The idea of Tabula Rasa - "unscribed tablet"-"clean slate" - is the philosophical idea expressed by Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, but then more notably by John Locke. Locke proposed the modern idea of Tabula Rasa that our mind (at birth) is a blank slate. Therefore there are no built in formulas or neural connections and that everything is developed and learned. The important theory (to me) is the connection to the spiritual idea of Tabula Rasa which follows that we are born with no sin.
It's an interesting theological quandary as there is no way for humans to deny sinfulness, however, we do acknowledge our baptism into Christ as a day of dedication in which we are cleansed by the holy water and made anew:
"The liturgy of baptism in (certain) traditions makes clear reference to baptism as not only a symbolic burial and resurrection, but an actual supernatural transformation, one that draws parallels to the experience of Noah and the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea divided by Moses. Thus baptism is literally and symbolically not only cleansing, but also dying and rising again with Christ. Catholics believe that baptism is necessary for the cleansing of the taint of original sin, and for that reason infant baptism is a common practice."
If this is the case that baptism marks our burial and resurrection with Christ; does it then follow that our spiritual re-birth (our baptism) marks our real birth and therefore our birth into a state of our minds as a tablet unscribed upon by the chisel of sin?
27 September 2006
Hmmm...
Okay, so I recieve a call between classes today, and my mom asks me, "What happened to Terrell Owens?" Upon hearing this, about a million different things welled up inside of me and I wanted to say, "well where do you want me to start?" I assumed (correctly) that this was a more pointed question - she then told me that news had broken that he had alledgedly attempted suicide. I got home and read the article, and I'm just mad about this whole thing.
I do not think Terrell Owens is the best role model on the planet, however, his treatment is absolutely horrendous. He does little dances in the end zone - so what? If he were a scantily clad girl then no one would have problems with him dancing in the end zones after scores. (That is a whole other topic). So what that he is attention starved? Does that make him a leper in America? If these people who are so content to peer in and criticize Owens' seeming arrogance and disillusionment would only peer in so keenly to themselves (and everyone else in the world) they'd find exactly the same problems. The difference - Owens is in the national spotlight.
So here's where the line has to be drawn. I believe that the combination of Vicodin and supplements doped him up, and that he didn't attempt suicide. However, from the past couple years, its obvious that the man has some emotional problems (as if we "normal people" don't) and we "normal people" think that its fine and right to push those buttons and try to draw those problems out of him. We are appalled at animal testing because it subjects animals to cruel treatment in the name of science. Well what we do to people like Owens' is far worse - we are subjecting him to cruel treatment (if you disagree with that - then think about how you felt when you saw the treatment Jim Carrey's character received in Truman Show). We are subjecting him to this treatment not in the name of science, or anything that even has remote beneficial qualities - we are putting this on him just to ostracize and demonize him. It makes us feel better to point and say, well I'm better than him.
That's weak.
I do not think Terrell Owens is the best role model on the planet, however, his treatment is absolutely horrendous. He does little dances in the end zone - so what? If he were a scantily clad girl then no one would have problems with him dancing in the end zones after scores. (That is a whole other topic). So what that he is attention starved? Does that make him a leper in America? If these people who are so content to peer in and criticize Owens' seeming arrogance and disillusionment would only peer in so keenly to themselves (and everyone else in the world) they'd find exactly the same problems. The difference - Owens is in the national spotlight.
So here's where the line has to be drawn. I believe that the combination of Vicodin and supplements doped him up, and that he didn't attempt suicide. However, from the past couple years, its obvious that the man has some emotional problems (as if we "normal people" don't) and we "normal people" think that its fine and right to push those buttons and try to draw those problems out of him. We are appalled at animal testing because it subjects animals to cruel treatment in the name of science. Well what we do to people like Owens' is far worse - we are subjecting him to cruel treatment (if you disagree with that - then think about how you felt when you saw the treatment Jim Carrey's character received in Truman Show). We are subjecting him to this treatment not in the name of science, or anything that even has remote beneficial qualities - we are putting this on him just to ostracize and demonize him. It makes us feel better to point and say, well I'm better than him.
That's weak.
22 September 2006
Today is Friday (or Rosh Hashanah)
It's true today is Rosh Hashanah. It says so on my calender. So as I was fervently rubbing the sleep out of my eyes this morn I was struck with a familiar sense of curiosity. Curiosity, has a feminine voice mind you, she said to me, "what is Rosh Hashanah - for that matter, what are all these holidays that I never celebrate?"
