God: the Clock & the Clockmaker

30 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by michelinewalker in Enlightenment, Human Condition, Philosophes

Tags

1755 Lisbon Earthquake, Candide, Jesus, l'horloge et l'horloger, Sermon on the Mount, Voltaire

Nicolas_de_Largillière,_François-Marie_Arouet_dit_Voltaire_(vers_1724-1725)_-001

François-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, by Nicolas de Largillière, 1724 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Comment

I read a post and the comments that followed it. I will not quote the post nor will I quote the entire comment. The post was about a scientist being denied tenure at a university, i. e. a permanent position, because he felt God had something to do with the creation of our universe. Basically, the comment was about “Jesus’ words about people thinking they are serving God by killing believers…”

We do not live in a perfect world. Terrorists wrap bomb(s) around themselves and wreak destruction in the name of God. In short, we have killed thinking that we were “serving God” (the Crusades, Jews, sorceresses, etc.).

Marble head representing Emperor Constantine the Great, at the Capitoline Museums (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jesus and the Christian Church as an Institution

Yes, we have killed in the name of God. Jesus, however, did not leave a sacred text and he talked in “parables” which is what a fabulist does, according to La Fontaine (see his Preface to his first volume of fables (1668), paragraph 6. Jesus, Isa ibn Maryam, did not write a sacred text nor did he found a Church. There were followers of Christ before 325 AD (CE), but the Christian Church was not founded until the First Council of Nicaea, which took place near the current Istanbul, Turkey. The Christian Church was founded under Roman Emperor Constantine I (27 February 272 CE – 22 May 337 CE), Saint Constantine or Saint Constantine the Great, Equal-to-the-Apostles, in the Eastern Church (Orthodox). (See Constantine the Great, Wikipedia.) Istanbul was first named Byzantium, It was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. On 11 May 330 AD, it became Constantinople, the holy see of the Christian Church. (See Constantinople, Wikipedia.) Constantinople was renamed Istanbul after the Turkish War of Independence, fought between 19 May 1919 and 24 July 1923.

Sermon on the Mount by Carl Bloch (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

James Tissot, The Beatitudes Sermon, Brooklyn Museum, c. 1890 (Photo credit Wikipedia)

The Sermon on the Mount: the Beatitudes

I have asked several theologians about the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. After studying the Gospels, reports not sacred texts, they have concluded that Jesus taught what is often summarized as “unconditional love,” (mercy, compassion, etc).

Matthew‘s account (5: 3-12 KJV) of the Sermon on the Mount discusses the Beatitudes, expressed as “blessings.” (See Beatitudes [a list], Wikipedia.)

“In almost all cases the phrases used in the Beatitudes are familiar from an Old Testament context, but in the sermon Jesus gives them new meaning. Together, the Beatitudes present a new set of ideals that focus on love and humility rather than force and exaction[.]” (See Sermon on the Mount, Wikipedia)

—ooo—

French Enlightenment writer and philosopher Voltaire (21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778) advocated two freedoms, “freedom of religion, freedom of speech,” and the “separation of church and state.” However, although he attacked “the established Catholic Church,” he could not deny God a role in Creation:

« Ce monde est une horloge et cette horloge a besoin d’un horloger. » in Poésies et « L’univers m’embarrasse, et je ne puis songer / Que cette horloge existe et n’ait point d’horloger » in Les Cabales de Voltaire (1694-1778).

“This world is a clock and this clock needs a clockmaker.” in Poésies and “I am intrigued by the universe, and cannot help thinking / That this clock should exist and there not be a clockmaker.”

http://www.montres-de-luxe.com/Le-monde-est-une-horloge-et-cette-horloge-a-besoin-d-un-horloger_a4734.html

There is “candour” in Voltaire’s statement. He is the author of Candide (1762). If God is good why did He allow such a calamity as the 1755 earthquake in Lisbon. It destroyed the city and its surroundings. (See 1755 Lisbon earthquake, Wikipedia.)

One can also say that, if there is a God, why did He allow Otto Warmbier to die. Not only is nature cruel, but so are certain human beings. Evil is a problem.

These are the “big” questions. The human condition is a “big” question. We are born and we give birth, but we die. One accident can shatter our dreams, take away a person’s dearest, perfectly legitimate and realistic expectations.

