The Weight of Glory

The Weight of Glory is a compiled work of C.S. Lewis in attempt to approach copious theological controversies. The first of which, tackles the topic of the title The Weight of Glory. In this chapter Lewis manages to deconstruct the meaning of Glory in the context of a biblically informed worldview and heaven. Interestingly, what Lewis discovers is that we have been led astray in our attempt to form, construct, and construe an appropriated understanding of what a heavenly definition of glory resembles.

Lewis always manages to baffle my thoughts, yet interest and captivate my attention in his numerous analogies that progressively unfold the definition of which he hopes to clarify. Is glory directly correlated with fame, or may it be better assembled with a representation of luminosity? This is roughly what Lewis pursues to determine through critical and ardent analysis of the human understanding of glory. We are conditioned throughout our childhood to hold on to an objective goal juxtaposition with our action. Our education system for example. We are persistently cultivated in childhood education to achieve certain marks in accordance to a previously written grading scale, which measures our intelligence and our ability to learn. Inevitably, as we are forced to be held accountable against the grading system, the grading system then becomes the ultimate goal. Is this a healthy approach to education? No. The purpose of education is to learn, inspire, provoke imagination, experience, promote critical thinking, and ultimately, to encourage the aspirations of our young generations. The objectified, tangible, and immediate evidence of learn knowledge against a set mark hinders the young generations capability to do the latter. They are limited to a specific mark, which if not attained, they become despised, ruled as unintelligent, and therefore, left behind. My apologies, I did not mean for this to become a written critique on the current education system.

In continuation of this topical discussion Lewis ascribes the notion of mercenary behavior to our conditioned thinking. We're taught to seek the reward of meeting the highest marks, as opposed to being inspired to think, be critical, and imagine. Glory defined in this sense is the immediate reward, acceptance, acknowledgement and fame that is subsequent to reaching the mark. This is explicitly what glory has become in the Christian context. Humanity desirably seeks the acceptance, acknowledgment and fame among their peers. What good is it to attain such goals, aspirations, and good without people rewarding you with the gift of praise and glory. We won't explicitly say it, but we indelibly seek to be recognized. We have become mercenary for the praise and glory of our peers, when we are to be seeking the satisfaction of our God. What good is it to do good in the name of the Lord, yet be willing to take credit when people desire to praise your for it. It seems then that the "good" has been lost, the only good that remains is the previous objective action that had taken place.

Our fundamental purpose as followers of Christ should be, specifically, the longing to hear "Well done, thy good and faithful servant" at the end of the age. This is solely the greatest glory that can be attained, and this is the glory that Lewis embarks to define. The luminosity of our achievements, good works, goals, and rewards should be reflected upon the name of Jesus Christ. The definition of glory lies in the hands of the Father, not in the praise of man. It is our sinful, self-seeking, and egotistic behavior that blinds us to this reality, as we desperately hope to attain status, appreciation, and acknowledgement in a self-pleasing world.

To interject a side note, Lewis persistently advocates subjective thought throughout his exposition, and this can further be seen in his work entitled The Abolition of Man. The desire and attempt of the poet to depict meaning through the form of poetry, subjectivity, nostalgia, metaphor, allusions, abstractions and allegory unravels meaning that otherwise could not have been tapped into. It allows for the reader and listener to hear meaning within the beats of reality. Poetry breaks apart the definition of reality challenging true meaning. Our generation has become satisfied with Greek philosophy, logic, realism, and and rationalism. We are forced into this particular categorical thought, because otherwise, the world cannot relate as they continue to be satisfied by pure logic. Don't get me wrong, logical and rational systematic approaches to Theology and Philosophy are of great importance, however, we have jettisoned the reflectiveness of poetry and imagination as aids for interpretation and thinking. Our minds have become enthralled with the philosophy of the Greeks, as our imaginations have become numbed. The gift of imagination taps into new realities, unforeseen beauties, and intricacies, that otherwise logic leaves us empty-handed.

