Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose. --Janis Joplin
Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning how to dance in the rain. --Anonymous
The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays. --Søren Kierkegaard
That which is now called the Christian religion existed among the ancients, and has never failed from the beginning of the human race, until Christ came in the flesh, whence the true religion, which was already in existence, began to be called Christian. --Augustine Retractiones 1:13
It is said that men may not be the dreams of the gods, but rather that the the gods are the dreams of men. --Carl Sagan, Cosmos (1980), p 258.
The purpose of Buddhism is the cessation of all suffering. This suffering comes as a result of wrong perceptions or misunderstandings. Meditation, the practice of looking deeply, removes wrong perceptions and frees us from all suffering.
--Thich Nhat Hanh
I have gathered a posie of other men's flowers, and nothing but the string that binds them is mine own. --Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1553-1592)
Who laid [the earth's] cornerstone when all the stars of the morning were singing with joy, and the Sons of God in chorus were chanting praise?... Which is the way to the home of the light, and where does darkness live?... Who carves a channel for the downpour, and hacks a way for rolling thunder? What womb brings forth the ice, and gives birth to the frost of heaven...? Whose skill details every cloud and tilts the flasks of heaven...? Who makes provision for the raven when his squabs cry out to God and crane their necks in hunger? --Job 38:6-7,19,25,29,37,41
Maran is a title for exceptionally respected rabbis. The term is more prevalent among Sephardi Jews, but is also widely used by Ashkenazi Haredi Jews. It is an Aramaic word used frequently in the Talmud which means “our master.” Most often, as the translation indicates, it is given to rabbis who are considered influential teachers and leaders.
Jesus was a Jew. He was regarded as a great rabbi or teacher of Judaism. Christianity was not invented until after his death.
Aramaic was certainly the only language Jesus knew. The word Maran is a possessive noun meaning “master,” and atha a perfect or preterite verb meaning “has come.” Maran atha was a credal expression: “The master has come,” and is found in the biblical books of Romans 10:9 and 1 Corinthians 12:3.
The universe is a beautiful, intricate, complex place, the foundations of which are a Mystery. The “whole truth” is too large, and our minds, knowledge and intuitions are too small to grasp it all. Therefore, we cherish and learn from diversity. If the Universe can be said to have a purpose, its purpose is for us, not against us, and it is for, not against, us all. Given how little we can know for sure, our focus should be on this earth and life: beauty, justice, love. We claim the rational, reject that which is contrary to reason, and question that which is neither provable nor disprovable by reason alone.
One of the wildest aspects of mystical Christian thought lies in the simple truth that God is everywhere. And if God is in fact everywhere, then God is in all things, and all things are in God. As mystical theologian Matthew Fox writes: “As the ocean is in the fish and the fish are in God, so God is in everything and everything is in God.” Theologians call this Biblical position “panENtheism,” meaning literally, “all in God.” Panentheism is distinguished from pantheism, which maintains that God is all, and all is God. Panentheism is not yet in most dictionaries, but with Google listing over 8500 pages with the word, perhaps its time has come!
The beautiful prayer of St. Patrick, popularly known as “St. Patrick’s Breast-Plate”, is supposed to have been composed by him in preparation for this victory over Paganism. The following is a literal translation from the old Irish text:
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.
I bind to myself today
God’s Power to guide me,
God’s Might to uphold me,
God’s Wisdom to teach me,
God’s Eye to watch over me,
God’s Ear to hear me,
God’s Word to give me speech,
God’s Hand to guide me,
God’s Way to lie before me,
God’s Shield to shelter me,
God’s Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.
I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.
Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the stern deck,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
Emile Coué (1857-1926), a French psychologist and pharmacist, was known for his theories about the healing power of “conscious autosuggestion” or self-hypnosis, also called Couéism or the Coué method.
Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better. Tous les jours, a tous points de vue, je vais de mieux en mieux.
This famous line was inscribed on the wall of Coué’s sanitarium in Nancy, France in 1910 and promoted in his books, such as De la suggestion et de ses application (On Suggestion and its Applications), published in 1915. He claimed that people with mental or physical problems could be cured by saying it to themselves 15 to 20 times every day.
I saw behind me those who had gone, and before me those who are to come, I looked back and saw my father, and his father, and all our fathers, and in front to see my son, and his son, and the sons upon sons beyond.
And their eyes were my eyes.
As I felt, so they had felt and were to feel, as then, so now, as tomorrow and forever. Then I was not afraid, for I was in a long line that had no beginning and no end, and the hand of his father grasped my father’s hand, and his hand was in mine, and my unborn son took my right hand, and all, up and down the line that stretched from Time That Was to Time That Is, and Is Not Yet, raised their hands to show the link, and we found that we were one, born of Woman, Son of Man, made in the Image, fashioned in the Womb by the Will of God, the Eternal Father.
John Shelby Spong, retired Episcopal bishop from Newark, New Jersey, talks about why Christianity must change its view of hell. Spong is one of the leading spokepersons for liberal Christianity.
The one thing that bugged me about this line is that I don’t really think of God as being “up” in a directional sense. But when you look “up” in your heart, you ultimately conclude God…at least I do.
”I look down and see my dog.”
I hope that the first two lines of the song convey that people are in the middle, between two kinds of sincere devotion.
Since God is the ground of being, he is the ground of the structure of being. He is not subject to this structure; the structure is grounded in him. He is this structure, and it is impossible to speak about him except in terms of this structure. God must be approached cognitively through the structural elements of being itself. These elements make him a living God, a God who can be man’s concrete concern. They enable us to use symbols which are certain to point to the ground of reality.
–Paul Johannes Tillich, Systematic Theology, p. 238.
