Comments on: differences close to home

By: fresca

fresca — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:37:36 +0000

Hey, that’s so neat that I could help!
The idea came to me–big surprise–when I was listening to Beethoven and realized the music “is” the man.

Not strictly Catholic, perhaps, but not heretical. Talking about the sacraments often ends up sounding like talking about art: both trying to articulate mystery.

By: Deanna

Deanna — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:18:17 +0000

Fresca, you are tremendous at putting words on ideas. I carried that thought of yours around a while, about Jesus being present in the host the way Beethoven is in his music. Fantastic! Though it’s not the strict teaching of either the Catholics or the Orthodox, it fits so well what I think the Bible portrays. This symbolic food people eat has what Jesus was all about “in” it. You don’t know how much that thought will help me, next time I visit my daughter’s church service. Thanks!

By: fresca

fresca — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:54:51 +0000

Hm. Genres, yes, that makes sense to me. Different faith practices do seem to *parallel* (but not to equal) different literary or artistic styles. And therefore suit different personalities.

Along that line of thinking, then, it’s not that Orthodoxy = Fantasy, but that the sort of people who like to hear dragon wings overhead might be prone to like the aesthetics of Orthodox worship.

Certainly I know that the metaphysical imagination of Catholicism fits me very well (e.g. the teaching that Jesus is present in the host makes sense to me, the same way that Beethoven is in his music).

I don’t really get it when people think there’s only one way. What a narrow view that seems to me, like a god who can only write one kind of book, one style of song…

And yeah, anything humans do is going to be flawed–that’s the baseline of my thinking! We’re such silly little things.

By: Deanna

Deanna — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:00:33 +0000

I love both of your comments, because you’re free to say when you don’t get it. And I’ve come to a place with blogging (about time after nearly four years) where I *know* this space is for practice, for processing. Which is my attempt here, though it needs further work. Just like when I come out to see Tim in the morning, sporting my latest insight.

Maybe it would have helped to say Victoria and I need to evaluate what drives our different genres, rather than stories. I was thinking genre differences, as a metaphor for theological differences. Or maybe just for denominational differences, but I’ll have to ponder that. When she and I talk about our beliefs, we’re still in essence on the same page. We’re expressing differently the same basic assumption: God exists and gave us his Christ to teach and intercede for us.

Orthodox practices are more ornate and outward than what I do, but either way can express an inner reality reflecting truth. Both ways can be about the wrong thing entirely. But my assumption at this point is they’re both flawed expressions of the truth.

By: Cherie

Cherie — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:27:21 +0000

My response is similar to Fresca’s. I’d love some clarification – or maybe I just need to think harder.

By: fresca

fresca — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:23:07 +0000

Oh, I hate to say this (because I know how hard it is to pin these things down, and it’s so cool you had an insight!), but I don’t quite follow you.

Sounds like you’re saying Orthodox Church is fantastical (a made-up world whose truths are real, but only metaphorically), not realistic (like “Call of the Wild”? [smile]), but surely you don’t mean that?
Or do you?

Or do you mean to say one is more ornate (Orthodox icons) and the other more spare (words on a page)?

If you’d like to say more, I’d love to hear it.
I just wandered into theology on my blog today too, and couldn’t decide if that was a good idea or not. Sure enough, someone immediately asked, “What do you mean?”
My favorite question, yes, and yet so hard to answer, sometimes. Especially when I’m supposed to be working!