Francis Berger's Blog, page 22
July 27, 2024
Christians Should Not React to the Desecration of Christian Art and Symbols
I have a deep appreciation for most Christian art and symbolism; however, I do not allow this appreciation to cloud my understanding that all Christian art and symbolism are exteriorized objects— secondary “realities” that may represent, reveal, or reflect primary reality yet are not primary reality in and of themselves.
A significant part of the spiritual morass we find ourselves in stems from confusing secondary representations of reality with primary reality. We are slaves of symbolized reality. We live our lives imprisoned in this secondary unreal reality.
Society itself is a symbol and not a primary reality. The System controls virtually all symbols, and it endeavors to convince us that its symbol society is the primary reality. When the System desecrates Christian art and symbolism via the mass media, it trashes the exteriorized objects of Christianity, nothing more.
The primary reality of Christianity is immune to such degradations. Yet, Christians react to the System’s profane perversions of Christian art and symbols as direct attacks against the primary reality of Christianity.
The System accomplishes two goals here. One, it keeps Christians locked in secondary thinking when they should be striving for primary thinking. Two, it keeps Christians in a reactive state of being when they should aim for a creative state of being.
The individual Christian can do nothing to stop the System’s desecration of Christian art and symbolism; however, he can attain inward freedom and creativity from the System’s sacrilege by recognizing the core spiritual motivations behind the glaring inversion and irreverence.
A significant part of the spiritual morass we find ourselves in stems from confusing secondary representations of reality with primary reality. We are slaves of symbolized reality. We live our lives imprisoned in this secondary unreal reality.
Society itself is a symbol and not a primary reality. The System controls virtually all symbols, and it endeavors to convince us that its symbol society is the primary reality. When the System desecrates Christian art and symbolism via the mass media, it trashes the exteriorized objects of Christianity, nothing more.
The primary reality of Christianity is immune to such degradations. Yet, Christians react to the System’s profane perversions of Christian art and symbols as direct attacks against the primary reality of Christianity.
The System accomplishes two goals here. One, it keeps Christians locked in secondary thinking when they should be striving for primary thinking. Two, it keeps Christians in a reactive state of being when they should aim for a creative state of being.
The individual Christian can do nothing to stop the System’s desecration of Christian art and symbolism; however, he can attain inward freedom and creativity from the System’s sacrilege by recognizing the core spiritual motivations behind the glaring inversion and irreverence.
July 26, 2024
Too Much Individuality, Not Enough Personality
One insight from Berdyaev that I have found particularly clarifying when it comes to the problem of what it means to be oneself, to be true to oneself is the distinction between individualism and personality.
To simplify Berdyaev’s often overly complicated and circular line of thinking, I will reduce his definitions of the two to the following:
IndividualA human being possesses both individuality and personality. Berdyaev defines individuality as the exteriorized, natural, societal aspects of human beings. Within this conceptualization, nature and society form the whole, and the individual forms the singular part of the whole. In other words, the individual is a part of nature and society, not vice versa. In this sense, the individual is largely an external phenomenon determined almost entirely by external forces, the enslaving power of the world. The individual is not the existential center; it is the perceived base component of an existential center that exists outside the individual, an existential center with which the individual must comply or struggle against.The individual is an object among objects. The object world determines an individual’s worth by evaluating the individual’s “objectness.”In this regard, the individual is “impersonal.” PersonalityBerdyaev defines personality as the absolute existential center. Personality determines itself from within, from the inward scheme of existence, which Berdyaev equates with spirit and freedom.Unlike the individual, a personality is not a part of the cosmos; the cosmos is a part of personality. Personality is the quality of the cosmos.Man is a personality not through nature or society but through spirit and freedom.Personality is not an object among other objects and not a thing among other things. It is a subject among subjects, and the turning of it into an object or a thing means death.Personality contains not only a human image but also the image of God.Personality is not an object but a subject. It relates only to other subjects.God communicates with personality, not the individual because unlike the individual, personality has the capacity to be truly free and engage in self-existent, original, creative acts. As a being, man is both an individual and a personality, but through an enslaved form of consciousness, man focuses far too much awareness and energy on the former (at the expense of the latter).
