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Diffstat (limited to 'faith')
| -rw-r--r-- | faith/adamson-and-shakespeare.rst | 28 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | faith/disappearance-lizzy-bennet.rst | 62 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | faith/drahost_zbrane.rst | 77 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | faith/geeky_mary_bennet.rst | 143 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | faith/historical-hp.rst | 81 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | faith/kazani_slabost_sila.rst | 28 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | faith/letter-to-daniela.rst | 287 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | faith/magicians-realism.rst | 46 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | faith/namorni-slepota_review.rst | 37 |
9 files changed, 677 insertions, 112 deletions
diff --git a/faith/adamson-and-shakespeare.rst b/faith/adamson-and-shakespeare.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..191954e --- /dev/null +++ b/faith/adamson-and-shakespeare.rst @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +Peter Adamson and William Shakespeare +##################################### + +:date: 2023-07-11T10:19:50 +:status: draft +:category: faith +:tags: review, blogComment, philosophy + +(my comments on “`Patrick Gray on Shakespeare`_” by author) + + +.. _`Patrick Gray on Shakespeare`: + https://historyofphilosophy.net/shakespeare-gray + +I completely agree with other people on this comment page that +this might be well among the best episodes of the whole podcast. + +There were three main points where + +1. Artistotles’s unitites + +2. Shakespeare as a conservative Chrsitian and “studies in + negation” … why are Romeo and Juliet so stupid and how it is + sad, that we now use the play for exactly opposite it was + intended (“All you need is love” is nonsense). + +3. Our image of the ancient Rome comes from Shakespeare (and + Racin) diff --git a/faith/disappearance-lizzy-bennet.rst b/faith/disappearance-lizzy-bennet.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ed7c139 --- /dev/null +++ b/faith/disappearance-lizzy-bennet.rst @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +The Strange Disappearance of Lizzy Bennet +######################################### + +:date: 2023-07-24T16:51:33 +:category: faith +:tags: review, Austeniana, blogComment, fromReddit + +(my comments on “`The Strange Disappearance of Lizzy Bennet`_” by HelenaMira, originally +published on Reddit_) + +I really wanted to like this story. The beginning of the story +promised a good plot and I like neglectful!Mr Bennet and evil!Mrs +Bennet as a fresh alternative to otherwise generally boring canon +personalities. Mr Bennet unwillingly running all around England +looking for his daughter and scheming Mr Gardiner were both also +pleasure to observe. + +And then finally Elizabeth meets Mr Darcy and it went down the +drain. Well, not immediately, although I have to confess that +their meeting was a great disappointment. There are situations in +life, where no matter what you say and no matter what are your +actual intentions, asking a girl to marry is just shamelessly +exploiting her. A true gentleman would in such a situation +leave his feelings and hopes for himself and help the girl to +achieve safety and establish her in a safe position in the +world. Yes, Georgiana needed a governess and I am quite certain +Elizabeth could very well be one, and the situation can slowly +and naturally arise to the “Jane Eyre”-like situation of a +governess turning into the Mistress of the House (especially +after revealing that she is a daughter of a gentleman, so there +is nothing wrong with marrying her). + +Although this fortunate scene could be probably silently ignored +and pushed to the hidden wardrobe, where many fanfictions have +hidden their less fortunate parts, it was by far not all wrong +with the story. It seems to me that the author fell into that +classical shock of every other fanfiction writer that although +she hoped to write the biggest novel since Pride and Prejudice +itself, there is enough plot just for a very brief version of P&P +itself (124 713 words) or even less. But that is not enough for +the GREAT and SERIOUS novel she was writing, so the length must +be extended by endless repetition of the same three thoughts and +endlessly analysing what has been already talked to death. And +yes, the length (without any changing actual content) increased +to twice the P&P size (223,347) as yet another example that +the elimination of editors from the publishing process is an +unfortunate disaster from which the literary world won’t recover +for a long time. 220,000 words are more than Herman Melville’s +“Moby Dick” (215,839) and I have to ask you, Reader, does “The +Strange Disappearance of Lizzy Bennet” have the same amount of +plot and character development (or even deep thoughts)? It does +not. + +In the beginning, I was prepared to give an enthusiastically +positive review of the story, but I am not still at the end of +this slog, and I question my decision to start. + +.. _`The Strange Disappearance of Lizzy Bennet`: + https://meryton.com/aha/index.php?