(Originally Written April 18, 2008 in the Journal)
Forgive me Father for I am sin. Teach me to love my wife as Christ loves the Church. Teach me to be upright and steadfast. Remove the blemishes from my soul. Strengthen me for the life you wish me to lead. Fill me with your love so that I may love as you love.
Notes on Exodus
Exodus 22:1-5 Laws concerning thieves and fire
Exodus 22:6-14 Laws concerning loans
Exodus 22:15-30 Societal Laws
Exodus 23:1 Do not repeat a false report
Exodus 23:1-9 These are moral and legal obligations
Exodus 23:10-19 Religious Purity Laws
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Brief Notes on Exodus 12-21
(Originally Written April 17, 2008 in the Journal)
Why do you test me so severely Lord? I feel as though I can struggle no further. This hurt, this pain is too much. Where is your easy yoke? But, I will praise you nonetheless and evermore.
There are 4 elements of Scripture:
1. Literal - What Happened
2. Allegorical - A Hidden Theological Meaning
3. Analagoical - Heavenly Scene
4. Moral/Tropological - Significance for Individual Behavior
Notes on Exodus:
Chapter 12
There will be no eating of leavened bread during Passover. The penalty for infractions is to be cut off from Israel.
Passover Regulations:
1. No foreigner may partake of it
2. Slaves may partake if they have been bought and circumcised.
3. You cannot take the flesh outside.
4. You cannot break the lamb's bones.
5. The whole community must partake.
6. If foreigners wish to participate they must be circumcised
Chapter 13
The first born is to be consecrated to God because he belongs to God.
Chapter 14
14:14 "The Lord himself will fight for you; you only have to keep still" (New American Bible).
Chapter 20: The Ten Commandments
1. You shall have no gods before me
2. You shall have no idols
3. You shall not take the Lord's name in vain
4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy
5. Honor your father and mother
6. You shall not kill
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not bear false witness
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's possessions
Do not make anything equal to God (Exodus 20:23)
Exodus 21:1-11 Laws concerning slavery
Exodus 21:12-32 Punitive laws concerning bodily harm
Exodus 21:33-37 Punitive laws concerning property
Why do you test me so severely Lord? I feel as though I can struggle no further. This hurt, this pain is too much. Where is your easy yoke? But, I will praise you nonetheless and evermore.
There are 4 elements of Scripture:
1. Literal - What Happened
2. Allegorical - A Hidden Theological Meaning
3. Analagoical - Heavenly Scene
4. Moral/Tropological - Significance for Individual Behavior
Notes on Exodus:
Chapter 12
There will be no eating of leavened bread during Passover. The penalty for infractions is to be cut off from Israel.
Passover Regulations:
1. No foreigner may partake of it
2. Slaves may partake if they have been bought and circumcised.
3. You cannot take the flesh outside.
4. You cannot break the lamb's bones.
5. The whole community must partake.
6. If foreigners wish to participate they must be circumcised
Chapter 13
The first born is to be consecrated to God because he belongs to God.
Chapter 14
14:14 "The Lord himself will fight for you; you only have to keep still" (New American Bible).
Chapter 20: The Ten Commandments
1. You shall have no gods before me
2. You shall have no idols
3. You shall not take the Lord's name in vain
4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy
5. Honor your father and mother
6. You shall not kill
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not bear false witness
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's possessions
Do not make anything equal to God (Exodus 20:23)
Exodus 21:1-11 Laws concerning slavery
Exodus 21:12-32 Punitive laws concerning bodily harm
Exodus 21:33-37 Punitive laws concerning property
Friday, March 7, 2008
Notes on Tolstoy, What is Art? Ch. 16 (B)
(Originally Written March 7, 2008 in the Journal)
What is Art?
Leo Tolstoy
Chapter 16
History has shown that only religion has aided in the progress of humanity.
"The great evil is not that men do not know God, but they have set up instead of God, that which is not God" (Maude, 235). So it is with art today.
"Christian perception gave another, a new direction to all human feelings, and therefore completely altered both the content and significance of art" (Maude, 237).
"The essence of the Christian perception consists in the recognition by every man of his sonship to God and of the consequent union of men with God and with one another" (Maude, 238).
True art has the characteristic of uniting all men, not just a few. Non-Christian art may unite a few people, but in uniting those few they divide them from the many. Patriotic art is a prime example of this. Church art is another example. Good Christian art must transmit a feeling to all men regardless of their demographics.
Only two feelings unite all men:
1. Feeling stemming from the universal sonship of God and universal brotherhood.
2. Feelings of common life accessible to all men.
Only two objects for art can be considered good:
1. That which flows from love of God and the relationship of God to man and man to man.
2. That which flows from the most basic feelings felt by every human being.
The first is religious art; the second is universal art.
