On Eliot

(From a paper I wrote on the transition from "existential to eschatological" in TS Eliot's poetry):

The view of the “self” for Eliot is closely tied with one’s view of history and time. When poetic characters reflect on the significance and meaning of history, they disclose their personal understanding of their relationship to time. The early poetry of Eliot treated history as something to be neglected, or as a troublesome conundrum. Prufrock did not explicitly wrestle with the issue of “history,” but his memory is short, and he is seemingly too distracted to reflect on it in any sort of meaningful way. “History” for him is too grand of a concern to engage. Gerontion’s description of history, as we recall, was more thoughtful: “history has many cunning passages, contrived corridors/and issues, deceives with whispering ambitions, guides us by vanities.” For him, history exercised an invisible influence on the present, such that individuals were left all but helpless in light of “her (history’s) supple confusions.” The only proper response to history was one of defeat. In “Ash Wednesday,” the reality of history can never be fully understood, as the present is the only “actuality:”

Because I know that time is always time
And place is always and only place
And what is actual is actual only for one time
And only for one place
I rejoice that things are as they are…
(Eliot 85)

The saint’s perspective is directed toward eternity, and thus the transience of life is a necessary contrast to the reward in the future. ‘Little Gidding’ introduces the most unified view of history in Eliot’s poetry, emphasizing the immanence of the past on the present, by suggesting that “history is a pattern of timeless moments.” The concept of “timeless moments” implies the significance of every moment in history, but more importantly signifies the divine presence in transient reality. Individuals participating in spiritual things experience “transcendence” over time. Thus, the moment of belief, of prayer, is the ultimate “timeless moment.” Following from an affirmation of both time and eternity, ‘Little Gidding’ provides a view of the promised future that is hopeful, giving us the sense that the present moment is not the end of the matter.

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
(Eliot 208)

Pieces of poetry

At the first turning of the third stair
Was a slotted window bellied like the figs's fruit
And beyond the hawthorn blossom and a pasture scene
The broadbacked figure drest in blue and green
Enchanted the maytime with an antique flute.
Blown hair is sweet, brown hair over the mouth blown,
Lilac and brown hair;
Distraction, music of the flute, stops and steps of the mind over the third stair,
Fading, fading; strength beyond hope and despair
Climbing the third stair.

Lord, I am not worthy Lord, I am not worthy
but speak the word only.

From - TS Eliot, Ash Wednesday

Milton and Dostoyevsky

"Though different in so many ways, John Milton and Fyodor Dostoyevsky are one in their use of the biblical narrative of Christ's temptations in the wilderness at key moments in their works. Each address the problem of theodicy - seeking to justify the ways of God to men."

- Andrey Gorbunov, Literature and Theology 20.1 (2006)

Sayers

"The one thing I am here to say to you is this: that it is worse than useless for Christians to talk about the importance of Christian morality, unless they are prepared to take their stand upon the fundamentals of Christian theology. It is a lie to say that dogma does not matter; it matters enormously. It is fatal to let people suppose that Christianity is only a mode of feeling; it is virtually necessary to insist that it is first and foremost a rational explanation of the universe. It is hopeless to offer Christianity as a vaguely idealistic aspiration of a simple and consoling kind; it is, on the contrary, a hard, tough, exacting and complex doctrine, steeped in a drastic and uncompromising realism."

- Dorothy Sayers, "Creed or Chaos", p 28.

Law and Love

(A) shared view of the relationship between love and law between the Old and New Testaments represents a major instance of continuity with respect to love and law between the testaments. However, in addition, in this case continuity should not be thought of as perfect symmetry for the NT gives love the priority (cf Rom 13:8, Gal 5:13) while it may reasonably be said that because the OT puts the love of neighbor in a legal context, it gives the system of law the priority...

- Richard Allbee, JSOT, 31.2 (2006)

Prophetic

This is taken from a 1952 article by Tadakzu Uwoki in the "Japan Christian Quaterly" and has striking relevance for today's context, particularly in relation to America's foreign policy:

"Politically speaking, the Japanese dared to make a great leap after the war. Democracy is taken for granted in these days. The trouble is that people are not well trained in the democratic principles. On the contrary, some are making use of them for undemocratic purposes. In any sudden change of a social or political order, it is quite natural that superficial gestures are taken to be genuine action. A similar phenomenon occurred some eighty years ago, just after the Meiji Resotration. The character of a nation accustomed to feudal ideas for hundreds of years, would not very easily be made over. There were Chrsitna leaders who warend the people that the change in the form of government would not alter the national characteristics at one stroke. Constitutionally-minded people must be produced through a longer preocess of education. The most urgent necessity was the cultivation of a new spirit and character in the nation. This warning was well-founded. The feudalistic character of the people remained alive far into the constitutional era."

Psalms

Psalm 1 not only identifies devotion to Torah as "the way of the righteous" but its authorial voice also embodies attentiveness to Scripture through its dependence on and interpretation of other texts. In fact, Psalm 1 is a tapestry of the writings of ancient Israel. In its first three verses, Ps 1 alludes to Deut 6:6-9, Josh 1:8, Gen 39:3, 23; Jer 17:5-8; and Ezek 47:12. These five allusions serve a critical exegetical function by actually modeling the very devotion to Torah that the psalm extols and by interpreting reality in light of this reading.

Brian Russell "Psalm 1 as an Interpreter of Scripture" IBQ, 26.4 (2005)

Summer reading

For the month of June, I am consciously avoiding any specific theological reading unless absolutely necessary (for Sunday school preparation, etc). This is because I want to actually feel like I'm having a summer break; although I enjoy reading theology, it has practically become part of my job and so I'm drawing the line of demarcation.

One was "The Professor and the Madman" by Simon Winchester. A very interesting account of two men who contributed much to the writing of the massive Oxford English Dictionary, a veritable tome and exhaustive treatment of the English language. The madman spent several decades from his place in the asylum writing and reading, in order to help with the citations of the OED. But the thing is, while he was clearly off his rocker in certain respects, in many other ways he was perfectly rational. It is a story worth reading. I enjoyed the chapter about Samuel Johnson's

dictionary too - he is one of my heroes.

The second was "Under the Banner of Heaven" by John Krakauer. It is basically a history of Mormonism mixed in with the story of a group of Mormon fundamentalists who believe in polygamy. Certainly Krakauer offers a "critical history" here, arguing for the persistent and uneasy tension between Mormonism and American culture. It's also includes disturbing accounts of murder. But all in all, I think it's a good digest of Mormon belief and history from an outsider's perspective.

I'm developing an interest of sorts in Mormonism - not out of sympathy, but out of curiosity. It is a very fast growing religion, and although Krakauer wants to place it as a religion at odds with American culture, I tend to think it shares several key characteristics with American life and thought. For one, Joseph Smith basically saw himself as an entrepeneur, and came up with a new "product" to match the tastes of his day. This was to be sure just one example where Christian religion and capitalist marketing have been mixed in the US. Mormonism is also heavily moralistic without a doctrinal center. This is not to say that they don't have doctrine - they do and much of it is flat out bizarre. But on the practical level the upstanding behavior of the community is held above "orthodoxy" and in many ways this reflects the pragmatic spirit of America from its beginnings.