/topic/17995-the-strange-disappearance-of-lizzy-bennet-revised/ + +.. _Reddit: + https://www.reddit.com/r/JaneAustenFF/comments/155t8zc/comment/jt9hkms/ diff --git a/faith/drahost_zbrane.rst b/faith/drahost_zbrane.rst deleted file mode 100644 index 5a31f87..0000000 --- a/faith/drahost_zbrane.rst +++ /dev/null @@ -1,77 +0,0 @@ -O panu Drahošovi a ozbrojení obyvatelstva -######################################### - -:date: 2018-01-24 -:category: faith -:tags: blogComment, czech, politics, sociology, cultureWar, criminology, policing - -(komentář k `diskusi na Facebooku`_ k včerejší diskusi -prezidentských kandidátů panů Drahoše a Zemana) - -Byl jsem z té včerejší diskuse upřímně nešťastný (tedy z pěti -minut, které jsem vydržel sledovat). - -Ne, proto, že by novinář Primy byl neschopný minimální novinářské -práce a jenom se snažil přivést diváctvo co nejvíce do varu -(pokud nechtěl vyloženě nahrávat panu Zemanovi, ale snažím se -předpokládat spíše neschopnost, dokud nejsem přesvědčen o zlé -vůli). To rozhodně není moc překvapivé. Ne, proto že novinářka ze -studia přednese argumenty jenom pro jednu stranu sporu (zločinci -si nepořídí zbrojní pas na páchání zločinu). To je bohužel -vzhledem ke stavu české žurnalistiky normální. - -Ale byl jsem velmi nepříjemně překvapen, jak špatně odpověděl pan -Drahoš. Chápu, že z teorie her vychází z toho, že liberální [#]_ -voliče má jisté, a tak se snaží stavět co nejvíce směrem ke -straně voličů pana Zemana (i když ani to není úplně bezpečné, -protože liberální voliči se můžou otrávit a k volbám nejít). Ale -mám pocit, že svojí odpovědí poněkud poztrácel něco ze své -důstojnosti a cti (pokud nepodceňuji jak chemik může být -nevzdělaný ve společenských vědách). - -Nevím, jestli jsem natolik poškozen studiem kriminologie -v Americe, ale připadne mi jasné, že problém ozbrojování -společnosti není v tom, jestli ostřílení kriminálníci potřebují -k páchání násilné trestné činnosti zbrojní průkaz nebo ne. Ti -skutečně si buď zbrojní pas nějak opatří nebo se na něj vykašlou -a obstarají si zbraň nějak podloudně. - -Problém je obecně rozšíření zbraní ve společnosti. Studoval jsem -vraždy a brutálně nejvyšší procento vražd ve Spojených státech -bylo těsně po roce 2000 spácháno dvěma skupinami lidí: příbuznými -a mladistvými. Statisticky zdaleka nejpravděpodobnějším vrahem -byl manžel, který domácí násilí (nebo neschopnost řešit nějaký -domácí konflikt; manžel in flagranti) převedl do stadia vraždy. -Další výraznou skupinou byli mladiství (často v souvislosti se -zakázanými drogami), kteří nezvládli řešení konfliktu (jaké -překvapení! Mladiství nejsou schopni dobře řešit svoje -konflikty?) a skončilo to násilím. V obou těchto případech byl -samozřejmě jednoznačný faktor vedoucí k vraždě dostupnost zbraně. -Tam, kde by si čeští mladíci (nebo rozhádaní manželé) dali -v nejhorším po papuli (což je samozřejmě také odsouzeníhodné, ale -bez tak tragických následků), dostupnost zbraní vedla k tomu, že -to skončilo střelbou a smrtí. - -No a to, že jsem měl z pana Drahoše pocit, že tomuhle neodporuje -a spíše podporuje šíření zbraní (v zásadě jsem mu rozuměl, že by -chtěl odporovat Evropské unii v jejích snahách o snižování -množství zvlášť nebezpečných zbraní ve společnosti) mi připadne -dosti ubohé. - -Anebo jenom předpokládám u profesorů chemie příliš velikou -obeznámenost s problematikou? Ale on není jenom profesor chemie, -je kandidátem na nejvyšší politickou funkci. To opravdu nemá -někoho, kdo by mu tohle řekl? - -`Jakube <https://www.facebook.com/jakub.drapal>`__, předpokládám, -že k problematice střelných zbraní v Česku toho víš teď už -desetkrát tolik co já. Co ty na to, co jsem tady napsal? - -.. [#] Asi liberální ve smyslu Pražská kavárna, tedy jako lidi - spíše vzdělané, do světa otevřené, pro-evropské, oproti - skupině spíše voličů pana Zemana, které bych si dovolil - charakterizovat obecně ve velkých číslech jako méně vzdělané, - spíše soběstředné (až xenofobní), v zásadě proti-evropské. - -.. _`diskusi na Facebooku`: - https://www.facebook.com/jakub.drapal/posts/10215337423248087 diff --git a/faith/geeky_mary_bennet.rst b/faith/geeky_mary_bennet.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..30162cc --- /dev/null +++ b/faith/geeky_mary_bennet.rst @@ -0,0 +1,143 @@ +Geeky Mary Bennet +################# + +:date: 2023-06-25T18:03:43 +:category: faith +:tags: review, Austeniana, blogComment + +I have originally commented on “`Mr. Collins, a male lead??? Is +this possible?`_” by u/JenniferRAKim on That Site, but now I +think I would just leave it here as a prompt: + +.. _`Mr. Collins, a male lead??? Is this possible?`: + https://www.reddit.com/r/JaneAustenFF/comments/142qfn9/comment/jn89we8/ + +That’s one way, or of course if it leads to my preferred ship Mr +Collins/Mary Bennet (and religion taken seriously, not as an soon +to be discarded after thought). + +Something like “`Far Above Rubies`_” by Beatrice_Otter or “`Let +Her Own Works Praise Her in the Gates`_” by ChronicBookworm. + +I have in my head this scene:: + + INT. Netherfield dinning room, evening after the dinner, + small groups of people are talking, sound of general chatter in + the room. Camera wanders through the room looking at those + groups. MARY BENNET talks quietly with MR COLLINS. + Interrupted by + + MARY BENNET + (shrieking) + Mr Collins! + + MR DARCY, MR BENNET, some SOLDIERS run towards the pair + and threateningly surround them. + + MR BENNET + (threateningly) + Mary, what did he do? + + MARY BENNET + (looking excited, even perhaps a bit aroused, + face flushed, her bosom is heaving heavily) + Can you imagine? Mr Collins declared that he finds + interesting Luther’s concept of temporary existence of + the church rising up in the congregation of believers under + The Word being preached. How shocking! + + Camera