bits of barth
Barth CD I/2 10:45 pm
"religion is unbelief. it is a concern, indeed we must say that it is the one great concern, of godless man"
edward tufte
Edward Tufte occupies a revered and solitary place in the world of graphic design. Over the last three decades, he has become a kind of oracle in the growing field of data visualization—the practice of taking the sprawling, messy universe of information that makes up the quantitative backbone of everyday life and turning it into an understandable story. His four books on the subject have sold almost two million copies, and in his crusade against euphemism and gloss, he casts a shadow over the world of graphs and charts similar to the specter of George Orwell over essay and argument.
Tufte is a philosopher king who reigns over his field largely because he invented it. For years, graphic designers were regarded as decorators, whose primary job was to dress up facts with pretty pictures. Tufte introduced a reverence for math and science to the discipline and, in turn, codified the rules that would create a new one, which has come to be called, alternatively, information design or analytical design. His is often the authoritative word on what makes a good chart or graph, and over the years his influence has changed the way places like the Wall Street Journal and NASA display data.
“This,” he said, “is War and Peace as told by a visual Tolstoy.” The map is about the size of a car window, and follows the French invasion of Russia in 1812. It was drawn in 1869 by a French engineer named Charles Joseph Minard. On the left of the map, on the banks of the Niemen River, near Kovno in modern-day Lithuania, a horizontal tan stripe represents the initial invasion force of 420,000 French soldiers. As they march east, toward Moscow—to the right, on the map—they begin to die, and the stripe narrows.
bits of barth
Barth CD I/2 10:47 pm
not suited for the kingdom? strong words: http://goo.gl/5Qvfz
@epaga he's complex. he asserts himself in one direction and then another, without defense or resolution. Favors proof by assertion.
"for us, and therefore against us... the work of the kindness we cannot grasp": http://goo.gl/Tf3qJ
“@epaga: @pavi would love to hear your thoughts on some of the [quotes]” for now immersing, listening... to truly hear. in time...
"It is a great affliction when our right to have our own desires & to pursue them is so radically questioned & finally taken away"
for us, & therefore...
Barth, CD 1/2 p.278
But where the Word of God is master by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, there enters in an interest or concern which does not allow any rivals, for the simple reason that in the Word of God it is always a matter of our own interest and concern. But it is our own interest and concern not as seen from our standpoint, but as seen from the opposite but beneficent standpoint of the wisdom of God, as judged by the righteousness of God, as adopted by the goodness of God. That is the work of God: the work of God upon us: for us and therefore against us: the work of the kindness which we cannot grasp, which we have outraged, which does good to us, as to those who always do evil. Where it is heard as such, there is still an active will to assert and help ourselves, to maintain and justify and advertise ourselves, but it has been fundamentally broken and its vital power destroyed... If that means humiliation, it also means comfort. If it means Law, it also means Gospel. It is a great affliction when our right to have our own desires and to pursue them is so radically questioned and finally taken away. But, of course, it is an even greater help, when the common necessity of worrying about our own situation is so radically relativised and in fact basically set aside.
"For us, and therefore against us" - so much wisdom in six words.
not suited?
Barth, CD I/2, p.277
Further, we have to note that this following is distinguished from an arbitrary action, like imitation, by the fact that it is conditioned by the call of Jesus. It is therefore a Messianic gift. The individual who decides ("Lord I would follow thee") to tread this way on his own initiative, at once proves that he is not suited for the kingdom of God (Lk. 9:61f.) Finally, the frequent inter-relating of the idea of following with the idea of self-denial ought also to prevent us from thinking that this is the kind of formation and direction which a man can undertake of himself.
Strong words.
bits of barth
Barth CD I/2 8:21 am
"God comes forward to be man's Saviour. This presupposes... that man cannot be helped in any other way"
"It is not merely that man lacks something which he ought to be or to have or to be capable of in relation to God. He lacks everything"
"The few that find this way... are those who are chosen by God and who are therefore enabled to find what the many do not find"
"Blessed are the poor in spirit... this poverty, true & saving despair, is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the work of Jesus Christ"
"this has nothing to do with a magical invasion of the interrelated totality of our psycho-psychical life by supernatural forces" huh?
"the need for God is known only by the children of God"
"our participation in [the work of God] does not depend upon our fitness for this work... It rests upon the forgiveness of sins."
"only one thing is required of us. As those who cannot do it of ourselves... we have to participate when the Word does it"
"This burden... of my own & others' sins, does not lie upon me. It lies solely and entirely upon Jesus Christ, upon the Word of God"
(2) "... completely himself and not a cast, and yet completely represents the form and the way of the master and not a caricature"
(1) "no other master has the power to subordinate another man to his direction and leadership in such a way that the latter is ..."
5 wing 4
For years now I’ve studied the Enneagram and I’ve found it enlightening. The Enneagram is a personality assessment tool, but it differs from others assessments because it doesn’t seek to tell who a person is, but rather, how a person hides who they are. There are nine personalities on the enneagram.
I’m in a unique position to have both theologically conservative and theologically liberal friends and I notice that some personalities lean toward conservatism and others toward liberalism. Personalities that need high levels of control tend to be conservative, and personalities seeking higher levels of understanding but less control over others tend to be liberal. Therefore, each personality is developing their theology based on the filter through which they see the world.
Conservatives are dutiful followers of God, while Liberals are affectionate followers of God. Conservatives tend to have a fists-up attitude toward the world, while liberals tend to have an arms out attitude toward the world. And what’s more is that liberals tend to have a more free, exploratory relationship with God and with others. One of the things that is comforting about being around a more liberal theologian is they don’t try to control you. You don’t feel shame or guilt when you talk to them.
via Donald Miller's Blog.
I don't buy it, but it's a fascinating theory.
...a five will never seek to control you where an 8 will not interact with you unless they are in control. If you want a conversation, choose a 5, if you want somebody to lead you, choose an 8.