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I used to think Truth was a feeling. Then I thought that it was an abstraction. Now I see both are right unless they are isolated, in which case they are wrong.
What do I mean by truth?
I think I might mean reality. I fell into thinking “Platonically” about this world and in consequence thought I should deny it. Then I went to L’Abri and that solved that misconception, but I fell into thinking that to know reality was an intellectual task.
This has caused no amount of turmoil as I, in reaction to my previous thought, assumed the whole project of feeling and what produced that feeling was a heresy. I looked into my faith no longer as something that was emotional, but as something that was logical and intellectual.
I have just begun to see how I have boxed in the supernatural experience into a cage that ultimately kills it.
What do I mean by truth?
I think I might mean reality. I fell into thinking “Platonically” about this world and in consequence thought I should deny it. Then I went to L’Abri and that solved that misconception, but I fell into thinking that to know reality was an intellectual task.
This has caused no amount of turmoil as I, in reaction to my previous thought, assumed the whole project of feeling and what produced that feeling was a heresy. I looked into my faith no longer as something that was emotional, but as something that was logical and intellectual.
I have just begun to see how I have boxed in the supernatural experience into a cage that ultimately kills it.
What I am talking about is perceiving God via ideas, feeling, creation etc. I have recently found that C.S. Lewis had a name for it, “Sehnsucht”, which he translated as “joy”, but which means “longing” in English. It is a feeling of intense pain and pleasure at the same time. It is impossible to call up for oneself, but for anyone who has felt it, it becomes the entire meaning and pursuit of their existence.
Here are the things that make me to feel this:
Scotland
The Writings of Lewis, Tolkien, and MacDonald
Music (Ravel and Celtic)
Mountains and Forests
Seasons
Old memories
They all have the quality of nostalgia and longing, almost unbearable at times. I was beginning to think that I was supposed to neglect them and look for God because God was not any of them. But now I understand that these are agents that God uses to reveal himself to us in. Scotland is not actually the best country in the world, and The Highlander (i.e. the idea Scottish husband) does not exist—when I look for these on this earth it is trying find the reflection in the mirror three dimensional. Nevertheless, that does not mean that the agents are to be done away with. Rather, one must learn that they are reflections, symbols, which God has given finite creatures to perceive the infinite.
Here are the things that make me to feel this:
Scotland
The Writings of Lewis, Tolkien, and MacDonald
Music (Ravel and Celtic)
Mountains and Forests
Seasons
Old memories
They all have the quality of nostalgia and longing, almost unbearable at times. I was beginning to think that I was supposed to neglect them and look for God because God was not any of them. But now I understand that these are agents that God uses to reveal himself to us in. Scotland is not actually the best country in the world, and The Highlander (i.e. the idea Scottish husband) does not exist—when I look for these on this earth it is trying find the reflection in the mirror three dimensional. Nevertheless, that does not mean that the agents are to be done away with. Rather, one must learn that they are reflections, symbols, which God has given finite creatures to perceive the infinite.
posted by Sasha @ 5:08 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Good post. Made me long for "home" just reading it!
Hello Dawn the Artist,
After talking to Diana and Ariel (and being around you all in general) I realize that we all have the same reaction of longing to the same things. I am not sure yet what to make of it, except that we are all in the same family and that probably has something to do with it.
I just wonder if I can draw the conclusion that our awareness of God might have something to do with who we are influenced by. So that really, who we hang out with or read has an effect on our perception of God. For exmaple, Lewis MacDonald and Tolkien.
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