On the day my mother died, I sat next to her and spent hours telling her that she would see her dead children, her mother, her brothers and sisters, and angels everywhere. On that day, had there not been a God, I would have invented a God, a clockmaker, and an afterlife, which is perhaps the finest gift nature has bestowed upon us. We die, poor or rich, but we also live and can make our life and the life of those we know a happier passage. We can create and overcome what is otherwise absurd (see Albert Camus, Wikipedia). We compensate.

No, we should not kill in the name of God. We must protect our planet, be good and spread what happiness we can.

Sources and Resources

Fables de La Fontaine, I – VI, Gutenberg [EBook #17941] FR

—ooo—

Haydn – The Creation (Die Schöpfung, Hob. XXI:2) – The Heavens are Telling

God, the Architect

Christmas at Aleppo

28 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Christmas, Middle East, Sharing

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Aleppo, Jesus, Saint Nicholas, Sherbrooke (Quebec), St. Ephrem's Syriac Church, Unconditional Love

Working Title/Artist: Stefano Veneziano: Madonna Enthroned (Correr) Department: Islamic Art Culture/Period/Location: HB/TOA Date Code: Working Date: photography supplied by Islamic department – Filename – 018.tif film and media (jnc) 2_26_07

Stefano Veneziano: Madonna Enthroned (Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY)
(Stefano Veneziano, Wikipedia.)

Christmas in Aleppo

Aleppo was one of the jewels of the Middle East and it is now rubble. However, although it seems impossible, the few Christians left in Aleppo celebrated Christmas in a bombed church. We cannot resurrect those who have perished, but these courageous Syrians gave life to ruins. They celebrated the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612251048987269-aleppo-citizens-transform-cathedral-christmas/

Unconditional Love

Human institutions are abominably fallible, but would that people remembered that Jesus of Nazareth taught unconditional love. Theologians I have spoken with assure me that love unconditional was Jesus’ only teaching. Yet, an ignorant and cruel world crucified him as it crucified young Armenian women and destroyed Aleppo. However, Aleppo will rise again, like the phœnix.

Although many Christians born in Asia Minor have been killed, some fled their native land several years ago. There is, in Sherbrooke, Quebec, a Syriac Orthodox Church. It is named St. Ephrem’s Syriac Orthodox Church, but it is changing its name to St. Ephrem’s Syrian Church. You may remember that Céline Dion‘s deceased husband, René Angélil, was born to a Syrian father and a Lebanese mother, and raised in Montreal. Members of his family attended the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Céline married René at Notre-Dame Basilica, in Montreal, but there was a second wedding ceremony. (See René Angélil, Wikipedia.)

When I prepared my posts on the Armenian genocide and my Christmas post, I realized that there had been many Christians in the Near East and Middle East. Saint Nicholas was the bishop of Myra, in Anatolia. He saved people who were about to be beheaded. (See Saint Nicholas, Wikipedia.) We have long beheaded people and the practice has intensified in the Middle East. Before the rise of Islamism, beginning in c. 1980, women in the Middle East were not wrapped in clothes and hidden behind a veil. It seems we are returning to the past. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is not a descendant of the last Sultan, Mehmed VI, as though he were. Strange things are happening everywhere, especially in the United States.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was not as fine as Christmas Day. I remembered my home and work in Antigonish. Why did a woman, a case manager at an Insurance Company, let me sell my house, knowing I would have to return? She had me see an Independent Medical Examiner who asked her to tell me not to sell my house or make serious decisions. I was very sick, but he was convinced I would be able to re-enter the classroom. But my doctor’s note was not taken seriously so I was not replaced. After a very short rest, I returned to work so my students would have a teacher. She thought I was an imaginary invalid. Not relaying her IME’s message was malice on her part, unadulterated malice.

I suffer from ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), better known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which it isn’t. It hasn’t taken away my intelligence nor has it dimmed all the knowledge I acquired. But, once I had sold my house, my university did not want me to re-enter the classroom. A friend warned me that returning was dangerous, but it may have been less dangerous than not returning.

The episode that began in 2002 was triggered by exertion. I had to prepare two new courses, including Animals in Literature, during a sabbatical (2000-2001) I was devoting to writing my book on Molière. It was my worst ever episode of ME. I fell ill in February 2002.

Alexandria by the Bellini brothers

San Marco, Venice

Back to Aleppo

At any rate, Christians at Aleppo celebrated Christmas in a bombed church. They are courageous individuals. The siege of Aleppo was a calamity. One wonders what happened to unconditional love?