So since she has such a seductive voice - Curiosity that is. I decided to oblige and follow up. After class, I ran home in the drizzle and logged on to Wikipedia. I found out that Rosh Hashanah is simply New Years in the Jewish tradition. So I was a little bummed that it was so bland - oh but then I found the "fun nugget" I'd been looking for:
"In fact, Judaism has four 'new years' which mark various legal 'years'."
Okay, so basically whats going on here is the Jewish calender is absolutely crazy - well crazy to me, an average Joe who abides by the simple 12 month, 365 day variety. There are four new years, as I mentioned. Before we move to that however, the Jewish calender is somewhat different than the typical American one. It includes 12 months of 30 days each. (The previous statement isn't completely true because some months contain 29.75 days, and other fractional differences). But in the long run the year rounds out to a full 360 days. This is significant because their calendar is envisioned as a circle and how many degrees are in a circle? You got it - 360. 360 degrees in a circle, 360 days in the rotunda-ish calendar of the Jews.
The first month on this circular calendar is Nisan, the word Nisan itself is Babylonian and is translated as "spring." It is rooted in the Sumarian "nisag" which literally means "first fruits." Nisan is a spring month consisting of 30 days and usually falls in the March-April range. It is the first month of the calendar because, "The LORD told Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 'this month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you...' " (Exodus 12:1-2)
So, Moses and Aaron listened and now Nisan is the first month on the ecclesiastical calendar (month seven on the civic calendar) - and therefore 1 Nisan = New Year's Day.
The second New Year celebration is the first day of Tishrei, literally - "beginning" derived from the Akkadian surru - "to begin." Rosh Hashanah - literally, "head of the year" (which is today - lest you forget) is the civic New Year. That being said, there are huge ecclesiastical calendar implications on this "civic" holiday. Why? Well, this celebration is derived from Leviticus 23:24, "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the people of Israel,' saying, 'In the seventh month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation' " - the line, "with blast of trumpets" is literally translated as, "The Day of the Blowing of the Shofar."
In tradition, during the month of Elul (literally "to search") which is right before Tishrei, the Shofar (a musical instrument made from a ram's horn) is blown every morning, 'to awaken the listener from his/her slumber and alert them of the coming judgement.' Rabbinic literature (and even the liturgy) refers to Rosh Hashanah as the day of judgement. Therefore this month of Elul is similar in many respects to Lent (for Christians). The 'day of judgement,' in Christianity is Holy Saturday when Jesus rest in the tomb and in spirit performed the 'harrowing of hell' by descending to the depths and breaking free the bondage of those held captive by sin. The next day, Easter, marks the grace and mercy shown by God as Jesus ascended to Heaven. In Jewish tradition, however Rosh Hashanah is pictorialized as "God sitting upon a throne, while books containing the deeds of all humanity are open for review, and each person passing in front of Him for evaluation of his or her deeds." Then for the next ten days Jewish tradition observes the Yamim Noraim ("Days of Awe") known as Assaret Yemei Teshuva ("Ten Days of Repentance"). The Yamim Noraim culminates on 10 Tishrei with the celebration of Yom Kippur - Yom Hakkipurim - "The Day of Atonements." For obvious reasons this is the holiest day of the year and is marked by a 25 hour fast and very intensive prayer throughout the day.
This celebration is markedly different from the fiest that takes place on 1 Nisan. The latter is a celebration of the idea of a year, whereas the former celebrates the turning of a page in the lives of the Jews. It is a celebration of all the greatness of the past year; and alternatively a celebration of the forgiveness of sin from the previous year. The Yamim Noraim obviously is a huge, huge part of the Jewish year. The other New Year celebrations, on the other hand are not. The next New Year - Elul, the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical calendar is held as the New Year for animals.
Tu Bi'Shevat, or the fifteenth day of Shevat is marked as the New Year for trees. (Tu) is the American translation for some squiggly lines that in Hebrew mean 15, and (Shevat) is the eleventh month of the Jewish calendar. The day is known as Rosh Hashanah La'llanot ("Head of Year of the Trees.")
- These holidays do not begin until sun down - if you look at your calendar it should say, "Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown" that is because the day changes at sundown, not at the American usual of midnight.
