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Some Circumstantial Evidence is Very Strong, as When You Find a Trout in the Milk!

April 7, 2020 10:23 pm

Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom. It does not require many words to speak the truth. Stimuli are events, sights, sounds, smells, movements, which put in motion processes of sensation and perception. Stimuli set off (neural) impulses. These impulses have effects. By effect what we mean is the activation of other (neural) impulses—usually more central ones in language we have used so far, that is further away from the original stimulus. By “classification” we mean a process by which an event has the same effect whenever it occurs. Events which produce the same effects belong to the same classes. For instance, o activates x; o belongs to the class x. And if o and p activate x; they belong to the class x. Any impulse, therefore, which activates a subsequent impulse X thus belongs to class X. Some of these impulses may also activate a subsequent impulse Y—in that case they belong to class Y as well as class X. This can be further complicated in many ways. For instance, not only may each individual event belong to more than one class, but is may also contribute to produce different effects if (and only if) it occurs in combination with certain other events. #RandolphHarris 1 of 18

The connection we are here looking at could be of cell-assemblies or phase-sequences or phase-cycles. These can build up into concepts. And concepts are classifying processes, classes for short. So we can write the o is part of the class (that is, the concept) X or that o is part of both the class (the concept) X and the class (the concept) Y. A logician and neurophysiologist would arrive at exactly the same position. The transmission of impulses from neuron to neuron within the central nervous system, which is conceived as constituting the apparatus of classification, may either take place between different neurons carrying primary impulses, or between such neurons and other (“internuncial”) neurons which are not directly connected with receptor organs. In the former instance, the same event may occur either as the primary object of classification or as a “symbol” classifying some other primary impulse. All impulses, whether primary or secondary, are likely to be subject to further classification, and therefore appear both as instruments and as objects of classification. For instance, a, b, c are objections of classification. D is the instrument of classification. #RandolphHarris 2 of 18

Picture D as being a point, like the Sun and a, b, c, being planets that receive light from D, making D like a nucleus. D stands for a, b, c. D is a symbol for a, b, c. If we incorporate D with other galaxies, when can then make D an object and instrument of classification because D is now drawing energy from a source greater or equal to itself, but a, b, and c, are only drawing energy from D. Now, a, b, c contributes to concept D, and D contributes to the higher-order concept J. So stimuli (in the external World) set off impulses, and because the patterns of stimuli affect the patterns of impulses, a subtle classification-system comes into being, with many connections and interconnections. The network of these connections will reproduce a sort of record of the past associations which any particular stimuli have had with other stimuli acting on the organism at the same time. The word classification scarcely conveys an adequate idea of the almost infinite wealth of variety and graduation of the discriminations which can be performed by this apparatus. Since it is not merely a question of a particular impulse either belonging or not belonging to a particular class, but also of its belonging to more or less strongly, it would be more appropriate to describe these complex processes by some such term as evaluation. #RandolphHarris 3 of 18

And so we have arrived by a new route at the idea of central dominance. The gradual evolution of the mental order involves thus a gradual approximation to the order which in the external World exists between stimuli evoking the impulses which represent them in the central nervous system. In discussing the relationship between a network of connexions and the structure of external events which it can be said to reproduce, it will be useful sometimes to employ the simile of the map which, in a somewhat analogous manner, reproduces some of the relations which exist in certain parts of the physical World. This map reflects the relationship between various events in the external World, relationships which the linkage gradually produce in the higher nervous centres. The map consists of connections between concepts. It must not be thought of as flat and two-dimensional like a geography map, however; it is multi-dimensional, defining the relationships of everything to everything else. At the beginning of life there is no map; it is in process of construction from incoming experiences, all new. However, as the system becomes more and more complex, and more and more firmly established, any new events is less likely to affect the general system of interlinking concepts to any marked degree. #RandolphHarris 4 of 18

We must now consider the manner in which the many impulses proceeding at any one moment can mutually influence each other. The centres at which such impulses arrive are never to be found in an inactive state. As the impulses ascend to higher and higher levels, they will be less and less likely to evoke specific responses. Increasingly their function can only be to modify behaviour in the light of the whole situation, which is represented not only by other impulses arriving simultaneously but also by the whole retained representation of the environment. Regarded from this point of view, the map will be seen as a relatively enduring structure, steering the organism in terms of past experience. The patterns of information coming in at any particular moment make a sort of representation of the environment at that moment. This representation is a model of the environment, which will enable the organism to take account of the environment at the moment. This model, which is formed at any moment by the momentarily active impulses, must not be confused with what we have called the map, the semi-permanent connexions representing not the environment of the moment but the kind of events which the organism has met during its whole past. #RandolphHarris 5 of 18

The map is a representation of all that has happened to the organism. The map is timeless. Because it is composed of memories, it is a map of past experiences. Because it is a map from which the current position (the World) can be read off, it contributes to a model of the present situation. On the map there is no sense of a flow from the past to the future via now. This is a formulation of the unconscious. By providing a model of the environment as it is now, against a background of all previous information, the organism’s reactions are adjusted to those elements in the environment which are active just now. In so far as the present model and the past experiences produce attention, the map contains at least an expectation of what the future could hold. It is therefore not fanciful to call this whole organization of map and model an instrument of orientation, like a gyroscope. We all feel that we are fully at home only in one language, and we call that one our mother tongue. We may have learned a few foreign languages as well: French, Russian, Italian. However, we forget that we all speak one other language, and that is the language of dreams. This language is a remarkable one. It is a universal language that has existed in all periods of human history and in all cultures. #RandolphHarris 6 of 18

The dream language of primitive humans, the dream language of Pharaoh in the Bible, the dream language of someone in Stuttgart or New York—they are all almost the same. We speak this language every night. Although we usually forget what we have dreamed and therefore think we have not dreamed at all, we do dream every single night. What are the characteristics of dream language? Its most obvious characteristic, of course, is that it is a night language, a language of sleep? It is as if we could speak French only at night and did not understand a word of it during the day. Furthermore, dream language is a symbolic language. We could say that the language makes use of visible, almost palpable things to express inner experiences in concrete form. That is just what literature does. If a writer says: “The red rose warms my heart,” no one understands that to mean that the temperature has risen. The writer is referring to a feeling, an experience, that one expresses in the form of a concrete physical process. Perhaps I can use the very example of a very interesting dream to show what I mean here. Dr. Sigmund Freud has this dream and then related it afterward. It is his dream about a herbarium and that the herbarium has a dried follow in it. That is the whole dream. Dr. Freud had some idea of what it meant. #RandolphHarris 7 of 18

The flower was his wife’s favorite flower, and his wife often complained that he never gave her flowers. Then, too, the flower was in some way linked to cocaine, of which he had become aware at just about the same time that its medical uses were being discovered. The flower in the herbarium was a symbol, but it was rich in meaning. It revealed something about one of the most important aspects of Dr. Freud’s personality. Flowers are symbols of love, of pleasures of the flesh, the living. However, this flower in the herbarium is a dried one whose only remaining value is as an object of scientific scrutiny. It can be studied as an object of research but not experiences as something blossoming, living. If we look a Dr. Freud’s attitude toward love and pleasures of the flesh, we in fact find that although he made pleasures of the flesh an object of scientific study, he was in his own life a rather shy and prudish man. When he was in his early forties, he wrote to a friend once that he was surprised at how attractive he found a woman he had seen. That is just one example of Dr. Freud’s attitude toward life at an age when most men would not be the least surprised over such an occurrence. #RandolphHarris 8 of 18

Thus, in this little symbol of a dried flower, a symbol that can be sketched in just a few words, we find clues to Dr. Freud’s character that would oblige us to fill many pages if we were to attempt to spell out in detail everything that was implicit in the symbolic language of that brief dream. Another important quality of dream language is that we know more about other people and ourselves when we are dreaming than we do when we are awake. We may be more irrational in our dreams—and I will be coming back to this point later—but in a certain sense we are much wiser, much more perceptive. The example of Dr. Freud’s dream shows this, too. As we know from Dr. Freud’s own analysis of his dream, he was hardly aware of the aspect of his character that the dream reveals. However, in this dream he could clearly recognize his equivocal attitude toward that the dream symbolized. Related to this aspect of dream language is still another feature that most discussions of dreaming do not adequately acknowledge. Most people (I say “most people,” but we have no stastics on this, so perhaps I should be more cautious and just say “many people” or, better still, “most of the people I have seen in my practice as a psychanalyst”) are creative in their dreams to an extent they never would have thought possible in their waking lives. #RandolphHarris 9 of 18

In their dreams people who, when awake, would never mange to do anything of the sort, not even with the greatest effort, become creators of stories, poems, myths. I do not know how many dreams I have heard that could be published word for word and that would give many a short story by Kafka a run for its money. And yet when that same individual is awake one would look at you as if you were mad if you were to say to one, “Well, now, write me a short story in Kafka’s style.” In fact one would be unable to write such a story. However, in one’s dreams one is a poet, an artist, this same person who has no artistic capabilities at all when one is awake. To sate my point in extreme form, we could say that a creative artist is someone who is creative even though one is awake. During the day we live in the context of a given culture. What we say in the daytime depends to a large extent on where we were born. It is obvious that an African who is a member of a hunting tribe will speak about other things and make use of other terms than we do. What we say is partially determined by our society. However, in our dreams we speak a universal language. Our daytime language, whether our mother tongue or a foreign one, is always a socially determined language. Dream language, however, is a universal language, the language of all humankind. #RandolphHarris 10 of 18

What is the explanation for this capability? Let me begin with something that may seem complex but is actually quite simple: the difference between waking and sleeping. We spend our lives in two modes of existence that we take so much for granted that we are often not even conscious of them. We spend part of our time awake and part of it asleep. What does it mean, though, to say we are awake? When we are awake we are in a state that requires us to tend to our lives. We have to work, we have to acquire the things we need to live; we have to defend ourselves against attacks; in short, we are absorbed in the struggle for existence. And that struggle influences what we do and what we think. It influences what we do because we have to conform. We have to behave the way society expects us to behave so that we can produce, so that we can work. However, more important still, this struggle strongly influences our feelings and the categories in which we think. During the day we look at things the way we have to look at them to manipulate them, use them, make something out of them. We have to behave reasonably, and “reasonably” means the way other people do, so that they will understand us but also will like us and not think: That is a totally eccentric or insane person. #RandolphHarris 11 of 18

We think and feel what “common sense” and so-called ordinary human decency tells us we should think and feel. We all think and feel that we love our parents, that they and all other authorities not only want the best for us but also know and do what is best, and so on. We feel happy or cheerful when the occasion demands, or if the occasion demands the opposite, we feel sad. In reality, we may not feel anything at all, but we think we do simply because we have assumed an appropriately happy or sad expression. And we do not think what strikes us as absurd because we assume that things that ought not to exist do not exist. Anderson’s fairy tale about the emperor’s new clothes illustrates that principle beautifully. The emperor is naked, but all the adults think he has gorgeous clothes on because that is what they expect. Only the little boy, whose thinking has not yet been pressed into the mold of most adults’ daytime minds, can see that the emperor is not wearing any clothes at all. When we are awake, we do, feel, and think what others expect of us. Do you view God as an ogre who has set before you an impossible code of conduct you cannot keep or do you view Him as your divine Heavenly Father who has accepted you and loves you on the basis of the merit of Christ? #RandolphHarris 12 of 18

In other words, in terms of your acceptance with God, are you willing to rely solely on the finished perfect work of Jesus, instead of your own pitifully imperfect performance? There probably is no other passage of Scripture that suggests more starkly the contrast between living by grace and living by works than does Romans 7.6. Paul intended the contrast between serving in the new way of the Spirit and the old way of the written code to represent the contrast between the believer and the unbeliever. All believers have died to the law, whether we recognize it or not. However, the sad fact is, many believers do not recognize it or are unwilling to accept it because, to them, it seems to good to be true. All too often we who are believers living in the realm of grace, live out our daily lives as if we were still living under the bondage of the law. And to the extent we live that way, we are still serving the old way of the written code and not in the new way of the Spirit. I am convinced that the sinful nature still present within every believer tends toward a legalistic spirit as much as it tends toward sin. The sinful nature despises the righteousness that comes by faith in Jesus Christ as much as it despises the ethical righteousness that comes from obeying God’s law. #RandolphHarris 13 of 18

If we are going to serve in the newness of the Spirit, we must resist the legalistic spirit of trying to “live by the law” as vigorously and persistently as we do temptations to sin. Sanctification brings about radical change, through God, in the heart of a person who trusts Jesus Christ as Saviour. It is the passing from spiritual death to spiritual life. It is the beginning of a new creation in Christ and the writing of God’s law in our hearts. It means a new relationship to the law of God and a new attitude toward it. And all this is from God. It is a gift of His grace just as surely as is the gift of justification. God does not bring us into His Kingdom then leave us on our own to grow. He continues to work in our lives to conform us more and more to the likeness of His Son. “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake much unto them concerning these things; yea, I spake unto them concerning the restoration of the Jews in the latter says. And I did rehearse unto them the words of Isaiah, who spake concerning the restoration of the Jews, or of the house of Israel; and after they were restored they should no more be confounded, neither should they be scattered again. And it came to pass that I did speak many words unto my brethren, that they were pacified and did humble themselves before the Lord. And it cam to pass that they did speak unto me again, saying: What meaneth this thing which our father saw in a dream? What meaneth the tree which he saw? #RandolphHarris 14 of 18

“And I said unto them: It was a representation of the tree of life. And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree? And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction. Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things. And they said unto me: What meaneth the river of water which our father saw? And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water. And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God. And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful hell, which the Angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked. #RandolphHarris 15 of 18

“And I said unto them that our father also saw that justice of God did also divine the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness of thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end. And they said unto me: Doth this thing mean the torment of the body in the days of probation, or doth it mean the final state of the soul after the death of the temporal body, or doth it speak of the things which are temporal? And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a representation of things both temporal and spiritual; for the day should come that they must be judged of the work, yea, even the works which were done by the temporal body in their days of probation. Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the Kingdom of God; if so, the Kingdom of God must be filthy also. #RandolphHarris 16 of 18

“But behold, I say unto you, the King of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the Kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy. And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final state of the souls of humans is to dwell in the Kingdom of God, or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken. Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen,” reports 1 Nephi 15.19-36. Almighty and everlasting God, have mercy on all Thy servants, and guide us according to Thy clemency into the way of everlasting salvation; that by Thy grace we may desire what pleases Thee, and with all power may perform it; through our Lord. O God, though I am allowed to approach Thee, I am not unmindful of my sins, I do not deny my guilt, I confess my wickedness, and earnestly plead forgiveness. #RandolphHarris 17 of 18

May I with Moses choose affliction rater than enjoy the pleasures of sin. Help me to place myself always under Thy guiding and guardian care, to take firmer hold of the sue covenant that binds me to Thee, to feel more of the purifying, dignifying, softening influence of the religion I profess, to have more compassion, love, pity, courtesy, to deem in an honour to be employed by Thee as an instrument in Thy hands, ready to seize every opportunity of usefulness, and willing to offer all my talents to Thy service. Thou hast done for me all things well, hast remembered, distinguished, indulged me. All my desires have not been gratified, but Thy love denied them to me when fulfilment of my wished would have proved my ruin or injury. My trails have been fewer than my sins, and when I have kissed the rod it has fallen from Thy hands. Thou hast often wiped away my tears, restored peace to my mouring heart, chastened me for my profit. All Thy work for me is perfect, and I praise Thee. O Christ, my Creator and Redeemer, Almighty Lord God, forgive all their sins to all who are joined to me by friendship or blood, and for whom I am desired to pray, or have resolved to pray—and to tall Thy faithful people. Deliver them from all evil, preserve them in all good, and bring them everlasting joy. #RandolphHarris 18 of 18

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The Ballot is Stronger than the Bullet—In Giving Freedom to the Slave, We Assure Freedom to the Free!

April 6, 2020 11:40 pm

To know others is wisdom, to know oneself—enlightenment. In seeking wisdom, the first step is silence, the second listening, the third remembering, the fourth practicing, the fifth—teaching others. When one has accepted whatever comes, the only important thing is to meet it with courage and with the best one has to give. The master and slave is a thought experiment of two self-consciousness. In this thought experiment, the two-self-conscious beings are in a battle for mutual recognition, which in turn, undermines the notion of autonomy and reflect an interaction between the self and the social. This further confirms that understanding that we cannot understand individuals as outside of everyday life and social relations. Therefore, both master and slave re interconnected where the master cannot be defined outside of the slave and the slave cannot be defined outside of the master. The two are in mutual interdependence and relation. The claim is that we are mutually dependent on others. This is seen clearly in one of the most prominent social institutions that influence our understandings of justice, the family. Beginning as early as Frederick Engel’s (1884) “The Monogamous Family,” the supremacy of the family as a socializing institution remains one of the most influential social relationships today. Previous scholars considered the family to be an exemplar of kindness and consideration for others, but rarely examined it. #RandolphHarris 1 of 19

The family was frequently viewed as a reflection of humans. Family life and practices, however, are often structured around notions of gender inequality, particularly in patriarchal societies where the mother/wife and children are constructed as subordinate and are valued less. Innate sex has been constructed as one of the clearest legitimizes of rights and restrictions. The principle which regulates social relations between men and women is the legal subordination of women through marriage, and the division of labour within family and the large social structures is not often challenged. Feminist theorists have long claimed that family structures based on unequal gender divisions of labour have significant impact on all women, whether they live and reside in traditional family structures or not. However, there may be a false gender neutrality and blatant neglect of critical theories of justice that interrogate the traditional gender roles of the family; instead, some advocate that there cannot be a just society without just family structures. It is theorized by some scholars that we are not born isolated, equal individuals, but that instead we are born into a family situation where some are poor, some wealthy, some to parents who have a contentious marriage, and some to parents who have strong, loving bond and any claims that equal opportunity exists are therefore completely unfounded. #RandolphHarris 2 of 19

In addition to family, other social institutions and relations complicate and influence how we understand each other, particularly how we understand difference. Race relations play a significant role when it comes to understanding social relations and intersections because they are one of the guiding forces in how we understand out place compared to others. Race continues to be one of the most influential social categories. Some think about race in terms of multiplicity, intersectionality, and hybridity. For others, however, race is a social construction, racism is real and have very real consequences and researchers and scholars are urged to look at the process of racialization and the many way racial meanings are constructed and imparted to social groups and processes. Unfortunately, most social science research on race tends to neglect the intersecting and overlapping forms of stratification and difference. In addition to the family and other socially constructed institutions, media too, particularly in our current time, play an influential role in the way people understand themselves in relation to the social World. The (biological or cultural) essence of essentialism refers to a lay belief in the existence of underlying natures that constitute and differentiate social categories. #RandolphHarris 3 of 19

Racial essentialism entails the tendency to understand social categories as expression of discrete, fixed, natural, uniform, and defining characteristics that are shared by all members, and are informative about them. Endorsement of essentialist beliefs has commonly been associated with negative outcomes, such as legitimization of existing social hierarchies, acceptance of racial inequality, and strict and rigid prejudice policies against marginalized groups by the dominant group. Investigations of racial essentialism typically understanding the defining characteristics of an identity category (id est, race) in terms of a biological essence. However, people may also understand racial categories in terms of cultural characteristics, rather than purely biological or genetic characteristics. Essence is an elusive concept; it is difficult to define precisely what comprises the imagined essence of an identity category. Racial essentialism is a genetic or biological essence that defines all member of a racial category. However, the imagined essence of a racial group need not be biological; people also define racial groups in terms of particular cultural characteristics, or conflate race and culture. Cultural essentialism is the idea that people are more or less passive carriers of their culture, whereby their attitudes, beliefs and achievements are supposed to reflect typical cultural patterns. #RandolphHarris 4 of 19

Applied to racial identity, cultural essentialism is the belief that racial categories are associated with distinct, fixed, and stable cultural patterns (emempli gratia, values, beliefs, practices, and lifestyles); these cultural patterns definitively and permanently shape the psychological characteristics of individuals within a racial group, and differentiate them from members of other racial groups. However, people can also use the cultural forms of essentialism to advance collective interest. Specifically, both ethnic minority and ethic Dutch participants in the Netherlands expressed cultural essentialist ideas at times, but they did so for different ends. For instance, ethnic minority participants expressed cultural essentialist ideas to argue against assimilationist polices, claiming that they could not possibly “become just like the Dutch” in order to fully integrate into Dutch society. Ethnic Dutch participants expressed cultural essentialist ideas—specifically, the belief that a person absorbs the ethnic culture within which one is raised, with the implication that Dutch and other ethnic groups are fundamentally different types of person—to argue for restrictions on entry of immigrants into the country. However, ethnic Dutch participants also discussed ethic identity in non-essentialist terms, particularly to argue that minority groups can—and should—assimilate to Dutch culture. #RandolphHarris 5 of 19

One of the most salient issues woven into discussions of justice and social relations is the conception of power. Power is embedded in social relations and is relative, rather than absolute, to a given situation, relationship, or interactions. People from dominant groups tent to interpret and deploy essentialism in ways that reproduce the unjust status quo. What happens if we decolonize scientific gaze and consider the issues of essentialism from the standpoint of marginalized or racially subordinate identity positions? Research suggest that people from subordinated categories may often resist essentialist understandings; for example, when they aim to overcome discrimination by challenging constructions of an identity category as a homogeneous entity. This resistance may be particularly true of biological essentialism of race. Historically, people have developed and deployed arguments about genetic differences between racial groups to argue that certain groups of people are naturally inferior in ability, fitness, or intelligence compared to dominant groups, thereby legitimizing forms of racial oppression such as colonialism, slavery, and segregation. Among people from dominant categories, endorsement of cultural essentialism may imply a belief that racial inequality reflects the essential superiority of their own cultural practices and essential inferiority of other practices. #RandolphHarris 6 of 19

