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radicaldiscipleship


 Thomas Merton - on the limits of human intelligence
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"Faith takes man beyond the limits of his own finite intelligence. It is therefore 'dark' to him, because he has no longer any facility with which to see the infinite Truth of God, which is nevertheless intimately present to his spirit in the obscurity of theological belief."

Thomas Merton, The Ascent to Truth, p. 152
Posted by AZRON at 12:10 AM - 23 Comments   Add a Comment  
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I believe man has a finite ambition that limits his own thoughts. No longer are we looking at thoughts, we are therefore contemplateing what God wants from us. I say read the Bible to ensure understanding before you take another step in life, of course that is just me.

What happens when you see the truth? God says with much knowledge comes many stripes. That scared the Hell out of me. I still do good, but I am going to burn if living is learning.

It's a shame because I wanted to walk on clouds some day.
 
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by Cuddle40 (PM , CC ) on Tuesday June 24, 2008 @ 4:31 AM




Another great post, Ron...... this makes me think of those times when I was back in Dallas and was helping my young son at his first steps towards swimming..... I would work with him at my mom's swimming pool.... at first he would love to just splash around on the steps at the shallow end..... then when he was ready, I would hold him while I taught him to kick his legs and keep his head above water.... he was afraid and expressed his fear to me of being let go and going under..... it took alot of time for him to slowly build his confidence but with each month he was more independent of me holding him in the water...... now, he is an ace swimmer....... it takes courage to invest in one's faith........ to push one's self to the potentially deep end waters...... and not spend one's whole life splashing around from the safety of the life's shallow end.

Have a great day, my friend.
 
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by Randy (PM , CC ) on Tuesday June 24, 2008 @ 7:01 AM




Cuddle40,'

I think that your thoughts are concert with what the Psalmist said and meant in Psalm 139:

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

I am so glad for God's abundant forgiveness - it is because of Him not because of me that I believe some day I will be a cloud walker

ron
 
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by AZRON (PM , CC ) on Tuesday June 24, 2008 @ 9:44 AM




Ah, Randy you have captured the essence of faith - launching ourselves away from the safety of the shallow end and moving into the deep water...

very good thoughts. I see you growing in faith more and more everyday.

keep on keeping on!

ron
 
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by AZRON (PM , CC ) on Tuesday June 24, 2008 @ 9:47 AM




Very thought provoking. Faith, the wisdom of the ages. Need to cogitate.  
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by sinann (PM , CC ) on Tuesday June 24, 2008 @ 8:33 PM




Sinann,

"Faith, the wisdom of the ages" - well said.'

Hope you are having a nice day

ron
 
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by AZRON (PM , CC ) on Tuesday June 24, 2008 @ 8:54 PM




ron,
Another great post, as usual. I've been absent due to my laptop finally died. We went shopping and decided instead of buying another lap, so we got a really nice PC.

I hope you and yours have been doing well.
 
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by Crone (PM , CC ) on Tuesday June 24, 2008 @ 9:37 PM




Crone,

Thank you for the comment.

Reading Merton and deciding what to choose to put up for all of our edification and challenge is not easy. He has so many thought-provoking ideas in his books.

So I take a stab and I am amazed how many people find what I am lead to put up on any particular day as an encouragement or a spur to think deeper about spirituality.

again, glad to see you are back up and running.

Say hi to your love

ron
 
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by AZRON (PM , CC ) on Tuesday June 24, 2008 @ 9:43 PM




The infinite truth of God is here, we only have to open our eyes. Merton's faith stepped on a path that came clear with only the next step. A step of faith, if you will.
Have a serene evening
 
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by capananda (PM , CC ) on Tuesday June 24, 2008 @ 9:50 PM




Capananda,

You have captured the secret of the spiritual journey - one step at a time.

ron
 
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by AZRON (PM , CC ) on Tuesday June 24, 2008 @ 10:34 PM




Hello AZRON, I have my tr5oubles with that statement..... but that is what makes a "real" relationship....the ability to agree to disagree. To me Faith is the antithesis of reason. That how I arrived at my new law of nature- The law of infinite possibilities, that which can happen is gaurenteed to happen. Anything that has even the most miniscule chance of taking place, will take place because there will be an infinite no. of possabilities for it to happen. we just cant say when....  
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by illumination guy's (PM , CC ) on Wednesday June 25, 2008 @ 10:56 PM




Guy,

It is often assumed that faith and reason are antithesis of each other. This position would suggest that if something is reasonable, then it isn't faith. Others would argue that our faith is reasonable - which is Merton's perspective. Merton would say that faith is not anti-rational; faith is actually reasonable and built on a reasonable foundation.