Consciousness determines being, and man is locked in a mode of consciousness that convinces him that his true self exists primarily—or in extreme cases exclusively—only in the individual; that is, at the level of an object among objects.
This mode of consciousness has made man a slave to the world and a slave to himself. The solution to this enslavement involves shifting consciousness from the individual to personality.
Individuals define themselves by their relations with society, nature, and the world. Personality defines itself by its relation to God, from which it draws the strength and unity needed to overcome fear and determination.
To simplify Berdyaev’s often overly complicated and circular line of thinking, I will reduce his definitions of the two to the following:
IndividualA human being possesses both individuality and personality. Berdyaev defines individuality as the exteriorized, natural, societal aspects of human beings. Within this conceptualization, nature and society form the whole, and the individual forms the singular part of the whole. In other words, the individual is a part of nature and society, not vice versa. In this sense, the individual is largely an external phenomenon determined almost entirely by external forces, the enslaving power of the world. The individual is not the existential center; it is the perceived base component of an existential center that exists outside the individual, an existential center with which the individual must comply or struggle against.The individual is an object among objects. The object world determines an individual’s worth by evaluating the individual’s “objectness.”In this regard, the individual is “impersonal.” PersonalityBerdyaev defines personality as the absolute existential center. Personality determines itself from within, from the inward scheme of existence, which Berdyaev equates with spirit and freedom.Unlike the individual, a personality is not a part of the cosmos; the cosmos is a part of personality. Personality is the quality of the cosmos.Man is a personality not through nature or society but through spirit and freedom.Personality is not an object among other objects and not a thing among other things. It is a subject among subjects, and the turning of it into an object or a thing means death.Personality contains not only a human image but also the image of God.Personality is not an object but a subject. It relates only to other subjects.God communicates with personality, not the individual because unlike the individual, personality has the capacity to be truly free and engage in self-existent, original, creative acts. As a being, man is both an individual and a personality, but through an enslaved form of consciousness, man focuses far too much awareness and energy on the former (at the expense of the latter).
Consciousness determines being, and man is locked in a mode of consciousness that convinces him that his true self exists primarily—or in extreme cases exclusively—only in the individual; that is, at the level of an object among objects.
This mode of consciousness has made man a slave to the world and a slave to himself. The solution to this enslavement involves shifting consciousness from the individual to personality.
Individuals define themselves by their relations with society, nature, and the world. Personality defines itself by its relation to God, from which it draws the strength and unity needed to overcome fear and determination.
July 25, 2024
The Workshop Swallows Have Hatched
A brief update on the sneaky pair of swallows that built a nest in my workshop. Four ravenous chicks have emerged from the four eggs in the nest.
The adult pair fly in and out of the workshop the entire day to feed their young. I hear the chicks gently cheeping every time I step into the building to retrieve a tool. I wanted to photograph them today but thought better of it.
Maybe I'll have the chance tomorrow.
The adult pair fly in and out of the workshop the entire day to feed their young. I hear the chicks gently cheeping every time I step into the building to retrieve a tool. I wanted to photograph them today but thought better of it.
Maybe I'll have the chance tomorrow.
July 24, 2024
Destruction is Easy; Cleaning Up, Not So Much
The demolition of the old pig barn is in full swing. I wouldn't say destroying parts of the old building was all that easy, but it was -- as Bruce Charlton often notes -- much easier than creating the new building will be.
Cleaning up the destruction is another challenging factor, and that's exactly where I am with this pig barn project.
Roof is down, most of the walls gutted. Nearly ready for the "creation" stage. 
All the "stuff" I removed from the building to get it to the nearly ready for creation stage (roof beams, cross beams, planks, concrete, bricks, etc.). It goes without saying that this all has to be cleaned away before construction can commence. 
The green container in the background contains the 8 cubic meters of rubble I have hauled out the building thus far (all by hand, over two days, using nothing but two buckets, my hands, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow). I have about another 8 cubic meters left to extract. Other junk includes broken lawn care equipment, bags of polystyrene insulation, old rabbit hutches, and so forth. My construction office is visible on the right (the snazzy red coffee table with the executive chair behind it).
