I just read a number of beautiful eulogies from former students of Alan Segal and had to share one of the quotes from his book, "Life After Death".
"Religion's imagining of our hereafter also seems to say the same - our 'immortal longings' are mirrors of what we find of value in our lives. They motivate our moral and artistic lives. Our longing itself deserves a robe and crown, nothing less. If humans can be, in Hamlet's words, 'in apprehension like a god,' do we not deserve his epitaph: 'flights of angels sing us to our rest'?" (p. 731).
I think this is a beautiful quote that resonates within my own heart about the "human value" of valuing and determining. These longing of value deserve a "robe and a crown"! His students described a man who talked of transcending oneself. He obviously found that he could do that through the students he left behind. Alan must have been an artist in creating his scholarship of early Christian and Judaic communities and using classical literature to defend or support the "human element" of such literature.
After that , what more can be said?
Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, June 29, 2009
Conforming Tradition
Those who subscribe to social construction must understand how tradition "works", so that a successful re-definition can be accomplished. Re-defining tradition is important to bring about transformation. The question today is what is tradition's role, when science is understanding human development in such a way that undermines the prominent role of tradition in past centuries.
Tradition, in the past, when there were hierarchal understandings of government, brings about "hope" to oppressed people, by giving a future judgment to the injustices suffered today. The "constructors" of tradition (theologians/philosophers) also use "moral modelling" to give a "vision of life", so that moral example can be followed. These images, whether real historical figures, or mythical ones are literary devices that "conform" the individual to group norms and values. Because these cultures are hierarhcal in governing, the "role model" is one of personal sacrifice. The personal sacrifice of one class for another is the moral model for an aristocratic class, which is what "inspired" Luther to bring about the Reformation in questioning the Church authorities. Tradition is not based on democratic ideals. The book of Hebrews in the Christian scripture and "The Chronicles of Narnia" are two examples of these types of Christiaan literature.
The social sciences are revealing that men develop through the use of education, where critical thinking is valued and helps the individual to come to terms with his own values, apart from traditional conformity. This is not to say that tradition will not become a dominant value to one such educated, as the indiviudal must determine for himself what is of ultimate concern. But, it does mean that the individual could leave tradition's role and re-define himself according to his own personal interests and values.
Traditional cultures depend on religion to maintain their identification and define values. These values are interpreted by religious authorities that rule and dominate another's conscience and choice. These cultures do not value freedom in any form, as freedom of information through academia, the media, and life choice would undermine tradition's role of dominance and determination, which would limit and undermine the aristocrat in their purpose of maintaining "social order", whether the "aristocrat" is a political or religious leader.
Tradition, in the past, when there were hierarchal understandings of government, brings about "hope" to oppressed people, by giving a future judgment to the injustices suffered today. The "constructors" of tradition (theologians/philosophers) also use "moral modelling" to give a "vision of life", so that moral example can be followed. These images, whether real historical figures, or mythical ones are literary devices that "conform" the individual to group norms and values. Because these cultures are hierarhcal in governing, the "role model" is one of personal sacrifice. The personal sacrifice of one class for another is the moral model for an aristocratic class, which is what "inspired" Luther to bring about the Reformation in questioning the Church authorities. Tradition is not based on democratic ideals. The book of Hebrews in the Christian scripture and "The Chronicles of Narnia" are two examples of these types of Christiaan literature.
The social sciences are revealing that men develop through the use of education, where critical thinking is valued and helps the individual to come to terms with his own values, apart from traditional conformity. This is not to say that tradition will not become a dominant value to one such educated, as the indiviudal must determine for himself what is of ultimate concern. But, it does mean that the individual could leave tradition's role and re-define himself according to his own personal interests and values.
Traditional cultures depend on religion to maintain their identification and define values. These values are interpreted by religious authorities that rule and dominate another's conscience and choice. These cultures do not value freedom in any form, as freedom of information through academia, the media, and life choice would undermine tradition's role of dominance and determination, which would limit and undermine the aristocrat in their purpose of maintaining "social order", whether the "aristocrat" is a political or religious leader.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Problem With History
I have been listening to and thinking about myth and how it works in our lives. I don't really care about myth, in one sense, because myth to me is not honesty, which is factual truth or based in the real world.....This is the problem with Scripture and its message, which I find to be unbelievable.
Some, though, believe that Scripture is the scribal attempts at re-construction or re-creation of life's encounters with literature, etc. But, here is where even describing history in this way is problematic. I will try to describe the problem, at least as I see it (for I am not a scholar).
(I will change the circumstances to protect the identities of those who I am writing about)
Some think that personal history is straightforward, but it is not. There is a real objective experience of a life (a fact, based in time, based on the objective), but that very life is still understood within many contexts (social, political, spiritual). This one life exchanged information about the "facts" and understood the "problem". The problem was interpretation.
In discussing this life, it was assessed that it had no "discipline" by one judgment, but by another's judgment, this life had only had "discipline". One based their interpretation on the facts of specific occurance of punishment. The other based their understanding upon the whole message or thrust given to that life. This interpretation was a more consuming, prevasive message of "disicpline", meaning, annihlation of life through invisibility. I am sure they both thought they were right in regards to this one life. Which one was right? It depends on what one understands discipline to mean and what life means, or should mean.
So, the problem of history is one of perspective, purpose, and meaning. These problems are historical, social and contextual problems, which means that language, culture and literature is everything....
Some, though, believe that Scripture is the scribal attempts at re-construction or re-creation of life's encounters with literature, etc. But, here is where even describing history in this way is problematic. I will try to describe the problem, at least as I see it (for I am not a scholar).
(I will change the circumstances to protect the identities of those who I am writing about)
Some think that personal history is straightforward, but it is not. There is a real objective experience of a life (a fact, based in time, based on the objective), but that very life is still understood within many contexts (social, political, spiritual). This one life exchanged information about the "facts" and understood the "problem". The problem was interpretation.
In discussing this life, it was assessed that it had no "discipline" by one judgment, but by another's judgment, this life had only had "discipline". One based their interpretation on the facts of specific occurance of punishment. The other based their understanding upon the whole message or thrust given to that life. This interpretation was a more consuming, prevasive message of "disicpline", meaning, annihlation of life through invisibility. I am sure they both thought they were right in regards to this one life. Which one was right? It depends on what one understands discipline to mean and what life means, or should mean.
So, the problem of history is one of perspective, purpose, and meaning. These problems are historical, social and contextual problems, which means that language, culture and literature is everything....
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