Roger DeBlanck's Blog - Posts Tagged "gerald-weaver"
When You Read Something Special
When you read something special, your job as a reader is to share your experience with as many others as possible. Recently, I finished the extraordinary novel Gospel Prism by Gerald Weaver. Take a minute to read my review, and you’ll see how special the reading experience was for me:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
But instead of ending this post with asking you to look at my review of Gospel Prism, which hopefully will entice you to want to read it, I thought to exalt Weaver’s brilliance by recounting a few among countless passages that made a lasting impression on me (page numbers correspond with the paperback edition):
“That we may not ever be so certain is the hallmark of humanity, in the same way that even the most exacting words are easy to misconstrue and are often inapplicable to each and every case. The certainty of words and the certainty of our apprehension of them is always suspect. So it is best to take them for what they are, fall back on your humanity and embrace the uncertainty.” (p. 59)
“Hold everything you believe . . . and particularly everything you read and believe, as you would hold a child or a bird, firmly but gently and carefully . . . Many of them would argue that it is hypocritical to profess faith and have doubt. It is really the other way around.” (p. 69)
“The true miracle of it all begins and ends with our own senses and our own heart and mind.” (p. 210)
“What I gathered from my journey thus far is that while God may be transcendent what we may know of him or her is written on our inner parts. God’s law is merely immanent and is at least in part composed of our memory. For instance, the very purpose of prayer is to remember.” (p. 307)
“The problem is not what you believe but what you impose upon the rest of us. And in many cases the desire to impose upon others is stronger than any personal faith . . . The actions of each faith may be judged by the way it treats its members and non-members, by the way it treats woman, by the way it treats the least among us, by the way it treats those who are its neighbors, and by the way it respects itself in the face of differing beliefs. It is one thing to live your own life in faith, it is another thing entirely to say that your God gives you certain sanctions within the world, such as the right to bomb innocents, or take and command land, or to oppress women.” (p. 332)
“We are never fully formed, and our comprehension of divine wisdom will always be something at which we must labor and of which we may never be assured.” (p. 340)
“Reading is your opportunity to brush with the minds of other people, great women and men who have also been visited by divine inspiration. Reading deeply of the great books is your best opportunity to find the divine.” (p. 341)
“Seek God in what you read and will know the divine when you see it. If a child reads any book he is looking in its pages at a very spare road map showing him a way toward the Lord.” (p. 345)
“The true study of the divine is the study of ourselves, and we must understand our selves first and best. Uncertainty is one of our truly divine hallmarks, and we must hold anything that strikes us as the most sublime truth with the most gentle and delicate care. This uncertainty may actually be the most holy element that is within us.” (p. 346)
If you connect with any of these passages, I highly recommend you try Gospel Prism by Gerald Weaver. It will touch your heart and expand your mind.
Roger 8-)
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
But instead of ending this post with asking you to look at my review of Gospel Prism, which hopefully will entice you to want to read it, I thought to exalt Weaver’s brilliance by recounting a few among countless passages that made a lasting impression on me (page numbers correspond with the paperback edition):
“That we may not ever be so certain is the hallmark of humanity, in the same way that even the most exacting words are easy to misconstrue and are often inapplicable to each and every case. The certainty of words and the certainty of our apprehension of them is always suspect. So it is best to take them for what they are, fall back on your humanity and embrace the uncertainty.” (p. 59)
“Hold everything you believe . . . and particularly everything you read and believe, as you would hold a child or a bird, firmly but gently and carefully . . . Many of them would argue that it is hypocritical to profess faith and have doubt. It is really the other way around.” (p. 69)
“The true miracle of it all begins and ends with our own senses and our own heart and mind.” (p. 210)
“What I gathered from my journey thus far is that while God may be transcendent what we may know of him or her is written on our inner parts. God’s law is merely immanent and is at least in part composed of our memory. For instance, the very purpose of prayer is to remember.” (p. 307)
“The problem is not what you believe but what you impose upon the rest of us. And in many cases the desire to impose upon others is stronger than any personal faith . . . The actions of each faith may be judged by the way it treats its members and non-members, by the way it treats woman, by the way it treats the least among us, by the way it treats those who are its neighbors, and by the way it respects itself in the face of differing beliefs. It is one thing to live your own life in faith, it is another thing entirely to say that your God gives you certain sanctions within the world, such as the right to bomb innocents, or take and command land, or to oppress women.” (p. 332)
“We are never fully formed, and our comprehension of divine wisdom will always be something at which we must labor and of which we may never be assured.” (p. 340)
“Reading is your opportunity to brush with the minds of other people, great women and men who have also been visited by divine inspiration. Reading deeply of the great books is your best opportunity to find the divine.” (p. 341)
“Seek God in what you read and will know the divine when you see it. If a child reads any book he is looking in its pages at a very spare road map showing him a way toward the Lord.” (p. 345)
“The true study of the divine is the study of ourselves, and we must understand our selves first and best. Uncertainty is one of our truly divine hallmarks, and we must hold anything that strikes us as the most sublime truth with the most gentle and delicate care. This uncertainty may actually be the most holy element that is within us.” (p. 346)
If you connect with any of these passages, I highly recommend you try Gospel Prism by Gerald Weaver. It will touch your heart and expand your mind.
Roger 8-)