slowly shows faces of people surrounding them, + completely confused and unbelieving what they hear. + +(BTW, Luther’s `concept of Church`_ is truly interesting, perhaps +not in the arousing level, but quite remarkable nevertheless). + +---- + +I don’t have a good plot, and most of the stuff have been already +written. There are two thoughts which I have, but these were +already written couple of times: + +* Elisabeth (or Mr Bennet, when Mr Collins comes for permission + to ask for her hand) suggest to Mr Collins that their marriage + is completely stupid idea, because: + + 1. there is absolutely no love from Elizabeth to him, + + 2. Elizabeth is constitutionally unfit to be a pastor’s wife + + 3. there is a third Bennet’s sister, Mary, for whom being a + pastor’s wife is actually a wet dream, and for whom visiting + sick parishioners would be the dream coming true. + + That was written by many, for example (aside from those + stories I linked before) “`If Only`_” by DesertVixen, “`The Second + Chance`_” by violet_baudelaire, or “`This is what we’ve sown`_” by + Kissed_by_Circe. + + That is however just a setup of the relationship, we could get + then to this relationship of two theology geeks (as shown in the + scene above; kind of Sheldon or Lisa Simpson meets theology), I + don’t have enough plot to make it into real story. + +* Alternative would be just opposite: yes, Mr Collins is as inept + as Miss Austen suggests he is, and all Bennets sisters unite + in one thing in their life and that is they don’t want to have + anything to do with him. In the end he is kicked away (and + marries Charlotte if you want, or marries a other random girl, + later from sexual frustration starts to visit prostitutes, gets + STD, and dies as complete wreck in the ruins of his supposedly + holy life). + + Fortunately, whole issue of entail is made moot by three + sisters marrying and two of them very well (Jane and Elisabeth) + as in the canon. In the end, nobody knows what to do with Mary + (and her parents are getting too old and sick to take care + for her), so she moves to live with Elisabeth and Mr Darcy at + Pemberley. There she meets some distant cousin (or some random + man) of Mr Darcy who is a theology student, and Amy Farrah + Fowler meets her Sheldon Cooper with geekiness abounding. With + “a little” help of Mr Darcy, the guy (now all done pastor) gets + a position of the pastor for the church in Lambton and they get + their HEA perhaps combined with happily observing the ruin of Mr + Collins, bankruptcy of completely incompetent Lady Catherine de + Bourgh etc. + + And of course, the Regency Era was also time of `William + Wilberforce`_, `Clapham Sect`_, or for the more social work + part of the Church `Sunday School Society`_. Why they cannot + participate in that and make it slightly cross-over with those + real movements? Something like that is suggested in “Let Her Own + Works Praise Her in the Gates”, but I think one could make a lot + of fun with it more. + +The End + +---- + +.. _`Far Above Rubies`: + https://archiveofourown.org/works/15181952 + +.. _`Let Her Own Works Praise Her in the Gates`: + https://archiveofourown.org/works/15122771 + +.. _`If Only`: + https://archiveofourown.org/works/20184559 + +.. _`The Second Chance`: + https://archiveofourown.org/works/1014291 + +.. _`This is what we’ve sown`: + https://archiveofourown.org/works/43535736 + +.. _`concept of Church`: + https://www.biblicaltraining.org/learn/institute/ch643-martin-luther/ch643-18-luthers-view-of-the-church + +.. _`William Wilberforce`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wilberforce + +.. _`Clapham Sect`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clapham_Sect + +.. _`Sunday School Society`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_School_Society diff --git a/faith/historical-hp.rst b/faith/historical-hp.rst index 513bd0f..99a509f 100644 --- a/faith/historical-hp.rst +++ b/faith/historical-hp.rst @@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ which is in my opinion worthy of mentioning (any additions to this list will be eagerly considered): * “`Makers of Fine Wands`_” — the first Ollivander was a student - at The Plato’s Academy, and he experiences very wild adventures + at The Plato’s Academy, and he experiences wild adventures while in Athens. Unfortunately, the story was abandoned just when it became interesting. @@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ this list will be eagerly considered): Alley feeling of the story as the Rowling’s books. Highly recommended. -* “Bloodstone_“ This is a very exceptional story. Northumbrian, +* “Bloodstone_“ This is quite an exceptional story. Northumbrian, its author, is usually quite focused on the time area in the Nineteen Years after the Battle of Hogwarts, and this is the only one that gets out of this time frame. And getting out it @@ -44,11 +44,11 @@ this list will be eagerly considered): of the story lose absolutely everything and find their new life in the Celtic (?) Brynaich (later Bernicia, later Northumbria). The only thing they save from the ruins of their previous life - is a small piece of jewellery with a beautiful (and very magical) - heliotrope or a bloodstone. Apparently, this story was meant to - be as a foundational backstory for “`James and Me`_”, but that - story was never finished enough to include the link to it fully - (the stone is just mentioned without any explanation). + is a small piece of jewellery with a beautiful (and strongly + magical) heliotrope or a bloodstone. Apparently, this story was + meant to be as a foundational backstory for “`James and Me`_”, + but that story was never finished enough to include the link to + it fully (the stone is just mentioned without any explanation). * “`Fires of Time by GHL`_” (not available any more on the original site, I have locally downloaded EPub) and “Splinters_” @@ -62,15 +62,17 @@ this list will be eagerly considered): * “`The Mistake`_” medieval monk -* “`With the Devil`_” it is surprising how few stories are - located in the era of the Salem Witch Trials, while it is - obviously very fertile land for the HP universe. This is one of - them, in the theme of “if Professor McGonagall thought that her - deliveries to Muggleborn children are complicated …” (together - with chapter 75 of “`The Accidental Animagus`_”). Nicely done, - from the point of view of the child. - -* “`The Western Front`_” very short, too soon abandoned story, +* “`With the Devil`_” (with the death of + harrypotterfanfiction.com I have only `my EPub downloaded + before`_) it is surprising how few stories are located in the + era of the Salem Witch Trials, while it is obviously fertile + land for the HP universe. This is one of them, in the theme of + “if Professor McGonagall thought that her deliveries to + Muggleborn children are complicated …” (together with chapter + 75 of “`The Accidental Animagus`_”). Nicely done, from the + point of view of the child. + +* “`The Western Front`_” short, too soon abandoned story, cross-over between HP and western. * “`Redoing it Voldemort Style`_” the person who is sent from the @@ -88,6 +90,35 @@ this list will be eagerly considered): story goes AU so heavily it doesn’t have much to do with the main storyline any more. +**{updated 2023-07-28}** + +* And this whole comment started with “`Starnlicht`_” by Marquis + Carabas, it is absolutely great story, which certainly deserves + a mention. Large story build in completely new universe of the + medieval version of the magical world, looking at it decisively + from the bottom of the society, is really great. + +* On the other hand, “`All Are His Children`_” by sheankelor is + something quite non-serious: just one of “who is The Fat Friar + about?”, this time he is actually Brother Brendan from the + “`Secret of Kells`_” film, who when he leaves Ireland wanders + around Scotland and finds a group of two wizards and two + witches renovating a castle to be a school. The biggest value + of the story is to remind HP fans to see the film. + +* “`A Wizard for Mary`_” by Jedi Buttercup is the Regency + cross-over where Mary Bennet (of “Pride and Prejudice”, but she + is an untrained witch in this story) meets Percy Weasley + (living naturally in that period, no time travel) and two + ultra-proper stiff characters find a link. Unfortunately, only + one chapter has been written and the story is just a stub of + a story. + +* “`Standing Stones, Tudor Roses, & The Thorns of Time`_” by + nightfalltwen is a story of group of HP characters (good & bad) + who end up in the Tudor times. It is a substantial story (35 + chapters, and probably abandoned) with good characterization of + living in the Renaissance time. .. _`Fics like Starnlicht?`: https://www.reddit.com/r/HPfanfiction/comments/no0bew/fics_like_starnlicht/ @@ -131,8 +162,26 @@ this list will be eagerly considered): .. _`With the Devil`: https://harrypotterfanfiction.com/viewstory.php?psid=288707 +.. _`my EPub downloaded before`: + https://mcepl.fedorapeople.org/tmp/With%20the%20Devil-hp_288707.epub + .. _`The Accidental Animagus`: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14078862 .. _`James and Me`: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8402590 + +.. _`Starnlicht`: + https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8596476/1/ + +.. _`All Are His Children`: + https://archiveofourown.org/works/4426211 + +.. _`Secret of Kells`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_of_Kells + +.. _`A Wizard for Mary`: + https://archiveofourown.org/works/39734 + +.. _`Standing Stones, Tudor Roses, & The Thorns of Time`: + https://archiveofourown.org/works/28650636 diff --git a/faith/kazani_slabost_sila.rst b/faith/kazani_slabost_sila.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..758edbd --- /dev/null +++ b/faith/kazani_slabost_sila.rst @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +V tvé slabosti se ukáže moje síla +################################# + +:date: 2023-08-27T09:30:00 +:status: draft +:category: faith +:tags: sermon, czech + +(kázání_, silně krácené pronesené ve sboru_ ČCE Praha-Braník, 27. +srpna 2023) + +.. _kázání: + https://youtu.be/ + +.. _sboru: + http://branik.evangnet.cz/ + +1. verš, který je titulem +2. nechť je Vaše starost známa Bohu +3. něco o tom, že magie je špatně + +Magie jako snaha duchovním úsilím ovlivnit fyzické bez ohledu +nebo dokonce proti Pánu Bohu. + +Křesťanské modlitby jako vystavení Bohu naší slabosti a +potřebnosti a čekání na jeho řešení. Ferrari/Ford Escort. + +.. vim: spelllang=cs diff --git a/faith/letter-to-daniela.rst b/faith/letter-to-daniela.