That conflict must end. But I have difficulty making sense of Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin‘s involvement. They seem to be both friends and foes.

—ooo—

We will be celebrating the New Year as we celebrated Christmas. The same friends will join me. It will be the beginning of a new and, hopefully, better year. There is a fine Pâtisserie liégeoise nearby. I will purchase a cake. I am thankful for these small pleasures.

Love to every one ♥

Natacha Kudritskaya – Rameau – Suite en la Gavotte et six Doubles

Saint Nicholas, Russian icon from first quarter of the 18th century (Kizhi monastery, Karelia).

Turning the other cheek

06 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by michelinewalker in Slavery, Terrorism, The Middle East

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

"Turn the other cheek", Isis, Jesus, rights, Russia, Turkey

Head of St James the Less by Leonardo da Vinci (Photo credit: WikiArt.org)

Retaliation

Once again, we are witnesses to retaliation.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/03/world/russia-turkey-syria-warplane-tensions/index.html

Turkey has shot down a Russian fighter jet so Russian President Vladimir Putin, not a choirboy, is therefore saying that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will regret “for a long time” downing the Russian fighter plane. It was flying in Turkey’s airspace.

Having a “right” to…

Erdoğan will not apologize. He had a “right” to shoot down this Russian fighter jet because it was flying in Turkey’s airspace.

According to this logic, if a child, a brother, (1) has hurt his sister (2) the day before, the sister (2) has the right to hurt her brother (1) the following day. I believe that if a responsible parent sees his or her children fighting, the sister (2) will not be allowed to hurt her brother (1) and that both will be told they are acting irresponsibly. If the sister (2) has hurt her brother, both might be sent to their respective rooms to “think.”

No one has the “right” to hurt another person willfully. As for revenge, it is immature behaviour. One apologizes and, if losses were incurred, reasonable compensation may be necessary.

But it could be that I am reading a different page, or a different book.

With respect to pilots, prudence was advisable. It is safer for pilots not to enter another country’s airspace if doing so is a violation or if there is enmity between their nation and the one whose airspace they have foolishly penetrated. There were two pilots. One man died, but the other was rescued. However, none of this was appropriate.

Leonardo_da_Vinci_helicopter_and_lifting_wing

Flying Machines Leonardo

How can anyone expect Isis to end the atrocities perpetrated against the people of Paris and against inhabitants of the Middle East, if Russian President Vladimir Putin allows Russian pilots to fly in Turkey’s airspace and President Erdoğan orders the Turkish military to shoot the plane down?

Therefore, the leaders themselves are showing Isis that it is acceptable to retaliate every time a drone attack occurs. In other words, They are showing Isis that if Syria is bombed, it should dig in its heels by attacking countries outside Syria, not to mention Syrians themselves who may fall into the hands of terrorists.

More heads will fall, more people will be burned alive or locked into cages that will be lowered into water. Isis will also capture women and turn them into sex slaves, not to mention other ignominies.

Worst of all, Syrians will continue to pour out of their country.

study-of-a-figure-for-the-battle-of-anghiari.jpg!Blog

Study of a figure from the Battle of Anghieri, Leonardo (Photo credit: WikiArt.org)

The West has long meddled in the affairs of the Middle East. What comes to mind immediately are George W Bush’s wars, the 2000s. But, let us not forget the Crusades nor colonialism.

In fact, let us not forget that harm done to Islam by the West cannot justify Isis’ barbaric behaviour? It’s retaliation gone astray and untargeted. Yet, can strikes be targeted and just who should strike?

Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew who lived in occupied Palestine, did not leave a manuscript. However, he is reported to have said: “Turn the other cheek.” It was a metaphor and cannot be read or interpreted literally. Yet, in the context of current events, it makes sense. Or could it be that I am once again reading a different page and, perhaps, the wrong book?

My kindest regards to everyone. ♥

The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Bloch (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Johann Sebastian Bach

Nathalie Stutzmann, contralto
La Pasión según San Mateo BWV 244, “Erbame dich”
Orfeo 55

Head of St James the Less by Leonardo da Vinci (Photo credit: WikiArt.org)

The Golden Rule

24 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada, Terrorism, The Middle East

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

A Lone Gunman, Al-Biruni, Bibeau's Gun, Denying Passports, Isolated Incident, Jesus, Lex Talionis, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, Provenance of Weapon, the Golden Rule

Le Prophète Mahomet Al-Bîrûnî, al-âthâr al-bâqiya (Vestiges des siècles passés). BnF, Manuscrits (Arabe 1489 fol. 5v) (Photo credit: Bibliothèque nationale de France)[1]

Al-Biruni, Russian Stamp (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today is Friday, 24 October 2014. It has not been a good week for Canadians. Nor has it been a good week for the entire world. Isis militants do not necessarily live in the Middle East and those who do not are not easy to identify. However, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has identified 130 Isis sympathizers in Canada and 93 are to be denied a passport.