Society has its rituals and taboos. Some people are who they are because they are outcast, not because they are perfect members of the dominant group. Alienation seems to be the origin of identity. Pain and self-analysis are necessary evils. Any individual can be remade, but society must be protected from a person whose behaviour would destroy it. Building on hegemony, leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over other, we attempt to provide an understanding of hegemony as a powerful, albeit fragile, conceptual tool. Hegemony, as defined is the power or dominance that one social group holds over another. Family, peer and social groups, political and social institutions, and the mass media all play particularly important roles in the maintenance and development of hegemony as dominant ideologies are reproduced and reinforced within these basic social units. Hegemony is both the power and dominance one group holds over another and is a method for gaining and maintaining power. Hegemony implies willing and/or tacit consent and agreement by those in the subordinated role and is sustained by the major socializing institutions. It is important to pay particular attention to the way media maintains hegemonic control. #RandolphHarris 7 of 19

Media hegemony means the dominance of certain aspects of life and thought by the penetration of a dominant culture and its values into social life. Media hegemony serves as a crucial shaper of culture, values and ideology of society. The television news departments embed messages that convey the nature of society, the nature of relations of production with society. Journalist can unconsciously facilitate the ideological hegemony by the way they use cultural categories and symbols. Further, reporters are inclined to choose and report those issues that are favourable to the dominant ideology and the status quo. This selection process hinders social change by diffusing certain types of news reports to the public. To a large extent, the formation of public opinion is based on the information spread by status quo-oriented news media. It is believed that prejudiced news reporting will hinder international social change because the news media may shape negative stereotypes about certain individuals, groups, regions, or countries. When analyzing and critiquing Justice, hegemony is one of the most important concepts to understand and provides a place to begin building a theory of justice. #RandolphHarris 8 of 19

As previously stated, everyday life, personhood, and social relations are complex. As such, it may be a good idea to envision a new theory on justice as socially and historically contextualized. We must advocate for politics that recognize, rather than represses, difference; a politics that acknowledges and affirms group identity and difference. An ideal speech situation is found when communication between individuals is governed by basic implied rules. In an ideal speech situation, participants would be able to evaluate each other’s assertions solely on the basis of reason and evidence in an atmosphere completely free of any nonrational coercive influences, including both physical and psychological coercion. Furthermore, all participants would be motivated solely by the desire to obtain a rational consensus. This represents the idea of justice as a structure of institutionalized relations that are free from domination. This theory of justice focuses on relations of interaction, focuses primarily on forms of social organization and contacts an a priori universal aspect without producing a conception of justice which claims transhistorical application. Therefore, the study of justice takes into account social, historical, and contextual matters and works to include and bring to light the complexities of everyday life. #RandolphHarris 9 of 19

Social relations and intersections can been seen both at the micro-level (communities, families, etcetera) and at the macro-;level (dealings nationally, internationally, and with the state). Social relations must also be understood as power relations. Historically, power relations have been contextualized within the framework of dominance and subordination. These relations are depicted in colonial relationships. There is a need to further interrogate the colonizer/colonized relationships that continue to exist today. The process of colonization in any form creates relationships based on oppression rather than reciprocity, domination rather than consensus. The relationship between people and the state is often conflictual. The relations between colonizer and colonized is one of domination and submission which leads us to ask, what do we owe other persons in life? I think that, somehow, research evidence is out of place in a talk such as I have been giving. In a workshop a man communicated with the group what he had some really difficult experiences immediately after the workshop, including spending time with “a father-in-law who does not care much about me as a person but only in what I concretely accomplish. I was severely shaken. It was like going from one extreme to another. #RandolphHarris 10 of 19

“I again began to doubt my purpose and particularly my usefulness. But time and again I would hearken back to the group, to things you have said or done that gave me a feeling that I do have something to offer—that I do not have to demonstrate concretely to be worthwhile—and this would even the scale and lift me out of my depression. I have come to the conclusion that my experiences with you have profoundly affected therapy. None of you have to care about me, none of you needed to seek me out and let me know of things you thought would help me, none of you have to let me know that I was of help to you—yet you did, and as a result, it has far more meaning than anything I have so far experienced. When I feel the need to hold back and not live spontaneously, for whatever reason, I remember that twelve persons, just like these before me, said to let go and be congruent, to be myself, and of all unbelievable things, they even loved me more for it. This has given me the courage to come out of myself many times since then. Often it seems, my very doing this helps the others to experience similar freedom. I have also been able to let others into my life more—to let them care for me and to receive their warmth. #RandolphHarris 11 of 19

“I remember the time in our group encounter when this change occurred. It felt like I have removed long-standing barriers—so much so that I deeply felt a new experience of openness toward you. I did not have to be afraid, I did not have to fight or fearfully pull away from the freedom this offered my own impulses—I could just be and let you be with me.” The second excerpt is taken from the report of a woman who had come with her husband to this workshop in human relations, although she and her husband were in separate groups. She talks at some length about her experience in revealing her feelings to the group and the results of taking that step. “Taking the plunge was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I have hidden my feelings of hurt and loneliness from even my closet friends while I was feeling them. Only when I had suppressed my feelings and could speak jokingly or causally could I share painful things at all, but that did not help me work through them. You knocked down the walls that were holding back hurt, and it was good to be with you and hurt—and not withdraw. Also, before, it has been so painful to me to be misunderstood or criticized that I chose not to share truly meaningful events, good or bad, most of my life. Only recently have I dared risk the hurt. #RandolphHarris 12 of 19

“Only recently have I dared risk the hurt. In the group I faced these fears and was relieved beyond measure to find that my feelings in response to your criticism and misunderstandings (so blessedly devoid of hostility, I felt) were not deep hurt, but more curiosity, regret, irritation, perhaps sadness, and [I felt] a deep sense of gratitude for the help I experienced in looking at part of me I had not seen nor wanted to face before. I am sure my perception of your concern and respect for the person, even when my behavior might irritate or alienate you, makes it possible for me to accept all of this and find it helpful. There were times I felt very afraid of the group, though never of you individually. I needed very much at times to talk with just an individual, but during the course of the week discovered that most of you at some time or other were a real help to me. What a release to find so many instead of just leaders. This experience opened me to a deeper trust in people, increased my ability to be open with others. One of the nicest results is that now I can completely relax. I did not realize how much constant tension I was under until I suddenly was not. I am now much more sensitive to the time when my emotions or fatigue make me a poor listener, for I find that my own inner hurts and anxiety, even suppressed, interfered with my really listening to another. #RandolphHarris 13 of 19

“Since then I have been able to listen better and to respond more helpfully than ever before in my life. I have been far more aware of what I was feeling and experiencing myself—an openness to myself I never had before. Congruence was more an ideal than reality to me. Frankly, I could it disconcerting to experience and frightening to express. This was the first really safe place I had found to see what I was like, to experience and express myself. I now find that a lack of congruence in myself is painful. The release and joy in my being open to what I was experiencing within and being able to keep this openness between us was new and uplifting. I am deeply grateful to you who have made it possible for us to be so much more open with each other.” I trust that you will se in these experiences some of the elements of growth-promoting interpersonal communication that have had meaning for me. A sensitive ability to hear, a deep satisfaction in being heard; an ability to be more realm which in turn brings forth more realness from others; ad consequently a great freedom to give and receive love—these, in my experience, are the elements that make interpersonal communication enriching and enhancing. Of course, of a macro-level, things can be more complicated. #RandolphHarris 14 of 19

The moral precepts of God are written on our hearts as well as being an external code. The Spirit inclines our hearts and give us a desire to obey. The Spirit enables us t obey the law’s commands. The Spirit, by removing our hostility and writing the law on our hearts, actually causes us to delight in God’s law. The Spirit, by showing us God’s grace, produces a response of love and gratitude. We obey, not out of fear or to earn favor, but out of gratitude for favor already given. The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are accepted by God through the merit of Christ. By relying solely on this perfect righteousness, we feel accepted by Him. Thus, in our Christian life, we work from a position of strength, because we have been accepted through Jesus, and through Him, we have “made it.” Lehi’s seed are to receive the gospel from the Gentiles in the latter days—the gathering of Israel is likened unto an olive tree whose natural branches will be grafted in again—Nephi interprets the vision of the tree of life and speak of the justice of God in dividing the wicked from the righteous. About 600-592 Before Christ. “And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been carried away in the Spirit, and seen all these things, I returned to the tent of my father. And it came to pass that I beheld my brethren, and they were disputing one with another concerning the things which my father had spoken unto them. #RandolphHarris 15 of 19

“For he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard to be understood, save a person should inquire of the Lord; and they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought. And now I, Nephi, was grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, and also, because of thing things which I had seen, and knew they must unavoidably come to pass because of the great wickedness of the children of humans. And it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall. And it came to pass that after I have received strength I spake unto my brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations. And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive tree, and also concerning the Gentiles. And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord? And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known to us. Behold, I said into them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts? Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you. #RandolphHarrris 16 of 19

“Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was compared unto an olive tree, by the Spirit of the Lord which was in our father; and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch of the house of Israel? And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall be manifested in body unto the children of humans, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed—and at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel f the Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved. And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine? Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God? #RandolphHarris 17 of 19

“Behold I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive tree, into the true olive tree. And this is what our father meaneth; and he meaneth that it will not come to pass until after they are scattered by the Gentiles; and he meaneth that is shall come by way of the Gentiles, that the Lord may show his power unto the Gentiles, for the very cause that he shall be rejected of the Jews, or of the house of Israel. Wherefore, our father hath not spoken of our seed alone, but also of all the house of Israel, pointing to the covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days; which covenant the Lord made to our Father Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindred of the Earth be blessed,” reports 1 Nephi 15.1-18. Are you seeking to build and maintain your relationship with God on the basis of keeping the law, this is, on the basis of your personal performance, or on the basis of the merit of Jesus Christ? Do you view God’s moral precepts a source of bondage and condemnation for failure to obey them, or do you sense the Spirit producing within you an inclination and desire to obey out of gratitude and love? Do you try to obey by your own sheer will and determination or do you rely on the Spirit daily for His power to enable you to obey? #RandolphHarris 18 of 19

O God, Who by the grace of the Holy Ghost hast poured the gifts of love into the hearts of Thy faithful people; grant unto Thy servants, for whom I implore Thy mercy, health of body and soul; that they may love Thee with all their strength, and with perfect affection fulfil Thy pleasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thou great I Am, please fill my mind with elevation and grandeur at the thought of a Being with whom one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, a mighty God, who, amidst the lapse of Worlds, and the revolutions of empires, feels no variableness, but is glorious in immortality. May I rejoice that, while people die, the Lord lives; that, while all creatures are broken reeds, empty cisterns, fading flowers, withering graces, He is the rock of ages, the foundation of living waters. Turn my heart from vanity, dissatisfactions, from uncertainties of the present state, to an eternal interest in Christ. Let me remember that life is short and unforeseen, and is only an opportunity for usefulness; give me a holy avarice to redeem the time, to awake at every call to charity and piety, so that I may feed the hungry, clothe the naked, instruct the ignorant, reclaim the vicious, forgive the offender, diffuse the gospel, show neighbourly love to all. Let me live a life of self-distrust, dependence on thyself, mortification, crucifixion, prayer. #RandolphHarris 19 of 19

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But of All Plagues, Good Heaven, Thy Wrath Can Send, Save Me, Oh, Save Me, from the Candid Friend!

April 4, 2020 11:25 pm

With all the changes and challenges you face each day, there is never been a greater need to take the time to determine your priorities, and then with renewed focus, align your daily actions with your purpose or goals. Since you cannot know it all or do it all, it is vital that you learn to take the time to contemplate what it is you need to know and what you need to do. And keep in mind, the art of being wise is to know what to overlook. For what do we give thanks? Are there limits to giving thanks? Our text says—“In everything give thanks!” This does not mean—give thanks for everything, but give thanks in every situation! There are no limits to situations in which to thanks, but there are limits to thing for which thanks can be expressed. This is again a question the answer to which might lead us into a new understanding of the human predicament. In the letter to 1 Timothy 4.4 we read—“For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; for then it is consecrated by the word of God and prayers.” In these words, thanksgiving receives a new function. It consecrates everything created by God. Thanksgiving is consecration; it transfers something that belongs to the secular World into the sphere of the holy. #RandolphHarris 1 of 22

Thanksgiving is not transformed, as superstition in and outside of Christian beliefs would transform it, but it is elevated to represent the divine. It has become a bearer of grace. Therefore, we say “grace” when we give thanks for our daily food, and thus consecrate it. Every created thing can be a bearer of holiness, an object of thanks, of consecration. There are no limits to thanksgiving in this respect. We can give thanks for our bodily and our mental powers, for the darkness of our unconscious as well as for the light of our consciousness, for the abundance of nature and the creations of history, for everything that is and manifests its power of being. We can give thanks for all these despite their rejection by those who, through World-hating asceticism and fanatical puritanism, blaspheme the God of creation. Everything for which we can give thanks with a good conscience is consecrated by our thanks. This is not merely a profound theological insight; it is also a practical standard in situations where we are uncertain about accepting it, we can give thanks for it, we witness to its goodness as crated. In giving thanks seriously, we consecrate it to the holy source of being from which it comes. And we even take the risk that Protestant Christians must take—that their conscience may fall into error and consecrate something which should be rejected. #RandolphHarris 2 of 22

One reason we have this new attitude toward sin and God’s law is that we “died” to the law. Such a statement may sound strange after we have learned insistently about the importance of God’s law as a moral rule in the believer’s life. However, through the law reveals God’s moral will for us, the law in itself has no power to enable us to obey it. Because the law commands obedience without providing any enabling power, it is in this sense a course of bondage. And because we were hostile to God’s law prior to our salvation (The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so, reports Romans 8.7), it was also a source of provocation to us. Instead of being a means of obedience to God, the law actually provoked us and incited us to sin (What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have know what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law has not said, “Do not covert.” However, sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead, reports Romans 7.7-8). Such a human’s actions, however much they outwardly appear to be like those of other beings, are done under the impulsion of a higher will than the personal. #RandolphHarris 3 of 22

“So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to one who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. However, now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code,” reports Romans 7.4-6. “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin,” reports Romans 3.20. “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace,” reports Romans 6.14. “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law,’” reports Galatians 3.10. From these passages we understand that we died to the observance of the law as a requirement for attaining righteousness before God. We died to the curse and condemnation that resulted from our inability to perfectly keep the law. Then we see in Romans 6.14 that being under the law is opposite of being under grace. #RandolphHarris 4 of 22

Because of our sin against the law, being under law implied the wrath of God, whereas grace implies forgiveness and favour. Law implies a broken relationship with God, whereas grace implies a restored relationship with Him. So when Paul said we died to the law, he meant we died to that entire state of condemnation, curse, and alienation from God. The most important thing for us to see in our death to the law, however, is the purpose of our death. We died to the law in order that we might live in the realm of grace. We died to the law that we might bear fruit to God. And according to Romans 7.6, we died that we might “serve [God] in the new ways of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code [the law].” The new way of the spirit is not a new and less rigorous ethic than the old way of the written code. The difference does not lie in the content of the moral will of God. Since that is a reflection of the holy character of God, it cannot change. Rather, the difference lies in the reason to obey and in the ability with which to obey. Verse 6 gets right to the heart of what it means to live by grace. For serving in the new way of the Spirit is the same as living by grace instead of by works. Although it is clearly God’s design that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, far too many Christians still serve in the old way of the law. #RandolphHarris 5 of 22

There are no limits to giving thanks in the whole of creation. However, are there not limits in our life? Can we honestly give thanks for the frustrations, accidents, and infirmaries that strike us? We cannot in the moment when they take hold of us. Here is one of the many situations where piety can degenerate into dishonesty. For we rightly resist such evils. We want to remove them; we are often angry against our destiny and its divine ground. And there are depths of suffering, bodily and mental, in which even the question of thanking or not thanking does not appear. Out of the depths the psalmist cries to God; he does not thank Him. This is honest, realistic—a realism born out of the awareness of the divine presence. And I believe that at some time in our lives all of us have had experiences that were nothing but evil when they happened, but that became a good later and the object of honest thanks. And we also cannot give thanks for our own acts that make us guilty or for those that make us good. We cannot give thanks for that which makes us guilty; and sometimes things for which we have given thanks become evil by our own guilt. Nor should we give tanks for that in us which makes us good. #RandolphHarris 6 of 22

The thanks of the pharisee for one’s good work is an outstanding example of thanks which should not be given. In reality, one does not thank God when one is thankful for one’s own goodness, but thanks oneself. How many of us thank ourselves when we give thanks to God! However, one cannot thank oneself, because the sacrifice of thanking, if given to oneself, ceases to be a sacrifice. Thanks to oneself is not thanks, even when prayers of thanks to God are hidden ways of thanking oneself, as after work well done or success achieved by great toil. It I a surprising experience to read the Bible, and especially the last third of the books of Psalms, with the questions of thanks in one’s mind. One discovers that the praise of God fills page after page in which the misery of all beings, including the writers of those books, is also most drastically described. Reading them, we feel as though we walk in another realm. We cannot reproduce in ourselves what is happening to these beings. (We are not in the mood of praising, hardly in the mood of thanking.) We look into the depth of our predicament and do not see much reason for praise and thanks. And if we think that it is our duty to God to thank Him, of if we participate in church services that include praise and thanks, we do not feel that we have truly expressed our state of mind. #RandolphHarris 7 of 22

Although this experience of not feeling that we have truly expressed our state of mind is not invariable, it is a predominant trait of our religious situation. It expresses itself in the messages of our best present preachers and theologians. It is a dominating theme of our great poets and philosophers. We are not called to pas judgment on these beings. We have a part in them. They express us as they express themselves. And we should thank those who do it seriously, and often out of deep spiritual suffering. The differences of our situation from that of former periods becomes visible when we read about the passion and intensity with which the members of the early church gave thanks for the gift of the Christian message in a World of pagan glory, disintegration and despair. Is the same passion and intensity in us when we give thanks for the gift of God which is the Christ and His church? Who can honestly answer “yes”? And do we not sense the same difference when we read how the fighters of the Reformation thanked God for the rediscovery of the good news of the divine acceptance of those who are sinners? Is the same infinite concern in us as was in them? Who can honestly answer “yes”? We must therefore be grateful to those who express our present situation honestly. #RandolphHarris 8 of 22

When I am not prized and appreciated, I not only feel very much diminished, but my behaviour is actually affected by my feelings. When I am prized, I blossom and expand, I am an interesting individual. In a hostile or unappreciative group, I am just not much of anything. People wonder, with very good reason, how did he ever get a reputation? I wish I had the strength to be more similar in both kinds of groups, but actually the person I am in a warm and interested group is different from the person I am in a hostile or cold group. Thus, prizing or loving and being prized or loved is experienced as very growth enhancing. A person who is loved appreciatively, not possessively, blooms and develops one’s own unique self. The person who loves nonpossessively is oneself enriched. There is some consolation: We are not separated from the ever active presence of God, and we can become aware of it in every moment. Our hearts can become filled with praise and thanks without the use of words; and sometimes we may also find those words of praise and thanks. However, this is not the first step, and, often, not even the last. Let us not follow those who use what is called the present religious revival to force us back into forms of prayer and thanks that we cannot honestly accept, or that produce joy and thanks through self-suggestion. #RandolphHarris 9 of 22

The repetition of the words that reinforce class consciousness make the mind one coherent conviction. People become so wrapped up in explanations that their social construction of reality becomes deep—so deep that their fictious responses seem natural. These psychological revolutions that are formed create confusion because they are not natural nor heart felt. Therefore, let us keep ourselves open to the power that carries our life in every moment, that is here and now, that comes to us through nature and through the message of Jesus as the Christ. May we keep open to it, so that we may be filled with silent gratefulness for the power of being which is in us. And then perhaps words of thanks, words of sacrifice and consecration, may come to our tongues, so that we again may give thanks in truth and honesty. Almighty God! We raise our hearts to Thee in praise and thanks. For we are not by ourselves and nothing is ours except what Thou hast given us. We are finite; we did not bring anything into our World; we shall not take anything out of our World. Thou hast given us the life which is ours so long as it is Thy will. We thank Thee that we have being, that we share in the inexhaustible riches of life, in the smallest and in the largest part of it. We praise Thee when we feel strength in body and soul. #RandolphHarris 10 of 22

We give thanks to Thee when joy fills our hearts. We are gratefully aware of Thy presence, be it in silence, or in words. Awaken us to such awareness when our daily life hides Thy presence from us, when we forget how near Thou art to us in every place and in every moment, nearer than any other being is to us, nearer than we are to ourselves. Let us not turn aware from Thy giving and creating presence to the things Thou hast given us. Let us not forget the Creator behind the creation. Keep us always ready for the sacrifice of giving thanks to Thee. Thine is what we are and have. We consecrate it to Thee. Receive our thanks when we say grace, consecrating our food and with it all that we receive in our daily life. Prevent us from using empty words and forms when we give thanks to Thee. Save us from routine and mere convention when we dare to speak to Thee. We thank Thee when we look back at our life, be it long or short, for all that we have met in it. And we thank Thee not only for what we have loved and for what gave us pleasure, but also for what brought us disappointment, pain and suffering, because we now know that it helped us to fulfill that for which we were born. #RandolphHarris 11 of 22

