[Image: Sunset, 2013, JA Van Devender]
Location: Chesapeake Bay, Vicinity of Sandy Point
Exodus 31:6–7 (NKJV)
6 “And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7 the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle—
Thoughts on NYT article, 10/31/13, see HERE
“College is increasingly being defined narrowly as job preparation, not as something designed to educate the whole person,” said Pauline Yu, president of the American Council of Learned Societies.
Americans have traditionally exhibited an ingrained skepticism about academic studies in the "humanities." The current trend is not a new thing but rather a decided drop from an already low standing. Pity.
In an age that has essentially abandoned the concept of "truth" other than empirically determined "facts" or experientially measured value, this drop in interest in studies that explore "truth" in history, literature, philosophy, etc. is inevitable. Economics also dictate such trends. The soaring cost of higher education puts a "financial return on investment" estimate as a primary basis for choice of studies. Again this is not new. From Leonardo da Vinci (and before) to the present, artistic and humanitarian studies have required the support of patrons... or accumulated riches. It is the leisured class that usually produces the great works of philosophy, history, etc. There must be a social structure that is not only inclined to support studies in the humanities but which actually makes room for it in the distribution of support. I am inclined to think that the absence of such a class, even when it has demonstrated such wrong-headedness as recent trends prove, heralds a fundamental fault in the cultural landscape that will, sooner or later, kill the soul of a people.
Case in point: Sparta... The Spartan society was hailed in its day by many philosophers as having a near perfect "constitution." It was a "technical" society to the core. It's focus was development of manly (read military) virtues that were utilitarian in the extreme. Historians have often noted that this was a conscious decision by the Spartans at a point early in their history brought on, in their mind, by the necessities of their geo-political situation. What is interesting, again widely documented, is that Spartan art and intellectual development virtually ceased at that instant. Athenian development, contrasted with Spartan, proved ultimately weaker militarily but the great flower of Classical Greece lay with Athens not Sparta.
The difference between the two social orders was their perspective on what we call the "humanities." It was Athens that left a cultural heritage that has shaped human history to this very day. Without the humanities, human culture, for all its technology, is not removed any distance at all from primitive tribesmen scraping an existence out of the berry bushes and forest fauna. We may be more comfortable, but our language and our thinking might as well be "ughs" and "grunts" and gestured signs.
Even the technical sciences find their greatest fulfillment in a society seasoned by cultured thought. As the passage above clearly indicates, the "wisdom" of the "gifted artisans" flowed from God Himself. These artists not only were skilled technically but they understood proportion and perspective. There was "wisdom" which guided their thoughts to the final design. This is the field of "aesthetics", the study of the beautiful and of quality. Again, it requires a leisured class to advance such craftsmanship. It requires a certain sensitivity on the part of those funding the work as well as a social order that values the finished product, not only for utilitarian reasons but for its inherent contribution to human expression. ("Leisure" should not be taken as equivalent to "goofing off." It has more to do with time that does not have to be expended on issues of survival.)
If we think of the technical aspects of human existence as our "hands and feet" then the humanities are the "soul." Jesus' words about "gaining the whole world" but "losing our soul" is equally applicable to the temporal as well as the eternal perspective.
I think the current trend provides a unique opportunity for Christians. We, of all the social classes, should be resisting this over emphasis on technical, "future-job-oriented" educational objectives. We should be bearing witness to the truth that "quality of life" is not equivalent to "degree of wealth" accumulated. God gives wisdom to students of the humanities in the same way that he gives it to technical artisans and both classes exist synergistically in His Kingdom in mutual support and mutual benefit as each makes its contributions to His glory. If the world is declining in humanitarian studies then that means that fewer are getting indoctrinated in the silly theories that have dominated those disciplines in recent years. That means that Christians can have and should have a larger voice with greater impact and more influence.
God has opened a window... let's let in some fresh air. Let's encourage gifted young men and women, who have the inclination, to delve deeply in those studies. Let's make it a priority in our colleges and universities... even if we have to diminish some of the funding currently going to sports events. Remember Athens and Sparta... the future belongs to Christian Athens.
Too Soon....
Location: Lower Gunpowder Falls, State Park, Vicinity of Jerusalem, MD
Psalm 90:12 (NKJV)
12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
"Too soon old, too late smart" is one of those folksy sayings that's been around a while, which may be proof of its validity.
Seeing the few leaves that presented any brilliant color on my recent "mental health" excursion to the State Park, reminded me that leaves are most colorful just as they die. Maybe there is some kind of truth there.
What if life is intended to be its most beautiful at the very point where our physical presentation is decidely less so. Now that is not to say that there is no physical "beauty" in advanced stages of life, far from it. But it is the "beauty" of character that shines in the weathered brow of an old man or from the calm stability that shines out of an older lady's eyes, that warms our hearts. The days of virile abs and strikingly attractive feminity may be long past, but something else is now present and maybe, just perhaps, that latter "color" is even more to be appreciated than that of vigorous youth.
"Teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom" cries the Psalmist. Now, let me tell you, it takes some courage to pray that... and mean it. "Wisdom" comes with experience. Experience is what gives us a furrowed brow and creased eye lids. Every "experience" leaves its mark, whether visible or not. "Wisdom" is that which sees in those marks a coherency, a continuity of growth, an accumulation of understanding. The experiences are understood to "count" for something, ... for something in us and through us, such that our lives are valued by that perspective. This, I think, is "wisdom", and it is not learned from books though some books help.
"Wisdom" is not counter to passion... often it is the cause of it. But is does temper passion and place it in its proper harness. The great challenge of youth is to govern impulse and passion. Experience is the only possible cure and that is what is provided. One learns that "passion" provides the zeal and "understanding" the avenue for passion to be expressed. The "color" of life is then attained by the congruence of those two things... passion/zeal and understanding. The fall colors might be seen in that light.
Not every leaf achieves brilliance in the fall however. There are those which go directly from green to black, wither and die without adding to the show. It's usually some bug or disease of course, but it happens. The same can be said of some of us who grow older but apart from wisdom. The experiences are not linked in to a unity of growth... they remain, even to the end of their days, simply confused by where they are or what they have encountered. Life remains chaotic right up to the end. They never learned what it meant to "number" their days, to count each day as it is lived, to sum it up in reflection, to see its relation to what follows and, at some point, to see the hand of God in each and every one.
So... Lord... teach us to number our days... young and old alike. Alert us to the joy of life that accrues to living a "measured" life, where your hand is recognized and, even in tears, welcomed.
Posted by Gadfly on October 22, 2013 at 11:14 AM in Commentary, Culture, Movies, etc., Devotional Meditation, Discipleship | Permalink | Comments (0)
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