Cleaning up the destruction is another challenging factor, and that's exactly where I am with this pig barn project.
Roof is down, most of the walls gutted. Nearly ready for the "creation" stage. All the "stuff" I removed from the building to get it to the nearly ready for creation stage (roof beams, cross beams, planks, concrete, bricks, etc.). It goes without saying that this all has to be cleaned away before construction can commence. The green container in the background contains the 8 cubic meters of rubble I have hauled out the building thus far (all by hand, over two days, using nothing but two buckets, my hands, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow). I have about another 8 cubic meters left to extract. Other junk includes broken lawn care equipment, bags of polystyrene insulation, old rabbit hutches, and so forth. My construction office is visible on the right (the snazzy red coffee table with the executive chair behind it).
July 22, 2024
Duckduck AI Frankie
For reasons I’ll never understand, I have never bookmarked my blog on my computer. When I want to visit my site, I usually connect through a link featured on another Romantic Christian blog or use a search engine.
The other day, I accessed my blog through Duckduckgo, and I saw the following presumably AI-generated mini-descriptions beneath the links. (AI-generated stuff in italics; my comments in roman.)
Francis Berger is a writer and farmer who shares his thoughts on various topics, such as heat waves, solstices, professional development, and war. Read his latest posts and join the discussion on his blog.
Well, I am a writer of sorts—but a farmer? I mean, I do write about my garden occasionally, but I would hardly equate that with farming.
Concerning the eclectic topic selection, I have written about heat waves, solstices, professional development, and war; however, I hope my blog offers readers more than that.
Moreover, I can’t imagine any reader anywhere thinking, “Heatwaves, solstices, professional development, and war? Man, that’s right up my alley. I better get over there and join the discussion tout de suite!"
Read Francis Berger's reflections on joy, power, sacred images, and science in his blog posts from May 2022. He challenges conventional wisdom, exposes deception, and offers spiritual insights from a Christian perspective.
May 2022 appears to have been a good month, and the subject matter is more representative of what I hope I write about the blog most of the time. Yes, I do challenge conventional wisdom, expose deception whenever I can, and offer spiritual insights from a Christian perspective as best as I can. Overall, well done, AI.
Francis Berger explores the challenges and risks of being a Christian in today's world, where no path to salvation is safe or certain. He argues that Christianity is a religion of individual choice and discernment and that the future lies in self-discovered, personal revelations.
I like that one; however, I sense AI perused a single month rather than engage in a comprehensive scan to gather that information.
So, what’s my overall impression of AI based on the above?
My opinion hasn’t changed. AI remains a master plagiarizer, adept fake researcher, and uber-proficient parrot.
The other day, I accessed my blog through Duckduckgo, and I saw the following presumably AI-generated mini-descriptions beneath the links. (AI-generated stuff in italics; my comments in roman.)
Francis Berger is a writer and farmer who shares his thoughts on various topics, such as heat waves, solstices, professional development, and war. Read his latest posts and join the discussion on his blog.
Well, I am a writer of sorts—but a farmer? I mean, I do write about my garden occasionally, but I would hardly equate that with farming.
Concerning the eclectic topic selection, I have written about heat waves, solstices, professional development, and war; however, I hope my blog offers readers more than that.
Moreover, I can’t imagine any reader anywhere thinking, “Heatwaves, solstices, professional development, and war? Man, that’s right up my alley. I better get over there and join the discussion tout de suite!"
Read Francis Berger's reflections on joy, power, sacred images, and science in his blog posts from May 2022. He challenges conventional wisdom, exposes deception, and offers spiritual insights from a Christian perspective.
May 2022 appears to have been a good month, and the subject matter is more representative of what I hope I write about the blog most of the time. Yes, I do challenge conventional wisdom, expose deception whenever I can, and offer spiritual insights from a Christian perspective as best as I can. Overall, well done, AI.
Francis Berger explores the challenges and risks of being a Christian in today's world, where no path to salvation is safe or certain. He argues that Christianity is a religion of individual choice and discernment and that the future lies in self-discovered, personal revelations.
I like that one; however, I sense AI perused a single month rather than engage in a comprehensive scan to gather that information.