Life of Pi

Yesterday night, I finished reading the marvelous tale of The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This creative depiction and interpretation of humanities desperate attempt to live a life of meaning and purpose, reveals and provokes interesting thoughts and questions. The character of Pi is a young boy fascinated with the beauty of religion and its function within society. Pi finds it easy to relate to three of the worlds major world Religions: Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. The stories and spiritual guidance gathered and narrated by all of these faiths express to Pi something to be admired and appreciated. Before Pi begins his long journey throughout the vast ocean of the Pacific, there is a comical dialogue that takes place between Pi, his parents, and the three spiritual leaders that have guided Pi in his observance of the faiths. Each of the three spiritual leaders, along with Pi's father tried to explain to Pi the problematic inconsistencies and contradictions that these three religions held against one another. Pi, obviously very intelligent in thought, presented Ghandi's famous exploitation of religious tradition, expressing the need to appreciate all religious traditions and the goodness that it allows for humanity.

A major theme developed throughout the novel was the theme of ritual. Pi found that when he was stranded on the lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific, with only a bengal tiger to keep him company, the practice of daily rituals was what would keep him alive. It was through the daily ritualistic activities that Pi was able to attach his mind to other realities. The conscious notion that he was stranded in the middle of the ocean, in a sense, became numbed through the practice of rituals. It seems Martel is relaying the idea that we allow our daily rituals occupy our thoughts, therefore, transcending us into an alternate state of reality where we feel most comfortable. Perhaps, this allows us to no longer face true reality? This is an important theme that Martel has sewn into the threading of this philosophical work. If perhaps this is true, how do we come to cope with this reality? Is it okay? Did God intend the human mind to interact with the cosmos in such a way? Or, are we merely animals, that know nothing other than daily routines, that force our minds to encounter reality in simplistic framed lifestyle?

The conclusion to Martle's captivating novel brings you to the front of your seat in with the craving to know the value of the story. It is through the dialogue of Pi and two men that the philosophical associations with the text are met, allowing the reader to interact with the text in a much more provoking way. As Pi articulates his story to the two gentlemen, the men could not come to grips with the mythological tendency of the story that Pi presents. Although the story that Pi relays to his listeners is truth, the men do not want to accept the credibility, so they push for another story, in which Pi agreeably gives them. In his second story Pi depicts his story through the lens of humans, as opposed to the 4 animals originally inhabiting the small space of the lifeboat. Each human in the ship now represented an animal that had occupied the ship, and through this allegorical approach he again articulates his story to the reader. Although the story this time was perhaps a stretch from the truth, to Pi, it relayed another form of truth. his previous factual story, intended to tell the listener the exact accounts of what had happened on his journey, while his second story, dictated an emotional connection with the events that had taken place, that otherwise the factual story could not interpret. Therefore, both stories held s significant amount of value, which inherently was the truth of what had happened. It was up to the listeners to determine which story they could relate to the most, and further publish.

The theme of storytelling signifies another major theme. Humanities desperate desire to know truth inevitably interrupts their ability to distinguish truth. What was it these two men were searching for in their discussion with Pi? They wanted something believable. Something that they could attach their already discovered premises to, without allowing for critical analysis. What shattered the already constructed reality they had, they wanted no part of, because this would force them to rethink and rediscover everything they know. This is a scary thought and position to be in, but perhaps this also could be a healthy place to be. If we allow our minds to be complacent with the knowledge that we already have acquired, why should we study any further? Dr Camery-Hoggatt depicted reality well when he described paradigm shifts within the human mind. Once we have come to the conclusion that we are solid in our understanding of reality, something might shatter this notion of thought scattering your thoughts into an endless spiral in your transfixed mind. It is through the process of regathering these pieces of thought, and brought back together that the mind is able to interact again on a more stable level. This has been very helpful in my interpretations and study habits throughout my academic career. With Pi's original story being the truth, while firstly being revoked by the listeners, I believe Martel is relaying to his readers the need to be open to new realities. Not that we need to immediately accept them, but that we allow our minds to challenge them, interacting on an intellectual level with the new force. What is truth? What is false? Is it possible for truth to be interwoven with falsities? And even further, is this truth noteworthy when interpreting the cosmos? It is up to your open-intellect, and the ability to allow outside realities to critique and strengthen your understanding of the world. As a Christian believer, I find it greatly important that we be open to the critique of our faith. It is our desire to know God and further know the intricacies of His creation, which inherently forces us to challenge what we know. Yes, we are to be satisfied in the knowledge of Christ, but God did not create us to be a chosen followers that have become puppets. We are intricately designed beings that are allowed to discover and challenge the philosophies of this world. Is there such a text, or book, that should be established off limits to our reading? No, I understand each text to inform us of something that needs to be adhered to. If it challenges our faith, it should produces all the more desire to know and interpret the text in an educated manner. To remain distant and fearful of challenges is not what scripture preaches. If we believe what we preach, we should be educated believers is desperate desire to defend the faith, without the fear of failure. Further if your faith were to be proven infallibly false, would you not want to discover a new reality? These are all important questions that that Martel provokes within the readers mind int he conclusion of his Life of Pi.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