And if new disappointments and new sufferings takes hold of us and words of thanks die on our tongues, remind us that a day may come when we will be ready to give thanks for the dark road on which Thou hast led us. Our words of thanks are poor and often we cannot find words at all. There are days and months and years in which we were or are still unable to speak to Thee. Give us the power, at such times, to keep our hearts open to the abundance of life, and in silent gratefulness, to experience Thy unchanging, eternal presence. Take the silent sacrifice of a heart when words of thanks become rare in us. Accept our silent gratefulness and keep our hearts and our minds open to Thee always! We thank Thee for what Thou hast given to this nation far beyond the gifts to any other nation! Let us remain thankful for it, so that we may overcome the dangers of shallowness of life and emptiness of heart that threaten our people. Prevent us from turning Thy gifts into causes of injury and self-destruction. Let a grateful mind protect us against national and personal disintegrations. Turn us to Thee, the source of our being, eternal God! Amen. An Angel tells Nephi of the blessings and cursings to fall upon the Gentiles—there are only two churches: the Church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil—than Saints of God in al nations are persecuted by the great and abominable church—the Apostle John will write concerning the end of the World. About 600-592 Before Christ. #RandolphHarris 12 of 22

“And it come to pass, that is the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that He shall manifest Himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—and harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father’ yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded. And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away their souls of humans down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of humans shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end. For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him. #RandolphHarris 13 of 22

“And it came to pass that the Angel spake unto me, Nephi saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the concering the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and though also hast heard that whoso repenteth not much perish. Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God. For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of humans; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to be the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken. And it came to pass that when the Angel has spoke these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou covenants of the Father unto the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil. #RandolphHarris 14 of 22

“And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belondeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church , which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the Earth. And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the Earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the Earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon the face of the Earth; and their dominions upon the face of the Earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw. And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitude upon the face of all the Earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the Earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory. #RandolphHarris 15 of 22

“And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the Earth. Ans as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the Angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold thou seest all these things—and when they day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the Earth, whose founder is the devil, then at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel. And it came to pass that the Angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld a man, and he was dressed in a white robe. And the Angel said unto me: Behold one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Behold, he shall see and write the remainder of these things which have been. And he shall also write concerning the end of the World. #RandolphHarris 16 of 22

“Wherefore, the things which he shall write are just and true; and behold they are written in the book which proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain and pure, and most precious and easy to the understanding of all people. And behold, the things which this apostle of the Lamb shall write are many things which thou hast seen; and behold, the remainder shalt thou see. However, the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God that he should write them. And also others who have been, to them hat he shown all things, and they have written them; and they are sealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel. And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the words of the Angel. And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore the things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part of the things which I saw. #RandolphHarris 17 of 22

“And I bear record that I saw the things which my father saw, and the Angel of the Lord did make them known unto me. And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was carried away in the Spirit; and if all the things which I saw are not written, the things which I have written are true. And thus it is. Amen,” reports 1 Nephi 14.1-30. Pray continually, and in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. Is continual prayer possible? Yes and no. It is, of course, impossible to carry on a running dialogue while we are working or at other times, but the prayer called for here is not so much the articulation of words as the posture of the heart. There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we can be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs. However, deep within, behind the scenes, at a profounder level, we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship, and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings. The time of business does not differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different cuisines, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees. #RandolphHarris 18 of 22

My heart is ever lifted up to God at all times and in all places. In this I am never hindered, much less interrupted, by any person of thing. In retirement or company, in leisure, business, or conversation, my heart is ever with the Lord. Whether I lie down or rise up, God is in all my thoughts; I walk with God continually, having the loving eye of my mind still fixed upon God, and everywhere seeing God that is invisible. Thus, we see that a life of continual prayer is not only possible, but some actually live it out. Understand that this life is not meant just for some, or for a spiritual elite, but for all of us. Continual prayer is God’s will for every Christian, no exceptions. I can do it; you can do it. Business people, students, young parents—all can do it. We are to have a perpetual inner dialogue with God. We must always be looking up, even when driving to work or mowing the lawn. Almighty and everlasting God, be Thou present to our duties, and grant the protection of Thy presence to all that dwell in this house; that Thou mayest be known to be the Defender of Thy family, and the Inhabitant of this dwelling; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour and Redeemer, my we be granted entrance into Heaven and always remain at God’s side. #RandolphHarris 19 of 22

Hear us, holy Lord, Father Almighty, everlasting God, and be pleased to send Thy holy Angel from Heaven, to guard, cherish, protect, visit, and defend all who dwell in this habitation; through Jesus Christ our Lord may all of us be blessed and receive eternal life. O Spirit of God, help my infirmities; when I am pressed down with a load of sorrow, perplexed and knowing not what to do, slandered and persecuted, made to feel the weight of the cross, help me, I pray Thee. If Thou seest in me any wrong thing encouraged, any evil desire cherished, any delight that is not Thy delight, any habit that grieves Thee, any nest of sin in my heart, then grant me the kiss of Thy forgiveness, and teach my feet to talk the way of Thy commandments. Deliver me from carking care, and make me a happy, holy person; help me to walk the separated life with firm and brave step, and to wrestle successfully against weakness; teach me to laud, adore, and magnify Thee, with the music of Heaven, and make me a perfume of praiseful gratitude to Thee. I do not crouch at Thy feet as a slave before a tyrant, but exult before Thee as a child with a father. Give me power to live as Thy child in all my actions, and to exercise family-ship by conquering self. #RandolphHarris 20 of 22

Preserve me from the intoxication that comes of prosperity; sober me when I am glad with a joy that comes not from Thee. Lead me safely on to the eternal kingdom, not asking whether the road be rough or smooth. I request only to see the face of Him I love, to be very content with bread to eat, with raiment to put on, if I can be brought to Thy house in peace. Then the events of this wide World I would seize like a strong giant, and my spirit teaze till at its shoulders it should proudly see wings to find out an immortality. Stop and consider! Life is but a day; a fragile dew-drop on its perilous way from a tree’s summit; a poor Indian’s sleep while his boat hastens to the monstrous steep of Montmorenci. Why so sad a moan? Life is the rose’s hope while yet unblown; the reading of an ever-changing tale; the light uplifting of a maiden’s veil; a pigeon tumbling in clear Summer air; a laughing school-boy, without grift or care, riding the springy branches of an elm. O for ten years, that I may overwhelm myself in posey; so I may do the deed that my own soul has to itself decreed. Then will I pass the countries that I see in long perspective, and continually taste their pure fountains. The night has a thousand eyes, and the day but one; yet the light of the bright World dies with the dying Sun. #RandolphHarris 21 of 22

First the realm I will pass of Flora, and old Pan: sleep in the grass, feed upon apples red, and strawberries, and choose each pleasure that my fancy sees; catch the white-handed nymphs in shady places, to woo sweet kisses from averted faces—play with their finger, touch their shoulders white into a pretty shrinking with a bite as hard as lips can make it: till agreed, a lovely tale of human life we will read. And one will teach a tame dove how it best may fan the cool air gently over my rest; another, bending over her nimble tread, will set a green robe floating round her head, and still will dance with ever varied ease, smiling upon the flowers and the trees: another will entice me on, and on through almond blossoms and rich cinnamon; till in the bosom of a leafy World we rest in silence, like two gems up curled in the recesses of a pearly shell. We beseech Thee, O Lord, make Thy servants always to join together in seeking Thee with their whole heart, to serve Thee with submissive mind, humbly to implore Thy mercy, and perpetually to rejoice in Thy blessings; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Stretch forth, O Lord, Thy mercy over Thy servants, even the right hand of Heavenly help; that they may seek Thee with their whole heart, and obtain what they rightly ask for; thought Christ our Lord. #RandolphHarris 22 of 22

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Watch the Walkthrough of Residence #2

The Former Allies Had Blundered in the Past by Offering Germany too Little, and Offering Even that too Late!

April 3, 2020 10:20 pm

Become aware of the endless stream of paper that flows into your life on a daily basis that keeps you from concentrating on what is truly important. We spend untold hours: taking it in; glancing at it; sorting through it; reading it; stacking it on a corner of the desk; glancing through it again; setting it aside; then later trying to find it again; not knowing what to do with it; finally deciding what to do with it; filing it; passing it on to clutter up someone else’s space; setting it aside to clutter up our own space; or tossing it out. People forget how fast you did a job—but they remember how well you did it. In all expressions of gratitude towards others, the object of our thanks is usually visible. We know at least whom to thank, and what for, although we often do not know how to thank. However, there is also gratefulness that is, so to speak, without a definite object towards which to turn. This is so not because we do not know the object, but because there is no object. We are simply grateful. Thankfulness has taken hold of us, not because something special has happened to us, but just because we are, because we participate in the glory and power of being. It is a mood of joy, but more than a mood, more than a transitory emotion. It is a state of being. And it is more than joy. It is a joy that includes the feeling that it is given, that we cannot accept it without brining some sacrifice—namely, the sacrifice of thanks. #RandolphHarris 1 of 21

However, there is no one to whom bring it. And so it remains within us, a state of silent gratefulness. You may ask—why is not God the object of such gratefulness? However, that would not describe what happens in many people—Christians as well as non-Christians, believers and unbelievers. They are grateful. However, they do not turn to God with direct words of prayer. It is just gratefulness in itself which fills them. If they were told to turn to God in prayer of thanks, they would feel that such a command would destroy their spontaneous experience of gratefulness. How shall we judge this state of mind that many of us may have experiences at some time? Shall we say it is thanks without God, and therefore not real thanks? Shall we say that in this state we are like the pagans of whom Paul says that “although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him?” Certainly not. The abundance of a grateful heart gives honor to God even if it does not turn to Him in words. An unbeliever who is filled with thanks for his very being has ceased to be an unbeliever. His rejoicing is a spontaneous obedience to the exhortation of our text—“Rejoice always!” It is then possible to understand out text when it says—“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything!” It certainly does not mean—“never feel sorrow, day and night use words of prayer and thanks!” #RandolphHarris 2 of 21

Jesus characterizes this way of imposing oneself on God as a perversion of religion. Then what do these exhortations mean? They mean just what we called the state of silent gratefulness, that may or may not express itself in prayers. We are not to tell God without ceasing what we wish Him to do for us or what He has done for us. We are asked to rise to God always and in all things. He shall never be absent from our awareness. Certainly, He is creatively present in everyone in every moment whether we re aware of it or not. However, when we are in the state of silent gratefulness, we are aware of His presence. We experience an elevation of life that we cannot attain by profuse words of thanks, but that can happen to us if we are open to it. A man was once asked if he prayed. He answered, “always and never.” He meant that he was aware of the divine presence, but only rarely did he use words of prayer and thanks to express this awareness. He did not belong to those who do not thank because they are never aware of the presence of the divine, and he did not belong to those who believe that being aware of God means addressing Him continuously. He thought that words directed towards God must come out of a state of elevation, of silent gratefulness. #RandolphHarris 3 of 21

Another man was asked whether he believed in God, and he answered, “I do not know, but if something very good happens to me, I need someone to whom I can give thanks.” He experienced the state of grateful elevation, like the first, but he was driven to express his feelings in direct words of thanks. He had need of another to whom to sacrifice. Both men describe the fact that thanking God is a state of elevation without words and also a desire to sacrifice in words directed to God. In these two ways of thanking, two kinds of relationship to God are manifest: He is the other to Whom I speak in words of thanks; and He is above myself and every other, the one to Whom I cannot speak, but Who can make Himself manifest to me through a state of silent gratefulness. One of the great and liberating experiences of the Protestant reformers was their realization that our relation to God is not dependent on the continuous repetition of words of prayer and thanks directed to God, on sacrifices and other rituals, but rather on the serenity and joy that is answer to the good news that we are accepted by God because of His seeking us, and not because of anything we can do or say in and outside church. “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them. #RandolphHarris 4 of 21

“And the Angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book? And I said unto him: I know not. And he said: Behold it procedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles. And the Angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God. Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God. And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have taken away. #RandolphHarris 5 of 21

“And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of humans. Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God. And after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest—because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of humans, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God—because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them. Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the land of their inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the mixture of thy seed, which are among thy brethren. #RandolphHarris 6 of 21

“Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy the seed of thy brethren. Neither will the Lord God suffer that the Gentiles shall forever remain in that awful state of blindness, which thou beholdest they are in, because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, whose formation thou hast seen. Wherefor saith the Lamb of God: I will be merciful unto the Gentiles, unto the visiting of the remnant of the house of Israel in great judgment. And it came to pass that the Angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I have visited the remnant of the house of Israel—and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy father—wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb—I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious saith the Lamb,” reports 1 Nephi 13.20-34. Those who see the divine essence see what they see in God not by any likeness, but by the divine intellect. #RandolphHarris 7 of 21

For as things which are like one and the same things are like one and the same thins are like to each other. Hence to know things thus by their likeness in the one who knows, is to know the in their nature; whereas to know them by their similitudes pre-existing in God, is to see them in God. “For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb. And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation. And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of they Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be. And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb of God, which has proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren,” reports Nephi 13.36-38. #RandolphHarris 8 of 21

The created intellect of one who sees God is assimilated to what is seen in God, inasmuch as it is united to the Divine essence, in which the similitudes of all things pre-exist. Some of the cognitive faculties form other images from those first conceived; thus the imagination from the preconceived images of a mountain and of gold can form the likeness of a golden mountain; and the intellect, from the preconceived ideas of genus and difference, forms the ideas of species; in like manner from the similitude of an image we can form in our minds the similitude of the original image. Thus Paul, or any other person who sees God, by the very vision of the divine essence, can form in oneself the similitudes of what is seen in the divine essence, which remained in Paul even when he had ceased to see the essence of God. Still this kind of vision whereby things are seen by this likeness thus conceived, is not the same as that whereby things are seen in God. “And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the Earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true. #RandolphHarris 9 of 21

“And the Angel spake up me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Saviour of the World; and that all people must come unto Him, or they cannot be saved. And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the Earth. And the time cometh that He shall manifest Himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested Himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then He shall manifest Himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last,” reports 1 Nephi 13.37-42. The concept of “the individual” can, by definition, exist only in relational terms. #RandolphHarris 10 of 21

A person constructs a sense of identity in relation to family, peers and other people, cultural and community practices, gender, race, and ethnicity, socioeconomic class, social and political systems, sexuality, geographic locations, and physical and mental abilities. By engaging with these constructs, we are able to appreciate connections between individuals and the social, political, and cultural structures that impact the daily experiences of people. This is the foregrounds the lived experiences of people as a continual process and invites and encourages engagement with relevant topical issues such as relationships including the family, the community, as well as the intersections between race, class, gender, and other converging identities. Meanings are informed by culture, community, peer groups, and families, among others, and the meaning of human action depends on lived experiences. By exploring theoretical underpinnings of social relations in everyday life, it is our hope to better enhance understandings of people’s personal lives; their workplace experiences; their engagement and sense of belonging with the community; and the way they make sense of and engage with intersecting oppressions. This should enhance our understanding of the social and cultural issues and local contexts that play a part in developing and sustaining a theoretical understanding of human nature and experiences in justice with everyday life. #RandolphHarris 11 of 21

Just as an individual person constructs a sense of identity in relation to multiple others, they also acquire multiple layered identities that are derived from social relations, historical contexts, and power structures. Moreover, identities are fluid and changing over time an across situations and audiences; they are never static. People occupy multiple identities, are part of multiple communities simultaneously, and navigate experiences of oppression and privilege through, and in relation to, these institutions and identities. By acknowledging that people have multiple identities, theorists of justice have been able to advocate for laws and ideas about governances and economy that address these converging identities. The concept of intersectionality is used to grasp the many identities people have and seeks to bring to light the multiple contesting frames and situations of people’s everyday lives. We seek to deconstruct the ways in which people conduct themselves and carry out their mundane, ordinary, and important activities and relations in life. Intersectionality and intersectional analysis were first coined by legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw in “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color” (1991), where she documented that within the eyes of law, Black women were doubly marginalized. #RandolphHarris 12 of 21

When bringing a suit against General Motors (GM), African American women claimed that they were discriminated against based on the fact that they were both Black and women. They were not able to obtain front office administrative jobs because they were Black and they were not able to obtain factory jobs because they were women. The court, on the other hand, in Degraffenreid v. General Motors, claimed that because there were women and African American men working for GM, discrimination was not occurring. The Court saw discrimination as a running parallel rather than as overlapping and therefore African American women were not seen as a group and their multiple identities (being African American and being women) were not considered under the law. In addition to legal definitions, social movements have tended also to focus specifically on one identity—feminism on gender, antiracism on race, LGBT movements on sexual orientation—but frequently these movements, and the scholarly theorists that wrote them, failed to comprehend the countless ways their constituents confront discrimination and oppression on multiple fronts and failed to acknowledge that disadvantage is based on the confluence of multiple dimensions of identities. For example, antiracism movements often did not address the sexism that women of color face and LGBTQ movements did not address the struggles of homosexual people of color. #RandolphHarris 13 of 21

Because theories of justice are particularly concerned with whether, how, and why persons are treated differently from others, it is crucial that we reflect on the overlapping, intersecting, dynamic, and converging identities of people. This means addressing issues such as gender, race, socioeconomic class, power, disability, and sexual orientation. Many youth growing up, who have not experienced discrimination and oppression, and who may not be aware that their parents are, believe that because we have Constitutional Laws, Human Rights, and law enforcement that people’s are not subjected to illegal actions and they also believe that all professional abide by the law. Realizing that people have multiplicity of identities (including race, gender, class, sexual orientation, ability, and citizenship, among others) that are created, sustained, changed, and influenced by social structures (including family, community, institutions, and media), the justice theorists in this section engage in an intersectional framework in their attempts to understand how intersecting identities influence relationships with the social World. As you will see, the social construction of reality and the intersections of social relations all contribute to the ways people understand governance, laws, and economy. #RandolphHarris 14 of 21

Only by beginning with a multifaceted understand of the way people interact with the structural and institutional powers that surround them can we begin to grasp how people view justice in relation to these others aspects of society. I can, while not on the spot, retrain my thinking by study and meditation on Christ Himself and on the teachings of Scripture about God, His World, and my life—especially the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, further elaborated by understanding of the remainder of the Bible. I can also help my thinking and my feelings by deep reflection on the nature and bitter outcome of the standard human way in such situations, in contrast to the way of Jesus. I can also consciously practice explicitly self-sacrificial actions in other, less demanding, situations. I can become a person for whom looking out for number one is not the framework of my life. I can learn about and meditate upon the lives of well-known saints who have practiced continuously, in real life, Jesus’ way with adversaries and those in need. I can take a close and thorough look at the bitter World of legal adversaries—at how people learn to hate one another in court—to see if I want to be a part of that. I can earnestly and repeatedly pray that God will directly work in my inner being to change the things there that will enable me to obey his Son. #RandolphHarris 15 of 21

And many other things can be done as means to fulfilling the vision of life in God that we intend and have chosen. What we need to emphasize here is simply that the means of spiritual formation are available to those who seek it. On the other hand, where there is no will (firm intentions based on clear vision) there is no way. People who do not intend to be inwardly transformed, so that obedience to Christ comes naturally, will not be—no matter what means they think of themselves as employing. God is not going to pick us up by the seat of our pants, as it were, and throw us into transformed kingdom living, into holiness. So the problem of spiritual transformation (the normal lack thereof) among those who identify themselves as Christians today is not that it is impossible or that effectual means to it are not available. The problem is that it is not intended. People do not see it and its value and decide to carry through with it. They do not decide to do the things Jesus did and said. And this in turn is, today, largely due to the fact that they have not been given a vision of life in God’s kingdom within which such a decision and intention would make sense. The entire Vision, Intention, Mission (VIM) of Christ’s life and life in Christ is not the intentional substance and framework of life. #RandolphHarris 16 of 21

Those who minister to many people do not bend every effort to make it clear that we are to follow the ways of Christ. No wonder the example and teachings of Christ look, to many, more like fairy tales than sober reality. We now turn to some of the things that can be done with God’s assistance in each of the dimensions of our life and being to renovate the human heart and progressively form the inner, hidden World of the person so that the tree is good to the farthest reaches of root and branch. Behold, O Lod, how Thy faithful Jerusalem rejoices in the triumph of the Cross and the power of the Saviour; grant, therefore, that those who love her may abide in her peace, and those who depart from her may abide in her peace, and those who depart from her may one day come back to her embrace; that when all sorrows are taken away, we may be refreshed with the joys of an eternal resurrection, and be made partakers of her peace World without end; through Thy mercy, may the doctrine of Christ not be too deep for our intellect, and may we be proper people for the Lord to teach. Lead us not to put our ego forward, making no pretensions to spiritual superiority, yet may our wishes be to awaken other people to the idea that enlightenment is possible, worth seeking, and is accompanied by unparalleled felicity. It is possible for humans to realize their high aspirations. #RandolphHarris 17 of 21

However, will one then find that all is Heaven? How could that be when first one would become much more sensitive to the World’s miseries and sorrows and, second, much more aware that everything that is, including oneself, is merely a passing show—just like a dream of the night which vanishes in the morning? Will there not be a touch of melancholy in these two aspects of one’s awareness? The acceptance will be there, for one will be just as much aware of the Real which does not pass, but this acceptance will itself be touched with a kind of resignation. Is this what the religio-mystics mean when they so often admonish others to resign themselves to God’s will? The self-actualized has no desire to gain followers, only to give service. One’s happiness comes from within. One looks to nothing and nobody for it. Nevertheless, if faith and friendship are given to one, one is always grateful. And for such people one has the ardent wish that they too shall fully attain this great inward happiness and, in their turn, keep the presence of God alive in a materialistic World. When one has found the truth, one has nothing to decide. One will realize that the ALL, this whole teeming Universe, is oneself, that all creatures and all people are one. Therefore, their interests and their welfare become one’s automatically. #RandolphHarris 18 of 21