So, what’s my overall impression of AI based on the above?
My opinion hasn’t changed. AI remains a master plagiarizer, adept fake researcher, and uber-proficient parrot.
July 21, 2024
Let's All Get Really Optimistic About the System!
Big news!
Let's all recommit to the demonic system by getting really optimistic about the prospects of it turning around and being good again like it was in the good old days that none of us seem to personally remember.
Let's all recommit to the demonic system by getting really optimistic about the prospects of it turning around and being good again like it was in the good old days that none of us seem to personally remember.
The Worst Lies Are the Ones We Tell Ourselves
The Age of Dishonesty.
That’s what I would name our current era if anyone asked me to name it. Dishonesty because the lies that saturate this time and place are as ubiquitous as the air we breathe.
We have reached the point where people will candidly defend lying by calmly outlining why dishonesty is sometimes beneficial and often necessary.
Of course, the same people who justify dishonesty are quick to vehemently pounce on the perceived untruthfulness of others and call them out for their chicanery.
My lies are defensible. Yours? Not so much.
Whatever the case, I have noticed that virtually all deception and duplicity stems from the lies we tell ourselves—those cunning, sly, crafty, tricky little shards of personal subterfuge that most of us conspire to deny altogether.
Although people may lie to others only occasionally, most seem to lie to themselves incessantly, as evidenced by the relentless explanations, rationalizations, justifications, clarifications, and reconciliations on display in every public and—presumably—private discourse.
Although we often criticize and condemn lies told to others, we tend to adopt a far more forgiving attitude concerning the lies we tell ourselves.
We assume that our self-delusions are harmless or muted. We appear to endorse the notion that they are unavoidable. Perhaps there is something to that; however, unavoidable is not synonymous with acceptable, yet we tend to treat it as such.
One thing is certain--the true self rejects all self-dishonesty, particularly unrepented self-dishonesty. It cannot engage in that commerce with the Father of Lies -- but the worst of our unnecessary false selves can and do, quite eagerly and energetically.
That’s what I would name our current era if anyone asked me to name it. Dishonesty because the lies that saturate this time and place are as ubiquitous as the air we breathe.
We have reached the point where people will candidly defend lying by calmly outlining why dishonesty is sometimes beneficial and often necessary.
Of course, the same people who justify dishonesty are quick to vehemently pounce on the perceived untruthfulness of others and call them out for their chicanery.
My lies are defensible. Yours? Not so much.
Whatever the case, I have noticed that virtually all deception and duplicity stems from the lies we tell ourselves—those cunning, sly, crafty, tricky little shards of personal subterfuge that most of us conspire to deny altogether.
Although people may lie to others only occasionally, most seem to lie to themselves incessantly, as evidenced by the relentless explanations, rationalizations, justifications, clarifications, and reconciliations on display in every public and—presumably—private discourse.
Although we often criticize and condemn lies told to others, we tend to adopt a far more forgiving attitude concerning the lies we tell ourselves.
We assume that our self-delusions are harmless or muted. We appear to endorse the notion that they are unavoidable. Perhaps there is something to that; however, unavoidable is not synonymous with acceptable, yet we tend to treat it as such.
One thing is certain--the true self rejects all self-dishonesty, particularly unrepented self-dishonesty. It cannot engage in that commerce with the Father of Lies -- but the worst of our unnecessary false selves can and do, quite eagerly and energetically.
July 19, 2024
If Ideas Alone are Sufficient, Then Jesus is Dispensable
This post addresses the much-touted and utterly misguided argument that ideas are ultimate and matter far more than people who express the ideas.
The argument comes in many shapes and flavors. Still, they all convey the same assumption—truth does not need people to be true. Ideas and truth exist independently of the person. Truth does not require any person to be true. It can be divorced from people entirely. Ideas are not contingent upon any person to be true. A person’s expression of the truth is of far more significance than the person expressing the truth. A person’s being only interferes with ideas and the truths they convey. Better to just separate the person from the idea altogether and focus on the idea because in the end, what is paramount is the idea, not the person communicating it.
And so on.