I am currently in Dubrovnik, Croatia and it has proven to be a beautiful place as they refer to it as the hidden gem of the Med. Sea.
Well, our previous port was Italia where we spent a total of 7 days traveling up and down the entire country. I had the chance to see the following cities: Rome, Venice, FLorence, Verona, Pompeii, and Naples. Here I took the trains up and down constantly throughout the days and night. Rome was incredible. Mzžy first shocking experience was causually walking down a road trying to figure out which street I was on and than I turn my head and look to the right and bam, there is the Colleseum right in my face. This took a bit to process. Along with the Colleseum I got to visit all of the major tourists locations thorughout Rome including Michaelangelo,s sistine Chapel, and unbelieveable sight, it is definately a breath taking experience. Well, In Rome I had the privilege of sitting in on Mass with the Pope, :) and now I can hoinestly say that I have been blessed by the Pope as he concluded his message by blessing the people sitting in. All of the cities in Italia have there own individual taste and beauty about them, but I would have to say that VErona was definately my favorite city. We hung out in Verona for the day and waiting until 3 in the morning there for a night train. It was interesting to encounter the cities night life. Familes were out til around 1:30 in the mrning just hanging out in the town square and shopping area. The Opera in there old outdoor thestre got out at midnight creating even more chaotic intriquing expereinces with the local families and there interactions in the evening. The townspeople also window shopped until 1am while eating they,re Gelato. It was cool to experience the chill and laid back culture of Verona. This was follwed by the weirdest and most obscure bus trip I have ever encourntered and dont expect to again. We get on our train at 3 welcomed by numerous kids hanging out the windows of the train. It created the effect of convicts headed to prison, a little abnormal start to our long night. We than entered the train to find out that we didn,t actually have set seats, so we had to sit on a little narrow hall, and sleep with the many others that slept along the side of the narrow hall. It proved to be quite the humble and patient needed experience. It definately helped going into it not expecting much, so throughout the train ride as I woke up from the loud shouting of the teenage boys I could only laugh of the crazy experience that I get to share with my friends and family. Definately wouldn,t change that one for anything. The city of Venice also proved to show its beauty as well as Michaelangelo,s David and Ghiberti,s Gates of Paradise in Florence. My last few days in Itlaia I spent hiking MT. Vesuvios and exploring the city of Pompeii. The city of Pompeii was incredible, but I little heartbreaking to see the plastered statues of people frozen in that catastrophic and traumatic moment in time.

