Category: Theory

Is Jesus for Trump or Against Trump?

joshua-5
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” (Joshua 5:13-14 NIV)

I think if anyone asked Jesus, “Are you for President Trump or against President Trump?”

I don’t think Jesus would say, “Against! I don’t like his actions. I wouldn’t do things that way,” nor do I think Jesus would say, “I’m for him! America first!”

I think Jesus would simply say, “Why are you asking me? What is required of the president of the United States according to the laws the Americans have made for themselves?”

Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy Quotes #15

“If the land is not to be lost to hordes from outside, we in all the Western World shall have to recover the power to build communities. It is quite worthless to map out programs of rehabilitation or resettlement since not one of the individuals thus resettled or rehabilitated has the stamina to partake in the revival of the community. First of all, before any planners can carry out any plan, we shall have to create opportunities in which men recover their power to found or re-found communities. This power is lost. The modern mind has lost the recipe.”

~from The Christian Future, page 198

Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy Quotes #14

“Man’s dignity lies not in producing private opinions but in timing public truth. His speech must not only be more than himself: it must come at the right moment, in the fullness of time. Then his words acquire a ‘once for ever’ meaning. All the sayings of Jesus were quite simple; they became important forever because they were spoken at the right moment, ‘when the time was fulfilled.’ A truth taught without the time element is abstract, therefore not vital. Truth is concrete at the lucky opportunity and hour. When we speak too late or too early we are out of luck; our truth remains abstract, and we fail to create a present in which people transcend mere past and future; we lack presence of mind.”

~from I Am an Impure Thinker: Teaching Too Late, Learning Too Early, page 95

I Am an Impure Thinker is available for free pdf download. Click here for that.

On Free Will

In the past I’ve always asked myself: “Do we have free will or not?”

It’s an either/or question which assumes that will is the only power in one’s life.

But later I thought: “Will is a power in one’s life, but it’s not the only power. There are other powers in one’s life which are stronger than will.”

But as I meditate on it more I realize that will is not a power at all. Terms like free will and will power don’t make any sense. Will is not a power, but rather a tool to be manipulated by the real powers in one’s life. Will is a steering wheel. The real powers turn the steering wheel. The real powers in one’s life are all the desires which push and pull us in different directions.

Our desires are built into us. If your desires are good, you will do good things. If they are evil, you will do evil. Either way, you will always do what you want to do.