I must say that it is late here as I am answering this so please excuse me for not being able to give more insight than what I have written. Feel free to comment and I will come back again.

ron
 
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by AZRON (PM , CC ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @ 1:15 AM




hey RON as always good to see your post. I do not know a lot but a few things i have learned about faith, is true faith can bring about such great things in our life. IT is the only way we can please God Hebrews 11:6 but with out faith it is impossible to please him. and people run around pulling there hair out wondering how true Christians can say they can have a true relationship with God and it's all because our faith take us to him and he receive us and faith keeps on leading us to him time and time again. real faith has changed peoples live all through the ages and will keep on changing lives. i hope your day is going well have a great one  
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by word of hope (PM , CC ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @ 6:30 PM




Good afternoon AZRON, Please understand that it is in no way my intention to beliitle or down play your beliefs. Quite the contrary I have a great deal of respect for anyone who has strong faith beliefs no matter what the ideology, as long as it is recipricated in both the individual(YOU) and the doctrine of that ideology. Were the problem begins(actually began as soon as man had choices in religion)is when that ideology has the doctrine that you must go forth and preach, preach to them and convert them and if you can't convert them kill them! That is one of the reasons we are in the mess we are today. I have very strong beliefs and I go fourth each day to give what ever I posses that can be of benifit to another human being. If I could live a life that, when I die they will put "He gave more than he took" on my headstone(actually not going that burial process- but you get my point) If you have a little extra time I have a post called Life is an adverb, its ment to be lived. That I put a poem that sums up how I live and not that I pressure anyone but if we all read that each day before we left to go out into the world........ As J Lennon sang "Imagine" the poem is called Deserata by max Abrahm  
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by illumination guy's (PM , CC ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @ 7:26 PM




WOH,

Faith is the foundation of all of life. Think how much faith you use everyday just waking up and driving to work, or school, or to visit a friend. I just saw a guy this afternoon blow through a red light - fortunately there was no traffic in the intersection.

I think people underestimate how often faith is involved in their lives.

thanks for commenting.

ron
 
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by AZRON (PM , CC ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @ 11:15 PM




ron,
Stop over to my place and offer up some support, and also tell June, as Shadow really likes and cares for the both of you.
 
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by Crone (PM , CC ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @ 11:21 PM




Ron

Just thinking of you and stopping by to say hi

Have a great day tomorrow and make someone smile - God bless
 
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by Lookin' (PM , CC ) on Friday June 27, 2008 @ 12:22 AM




Crone, I will do so - thanks for the tip. I have been overwhelmed taking care of the house and work with June gone for two weeks.

ron
 
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by AZRON (PM , CC ) on Friday June 27, 2008 @ 9:38 AM




Lookin'

Thanks for the kind thoughts - I have been taking care of the house and working a lot of hours and so have not been around much - as June was gone two weeks - hopefully will be home tomorrow

ron
 
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by AZRON (PM , CC ) on Friday June 27, 2008 @ 9:40 AM




It is not only a matter of opening up your eyes, but of opening up your soul to the infinite love of God.
n.
 
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by n. lynn (PM , CC ) on Sunday June 29, 2008 @ 9:40 AM




It is not only a matter of opening up your eyes, but of opening up your soul to the infinite love of God.
n.
 
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by n. lynn (PM , CC ) on Sunday June 29, 2008 @ 9:43 AM




n. lynn,

Ah, yes, opening the soul - do you think this is a lost art today? I see people lost in their cyberworld or in their entertainment life - taking little time to nurture their souls.

thanks for the observation - I agree with you

ron
 
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by AZRON (PM , CC ) on Sunday June 29, 2008 @ 10:06 AM




n. lynn,

Ah, yes, opening the soul - do you think this is a lost art today? I see people lost in their cyberworld or in their entertainment life - taking little time to nurture their souls.

thanks for the observation - I agree with you

ron
 
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by AZRON (PM , CC ) on Sunday June 29, 2008 @ 10:11 AM


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
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