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..301e9cc --- /dev/null +++ b/faith/letter-to-daniela.rst @@ -0,0 +1,287 @@ +Letter to Danijela on Protestants +################################# + +:date: 2023-06-18T19:19:00 +:category: faith +:tags: church, Catholic, Protestant, priesthood, + +Dear Danijela and Miljenko, + +you have asked me during the John’s birthday dinner about the +difference between Catholicism and Protestantism and I have +apparently completely misunderstood your question and bored you +with my lecture on the history of the Czech protestantism. I am +sorry about that. Let me remedy this misunderstanding by writing +this blog-post/letter. + +First of all, and most important is what we are not different in. +We all believe in the same God, Creator of the Heaven and Earth, +and all that good stuff agreed upon by the first ecumenical +councils while they were still ecumenical (i.e., including or at +least attempting to include all Christians, Greek or Latin). +Existence of God, triune nature of God, Lord Jesus Christ as both +fully God and fully Man, and all that good stuff. While most +protestant churches are unfortunately rather lax in reciting the +Credo during their Sunday services, and if they do it is usually +`Apostles’ Creed`_, we completely believe in the older +`Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed`_ (the one recited during the +Catholic mass) and other ones from that era (`Athanasian Creed`_ +and `Chalcedonian Definition`_). + +There are plenty of issues were the popular opinion believes +there is a huge gap between Catholics and Protestants, but it is +not: for example, although whole Reformation started (among other +things) with the discussion about Grace and Salvation, after +couple of centuries even the joint commission of Catholics and +Lutherans (and other Protestant groups later signed upon it as +well) was able to agree on “`Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of +Justification`_” (1999), where they agreed that difference in the +most fundamental issues about salvation (and that we all need +one) are more about stresses and importance we put on various +things, rather than in the thing itself. + +There is unfortunately often a difference between what is the +official position of each church and what one can hear in the +local parish on Sunday during the sermon (and I heard from my +Catholic friends, how often they have hard time to listen during +the sermon to what they believe is pure heresy). + +There is also even more unfortunate tendency starting with the +Reformation/Counter-Reformation struggles of the sixteenth +century to emphasize differences which are not that crucial. It +is the same as with any other conflict: I can see it in divorcing +couples how something which was completely silly before is +suddenly absolutely fundamental (all the way to proverbial way +how to push toothpaste from a tube or toilet paper roll +orientation) and “How can I live with him/her when he/she does +THIS?” In the same manner many things which were all the way +until the Reformation matter of open (and yes sometimes rather +passionate) discussion like what to think about the +deuterocanonical/apocryphal books of the Bible, relation between +the Scripture and tradition, attitude towards the Virgin Mary, or +the Sacrament of Confession, solidified and changed into crucial +tests whether you are one of US or one of THEM, a friend or +a foe. Both sides in these (and many other) issues shifted +towards the extremes and when anybody suggests that things are +not that simple, he is immediately branded as a heretic, one of +Them, or at least not serious enough about their faith. + +Do I say that there is no difference whatsoever and that all +conflicts are just matters of misunderstanding? Actually, no, +I do believe that there are differences. Yes, differences a way +less important than those big questions of salvation, nature of +God etc., but with no less (or perhaps even more) impact on our +everyday life. + +I would like to talk now about two things: + +* what’s called by Protestants ”The Universal Priesthood of All + Believers”, and + +* (related) nature of the Church + +I would use a picture of what I believe under the first point. +I am from Czechia and large part of our architecture and even +landscape was re-created after almost total destruction of the +seventeenth century in the Baroque style. I haven’t seen many +Baroque churches here in Dalmatia, but just next to the place +where our churches meets for their Sunday services stands `St. +Nicholas Church`_, often considered `one of the best +Baroque-style buildings north of Alps`_. + +Architect of the church made it to impress and to present to its +visitors whole infinite breadth and depth of God and Faith. +Baroque style and for example Baroque polyphonic music (think +Johan Sebastian Bach) are an incredibly complicated and +widely-spread to huge number of streams. That is how I often see +Catholic faith. Incredibly wide tree of branches carrying many +aspects of God’s revelation and Faith. There is whole area of the +Catholic Art and many people spent their whole life discovering +just that, there are Catholic charitable workers and social +activists, who spend their whole life investigating this +dimension of the faith, there are many others. And it is like +when you are present in St. Nicholas church or listening to Bach: +the whole thing is beyond impressive and awe inspiring, but +sometimes one has to work really hard to hear *the cantus firmus* +(the main musical theme of the polyphonic music), sometimes I am +afraid that some people lost view of the forest for the +individual trees, and it is easy to get lost in all those +subparts of the Faith. + +Protestant faith is for me like Bauhaus or modern song. It is an +effort to make things as simple as possible and yet complete. +Just one line is