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Spoor's Law of Attribution
Aug. 19th, 2010 03:43 pmNever attribute to a deep and thorough understanding and application of an abstruse and complex technical concept what can be explained by a simplistic grasp of the concept's basics married to a rudimentary understanding of its vocabulary and a yearning desire to sound learned and authoritative.
(no subject)
Mar. 8th, 2009 08:51 pmSomething else the minister mentioned in her sermon today, a useful guide from the Mayo Clinic or both measuring your resilience to difficulty *and* tips on how to build it up. Good ideas for hard times.
Sunday morning
Mar. 8th, 2009 11:33 amSlept fairly well, and I didn't feel too boggled by the time shift. Had just enough time to eat breakfast, shower, and get to the early service at UUCSS.
I find their services very moving, as if there is something that's speaking to me very deeply there. And I think their minister is a tremendously good speaker and a very thoughtful writer. She's very good at, as it were, showing you the tools and materials that she plans to build her theme from, and then constructing it carefully, smoothly, with humour (where that's appropriate), respect, honesty, and strength. On my last two visits, and on my former ones, I've always found her to be compelling, providing a vision and inspiring people to rise to meet it, to examine themselves or to help others (or both). Today's sermon was no exception; she spoke about how difficult times give people (both as individuals and as communities) the opportunity and the challenge to measure their resilience in the face of adversity, learn how to build it, and use what strength and skill they have to help themselves and others.
I also find that her readings and sermons introduce me to writers I might never otherwise have encountered. One example from today was a passage she quoted from Theodore Roethke, from his poem In A Dark Time. And she also quoted from Forrest Church, another UU minister who, I find now I've briefly Googled him and read a couple of his sermons, has a lot of thoughtful and valuable things to say. And last week she quoted a passage from Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Divinity School Address", which reminded me among other things that there are a lot of good writers, far too many, whose names I know but whose words I am unfamiliar with.
I find UU in general seems to meet a lot of my philosophical needs while presenting me with challenges to be more tolerant and open to other ideas (a challenge I could probably benefit from). Certainly I find it very inspiring and provides me with encouragement to learn, think, and a venue for prayer that isn't as problematic as other religions I've participated in. And UUCSS seems to be both a fairly friendly place and one where the congregation is both on a similar wavelength to mine and quite diverse in age (as much as I loved TRS, I was almost always the only person other than the rabbi under the age of 40--of course it helps that I've grown so much older, given that *I'm* not under 40 any longer. ;-) And (of course I had to check!) there are congregations in Edinburgh and Glasgow (as well as Aberdeen and Dundee, and even Orkney!)
OK, lunch, then back to painting little men!
I find their services very moving, as if there is something that's speaking to me very deeply there. And I think their minister is a tremendously good speaker and a very thoughtful writer. She's very good at, as it were, showing you the tools and materials that she plans to build her theme from, and then constructing it carefully, smoothly, with humour (where that's appropriate), respect, honesty, and strength. On my last two visits, and on my former ones, I've always found her to be compelling, providing a vision and inspiring people to rise to meet it, to examine themselves or to help others (or both). Today's sermon was no exception; she spoke about how difficult times give people (both as individuals and as communities) the opportunity and the challenge to measure their resilience in the face of adversity, learn how to build it, and use what strength and skill they have to help themselves and others.
I also find that her readings and sermons introduce me to writers I might never otherwise have encountered. One example from today was a passage she quoted from Theodore Roethke, from his poem In A Dark Time. And she also quoted from Forrest Church, another UU minister who, I find now I've briefly Googled him and read a couple of his sermons, has a lot of thoughtful and valuable things to say. And last week she quoted a passage from Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Divinity School Address", which reminded me among other things that there are a lot of good writers, far too many, whose names I know but whose words I am unfamiliar with.