Religious art is manifested best in words, but can also be manifested in sculpture and painting. Universal art is best manifested in music, but can be manifested in dance, architecture, words, painting and sculpture as well.
The overburdening of the viewer with details of the producer blocks the transmission of feelings. The simpler, the better. In true art, feelings are expressed without superfluous extras.
The more detailed a story becomes, the more provincial it becomes and thus, the less universal it is.
In music, the melody is accessible to every one, but when extremely complex harmonies are added, the melody is lost and the piece loses universality.
Whether I like a thing or not, if it fails to be religious or universal art, I must consider it bad art. Only by judging first if a work transmits feelings or not and then deciding whether the thing unites or divides people can we decide if the work is real or counterfeit and if it is real, we can then decide if it is good or bad.
Art is spiritual food.
What is Art?
Leo Tolstoy
Chapter 16
History has shown that only religion has aided in the progress of humanity.
"The great evil is not that men do not know God, but they have set up instead of God, that which is not God" (Maude, 235). So it is with art today.
"Christian perception gave another, a new direction to all human feelings, and therefore completely altered both the content and significance of art" (Maude, 237).
"The essence of the Christian perception consists in the recognition by every man of his sonship to God and of the consequent union of men with God and with one another" (Maude, 238).
True art has the characteristic of uniting all men, not just a few. Non-Christian art may unite a few people, but in uniting those few they divide them from the many. Patriotic art is a prime example of this. Church art is another example. Good Christian art must transmit a feeling to all men regardless of their demographics.
Only two feelings unite all men:
1. Feeling stemming from the universal sonship of God and universal brotherhood.
2. Feelings of common life accessible to all men.
Only two objects for art can be considered good:
1. That which flows from love of God and the relationship of God to man and man to man.
2. That which flows from the most basic feelings felt by every human being.
The first is religious art; the second is universal art.
Religious art is manifested best in words, but can also be manifested in sculpture and painting. Universal art is best manifested in music, but can be manifested in dance, architecture, words, painting and sculpture as well.
The overburdening of the viewer with details of the producer blocks the transmission of feelings. The simpler, the better. In true art, feelings are expressed without superfluous extras.
The more detailed a story becomes, the more provincial it becomes and thus, the less universal it is.
In music, the melody is accessible to every one, but when extremely complex harmonies are added, the melody is lost and the piece loses universality.
Whether I like a thing or not, if it fails to be religious or universal art, I must consider it bad art. Only by judging first if a work transmits feelings or not and then deciding whether the thing unites or divides people can we decide if the work is real or counterfeit and if it is real, we can then decide if it is good or bad.
Art is spiritual food.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Notes on Tolstoy, What is Art? Chapter 12
(Originally Written Mar. 3, 2008 in the Journal)
What is Art?
Leo Tolstoy
Chapter 12
Three things cooperate to cause the production of counterfeit art:
1. The professionalism of the artist for hire
2. Art criticism
3. Schools of art
When art became a profession it was due to the upper classes' obsession with art for their pleasure. In art becoming a profession the most fundamental quality of art was lost, its sincerity.
Art criticism has also led to counterfeit art because criticism is being done by perverted individuals. The critics claim it is their job to explain art, but if an artist produces a true work of art, he transmits his feelings to others. Therefore, what is there left to explain?
An artist's work is not open for interpretation.
The artist would choose to express his feelings with words if he could, but he could not. Therefore, he expressed it with art.
Universal art has a definite and indubitable criterion - religious perception. Because the upper classes lack this they must search for some external criterion for art and thus, critics exist. Universal art needs no interpretation and thus, no critics.
Art schools are also harmful. How can one teach one how to transmit a unique feeling? These schools teach how to transmit feelings of other artists' experience. The teach how to counterfeit.
"Infection is only obtained when an artist finds those infinitely minute degrees of which a work consists, and only to the extent to which he finds them" (Maude, 201). These degrees of minuteness are only found when a man yields to his feelings. They cannot be taught to be found.
Schools may teach what is necessary to produce something resembling art, but not art itself. The teaching at schools stops exactly where art begins.
These three things, the making of art into a profession, art criticism and art schools have made most people unable to understand what is art by forcing them to become accustomed to counterfeits.
What is Art?
Leo Tolstoy
Chapter 12
Three things cooperate to cause the production of counterfeit art:
1. The professionalism of the artist for hire
2. Art criticism
3. Schools of art
When art became a profession it was due to the upper classes' obsession with art for their pleasure. In art becoming a profession the most fundamental quality of art was lost, its sincerity.