Next stop, Croatia!
Here in Croatia I have had some amazing cultural experiences. I had the privilege of visiting a poor city to enjoy a night of folk dancing and dinner with the townspeople. Upon entering they hand you a little shot of something that they tell you is a cultural drink to begin an evening or to end an evening with, and this shot happened to be moonshine, nasty stuff. It sits in your chest with a burning sensation, whish they provided figs and orange peals to wash it down with. The food for the evening was exquisite and the dancing was extremely entertaining as we interacted with the townspeople. Along with the great food provided by the family they also provided the house wine made in their own Vineyard, which was definitely the best wine I have ever drank. The following days we explored the Old city walls, which were previously under attack just ten years ago. The Serbs were throwing bombs over the hill onto the city. We also got the chance to take a kayak ride around a nearby island and also snorkeled in the beautiful clear waters. Our last night here was the begining of their summer festival, so we had the privilege of seeing the town awake at night to enjoy the night in celebration with fireworks, wines, music, tradition, and dancing. Another successful port with only four more countries to go! It is flying by! Well, many more stories to come, Ill try my best to keep this updated.

Barcelona, Spain

Hola! From Barcelona!
It has been an amazing trip thus far and I'm just excited for every day to come. I had a little trouble at the beginning of the trip finding friends due to the fact that 98% of the population on the ship traveling just to get wasted and fraterinize with each other. It was a first rough few days, but than we started a bible study on the ship and I had the chance to meet some people with the same values. This was relieving except for the fact there still were no guys on the ship that I could relate to. I've been hanging out with three girls named Mollie, Kiley, and Emily. They all are great and love the Lord, but it is still kind of rough not having a guy by your side to make fun of the girls. Traveling in Barcelona has been amazing! I have got to see many of Gaudi's architectural works throughout the city including La Sagrada Familia, which was unbelieveable. He has definately become one of my favorite architects after learning about his work. Gaudi didn't believe in straight lines because God created no straight lines in his creation. Through this outlook on the world Gaudi created his own form of architecture leaving his genius behind for all to ooouu and Awe over. I also got to see the Picasso museum which was definately a trip. We have travled throughout Barcelona and have enjoyed the cafes and bars. I'd have to say the best part of Barcelona so far though has been seeing my friend kiley get water dumped on her from above the balcony after I had just walked by right in front of her. Definately set up a quite enjoyable and memorable moment as she just stood there and embraced it. We also got to watch the Spain vs. Chile game in a Restarante, which turned out to be pretty cool as Spain won the game. Tonight we are going to a Flamenco show, watching the Fountain lights, and going Salsa Dancing. It should be a pretty fun evening, but I must admit that I am pretty exhausted from all the walking around. Tomorrow is our last day here in Spain and not sure exactly what we have planned but Im excited for another day here. O, and Chocolate con Churros! Awesome! Gracias Joshua for making sure that I knew to get it. Well, more to come as I travel to Italia in the next two days. One day at a time.

Proverbs 31:8-9

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themsevles, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9

Tonight I was doing a reading in proverbs and ran across this verse. It's one of those verses that jumps out at you, with some sort of extremity to it. It's a verse that has spoken to the hearts of many over the generations, and has guided many hearts to act out in myriad ways to protect and serve the lives of those that are left voiceless. Often times we get so consumed with the desire to spoon feed the gospel to people that we often times disregard the fact that many people around the world are suffering from diseases, corrupt goverment, and many have been stripped of their humanity due to heinous acts of human-trafficing and many other cases. Don't get me wrong here I truly believe in the message of Christ impacting the lives of the masses, but as Christ followers I have come to understand that we are called to much higher standards than just the simple act of sharing the gospel in its physicality. In actuality the gospel is meant to be lived out. The gospel message is not something that should be repeated by voice of mouth, like a robot repeating what it was programmed to say, but act out what the words illuminate from the pages. If this were so, we would begin to lose sight of the simple act of sharing the gospel in a constant verbal desperation, but we would begin to see the true beauty of its nature in it being acted out as it was intended. The definition of a Christian is simply "little Christ" or further "Christ-like in nature". This is who we are called to be, Christ! We are called to be Christ for the little one suffering from a disease, beacause he or she wasn't able to get drinking water. We are called to be Christ to the widow that is left in her loneliness. We are called to be Christ to the homeless family hiding behind an alley, because the are to ashamed to show their loss. We the church are "Christ"! When are we going to stop speaking of the beauty of the gospel, and begin acting out the true nature of it. When this becomes a reality lives will be changed, people will not just here of this wonderful God, but they will see the magnificent work of his hands. This is who we were called to be, to Speak out and serve those who are in need.