I find UU in general seems to meet a lot of my philosophical needs while presenting me with challenges to be more tolerant and open to other ideas (a challenge I could probably benefit from). Certainly I find it very inspiring and provides me with encouragement to learn, think, and a venue for prayer that isn't as problematic as other religions I've participated in. And UUCSS seems to be both a fairly friendly place and one where the congregation is both on a similar wavelength to mine and quite diverse in age (as much as I loved TRS, I was almost always the only person other than the rabbi under the age of 40--of course it helps that I've grown so much older, given that *I'm* not under 40 any longer. ;-) And (of course I had to check!) there are congregations in Edinburgh and Glasgow (as well as Aberdeen and Dundee, and even Orkney!)
OK, lunch, then back to painting little men!
a touchy subject
Nov. 7th, 2007 02:09 pmI know that several of my friends dislike Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, or at least some of Pullman's philosophy as described there.
I found this article in Wikipedia interesting, as I was not aware that Pullman was referencing, in referring to the Republic of Heaven, a 17th century thinker (I remember reading about the Diggers when I was studying the religious settlement in Stuart England).
I have a great deal of sympathy with this passage, quoted there, from Pullman. It exhibits an attitude much similar to my own.
I find myself less and less willing to believe in the sort of God conceived of and preached by most religions--a powerful, wise God who sees into our hearts and rewards good and punished evil. That is so clearly *not* present in the world we see that I cannot accept or give credence to a faith that proclaims such a deity and bases its teachings on him. But, like Pullman, I do still believe that humans need (and for the most part deserve) happiness, a sense of connection, a basis for society and shared goals and visions. So I think I am inclined to endorse his conception of a Republic of Heaven, where we all labour to create happiness and those things that are necessary for it.
Maybe I should go hang out with the UUS after all...
I found this article in Wikipedia interesting, as I was not aware that Pullman was referencing, in referring to the Republic of Heaven, a 17th century thinker (I remember reading about the Diggers when I was studying the religious settlement in Stuart England).
I have a great deal of sympathy with this passage, quoted there, from Pullman. It exhibits an attitude much similar to my own.
The kingdom of heaven promised us certain things: it promised us happiness and a sense of purpose and a sense of having a place in the universe, of having a role and a destiny that were noble and splendid; and so we were connected to things. We were not alienated. But now that, for me anyway, the King is dead, I find that I still need these things that heaven promised, and I’m not willing to live without them. I don’t think I will continue to live after I’m dead, so if I am to achieve these things I must try to bring them about – and encourage other people to bring them about – on earth, in a republic in which we are all free and equal – and responsible – citizens.
I find myself less and less willing to believe in the sort of God conceived of and preached by most religions--a powerful, wise God who sees into our hearts and rewards good and punished evil. That is so clearly *not* present in the world we see that I cannot accept or give credence to a faith that proclaims such a deity and bases its teachings on him. But, like Pullman, I do still believe that humans need (and for the most part deserve) happiness, a sense of connection, a basis for society and shared goals and visions. So I think I am inclined to endorse his conception of a Republic of Heaven, where we all labour to create happiness and those things that are necessary for it.
Maybe I should go hang out with the UUS after all...
(no subject)
Jun. 13th, 2007 04:45 pmI was struck the first time I started watching The Tudors on Showtime, and again last night when Neta and I watched the first espisode together, by the use of the terms 'humanist' and 'humanism' by King Henry and by Sir Thomas More. I vaguely recalled something about Erasmus that I had read a long time ago.
Wikipedia has a short article on what it refers to as 'Renaissance humanism' (to distunguish it from secular humanism--I rather imagined the gnashing of teeth among the Catholics in the audience at More's advocating 'humanism' which might have seemed to some like a future saint decrying the existence of God! :-)
I'm reminded that there's an awful lot of interesting stuff out in the world of philosophy, if only I had the time and intellect to read and understand it properly.
Wikipedia has a short article on what it refers to as 'Renaissance humanism' (to distunguish it from secular humanism--I rather imagined the gnashing of teeth among the Catholics in the audience at More's advocating 'humanism' which might have seemed to some like a future saint decrying the existence of God! :-)
I'm reminded that there's an awful lot of interesting stuff out in the world of philosophy, if only I had the time and intellect to read and understand it properly.
