The core experiences of psychological trauma are disempowerment and disconnection from others. Judith Lewis Herman One afternoon my sister fell down the cemented steps, gashing her head. Blood was everywhere and she needed stitches. Her reaction was with wailing, screaming tears and frantic gestures. We were little kids. I remember that she had to be rushed to the hospital, I didn’t go. When she came back she was more subdued and seemed ok. We never talked about it after; only once or twice till this day we discussed it. Boo-boo’s were a way of life back then, and Mom and Dad discouraged some big display. Without consulting sis presently, it seemed she just moved on and maintained normal. The event didn’t damage sis internally, I don’t think, though she interpreted it fearfully in her soul for a few weeks I’m sure. According to my memory, she moved away from it…
Category: <span>Walk, for Christians</span>
The theory of “entfremdung” or ‘alienation’ relies on Lugwig Feuerbach’s comment which states that “The idea of a supernatural God has alienated the natural characteristics of the human being.” Max Stirmer said, “even the idea of ‘humanity’ is an alienating concept for the individual man and woman to intellectually consider in its full philosophic implication.” What the hey are these guys talking about? Are they talking about the past or future? Observation or prediction? Empiricists can only observe. Even as economists, they predict as weather-men or horoscope-heads They hold a fatalistic world view. But they do it anyway. These guys have observed through history: Fallen mankind’s balking at grasping the reality of a true and living Creator. They have predicted that it will always go this way. Yes, a world with a Maker brings uneasiness about their accountability. Untold is that man has a will and can choose God, forsake reaction God…
We would spend a week with my aunt Anna every summer in Greenfield. She was kinda rich we thought, and she took us everywhere on our visit including baseball games, the museum, the aviary, and the flower show. You could see old Forbes field from her back porch, where the Pirates played ball. At night we would walk to McGee field to watch the Soft-ball games as my ruddy complexioned aunt sold concessions in the bleachers, salty pretzel sticks and pop. The lights and warm air, fans and players remain in my memory today. Pittsburgh was a sports town back in the days when John Henry Johnson ran touchdowns for the Steelers. He was an upright runner but had a lot of leg movement and was hard to corral and bring down. I remember that in spite of J.H.J. the team stunk up the field weekly and my Father said…
We must be built up continually. We must be seeing the world from a finished work perspective and not from the perspective of the natural universe. Eternity must be in our hearts. Ezra the Scribe knew of this idea and wrote Psalm 119. His was a continual prayer; “turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken me O Lord. My soul cleaves to the dust, quicken Thou me O Lord according to thy Word. My soul melts for heaviness, strengthen me O Lord. Stablish the Word to thy servant who am devoted to thy fear. Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me thy Law graciously. Incline my heart unto thy commandments. Let thy mercies come unto me…” Then comes many verses of meditative origin. See, we must pray to build ourselves up but then allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in the meditation of…
Peter was acquainted with suffering in a few categories; one sort was “reproach.” He speaks of the particulars in his first epistle, chapter 4. In verse 14 we read, “If ye be reproached (defamed) for the name of Christ, happy (extremely blessed) are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth (continues to repose), upon you. Alford says, “There being nothing so much as breaks noble minds.” He is referring to reprimand of character. Peter was a character and a strong-willed one. He was boisterous and proud. As pride precedes a fall, Peter demonstrated this principle by his walk-on-water spill, his rebuke by Jesus in Matthew 16, and eventually by his three-time denial. Unbeknownst to Peter, beforehand was God’s mighty hand of resistance. Why? Because private reputation retention is not popular with; well, it’s hated by The Father in heaven, is why. Nevertheless, years later Peter writes epistles as…
Have you ever noticed the number of basic daily routines that go in to balancing a simple day? Get out of bed, wash face, put teeth in, drink some Joe, put on under garb, install any body-braces or appliances, (each may have their own baggage.) Then we eat something or go to the gym first, get some gas in the car, drop off the kids, brush teeth and hair, then discuss something with our spouse. This list fragments the complete one which is much larger than we might care to think about. If a few habits or even just one decide to rebel, however, we can expect a disruption; and sometimes fierce. For most of us the extensive juggling demands “too much” of us. We may do only enough to get by and when our “enough” scrapes by for a week or longer, we surrender to it and adopt it…
streetcar When it doesn’t go well in life, where do you go? Disappointed, humiliated, do you sulk? Some rebound here and bounce back into the fight. Some quit altogether. Whatever the case, these letdown times become occasions for rational people to do irrational things. Good folks turn bad now, loyal friends betray, and competent people display incompetence in a struggle to save the day. What is happening? Well, an over-riding power, an incredible hulk, takes the ball and begins to run just inside the sidelines; and with such a rambunct, there is no stopping it. Folks is plain nuts now, and liable to do anything. Why? The answer to that needs interpretation, but, frankly, they hit the point where a principle of self-preservation begins. Pushed to the limit, their identity is threatened. Because of self-love, they must now get riled. Something happens to push persons out of normal soul function…
Downtown Budapest John the Baptist was a burning and shining light. What qualified him? Perhaps 2 Cor 4:6 helps “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” The light of the knowledge of the glory of God? — Light of knowledge? — Of glory? — Of God? — God’s glory’s knowledge? — “Gnosis”, “doxa” in the face of Jesus? — John reflected Jesus’ face of knowledge of the glory of God. How can a person be a shining light? If he or she leads many to righteousness, they will shine like the stars in the firmament says Daniel 10. Ecc 8:1 points out; “Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to…
Church in Hungary “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Christ that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Is this the cross of your life or some other? If this one frames us, we know with the mind a once and forever done-by-another-for-me deal, (perfect passive indicative tense). The present tense “knowing” practically effects the destroying of the “The body of which sin has taken possession.” All of it enables me to not be a slave to sin. Jamison, Faucet, and Brown cite our new relationship with Christ and says: “The apostle now grows more definite and vivid in expressing the sin-destroying effectiveness of our union with the crucified Savior.” So that “all that we were in our old unregenerate condition, before union with Christ,” “was” crucified with Him. Henceforth, we are not in bondage to sin. So, we have…
On the Danube River Create? Imagination and what else? Materials are necessary but so is glue. Thoughts and words must meld in a way that has continuity and also sensible relatedness. There needs to be permanence, stability, link, no interruption. Abstractions? Unless somehow connected to sanity, these are illegitimate in my opinion. Why? Because any idiot can build oblivion by non-thinking, but true creativity requires a mind applied, inspired, with vision. It is constructive and not destructive. Reflections are interesting as they expose the negative side of a positive. For example, wholesomeness reflects as decadence on the pessimistic side, decency becomes immodesty, integrity becomes fragmentation, and benevolence becomes offensiveness. Cmon, friends, you want to uglify beauty and call that art? Instead, let’s turn it around and beautify something hideous; now that’s creativity! See, true creativity requires some givens, namely love. The higher the degree of love involved and understood, the…