He was awaiting a Passport

When he shot Nathan Frank Cirillo, 24, Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, the Ottawa gunman, was waiting for his passport to be issued. It seems he no longer had a passport but that he was about to be provided with one. He was anxious to leave and waiting frustrated him, which is why he was in Ottawa. His name was not on a list of 93 persons to be denied a passport.

Denying passports is a preventive measure aimed at keeping would-be terrorists within Canada.

However, individuals denied passports may kill fellow Canadians. This question is central to the shooting death of two Canadian soldiers on 21 and 23 October 2014 respectively. Martin Rouleau-Couture’s passport had been confiscated. On 21 October, Rouleau-Couture killed a soldier at St. Jean-sur-Richelieu in what is believed to have been an isolated incident.

The shooting death of Nathan Frank Cirillo, on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, is also believed to have been an isolated incident related to a delay in obtaining a passport.

The question is whether or not refusing passports to would-be terrorists solves problems.

The Canadian government does not want to let out of the country persons who may join Isis and be implicated in acts of terrorism abroad. However, these would-be militants, may commit acts of terrorism inside their country, which is what happened this week in Canada. Two soldiers are dead and the suspected killers wanted to go to Syria.

Mohammed receiving his first revelation from the angel Gabriel. Miniature illustration on vellum from the book Jami’ al-Tawarikh (literally “Compendium of Chronicles” but often referred to as The Universal History or History of the World), by Rashid al-Din, published in Tabriz, Persia, 1307 CE. Now in the collection of the Edinburgh University Library, Scotland. (Caption and photo credit: www.zombietime.com)

A Lone Killer

It appears the Mr. Zehaf-Bibeau acted alone. However, he had to borrow a gun. Canadians cannot carry lethal weapons, except the police, the military, and similarly authorized individuals. Strict gun-control legislation is viewed as a security measure.

Therefore, who provided Zehaf-Bibeau with a deadly weapon?

Zehaf-Bibeau, who spoke four languages, nearly reached a room filled with members of the Conservative Party. He was prevented from entering the room by Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, who killed him putting himself at risk.

Conclusion

Investigators must find the provenance of the gun. Did Isis supply the gun?

The more important issue may be that we are dealing with cultures where the lex talionis still prevails. One goes from retaliation to retaliation for centuries and, occasionally, as seems to be the case at the moment, matters spiral out of control. I believe Jesus of Nazareth’s was the first person, a Jew who lived in occupied Palestine, to advocate turning the other cheek, probably a metaphor. Jesus spoke in parables.

Many early societies applied this “eye-for-an-eye” principle literally.[2]

I should note, in closing, that the quotation posted on Facebook, by Zakria Habibi of Sherbrooke, missing since 17 July, is from a book written by Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyay, in the 13th century CE.

We definitely need to teach young children always to behave moderately, to respect the law, to respect human life, and to love another. We cannot do unto others that which we do not want others to do unto us.

That is the Golden Rule and the Golden Rule is the same every where. It is universal, and I believe it negates the lex talionis.

Sources

Gun control http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/who-may-carry-handguns-in-canada-1.1135084

The Middle East http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/should-the-west-stop-intervening-in-the-middle-east-1.2811177

With my kindest regards to all of you.

____________________

[1] The Remains of Past Centuries

[2] “talion”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 24 Oct.. 2014
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/581485/talion>.