Therefore, we will come back to Earth again and again to help all beings attain truth and happiness. The notion of choosing selfish bliss or unselfish service does not occur to those who have realized truth; it comes only to self-actualized who have experienced bliss in trance. However, the is not the highest goal or plane; it is the highest illusion. Lord Jesus, I am blind, be Thou my light, ignorant, be Thou my wisdom, self-willed, be Thou my mind. Open my ear to grasp quickly Thy Spirit’s voice, and delightfully run after his beckoning hand; and melt my conscience that no hardness remain, make it alive to evil’s slightest touch; when Satan approaches may I flee to Thy wounds, and there cease to tremble at all alarms. Be my good shepherd to lead me into the green pastures of Thy word, and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts. Fill me with peace, that no disquieting Worldly gales may ruffle the calm surface of my soul. Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge, Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean, Thy death occurred to give me surety, Thy name is my property to save me, by Thee all Heaven is poured into my hearts, but it is too narrow to comprehend Thy love. I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel, but Thy cross has brought me near, has softened my hearts, has made me Thy Father’s child, has admitted me to Thy family, has made me joint-heir with Thyself. #RandolphHarris 19 of 21

O that I may love Thee as Thou lovest me, that I may walk worthy of Thee, my Lord, that I may reflect the image of Heaven’s first-born. May I always see Thy beauty with the clear eye of faith, and feel the power of Thy Spirit in my heart, for unless He move mightily in me no inward fire will be kindled. O God, Who by the power of Thy Majesty dispensest the number of our days and the measure of our time; favourably regard the service which we humbly render; and grant that our times, and those of our Bishop, may be filled with the abundance of Thy peace and the grace of Thy benignity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Lord Jesus Christ, Thou didst choose Thine Apostles that they might preside over us as teachers; so also may it please Thee to teach doctrine to our Bishop, in the place of Thine Apostles, and to bless and instruct one, that one may preserve one’s life unharmed and undefiled forever and ever. O Christ, the true Priest, Whose Priesthood never passeth away, let Thy power come to the assistance of Thy servants, and clothe them with glory and beauty, that they may carefully and excellently discharge their priesthood according to Thy pleasure; and as they have received their talents to be profitably employed, as the Spirit giveth ability, they may at last lay them on Thy table with abundant gain, hat they may become worthy to hear that voice full of hope, “Enter into the joy that has no end.” #RandolphHarris 20 of 21

May they go on, O Lord, from strength to strength; lift them up while they worship Thee; perfect Thy gifts in them, and crown their heads with a diadem, and in their hearts, as in an ark, may Thy grace be stored up; grant them Thine abundant help, and fill their labours with power. O God, Whose ways are all mercy and truth, carry on Thy gracious work, and bestow, by Thy benefits, what human frailty cannot attain; that they who attended upon the Heavenly Mysteries may be grounded in perfect faith, and shine forth conspicuous by the purity of their souls; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Lord God of powers, do Thou sanctify the Pastors and Prelates of Thy sheep; that our adversary the devil, overcome by their faith and holiness, may not dare to touch or violate the flock of the Lord; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ. O God, in Whose hand are the hearts of kings, incline Thy merciful ears to our humble entreaty; and govern with Thy wisdom our Queen Thy servant; that her counsels may be drawn from Thy fountain, and she may be well-pleasing in Thy sight, and pre-eminent among all Sovereigns; through Jesus Christ our Lord. We beseech Thee, Almighty God, that Thy servant Victoria, why by Thy mercy hath undertaken the government of the realm, may also receive the increase of all virtues, and, being beautified therewith, may be able to avoid the enormity of sin, and to attain to Thee, Who are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and be acceptable in Thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. #RandolphHarris 21 of 21

Cresleigh Homes

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What is the true picture of your life? Imagine that there is an hourglass on your desk. Connecting the bowl at the top with the bowl at the bottom is a tube so thin that only one grain of sand can pass through it at a time. That is the true picture of your life, even on a super-busy day. The crowded hours come to you always one moment at a time. That is the only way they can come. The day brings many tasks, problems, strains, but invariably the come in a single file. You want to gain emotional poise? Remember the hour glass, the grains of sand dropping one at a time. Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed.
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It is Not Only Fine Feathers that Make Fine Birds—Do Not Count Your Chickens Before the Hatch!

March 31, 2020 11:17 pm

While I do live, I resolve to live with all my might. I resolve never to lose one moment of time and to improve my use of time in the most profitable way I possibly can. If it were the last hour of my life, I resolve never to do anything I would not do. Leadership and planning go together. Leaders plan! They do not wait for a time to plan. They do not complain about not having time for planning. They do not make excuses for not planning. They simply and systematically set aside time to dream about the future, envision possibilities, project and extrapolate, predict, set goals, outline strategies, and establish timelines. That is called planning. It is what all good leaders do. In the literature about wisdom many special rules for our daily life are given. The Bible is full of them. However, they are all connected with each other in that they are ruled by the encounter with the holy. In all of them wisdom appears as the acceptance of one’s finitude. In the light of this insight, let us look at expression of wisdom in our daily life. Wisdom is present in parents who know the limits of their authority and so do not become idols first and crushed idols later. Wisdom is present in children who recognize the limits of their independence and do not despise the heritage they have received and on which they live, even in rebelling against their parents. #RandolphHarris 1 of 21

Nephi sees in vision the land of promise; the righteousness, iniquity, and downfall of its inhabitants; the coming of the Lamb of God among them; how the Twelve Disciples and the Twelve Apostles will judge Israel; and the loathsome and filthy state of those who dwindle in unbelief. About 600-592 Before Christ. “And it came to pass that the Angel said unto me: Look, and behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren. And I looked and beheld the land of promise; and I beheld multitudes of people, yea, even as it were in number as many as the sand of the sea. And it came to pass that I beheld multitudes gathered together to battle, one against the other; and I beheld wars, and rumors of wars, and great slaughters with the sword among my people. And it came to pass that I beheld many generations pass away, after the manner of wars and contentions in the land; and I beheld many cities, yea, even that I did not number them. And it came to pass that I saw a mist of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and Earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the Earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces, and I saw the plains of the Earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the Earth, because of the quaking thereof. #RandolphHarris 2 of 21

“And it came to pass after I saw these things, I saw the vapor of darkness, that it passed from off the face of the Earth; and behold, I saw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgements of the Lord. And I saw the Heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of Heaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them. And I also saw and bear record that they Holy Ghost fell upon twelve others; and they were ordained of God, and chose. And the Angel spake unto me saying: Behold the twelve disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed. And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the twelve apostles of the Lamb? Behold they are they who shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, the twelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for ye are of the house of Israel. And these twelve ministers whom beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood,” reports 1 Nephi 12.1-10. Of those who see the essence of God, one sees Him more perfectly than another. This, indeed, does not take place as if one had a more perfect similitude of God than another, since that vision will not spring from any similitude; but it will take place because one intellect will have a greater power or faculty to see God than another. #RandolphHarris 3 of 21

The faculty of seeing God, however, does not belong to the created intellect naturally, but is given to it by the light of glory, which establishes the intellect in a kind of “deiformity.” Hence the intellect which has more of the light of glory will see God the more perfectly; and one will have a fuller participation of the light of glory who has more charity; because where there is the greater charity, there is the more desire; and desire in a certain degree makes the one desiring apt and prepared to receive the object desired. Hence one who possesses the more charity, will see God the more perfectly, and will be the more beatified. “And the Angel said unto me: Look! And I looked, and beheld three generations pass away in righteousness; and their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God. And the Angel said unto me: These are made white in the blood of the Lamb, because of their faith in him. And I, Nephi, also saw many the fourth generation who passed away in righteousness. And it came to pass that I saw the multitude of the Earth gathered together. And the Angel said unto me: Behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren. And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the people of my seed gathered together in multitudes against the seed of my brethren; and they were gathered together in battle” reports 1 Nephi 12.11-15. #RandolphHarris 4 of 21

The diversity of seeing will not arise on the part of the object seen, for the same object will be presented to all—the essence of God; nor will it arise from the diverse participation of the object seen by different similitudes; but it will arise on the part of the diverse faculty of the intellect, not, indeed, the natural faculty, but the glorified faculty. “And the Angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of hell. And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost. And the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men. And a great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the word of the justice of the Eternal God, and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning of the World until this time, and from this time henceforth and forever. And while the Angel spake these words, I beheld and saw that the seed of my brethren did contend against my seed, according to the word of the Angel; and because of the pride of my seed, and the temptations of the devil, I beheld that the seed of my brethren did overpower the people of my seed,” reports 1 Nephi 12.16-19. #RandolphHarris 5 of 21

It is impossible for any created intellect to comprehend God; yet for the mind to attain to God in some degree is great beatitude. However, no created intellect can attain to that perfect mode of the knowledge of the Divine intellect whereof it is intrinsically capable. Which thus appears—Everything is knowable according to its actuality. However, God, whose being is infinite, is infinitely knowable. Now no created intellect can know God infinitely. For the created intellect knows the Divine essence more or less perfectly in proportions as it receives a greater or lesser light of glory. Since therefore the created light of glory received into any created intellect cannot be infinite, it is clearly impossible for any created intellect to know God in an infinite degree. Hence it is impossible that it should comprehend God. “And it came to pass that I beheld, and saw the people of the seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed; and they went forth in multitudes upon the face of the land. And I saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw wars and rumors of wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars I saw many generations pass away. And the Angel said unto me: Behold these shall dwindle in unbelief. And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations,” reports 1 Nephi 12.20-23. #RandolphHarris 6 of 21

Wisdom is present in teachers who are aware of their limits in dealing bot with truth and with their pupils, and who ask themselves again and again whether wisdom shines through the knowledge they communicate. Wisdom is present in students who question the principles behind whatever they are studying and its meaning for their lives; wise are they who realize both the necessity and the limits of all learning and the superiority of love over knowledge. Wise are those people who are aware of their emotional and intellectual limitations as people in their encounter with women. Wise are those women wo acknowledge their finitude by accepting the man as the other pole of a common humanity. And if they accept each other without anxiety, without hostility, without abuse, without dishonesty, but in the power of love which is rooted in the awareness of the eternal, then both show wisdom. The greatest wisdom is needed where it is most painful to accept our finitude—in our failures, errors, and the guilt acquired by our foolishness. It is hard for us to accept failure, perhaps total failure, in our work. It is difficult to acknowledge error, perhaps in our judgment of those we love in friendship or marriage. It is humanly impossible to confess guilt to oneself or to others without looking at that which is greater than our heart, the eternal. #RandolphHarris 7 of 21

One who possesses this wisdom, this painfully acquired wisdom, knows that nothing can separate one from the eternal wisdom which is God, neither failure nor guilt. Our final wisdom is to accept our foolishness and to look at the place in history in which wisdom itself appeared in the garb of utter foolishness, the Cross of the Christ. Here the wisdom that is eternally with God, that is present in the Universe, and that loves the children of humans, appears in fullness. And in those who look at it and receive it, faith and wisdom become one. Sometimes a new conflict is created between compulsive, contradictory strivings on the one hand and a kind of internal dictatorship imposed by the inner disturbance. And one reacts to this inner dictatorship just as a person might react to a comparable political dictatorship: one may identify oneself with it, that is, feel that one is as wonderful and ideal as the dictator tells one one is; or one many stand on tiptoe to try to measure up to its demands; or one may rebel against the coercion and refuse to recognize the imposed obligation. If one reacts in the first way, we get the impression of a narcissistic individual, inaccessible to criticism; the existing rift, then, is not consciously felt as such. In the second instance we have the perfectionistic person, Dr. Freud superego type. #RandolphHarris 8 of 21

In the third, the person appears not to be accountable to anyone or anything: one tends to become erratic, irresponsible, and negativistic. I speak advisedly of impressions and appearances, because whatever is one’s reaction, one continues to be fundamentally restive. Even a rebellious type who ordinarily believes one is “free” labours under the enforced standards one is trying to overthrow; though the fact that one is still in the clutches of one’s idealized image may show only in one’s clutches of one’s idealized image may show only in one’s swinging those standards as a whip over others. Sometimes a person goes through stages of alternating between one extreme and another. One may, for instance, try for a time to be superhumanly good and, getting no comfort from that, swing to the opposite pole of rebellion violently against such standards. Or one may switch from an apparently unreserved self-adoration to perfectionism. More often we find a combination of these variant attitudes. All of which points to the fact—understandable in the light of our theory—that none of the attempts are satisfactory; that they all are doomed to failure; that we must regard them as desperate efforts to get out of an intolerable situation; that as in any other intolerable situation the most dissimilar means are tried—if one fails, another is resorted to. #RandolphHarris 9 of 21

All these consequences combine to build a mighty barrier against true development. The person cannot learn from one’s mistakes because one does not see them. In spite of one’s assertions to the contrary one is actually bound to lose interest in one’s own growth. What one has in mind when one speaks of growth is an unconscious idea of creating a more perfect idealized image, one that will be without drawbacks. The task of therapy, therefore, is to make the patient aware of one’s idealized image in all its detail, to assist one in gradually understanding all its functions and subjective values, and to show one the suffering that it inevitably entails. One will then start to wonder whether the price is not too high. However, one can relinquish the image only when the needs that have created it are considerably diminished. I have considered so far a currently sustained life that is threatened by what some others know about the individual’s past or about the shady parts of one’s present. Now another perspective on double living must be considered. When an individual leaves a personal identification behind, often with a well-rounded biography attached, including assumptions as to how one is likely to end up. In one’s current community the individual will develop a biography in others’ minds too, potentially a fully portrait including a version of the kind of person one used to be and the background out of which one came. #RandolphHarris 10 of 21

Obviously, a discrepancy may arise between these two sets of knowings about one; something like a double biography can develop, with those knew one when and those who know one now each thinking that they know the whole being. Often this biographical discontinuity is bridged by one’s affording accurate and adequate information about one’s past to those in one’s present, and by those in one’s past bringing their biographies of one up to date through news and gossip about one. This bridging is eased when one has become is no a discredit too much what one has become, which of course is the usual state of affairs. In brief, there will be discontinuities in one’s biography but not discrediting ones. Now while students are sufficiently alive to the effect on the individual’s present of having had a blameworthy past, insufficient attention has been given to the effect upon one’s earlier biographers of a blameworthy present. There has been insufficient appreciation of the importance to an individual of preserving a good memory of oneself among those with whom one no longer lives, even though this fact fits nicely into what is called reference group theory. #RandolphHarris 11 of 21

The classic case here is that of the man or woman of the evening who, although adjusted to one’s urban round and the contacts one routinely has in it, fears to “bump into” a person from one’s home town who will of course be able to discern one’s present social attributes and bring the news back home. In this case one’s closet is as big as one’s beat, and one is the skeleton that resides in it. This sentimental concern with those with whom we no longer have actual dealings provides one of the penalties of taking on an immoral occupation, it is bums, not bankers, who decline to have their pictures in the paper, a modesty due to fear of being recognized by someone from home. There is some suggestion of a natural cycle of passing. The cycle may start with unwitting passing that the passer never learns ne is engaging in; move from there to unintended passing that the surprised passer learns about; from there to passing for fun; passing during non-routine parts of the social round, such as vacations and travel; passing during routine daily occasions, such as at work or in service establishments; finally, disappearance—complete passing over in all areas of life, the secret being known only to the passer oneself. #RandolphHarris 12 of 21

It may be noted that when the relatively complete passing is essayed, the individual sometimes consciously arranges one’s own rite de passage, going to another city, holding up in a room for a few days with preselected clothing and cosmetic one has brought one, and then, like a butterfly, emerging to try the brand new wings. At any phase, of course, there can be a break in the cycle and a return to the fold. If it is not possible at this time to speak of such a cycle with any assurance, and if it is necessary to suggest that some discreditable attributes preclude the final phases of the cycle, it is at least possible to look for various points of stability in passing penetration; certainly it is possible to see that the extent of passing can vary, from momentary and unintended at one extreme to the classic kind of deliberate total passing. Earlier, two phases in the learning process of the stigmatized person were suggested: one’s learning the normal point of view and learning that one is disqualified according to it. Presumably a next phase consists of one’s learning to cope with the way others treat the kind of person one can be shown to be. A still later phase is now my concern, namely, learning to pass. Where a differentness is relatively unapparent, the individual must learn that in fact one can true oneself to secrecy. #RandolphHarris 13 of 21

The point of view of observers of oneself must be entered carefully, but not anxiously carried further than the observers themselves do. Starting with a feeling that everything known to oneself is known to others, one often develops a realistic appreciation that this is not so. For example, it is reported that marihuana smokers slowly learn that when “high” they can function in the immediate presence of those who know them well, without these others discovering anything—a learning that apparently helps to transform an occasional user into a regular one. Similarly, there are records of people who, having just lost their virginity, examine themselves in the mirror to see if their stigma shows, only slowly coming to believe that in fact they look no different from the way they used to. A parallel can be cited regarding the experience of a male after his first overt same sexed experience: “Did it [his first same sex experience] bother you later?” I asked. “Oh no, I only worried about somebody finding out. I was afraid my mother and dad could tell by looking at me. However, they acted like always, and I began to feel confident and secure once more.” It may be suggested that, due to social identity, the individual with a secret differentness will find oneself during the daily and weekly round in three possible kinds of places. #RandolphHarris 14 of 21

There will be forbidden or out-of-bounds places, where person of the kind one can be shown to be are forbidden to be, and where exposure means expulsion—an eventuality often so unpleasant to all parties that a tacit cooperation will sometimes forestall it, the interloper providing a thin disguise and the rightfully present accepting it, even though both know the other knows of the interloping. There are civil places, where persons of the individual’s kind when know to be of one’s kind, are carefully, and sometimes painfully, treated as if they were not disqualified for routine acceptance, when in fact they somewhat are. Finally, there are back places, where person of the individual’s kind stand exposed and find they need not try to conceal their stigma nor be overly concerned with cooperatively trying to disattend it. In some cases this license arises from having chosen the company of those with the same or a similar stigma. For example, it is said that carnivals provide physically disabled employees with a World in which their stigma is relatively little an issue. In other cases, the back place may be involuntarily created as a result of individuals being herded together administratively against their will on the basis of a common stigma. It might be added that whether the individual enters a back place voluntarily or involuntarily, the place is likely to provide an atmosphere of special piquancy. #RandolphHarris 15 of 21

Here the individual will be able to be at ease among one’s fellows and also discover that acquaintances one thought were not of one’s own kind really are. However, as the following citation suggest, one will also run the risk of being easily discredited should a normal person known from elsewhere enter the place. A 17-year-old Mexican-American boy was committed to the hospital [for those with severe intellectual disabilities] by the courts as a mental defective. He strongly rejected this definition, claiming that there was nothing wrong with him and that he wanted to go to a more “respectable” detention center for juvenile delinquents. Sunday morning, a few days after he arrived at the hospital, he was being taken to church with several other patients. By an unfortunate circumstance, his girl friend was visiting the hospital that morning with a friend whose infant brother was a patient at the hospital, and was walking toward him. When he saw her she had not seen him and e did not intend for her to do so. He turned from her and fled as fast as he could run, until overtaken by employees who thought he had gone berserk. When questioned about this behaviour he explained that his girl friend did not know he was “in this place for dummies” and he could not bear the humiliation of being seen in the hospital as a patient. #RandolphHarris 16 of 21

The beat of a lady of the evening constitutes for her the same kind of threat: It was this aspect of this social situation that I experienced when I visited the carriage roads in Hyde Park [a female social researcher states]. The deserted appearance of the footpaths and the apparent purposefulness of any woman who did walk along them were not only sufficient to announce my purpose to the public, they also forced upon me the realization that this area was reserved for men and women of the evening—it was a place set aside for them and would lend its colouring to anyone who chose to enter it. This partitioning of the individual’s World into forbidden, evil, and back places establishes the going price for revealing or concealing and the significance of being known about or not known about, whatever one’s choice of information strategies. Just as the individual’s World is divided up spatially by one’s social identity, so also is it divided up by one’s personal identity. There are places where, as is said, one is known personally: either some of those present are likely to know one personally or the individual in charge of the area (hostess, maître de, bartender, and the like) knows one personally, in either case assuring that one’s having been present there will be demonstrable later. #RandolphHarris 17 of 21

Secondly, there are places where one can expect with some confidence not to “bump into” anyone who knows one personally, and where (barring the special contingencies faced by the famed and ill-famed, whom many persons know of without knowing personally) one can expect to remain anonymous, eventful to no one. Whether or not it is embarrassing to one’s personal identity to be in a place where, incidentally, one is known personally will vary of course with the circumstances, especially with the question of whom one is “with.” Given that the individual’s spatial World will be divided into different regions according to the contingencies embedded in them for the management of social and personal identity, one can go on to consider some of the problems and consequences of passing. This consideration will partly overlap with folk wisdom; cautionary tales concerning the contingencies of passing form part of the morality we employ to keep people in their places. One who passes find unanticipated needs to disclose discrediting information about oneself, as when a wife of a mental patient tries to collect her husband’s unemployment insurance or a “married” homosexual tries to insure his or her house and finds one must try to explain one’s peculiar chose of beneficiary. #RandolphHarris 18 of 21