enough, if it is the right line, and it is that +effort to find that one line which makes modern art and +Protestant faith interesting. Jokingly, it is that discussion +between Dutch bear drinker (they have hundreds if not thousands +of different types of beer) and the Czech one: “We don’t need +hundreds of types of beer, when we have the right one.” Yes, +there are Protestant artists (actually, not that many of them at +least in the older times), of course there are Protestant social +workers and political activists (you mentioned Martin Luther King +Jr. yourself and there are many others, for example I like +William Wilberforce, who was the leading abolitionist working +towards ending slavery in the British Empire and consequently +worldwide). But for all of them the Protestant message was always +clear: yes, these are awesome things and the world around us +should recognize Christians by their love (John 13:35), then +exactly these acts of love are probably the best tools of +evangelization and turning world’s attention to Christ. However, +it should never be more important than the basic relationship +between individual Christian and His God, about the Salvation and +God’s work on the Earth. *Cantus firmus* should never be silenced +or lost in the cacophony of other sounds. + +And exactly this stress on the Christian’s relationship with God +lead Martin Luther (the original one) to discovery that “there is +only one Mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ“ +(1. Timothy 2:5) “Mediator” is roughly the same as “priest”, +somebody who stands between God and men, who prays and pleads +with God on their behalf, and in the other direction, who +presents and reflects God’s love to the world. There is no +division of labour between some kind of professional Christians +(i.e., priests) and just observing lay people. We all are called +to be priests in our ways of life (1. Peter 2:9), somebody inside +of the church, more of us in our daily way of life. As Luther +said it, a good shoemaker making good shoes which make people +comfortable and thankful glorifies God more than a lazy priest +who does a sloppy job in celebrating Eucharist. The whole +division between sacred and profane, between Sunday Christianity +and workday paganism should be abolished. Firefighter (of +course!) or a mother taking care of her children are no less holy +and no less servants of God than a priest on Sunday. Yes, Sunday +services, God’s worship, and all that is important, but not +fundamentally different from so-called laymen everyday work. We +all are called to be priests, teachers, prophets and judges: most +of us just for our family and friends (teaching our kids, +resolving conflicts in the family or among our friends, for +example), and only some of us get special training and education +for it, and they do it full time and they are pastors of our +congregations, but there is no fundamental difference between the +one of who studied to be a pastor and the one who trained to be +a shoemaker. + +And even concerning the Sunday services, our roles may be widely +different from the Catholic experience. Although in most +Protestant denominations the role of a preacher during the +service is somehow similar to the role of a priest in the +Catholic Mass, it doesn’t have to be so. Notice that in +1. Corinthians implies multiple “actors” during the service: one +preaches the word, one has a prophecy from the Holy Spirit, etc. +In John’s congregation not only anybody from believers can preach +if invited by the elders of the church (e.g., I preached multiple +times), but for example The Lord Supper (the Protestant name for +the Eucharist) is served by lay members of the congregation. + +This attitude of equality in front of the God is probably also +a foundation of the persuasion that “all men were created equal” +of the American Declaration of Independence. We all, Protestants, +Catholics, or even non-believers, have this notion of equality +(and related ideas of democracy and republicanism) so deeply +ingrained in all our current thinking, that we cannot imagine +that the world used to believe otherwise and that the division +into farmers, nobility, and priesthood is natural, unchangeable, +and inevitable. + +Also, many scholars (theologians, historians, sociologists, +economists) believe that this sanctification of everyday work +(and relative de-emphasizing importance of priests and monks) is +true beginning of the Modern Age and the end of the Middle Ages. +Celebrating of professionalism, profane work lead according to +these scholars to explosion of science, industry and all that +which lead later to Enlightenment, modern industry, science and +medicine. + +The second topic I would like to think about is **nature of the +Church**. While the previous topic of the universal priesthood of +all believers is so incredibly prevalent in all our society, that +we don’t see it much anymore, because we have hard time to +understand how anybody could think different, even just +Protestant understanding of the Church is much more complicated +and less homogeneous. + +Understanding of the idea of the Church lays in my opinion on the +wide scale of spectrum. On the hand is something I would call +“Church as an organization” and Catholic concept of the Church +(Orthodox are probably even more extreme, but I don’t know enough +about them to make some judgements) is pretty close to it, but it +is by far not the only understanding of the Church. + +On the other hand of the