I’m not sure when Christians embraced this abstract Platonic-Enlightenment-democratic-academic-Hollywood bullshit assumption. Suffice it to say the vast majority have not only enthusiastically adopted this assumption but go to great lengths to staunchly defend it and vociferously champion it.
“Who I am as a person is irrelevant! they cry. “What is truly relevant are my ideas! And you don’t need to know who I am to consider my ideas because my ideas are greater than me! You don’t need to establish any relationship with me as a person to recognize and understand the truth inherent in my ideas. The truth inherent in those ideas is more than sufficient! Establish a relationship with that!”
Now, if any of the above is even remotely true, then the person of Jesus is utterly superfluous. If ideas matter more than the person expressing the ideas, then Jesus would not have had to live in this world. God could have simply allowed Him to implant the idea of resurrection and other Truths into people’s minds telepathically or some such thing.
But this is not what happened. The ideas Jesus expressed required His person to “back them up.” The two were indivisible, and they remain indivisible today. The personal is truth, and the truth is personal. You must know Jesus as a person to recognize and understand the ideas He expressed. You cannot separate Him from His ideas.
Any attempt to do so reduces the impact and glory of His ideas. Give it a shot sometime. Think about the truth Jesus communicated without thinking about Jesus and see how it goes.
More precisely, truth is not the recognition of some objective, impersonal fact; it is a personal, creative act.
The transmission of ideas and truth requires a creative relationship between persons for the truth to be true. Relating only to an idea can, at best, reveal only partial truths-- or worse.
Note added: Un-personing ideas is a material, reductionist, positivist approach to ideas and truth.
Better to side with Dostoevsky, who stated,
“If someone proved to me that Christ is outside the truth and that in reality the truth were outside of Christ, then I should prefer to remain with Christ rather than with the truth.”
The argument comes in many shapes and flavors. Still, they all convey the same assumption—truth does not need people to be true. Ideas and truth exist independently of the person. Truth does not require any person to be true. It can be divorced from people entirely. Ideas are not contingent upon any person to be true. A person’s expression of the truth is of far more significance than the person expressing the truth. A person’s being only interferes with ideas and the truths they convey. Better to just separate the person from the idea altogether and focus on the idea because in the end, what is paramount is the idea, not the person communicating it.
And so on.
I’m not sure when Christians embraced this abstract Platonic-Enlightenment-democratic-academic-Hollywood bullshit assumption. Suffice it to say the vast majority have not only enthusiastically adopted this assumption but go to great lengths to staunchly defend it and vociferously champion it.
“Who I am as a person is irrelevant! they cry. “What is truly relevant are my ideas! And you don’t need to know who I am to consider my ideas because my ideas are greater than me! You don’t need to establish any relationship with me as a person to recognize and understand the truth inherent in my ideas. The truth inherent in those ideas is more than sufficient! Establish a relationship with that!”
Now, if any of the above is even remotely true, then the person of Jesus is utterly superfluous. If ideas matter more than the person expressing the ideas, then Jesus would not have had to live in this world. God could have simply allowed Him to implant the idea of resurrection and other Truths into people’s minds telepathically or some such thing.
But this is not what happened. The ideas Jesus expressed required His person to “back them up.” The two were indivisible, and they remain indivisible today. The personal is truth, and the truth is personal. You must know Jesus as a person to recognize and understand the ideas He expressed. You cannot separate Him from His ideas.
Any attempt to do so reduces the impact and glory of His ideas. Give it a shot sometime. Think about the truth Jesus communicated without thinking about Jesus and see how it goes.
More precisely, truth is not the recognition of some objective, impersonal fact; it is a personal, creative act.
The transmission of ideas and truth requires a creative relationship between persons for the truth to be true. Relating only to an idea can, at best, reveal only partial truths-- or worse.
Note added: Un-personing ideas is a material, reductionist, positivist approach to ideas and truth.
Better to side with Dostoevsky, who stated,
“If someone proved to me that Christ is outside the truth and that in reality the truth were outside of Christ, then I should prefer to remain with Christ rather than with the truth.”
