Are you logical? Some wisdom from a church father

“For if we think of the Word [λόγον] in the beginning, the Word [λόγον] who is with God, the Word [λόγον] who is God, perhaps we shall be able to say that he alone who participates in this Word [λόγον], insofar as he is such, is ‘rational’ [λογικόν]. Consequently, we could also say that the saint alone is rational [λογικός]” (Origen, Comm. Jo. 2.114)

How Great Our Joy

182 How Great Our Joy

1 While by the sheep we watched at night,
   glad tidings brought an angel bright.

Refrain:
   How great our joy!
   Great our joy!
   Joy, joy, joy!
   Joy, joy, joy!
   Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!
   Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

2 There shall be born, so he did say,
   in Bethlehem a child today. [Refrain]

3 There shall the child lie in a stall,
   this child who shall redeem us all. [Refrain]

4 This gift of God we'll cherish well,
   that ever joy our hearts shall fill. [Refrain]
                         German Carol
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming

174 Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming

1 Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming
   From tender stem hath sprung!
   Of Jesse's lineage coming
   As men of old have sung.
   It came, a flower bright,
   Amid the cold of winter
   When half-gone was the night.

2 Isaiah 'twas foretold it,
   The Rose I have in mind:
   With Mary we behold it,
   The virgin mother kind.
   To show God's love aright
   She bore to men a Savior
   When half-gone was the night.

3 This Flower, whose fragrance tender
   With sweetness fills the air,
   Dispels with glorious splendor
   The darkness everywhere.
   True man, yet very God,
   From sin and death He saves us
   And lightens every load
                         German Carol
                         Tr. by Theodore Baker, stanzas 1,2
                         Tr. by Harriet Krauth Spaeth, stanza 3
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

170 Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

1 Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
   When Thou camest to earth for me;
   But in Bethlehem's home was there found no room
   For Thy holy nativity.
   O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
   There is room in my heart for Thee.

2 Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang,
   Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
   But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
   And in great humility.
   O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
   There is room in my heart for Thee.

3 The foxes found rest, and the birds their nes
  t In the shade of the forest tree;
   But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
   In the deserts of Galilee.
   O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
   There is room in my heart for Thee.

4 Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word
   That should set Thy people free;
   But with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn,
   They bore Thee to Calvary.
   O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
   There is room in my heart for Thee.

5 When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing,
   At Thy coming to victory,
   Let Thy voice call me home, saying "Yet there is room,
   There is room at My side for thee."
   My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
   When Thou comest and callest for me.
                         Emily E. S. Elliott
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Is it real?

Knowledge, like truth, is relative to understanding. Our folk view of knowledge as being absolute comes from the same source as our folk view that truth is absolute, which is the folk theory that there is only one way to understand a situation. When that folk theory fails, and we have multiple ways of understanding, or “framing,” a situation, then knowledge, like truth, becomes relative to that understanding. Likewise, when our understanding is stable and secure, knowledge based on that understanding is stable and secure.

Is such knowledge "real knowledge”? Well, it’s as real as our knowledge ever gets—real enough for all but the most seasoned skeptics.—George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, 300

Holy Ghost, with Light Divine

162 Holy Ghost, with Light Divine

1 Holy Ghost, with light divine,
   Shine upon this heart of mine;
   Chase the shades of night away,
   Turn my darkness into day.

2 Holy Ghost, with pow'r divine,
   Cleanse this guilty heart of mine;
   Long hath sin without control,
   Held dominion o'er my soul.

3 Holy Ghost, with joy divine,
   Cheer this saddened heart of mine;
   Bid my many woes depart,
   Heal my wounded, bleeding heart.

4 Holy Spirit, all divine,
   Dwell within this heart of mine;
   Cast down ev'ry idol throne,
   Reign supreme, and reign alone.
                         Andrew Reed
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Although this hymn occurs in more than 775 hymnals, I don't recall ever singing it. Some authorities insert a verse:

2 Let me see my Savior's face,
   Let me all His beauties trace;
   Show those glorious truths to me
   Which are only known to Thee.

</idle musing>

It's the way we look at things...

It is our objectivist legacy that we view rationality as being purely mental, unemotional, detached—independent of imagination, of social functioning, and of the limitations of our bodies and our memories. It is our objectivist legacy that leads us to view reasoning as mechanical and to glorify those kinds of reasoning that in fact are mechanical. It is our objectivist legacy that leads us to view machines that are capable of algorithmic computation as being capable of human reason. And it is our objectivist legacy that we view it as progress when we are able to structure aspects of our physical and social environment to make it more like an objectivist universe.—George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, 183 (emphasis original)

Sweet, Sweet Spirit

159 Sweet, Sweet Spirit

1 There's a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,
   And I know that it's the Spirit of the Lord;
   There are sweet expressions on each face,
   And I know they feel the presence of the Lord.

Refrain:
   Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet heavenly Dove,
   Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love.
   And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise;
   Without a doubt we'll know that we have been revived,
   When we shall leave this place.

2 There are blessings you cannot receive
   Till you know Him in His fullness and believe;
   You're the one to profit when you say,
   "I am going to walk with Jesus all the way."

3 If you say He saved you from your sin,
   Now you're weak, you're bound and cannot enter in,
   You can make it right if you will yield,
   You'll enjoy the Holy Spirit that we feel.
                         Doris Akers
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Philosophy matters…

Philosophy matters. It matters more than most people realize, because philosophical ideas that have developed over the centuries enter our culture in the form of a world view and affect us in thousands of ways. Philosophy matters in the academic world because the conceptual frameworks upon which entire academic disciplines rest usually have roots in philosophy—roots so deep and invisible that they are usually not even noticed. This is certainly true in my own field, linguistics, where the classical theory of categories and certain attendant philosophical assumptions have been taken so much for granted that alternative assumptions seem unthinkable. One of my purposes is to show that the classical theory of categories is inadequate for the study of natural language as well as other aspects of the mind and that new philosophical assumptions are required in order to make sense of linguistic phenomena and other aspects of cognition.—George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, 157

Fill Me Now (hymn)

153 Fill Me Now

1 Hover o’er me, Holy Spirit,
   Bathe my trembling heart and brow.
   Fill me with Thy hallowed presence;
   Come, O come and fill me now.

Refrain:
   Fill me now, fill me now,
   Jesus, come and fill me now;
   Fill me with Thy hallowed presence;
   Come, O come and fill me now.

2 Thou canst fill me, gracious Spirit,
   Tho' I cannot tell Thee how.
   But I need Thee, greatly need Thee;
   Come, O come and fill me now. [Refrain]

3 I am weakness, full of weakness;
   At Thy sacred feet I bow.
   Blest, divine, eternal Spirit,
   Fill with pow’r and fill me now. [Refrain]

4 Cleanse and comfort, bless and save me;
   Bathe, O bathe my heart and brow.
   Thou art comforting and saving;
   Thou art sweetly filling now. [Refrain]
                         Elwood R. Stokes
                         Hymns for the Family of God

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