To be a disciple is fundamentally to be a learner. But while a geometry student submits his mind to a proof or theorem, a learner of Christ is called to submit his whole being to God. And while the student may come to internalize a truth, the disciple can come to embody God’s presence. This is because both Learning and discipleship happen through a process of poetic formation. In … Continue reading The Poetics of Faith and Learning, Part 4
Euclid The study of Euclid’s Elements serves as an excellent example of the contemplative learning process. Proposition 5, an early proposition in the text, marks a turning point for most students, where they must not only identify a chain of equalities (something akin to a hypothetical syllogism), but do so in transposition. Whereas students needed only identify equality by imposing … Continue reading The Poetics of Faith and Learning, Part 1
Like a child formed within the body of its mother, nourished by and constituted within her, all creation is constituted within the Image of God. Christ is the womb of all creation. For in him all things were created (Colossians 1:16). The creation bears the stamp of its creator, just as a child bears a likeness to his mother. … Continue reading Matrix of Creation
“You know what happens when a portrait that has been painted on a panel becomes obliterated through external stains. The artist does not throw away the panel, but the subject of the portrait has to come and sit for it again, and then the likeness is re-drawn on the same material. Even so was it … Continue reading Athanasius, Christ, Metanoia, & the Camera Obscura
Is man a meaningful creature? Yes, but man is also a creature ordered unto God. The Imago Dei contextualizes the nature of human meaning. This post continues our exploration of man’s doubleness. In North America, stop signs are red octagons with the word ‘stop’ printed on them. There are variations, but, for the most part, they conform to this … Continue reading Empty Signs? Images and Originals Part VI.B
We have begun to explore how man is a double creature, a being who is natural and yet transcendent. The last post listed a number of ways in which this might be the case. This post will begin to explore numbers 2, 3, and 7. We can do this by first asking: What does ‘poetry’ … Continue reading The Poetic Creature: Images and Originals Part VI.A
“When I am empty, I am. When I am full; I am not. What am I?” — Answere: hole “I am what I am not. You cannot see me. Yet you look at me to see. What am I?” — Answer: A Mirror Have you grown weary of our journey into doubleness? I hope not, but I … Continue reading Man as Double: Images and Originals Part VI
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim his handiwork. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the … Continue reading Other Kinds of Speech: Images & Originals Part V.B
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim his handiwork. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the … Continue reading Other Kinds of Speech: Images and Originals Part V.A
Recognition is a fundamental element of art and life. We delight in seeing, in being seen, and in seeing afresh. This is the reality of good art and the false allure of mere entertainment. But the possibility of recognition is present in small ways every day. For myself it is there when rising in the morning with … Continue reading In Him: Images and Originals Part IV
Same & Other 