Sunset

I've found myself spending the evenings this summer sitting out on the back porch enjoying the beauty in the serenity of the suset. I have found that as I approach a new day I am instantly awaiting my time alone expeiencing the peace that the sunset brings upon a working city. The sunset represents not just a period of time, or a cycle of nature, but establishes a days end bringing a feeling of peace upon the world. I feel as though time slows in the sun's appraoch to set in the day's sky. This immediate feeling experienced day to day instills within me the excitement to not only live, but enjoy the creation that God has painted into the world. God communicates with us through his creation. I believe that if we take the time to listen and watch allowing the world to slow its pace, we can have the ability to experience a piece of God's creation waiting to be heard. Just as the sunset speaks serenity into a world that has been running rampant in the chaos of the day, I know that God has many other secret beauties in which he communicates his nature and beauty to mankind.

Discipline

Today began my first day of summer, and a this I had the privilege of enjoying a cup of tea while reading "The Road Less Traveled" by Scott Peck, enjoying the comfort of my home. In the first chapter of his book Peck expresses the idea that a person that has learned to disipline him or herself through a healthy process will prove to show a healthy mental stability. The introductory sentence to this famous work of Peck is, "Life is difficult". In this statement Peck concludes that once we begin to accept that life is difficult it will allow us to further discipline ourselves into growing into a mentally healthy state of life. With life being difficult as human beings we naturally will be subjected to a myriad of suffering throughout the entirity of our lives. Some chose to ignore this suffering by avoiding even the thought of it, while the healthy way as Peck agrees is to embrace the suffering and deal with the problems that continually face our lives. This act of disciplining our minds to not avoid suffering will allow us to develop and grow psychologically and spiritually. The more we begin to avoid suffering we will further hinder our growth remaining stagnant in a state of unknowing ourselves. Through suffering is where we begin to understand and produce a healthy psychology.

Peck went on to explain that a child learns a form of discipine by the age of 10 through a proper parental guidance. A child should be taught to discipline him or herself in the simple act of doing homework before watching television. This diciplinary process taken on by parents will show trhough a child when there are no parental figures around, he or she will know that it is important to get the hard work done first so that they can enjoy the leisure time. This process bleeds into other realities as well. Take a child eating a cupcake or whatever food it may be for example. A child that has been disciplined to delay gratification will save the better half for the end, such as saving the frosting for the last few bites. As this diciplinary process correlates across many dimensions, the dicipline of delaying gratification will prove to promote a healthy developed mind in all categories including work ethic. A child that has not properly been discplined to delay gratification is the child that procrastinates until being completely stressed out. For example a patient Peck described was one who enjoyed herself at work for the first hour while leaving the next 6 hours to be subject to stress. If this patient simply disciplined herself to get the work done first, then the remaining time in the office will prove to not be so stressfull, but more often than not enjoyable.