Photo credit: Muslim Inventions

The Medieval Golden Age, Al-Biruni and the Earth’s Radius لبيروني و حجم الارض

(Photo credit: Renaissance Astrology)

24 October 2014

WordPress

News, Comments & Andrea Mantegna

03 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Sharing

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Andrea Mantegna, Ave Regina Caelorum, Candlemas, Feasts, Groundhog Day, Jesus, Lupercus, Nunc Dimittis, Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Simeon

: Présentation de Jésus au temple, Andrea Mantegna, 1465

Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431 – 13 September 1506) Italian Renaissance

Photo credit: Wikipedia

More on Candlemas

Today is February 3rd, but there are more Candlemas stories to tell. For instance, Candlemas is also “pancake feast,” la fête des crêpes, a tradition that goes back to ancient Greece. In ancient Greece, Lupercus was the god Pan. In ancient Roman, the feast was called Lupercalia (lupus, loup) but it was usually celebrated in mid-February, on the 13th. It had to do with keeping the wolf away from innocent sheep. Lupercus was the god of shepherds. I will tell more stories next February 2nd.

We now have three posts on Candlemas and know about

the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple,
the Nunc dimittis, a canticle, Simeon’s song of praise,
the Purification of the Virgin,
the beginning of a new Marian season,
the antiphon of the season “Ave Regina Cælorum,”[i]
and Groundhog Day.

I realize that fewer people go to a service on Sunday or attend Mass, but music and the fine arts have kept alive religious, mythological and mythical “reality.” Aert de Gelder (or Arent, 26 October 1645 – 27 August 1727), a student of Rembrandt, painted Simeon holding the child Jesus and, as noted above, Simeon sang the Nunc dimittis when he saw Jesus, as he had been told by none other than the Holy Ghost. (See Nunc Dimittis, Wikipedia). Religious feasts are usually associated with the seasons, mythologies give us a past, myths provide metaphors, and feed the imagination. Yet myths are the fruit of imagination.

William Byrd (English Renaissance) composed a very fine “Nunc Dimittis.” It is featured in a post entitled: Nunc Dimittis, Simeon’s Song of Praise (2 February 2012). A second “Nunc Dimittis,” composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (3 February 1525 or 2 February 1526 – 2 February 1594), is featured in Candlemas: the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple & a Festival of Lights (2 February 2012).

Palestrina is known for composing “transparent” polyphonic (many voices) music. Although the voices blend, one can still hear the text. This was important because the Reformed Churches favoured simple songs. I have found precious gems in the Church of England’s anthems. They engaged the faithful who were invited to sing. The English wrote lovely, melodious anthems. Martin Luther wrote hymns, the most famous of which is Ein’ feste Burg is unser Gott (A Mighty Fortress is our God).

In the News

Canadian Conrad Black, no choirboy himself, has stated that “[t]he election of Kathleen Wynne and Pauline Marois’ Scotland visit might incite fear that much of Canada is being led by nasty women.” (See The National Post.)

He could be right; women can be as nasty as men. I know, from personal experience, that women can in fact surpass men in cruelty, jealousy, hypocrisy, etc. They can be extremely manipulative, devious and vindictive. Think of my little blue house. (See From House to House.) My “case manager” was a woman employed by a fine insurance company. She did not lose her position.

One day, a “good” woman posted the results of an examination on the door of her office, listing her students’ marks, not next to a number, but next to a name. I talked with her gently, but she did not know what I was talking about… However, a little later, such behaviour became an official violation. This may seem a detail, but good educators respect their students. That’s rule number one.

Not that men are better. I am thinking of that student in India, raped and probably impaled to death. The poor young woman and her poor parents! And there is violence in the Middle East. Why? Also in the news is suicide. Young people are committing suicide!

The News

English

Le Monde diplomatique EN

French

Le Monde diplomatique

German

Die Welt

_________________________

[i] or Cœlorum. The two are used.

Andrea Mantegna was capable of crying.

February 3, 2013

WordPress

Happy Easter

08 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Music

≈ 629 Comments

Tags

Christianity, Easter, Flickr, God, Holiday, Jesus, Religion and Spirituality, Wikipedia

Pâques©mw

Pâques, by Micheline Walker

I would like to wish all of you a very Happy Easter. To the left, you will find a fanciful and unfinished painting. I did it without a model and it is poorly photographed. But, it is colourful and depicts Easter in a humble way.

Today, I hope to go to Mass at Saint-Benoît-du-Lac. I am privileged in that I live a short drive away from a Benedictine Abbey. Two of the Monks are excellent organists, so I sit near the organ and I listen to Gregorian Chant.

May this Easter be a joyful celebration.

J.S. Bach – Easter Oratorio, BWV 249

(please click on the title to hear the music)

Saint Benedict Abbey, Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, taken on June 8, 2008. Uploaded to Flickr by its author, colros (Colin Rose), under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Français : Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac (Photo credit: Wikipedia)