Outside reading 3

October 23, 2015
             I found another prayer that I feel depicts the "emptying" of one's self to God:

"Lord, empty me of me so I can be filled with you. 

Lord, empty me of the selfishness inside:

every vain ambition, 

and the poison of my pride, 

and any foolishness my heart holds to. 

Lord empty me of ME and so I can be filled with YOU." 

I really like this prayer because it sounds like as the prayer progresses, so does the demand to be emptied. I admire this because the person praying or rather who wrote the prayer is begging to be emptied when by doing the very demand of asking through prayer I feel is the emptying itself. 

Outside reading 2

October 23, 2015
                 In many of the readings, we are constantly focusing on the decentered self and on God instead of being self centered. I found a prayer that I think reflects what we've been learning about being more selfless and giving ourselves to God in prayer:
              "Creator God,
You created the earth, whole and round; You created us to be whole people. But we have become fragmented, cracked, and broken. We have been broken by false promises, lost relationships, shattered trust. We have become cracked with experience of systematic sin; prejudice, oppression, and fear. We have become fragmented, building up walls instead of lending hands. Forgive us when we have done the breaking, heal us where we have been hurt. Let Your light shine through our cracks and scars so that we might bring light to the world, showing that in You we are made whole. In You we find healing. In You we find renewed life. Help us forgive, to love, to mend. Amen."

Praying with the perfect posture

October 23, 2015
       On the basis of emptying one's self to God, as mentioned in my previous blog, prayer is also the beginning of responsibility because it begins with a response (17). An example of this is present in the prayer of Samuel from 1 Samuel 3: "The Lord called Samuel, who thought it was the priest, Eli, calling. Three times he runs to Eli, saying, "Here am I, for you called me." Finally, Eli realizes what's happening and tells Samuel next time to respond, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." We can combine the two responses to make up Samuel's prayer, for the first response is more appropriate when addressed to God, who was actually doing the calling, than to Eli. So here is our first prayer: "Here am I, for you called me. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." He does not originate the conversation but is called, called forth, even called into being by a voice not his own.The meaning of the situation he finds himself in itself does not change, but his identity.  He no longer becomes Hannah's son or Eli's helper, but the one who stands coram deo, in God's presence, by a call that is once invitation and command" (pg. 17).  This means that Samuel has completely emptied himself to God. He is praying with the perfect posture.

"Learning how to Pray"

October 23, 2015

                         The first chapter in Phenomenology of Prayer is about how the proper posture of prayer must be "kenotic". This means that people must empty themselves before God. It also explains that prayer is a profound decentering experience in which the self loses its obsession with itself and focuses instead on God. This results in learning how to pray. Although that gives a universal way to pray, prayer is also based on individual preference.  Merold Westphal states in this chapter that she would feel uncomfortable praising God during prayer: "I have a friend who, when he says grace at mealtime, begins with a praise: "Dear Lord, you are great. Your majesty fills the earth." And so forth. I have to confess to feeling distinctly uncomfortable at such times. It is not that I think there is an insincerity in his prayer or have the least suspicion that he is praying "so that [he] may be seen by others" (Matt.6:5). It is just that I do not feel that I could pray that way. It would sound phony to me."(pg.14). Her friend prays and feels much differently than she, therefore bringing the conclusion that "kenotic" prayer can be different for everyone. I find myself in between the two of them. I feel the need to praise God when I feel necessary, but I don't do it all the time. Thus supporting the conclusion.

Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans

Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans 

Topic of Choice

October 20, 2015

In his famous study of the holy, Rudolph Otto introduced the idea of mysterium tremendum et fascinans, which literally translated to “terrible and fascinating mystery.” Otto observed this to be a universal principle that all people experience when they encounter the holy. The holy evokes awful dread and terror. It is a sublime encounter that brings about the awareness of one’s creatureliness, smallness, and insignificance before the face of the divine. This terrible mystery is countered by a feeling of fascination. The victim is interested and intrigued by the terror. They feel some mysterious gravitational pull toward that which, at the same time, repels them. This experience is far more common than we often realize. On day 11 of my AT pilgrimage I woke up at 6:00am, stuffed all my belongings into my 65 liter pack, and headed down the trail. After a quick stop for breakfast in a cow pasture, I began to make my way up White Top Mountain, the second highest point in Virginia. The rain began to pick up as I made my steady ascent up the unforgiving switchbacks. Walking up the mountain, soaking wet, with absolutely nothing to prove is, ironically, one of the most freeing experiences. Finally, I emerged from the green canopy of trees into an open field where I could see no further than 20 feet in front of me due to heavy fog. I had reached the top of the mountain, or another world so it seemed. Off to the left of the path sat Buzzard Rock, one of the best places to catch a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains in the entire region. I dropped my pack and climbed to the edge of the rock. Standing on the precipice of the rock, looking out into the distance, all I could see was a thick white cloud of misty fog that hurt to stare directly into. By faith, I knew that somewhere behind this cloud of mystery lay an endless view of mountains and felt the sublime presence of the mountains that stood tall and strong behind the fog, though I could not physically see them. Approaching God is like standing on the brink of Buzzard Rock looking out into a sea of fog that hides the mountains you know are there. I found myself simultaneously fascinated and full of fear. Experiencing the presence of God is a similar experience. I am drawn in by the message of love and mercy and repelled by the message of justice and holiness. Wilderness calls me to live by faith when met with mystery. It beckons me to the brink of myself, calling me to participate in a story that is far greater than me but nonetheless recognizes the significance of my role.