Broken

Today I had the enjoyment of spending some time with my brother and a few guys on the floor driving around running some errands. It was an enjoyable afternoon living the carefree lifestyle of a college student. While we were out we stopped by the bank for Jon to turn in a paycheck, and as he was doing so I noticed a few kids, a girl about the age of 12 and her younger brother about the age of 6. She was holding a sign up asking for food because they were hungry and had nothing to eat. This scene quickly struck me, and to be honest I didn't know how to interpret the situation at first. We are told that parents use their kids to get money, so that they can spend the money for themselves on drugs, alcohol or whatever addiction it is they need to fulfill. This understanding of the situation didn't satisfy my heart as I began to look at the young girls face in complete humility holding up a sign pleading for food. Is it possible to be human and to still walk by these two young children simply asking for food. I had made my decision. There was no possible way that I was going to walk away not knowing if these kids were to ever recieve food from anyone. In fact, I think God made it very clear to me that I was to act.
I approached them asking them if they would like me to walk them over to the McDonalds across the street to buy them some food, and the young girl quickly responded by knodding her head. As we began walking over to McDonalds I continued to talk to them trying to get to know them as best as I could before just departing from them. However, I immediately found out that they didn't speak much English. Two young kids without the ability to commmunicate in the English language. This must have been an intimidating lifestyle for them to be living in, pleading for money from people that they can hardly even communicate with, and in this case could probably hardly trust. One thing I noticed was that the young girl was definately hesitant to be near me as we were walking over to the McDonalds. She feared me in a way that I couldn't control except to be genuine with her. I hope that in that moment that I spent with them she felt a sense of security that she had never felt before. I asked them their names: the girl responded in a mumble, so I didn't quite catch her name, however i did catch the boys name, his name was Christian. I wanted so badly to be able to communicate with these kids on a more deeper level, but unfortuantely I felt that the language barrier threw up a wall that couldn't be torn down. I hated that! However, I did get to watch their actions and the way they interacted with me and each other. As we went into the McDonalds the boy immediately ran to the happy meal display of all the toys. This was almost a breaking point for me. I realized at that point that this young boy probably hasn't had many toys that he has possesed to be his own. This grief was quickly relieved by a sense of joy knowing that I could bless this young boy in a way that he hadn;t expected. Not only would he get food to eat, but he would also get one of those happy meal toys. I than made it to the register and the girl told me she would like a number one and I told her I was going to buy her brother a happy meal. I than waited with them for the food and after I had been able to get the food and give it to them I departed saying bye, and hoping and praying with all my heart that these two kids would find something that would bring them out of this hellish life that they are living right now. I have no idea what all that entails, but everything within me breaks when I imagine the two of them out on their own, or with their family roaming the streets. This is not such a beautiful world in which we live when a young boy a of six and a young girl of 12 have to beg for a meal. I find disgust in myself and all of humanity.
One comment later significant upset me as we continued in the car. As i entered the car I was on the brink of tears knowing that i was leaving these kids to walk back to their hellish lives as I proceeded to endulge in great pleasures. As we continued drive one of the guys in the car made a comment as we drove by another Mcdonalds near a bank. He made the comment, "wouldn't it be funny if their were another teo homeless kids outside of that bank". Everything within me wanted to explode in anger at the ignorant statment that had just been made, but God quickly calmed my spirit reasurring me of its ignorance. My heart broke today. To be honest I don't even understand how i can continue to live each and everyday somehow not even thinking about the many kids that live in such conditions, and even far worse. Knowing my ignorance disgusts me. I pray that I can begin to see the world as Christ sees it, and the thoughts that come through my mind are continually that of Christ's. These people are worthing of our attention and care.

