Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Bartolomeu de Gusmao: (b. 1685, Brazil –d. 1724) Portuguese Jesuit priest, naturalist, philologist, mathematician, linguist, university professor, chaplain to King John V of Portugal.  He designed a lighter-than-air airship but it was never built.

Francesco Lana de Terzi: (b. 1631, Italy – d. 1687) Italian Jesuit priest, naturalist, mathematician, aeronautics theorist, developer of a pre-Braille reading system for the blind.  He worried that flying ships could be used for warfare.

Serzh Azati Sargsyan: (b. 1954, Nagorno-Karabakh) Third President of Armenia, first elected in 2008. Armenian Apostolic.

Ernest Jennings Ford: (b. 1919, Tennessee, USA – d. 1991; aka: “Tennessee Ernie” Ford) Country and Gospel music singer, guitarist, and violinist. His television show always ended with a hymn. He struggled with alcoholism his entire life. Country Music Hall of Fame 1991.

Hugo Chavez: (b. 1954, Venezuela – d. 2013) president of Venezuela 1999-2013, Socialist. Roman Catholic.

Burning Your Eyeballs

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/04/eye-sunburn-anderson-cooper-temporary-blindness_n_2239020.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57557493/anderson-cooper-on-temporary-blindness-cnn-shakeup/

“It turns out I have sunburned my eyeballs.  I had no idea you could do this.” Anderson Cooper.  Cooper had a case of photokeratitis, commonly called “snow blindness, ” in which ultraviolet light which reflects off snow, sand, or water painfully urns the cornea.  The damage is not permanent.  It is why snow skiers wear sunglasses.  The thing I noticed here was his statement, “I had no idea you could do this.”

The experienced Portuguese sailors should have thought to remind Cooper to wear sunglasses.or a brimmed hat or both.  Cooper was not an absolute water novice but he had never heard of the condition.  That did not stop the ultraviolet radiation from burning his eyes.  There is a legal principle: “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

The application of this occurrence for Christians is this: there are pitfalls and dangers which come as part of being a Christian.  They are there and are operative whether or not the believer is aware of them.  Also, there are pleasures and privileges which come as part of being a Christian. They, also, are there and are operative whether or not the believer is aware of them.  

It is incumbent upon experienced Christians to teach new believers these things.  And new believers need to study to learn these things.  The place where they will learn these things is in the Bible.

Biblical Sources of Phrases in Common Use: Blind As a Bat

The phrase "blind as a bat" is based on the misconception that bats are blind.  Of course, bats can see, just not very well, especially in bright light.  Bats are mentioned three times in the Bible (Leviticus 11:19, Deuteronomy 14:18, and Isaiah 2:20), but "blind as a bat" is not biblical in origin.

In Metaphysics (11.1,993a27-993b7), Aristotle (384-322 BC/BCE) said, "For as the eyes of bats are to the blaze of day, so is the reason in our soul to the things which are by nature most evident of all."

After the Cleansing of the Temple

In every well-known Bible passage there are other, sometimes many, insights "hidden in plain sight."  In the incident of Jesus' cleansing the moneychangers from the Temple, there are other things being said.

1. Jesus has the authority to define the proper use of the Temple.
2. Children are welcome into the previously all-adult world.
3. Jesus opened the Kingdom of God to everyone, including the blemished people, the lame and the blind.  This infuriated the religious leaders who insisted that it was blasphemous for blemished persons to enter the Temple.

"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

 " And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.   And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,   And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?   And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there." Matthew 21:12-17

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,   Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.   For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,   Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,   Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;   No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.   He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.   Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.   And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.  Leviticus 21:16-24

Film Comment: Daredevil

The film, Daredevil (2003), is based on a comic book series.  Daredevil is one of Marvel Comic's second-tier characters, much less well known than The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Spiderman, or the Fantastic Four.  The film includes several comic book insider references and, as do almost all Marvel films, has a cameo by the iconic comic book writer Stan Lee.  Be aware that the film, while rated PG-13, includes extreme violence and some profanity.

The superhero Daredevil is in reality blind attorney Matt Murdock.  Yes, blind.  As a child, Matt Murdock was involved in an industrial accident which destroyed his eyes but enhanced all his other senses to the point that they almost produce sensory overload.  He feels the heat of your breath; his fingers can feel the indentation in the wood produced by a pen writing on a sheet of paper on a desk;  he can sense movements in the air around him; he can hear your internal organs at work; he can identify you by your smell as you enter a room; and his enhanced sense of balance means that he has become the world's best acrobat.

By day an attorney, at night Matt becomes Daredevil, a vigilante in a form-fitting red leather suit, complete with small devil horns on his forehead.  Motivated by the murder of his boxer father, Jack "the Devil" Murdock, Matt swears to fight crime and to "seek justice, one way or another."  Matt's way is extreme violence against rapists, muggers, thieves, and other low-life scum who exist in the underbelly of the city.

The reason this film is germaine to this blog is that the film highlights the fact that Matt Murdock is, at least nominally, a Christian.  This was established as early as Daredevil #119.  Matt's Christianity was brought to the forefront by the writer Frank Miller (who, by the way, is an atheist) during his run as the book's writer and has become one of the character's most identifying aspects, playing on the conflict between his beliefs and his actions.  In Ultimate Spiderman #109, Daredevil states that he is Catholic.

Matt Murdock is a Roman Catholic and the comic books (and the film) are full of cathedrals with stone gargoyles, crosses, stained glass windows, priests, nuns, and other overtly religious images.  Matt hangs around his church and talks to his priest, but seems to avoid actual church services, though he does occasionally go to confession.  He actually believes but can't give up his quest for revenge.  He doesn't want to be a bad man, but he fears that he is a devil.

After severely beating a mob enforcer, Matt realizes he has been observed by the man's son.  He turns to the boy and says, "I'm not the bad guy, kid. ... I'm not the bad guy. ... I'm not."

Matt is stuck in the limbo in which many religious people find themselves.  He is blind, even though he thinks he can see.  People like Matt believe intellectually, perhaps even emotionally, but they are unable or unwilling to commit, unwilling to give up their favorite ways of doing things, unwilling to give control of their lives to the Lord.  They are neither hot nor cold for God, they are lukewarm.

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth"  Revelation 3:15-16

The Blind Boys of Alabama

The Blind Boys of Alabama are a legendary Gospel Music singing group who were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2007.  This audio clip is of their song, Jesus on My Mind.  The group has been active since 1939 with four Grammy Awards and a 2009 Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.