WATCH!!!
--"The Lord will not forsake His people for His great name's sake. "
God will not forsake the Jewish people because His reputation is
at stake. He bound Himself to Abraham by an unbreakable covenant,
and He will fulfill it. - - 1 Samuel 1:22
--God said of Israel, "If they violate my decrees and fail to keep My
commands, I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with
flogging; but I will not take My love from [them], nor will I ever
betray my faithfulness. I will not violate My covenant or alter what
My lips have uttered. Once for all, I have sworn by My holiness--
and I will not lie to David--that his line will continue forever and
his throne endure before Me like the sun; it will be established
forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky" - - Psalm 89:31-37
St Paul: Hath God cast away His people?
Answer: May it never be! (Romans 11:1)
Aldous Huxley likened a person's memory to one's own collection of private literature. Housed within the confines of memory are countless pages of our own stories, perspectives, and thoughts--vast libraries uniquely existing within our own heads. It is this personal nature of memory that no doubt feeds our dismay when minds begin to slip. Forgetfulness is a fearful quality particularly because it is a quality that seems to erase part of the very person it describes.
ReplyDeleteThe implications of memory are made known in the earliest pages of Scripture. But added to the cultural adage of Aldous Huxley is the idea that this literature can be edited. That is, what we choose to remember affects who we are. And at that, our private literature is not entirely private. There is a communal aspect to memory as well. Surely we see this played out within the grumblings of the rescued Israelites. From the wilderness, the writer of Numbers reports:
“Now the rabble that was among
them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, 'Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at'" (Numbers 11:4-6).
Recollection, like resentment, is often contagious. In this moment of hunger, Israel together remembered Egypt as a place of produce instead of prison, and together they declared their longing to return to the place God had rescued them from. Together they wept; together they remembered; and together they remained lost in the wilderness. Truly, what we choose to remember affects who we are.
The great creeds of the Church aim themselves at a similar principle. We confess what we need to remember, what we long to remember. We confess the promises of God; we confess who we are. The word "creed" comes from the Latin credo, meaning "I believe."
Confessed in unison, we follow the command of the LORD: "These truths I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
The earliest creeds were used with this power of memory in mind. Affirmations of belief in God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit were bound to the hearts and minds of those who longed to remember. For persons standing on the precipice of faith, the creed was the statement with which they prepared themselves to jump, and in so doing, found they had been given something on which to stand--and to stand in good company.
What we remember in creed and confession is a vast library accounting for an exciting narrative. As novelist Dorothy Sayers wrote more than 50 years
ago:
“The Christian faith is the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man--and the dogma is the drama.... Now we may call that doctrine exhilarating or we may call it devastating; we may call it revelation or we may call it rubbish; but if we call it dull, then words have no meaning at all. That God should play the tyrant over man is a dismal story of unrelieved oppression; that man should play the tyrant over man is the usual dreary record of human futility; but that man should play the tyrant over God and find Him a better man than himself is an astonishing drama indeed."(1)
What we remember in doctrine and history, faith and belief, so holds our identity within this great drama. God has given us much worth remembering, and God has called us to remember it together. Thus, Paul proclaims with company, "We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him" (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
These things we choose to house within the confines of memory are like a great collection of stories--stories that tell who we are when we stand with Him.
Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
(1) Dorothy Sayers in Creed or Chaos (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1949), 3-7, as quoted by Michael Horton in "Creeds and Deeds: How Doctrine Leads to Doxological Living," Modern Reformation Magazine, Vol. 15, Number 6.
Does religion interfere with our relationship with Christ? If God knows what we are going to do before we do it – do we really have free will? Join us today for the answers to those questions as Ravi conducts a Q and A session at the University of Florida. Click here for more:
http://www.rzim.org/USA/Resources/Listen/JustThinking.aspx
ReplyDeleteIt was with great anticipation that I began viewing
the videos by Professor Howdy on YouTube and
his two Blogs!
The Professor is simply amazing at retelling an
old story in a contemporary manner with exquisite
Classical Music accompanied with H.D. Photographs
& sprinkled with alluring, charming, classy and
bewitching Video Clips! Rather than containing
simply one music selection, the Professor includes
up to four popular music sensations on each 15
minute video!
The High Definition photographs were beautiful
beyond words and supplemented with those was
the most heavenly music one will ever hear! With
a creative genius' ability to carry us around the
globe and to fall unrestrainedly in love with every
beautiful creature shown, the Professor lifts &
relaxes not only our spirits but our emotions as
well.
One may ask why so many beautiful women
are incapsulated into each video but these
are about love & the celebration of pure
romance which saves coitus until after
the marriage vows - Something Hollywood
and most media despise! But for the fortunate
few, a lifetime of love with one partner
may be actualized for a lifetime! Then
& only then does a Honeymoon become
intriguing, truly electrifying, sensational,
riveting & spellbinding!
Each viewer may substitute his or herself
into these video stories and become part
of the rapturous novels. The male viewer
becomes the romancer of the beauty within
the ratiocination story while the female viewer
becomes the romanced interminably!
Now with some 500+ videos available, one can
enter the world of musical enchantment similar
to Narnia or Middle Earth with spell bounding
emotional attachment to each world musically
presented. Of special note while viewing each
musical video, it is often nearly impossible at times
to determine whether a photograph or video is
being used during a particular segment.
Each pulchritudinous video tells it own allegorical
fifteen minute novel with statuesque and emblematic
awareness! Remember that his Music Videos are
defined as theater of the mind!
Part of the Genius also in these opulent & ostentatious
videos are not only in the Transitions that change
beautifully in slow motion but the charmingly, daintily,
delicately & delightful photographs & videos that
ameliorate the musical narrative!
Only one with low intelligence quotient or attention
deficit will not be relaxed, cheered & entertained by
these astounding video novelettes. Medical studies
have shown that these videos even lower one's
blood pressure when needed.
This magic world may be entered through the
portholes of the Wardrobe, Narnia, YouTube,
FaceBook or the Professor's Blogs! Enjoy the
musical adventure (and be sure to click the
proper buttons below the screen to view with
your computer's full screen). Oh, and his Videos
when viewed on Apple's new iPad are simply
astounding!
Phillip T. Yarborough
Professor Emeritus
Harvard University
And Entertainment
Editor for Time Magazine
***
For Videos:
ILoveProfHowdy.Com