spectrum is for example Luther’s idea of +the Church as an event. Church is in his understanding primarily +not an organization with its internal structure, its head, but +the Church happens. Whenever believers congregate to hear the +God’s Word preached there is the Church. And all those buildings +are there only so that it doesn’t rain on them, and all those +organizations around are just to enable those events. And of +course, again, in the spirit of sanctification of profane, such +meetings are not only the Sunday services, but also at least to +some extent “whenever two or three meet in [Jesus] name”. + +Unfortunately, this Luther’s radical idea was lately mostly +abandoned by Calvin and most other Protestant thinkers, but the +general notion that the organization is just to make Church +possible is rather prevalent. When the organization is not in the +middle of our thinking about the church, many things could be +different. Suddenly it is not that important how that enabling +organization is structured, and all discussions about +episcopalian, presbyterian, congregational, and other forms of +the organization, are interesting, but centred only on the +pragmatic discussion how well these forms of organization serve +the Church. Truth to be told, there is really only a little +written about the structure of the Church in the New Testament, +and episcopal organization which later (late second and early +third century) developed for pragmatic reasons in the struggle +against various heretic movements and which mostly applied the +organizational principles of the Roman Empire on the Church (for +example the term “diocese” is not originally religious, but these +were kind of regional units of the Roman government and the +Church used the regional state structure as a template for its +own organization). Role of bishops, deacons, presbyters, and +other positions in the Church was changing during the first +centuries of the life of the Church, and the whole organizational +structured finally settled only in the fourth century. + +This all would be just an innocent theoretical discussion, and it +mostly is right now in the Protestant world (of course that in +the past there were wars lead about all these details, because +people used anything as an excuse for waging a war against their +neighbour), if not for the Catholics (and Orthodox, but their +attitude towards ecumenism is generally completely negative, so +there is a little hope of deeper relationship there). Something +which was (and should stay to be) just a minor organizational +issue was almost deified and now we can read such weird things as +that the Church is the one only as much it follows the Roman +bishop (Declaration “Dominus Iesus”, 2000, chapter 17). And the +main result of this almost-deification of the Church and the +Roman bishop is used to inflict a deep division in the Body of +Christ, and one can hear endless crowd of Catholic speakers +talking about ecumenism in the one breath with interreligious +dialogue, without regards (or perhaps intentionally) how it is +deeply offensive to all non-Catholics, because it puts us on the +same level with non-Christians. + +And of course this sectarian division is then used to exclude all +non-Catholics from participation + + +.. _`Apostles’ Creed`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles%27_Creed + +.. _`Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed#Niceno-Constantinopolitan_Creed + +.. _`Chalcedonian Definition`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalcedonian_Definition + +.. _`Athanasian Creed`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasian_Creed + +.. _`Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Declaration_on_the_Doctrine_of_Justification + +.. _`St. Nicholas Church`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Nicholas_Church_(Mal%C3%A1_Strana) + +.. _`one of the best Baroque-style buildings north of Alps`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St._Nikolaus_auf_der_Kleinseite_Innenraum_1.jpg diff --git a/faith/magicians-realism.rst b/faith/magicians-realism.rst index a3ec33e..23f83fe 100644 --- a/faith/magicians-realism.rst +++ b/faith/magicians-realism.rst @@ -68,6 +68,16 @@ mostly forgotten stories about children and their small adventures during their holidays) or Kipling’s “`Stalky & Co.`_”. +If we apply this difference between realist and romantic writing +to the literature written before Romantic era, we can emphasise +that what I call realist literature doesn’t have to be boring at +all. For example, one of the big problems of Jane Austen in the +nineteenth century was that her novels were not romantic at all, +dealing with normal problems of more or less normal people +(mostly lower gentry). It took only realist authors later in the +century (Henry James, I am told in `the Austen’s Wikipedia +article`_) to discover her qualities. + It is not only about characters and main story lines. Exceptionality is also in the characters of characters. The realist story deals with normal passions of normal people (for @@ -83,28 +93,29 @@ the least problem they are willing to care for is saving of the whole world, nothing less. It is slightly shocking talking about Harry Potter books with all -magic as the realist ones, moreover they are all about saving the -world from the potential evil overlord, true, but it is -remarkable how incredibly normal (in good sense of the word) all -characters are (with exception of Tom Riddle and Dumbledore). JKR -managed