Emily Stuart: Animality and the 6th Commandment

~Other~
In class, we mentioned animality, which is the connection made when one animal eats another. There is no transcendence between the eater and the eaten, but instead a sacred energy exchange. This exchange does not establish a dominant-subordinate relationship, but in its place allows animals to live like water in water within the world.

In RUF this semester we are going through the 10 Commandments with emphasis on the application to modern day. Specifically, the sixth commandment says, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13).  The preacher, Jeff Lee, made the point that when this commandment is broken, humans degrade themselves from dominion-holders and image bearers of God to the status of animals, allowing natural selection to become their god. This degradation, in turn, disrupts the status quo of animal-human, animal-animal, and human-human interactions that have been designed by God. Disregarding vegetarian (and other forms of such) lifestyles, humans are meant to eat animals, animals are meant to eat each other, but it is widely unacceptable for humans to eat other humans. The reason behind this prohibition is that according to Scripture, we can understand humans as a “higher” being. So the sixth commandment goes beyond the notion of consumption to state that humans—beings of greater intelligent/consciousness—must not lower themselves to the standards of animals.

             Yet, if this notion of animality is applied to the 6^th commandment, we cannot say humans are living like water in water, but instead in some sort of gray area. We are neither animal, nor Creator, but yet we are not allowed to be given through the eating of one another. This separates humans (even in a secular sense) from animals and leads to a series of interesting questions about the human dominion over creation. If we are indeed something distinct by our lack of animality toward other humans, are we considered “above” other creation as Scripture suggests?

Emily Stuart: Dwelling

~Other~

In modern culture, a house is simply the dwelling place of a family or a small group of people. It can be made of brick, stone, or wood, but all in all it is a place of physical residence. However, when the word ‘house’ is used in 2 Samuel 7:1-16 it is meant to be much more than a simple shelter that protects from the wind and rain. The Hebrew word, ‘,’ used several times though out the passage, has a double meaning (Westminster Leningrad Codex). When David says, “See now, I dwell in the house (יוֹשֵׁ֖ב) of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent,” ‘יוֹשֵׁ֖ב,’ literally means that of a structure in which one lives (2 Samuel 7: 2). However, when Nathan later speaks the word ‘יוֹשֵׁ֖ב,’ saying, “Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house (יוֹשֵׁ֖ב)” it is meant to be dynasty—a line of royal hereditary rulers of Israel directly leading to the Messiah (2 Sam 7:13). The word play on the Hebrew word ‘יוֹשֵׁ֖ב’ is meant to not only employ David’s future generations, more specifically Solomon, into building a new tabernacle for the Lord’s presence to dwell in, but also deliver a Messianic promise.

            As we talked about early in this class, the act of dwelling is very important to our relationship with our place, our topos. The habitat, or the place of dwelling, must be compatible with the habitus, or the way we dwell in our chora, with rituals, myths, etc. Heidegger, in his Origin of the work of Art, says “the manner in which we humans are on the earth, is Buan, dwelling. To be a human being means to be on the earth as a mortal. It means to dwell” (147).  Therefore, the 2 Samuel 7 passage is not only telling David, and the Israelites, that they will be gaining a habitat to reside in forever, but also a new habitus; an honoring, worshiping, and believing in the messiah that is to come in the form of a mortal man to fulfill the laws of Yahweh.

            From a Christian perspective, God rejects David’s idea of a new temple to prepare the way for his Son, Jesus Christ. The Lord, using the mouthpiece of Nathan the prophet, declares the word play of dwelling place/dynasty, and seed/son with the motive of proclaiming the work of His redeeming plan. God promises, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16). Jesus Christ was to build the gospel temple, a house for God's name, and the spiritual temple of true believers: a habitation of God through the Spirit.  The establishing of His house, His throne, and His kingdom forever can be applied to none other than Christ and His kingdom. The committing of iniquity stated in 2 Samuel 7:14-15 cannot be applied to the Messiah himself, but to his spiritual seed; true believers have infirmities, for which they must expect to be corrected, though they are not cast off. 2 Samuel 7:1-16 promises a Son of David that will establish the ‘house’ of the Lord forever in the physical world and the hearts of men. This allows the habitus to be drawn from the habitat, creating a partnership with the promised dwelling place, and the promised messiah. Therefore, the habitat will not become scenery when the New Jerusalem extends down to this earth and Jesus comes back because He will make all things new, including our relationship with the world.  Our topos will become our chora.