People of the Lie

Today I began reading a book title "People of the Lie" by Scott Peck. I have to admit that in preparing myself to read this book I did not expect to encounter much of an interesting topic, but this guy seemed to captivate my mind as a continued to read through page by page unable to stop. This title "People of the Lie" is referring to those people who are in essence a reflection of human evil. A biblical example of this human evil that Peck is talking about in his book is the Pharisees in the New Testament. The Pharisees had become a group of intelectual pompous religious gurus that thought they had it all together, and apart from themselves there was no one of equal stature. This sets up the perfect example for what Peck is trying to explain to his readers. In his book Peck encounters a family of four, two sons, the mother and a father. The eldest son had previously committed suicide leaving them with no evidence as to what it was that drove him to do such an act. Well, life goes on of course, but the parents didn't assume anything to be wrong with their other son, assuming that through this whole traumatic experience he'll work things out for himself just fine. With this uneducated mindset the parents found no harm in giving their other son the gun that his brother had killed himself with for Christmas. Insane,... Right? I couldn't wrap my mind around this. Well, the parents didn't have enough money to buy him an actual present for Christmas, so they thought that he might want a gun, and the gun they had was the one their other son had committed suicide with. Not much thinking there, right? Just as the author posed that he was rather uncomfortable hearing this from the kid, I found it completely insane reading it. The implicit message they were sending to their other son was that he wasn't worht much and that he could go kill himself like his brother did. Does this not cross a person's mind in the least bit?
Peck considers these parents to fall into the category or diagnosis of human evil. Peck is really pressing the point in this book that evil should be another diagnosis for mental illness, just as bipolar and obessive compulsive are. These "people of the lie" have so far lied to themselves that they believe of themselves to be good people, this would be considered narsissitic tendencies. These people are in love with themselve to the point that they don't understand self-reflection to be of any benefit, they believe themselves to have everything within them to do right and be what is needed. Although these people lack the desire within themselves to do good, they do however desire to look good to people. The essence of human evil is found directly in a persons inability to cope with their sinful nature in an attempt to escape the reality of themselves being flawed. These kind of people have ingrained so far within their being the instinct to excape guilt that they no longer can acknowledge the existence of any such feeling. Human evil lacks the ability to relate to people on an emotional level. The root of this evil is directed from a sense of pride in oneself in an act of narsissism.
I really enjoyed Peck revealing his conception of Psychological gargolyism as he puts it. Gargoyles were created in the early church to be evil creatures that warded off greater evil from entering in. In this comparison Peck expresses that often times children act out in evil ways because their parents are evil. They are simply acting out in such ways to protect themselves from their parents. This is the case with the parents of the two boys. According to society the young boy acting out needs the psycological work, but really the root of the problem lies in the parents inablity to see the flaws in themselves, creating within them the presence of evil. This evil is what triggers the boy to act in such heinous acts. Interesting idea.
Lastly, Peck finishes chapter two by expressing that there are two options that we have in life. People long to have this freedom they talk about, but really there is no true freedom as Peck explains. You must choose either to be enslaved by a higher power than your own, or furhter be enslaved by your own self. As Christ said, "you must give up your life in order to gain it".

A Heap of Broken Images

The great poet T.S. Eliot once wrote:

"What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water"
(The Wasteland, 19-24)

This second scene that Eliot creates in his first section "The Burial of the Dead" depicts a scene of unknowing, or the inability to understand truth. Eliot expresses that as humans, we "know only a heap of broken images". This idea of "broken images" deals with the incapacity of the human brain to comprehend within itself the true nature of Truth. The human mind has been corrupted in a way that created within in us the inability to truly understand Truth. Although we may see glimses of good within the world of knowledge and philosophical thought, as humans we always fall short of complete Truth. As we go about our days our mind is constantly being constructed by waht we see and hear; we only know what we see and experience. These ecperiences form understandings of the world that create premises within our being that may be truth, or may lead us astray. Eliot stresses on the idea that within human nature lies the inability to cope with truth. Eliot was a Christian, so his interpretation of the world is expressed through the lens of Adam and Eve eating of the fruit in the Garden of Eden. The fall of mankind in this sense is the premise in which Eliot develops this theme of "broken images". Eliot also weaves in the theme of there being some sort of hidden and prominent Truth that allows us to find some sort of understanding within the reality that we live.
I find it interesting looking into the world through the lens of T.S. Eliot and his notion of "broken images". I find myself constantly trying to find truth and good in every situation, and often times I come to the understanding that their is not always a right and a wrong, a definate and an indefinate truth. In every decision that I make there always seems to be good and bad woven amidst it, so what is right? This constant chaotic trance that my mind seems to have the inability to break continues to control and drive my head often times insane on a day to day basis. There is beauty woven into the things of this world that is so often times blinded by the reality of evil. Evil has corrupted our human minds so far to the point that we can't even see the true beauty and nature of the goodness of God in all His glory. This is the downfall of mankind. We can strive so hard to seek out the good in this world, and in doing so seeking the Lord, but evil will always create conflict within our fallen minds. With this knowledge at hand as humans we can begin to truly take heed of our thoughts, focusing them upon the Kingdom of God with the knowledge that everything else in perespective has no relevance. This is the only truth that we as humans can rest upon, everything else will conitnue to send our minds and hearts down a path that only hinders our ability to find Truth.