So tonight, when the sun goes down and the chill of fall rests in the air, you may want to dig into a meal of apples and honey to symbolize a 'sweet new year,' and some challah to symbolize the wheel of life (round calendar) that just took one more spin. As you do, hear this, "ketiva ve-chatima tovah (may you be written and sealed for a good year)."
So since she has such a seductive voice - Curiosity that is. I decided to oblige and follow up. After class, I ran home in the drizzle and logged on to Wikipedia. I found out that Rosh Hashanah is simply New Years in the Jewish tradition. So I was a little bummed that it was so bland - oh but then I found the "fun nugget" I'd been looking for:
"In fact, Judaism has four 'new years' which mark various legal 'years'."
Okay, so basically whats going on here is the Jewish calender is absolutely crazy - well crazy to me, an average Joe who abides by the simple 12 month, 365 day variety. There are four new years, as I mentioned. Before we move to that however, the Jewish calender is somewhat different than the typical American one. It includes 12 months of 30 days each. (The previous statement isn't completely true because some months contain 29.75 days, and other fractional differences). But in the long run the year rounds out to a full 360 days. This is significant because their calendar is envisioned as a circle and how many degrees are in a circle? You got it - 360. 360 degrees in a circle, 360 days in the rotunda-ish calendar of the Jews.
The first month on this circular calendar is Nisan, the word Nisan itself is Babylonian and is translated as "spring." It is rooted in the Sumarian "nisag" which literally means "first fruits." Nisan is a spring month consisting of 30 days and usually falls in the March-April range. It is the first month of the calendar because, "The LORD told Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 'this month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you...' " (Exodus 12:1-2)
So, Moses and Aaron listened and now Nisan is the first month on the ecclesiastical calendar (month seven on the civic calendar) - and therefore 1 Nisan = New Year's Day.
The second New Year celebration is the first day of Tishrei, literally - "beginning" derived from the Akkadian surru - "to begin." Rosh Hashanah - literally, "head of the year" (which is today - lest you forget) is the civic New Year. That being said, there are huge ecclesiastical calendar implications on this "civic" holiday. Why? Well, this celebration is derived from Leviticus 23:24, "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the people of Israel,' saying, 'In the seventh month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation' " - the line, "with blast of trumpets" is literally translated as, "The Day of the Blowing of the Shofar."
In tradition, during the month of Elul (literally "to search") which is right before Tishrei, the Shofar (a musical instrument made from a ram's horn) is blown every morning, 'to awaken the listener from his/her slumber and alert them of the coming judgement.' Rabbinic literature (and even the liturgy) refers to Rosh Hashanah as the day of judgement. Therefore this month of Elul is similar in many respects to Lent (for Christians). The 'day of judgement,' in Christianity is Holy Saturday when Jesus rest in the tomb and in spirit performed the 'harrowing of hell' by descending to the depths and breaking free the bondage of those held captive by sin. The next day, Easter, marks the grace and mercy shown by God as Jesus ascended to Heaven. In Jewish tradition, however Rosh Hashanah is pictorialized as "God sitting upon a throne, while books containing the deeds of all humanity are open for review, and each person passing in front of Him for evaluation of his or her deeds." Then for the next ten days Jewish tradition observes the Yamim Noraim ("Days of Awe") known as Assaret Yemei Teshuva ("Ten Days of Repentance"). The Yamim Noraim culminates on 10 Tishrei with the celebration of Yom Kippur - Yom Hakkipurim - "The Day of Atonements." For obvious reasons this is the holiest day of the year and is marked by a 25 hour fast and very intensive prayer throughout the day.
This celebration is markedly different from the fiest that takes place on 1 Nisan. The latter is a celebration of the idea of a year, whereas the former celebrates the turning of a page in the lives of the Jews. It is a celebration of all the greatness of the past year; and alternatively a celebration of the forgiveness of sin from the previous year. The Yamim Noraim obviously is a huge, huge part of the Jewish year. The other New Year celebrations, on the other hand are not. The next New Year - Elul, the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical calendar is held as the New Year for animals.
Tu Bi'Shevat, or the fifteenth day of Shevat is marked as the New Year for trees. (Tu) is the American translation for some squiggly lines that in Hebrew mean 15, and (Shevat) is the eleventh month of the Jewish calendar. The day is known as Rosh Hashanah La'llanot ("Head of Year of the Trees.")
- These holidays do not begin until sun down - if you look at your calendar it should say, "Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown" that is because the day changes at sundown, not at the American usual of midnight.
