I told myself that I was going to post something new every week and this week has slipped by. Therefore I am going to simply post the thoughts of some of my favorite thinkers.
"Man walks apart though not alone
He walks among his peers unread
The best of thoughts that he hath known
For lack of listeners remain unsaid."
-Washington Irving
This quote pierces my heart because even though Irving wrote this over a hundred years ago, the truth of his statement hasn't faded. How many of us suffer from a sense of isolation from our fellow humans because there is no one to take the time to hear what's inside of us? I have to remind myself that the other person is not merely a sound board for myself but is a living breathing soul with thoughts and opinions and experiences of their own who has the same need to reach out to others with what is indwelling their own soul.
"It used to be we had an egalitarianism of people and an elitism of ideas.
Now we have an egalitarianism of ideas and an elitism of people.
In the process they have lost both truth and personal value.
Post modern thought has debunked the notion of truth and not only has it lost truth but personal value as well."
-Ravi Zacharias
I see this in our modern culture which says that no one has a monopoly on the truth. The attitude is that everything is truth. Therefore it is impossible to know anything because all thoughts are the same. What has this produced? People creating a heirarchy on the value of life. I have been debating several people on the site, opposingviews.org about when life begins. Their arguements are all the same. I cannot dictate my Juedeo/Christian morals to anyone therefore everyone can choose for themself when life begins. They (my debaters) conclude that since all ideas are equal and no idea has more value than another the most helpless have less of a right to live than those who have already been born. The only reason I can give them that this is wrong and murder is because God says it is so from the Bible. The Bible is truth therefore unborn children have an equal right to live. To others there is no truth, therefore the unborn do not have a right to live.
This is only one example that comes to mind from the concept when all ideas are equal, people develop an elitist attitude towards their fellow humans but when we have an elitist attitude towards ideas (some are true others are false) we then see equal value being placed on human life.
That is all for now. I promise to review "King Solomine's Mines" by Haggard tomorrow.
2 comments:
Sharon, I can get melancholy thinking about quotes like that of W. Irving. So, I don't.
I have learned to turn that sadness to Jesus. He is real, he is always available to talk to, and his comments are forthcoming, either from the Holy Spirit, via the word I've hidden in my heart, or his Word, the Bible...and of course, praying out loud. He always turns my thoughts to the positive.
Another thing that I have discovered,..if I watch movies or read books, I'm affected way too much, so I don't do too much of that, or am careful what I see or read. Maybe it has something to do with my age????
anyway, I am reading a gift book that is very good by Molly Gloss called "The Hearts of Horses". It is really fun and interesting.
I like the way the author knows the heart of the woman in the story.
I enjoyed the tour around your house. You do breakfast like I do..but I'm reading devotionals and emails on the computer when I have mine.
have you talked with Shawna?
pw
Dear maP: You are so right that when we feel lonely and the world doesn't seem to understand or care we must turn to Jesus. He is always there, always listening. As someone once told me, man will inevitably fail you but God never does. He never stops loving us, forgiving us, He is faithful to the end. We can never be alone because He is always there.
I actually didn't find that quote sad, it spoke to me because I can feel that way sometimes. Sometimes I feel as though I am in slow motion as the world races past me. Irving's quote reminds me that as much as I want to be heard, I must also hear others.
Your book sounds interesting, is it about horses, I take it?
I talked to Shawna today. She still has pangs of homesickness but God is putting people in her life. Pray she and Pavlos meet good Christian friends out there and also a good church.
Post a Comment