On Sanity

On Sanity

Chesterton has already pointed this out, but I was struck anew today after talking with a robin and feeling wind in my hair, that it was the irrational, not the rational, that makes us sane.

To love, to befriend, to laugh, to think philosophically, to write, to play, to dream. Poetry, music, dancing, nature. As I watched the sunset and whistled, feeling more sane than I ever had in my weeks of studying for exams, I remembered it is the neglect of these that leads to madness. For it is not the dancers and florists who go mad, but mathematicians and chess grandmasters.

Aquinas says that the nature of a human is to be a rational animal. He said that, of course, to distinguish us from animals. Unlike them we have the power to reason, and it is a terrible power and beautiful responsibility. But even Aquinas from his ivory tower doesn't dare eliminate the animal inside us.

There is something deep in the bones of our nature quite apart from rationality. We are animals still, and we must love that. The primal, the guttural, the free and the wild. This too makes us human.

Jesus Christ is Lord

Thinking about the apostle John. Quite a sad story in some ways. He was probably the youngest apostle, the baby of the group. After the ascension, when the church began, they all worked together from Jerusalem for some time, so full of fire and exuberance.

But things were very difficult for the fledgling church. The first apostle to be killed was his brother, big James.

After some time we're fairly sure he wound up in Ephesus, where he became a sage of the faith, training a new generation. He instructed Polycarp, Irenaeus, Ignatius. He refuted heresies. Appointed Bishops.

Over the coming decades, he would have read the completed gospel of Mark, as well as the early forms of the other gospels, if not writing one himself.

But one by one, his fellow apostles were killed in the line of duty. At some point, he became the last apostle.

He died in a world totally foreign to the one he was born in, one turned upside down by the movement he had been so instrumental in. He died leaving a legacy and so much clarity and wisdom for the church. He likely had students with him at his death, but he was likely in some sense alone.

Exiled in a foreign land, he was the last living witness to the greatest story ever told. A man who walked with Jesus. He remained, and for decades retold and affirmed what all his brothers and friends had died sharing.

He is held to be the only apostle who didn't die a martyr. But in many ways, he gave the most of himself for Christ. I can't imagine the faithfulness, the perseverance.

Also, he once went to the Ephesian bathing house, saw a heretic, and immediately left without bathing lol

Appalachian Orthodox Chant

Just a fascinating video description I found, written presumably by an American Orthodox Christian. Well worth the read:

"A snippet from "God Is With Us," an ancient Orthodox hymn based on the prophecy of Isaiah, chanted here in traditional Appalachian Bluegrass style. It's wonderful because it sounds ancient yet has an authentically Americana sound. Orthodoxy never subverts the cultures it comes across, but rather grafts the wholesome elements of those cultures onto Holy Tradition to give glory to God. In an age where Protestant and Catholic churches in America are hemorrhaging people, Orthodoxy is slowly growing, and this particular hymn provides a hopeful glimpse at what genuine American Orthodoxy could be. This actually makes me feel really patriotic. America has a great sin; a kind of prelest born out of its rejection of monarchy. The forefathers had their reasons and their good intentions for rejecting it, but they had an ignorance of the Orthodox understanding of the symbolic need for a submission to monarchal hierarchy, and the Protestant individualism that ensued has led to the present relativism, which could potentially be our demise. America stands in a quite ambiguous place. But God, who mercifully "desireth not that the sinner should die, but turn from his wicked ways and live," sees our good intentions and knows that America, despite our long-foolhardy ignorance of the Orthodox way, has always called upon the name of Jesus Christ. And maybe, for that, He could forgive us."

Here's the video if ur interested:

I particularly love the respect and love for good parts of American culture (which absolutely do exist), and the hope embodied in the overall message. I'm not orthodox and certainly no monarchist, but I think anyone can see that rampant individualism has made us angry, divided, and lost people. I hope you can take something away from it even if you don't agree with it all. Some beautiful and relevant prose there. Despite everything, God is truly with us. He is slow to anger and rich in love.

"He who controls the default, controls how the game is played"

-Cubicmetre

A fair point, in minecraft and real life.

By default, Windows computers will show you a news article on startup.

It's subtle and unobtrusive, most people won't really notice them, much less think about them or dislike them.

Of course, if for some strange reason you did, you can always take the 1 or 2 minutes to google the very specific part of settings you need to go to to turn it off. Problem solved!

Do you see the problem? MicrosoftTM can show everyone using their computers any article they so choose. Of course, most people won't read it. Some might just read the headline. But, far more dangerously, most people will only register it subconsciously, and almost nobody will bother to turn it off.

If, God forbid, MicrosoftTM had a narrative they wanted to push, this gives them an incredible power to do so without people even realising.

Incidentally, the last 3 articles I saw before I took the time to figure out how to get those articles off my start up were all telling me about the wonderful things AI is doing for humanity. Funny right?

Does anyone know any good media (fiction books or movies/tv) with realistic/healthy portrayals of a Christian (or at least Godly) marriage or relationships?

Just became aware that most of my idea of what a relationship looks like comes from not exactly edifying sources.

Stuff like the chosen!