Diary

A Poem of The Most Profane Sort

The old woman tilted her head like a cat who had just heard cellophane crinkle. It was almost as if she could hear something that I could not. “I would rather not speak at all than to speak words doomed to immanent ignorance,” she croaked. I had hardly begun my reply when, after following the…

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How to Be Happy(?)

The Tetrapharmakos, or, “The four-part cure,” is the Greek philosopher Epicurus’ remedy for leading the happiest possible life. The “tetrapharmakos” was originally a compound of four drugs (wax, tallow, pitch and resin); the word has been used metaphorically by Epicurus and his disciples to refer to the four remedies for healing the soul. The Four-Part…

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Christianity as a ‘slave-morality’

The best individual, as conceived by Aristotle, is a very different person from the Christan saint. He should have proper pride, and not underestimate his own merits. He should despise whoever deserves to be despised. The description of the proud or magnanimous man is very interesting as showing the difference between pagan and Christian ethics,…

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When the Scriptures are used maturely

When the Scriptures are used maturely, and they become a precursor to meeting the Christ, they proceed in this order: They confront us with a bigger picture than we are used to, “God’s kingdom” that has the potential to “deconstruct” our false worldviews. They then have the power to convert us to an alternative worldview…

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Bonhoeffer’s “Metanoia”

July 21, 1944 I discovered later, and I’m still discovering right up to this moment, that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. One must completely abandon any attempt to make something of oneself, whether it be a saint, or a converted sinner, or a churchman (a…

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