brilliantly avoid `The Problem of Peter Pevensie`_ and -the positive part of the incredibly convoluted resolution of the -story (yes, the thing about the wand ownership is pure *deus ex -machina* pulled out the author’s hat in the last few chapters of -the book) is that in the end Harry is slightly battered, +magic as the realist ones, moreover when they are all about +saving the world from the potential evil overlord, true, but it +is remarkable how incredibly normal (in good sense of the word) +all characters are (with exception of Tom Riddle and Dumbledore). +JKR managed brilliantly avoid `The Problem of Peter Pevensie`_ +and the positive part of the incredibly convoluted resolution of +the story (yes, the thing about the wand ownership is pure *deus +ex machina* pulled out the author’s hat in the last few chapters +of the book) is that in the end Harry is slightly battered, certainly more experienced, but quite distinctly seventeen year old young man, drop-out after the sixth year of Hogwarts, not a superhero. I probably cannot claim that Harry Potter books are the realist adventure stories in line with “Farewell to Arms”, “All Quiet on -the Western Front”, or even “The Good Soldier Švejk”, even -considering that they are for teenagers/young adults. However, -I would claim, that they are surprisingly closer to these than -the classical fantasy (“Conan the Barbarian”, Marvel superheroes, -but even perhaps “The Earthsea Cycle”), and that exactly not -noticing this difference makes most crossovers and all attempts -to create super!Harry doomed from the beginning. +the Western Front”, “Pride and Prejudice”, or even “The Good +Soldier Švejk”, even considering that they are for +teenagers/young adults. However, I would claim, that they are +surprisingly closer to these than the classical fantasy (“Conan +the Barbarian”, Marvel superheroes, but even perhaps “The +Earthsea Cycle”), and that exactly not noticing this difference +makes most crossovers and all attempts to create super!Harry +doomed from the beginning. The realist atmosphere of the original books is perfectly kept by Northumbrian_ or mzzbee_, and it is one of reasons why their @@ -149,6 +160,9 @@ in. .. _Kidnapped: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapped_%28novel%29 +.. _`the Austen’s Wikipedia article`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen#19th_century + .. _`History of Mr Polly`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_Mr_Polly diff --git a/faith/namorni-slepota_review.rst b/faith/namorni-slepota_review.rst index c42a065..5a868b6 100644 --- a/faith/namorni-slepota_review.rst +++ b/faith/namorni-slepota_review.rst @@ -13,15 +13,43 @@ průkopnickou událostí. Upozorňuje svoje čtenáře (zejména české, vnitrozemské) na existenci světových moří a oceánů a na jejich naprosto zásadní význam pro světové dějiny. -Mám k tomu jenom několik poznámek. +Kniha se mi velice líbí a rozhodně ji doporučuji k přečtení, mám +k ní jenom několik poznámek. Možná nejsem úplně typicky čtenář této knihy, protože jsem asi nikdy nebyl úplně nevědomý námořního rozměru světa. Chtěl bych zde zmínit s velikou vděčností jednak populárně-naučné knihy -Miloše Hubáčka [#]_ a jednak jsem velice vděčen za fantastický +Miloše Hubáčka [#]_ a také jsem velice vděčen za fantastický slovenský překlad knihy „Námorné bitky“ od polského autora -Edmunda Kosiarze [#]_ (táhnul to až do Válku o Falklandy). +Edmunda Kosiarze [#]_ (táhnul to až do Války o Falklandy). +V čem mě kniha poučila a to je její veliký přínos, protože nevím +jestli je mnoho podobných českých knih na trhu, je vysvětlení +globální ekonomiky a naprosto zásadního postavení námořního +obchodu. Evropanům vždycky udělá dobře, když jim někdo zopakuje, +jak zcela maličkatá a nepodstatná je Evropa ve srovnání se +zbytkem světa, v tomto případě zejména s Asií (jak v historii, +tak v současnosti). + +V této části leží jedna z prvních podstatných otázek, které na mě +z knihy vytanuly. Pokud byla už ve středověku asijská ekonomika +tak nepopstatelně větší nežli to, co se odehrávalo v Evropě, jak +je možné, že během několika málo desetiletí Evropské mocnosti +(a často ne ani ty největší, Portugalsko) zcela ovládly Asii a +začaly celkem bez většího odporu ovládat její gigantická území +(Indie)? Autor to vysvětluje pokročilejší technologií stavby +plachetnic (a tím znovu zdůrazňuje důležitost námořního +obchodu pro celosvětový vývoj), ale mě to vysvětlení úplně +nepřesvědčuje. Jak je možné, že ve chvíli, kdy se ukázalo, že +evropské galeony jsou mnohem lepší nežli např. čínské džunky nebo +cokoli používali tou dobou Indové, tak tato gigantická asijská +impéria (dle autora mnohem větší nežli celá Evropa) prostě +tuto technologii neukradli a neokopírovali? To opravdu nebyli +schopni unést, podplatit, přemluvit, cokoliv dostatečné množství +evropských námořníků a stavitelů lodí? Čína to v současné době +zvládá bez velkých problémů. + +Po skvělé kapitole o renesančním průniku evropských mocností do Asie a počátků evropských koloniálních impérií (v tomto bych k dalšímu studiu doporučoval, bohužel zatím nepřeložené, `přednášky Timothy Snydera`_ .. [#] `Námořní slepota`_ , N media, Praha, 2022, ISBN: 978-80-88433-10-1 @@ -38,3 +66,6 @@ Edmunda Kosiarze [#]_ (táhnul to až do Válku o Falklandy). .. _`Miloš Hubáček`: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miloš_Hubáček + +.. _`přednášky Timothy Snydera`: + https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJczLlwp-d8&list=PLh9mgdi4rNewfxO7LhBoz_1Mx1MaO6sw_&pp=iAQB |