So tonight, when the sun goes down and the chill of fall rests in the air, you may want to dig into a meal of apples and honey to symbolize a 'sweet new year,' and some challah to symbolize the wheel of life (round calendar) that just took one more spin. As you do, hear this, "ketiva ve-chatima tovah (may you be written and sealed for a good year)."
21 September 2006
interesting
While I was writing that title, I wanted to spell it "intresting" because thats how we pronounce it. Anyways...
Speaking of pronunciation, I'm can't stand it when people mispronounce easy words...libarry? What?! Well I heard another one the other day. I forget what it is, but my hairs stood on end.
I see that today is September 21, and my last post entitled, "Race Relations" was written on August 22. A full month - I just needed a little breather.
I am taking a class called Race & Ethnicity in American Literature. Its pretty fun, but at the same time, pretty demoralizing. I debate every day whether to walk out the door and go on with life, or to exit the room by jumping out of the fourth floor window of Perkins. That's not actually true, but the angst is in that general vicinity.
Long story - short, that is why this whole race deal has been so grossly entrenched on my mind. At first, I feel this sense of dread - you know, the "oh crap I'm walking into a room, where I am about to get absolutely roasted by a bunch of people who are mad at me" feeling -- wait, maybe thats not a normal thing after all. However, after I realize that those feelings are just me being an idiot, I actually open my ears (if thats possible) and hear the conversation in the room and it is unbelievable.
All I can say to expound on the unbelievabilility (wc?) is that situations (race being one of them) where there is a cataclysmic amount of brokenness is where redemption is the most real. We claim to be so easily lured into idolatry because of all we have in America. However, in a place like this class - a place where real issues aren't matador-ed, but where we actually grab the bull by the horns and deal - thats where we can truly see past all of these objects and idols that we have grown to worship. It's really amazing.
I wrote a paper the other day for this class, it's a response paper to "Heart of Whiteness" by Robert Jensen. Well here's an excerpt about the necessity of standing in the path of the bull rather than waving the red flag.
"The third emotion Jensen deals with is fear. Fear is a much broader topic than anger or guilt; which are both very pointed. With guilt and anger there is always a beginning point – there is always a reason for guilt and a point of anger. Fear can often be a feeling without any rational reason. The problem, herein, is that fear presents itself in so many different fashions and is incredibly hard to overcome. Jensen makes a few points to this matter. The most explicit example is one where he makes the proclamation that black people gaining more power is the white man’s worst fear, “This is perhaps the deepest fear that lives in the heart of whiteness…Are non-white people capable of doing to us the barbaric things we have done them?” (54). He also testifies that in some instances when meeting with a person of different ethnicity he feels scared. “Why am I feeling afraid of you? I know I have no reason to be afraid, but I am,” he feels this sense of fear – for some unknown reason (57). The fact that there is no definitive root of this fear reveals the true depth in which it lies. Fear goes much deeper beneath the surface than we understand. Phobias are a perfect example – people are afraid of fairly normal things. These can’t be simply explained, yet there are ways to overcome them.
The fear of heights is a very common phobia which can be beaten. The only way to overcome this fear is to face heights. That person must stand on ledges and deal with those feelings there, where they can truly engage them, rather than sitting on solid earth and worrying about the fear they might face. Similarly, this ‘phobia’ that seems to plague white people can only be overcome by facing them. Facing them does not mean simply acknowledging that these feelings: feelings of anger, guilt and fear exist, but really getting down to the root by communicating openly with the people who strike those emotions. Open dialogue is something that has been discussed as a path to redemption. In my brief time in this class I have seen some redemption take place. Many feelings of guilt and fear have dissipated as I have intentionally sought to spend time with people who are not white. Communication is a grassroots movement. But with a problem like white supremacy which rears its ugly head in the personal levels of relationships – the grassroots is the place to start. Nothing we do will ever change America’s racial complex from the top (government) down. These feelings, these emotions are the ‘real’ white supremacy, the real lingering of racism. As long as I can still acknowledge to housing feelings of anger, guilt and fear; so too can I assume that our politicians and people of power harbor those same feelings. Until that changes there will be no redemption. Until we are able to look at a black friend without any anguish, there will never be real relational equality. Furthermore, until we are able to (as a society) look into the eyes of a black man or woman and feel no semblance of any of the aforementioned feelings we can not draw near to a society that is balanced between the ethnic groups."
