Monday, September 04, 2006
A Call to Grow
Recall that Keenan says that conscience is a call to grow. In his book Moral Wisdom, he quotes scripture and the works of our early christian fathers to further illustrate it.
Scripture
Keenan says that the imagery in the bible show conscience as a movement. St. Paul for instance, show this in:
Philippians 3, 13-14. "...forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Galatians 5, 7. "you were running well."
We can also recall many other stories in the Bible that clearly show one's call as a movement. Recall the magi and the star, the woman with the hemorrhage moving to touch the tassel of the cloak of Jesus, the paralytic to the roof, Zaccheus to the tree, and many others.
The Early Fathers
Keenan says that our early christian fathers take this even further. They assert that one must really try to become a better person or otherwise become worse. Here is a sampling of their works.
Gregory the Great. "Certainly in this world, the human spirit is like a boat foolishly fighting against the river's rush: one is never allowed to stay still, because unless one forges ahead, one will slide back downstream."
Bernard of Clairvaux. "To not progress on the way of Life is to regress."
St. Thomas Aquinas. "To stand on the way of the Lord is to move backwards" ΒΆ 4:28 am
Recall that Keenan says that conscience is a call to grow. In his book Moral Wisdom, he quotes scripture and the works of our early christian fathers to further illustrate it.
Scripture
Keenan says that the imagery in the bible show conscience as a movement. St. Paul for instance, show this in:
Philippians 3, 13-14. "...forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Galatians 5, 7. "you were running well."
We can also recall many other stories in the Bible that clearly show one's call as a movement. Recall the magi and the star, the woman with the hemorrhage moving to touch the tassel of the cloak of Jesus, the paralytic to the roof, Zaccheus to the tree, and many others.
The Early Fathers
Keenan says that our early christian fathers take this even further. They assert that one must really try to become a better person or otherwise become worse. Here is a sampling of their works.
Gregory the Great. "Certainly in this world, the human spirit is like a boat foolishly fighting against the river's rush: one is never allowed to stay still, because unless one forges ahead, one will slide back downstream."
Bernard of Clairvaux. "To not progress on the way of Life is to regress."
St. Thomas Aquinas. "To stand on the way of the Lord is to move backwards" ΒΆ 4:28 am