One also suffers from “in-deeper-ism,” that is, pressure to elaborate a life further and further to prevent a given disclosure. One’s adaptive techniques can themselves give rise to hurt feelings and misunderstandings on the part of others. One’s effort to conceal incapacities may cause one to display other ones or give the appearance of doing so: slovenliness, as when a near-blind person, affecting to see, trips over a stool, or spills a drink down one’s shirt; inattentiveness, stubbornness, woodenness, or distance, as when a hard of hearing person fails to respond to a remark proffered one by someone unaware of one’s disability; sleepiness, as when a teacher perceives a student’s petit mal epilepsy seizure as momentary daydreaming; drunkenness, as when a person with cerebral palsy finds that one’s gait is always being misinterpreted. Further, one who passes leaves oneself open to learning what others “really” think of persons of one’s kind, both when they do not know they are dealing with someone of one’s kind and when they start out not knowing but learn part way through the encounter and sharply veer to another course. One finds oneself not knowing how far information about oneself has gone, this being a problem whenever one’s boos or schoolteacher is dutifully informed of one’s stigma, but others are not. #RandolphHarris 19 of 21

As suggested, one can become subject to extortion of various kinds by person who know of one’s secret and do not have good reason for keeping quiet about. May Thy Word, O Lord, Which endureth for ever in Heaven, abide continually in the Temple of Thy Church; that the presence of the Inhabitant may be an unfailing glory to the habitation; through Thy mercy when Thou art present blessings are mine. O Lord God, Thou art my protecting arm, fortress, refuge, shield, buckler. Fight for me and my foes must flee; uphold me and I cannot fall; strengthen me and I stand unmoved, unmoveable; equip me and I shall receive no wound; stand by me and Satan will depart; anoint my lips with a song of salvation and I shall shout Thy victory; give me abhorrence of all evil, as a vile monster that defiles Thy law, casts off Thy yoke, defiles my nature, spreads misery. Teach me to look to Jesus on His cross and so to know sin’s loathsomeness in Thy sight. There is no pardon but through Thy Son’s death, no cleaning but in His precious blood, no atonement but His to expiate evil. Show me the shame, the agony, the bruises of incarnate God, that I may read boundless guilt in the boundless price; may I discern the deadly viper in its real malignity, tear it with holy indignation from my heart, resolutely turn from its every snare, refuse to hold polluting dalliance with it. #RandolphHarris 20 of 21

Blessed Lord Jesus, at Thy cross may I be taught the awful miseries from which I am saved, ponder what the word “lost” implies, see the fires of eternal destruction; then may I cling more closely to Thy broken self, adhere to Thee with firmer faith, be devoted to Thee with total being, detest sin as strongly as Thy love to me is strong, and may holiness be the atmosphere in which I live. Human morality arises out of culture and family training and is based on what is proper and expected to the extent that Godly people have influenced that society. Submission to God’s law arises out of love for God and a grateful response to His grace and is based on a delight in His law as revealed in Scripture. When the societal standard of morality varies from the law of God written in Scripture, we then see the true nature of human morality. We discover that it is just as hostile to the law of God as is the attitude of the most hardened sinner. Sanctification begun in our hearts by the Holy Spirit changes our attitude. Instead of being hostile to God’s law, we begin to delight in it. We find that God’s commands are not burdensome, but rather are holy, righteous and good. This radical and dramatic change in our attitude toward God’s commands is a gift of His grace, brought about solely by the mighty working of His Holy Spirit within us. We play no more part in this initial act of sanctification than we do in our justification. As Paul said, “All this is from God.” #RandolphHarris 21 of 21

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The Universe is Not Hostile, Nor Yet is it Friendly—it is Simply Indifferent!

March 31, 2020 12:43 am

I still believe that Joseph Barbera and William Hanna made the best cartoons ever when they formed Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. Charlotte’s Web, The Flintstones, The Snorks, The Jetsons, The Smurfs, Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear, Casper’s First Christmas, Richie Rich, Jonny Quest, and many more wonderful cartoons I enjoyed as a kid. One has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, worked hard, and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent beings and the love of all kinds of people; who has filled one’s niche and accomplished one’s task; who leaves the World better than one found it, whether by an improved garden, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of Earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave them the best one had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction. But we ask—how can we possess such wisdom? In the book of Proverbs, Wisdom says—“I was…rejoicing before Him always, rejoicing in His inhabited World and delighting in the sons of men…and now, my sons, listen to me…one who finds me, find life…but all who hate me love death.” To aspire to wisdom, or to despise it, is a matter of life and death. This could never be said of knowledge in the ordinary sense of the word. Those who know much and do not have life because of their knowledge, and those who know little; and do not try to learn much, do not prove that they love death. #RandolphHarris 1 of 20

Wisdom is a matter of life and death because it is more than knowledge. It can be united with knowledge, but it can also stand alone. It belongs to a dimension which cannot be reached by scholarly endeavour. Wisdom is insight into the meaning of one’s life, into its conflicts and dangers, into its creative and destructive powers, and into the ground out of which it comes and to which it must return. Therefore, the preachers of wisdom tell us that the first step in acquiring it is the fear of God and the awareness of the holy. Such words can easily be misunderstood. They do not command subjection to a god who arouses fear. Nor do they advise us to accept doctrines about him. Suh a command and such advice would lead us straight away from wisdom and not towards it. However, our text says that there cannot be wisdom without an encounter with the holy, with that which creates awe, and shake the ordinary way of life and thought. Without the experience of awe in face of the mystery of life, there is no wisdom. Most removed from wisdom are not those who are driven by desire for pleasure or power, but those brilliant minds who have never encountered the holy, who are without awe and know nothing sacred, but who are able to conceal their ultimate emptiness by the brilliant performances of their intellect. No wisdom shines through knowledge of many people who play a great role in our academic and non-academic society. #RandolphHarris 2 of 20

The wisdom at which God looks in the creation of the World, the eternal wisdom, calls them fools. There is a distortion of the 1 Corinthians 1-2. Two frequently cited but misunderstood texts relevant to the Christian mind are 1 Corinthians 1-2 and Colossians 2.8. In 1 Corinthians 1 and 2, Paul argues against the wisdom of the World and reminds his readers that he did not visit them with persuasive words of wisdom. Some conclude from this that human reasoning and argument are futile, especially when applied to evangelism. There are several problems with this understanding of the passage. For one thing, if it is in fact an indictment against argumentation and reasoning, then it contradicts Paul’s own practice in Acts and his explicit appeal to the argument and evidence on behalf of the Resurrection in the very same epistle (1 Corinthians 15). Second, this passage is more accurately seen as a condemnation of the false, prideful use of reason, not of reason itself. It is hubris (pride) that is in view, not nous (mind). God chose foolish (moria) things that were offensive to human pride, not to reason properly used. For example, the idea of God being crucified was so offensive that the Greek spirit would have judged it to be morally disgusting. The passage may also be a condemnation of Greek rhetoric. #RandolphHarris 3 of 20

Greek orators prided themselves in possessing persuasive words of wisdom, and it was their practice to persuade a crowd of any side of an issue for the right price. They did not base their persuasion on rational considerations but on speaking ability, thus bypassing issues of substance. Paul is most likely contrasting himself with Greek rhetoricians. If so, then Paul is arguing against evangelists who spend all of their time working on their speaking techniques yet fail to address the minds of unbelievers in their gospel presentations! Paul could also be making the claim that the content of the gospel cannot be deduced by pure reason from some set of first principles. No one could start off with an abstract concept of a first mover and deduce that a crucifixion would happen from this information alone. Thus, the gospel could never have been discovered by pure deductive reason from self-evident first principles, but had to be revealed by the biblical God who acts in history. Paul was insistent that the intellect could assess whether nor not there was sufficient evidence to judge that God had so acted (1 Corinthians 15). So we cannot conclude from this passage that using reason is futile. The distortion of Colossians 2.8—in this passage, Paul says, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this World rather than on Christ.” #RandolphHarris 4 of 20

Some take the distortion of Colossians 2.8 to be a command to avoid secular studies, especially philosophy. However, upon close inspection of the structure of the verse, it become clear that philosophy in general was not the focus. Rather, it is a certain sort of philosophy—hollow and deceptive philosophy. In the context of Colossians, Paul was warning the church not to form and base doctrinal views according to a philosophical system hostile to orthodoxy. His remarks were a simple waring not to embrace heresy; in context, they were not meant to represent his views of philosophy as a discipline of study. In fact, one of the best ways to avoid hollow and deceptive philosophy is to study philosophy itself, so you can learn to recognize truth from error, using Scripture and right reason as a guide. His is exactly what Paul himself did. Colossians reveals an apostle who was entirely familiar with the type of proto-Gnostic philosophy threatening Colossians believers, who possessed a thorough knowledge of that philosophical system and an ability to point out its inadequacy. And remember, Paul himself cited pagan philosophers approvingly in Acts 17.28. “’For in him we live and move and have our own being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring,’” reports Acts 17.28. Neither of these texts should dampen our enthusiasm to cultivate a Christian mind or use reason in our Christian walk. #RandolphHarris 5 of 20

One who has encountered the mystery of life has reached the source of wisdom. In encountering it with awe and longing, one experiences the infinite distance of one’s being from that which is the ground of one’s being. One experiences the limits of one’s being, one’s finitude in the face of the infinite. One learns that acceptance of one’s limits is the decisive step towards wisdom. The fool rebels against the limits set by one’s finitude. One wants to be unlimited in power and knowledge. One who is wise accepts one’s finitude. One knows that one is not God. There is an area of my learning in interpersonal relationships—one that has been slow and painful for me. When I can let in the fac, or permit myself to feel that someone cares for, accepts, admires, or prizes me, I feel warmed and fulfilled. Because of elements in my past history, I suppose, it has been very difficult for me to do this. For a long time I tended almost automatically to brush aside any optimistic feelings aimed in my direction. My reaction was, “Who, me? You could not possibly care for me. You might like what I have done, or my achievements, but not me.” This is one respect in which my own therapy helped me very much. I am not always able even not to let in such warm and loving feelings from others, but I find it very releasing when I can do so. #RandolphHarris 6 of 20

I know that some people flatter me in order to gain something for themselves; some people praise me because they are afraid to be hostile. However, I have come to recognize the fact that some people genuinely appreciate me, like me, love me, and I want to sense that fact and let it in. I think I have become less aloof as I have been able to take in and soak up those loving feelings. I feel enriched when I can truly prize or care for or love another person and when I can let that feeling flow out to the person. Like many others, I used to fear being trapped by letting my feelings show. “If I care for him, he can control me.” “If I love her, I am trying to control her.” I think that I have moved a long way toward being less fearful in this respect. Like my clients, I too have slowly learned that tender, beneficial feelings are not dangerous either to give or to receive. To illustrate what I mean, I would like again to draw an example from a recent basic encounter group. A woman who described herself as “an out spoken, sensitive, hyperactive individual” whose marriage was on the rocks, and who felt that life was just not worth living said, “I had really buried under a layer of concrete many feelings I was afraid people were going to laugh at or stomp on which, needless to say, was working all kinds of hell on my family and me. I had been looking forward to the workshops with my last few crumbs of hope—it was really a needle of trust in a huge haystack of despair.” #RandolphHarris 7 of 20

She spoke of some of her experiences in the group and added, “The real turning point for me was a simple gesture on your part of putting your arm around my shoulder, one afternoon when I had made some crack about you not really being a member of the group—that no one could cry on your shoulder. In my notes I had written, the night before, “My God, there is no man in the World who love me.” You seemed so genuinely concerned the day I fell apart, I was overwhelmed…I received the gesture as one of the first feelings of acceptance—of me, just the unenlightened way I am, sensitivities and all—that I had ever experienced. I have felt needed, loving, competent, furious, frantic, anything and everything but just plain loved. You can imagine the flood of gratitude, humility, almost release, that swept over me. I wrote, with considerable joy, “I actually felt love. I doubt that I should soon forget it.” This woman, of course, was speaking to me, and yet in some deep sense she was also speaking for me. I too have had similar feelings. Those of one’s followers who expect one to behave with impeccable propriety and are ready to leave and follow someone else if one does not will either be victims of, or gainers by their own judgment. #RandolphHarris 8 of 20

If the teacher is really unified with God, any judging of one done by external standards will be only partly applicable. There is a point where neither one’s character nor one’s motives can be correctly measured by such standards, and beyond which they may be quite misleading. The mystical and cultist circles which talk much about these matters use the name “Master” to trail such an accumulation behind it of falsified facts, superstitious ntions, and nonsensical thinking, that it is needful to be on guard for semantic definitions whenever this term is heard. The mistake that some followers make is to fail to see that their demigod is recognizably human. The mistake that most non-followers make is to fail to see that one is, in one’s best moments, superhuman. The excessively critical attitude which seeks to find a flaw in a holy being and soon succeeds is as foolish as the excessively devout attitude which pronounces one perfect and continuously faultless. This hostility of the one leads to imbalance; the naivete of the other leads to expectancy. The holy being is still a human subject to limitations of one’s species. In order to minimize the risks, experiential confrontation must be done carefully, artfully, and with deep sensitivity to its effects. Use of the first person singular, for example, can minimize unwarranted overtones of accusation or punishment. The statements “I believe you can do more,” or “I do not but what you are saying” serve to illustrate this contention. #RandolphHarris 9 of 20

Posing confrontations in the form of questions or descriptions can also enhance their impact. “You are scared out of your wits,” may reflect how a “hail-fellow-well-met” client felt! Alternatively, I often challenge clients to differentiate between cannot and will not at given junctures. “You mean you will not respond to that job offer,” I suggested to a client invested in her inadequacy; “You mean you will not make time in your day for a lunch break,” I remarked to another client invested in his invincibility. It is sometime useful, finally, to appraise clients of the difficulty of confronting their resistances, especially when those resistance are threatened with extinction. “A part of you is doing everything it can to keep you where you were,” I tell clients in such circumstances. “The most you can do is realize this and look at what is suggests.” To this, all humankind’s literature about wisdom is a witness. Wisdom is the acknowledgment of limits; it is the awareness of the right measure in all relations of life. However, in saying this, one must protect wisdom against a dangerous distortion of its meaning—the confusion of wisdom with philistine avoidance of radical decisions, with clever compromises and shrewd calculations of usefulness, all of which is far removed from the wisdom that comes upon us in the awe-inspiring encounter with the holy. #RandolphHarris 10 of 20

We need only look at the great figures in whom people of all periods and cultures recognized wisdom, the people who gave new laws to their nations, the teachers of new ways of life for continents, the people who withdrew to the deserts of nature and the deserts of the soul to return with abundance. None of them kept to the middle of the road; they had to find new roads in the wilderness. You cannot find wisdom in those who always avoid radical decisions and adjust themselves to the given situation, the conformists who have decided to accept the accepted opinion of society. Wisdom love the children of men, but she prefers those whom come through foolishness to wisdom, and dislike those who keep themselves equally distant from foolishness and from wisdom. They are the real fools, she would say, because they were never shaken by an encounter with the mystery of life, and therefore never able to see the unity of creation and destruction in the working of the divine wisdom. In those, however, who have recognized this working of wisdom, and become wise by it, artificial limits are broken down, often with great pain, and the real limits, the true measures, are found. When wisdom comes to humans, that is what happens. #RandolphHarris 11 of 20

Therefore, wisdom comes to all humans, and not only to those who are learned. You can find quiet and often great wisdom among very simple people. There may be wise ones among those with who you live, and those with whom you work, and those whom you encounter as strangers in crowded streets. There is wisdom in mothers and lonely women, in children and adolescents, in shepherds and cabdrivers; and sometimes there is wisdom all in those who can have much learning. They all prove their wisdom by creatively accepting their limits and their finitude. However, who can accept one’s finitude? Who can accept that one is threatened by the vicissitudes of life, by infirmary, by death? Who can take into oneself the deep anxiety of being alive without covering it up with pleasure and activity? In the book of Job, which powerfully expresses the mystery of life, the question is asked and an answer given that is not an answer in the ordinary sense of the word. Only in the confrontation with eternal wisdom in all its darkness and inexhaustible death can humans accept the misery of one’s finitude, even if it is as extreme as Job’s. In our encounter with the holy, facing with awe the ultimate mystery of life, we experience a dimension of life that gives us the courage and the strength to accept our limits and to become wise through this acceptance. #RandolphHarris 12 of 20

The created light is necessary to see the essence of God, not in order to make the essence of God inteligible, which is off itself intelligible, but in order to enable the intellect to understand in the same way as a habit makes a power abler to act. Even so corporeal light is necessary as regards external sight, inasmuch as it makes the medium actually transparent, and susceptible of colour. Nephi sees the Spirit of the Lord and is shown in vision the tree of life—he sees the mother of the Son of God and learn the condescension of God—he sees the baptism, ministry, and crucifixion of the Lamb of God—he sees also the call and ministry of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb About 600-592 Before Christ. “For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I have never before set foot. And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou? And I said; I desire to behold the things which my father saw. And the spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken? And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father,” reports Nephi 11.1-5. This light is required to see the divine essence, not as a similitude in which God is seen, but as a perfection of the intellect, strengthening to see God. #RandolphHarris 13 of 20

Therefore it may be said that this light is to be described not as a medium in which God is seen, but as one by which He is seen; and such a medium does not take away the immediate vision of God. “And when I have spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the Earth, yea, even above all. And blessed thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired. And behold this thing shall be given unto three for a sign, that after thou hast beheld the tree which bore the fruit which they father tasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of Heaven, and him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God. And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow. And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown up me the three which is precious above all. And he said unto me: What desirest thou?” reports 1 Nephi 11.6-10. #RandolphHarris 14 of 20

The disposition to the form of fire can be natural only to the subject of that from. Hence the light of glory cannot be natural to a creature unless the creature has a divine nature; which is imposible. However, by this light the rational creature is made deiform. “And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another. And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence. And it came to pass that I saw the Heavens open; and an Angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou? And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins. And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of time the Angel spake unto me saying: Look! #RandolphHarris 15 of 20

“And I looked and behold the virgin again bearing a child in her arms. And the Angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of this tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore it is the most desirable above all things. And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul, reports 1 Nephi 11.11-23. “In Thy light we shall see light,” reports Psalms 35.10. Everything which is raised up to what exceeds its nature, must be prepared by some disposition above its nature. However, when any created intellect sees the essence of God, the essence of God itself become the intelligible form of the intellect. Hence it is necessary that some supernatural disposition should be added to the intellect in order that it may be raised up to such a great and sublime height. It is necessary that the power of understanding should be added by divine grace. Now this increase of the intellectual powers is called the illumination of the intellect, as we also call the intelligible object itself by the name of light of illumination. And this is the light spoken of in the Apocalypse (Apoc. 21.23): “The glory of God hath enlightened it; the society of the blessed who see God. #RandolphHarris 16 of 20

By this light the blessed are made “deiform”—id est like to God, according to saying: “When He shall appear we shall be like to Him, and because we shall see Him as He is,” reports 1 Jon 3.2. “And fater he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him. And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God. And the Angel said unto me again; Look and behold the condescension of God! And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the Redeemer of the World, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the Heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of Heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove. And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them. And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that the Angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! #RandolphHarris 17 of 20

“And I looked, and I beheld the Heavens open again, and I saw Angels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them. And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the Angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb f God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out. And it came to pass that the Angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the World; and I saw and bear record. And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted upon the cross and slain for the sins of the World. And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the Earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb; for thus were the twelve called by the Angel of the Lord. And the multitude of the Earth was gathered together; and I behold that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw. And the Angel of the Lord sapke unto me again, saying: Behold the World and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. #RandolphHarris 18 of 20

“And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the World; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the Angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb,” reports 1 Nephi 11.23-36. We beseech Thee, O Lord, to guide Thy Church with Thy perpetual governance; that it may walk warily in times of quiet, and boldly in times of trouble; through our Lord. O Lord, Thou knowest my great unfitness for service, my present deadness, my inability to do anything for Thy glory, my distressing coldness of heart. I am weak, ignorant, unprofitable, and loathe and abhor myself. I am at a loss to know what thou wouldest have me do, for I feel amazingly deserted by thee, and sense thy presence so little; Thou makest me possess the sins of my youth, and the dreadful sin of my nature, so that I feel all sin, I cannot think or act but every motion is sin. Return again with showers of converting grace to a poor gospel-abusing sinner. Help my soul to breathe after holiness, after a constant devotedness to Thee, after growth in grace more abundantly every day. The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a great lie than to a small one. #RandolphHarris 19 of 20

O Lord, I am lost in the pursuit of this blessedness, and am ready to sink because I fall short of my desire; help me to hold out a little longer, until the happy hour of deliverance comes, for I cannot lift my soul to Thee if Thou of Thy goodness bring me not nigh. Help me to be diffident, watchful, tender, lest I offend my blessed Friend in thought and behaviour; I confide in Thee and lean upon Thee, and need Thee at all times to assist and lead me. O that all my distresses and apprehensions might prove but Christ’s school to make me fit for greater service by teaching me the great lesson of humility. May Thy Word, O Lord, Which endureth for ever in Heaven, abide continually in the Temple of Thy Church; that the presence of the Inhabitant may be an unfailing glory to the habitation; through Thy mercy and love. Remember Thy congregation, O Lord, which Thou hast created from the beginning; forget not the Church of old time Thou hast predestinated in Christ; be mindful of Thy mercy, look upon Thy covenant, and bless us continually with the promised freedom. The Dodo never had a chance. He seems to have been invented for the sole purpose of becoming extinct and that was all he was good for. There is no greater grief than to recall a time of happiness when in misery. However, the marines have landed, and the situation is well in hand. #RandolphHarris 20 of 20

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God’s Infinite Liberality Will Always Exceed All Our Wishes and Our Thoughts—God is Always Giving!

