Mind as computer?

Since the digital computer works by symbol manipulation and since its symbols can be interpreted in terms of a data base, which is often viewed as a partial model of reality, the computer has been taken by many as essentially possessing the capacity to reason. This is the basis of the contemporary mind-as-computer metaphor, which has spread from computer science and cognitive psychology to the culture at large.—George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, 7–8

Tozer for Tuesday

I know there are households where the servants are better off than many householders are. In the kingdom of God, the humblest servant that serves by the kitchen sink is a happier, freer man than the lord of the manor across the street if he is not a Christian.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 103–104

Spirit, Now Live in Me (hymn)

151 Spirit, Now Live in Me

1 O holy Dove of God descending,
   You are the love that knows no ending.
   All of our shattered dreams You’re mending:
   Spirit, now live in me.

2 O holy Wind of God now blowing,
   You are the seed that God us sowing.
   You are the life that starts us growing:
   Spirit, now live in me.

3 O holy Rain of God now falling,
   You make the Word of God enthralling,
   You are that inner voice now calling:
   Spirit, now live in me.

4 O holy Flame of God now burning,
   You are the power of Christ returning.
   You are the answer to our yearning:
   Spirit, now live in me.
                         Bryan Jeffery Leech
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Stagnation

Let men out in the world stagnate, but Christians do not stagnate. We have God, the everlasting, self-renewing fountain that never gets stale. Our mistake, and the mistake we have made all down through history, is in thinking that we know better than God.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 101

Come, Holy Spirit

150 Come, Holy Spirit

1 Come as a wisdom to children
   Come as new sight to the blind
   Come Lord as strength to my weakness
   Take me soul body and mind

Chorus:
   Come Holy Spirit I need Thee
   Come sweet Spirit I pray
   Come in Thy strength and Thy power
   Come in Thy own gentle way

2 Come as a rest to the weary
   Come as a balm for the sore
   Come as a dew to my dryness
   Fill me with joy evermore

Come like a spring in the desert
   Come to the withered of soul
   O let Thy sweet healing power
   Touch me and make me whole
                         Gloria Gaither
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Blessed Quietness (hymn)

145 Blessed Quietness

1 Joys are flowing like a river,
   Since the Comforter has come;
   He abides with us forever,
   Makes the trusting heart His home.

Refrain:
   Blessed quietness, Holy quietness,
   What assurance in my soul;
   On the stormy sea Jesus speaks to me,
   And the billows cease to roll.

2 Bringing life and health and gladness
   All around this heav'nly Guest,
   Conquered unbelief and sadness,
   Changed our weariness to rest. [Refrain]

3 Like the rain that falls from heaven,
   Like the sunlight from the sky,
   So the Holy Spirit's given,
   Coming on us from on high. [Refrain]

4 See, a fruitful field is growing,
   Blessed fruit of righteousness;
   And the streams of life are flowing
   In the lonely wilderness. [Refrain]

5 What a wonderful salvation,
   When we always see His face,
   What a perfect habitation,
   What a quiet resting place. [Refrain]
                         Manie P. Ferguson
                         Hymns for the Family of God

The Comforter Has Come

143 The Comforter Has Come

1 O spread the tidings 'round
   Wherever man is found,
   Wherever human hearts and human woes abound;
   Let every Christian tongue proclaim the joyful sound:
   The Comforter has come!

Refrain:
   The Comforter has come, the Comforter has come!
   The Holy Ghost from heaven, the Father's promise given;
   O spread the tidings 'round wherever man is found:
   The Comforter has come!

2 The long, long night is past, the morning breaks at last,
   And hushed the dreadful wail and fury of the blast,
   As o'er the golden hills the day advances fast!
   The Comforter has come! [Refrain]

3 Lo, the great King of kings with healing in His wings,
   To every captive soul a full deliverance brings;
   And through the vacant cells the song of triumph rings;
   The Comforter has come! [Refrain]

4 O boundless Love divine! how shall this tongue of mine
   To wondering mortals tell the matchless grace divine:
   That I, a child of hell, should in His image shine!
   The Comforter has come! [Refrain]
                         Frank Bottome
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
I wasn't familiar with this hymn, which occurs in more than 230 hymnals. Nor was I familiar with the author. He wrote quite a few hymns, of which this is the most popular. Some of his hymns were translated into Arabic, German, and even Chinese!
</idle musing>

Capacity to reason

The capacity to reason is usually taken as defining what human beings are and as distinguishing us from other things that are alive. If we understand reason as being disembodied, then our bodies are only incidental to what we are. If we understand reason as mechanical—the sort of thing a computer can do—then we will devalue human intelligence as computers get more efficient. If we understand rationality as the capacity to mirror the world external to human beings then we will devalue those aspects of the mind that can do infinitely more than that. If we understand reason as merely literal, we will devalue art.—George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, xvi

An Affirmation

139 An Affirmation

WE BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST THE LORD,
    Who was promised to the people of Israel,
    Who came in the flesh to dwell among us,
    Who announced the coming of the rule of God,
    Who gathered disciples and taught them,
    Who died on the cross to free us from sin,
    Who rose from the dead to give us life and hope,
    Who reigns in heaven at the right hand of God,
    Who comes to judge and bring justice to victory.

WE BELIEVE IN GOD HIS FATHER,
    Who raised Him from the dead,
    Who created and sustains the universe,
    Who acts to deliver His people in times of need,
    Who desires all men everywhere to be saved.

WE BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
    Who is the form of God present in the church,
    Who is the guarantee of our deliverance,
    Who leads us to find God’s will in the Word,
    Who guides us in discernment,
    Who impels us to act together.
                         — The Mennonite Hymnal, 1967
                         Hymns for the Family of God

True Religion

True religion is not discovered or conscripted by man. Christianity grows downward from heaven, not upward from the earth. It does not stand upon the earth. Its roots are in heaven, so that man has nothing to say here at all. True religion is revealed from above.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 97

The Nicene Creed

138 The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
And of all things visible and invisible:
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God,
begotten of his Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man,
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again
according to the scriptures,
and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father.
And he shall come again with glory
to judge both the quick and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceedeth from the Father [and the Son],*
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
who spake by the prophets.
And I believe one umiversal and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins.
And I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

<idle musing>
* I bracketed out the "filioque" clause since the Orthodox Churches don't accept it. I believe it to be true, but the history of its inclusion is messy. In the interest of Christian unity, I think it should be excluded.
</idle musing>

Praise Ye the Triune God

136 Praise Ye the Triune God

1. Praise ye the Father, for his loving kindness,
   Tenderly cares he for his loving children;
   Praise him, ye angels, praise him in the heavens,
   Praise ye Jehovah!

2. Praise ye the Saviour, great is his compassion,
   Graciously cares he for his chosen people;
   Young men and maidens, ye old men and children,
   Praise ye the Saviour!

3. Praise ye the Spirit, Comforter of Israel,
   Sent of the Father and the Son to bless us;
   Praise ye the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
   Praise ye the Triune God!
                         Elizabeth Rundle Charles
                         Hymns for the Family of God