July 18, 2024
A Lot of Age, Very Little Wisdom
About five years ago, I documented the following observations on the subject of wisdom and old age:
That people inevitably grow wiser as they age is a cliché and a misconception. More often than not, my life experience has revealed the opposite to be the case. Most people I know from the older generations have not accrued an ounce of wisdom as they have aged. In fact, a considerable number have gone in the opposite direction and have become increasingly foolish and stupid as they entered or waded deeper into their senior years.
It goes without saying that I am not referring to those suffering from some form of age-related mental decline or those battling dementia or Alzheimer’s, but to men and women in their sixties, seventies, and beyond who still possess all their mental faculties yet seem utterly incapable or ruthlessly uninterested in re-examining their assumptions or re-assessing the core of their beliefs against the backdrop of their experiences.
The excerpt above is from a 2019 post in which I ultimately identified old leftists as the worst exemplifiers of un-wisdom in old age; however, the events of 2020–2022 made it clear that the lack of wisdom in old age applies to virtually everyone in their sixties, seventies, and beyond, regardless of political leaning, lived experience, or professed faith.
Wisdom denotes “knowledge, learning, and experience,” and can be extended to include attributes like “learned, sagacious, cunning; sane; prudent, discreet; experienced; having the power of discerning and judging rightly.”
I don’t know about you, but nearly all the old people I know, or encounter, display a glaring absence of any of the above attributes. So much for accruing wisdom via experience over the years, which makes me wonder why wisdom has all but disappeared from this mortal coil.
I sense our current wisdom void in the West connects directly with the mass despiritualization or faux spiritualization of Western people over the past half-century or so; a process that also elevated the ego to fantastic heights.
Wisdom seems to possess a deeper spiritual quality than intelligence, suggesting that a shallow spirit entails shallow wisdom. Activating or accessing wisdom seems to require a direct connection to the true self. Without that, wisdom is little more than soap bubbles and fairy dust.
To sum up, very few people appear capable of learning from experience anymore.
The Age of the Sage appears to be behind us. Well behind us.
That people inevitably grow wiser as they age is a cliché and a misconception. More often than not, my life experience has revealed the opposite to be the case. Most people I know from the older generations have not accrued an ounce of wisdom as they have aged. In fact, a considerable number have gone in the opposite direction and have become increasingly foolish and stupid as they entered or waded deeper into their senior years.
It goes without saying that I am not referring to those suffering from some form of age-related mental decline or those battling dementia or Alzheimer’s, but to men and women in their sixties, seventies, and beyond who still possess all their mental faculties yet seem utterly incapable or ruthlessly uninterested in re-examining their assumptions or re-assessing the core of their beliefs against the backdrop of their experiences.
The excerpt above is from a 2019 post in which I ultimately identified old leftists as the worst exemplifiers of un-wisdom in old age; however, the events of 2020–2022 made it clear that the lack of wisdom in old age applies to virtually everyone in their sixties, seventies, and beyond, regardless of political leaning, lived experience, or professed faith.
Wisdom denotes “knowledge, learning, and experience,” and can be extended to include attributes like “learned, sagacious, cunning; sane; prudent, discreet; experienced; having the power of discerning and judging rightly.”
I don’t know about you, but nearly all the old people I know, or encounter, display a glaring absence of any of the above attributes. So much for accruing wisdom via experience over the years, which makes me wonder why wisdom has all but disappeared from this mortal coil.
I sense our current wisdom void in the West connects directly with the mass despiritualization or faux spiritualization of Western people over the past half-century or so; a process that also elevated the ego to fantastic heights.
Wisdom seems to possess a deeper spiritual quality than intelligence, suggesting that a shallow spirit entails shallow wisdom. Activating or accessing wisdom seems to require a direct connection to the true self. Without that, wisdom is little more than soap bubbles and fairy dust.
To sum up, very few people appear capable of learning from experience anymore.
The Age of the Sage appears to be behind us. Well behind us.
July 16, 2024
Update on the Swallow Nest
About a week ago, I described how a pair of nesting swallows had clandestinely made themselves at home in my workshop. Well, the nest now contains four eggs.
So far so good. I just have to ensure my cat doesn't find a creative way to access the nest.
So far so good. I just have to ensure my cat doesn't find a creative way to access the nest.