March 16, 2020 4:08 am

Spread your arms to those with needs, and serve with joy and zest; fill each day with golden deeds, and give your very best. Our beliefs about what we are and what we can be precisely determine what we will be. The real art of communication is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. The force of words, being (as I have formerly noted) too weak to hold people to the performance of their covenants; there are in humans true nature, but two imaginable helps to strengthen it. And those are either a fear of the consequences of breaking their word; or a glory, or pride in appearing not to need to break it. This later is generosity too rarely found to be presumed on, especially in the pursuers of wealth, command, or sensual pleasures; which are the greatest part of humankind. The passion to be reckoned upon, is fear; whereof there be two very general objects: one, the power of the spirits invisible; the other, the power of those people they shall therein offend. Of these two, though the former be the greater power, yet the fear of the later is commonly the greater fear. The fear of the former is in every person, one’s own religion: which has place in the nature of humans before civil society. The later has not so; at least place enough, to keep people to their promises; because in the condition of mere nature, the inequality of power is not discerned, but by the even of battle. #RandolphHarris 1 of 17

So that before the time of civil society, or in the interruption thereof by war, there is nothing can strengthen a covenant of peace agreed on, against the temptation of avarice, ambition, lust, or other strong desire, but the fear of that invisible power, which they every one worship as God; and fear as a revenger of their perfidy. All therefore that can be done between two people not subject to civil power, is to put one another to swear by the God one fears: which swearing or oath, is a form of speech, added to a promise; by which one that promises signifies, that unless one perform, one renounces the mercy of one’s God, or calls to Him for vengeance on oneself. Such was a heathen form, “Let Jupiter kill me else, as I kill this beast.” So is our form, “I shall do thus, and thus, so help me God.” And this, with the rites and ceremonies, which every one use in one’s own religion, that the fear of breaking faith might be the greater. By this is appears, that an oath taken according to any other form, or rite, then one’s, that swears is in vain; and no oath: and there is no swearing by any thing which the swearer thinks not God. For though people have sometimes used to swear by their kings, for fear, or flattery; yet they would have it thereby understood, they attributed to them divine honour. #RandolphHarris 2 of 17

And the swearing unnecessarily by God, is but orphaning of his name: and swearing by other things, as people do in common discourse, is not swearing, but an impious custom, gotten by too much vehemence of talking. It appears also, that the oath adds nothing to the obligation. For a covenant, if lawful, binds in the sight of God, without the oath, as much as with it; if unlawful, binds not at all; though it be confirmed with an oath. “We do not think about it enough. We spend too much time cursing time—time waits for no man, time will tell, oh, the ravages of time, time flies! We do not think about the gift of time. Time gives us the chance to make mistakes and correct them, to regenerate, to grow. Time gives us the chance to forgive, to restore, to do better than we have ever done in the past. Time gives us the chance to be sorry when we fail and the chance to try to discover in ourselves a new heart. How we use this time means everything. Will we take the opportunity to transform ourselves, to admit our hideous blunders, and become against all odds, the people of our dreams? That is what it is about, right?—becoming the people of our dreams,” (page 375-376, The Wolves of Midwinter by Anne Rice). #RandolphHarris 3 of 17

One day a patient accused himself bitterly of being ungrateful, of being a burden on the analyst, of not sufficiently appreciating the fact that the analyst treated him at a small fee. However, at the end of the interview he found that he had forgotten to bring the money he had intended to pay that day. This was only one of many evidences of his wish to get everything for nothing. His profuse and generalized self-accusations had here as elsewhere the function of obscuring the concrete issue. Another example which may serve as illustration of many is a mature and intelligent woman felt guilty about having had temper tantrums as a child, although she knew, intellectually, that they had been provoked by her parents’ unreasonable conduct, and although in the meantime she had freed herself of the belief that one must think one’s parents beyond reproach. Nevertheless her guilt feelings on this score persisted so strongly that she was inclined to take her failure to make erotic contacts with men as a punishment for her hostility toward her parents. By blaming an infantile offense for her present incapability of making such contacts she disguised the factors factually operating, such as her own hostility toward men and her having withdrawn into a shell as a consequence of a fear of rejection. #RandolphHarris 4 of 17

The self-recriminations not only protect against the fear of disapproval but also invite absolute reassurance, by provoking reassuring statements to the contrary. Even when no outside person is involved they provide reassurance by enhancing the neurotic’s self-respect, for they imply that one has such a keen moral judgment that one reproaches oneself for faults which others overlook and thus ultimately they make one feel that one is really a wonderful person. Moreover they give one relief, because they rarely concern the real issue of one’s discontentment with oneself, and therefore factually leave a secret door open for a belief that one is not so bad after all. A defense that is directly opposite to self-recrimination, and nevertheless fulfills the same purposes, is forestalling any criticism by always being right or perfect, thus leaving no vulnerable spots for criticism to find a foothold. Where this type of defense prevails any behaviour, even though glaringly wrong, will be justified with an amount of intellectual sophistry worthy of a cleaver and skillful lawyer. The attitude may go so far as to make it necessary to be right in the most insignificant and trifling details—to be always right about the weather, for example—because for such a person being wrong in any detail opens up the danger of being wrong altogether. #RandolphHarris 5 of 17

Usually a person of this type is unable to endure the slightest difference of opinion, or even a difference of emotional emphasis, because in one’s thinking even a minute disagreement is equivalent to a criticism. Tendencies of this kind account to a great extent for what is called pseudo-adaptation. This is found in persons who in spite of a severe neurosis manage to maintain in their own eyes, and sometimes also in those of the people around them, an appearance of being “normal” and well adapted. In neurotics of this type one will scarcely every go wrong in predicting an enormous fear of being found out or disapproved of. A third way in which the neurotic may protect oneself against disapproval is to take refuge in ignorance, illness or helplessness. I encountered a transparent example of this in a French girl whom I treated in German. She was one of the girls I have already mentioned who were sent to me under the suspicion of feeblemindedness. During the first few weeks of analysis I was doubtful myself about her mental capacity; she did not seem to understand anything I said, even though she understood Germany perfectly. I tried to say the same things in simpler language, with no better results. #RandolphHarris 6 of 17

Finally two factors clarified the situation. She had dreams in which my office appeared as a jail, or as the office of a doctor who had examined her physically. Both ideas betrayed her anxiety at being found out, the latter dream because she was terrified of any physical examination. The other revealing factor was an incident in her conscious life. She had forgotten to present her passport at a certain time, as required by law. When at last she went to the official she pretended not to understand German, hoping in this way to escape punishment—an incident she related to me laughingly. She then recognized that she had been using the same tactics toward me, and for the same motives. For this time on she proved to be a very intelligent girl. She had been taking shelter behind ignorance and stupidity to escape the danger of being accused and punished. In principle the same strategy is pursued by anyone who feels and acts like an irresponsible, playful child who is not to be taken seriously. Some neurotic persons adopt this attitude permanently. Or even if they do not behave childishly they may refuse to take themselves seriously in their own feelings. The function of this attitude may be observed in analysis. #RandolphHarris 7 of 17

Patients on the verge of having to recognize their own aggressive tendencies may suddenly feel helpless, suddenly act like a child, desiring nothing but protection and affection. Or they have dreams in which they find themselves small and helpless, carried in the mother’s womb or in her arms. If helplessness is not effective or applicable in a given situation, illness may serve the same purpose. That illness may serve as an escape from difficulties is well known. At the same time, however, it serves the neurotic as a screen against the realization that fear is making one recoil from tackling a situation as one should. A neurotic person who is having difficulties with one’s superior, for example, may find refuge in a server attack of indigestion; the appeal of disability at such time lies in the fact that it creates a definite impossibility of action, an alibi, so to speak, and thereby relives one of the realization of one’s cowardice. A final and very important defence against disapproval of any kind is a feeling of being victimized. By feeling abused the neurotic wards off reproach for one’s own tendencies to take advantage of others; by feeling miserably neglected one debars reproaches for one’s tendencies toward possessiveness; by feeling that others are not helpful one prevents them from recognizing one’s tendencies to defeat them. #RandolphHarris 8 of 17

This strategy of feeling victimized is so frequently used and tenaciously maintained because it is in fact the most effective method of defense. It enables the neurotic not only to ward off accusations but at the same time to put the blame on others. We must show our Scriptures not be in conflict with whatever [our critics] can demonstrate about the nature of things from reliable sources. In fact, it is safe to say that throughout much of church history, Scripture and right reason were considered twin allies to be prized and used by disciples of Jesus. “Nobody knows the actual day on which Christ was born. But December twenty-fifth was a great feast to the pagans of the ancient World, the day when the Sun was at its lowest ebb and people would gather in the fields, in the villages, and in the depths of the forest to beg for the Sun to come back to us at full strength, for the days to lengthen once more. And for warmth to return to the World, melting the deadly snows of Winter, and gently nourishing the crops of the field once again. That is the meaning of all the candles of Christmas, the bright electric lights on our Christmas trees. It is the meaning of all the celebrations throughout the season, that we have the hope always and forever of being better than we are, of triumphing over the darkness that might have dfeated us in the past, and realizing a brilliance never imagined before,” (pages 374-375, The Midwinters Wolves by Anne Rice). #RandolphHarris 9 of 17

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak—courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. “Think about it for a minute. Think about what it means to renew, to repent, to start all over again. We human beings always have the capacity. No matter how badly we stumble, we can get up and try again. No matter how miserably we fail ourselves and God and those around us, we can get up and start all over again. There is no midwinter so cold and so dark that we cannot reach for the shining light with both hands,” (page 374 The Midwinter Wolves by Anne Rice). While listening may be the most undervalued of all the communication skills, good people managers are likely to listen more than they speak. Perhaps that is why God gave us two ears and only one mouth. It does not matter what you intend to communicate, but how it is heard that counts. “I am grateful with all my heart that time is once more stretching out before me, providing me again with the chance to somehow—somehow—make amends for the things that I have done. God puts in our paths so many opportunities for that, does he not?—so many people out there who need so much from each and every one of us. He gives us people to help, people to serve, people to embrace, people to comfort, people to love. As long as I live and breathe, I am surrounded by these limitless opportunities, blessed by them on all side,” (page 376 The Midwinter Wolves by Anne Rice). #RandolphHarris 10 of 17

Words have a magical power. They can bring either the greatest happiness or deepest despair; they can transfer knowledge from teacher to student; words enable the orator to sway one’s audience and dictate its decision. Words are capable of arousing the strongest emotions and prompting all people’s actions. In order that all people may be taught to speak the truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it. “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord gives no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for the that they may accomplish the thing which he commands them. And it came to pass that when my father had heard these words he was exceedingly glad, for he knew that I had been blessed of the Lord. And I, Nephi, and my brethren took our journey in the wilderness, with our tents, to go up to the land of Jerusalem. And it came to pass that when we had gone up to the land of Jerusalem, I am my brethren did consult one with another. And we cast lots—who of us should go in unto the house of Laban. And it came to pass that the lot fell upon Laman; Laman went in unto the house of Laban, and he talked with him as he sat in his house. #RandolphHarris 11 of 17

“And he desired of Laban the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, which contained the genealogy of my father. And behold, it came to pass that Laban was angry, and thrust him out from his presence; and he would not that he should have the records. Wherefore, he said unto him: Behold thou art a robber, and I will slay thee. But Laman fled out of his presence, and told the things which Laban had done, unto us. And we began to be exceedingly sorrowful, and my brethren were about to return unto my father in the wilderness. But behold I said unto them that: As the Lord lives, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord have commanded us. Wherefore, let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; therefore let us go down to the land of our father’s inheritance, for behold he left gold and silver, and all manner of riches. And this he has done because of the commandments of the Lord. For he knew that Jerusalem must be destroyed, because of the wickedness of the people. For behold, they have rejected the words of the prophets. Wherefore, if my father should dwell in the land after he has been commanded to flee out of the land, behold, he would also perish. Wherefore, it must needs be that he flee out of the land,” reports 1 Nephi 3.7-18. #RandolphHarris 12 of 17

Christianity is to be identified neither with any Christian Church nor with Christendom as a whole. It embraces both Jesus as the Christ and what is called the “Logos spermatikos.” Every theology knows that there is a sense and a manner in which God is not limited by the Church, that Christ reaches humans outside of those who are official members of the Church. Whether they are aware of it or not, Christ is the unconditional concern. It has to do it even when it is impossible to call him by his name. Every ultimate concern, every protest in the name of the Unconditional against any kind of idolatry—of things, of nations, of doctrines—implies a share in the Christian witness. This explains the messianic eloquence that is it the faith itself in the New Being in Christ which seeks expression in the most meaningless situations as it brings justification in the heart marked by sin, in the mind smeared by unbelief. Christ as the Revelation of the Unconditional among humans must be accepted as the one to explain the contents of the Christian faith, and the datum has to be focused upon as the norm adopted by theology and streamlined according to the norm. O God, Who orders things in Heaven and Earth alike for the assistance of humankind; we beseech Thee that while we are labouring in the lower part of the Universe, Thou would mercifully refresh us by the protection of Thy ministers from above; through Jesus Christ our Lord. #RandolphHarris 13 of 17

And here is the widespread failure to attain Christian maturity among both leaders and followers, referred to earlier. Those who are Christians by profession—and seriously so, we must add—today do not usually have, are not led into, the VIM (Vision, Intention, Means) that would enable them to routinely progress to the point where what Jesus Himself did and taught would be the natural outflow of who they really are on the inside. Rather, what they are inwardly is left substantially as it was, as it is in non-Christians, and they are left constantly to battle with it. That is why today you find many professing Christians circling back to non-Christians sources to resolve the problems of their inner life. Instead of inward transformation, some outward from of religion—often today even called a spirituality—is taken or impsed as the goal of practical endeavour. What is then important is to be a “good____” (you can fill in the blank). And the respective social group—the “good____s”—wiill enforce that importance, on pain of disapproval or exclusion from the group. Or the individual even enforces it upon himself or herself as what is “obviously” right. However, whatever the detail, authentic inward transformation into Christlikeness is omitted. It is not envisioned, intended, or achieved. #RandolphHarris 14 of 17

Not so in the call of Jesus to live with one as one’s student or apprentice in His kingdom. By contrast, for Him and for His Father, the heart is what matters, and everything else will then come along. And the process of inward renovation starts from the stark vision of life in the Kingdom of God. There can be no ongoing devotion without confession, which can take place anytime. Ideally it ought to take place whenever we sin. However, all too often we are too proud and emotionally charged to acknowledge our sins at the time we commit it—for example, when we lost our temper in an argument. However, if we are overloaded with guilt, devotion is impossible. To live by grace is to live solely by the merit of Jesus Christ. To live by the grace is to live solely by the merit of Jesus Christ. To live by grace is to base my entire relationship with God, including my acceptance and standing with Him, on my union with Christ. It is to recognize that in myself I bring nothing of worth to my relationship with God, because even my righteous acts are like filthy rage in God’s sights (Isaiah 64.6). Even my best works are stained with mixed motives and imperfect performance. I never truly love God with all my heart, and I never truly love my neighbour with the degree or consistency with which I love myself. #RandolphHarris 15 of 17

Yet God requires perfection. Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” reports Matthew 5.48. When we take Jesus’ words seriously, we are forced to say with the psalmist, “Thy commandment is exceedingly broad,” reports Psalm 119.96. What is the answer to out dilemma? All Christians recognize that we are justified—that is, declared righteous—solely on the basis of the righteousness of Christ imputed to us by God though faith (Romans 3.21-25). However, few of us fully recognize that we are also sanctified through faith in Christ. Sanctification, or holiness (the two words are virtually interchangeable), is essentially conformity to the moral character of God. We normally think of sanctification as progressive, as an inner change of our character whereby we are confronted more and more to the likeness of Christ. That is certainly a major part of sanctification, but not all of it. O Living God, I bless thee that I see the worst of my heart as well as the best of it, that I can sorrow for those sins that carry me from thee, that it is Thy deep and dear mercy to threaten punishment so that I may return, pray, live. My sin is to look on my faults and be discouraged, or to look on my good and be puffed up. I fall short of Thy glory every day by spending hours unprofitably, by thinking that the thing I do are good, when they are not done to thy end, nor spring from the rules of Thy word. #RandolphHarris 16 of 17

My sin is to fear what never will be; I forget to submit to Thy will, and fail to be quiet there. However, Scripture teaches me that Thy active will reveals a steadfast purpose on my behalf, and this quietness my soul, and makes me love Thee. Keep me always in the understanding that saints mourn more for sin than other people, for when they see how great is Thy wrath against sin, and how Christ’s death alone pacifies that wrath, that makes them mourn the more. Help me to see that although I am in the wilderness it is not all briars and barrenness. I have bread from Heaven, streams from the rock, light by day, fire by night, Thy dwelling place and Thy mercy seat. I am sometimes discouraged by the way, but though winding and trying it is safe and short’ death dismays me, but my great high priest stands in its waters, and will open me a passage, and beyond is a better country. While I live let my life be exemplary, when I die may my end be peace. O Light of light, O Brightness indescribable, Christ our God, the Wisdom, Power, and Glory of the Father, Who didst appear visibly to all people as the Word made flesh, and having overcome the prince of darkness, did return to Thy throne on high; grant to us Thy suppliants, amid this dark World, the full outpouring of Thy splendour; appoint the Archangel Michael to be our defender, to guard our going out and coming in; and admit us to place on Thy right hand, to receive the crown from Thee. #RandolphHarris 17 of 17

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Take Time to Honour God, He is Moved by Your Faith—Faith Opens the Door for the Extraordinary!

March 12, 2020 12:14 am

The business of expanding your consciousness is not an option. Either you are expandable or you are expendable. Many people are mislead into thinking, as popular reports sometimes suggest, that neurophysiologists have found many answers to the problem of human behaviour. Most scholars in the field of the neurosciences, on the contrary, have a very different attitude. Our knowledge and concepts of the central neural organization of aggressive behaviour are constricted by the fact that most of the information has been derived from animal experiments, hence almost nothing is known about the relation of the central nervous system to the “feeling” or “affective” aspects of emotions. We are entirely confined to observation and experimental analysis of the expressive or behavioural phenomena and the objectively recorded peripheral bodily changes. Obviously, even these procedures are not entirely reliable, and despite extensive research efforts it is difficult to interpret behavioral on the basis of these clues alone. Those who hope to solve the problem of the neurophysiology of the mind are like people at the foot of a mountain. They stand in the clearings they have made on the foothills, looking up at the mountain they hope to scale. #RandolphHarris 1 of 20

However, the pinnacle of neurophysiology is hidden in eternal clouds and many believe it can never be conquered. Surely if the day does dawn when a human reached complete understanding of one’s own brain and mind, it may be one’s greatest conquest, one’s final achievement. There is only one method that a scientist may use in one’s scientific work. This is the method of observation of phenomena of nature followed by comparative analysis and supplemented by experimentation in the light of reasoned hypothesis. Neurophysiologist who follow the rules of the scientific method in al honesty will hardly pretend that their own scientific work entitles them to answer these questions. Not only the neurosciences and psychology but many other fields need to be integrated to create a science of humans—fields such as paleontology, anthropology, history, the history of religions (myths and rituals), biology, physiology, genetics. The subject matter of the “science of humans” is human: human as a total biologically and historically evolving being who can be understood only if we see the interconnectedness between all one’s aspects, if we look at one as a process occurring within a complex system with many subsystems. #RandolphHarris 2 of 20

The behavioural sciences (psychology and sociology), are interested mainly in what people do and how one can be made to do what one does, not why one does what one does and in who one is. They have to a considerable extent become an obstacle to and a substitute for the development of an integrated science of humans. The brain is more and more understood as a whole, as one system, so that behaviour cannot be explained by referring to some of its parts. Impressive data supporting this view have been presented by E. Valenstien, who has shown that the supposed hypothalamic “centers” for hunger, thirst, pleasures of the flesh excreta, are not, if they really exist, as pure as previously thought—that stimulation of a “center” for one behaviour can elicit behaviour appropriate to another if the environment provides stimuli consistent with the second. Aggression (actually, nonverbal communication of threat) elicited in a squirrel monkey will not be believed by another monkey if the threat is made by the second monkey’s social inferior. These data are consistent with the holistic view that the brain takes account, in its reckoning of what behaviour to command, of more than one strand of incoming stimulation—that the total state of the physical and social environment at the same time modifies the meaning of a specific stimulus. #RandolphHarris 3 of 20

However, the skepticism regarding the capacity of neurophysiology to explain human behaviour adequately does not means a denial of the relative validity of the many experimental findings, especially in the last five decades. These findings, while they might be reformulated and integrated in a more global view, are valid enough to give us important clues for the understanding of one kind of aggression, that of defensive aggression. Neurophysiologist have concentrated their efforts on finding the brain areas which are the substrates of the most elementary impulses and behaviours needed for survival because Dr. Darwin propositioned that the structure and functioning of the brain is governed by the principle of the survival of the individual and the species. There is general agreement with MacLean’s conclusion, who called these basic brain mechanisms the four Fs: feeding, fighting, fleeing, and the performance of pleasures of the flesh activities. As can easily be recognized, these activities are vitally necessary for the physical survival of the individual and the species. (That humans have basic needs beyond physical survival whose realization is necessary for their functioning as a total being will be discussed later.) #RandolphHarris 4 of 20

