Social Media Musings... page 5
Just stuff, posted from time to time, not necessarily in any chronological or topical order, but fitting with the general theme of this website.
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Walter Rane's Gabriel
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Gaining Conviction
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A thought for this Friday morning:
I enjoy the artwork of Walter Rane (on Wikipedia) . I knew his name as an illustrator long before I knew of him as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This painting is one I only looked at closely for the first time today. It is in the church's new Sunday School manual, and illustrates the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary, the mother of Jesus: The scene called "the annunciation", when he tells her that she will be the mother of the Son of God. Like most LDS artists, Rane depicts the angel without wings - we don't go for the old symbolism in some respects. But he is still a being of light and evidently of power and detachment from this world (yes, we do go for those symbols, and take them also literally). But what stood out to me most here is the depiction of Gabriel as an old man. The lines on his face appear as more than just painterly strokes. His neck sags ever so slightly. His hair is a whispy white, with a pronounced bald spot. Yet he is physically robust, intense and evidently powerful. Latter-day Saints do not believe that angels are truly not of this world. Unlike some other Christians who also believe in them as literal beings, we also do not believe they are non-human; we believe they are "exalted" humans, people who have lived through mortal experience and have progressed, after death, to a new calling of eternal ministry - the kind of beings each of us can be, if we live rightly before God, having faith in Jesus Christ and the power of his grace, preparing ourselves to be able to bear with power and grace ourselves the attitudes of service, humility and loving kindness that they are called to do. I appreciate that Rane's depiction of Gabriel subtly reminds that he was not some mystic drone carrying out the bidding of a distant God, but a loving man of deep experience, who would speak to the young and uncertain Mary with empathy and compassion, extending a hand of blessing as this most difficult task was placed upon her. This image then becomes not just a depiction of a scriptural event, but an expression of how God reaches out to each of us (often through the intermediation of angels) to give us guidance, aid and transforming opportunities in life with abundant love and understanding. |
The statements in this article reflect my experience too.
When I first joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I was immediately exposed to a variety of "anti-Mormon" claims and literature. A friend's mother sat me down for a lengthy discussion and provided me with copies of the hefty books, Kingdom of the Cults and The Maze of Mormonism by Walter W. Martin, a leading Baptist examiner of alleged cults. I pored over those books and explored every claim. I examined scriptures and decided that an important way to determine the truth of the issues was to see whether the Bible agreed with Dr. Martin or Joseph Smith. The result was 16 handwritten foolscap pages of answers to every allegation Dr. Martin made, as well as the subsequent 37 years during which I have continued my journey of faith as a member of the Church, occasionally having, again and again, to encounter some claim or another intended to undermine that faith. In short, I found out which one the Bible agreed with, and, over time, I found out which one the Spirit agreed with too. Like Elder Corbridge, I have learned that the most secure foundation for faith is the personal witness of the Holy Ghost. I have been grateful for the various ways and times in which the Lord has provided me with a conviction that he lives, that Jesus Christ is his son and my saviour, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is his true and living church on earth today. I'm not writing this to convince anyone particularly. It is simply my experience, and my conviction, and anyone else is welcome to seek, and can obtain, their own. It just felt right that this was a time at which this testimony could be shared for anyone to whom it might have meaning. |
Receiving Refugees
Facebook, November 23, 2015
A few thoughts on refugees and Canadian security.
1. Refugees are not the cause of the Refugee Crisis.
I think that is a given. These are just people, families, striving to survive. The causes include ISIS, US and Russian intervention and competition, psychotic mercenaries, Assad… but not the individuals who are merely victims of their power-plays and delusions.
2. The refugees are not all radicalized Islamists.
At least, it certainly stands to reason that they are not. They are victims of war. They are taxi drivers and doctors and construction workers and housewives and children. They are, likely, Christians and Yazidis and perhaps other minority groups too, as well as Muslims, who (based on my experience) generally are not radicalized Islamists. But might some be radicalized? Of course. Might some be susceptible to radicalization, even after coming here? Of course.
