Biblical Sources of Common English Language Phrases: In Your Mind’s Eye

 

 

 

I am one of the 1% to 4% of the world’s population who experience aphantasia, the complete inability to voluntarily visualize mental images. We cannot see a cat or our child’s face in our mind’s eye. We see only a blank mental screen. We do know what a cat looks like. Most people with the condition do not even realize that they have it. I was in my 70’s before I became aware of my condition.

 

Aphantasia is a condition of neurodivergence but is not considered to be a disability or disease. The condition can be congenital (from birth) or acquired after a brain injury.

 

While the condition is not normative, it does not interfere with normal activities, even the production of artworks. Persons with aphantasia may exhibit enhanced verbal skills, conceptual thought, and an enhanced and very accurate spatial memory.

 

The phrase, in my mind’s eye, sounds like it could be from the Bible, but it is not. Ephesians 1:18 speaks of the eyes of your heart and Matthew 6:22 speaks of your focused inner eye. These seem to be speaking of spiritual discernment and not of visualizing mental images.

 

The first known appearance of the phrase in the English language is seen from Geoffrey Chaucer in 1390 as the eyen of his mynde. Not until 1577 does it appear as mind’s eye. By 1620, the phrase was in common use as is shown when William Shakespeare used it in his play, Hamlet.

Are You "Picky"?

This video shows a person throwing pieces of turkey to Gemma, a pit bull. Gemma eagerly grabs the turkey out of the air before it hits the floor. When the person substitutes a broccoli floret, Gemma declares "That is not food!" We laugh at such a "picky" dog.

The Bible instructs us to be just as "picky" as Gemma. We are to use our powers of discernment. We are free under the Blood of the Lord (Romans 8:1) but not all things are useful to us and some things are positively harmful to us or to our witness. These things are to be rejected as quickly as Gemma spit out the broccoli.

Film Comment: Resources for the Christian in Deciding Which Films to Watch

I recently posted about the film, Megan Is Missing, the message of which I think you should know.  I was extremely hesitant to recommend that you watch the film because it is so intense and savage that it may actually cause psychological damage to the viewer.  Viewing this film would not have been an issue when I was a child because many Christians at that time kept themselves and their children intentionally ignorant outside of their churches. They used their churches as “shelters from the storm.”

Theirs was a “do not” religion.  They adamantly did not smoke, drink alcohol, dance, play cards or games, gamble, watch television, watch movies, read works of fiction, or any other of a long list of things.  There was also a very strong streak of anti-intellectualism.

Many Spirit-led Christians today, myself included, still reject many of the same activities as before but with a different understanding.  From a spirit of Christian freedom, they reject some things because they do not advance the cause of the Kingdom.  They pursue some other formerly rejected activities but always from a Christian worldview.  All activities are viewed through Christian glasses.

In order to have influence on the world, Christians need to be aware of the world. Paul quoted from pagan poets to make some of his doctrinal points. While showing a strong knowledge of the surrounding culture, Paul did not in any way endorse their worldview.  He used their words to advance his arguments. Paul’s attitude can be applied to Christian study in any discipline. We need Christians who have expert knowledge about Islam and other religions. We need Christians who have expert knowledge about ancient languages. We need Christians who have expert knowledge about world politics. We need Christians who have expert knowledge about child pornography and human sexual trafficking. We need Christians who have expert knowledge about modern Western popular culture. We need Christians who have expert knowledge about science and medicine. We need to be able to show the world that we are at the very least their intellectual equals, without any compromise.  We need to be able to show the world the treasure of the Gospel.

This is the attitude from which I do these film comments. Non-Christians have no understanding of the Truth but this does not mean that they have no insights. This does not mean that they have no virtue. This does not mean that they cannot produce anything beautiful. This also does not mean that we should ever compromise the Truth.

  

Below is a short list of Christian websites devoted to presenting a Christian  understanding of films and movies. These sites have several things in common. Most discuss films as a sort of pre-screening for the viewer and especially for viewers with children. Many discuss both the negative and the positive points of the films. Some of the sites rate films based on the presence or absence of God or religion, violence, sex, nudity, bad language, objectionable philosophies or worldviews, extreme political content, hidden messages, or for their suitability for viewing by children. The aim is to aid Christians in discernment about films they may watch.

Inclusion of a site in this list does not mean that I necessarily endorse all statements made on that site. Some of these sites produce screen pop-ups.

http://christiananswers.net/spotlight/

http://www.Movieguide.org/

http://www.crosswalk.com/culture/movies/

http://www.dove.org/

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/

http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/articles.php

http://www.kids-in-mind.com

http://vidangel.com/watch

http://AmericanCatholic.org/movies/

http://cbn.com/entertainment/Screen/

If a particular film becomes controversial within your church, it might be wise to choose a group of mature Christians to view the film and to give their suggestions and comments to the church.