As far as aggression and flight are concerned—they are controlled by different areas of the brain, but the term “controlled” is quite inadequate. The response is one process going on in other parts of the brain, interacting with the specific area which is stimulated. Nonetheless, it has been shown, for example, that affective reaction of rage and its corresponding aggressive behaviour pattern can be activated by direct electrical stimulation of various areas, such as the amygdala, the lateral hypothalamus, some parts of the mesencephalon, and the central gray matter; and it can be inhibited by stimulating other structures, such as the septum, the circumvolution of the cingulum, and the caudal nucleus. With great surgical ingenuity some investigations were able to implant electrodes in a number of specific areas of the brain. They established a two-way connection for observation. By low voltage electrical stimulation of an area they were able to study changes of behaviour in animals, and later in humans. They could demonstrate, for instance, the arousal of intensely aggressive behaviour by the direct electric stimulation of certain areas, and the inhibition of aggression by stimulating certain others. #RandolphHarris 5 of 20

On the other hand, when emotions like rage, fear, pleasure, excreta were aroused by environmental stimuli, they could measure the electrical activity of these various areas of the brain. They could also observe the permanent effects produced by the destruction of certain areas of the brain. It is indeed quite impressive to witness how a relatively small increase in the electric charge in an electrode implanted in one of the neural substrates of aggression can produce a sudden outburst of uncontrolled, murderous rage and how the reduction of electric stimulation or the stimulation of an aggression-inhibitory center can equally suddenly stop this aggression. Delgado’s spectacular experiment of stopping a charging bull by the stimulation of an inhibitory area (by remote control) has aroused considerable popular interest in this procedure. That a response is activated in some brain areas and inhibited in others is by no means characteristic of aggression; the same duality exists with regard to other impulses. The brain is, in fact, organizes as a dual system. Unless there are specific stimuli (external or internal), aggression is in a state of fluid equilibrium, because activating and inhibiting areas keep each other in a relatively stable balance. This can be recognized particularly clearly when either an activating or an inhibiting area is destroyed. #RandolphHarris 6 of 20

Starting with the classic experiment by Heinrich Kluver and P.C. Bucy, it has been demonstrated, for instance, that destruction of the amygdala transformed animals (rhesus monkeys, wolverines, wildcats, rats, and others) in such a way that they lost—at least temporarily—their capacity for aggressive, violent reactions, even under strong provocation. On the other hand, the destruction of aggression-inhibiting areas, such as small areas of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, produces permanently aggressive cats and rats. Given the dual organization of the brain, the crucial question arises: What are the factors that disturb the balance and produce manifest rage and corresponding violent behaviour? We have already seen that one way in which such disturbance of the balance can be produced is by electric stimulation or destruction of any of these areas (aside from hormonal and metabolic changes). Mark Ervin emphasized that such disturbance of the equilibrium can also occur due to various forms of brain diseases that alter the normal circuitry of the brain. Two kinds of changes affect the neural pathways. One kind is the momentary electrochemical change which is the physical means by which impulses travel along the nerves. This change depends on stimulation: when the stimuli cease, so do this process. This is how the environment—the source of many stimuli—controls the behaviour of the organism. #RandolphHarris 7 of 20

The other kind of change has to do with what happens at the synapse of neurons which frequently activate another. With use, more permanent structural changes take place which enable impulses to travel more easily through these synapses than others: facilitation. It is now generally believed that there are these two kinds of effects. There is a such thing as Phi elements which are concerned with momentary discharges, and Psi elements which bind nervous energy on a more permanent basis (cathexis). This difference, between fleeting and more enduring changes in the nervous system, makes it possible for more central dominance to emerge. Central dominance, from this perspective, accounts for the relatively slight effect made by feeling changes—particular messages being sent along at any moment of perception—on the more enduring structures which are slowly being built up in the course of facilitation, and confirmed by reverberation. This is how the organism controls its own behaviour, instead of being controlled by environmental stimuli only. Enduring changes in the pathways affect the reception and organization of subsequent messages, more than these later messages affect the existing organization. #RandolphHarris 8 of 20

To establish more central control is a victory of the organism over the environment, enabling the individual to adapt the environment in its own interest. Past memories can then be drawn upon to evaluate current events, giving individuals the benefit of past experiences before they take action. The disproportionate fear of disapproval may extend blindly to all human beings or it may extend only to friends—although usually the neurotic is unable to distinguish clearly between friends and enemies. In the beginning it refers only to the outside World, and to a greater or lesser extent it always remains related to the disapproval of others, but it may also become internalized. The more this happens, the more the disapproval from outside becomes unimportant in comparison with the disapproval of the self. The fear of disapproval may appear in various forms. Sometimes it shows in a constant fear of annoying people; the neurotic may be afraid, for example, to refuse an invitation, disagree with an opinion, express any wishes, fail to conform to the given standards, be in any way conspicuous. It may appear in a constant fear of people finding out about one; even when one feels one is liked one’s inclination is to withdraw in order to forestall being found out and dropped. #RandolphHarris 9 of 20

It also may come out in an inordinate reluctance to let others know anything about one’s own private affairs, or in a disproportionate anger at any harmless questions concerning oneself, because one feels that such questions are attempts to try to pry into one’s affairs. The fear of disapproval is one of the outstanding factors that makes the analytical process difficult for the analyst and painful for the patient. Different though each individual analysis is from the other, all have in common the feature that the patient, while desiring the analyst’s help and while wishing to reach an understanding, must at the same time fight off the analyst as a most dangerous intruder. It is this fear that induces the individual to act as if one were a criminal before a judge, and, like the criminal, one is secretly grimly determined to deny and to mislead. This attitude may appear in dreams of being pushed to confession and reacting to it with agony. One patient of mine, at a time when we were close to uncovering some of one’s repressed tendencies, had a day dream which was significant in this respect. One imagined he was a boy who had the custom of finding refuge, every now and then, on a dream island. There the boy became part of a community governed by a law prohibiting any revelation of this island’s existence and demanding the death of any possible intruder. #RandolphHarris 10 of 20

A person whom the boy loved, and who represented the analyst in some disguised form, happened to find one’s way to the island. According to the law one should have been killed. The boy could save him, however, by pledging that he himself would never return to the island. This was an artistic expression of the conflict which from the beginning to the end of the analysis was present in one or another form, a conflict between liking the analyst and hating him because he wanted to intrude into hidden thoughts and feelings, a conflict between the patient’s impulse to fight in defense of one’s secrets and the necessity of giving them up. If the fear of disapproval is not generated by guilt feelings it may be asked why the neurotic is then so much concerned about being detected and disapproved of. The main factor that accounts for the fear of disapproval is the great discrepancy that exists between the façade which the neurotic shows both to the World and to oneself and all the repressed tendencies that lie hidden behind the façade. Although one suffers, even more than one realizes, at not being at one with oneself, at all the pretenses one must keep up, one has nevertheless to defend these pretenses with all one’s energy, because they represent the bulwark that protects one from one’s lurking anxiety. #RandolphHarris 11 of 20

If we recognize that these things he has to hide form the basis of his fear of disapproval we can understand better why the disappearance of certain “guilt feelings” cannot possibly free one from one’s fear. There is more that has to be changed. To put it very bluntly, it is the whole insincerity in one’s personality or rather, in the neurotic part of one’s personality, that is responsible for one’s fear of disapproval, and it is in this insincerity that one fears detection. As to the special content of one’s secrets, one wants in the first place to conceal the sum total of what is usually covered by the term aggression. This term is used to include not only one’s reactive hostility—anger, revenge, envy, desire to humiliate, and the like—but all one’s secret demands on others. Since I have already discussed these in detail it suffices here to say briefly that he does not want to stand on his own feet, that he does not want to make efforts of his own in order to achieve what he wants; instead he inwardly insists on feeding on other persons’ likes, whether by domineering and exploiting or by the means of affection, “love” or submissiveness. As soon as his hostile reactions or his demands are touched upon, anxiety develops, not because he feels guilty but because he sees that his chances of getting the support he needs are endangered. #RandolphHarris 12 of 20

In the second place he wants to hide how weak and insecure and helpless he feels, how little he can assert himself, how much anxiety he has. For this reason he builds up a façade of strength. However, the more his particular strivings for security are focused on dominance, and thus the more his pride is also linked with the notion of strength, the more he thoroughly despises himself. He not only feels that there is danger in weakness but also considers it despicable, in himself as well as others, and he classes as weakness any inadequacy whether it concerns not being master in one’s own houses, inability to overcome barriers within oneself, having to accept help, or even being possessed by anxiety. Since he thus essentially despises any “weakness” in himself, and since he cannot help believing that others will despise him likewise if they find out his weaknesses, he makes desperate efforts to hide them, but always with the fear that he will be found out sooner or later; therefore the continued anxiety. Thus guilt feelings and their accompanying self-recriminations are not only the result, instead of the cause, of a fear of disapproval, but they are also a defense against this fear. They fulfill the double purpose of inviting reassurance and of blurring the real issue. The latter purpose they accomplish either by diverting attention from what should be concealed, or by exaggerating so greatly that they appear untrue. #RandolphHarris 13 of 20

An illustration of the general pattern of personal transformation is provided by programs that teach people to refrain from doing something very harmful, something that could possibly lead to untimely death. A desirable state of being is envisioned, and an intention to realize it is actuated in decision. Means are applied to fulfill the intention (and the corresponding decision) by producing the desirable state of being. This includes a conscious involvement of God in the individual’s life because it is highly effective in brining about personal transformation. It works in terms of essential structures of the human self revealed by God through His people. When we stop to think about it, there is no such thing as unqualified freedom. Such “freedom” would not be freedom, it would be anarchy. It would be everyone doing what is right in one’s own eyes; and given our sinful nature, it would be total chaos. In the Untied States, we say we live in a “free country.” We understand that freedom to be political freedom: the right to have a say in our government. However, we all recognize we are not free to disobey the laws of our state or nation. We are not free, for example, to drive on the left side of the highway. My son observed a humorous example of freedom when he visited a country in which automobile drivers are undisciplined and “free spirited.” #RandolphHarris 14 of 20

He saw cars stopped at a railroad crossing for a passing train. Instead of lining up behind one another to cross in their proper turn, several cars lined up at the crossing guard accord the entire road. Each driver wanted to be the first to cross when the guard was raised. However, when the train had passed, lo and behold, cars were lined up completely across the road on the other side of the tracks. “Freedom” quickly turned to chaos! That kind of thing happens in a much more serious way when we insist on unqualified freedom from the law of God. We have indeed been set free from the bondage and curse that results from breaking the law. And we have been called to freedom from works as a means of obtaining any merit with God. However, we have not been called to freedom from the laws as an expression of God’s will for our daily living. Paul said, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s laws,” and “I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s laws,” reports Romans 7.22,25. A few verses before he had characterized God’s law as “holy, righteous and good” as reported in Romans 7.12. It seems inconceivable that Paul would want to be free, or urge others to be free, from what was holy, righteous, and good—that in which he himself delighted. #RandolphHarris 15 of 20

So, then, God’s law is not opposed to grace, nor is it an enemy of grace. Neither is the law of God opposed to us as we seek to live by grace. To live by grace means we understand that God’s blessing on our lives is not conditioned by our obedience of disobedience but by the perfect obedience of Christ. it means that out of grateful response to the grace of God, we seek to understand His will and to obey Him, not to be blessed, but because we have been blessed. When the Psalmist speaks of meditating on the Law of God day and night (Psalm 1.2), he uses a word which means “to mutter.” This word was used to describe the murmurings of kings in Psalm 2.1, and for the chattering of doves in Isiah 59.11. In fact, St. Augustine translated Psalm 1.2, “On his law he chatters day and night.” Meditation is intrinsically verbal. This means the Psalmist memorizes God’s Word—for one cannot continually mutter the Scripture without memorizing it, and vice versa. Personally applied, this tells us that along with our systematic reading of the Bible, we ought to select especially meaningful segments to reverently mutter over. Sometimes it may be a single verse—Philippians 3.10, for example, the four emphases of which I like to murmur in the NASB: that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being confronted to His death. #RandolphHarris 16 of 20

Slowly and prayerfully turning over Scripture in this manner engages the eyes, the ears, and the mouth, and drills through the serpentinite to the heart—maximizing internalization and devotion. “And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them. Neither did they believe that Jerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words of the prophets. And they were like unto the Jews who were at Jerusalem, who sought to take away the life of my father (Lehi). And it came to pass that my father did speak unto them in the valley of Lemuel, with power, being filled with the Spirit, until their frames did shake before him. And he did confound them, that they durst not utter against him; wherefore, they did as he commanded them. And my father dwelt in a tent. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers,” 1 Nephi 1.12-16. #RandolphHarris 17 of 20

Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord our God, ever to rejoice in devotion to Thee; because our happiness is perpetual and full, if we are continually serving the Author of all good; through Jesus Christ our Lord. We beseech Thee, O Lord, let Thy faithful people rejoice evermore in Thy benefits; that being ordered by Thy governance, they may please Thee in their lives, and happily obtain the good which they pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant, O Almighty God, that we may attain to the fulness of joy, and be the more earnestly devoted to Thy Majesty; through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Lord, pour into our hearts Thy servants that joy of the righteous which is in Thee; that the praise of Thee, which becometh well the upright, may purge out all unholiness from our minds; through They mercy. O Merciful God, when I hear of disagreeable things amongst Christians, it brings an additional weight and burden on my spirit; I come to thee in my distress and make lamentable complaint; teach me how to take reproofs from friends, even though I think I do not deserve them; use them to make me tenderly afraid of sin, more jealous over myself, more concerned to keep heart and life unblameable; cause them to help me to reflect on my want of spirituality, to abhor myself, to look upon myself as unworthy, and make them beneficial to my soul. #RandolphHarris 18 of 20

May all Thy people know how little, mean, and vile I am, that they may see I am nothing, less than nothing, to be accounted nothing, that so they may pray for me aright, and have not the least dependence upon me. It is sweet to be nothing and have nothing, and to be fed with crumbs from Thy hands. Blessed by Thy name for anything that life bring. How do poor souls live who have not thee, or when helpless have no God to go to, who feel not the constraining force of Thy love, and the sweetness of communion? O how admirably dost Thou captivate the soul, making all desires and affections centre on thee! Give me such vivacity in religion, that I may be able to take all reproofs from other people as from Thy hands, and glorify Thee for them from a sense of Thy beneficent love and of my need to have my pride destroyed. A competent teacher puts oneself behind one’s pupil’s eyes, inside one mind, and starts instruction from what one finds there. The prudent teacher will reveal what will best help people, not necessarily what they like to hear or all that one knows. One must give people what is best for them, must first evaluate how much truth they can take in. It is utterly impracticable and imprudent to give all people all the spiritual truth at all times. The prudent teacher will give out only slightly more than the seeking enquirer is able to receive. #RandolphHarris 19 of 20

Covenants entered into by fear, in the condition of mere Nature, are obligatory. To further highlight the illustration, if I covenant to pay a ransom, or service for my life, to an enemy; I am bound by it. For it is a contract, wherein one receiveth the benefit of life; the other is to receive money, or service for it; and consequently, where no other law (as in the condition, of mere nature) forbiddeth the performance, the covenant is valid. Therefore prisoners of war, if trusted with the payment of their ransom, are obliged to pay it; and if a weaker prince, make a disadvantageous peace with a stronger, for fear; one is bound to keep it; unless (as hath been said before) there ariseth some new, and just cause of fear, to renew the war. And even in all common-wealths, if I be force to redeem myself from a thief by promising him or her money, I am bound to pay it, till the civil law discharge me. For whatsoever I may lawfully do without obligation, the same I may lawfully covenant to do through fear: and what I lawfully covenant, I cannot lawfully break. A former covenant, makes void a later. For a person that has passed away one’s right to one person today hath it not to pass tomorrow to another: and therefore the later promise passeth no right, but is null. #RandolphHarris 20 of 20

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March 5, 2020 3:09 am

The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work, second, consistently, third, common sense. Some people dream of worthy accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them. Somehow I cannot believe that there are any heights that cannot be scaled by a person who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy; and the greatest of all confidence. Adult learning is a changed relationship between the central effects of separate stimulations. Two sets of events, which are separately experienced on two unconnected occasions, can become associated. It is possible to begin to imagine how one might learn to recognize, for instance a bird, either though seeing and touching it, or through hearing it. Circular cell-assemblies are capable of reverberation. The association might be set up by vision, and yet be manifested later purely from hearing a sound, or feeling a touch. Any element can stand for the whole, and the whole can stand for any element. We catch here a glimpse of what is called conceptual learning or symbolic learning; learning through the use of the words and symbols. #RandolphHarris 1 of 18

There is a possibility that a subsystem may act as a link between two systems (conceptual structures). The two systems have a subsystem connecting them, to provide a basis of prompt association. Thus, two concepts may acquire a latent association without ever having occurred together in the subject’s past experience. For instance, a person fears apple-picking and window-cleaning because these are associated with going up steps, and this is associated with some danger connected with being in an upstairs room. And so the experience of seeing something can be associated with something heard, or a word that is read may be associated with a picture or a sound. These can all stand for or means each other. The process of thinking must be rather like this—a sequence of central events which starts when one central activity is a stimulus for the next month, without need the intervention of a sensory stimulus. One of the most interesting epochs in human history is the so-called Neolithic revolution. That revolution accompanied the development of agriculture in Asia Minor about 10,000 years ago. It is very likely, although we have no proof as yet, that it was women who discovered agriculture, and what they discovered was that wild grasses could be raised and improved to yield edible what and other grains. #RandolphHarris 2 of 18

The men were not so ingenious. In that same period, they were probably still hunting or were acquiring and caring for flocks of sheep. With the discovery of agriculture came the awareness that one’s food need be limited only to what nature provided of its own accord, but one could also take a creative hand in the natural process. Using one’s intelligence and skills, one could produce something. As I said, it happened only a short time ago. In the early years of this revolution—let us say in the first four thousand—you would no doubt have found remarkably peaceful societies, ones in many respects like those of the North American Pueblo Indians. They were probably even matriarchal in organization and inhabited small villages. They produced a little more than they needed at any given moment, and that surplus gave them added security and allowed their populations to grow. However, they did not have so much surplus that one group would envy another and want to take away its surplus. Neolithic society, like modern tribes I have just discussed here, was probably characterized by a genuinely democratic way of life and, as I said, by much stronger role for women and mothers. #RandolphHarris 3 of 18

Patriarchal organization came much later, about 4000 to 3000 B.C., a period in which everything changed. People were able to produce much more than they needed. Slavery was introduced. The division of labour became more pronounced. Armies were built up; governments were formed; wars were fought. Humans discovered that one could use other humans to work for them. Hierarchies formed, with kings at their heads. The kings were deputies of God and often filled the role of high priest. That situation encouraged the development of aggressiveness, for humans now had the ability to rob, steal, and exploit. And natural democracy gave way to a hierarchy in which everyone had to obey. Proponents of the instinct theory often claim that war is caused by human’s aggressive instincts. That is a very naïve as well as a very incorrect view. First of all, we know that most wars come about because governments convince their populations that they are under attack, that they have to defend their most sacred values, their lives, their freedom, democracy, and Lord knows what else. The wave of enthusiasm for war lasts a few weeks and then is pretty much gone. Now people have to be threatened and punished to continue fighting. However, if people were by nature so aggressive that war actually satisfied their aggressive instincts, then governments would not have to take those measures. #RandolphHarris 4 of 18

On the contrary, they would have to propagandize for peace all the time so that people would not be constantly yearning for a war in which they could vent their aggression. However, as we all know, that is not the way things are, and we can even identify quite precisely the period when war as an institution had its beginnings or, if you will, was invented. It was the period after the Neolithic revolution, the period that saw he rise of city-state, of kings, of armies, and of the capability to make war, take slaves, steal treasure, and so forth. There was no organize war among the hunter-gatherers and the primitive agriculture peoples, because the capability for it simply did not exist. What this discussion shows us is that a number of primitive tribes have social systems in which friendliness and cooperation are predominant and aggression at a minimum. If that picture of primitive societies is correct, the “hydraulic” theory that identifies aggression as an instinct cannot be maintained. Another point we can cite against the instinct theory is that levels of aggression within a society can vary greatly. If we look at the early 1930s in Germany, for example, we find that the Nazis drew most of their support from the old petit-bourgeoisie and from officers and students whose careers had been disabled by postwar conditions. #RandolphHarris 5 of 18

The Nazis found no emotional echo in the middle class an upper middle class. I do not mean to say that those classes did not acquiesce in the Nazi system, but the ardent Nazis did not come from those classes, much less from the working class. Convinced Nazis were, as we all know, more the exception than the rule in the working classes, though, oddly enough, convinced anti-Nazis were also an exception among workers. Why that is so is another question altogether. We find a similar situation in the American South. In some cases, the less affluent people in the South have an incredible store of aggressiveness, typically much more than Southern middle class and more too than the working class either in the South or on the American East Coast. Aggressiveness is always most present in those classes that are on the lowest social level, at the bottom of the social pyramid. Those are people who have few pleasures in life, who are usually uneducated, who see themselves being slowly squeeze out of the social mainstream, who are lacking in motivation and interests. Such people build up vast amounts of sadistic rage that does not develop in people who are productively occupied an who feel fully engaged in—or at least not totally exclude from—the social process. #RandolphHarris 6 of 18

Those latter people, who are underrepresented and being pushes out of society, have interests; they have the feeling that they are in step with the rest of society. That is why those classes do not develop the same measure of sadism and aggression that the old petit—bourgeoisie in Germany did or that certain classes in American do. Levels of aggressiveness will differ in individuals, too. Take the patient who comes to a psychiatrist and says, “Doctor, I strongly dislike everybody. I do not care for my wife. I find my children unpleasant. I cannot stand the people I work with. There is nobody I actually like.” For the psychiatrist, and I would hope for almost anyone else, too, that patient has rendered one’s own diagnosis and declared oneself sick. We do not respond to such a person by saying, “But of course, everything is perfectly clear. We have here a case of the aggressive instinct at work.” We say instead that this man’s character is so constituted that it constantly produces aggression. We then ask: How did this person get this way? We inquire into the social circumstances of his life, his family history, his past experiences. We try to understand why such a high level of aggressiveness became part of this individual, part of one’s character structure. We do not say, as the advocates of the instinct theory say when they talk about war: “There is nothing you can do about it. This case just proves all over again how strong our inborn aggressiveness is.” #RandolphHarris 7 of 18