3. Can we do anything about that?
No. “We” as in, you and me. We cannot do anything about the conditions of mind, heart or body in which the refugees will arrive in Canada. We cannot control who they are, how they will feel, what they have suffered, or whether they love us or hate us. We have no power over any of those things. But we do have power over what happens to them when they get here.
We listened last night to a wonderful concert in which there was this lovely Hebrew song:
Rakut (Tenderness)
He was full of tenderness;
She was very hard.
And as much as she tried to stay thus,
Simply, and with no good reason,
He took her into himself,
And set her down
In the softest, softest place.
Consistent with the adage that “the soft answer turneth away wrath,” so too can tenderness charm hardness, love soften hate, and kindness dispel fear. Our best defense against others’ radicalization toward violence is our own radicalization toward kindness.
As much as anyone might justifiably believe the Trudeau government has been foolish in its rush to bring a paltry number of refugees to Canada – barely making a dent in the crisis and acting with careless disregard for the security of the country – it will happen, they will come, and the only thing that you and I can fully control is the attitude with which we receive them. A reception in hatred and fear will only breed more hatred and fear. Call it (and me) naïve if you will, but I believe that only a loving reception will serve our security, their well-being, and the over-all good.
I will greet each refugee as a brother or sister. I will tenderly receive each child in need of comfort. I will empathize with parents whose only desire is to keep their families safe. And I will hope that by simply and without good reason offering loving goodness toward them, we can bring them into ourselves, into our communities, into a soft place, where their bodies, hearts and minds can heal. I believe that is what is best for Canada now. That is all that I have power to do.
1. Refugees are not the cause of the Refugee Crisis.
I think that is a given. These are just people, families, striving to survive. The causes include ISIS, US and Russian intervention and competition, psychotic mercenaries, Assad… but not the individuals who are merely victims of their power-plays and delusions.
2. The refugees are not all radicalized Islamists.
At least, it certainly stands to reason that they are not. They are victims of war. They are taxi drivers and doctors and construction workers and housewives and children. They are, likely, Christians and Yazidis and perhaps other minority groups too, as well as Muslims, who (based on my experience) generally are not radicalized Islamists. But might some be radicalized? Of course. Might some be susceptible to radicalization, even after coming here? Of course.
3. Can we do anything about that?
No. “We” as in, you and me. We cannot do anything about the conditions of mind, heart or body in which the refugees will arrive in Canada. We cannot control who they are, how they will feel, what they have suffered, or whether they love us or hate us. We have no power over any of those things. But we do have power over what happens to them when they get here.
We listened last night to a wonderful concert in which there was this lovely Hebrew song:
Rakut (Tenderness)
He was full of tenderness;
She was very hard.
And as much as she tried to stay thus,
Simply, and with no good reason,
He took her into himself,
And set her down
In the softest, softest place.
Consistent with the adage that “the soft answer turneth away wrath,” so too can tenderness charm hardness, love soften hate, and kindness dispel fear. Our best defense against others’ radicalization toward violence is our own radicalization toward kindness.
As much as anyone might justifiably believe the Trudeau government has been foolish in its rush to bring a paltry number of refugees to Canada – barely making a dent in the crisis and acting with careless disregard for the security of the country – it will happen, they will come, and the only thing that you and I can fully control is the attitude with which we receive them. A reception in hatred and fear will only breed more hatred and fear. Call it (and me) naïve if you will, but I believe that only a loving reception will serve our security, their well-being, and the over-all good.
I will greet each refugee as a brother or sister. I will tenderly receive each child in need of comfort. I will empathize with parents whose only desire is to keep their families safe. And I will hope that by simply and without good reason offering loving goodness toward them, we can bring them into ourselves, into our communities, into a soft place, where their bodies, hearts and minds can heal. I believe that is what is best for Canada now. That is all that I have power to do.