
Studying a theology in its own religious, philosophical & cultural milieu
Martyrdom & atonement
Substitution ~ ransom
Mercy-seat, blood-sacrifice & forgiveness-cleansing
Dead works
Vs.
Vital worship
Pious frauds!
Demonic evil, cosmic catastrophe, divine victim & human redemption
Tenets – clear, coherent & concise – basic definitions, principles & instructions
Apologetics & accommodation
Adaptation & compromise
‘Devout reason’ & ‘Basic instincts’
Voluntarism & automatisation
State, church & school
Rational judgment & virtuous conduct
Spiritual knowledge, religious doctrine, virtuous character & practical reason
Anger, fear & grief always go hand-in-hand!
The value & danger of sensuality
No self-control, no justice
Equanimity ~ wisdom
Discipline, discernment & love (in that order!)
Reality, ideality & reflectivity
No passion/anger, no conviction/courage!
Faith vs. Impulse
Noble ~ honourable
The martyr, the tyrant & the land
4 Maccabees 1:11
“Jesus is Lord!”
Yes, but what does this mean & signify for us today? How do we understand its truth & seek to practice the implications of this belief?
Spirit/reason/mind OVER flesh/emotion/matter
From ruling factor to ordering principle!
Pleasure – love, joy, peace, faith (clarity/confidence), hope
Pain – anger/hatred, grief, fear/anxiety, confusion, despair
Where does doubt & wonder fit in here? Maybe they are just the 2 sides of the experience of Glory (which is greater than even Goodness, and transcends the dichotomy of good-&-evil!)……
How are virtue & vice related with the positive & negative emotions?
Gormandize
4 Maccabees 1:25
GOD is NOT good, he is great!
Rationality & affectivity
Personality & morality
Discourse ethics
“The jungle of emotions”
Mental desires & physical habits
Law/GOD, faith/spirit & will/mind
Yoga poses, emotions & benefits
Insecurity >> imbalance
Breathing, posture, balance & stretching
Destressing by concentrating (on your breath)!
News
11.3.14
Natural evil & moral evil
Devils
Books – “Understanding Spiritual Warfare” – Ed. James Beilby & Paul Eddy
Evangelicals ~ Puritans
Vs.
Charismatics ~ Quakers
Evil, the Cross & Christian theodicy
GOD – ruler or warrior or victim??
Pentecostal systematic theology!
“An und fur sich”
Essence & existence
12.3.14
– Freedom – define liberty, independence & autonomy
– Spiritual formation
Spiritual warfare
Spiritual direction
– The GOD of the fools
Vs.
The God of the wise
– “A dream like a dream” – Stan Lai
– inured
– An intelligentsia that fosters public opinion
– accost
– missus
Wifey
– kutcheri
– say-so
The final vote
– I didn’t know that ‘lovely’ referred to the character of a person, & ‘beautiful’ referred only to the appearance…
– Artisanal
– Cooper
– Hospitable ~ entertain
– Jedi & Yoda
– Immediacy
Vs.
Urgency
– Caste & class
Science & tradition
Religion & morality
– Developmentalism
– State, quality, act
– Intermediacy
– Article on Kangana Ranaut in India Today Woman
– Nandan Nilekani in politics
– A reliable, effective & replicable framework
– A comprehensive exploration of what agency actually means
– Secular-religious & spiritual-material – 50 shades of grey!
– Axiological, ontological & cosmological
– Value judgments & moral decisions
– Vindicated, but impoverished!
– Creativity & improvisation
– In-depth observation, systematic analysis & clear articulation
– Ethnography
– State actors
– Commentators, activists & bureaucrats
– Gramscian analysis
Cultural hegemony
Capitalist ideology
– Melange
– “Theater of the absurd”
Irrational, purposeless, chaotic!
– Wisden
– Maverick genre – ‘narrative non-fiction’
– Literati Clerisy
– Passionate about being laid-back!
– Withal
– Raconteur
– Postpositive
– Personal essay
– Nalanda University reborn… WOW! 🙂
– Satellite cities
Mini capitals
– Visit countries that are socialist & democratic
– Trademark dare-devilry
– ‘Mohalla sabha’
– Arvind Kejriwal – buffoon or genius??
– NaMo
NaBloPoMo
– Illicit dance
Jottings
9.3.14
Neither moralistic nor nihilistic!
Moral judgments & nonmoral evaluations
Obligation > supererogatory > permissible > prohibited
The intricate interweaving of psychology, morality & theology!
Internalized social norms
10.3.14
The tug-o-war in the present – Hope vs. Nostalgia
Regret, stagnation, & purpose
Obsession
Vs.
Escapism
Homonymy, homophone, homography
Christian-scholarly research on spirit-beings (angels & demons)!
The extra-human realm
“He is Lord, He is Lord…”:
Can you sing this song from your heart, now?
Spiritual beings or just supernatural forces? Or both?!
Lines
7.3.14
– International Conference on Persons.
– Computational theory of mind.
– Senescence
– Birth, growth, maturity, ageing & death.
– Counter-episteme
– The psycho-dynamics of faith
– The mass massacres & brutal judgments of the OT are there to remind us that GOD is absolutely free, & has the legitimate moral right to do with his creation (this world, & especially humans) as he pleases! And on the Cross, this very same GOD demonstrates his willingness to forego this divine prerogative.
– Austin Farrer
Michael Polanyi
– Homiletic verses
– Birkin & Ursula ~ Joseph & Salome!
– Dynamic equilibrium of passion & integrity.
– Merge culture club, online student-fellowship & webinar!
– Usiology
– The Gifford Lectures
– Axiology Cosmology
– Does the Created Order simply refer to the physical limits of our function or does it also include moral norms for our conduct?
– Natural Theology
– ‘Sensual arousal blog’ – shouldn’t I be ashamed?!
– Distinguish:
Impudence
&
Boldness
– I CAN know GOD!
– Insolvency
– Hostile takeover
– From selfism to personalism
– Transcendence + immanence = imminence!
– The patient application of sharp correction…
– The personalist metaphysic!
Words
7.3.14
Should we read something very heavy/dense together, & then & there struggle through it?
8.3.14
Thoughts on life, love & lust…
Philosophy, sexuality & relationships
Sex – intimacy, pleasure & reproduction
The unanticipated & surprising rewards of theorizing about anything & everything!
Seduction as ‘nonviolent rape’
Conceptual analysis (~ phenomenology, etc.)
Vs.
Normative philosophy (~ ethics, etc.)
Reflect
Vs.
Reflex
Impulse, desire & act
Uncontrollable, involuntary, wild, dangerous!
Fear >> delusion, anxiety, obsession & aggression
Coercive/manipulative/deceptive offers
Demonising >> divinising >> humanising sex!
Slink
Commitment – permanence, exclusivity & dignity
Seeking a morally virtuous (& sensually passionate?) sexuality
Intrinsic value
Vs.
Instrumental value
Russel Vannoy
Is it possible/desirable to be passionate (spiritual/psychological) without being sensual (physical/sexual)?
Irving Singer
Jean Hampton
Can anything that is nonviolent be (termed as) evil?
Distinguish:
Sin (religious/theological)
&
Immorality (social/personal)
Is there an innate (though latent/suppressed) animal dimension to human nature?
Supererogatory stuff
Immanuel Joseph's Blog 