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| The Dance on the Shore, c.1900. Munch, E. |
What does it mean to live well as a human being? How does this connect to God (as Triune, as Incarnate)? How is this to be done in a plural/technologically advanced/utilitarian /nihilistic/relativistic/epicurian public square? What is unique about human life? What is freedom? Rationality? Creation and (pro)creativity? Religion? Friendship and marriage? Faith, Hope and Love? Does it make sense to ask of our origin and end? How does this relate to modern science and our individuality (our abilities, passions and projects)? Do truth, goodness and beauty have an objective claim on us? Can we make our own values? How do we make sense of evil, frailty and failure in the world?What about death and judgement, human history, resurrection and the eschaton?
Try as we may to evade or ignore these questions our lives speak our existential answers. We can be awakened to them in wonder, or acutely struck by them in loss. We are on the way- 'viators'. No matter what trajectory we take, no matter how or where we organise our lives and invest concern we are related to God, neighbour and our environment in innumerable fulfilling or disintegrating ways/'estranging modes'. Is our current course informed by thought that has been thought out, or not? (G.K.C's sobering thought) Have we lost sight of why we live as we do in the frenetic search for more efficient and productive ways of doing it, in comparison, competition, convention or whatever promises immediate 'experiential satisfaction'? Do we ever pause to examine our ultimate goals, what we are striving for? Are we enmeshed in worlds of conflicting rationales and potentially hollow values? Are we captive to patterns of thought, feeling and action that leave us more as insurgents to than rejoicers in ultimate value? How can we integrate our will, intellect, imagination and affections through love of God, neighbour and the rest of the world? What is the way to life, and 'life to the limit'?
It is the task of this blog to explore these and satellite questions thoughtfully and creatively through the lense of Christian orthodoxy (picture here the Apostles' creed, Nicea, Chalcedon and Lewis's Mere Christianity). The hope of this platform is to resonantly point toward how Jesus, 'the light of the world', brings revelation into even the most vexing and obscure regions of human life.
Along the way we are likely to shuttle between argument and explanation, illustration and exegesis. And we will make connections with alternative accounts of meaning and value, offering conciliation and critic. Why not brew a coffee and input, challenge or simply share some thoughts?!
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