- Communication (the means) toward the end of the big three.
Andy Blasius
9/8/06
I've got another story coming about another class, but thats for another day and another time. Til, then fare thee well my faithful few.
xoxo,
AB
Speaking of pronunciation, I'm can't stand it when people mispronounce easy words...libarry? What?! Well I heard another one the other day. I forget what it is, but my hairs stood on end.
I see that today is September 21, and my last post entitled, "Race Relations" was written on August 22. A full month - I just needed a little breather.
I am taking a class called Race & Ethnicity in American Literature. Its pretty fun, but at the same time, pretty demoralizing. I debate every day whether to walk out the door and go on with life, or to exit the room by jumping out of the fourth floor window of Perkins. That's not actually true, but the angst is in that general vicinity.
Long story - short, that is why this whole race deal has been so grossly entrenched on my mind. At first, I feel this sense of dread - you know, the "oh crap I'm walking into a room, where I am about to get absolutely roasted by a bunch of people who are mad at me" feeling -- wait, maybe thats not a normal thing after all. However, after I realize that those feelings are just me being an idiot, I actually open my ears (if thats possible) and hear the conversation in the room and it is unbelievable.
All I can say to expound on the unbelievabilility (wc?) is that situations (race being one of them) where there is a cataclysmic amount of brokenness is where redemption is the most real. We claim to be so easily lured into idolatry because of all we have in America. However, in a place like this class - a place where real issues aren't matador-ed, but where we actually grab the bull by the horns and deal - thats where we can truly see past all of these objects and idols that we have grown to worship. It's really amazing.
I wrote a paper the other day for this class, it's a response paper to "Heart of Whiteness" by Robert Jensen. Well here's an excerpt about the necessity of standing in the path of the bull rather than waving the red flag.
"The third emotion Jensen deals with is fear. Fear is a much broader topic than anger or guilt; which are both very pointed. With guilt and anger there is always a beginning point – there is always a reason for guilt and a point of anger. Fear can often be a feeling without any rational reason. The problem, herein, is that fear presents itself in so many different fashions and is incredibly hard to overcome. Jensen makes a few points to this matter. The most explicit example is one where he makes the proclamation that black people gaining more power is the white man’s worst fear, “This is perhaps the deepest fear that lives in the heart of whiteness…Are non-white people capable of doing to us the barbaric things we have done them?” (54). He also testifies that in some instances when meeting with a person of different ethnicity he feels scared. “Why am I feeling afraid of you? I know I have no reason to be afraid, but I am,” he feels this sense of fear – for some unknown reason (57). The fact that there is no definitive root of this fear reveals the true depth in which it lies. Fear goes much deeper beneath the surface than we understand. Phobias are a perfect example – people are afraid of fairly normal things. These can’t be simply explained, yet there are ways to overcome them.
The fear of heights is a very common phobia which can be beaten. The only way to overcome this fear is to face heights. That person must stand on ledges and deal with those feelings there, where they can truly engage them, rather than sitting on solid earth and worrying about the fear they might face. Similarly, this ‘phobia’ that seems to plague white people can only be overcome by facing them. Facing them does not mean simply acknowledging that these feelings: feelings of anger, guilt and fear exist, but really getting down to the root by communicating openly with the people who strike those emotions. Open dialogue is something that has been discussed as a path to redemption. In my brief time in this class I have seen some redemption take place. Many feelings of guilt and fear have dissipated as I have intentionally sought to spend time with people who are not white. Communication is a grassroots movement. But with a problem like white supremacy which rears its ugly head in the personal levels of relationships – the grassroots is the place to start. Nothing we do will ever change America’s racial complex from the top (government) down. These feelings, these emotions are the ‘real’ white supremacy, the real lingering of racism. As long as I can still acknowledge to housing feelings of anger, guilt and fear; so too can I assume that our politicians and people of power harbor those same feelings. Until that changes there will be no redemption. Until we are able to look at a black friend without any anguish, there will never be real relational equality. Furthermore, until we are able to (as a society) look into the eyes of a black man or woman and feel no semblance of any of the aforementioned feelings we can not draw near to a society that is balanced between the ethnic groups."
- Communication (the means) toward the end of the big three.
Andy Blasius
9/8/06
I've got another story coming about another class, but thats for another day and another time. Til, then fare thee well my faithful few.
xoxo,
AB
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