All of us know aggressive people, and by aggressive I do not mean just quick-tempered. I mean destructive, hostile, sadistic people. And we all know friendly people who strike us as being warm and nonaggressive not just on a superficial level but at their very core. Their friendliness cannot in any way be equated with weakness or servility. If we are unaware of such differences, then we are in a bad way—and many people are in a bad way, because they do no notice those differences. However, most people who take the trouble to look around them with any care know very well that those characterological differences exist. The contradiction between the guilt feelings that are manifested and the lack of that humility which should accompany them must be considered. The neurotic will make great demands for consideration and admiration and will also show a distinct unwillingness to accept the slightest degree of criticism. This contradiction may be glaringly obvious, as in the case of a woman who felt vaguely guilty of every crime reported in the papers, and even blamed herself for every death in the family, but was so overwhelmed by an acute outbreak of rage that she fainted when her sister rather mildly reproached her for requesting too much consideration. #RandolphHarris 8 of 18

However, the contradiction is not always so conspicuous; it is present much more frequently than appears on the surface. The neurotic may mistake one’s self-accusatory attitude for a sound critical attitude toward oneself. One’s sensitivity toward criticism may be screened by a belief that one can take criticism very well, if only it is made in a friendly or constructive manner; but this belief is only a screen and is contradicted by the facts. Even obviously friendly advice may be reacted to with anger, for advice of any kind implies criticism for not being altogether perfect. Thus is guilt feelings are carefully examined and are tested for genuineness, it becomes apparent that much of what looks like feelings of guilt is the expression either of anxiety or of a defense against it. In part this holds true also for the normal individual. In our culture it is considered nobler to fear God than to fear people, or in non-religious terms, to refrain from something because of conscience rather than because of a fear of getting caught. Many a husband who pretends to be faithful because of his conscience is in reality merely afraid of his wife. Because of the great amount of anxiety in neuroses the neurotic in inclined more often than the normal individual to cover up anxiety with guilt feelings. #RandolphHarris 9 of 18

Unlike the normal person one not only fears those consequences which are likely to happen, but anticipates consequences which are likely to happen, but anticipates consequences utterly disproportionate to reality. The nature of these anticipations depends on the situation. One may have an exaggerated notion of impending punishment, retaliation, desertion, or one’s fears may be completely vague. However, whatever their nature one’s fears are all kindled at the same point, which may be roughly described as the fear of disapproval, or if the fear of disapproval amounts to a conviction, as a fear of being found out. The fear of disapproval is very common in neuroses. Nearly every neurotic, even though one appears on surface observation to be entirely certain of oneself and indifferent to the opinion of others, is excessively afraid of or hypersensitive to being disapproved of, criticized, accused, found out. As I have already mentioned, this fear of disapproval is usually understood to indicate underlying guilt feelings. In other words, it is considered to be a result of such feelings. Critical observation makes this conclusion questionable. #RandolphHarris 10 of 18

In analysis a patient will often find it extremely difficult to talk about certain experiences or thoughts—those, for example, concerning death wishes, masturbation, incest wishes—because one believes one feels guilty. When one has gained sufficient confidence to talk about them, and recognizes that they do not meet with disapproval, the “guilt feelings” vanish. One feels guilty because, as a result of one’s anxieties, one is even more than others dependent on public opinion, and hence mistakes it naively as one’s own judgment. Furthermore one’s general sensitivity toward disapproval remains fundamentally unchanged, even if one’s special guilt feelings vanish after one has brought oneself to talk about the experiences that prompted them. This observation suggests the conclusion that guilt feelings are not the cause but the result of the fear of disapproval. “But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit,” reports 2 Corinthians 3.18. We have looked, now, at the basic dimensions of the human self and at the central principle of its dysfunctionality and corruption (that is, self-denial). Spiritual formation in Christ is the process by which one moves an is moved from self-worship to Christ-centered self-denial as a general condition of God’s present and eternal kingdom. #RandolphHarris 11 of 18

The next logical step in a practical treatment of spiritual formation might seem to be the provision of detailed instructions on how to move from a life of self-adulation to one of self-denial, dealing with each of the dimensions of the human being in turn. And we plan to do just that. However, before it can be effectively done in our contemporary context, we must clear up a few more preliminary matters. First of all, we must be clear that such a transition as is envisioned in Christian spiritual formation can actually happen, and can actually happen to us. This, today, is not obvious. What we see around us today of the usual Christian life could easily make us think that spiritual transformation is simply impossible. It is now common for Christian leaders themselves to complain about how little real-life difference there is between professing, or even actual Christians, on the one hand, and non-Christians on the other. Although there is much talk about “changing lives” in Christian circles, the reality is very rare, and certainly much less common than the talk. The “failures” of prominent Christian leaders themselves, already referred to, might cause us to think genuine spiritual formation in Christlikeness to be impossible for “real human beings.” How is it, exactly, that a man or woman can respectably serve Christ for many years and then morally disintegrate? #RandolphHarris 12 of 18

And the failures that become known are few compared to the ones that remain relatively unknown and are even accepted among Christians. The effect of Christians working in the church, politics, business, entertainment, or education depends on the circumstances of how widely the failure becomes known, and on various other factors. There was a case of a pastor who became enraged at something a subordinate did during a Sunday morning service. Immediately after the service he found that subordinate and gave him a merciless tongue-lashing. With his lapel microphone still on! His diatribe was broadcast over the entire church plant and campus—in all the Sunday school rooms and the parking lot. Soon there after he “received the Lord’s call” to another church. However, what about their spiritual formation of this leader? Is that the best we can do? And is one not still really like that in one’s new position? Malfeasance with money is less acceptable than anger, and misconduct dealing with pleasures of the flesh is less tolerated still. However, is the inner condition (the heart) all that different in these cases—before God? The sad thing when a leader (or any individual) “fails” is not just what one said or did, but the heart and life and whole person who is revealed by the act. #RandolphHarris 13 of 18

What is sad is who these leaders have been all along, what their inner life has been like, and no doubt also how they have suffered during all the years they “did it” or were found out. What kind of persons have they been, and what, really has been their relation to God? Real spiritual need and change, as we have emphasized, is on the inside, in the hidden area of the life that God sees and that we cannot even see in ourselves without his help. Indeed, in the early stages of spiritual development we could not endure seeing our inner life as it really is. The possibility of denial and self-deception is something God has made accessible to us, in part to protect us until we begin to seek him. Like the face of the mythical Medusa, our true condition away from God would turn us to stone if we were fully confronted it. It would drive us mad. He has to help us come to terms with it in ways that will not destroy us outright. Without the gentle though rigorous process of inner transformation, initiated and sustained by the graceful presence of God in our World and in our soul, the change of personality and life clearly announced and spelled out in the Bible, and explained and illustrated throughout Christian history is impossible. We not only admit it, but also insist upon it. #RandolphHarris 14 of 18

However, on the other hand, the result of the effort to change our behaviour without inner transformation is precisely what we see in the current shallowness of Western Christianity that is so widely lamented and in the notorious failures of Christian leaders. One that performs first in the case of a contract, is said to merit that which one is to receive by the performance of the other; and one has it due. Also when a prize is propounded to many, which is to be given to one only that wins; or money is thrown amongst many, to be enjoyed by them that catch it; though this be a free gift; yet so to win, or so to catch, is to merit, and to have it as due. For the right is transferred in the propounding of the prize, and in throwing down the money; though it be not determined to whom, but by the event of the contention. However, there is between these two sorts of merit, this difference, that in contract, I merit by virtue of my own power, and the contractors need; but in this case of free gift, I am enabled to merit only by the benignity of the giver; in contract, I merit at the contractors hand that one should depart with one’s right; in this case of gift, I merit not that the giver should part with one’s right; but that when one has parted with it, it should be mine, rather than another’s. And this I think to be the meaning of that distinction of the schools, between Meritum Congrui, and Meritum Condigni. #RandolphHarris 15 of 18

For God Almighty, having promised Paradise to those people (hoodwinked with carnal desires,) that can walk through this World according to the precepts, and limits prescribed by one; they say, one that shall so walk, shall merit Paradise Ex Congruo. However, because no person can demand a right to it, by one’s own righteousness, or any other power in oneself, but by the free grace of God only; they say, no person can merit Paradise Ex Congruo. However, because no person can demand a right to it, by one’s own righteousness, or any other power in oneself, but by the free grace of God only; they say, no person can merit Paradise Ex Condigno. This I say, I think is the meaning of that distinction; but because disputers do not agree upon the signification of their own terms of Art, longer than it serves their turn; I will not affirm anything of their meaning: only this I say; when a gift is given indefinitely, as a prize to be contended for, one that wins merit, and may claim the prize as due. It is safe to say that throughout much of church history, Scripture and right reason were considered twin allies to be prized and used by disciples of Jesus. Jesus our Master, do Thou meet us while we walk in the way, and long to reach the Heavenly Country; so that following Thy light, we may keep the way of righteousness, and never wander away into the horrible darkness of this World’s night, while Thou Who art the Way, the Truth, and the Life, art shining within us. #RandolphHarris 16 of 18

O LORD, our support and our refuge, deliver us from temptation, give us the defence of Thy salvation, hold us up with Thy right hand, teach us by Thy discipline, and make our way and our life undefiled. “And it came to pass as he (Lehi, Nephi’s father) prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly. And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen. And being this overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the Heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of Angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God. And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of Heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the Sun at noon-day. And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament. And they came down and went forth upon the face of the Earth; and the first came and stood before my father, and have unto him a book, and bade him that he should read,” reports 1 Nephi 6-11. #RandolphHarris 17 of 18

O God of grace, Thou hast imputed my sin to my substitute, and hast imputed his righteousness to my soul, clothing me with a bridegroom’s robe, decking me with jewels of holiness. However, in my Christian walk I am still in rags; my best prayers are stained with sin; my penitential tears are so much impurity; my confessions of wrong are so many aggravations of sin; my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness. I need to repent of my repentance; I need my tears to be washed; I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no loom to weave my own righteousness; I am always standing clothed in filthy garments, and by grace am always receiving change of raiment, for Thou dost always justify the ungodly; I am always going into the far country, an always returning homes as a prodigal, always saying, Father, forgive me, and thou art always bringing forth the best robe. Every morning let me wear it, every evening return in it, go out to the day’s work in it, be married in it, be wound in death in it, stand before the great white throne in it, enter Heaven in it shining as the Sun. Grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the exceeding righteousness of salvation, the exceeding glory of Christ, the exceeding beauty of holiness, the exceeding wonder of grace. #RandolphHarris 18 of 18

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Put God in Remembrance of His Promises, Not Your Problems, and He Will be Faithful to His Word!

March 4, 2020 1:17 am

We understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for those who believe. To be a leader means willingness to risk—and a willingness to love. Has the leader given you something from the heart? It is never too late to be what you might have been. You cannot build your reputation on what you are going to do. There are countless ways of attaining greatness, but any road to reaching one’s maximum potential must be built on a bedrock of respect for the individual, a commitment to excellence, and a rejection of mediocrity. Therefore, do not try to become a person of success, but rather a person of value. Facilitation is the process which happens when the axon of a cell a is near enough to excite cell b and repeatedly takes part in firing it. Some growth process or metabolic change takes place in one or both cells such that a’s efficiency, in being one of the cells that can fire b, is increased. Since a number of cells are simultaneously involved, in a pattern, facilitation means that a pattern of cells firing frequently in such a process, become in some sense a stronger structure. Such stronger structures are called “cell-assemblies.” The hypothesis of a more permanent change, a structural change, is crucial to most writers in this field. It is the permanence which is made to account for learning, that is for the fact that previous experiences can affect subsequent experiences. #RandolphHarris 1 of 11

Cell-assemblies have the interesting property that they may be able to prolong their period of excitation—and hence their capacity to excite other cells—by a process called reverberation: A repeated simulation of specific receptors will lead slowly to the formation of an assembly of association—area cells which can act briefly as a closed system after stimulation has ceased; this prolongs the time during which the structural changes of learning can occur, and constitutes the simplest instance of a representative process (image or ideas). Imagine we had a triangle connected by arrows. Arrows represent a simple assembly of neural pathways firing in a sequence. Pathways (1, 4) fires on the first and the fourth occasion. Pathway (2, 14) fires on the second occasion and the fourteenth, and so on, illustrating the possibilities of an “alternating” reverberation which would not extinguish as a simple closed circuit. The process of reverberation is important for at least two reason. A set of stimuli—or any interconnected set of concepts—can be kept buzzing in the head long enough to affect the patterning of messages which come in thereafter. A set of stimuli kept going in this way increases the chances that a permanent structural change will occur. #RandolphHarris 2 of 11

This notion is used to facilitate an understanding of the conceptualizing, or the classifying function of the nervous system. Because of the processes of facilitation and reverberation, a system of connexions is formed which will record the relative frequency with which, in the history of the organism, different groups of internal an external stimuli have acted together. Each individual impulse will, on its occurrence, have evoked other impulses which correspond to the other stimuli, which have in the past usually accompanied its occurrence. We shall call this bundle of secondary impulses which a primary impulse sets up through these acquired connexions, the following of the primary impulses. There is continual working and reworking in this process. Some connections between particular neurons will strengthen with experience; others will weaken. An accumulation of tiny changes will have major effects in the long run. Some units capable at first of synchronizing with others in the system, would no longer be able to do so and would drop out: “fractionation.” Others, at first incompatible, would be recruited. With perceptual development there would thus be a slow growth in the assembly, understanding by “growth” not necessarily an increase in the number of constituent cells, but a change. #RandolphHarris 3 of 11

This kind of change can make possible a development of the utmost psychological significance: the formation of concepts not based on any particular perceptions. There is no reason why such connexions as we have been considering would be formed only between primary sensory impulses. Any impulse which occurs as part of the following of other impulses will, on each of these occasions, acquire or strengthen connexions with other impulses forming part of the same following. Connexions of this kind will therefore also be formed between impulses which, as primary impulses, rarely if ever occur at the same time. If you train teachers, or nurses, or psychotherapists, about all you can evaluate them for is the success with which they are impersonating the role model you provide for them in a textbook, or by the example of the living teachers. You are actually teaching them to be imitators, and you grade them an A, B, C, D, or “flunk” on the basis of how well they imitate. I think that is the way it should be. However, trouble arises when the practitioner, who has successfully impersonated the role model, goes out of school to practice. One may continue to judge one’s “goodness” or “badness” on the basis of how well one conforms to one’s original impersonation. This is no longer appropriate. #RandolphHarris 4 of 11

One should be evaluated and should evaluate oneself on the basis of one’s results. If one is a salesperson, then sales. If one is a teacher, by students who learn. If one is a therapist, with patients who get well. If one is a nurse, with patients who are comfortable and nonanxious during their recovery. The ways of producing these results must be more diversified than the role enactment which yielded a high grade in a training school. I have seriously thought that training schools ought not to award a degree or diploma until two years after training. If one has successfully imitated one’s teachers and followed their instructions, the graduate gets a provisional badge. If in two years one still practices in the way one did when one left, that provisional badge is take away. Unfortunately, there are many therapists who engage in a perpetual impersonation for the rest of their career. What makes it even more terrible, they feel self-righteous about it and condemn responsible explorers and pioneers. Some of our most creative psychotherapists have been vituperated, blasted, criticized, threatened with expulsion from their personal societies. They may have explored beyond the orthodox training they received, an so they should. However, it calls for courage. Let us ask, “What do training schools or institutional settings do to our courage and creativity? Have the fostered them or diminished them?” #RandolphHarris 5 of 11

If carried out in a spirit of responsible commitment to the task of healing, and if procedures are shared with colleagues, for their testing and criticism, then professional associations like the American Psychological or American Psychiatric Association will allow deviations and idiosyncrasies. The freedom to explore, elbowroom, has always been there. In fact, not to grasp it is to neglect one’s professional responsibilities. This raises the question, why do not more of us reach out and use it? I suppose a lot of the resistance to growth comes from within, but there may also be instances where it comes from without. A rule of thumb I always use in any setting where I work is, “Do I get headaches there?” If I get headaches, the resistance to my growth comes from without. If I get bored, the resistance to my own growth comes from within. However, that rule of thumb may only be peculiar to me. It may not be relevant to you. Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. There are many primitive tribes in which no marked aggressiveness appears at all and in which, on the contrary, a spirit of friendliness predominates. In descriptions of such tribes we find a number of traits that commonly occur together and form a syndrome: minimal aggression (and, concomitantly, no crimes and almost no murder), no private property, no exploitation, and no hierarchies. #RandolphHarris 6 of 11

Tribes of that kind occur among the Pueblo Indians, but similar ones can be found all over the World. There are tribes whose members are not farmers like the Pueblo Indians but are extremely primitive hunters not much different from the hunters of 30,000 years ago. It is a pygmy tribe that lives in the jungles of central Africa. Aggression is almost nonexistent among these people. Individuals do, of course, get angry occasionally, and then observes whose theories about aggression differ from mine will say: “There, you see? That man there is angry.” However, I must say I find that a rather petty way of looking at things, for it is one thing if a person gets angry now and then an quite another is one is overloaded with aggression that it prompts one to want war, to kill people, and so on. There is a huge difference between a person who may get angry occasionally and one who is destructive and full of hate; anyone who fails to see that difference is, I think, a rather obtuse observer. The pygmy hunters regard the jungle in which they live as their mother; like all hunters, they kill only as many animals as they need to eat. Putting stores away for the future is out of the question, because they have no way to preserve their meat. When they need food, they hunt. #RandolphHarris 7 of 11

There is no great surplus, but by and large they have enough to live on. That is why there is no private property. And they have no leader. Why, indeed, should they? Their lives are governed by the demands of their situation, and everyone knows what one’s task is. If we wanted to put it that way, we could say that these tribes possess a deeply rooted sense of democracy. No one tells anyone else what to do. There is no reason why anyone should. One could not gain any advantage by doing so. And, of course, there is no exploitation. Why would anyone want to make use of another’s labour? Should I send someone out to do my hunting for me? That would make my life awfully boring. And then what else is there to do? There is really nothing one can do for me. Family life is peaceful. Monogamy, with the possibility of easy divorce, is the rule. Pleasures of the flesh before marriage are permitted for some. Pleasures of the flesh are not burdened with any guilt feelings for a select few. When the woman becomes pregnant, the couple will ordinarily marry, and the partners remain together for life, unless they should develop a disliking for each other at some point. However, that rarely happens. The pygmies are carefree, too, even though the hunt does not always go smoothly. #RandolphHarris 8 of 11

Sometimes there is a shortage of game; sometime they have lean years. However, they trust the jungle to nourish them. They are not possessed by the idea that they have to use more, save more, have more, and that is why they are generally quite content. Tribes like this are the truly affluent societies—not because they are so wealthy but because they do not want more than they have. And what they have is enough to provide them with a secure and enjoyable life. I want to stress particularly how important it is to see the entire system and structure here and not just to isolate one feature from it. If you ask simply, “Is this aggressiveness or is it not it?” you will have difficulty answering it. However, if you take in the whole social structure, then you will see that you are dealing here with basically friendly people who are not fighting among themselves or jealous of each other and whose lack of aggression is an element we would logically expect, given their overall psychic and social orientation. And you will see, too, how closely the psychic system is linked to the social one. Believers, whatever your ability, you must regularly read and study God’s Word. If you refuse, you are in effect “editing God” and will never have a fully Christian mind. #RandolphHarris 9 of 11

We beseech Thee, O Lord, in Thy loving-kindness, set in order our life and conversation, that no adversities may prevail against us, and nothing salutary be wanting to us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. “I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favoured of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days,” reports Nephi 1.1. Lord Jesus, give me a deeper repentance, a horror of sin, a dread of its approach; help me chastely to flee it, and jealously to resolve that my heart shall be thine alone. Give me a deeper trust, that I may lose myself to find myself in thee, the ground of my rest, the spring of my being. Please give me a deeper knowledge of thyself as saviour, master, lord, and king. Give me deeper power in private prayer, more sweetness in thy word, more steadfast grip on its truth. Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action, and let me not seek moral virtue apart thee. Plough deep in me, great Lord, Heavenly husbandman, that my being may be a tilled field, the roots of grace spreading far and wide, until thou alone art seen in me, thy beauty golden like Summer harvest, thy fruitfulness as Autumn plenty. #RandolphHarris 10 of 11

I have no Mater but thee, no law by thy will, no delight but thyself, no wealthy but that thou givest, no good but that thou blessest, no peace but that thou bestowest. I am nothing but that thou makest me, I have nothing but that I receive from thee, I can be nothing but that grace adorns me. Quarry me deep, dear Lord, and then fill me to overflowing with living water. “Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians. And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it accord to my knowledge. For it came to pass in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days); and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city of Jerusalem must be destroyed. Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people,” reports Nephi 1.2-6. Grant to Thy servants, O Lord, the pardon of their sins, comfort in life, and perpetual guidance; whereby they may faithfully serve Thee, and be always enabled to attain Thy mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. #RandolphHarris 11 of 11

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Randolph Harris II International Institute

Category Archives: Experimental Evolution

Put God in Remembrance of His Promises, Not Your Problems, and He Will be Faithful to His Word!

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