Art criticism has also led to counterfeit art because criticism is being done by perverted individuals. The critics claim it is their job to explain art, but if an artist produces a true work of art, he transmits his feelings to others. Therefore, what is there left to explain?
An artist's work is not open for interpretation.
The artist would choose to express his feelings with words if he could, but he could not. Therefore, he expressed it with art.
Universal art has a definite and indubitable criterion - religious perception. Because the upper classes lack this they must search for some external criterion for art and thus, critics exist. Universal art needs no interpretation and thus, no critics.
Art schools are also harmful. How can one teach one how to transmit a unique feeling? These schools teach how to transmit feelings of other artists' experience. The teach how to counterfeit.
"Infection is only obtained when an artist finds those infinitely minute degrees of which a work consists, and only to the extent to which he finds them" (Maude, 201). These degrees of minuteness are only found when a man yields to his feelings. They cannot be taught to be found.
Schools may teach what is necessary to produce something resembling art, but not art itself. The teaching at schools stops exactly where art begins.
These three things, the making of art into a profession, art criticism and art schools have made most people unable to understand what is art by forcing them to become accustomed to counterfeits.
A Poem on Pain
(Originally Written March 3, 2008 in the Journal)
Pain is like the grains of sand,
It is immeasurable and seemingly endless.
Life is like walking along the shore,
A vast barrier after the ocean blocks you
And you must continue to drudge through the soul.
But every now and then you happen upon a lost coin
Or some other treasure.
This is joy and it sustains you.
It makes the sand bearable.
I sit now though, wondering if the treasure is worth the sand?
Pain is like the grains of sand,
It is immeasurable and seemingly endless.
Life is like walking along the shore,
A vast barrier after the ocean blocks you
And you must continue to drudge through the soul.
But every now and then you happen upon a lost coin
Or some other treasure.
This is joy and it sustains you.
It makes the sand bearable.
I sit now though, wondering if the treasure is worth the sand?
Notes on Tolstoy, What is Art? Chapter 16 (A)
(Originally Written Mar. 3, 2008 in the Journal)
What is Art?
Leo Tolstoy
Chapter 16
Art, like speech is a mode of communication and therefore, of progress.
The evolution of knowledge is done through speech; the evolution of feelings is done through art.
The determining factor of whether a feeling is good or bad (more or less necessary) is determined by the religious perception of the age.
Tolstoy states progress is had by every generation or at least is possible by every generation. But, what if it is reversed? What if every generation is worse than the previous? Does that not make art even more important tomorrow then it is today?
While it may be claimed that there is no religious perception in this age that does not negate its existence. In fact we may even wish not to see it because it may expose that our lives are not consistent with it.
What is Art?
Leo Tolstoy
Chapter 16
Art, like speech is a mode of communication and therefore, of progress.
The evolution of knowledge is done through speech; the evolution of feelings is done through art.
The determining factor of whether a feeling is good or bad (more or less necessary) is determined by the religious perception of the age.
Tolstoy states progress is had by every generation or at least is possible by every generation. But, what if it is reversed? What if every generation is worse than the previous? Does that not make art even more important tomorrow then it is today?
While it may be claimed that there is no religious perception in this age that does not negate its existence. In fact we may even wish not to see it because it may expose that our lives are not consistent with it.
Notes on Tolstoy, What is Art? Chapter 15
(Originally Written Mar. 3, 2008 in the Journal)
What is Art?
Leo Tolstoy
Chapter 15
The way to separate art from counterfeit is to consider its infectiousness. True art infects; counterfeit art does not. If a work does not create a union between the producer and the audience then it is not art. Art, true art, destroys the separation and isolation of one's own personality and unites men under one feeling.
The degree of infectiousness is the measure by which we judge good art. The stronger the infection the better the art is. The degree of infectiousness depends on three things. First, the feeling that is transmitted. Second, the clearness of the transmission. And, third, the sincerity of the artist. The third is the most important to how infectious a piece will be. The absence of any one of these conditions precludes a work from being art. This is how art is judged regardless of its subject matter, regardless of whether the feeling transmitted is good or bad.
What is Art?
Leo Tolstoy
Chapter 15
The way to separate art from counterfeit is to consider its infectiousness. True art infects; counterfeit art does not. If a work does not create a union between the producer and the audience then it is not art. Art, true art, destroys the separation and isolation of one's own personality and unites men under one feeling.
The degree of infectiousness is the measure by which we judge good art. The stronger the infection the better the art is. The degree of infectiousness depends on three things. First, the feeling that is transmitted. Second, the clearness of the transmission. And, third, the sincerity of the artist. The third is the most important to how infectious a piece will be. The absence of any one of these conditions precludes a work from being art. This is how art is judged regardless of its subject matter, regardless of whether the feeling transmitted is good or bad.
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