Arquivo para a ‘Noosfera’ Categoria
Raphael and the World
24
Nov
Manuel Alegre is a contemporary Portuguese poet when he
was a military man in the then colony of Angola, he participated in the first rebellion that tried to free Angola from the yoke of his country (he was arrested by the PIDE, Salazar police), he won several awards, including the Camões Prize in 2017, he wrote “Jornada da África” in 1989, “Alma” in 1995 and “The third Rose” in 1998, between others of course, but his book that we reference here is “Raphael” (in picture used in figure of its cover).
During his period of exile after his arrest, he lived in Algiers, which is why he will refer to Rafael in the novel as someone who lived under different pseudonyms, sometimes he feels Spanish, Portuguese or Algerian, but Manuel Alegre’s deepest feeling is of a citizen of the world, nameless and looking for references.
In the Book Rafael goes from house to house, from hotel to hotel, changes his name, lets his mustache grow, wears glasses without lenses, uses a passport in hotels where he hides his citizenship and another to travel, in each new document a name and a different profession, he is clandestine within himself, he has lost his references and his own personal identity, he already is and he is not, he does not use his first name, he has four or five pseudonyms that he prefers, whether he is French, Spanish or Algerian, he is alone, not in the proper sense, as a solitary literature might wish, but as a member of an international brigade, he feels solidarity with it.
Ser e não ser has already been written by William Shapespeare, but in Manuel Alegre it acquires a contemporary meaning, the citizen of the world in solidarity with all peoples, I make here a mystical incursion, which is not in your book and which I consider important, not to be is also part of Being when we are in solidarity with other peoples, customs and cultures, and in my case without losing our own, also the name of the archangel Raphael is significant for me, in Hebrew origin El is God and Rafa is healing, so Raphael has the meaning God heals, here in the sense of a socially and culturally sick world for not recognizing other values and cultures.
I know 23 countries, 4 in Latin America, 19 in Europe, especially Spain and Italy because of my ancestry, and Portugal where I saw more clearly all the influence in Brazil, but I still feel Brazilian and today’s debut day of the national team in the World Cup around the world I will be with neighbors and friends cheering for the national team, without this meaning hatred or contempt for other peoples and cultures.
Christians and Social Crises
23
Nov
Christian values that are universal are those that promote
fraternity among men and for this they make use of their so-called theological virtues: faith, hope and charity, among them it is charity that has the greatest precedence.
Without charity, an essential aspect of those who profess religious faith in the advent of Jesus, a feast that begins next week, whose culmination is Christmas, without this charity neither the greatest altruism nor the greatest virtue can achieve the true Christian faith.
In times of crisis men not only lose fraternity, in fighting for their own survival and vision of the world, they also lose hope and with this grows not only hatred, but also intolerance, fear and division between peoples and nations.
So it is truly heroic to continue to promote charity and faith, and at different times in history it has even been necessary to go to the point of martyrdom to keep them as values, it is not just the misunderstanding of Christian values, but of all human values that come into play. game when hatred and division thrive in many ways.
Dangerous times as we remembered in the previous post can be particularly difficult.
When Christians are also attacked, this is where their true faith and values are tested, says a passage from the Gospel of Luke (Lk 12:13): “Before these things take place, you will be arrested and persecuted, you will be handed over to synagogues [false temples ] and put in prison, you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be the occasion when you will testify to your faith”, but the gospel promises divine protection.
Thus we are not immune to human difficulties and divisions, but we seek unity.
Tough times and bad prophecies
22
Nov
It is a fact that great changes and perhaps even revolutions are
underway at this time in human history, however the interpretation of false prophets is earthly and not divine, since they only look at earthly facts, is there something divine also going on?
For those who believe there is always, but what is speculated in false prophecies is the end of the world or the new coming of Jesus (Parousia), says the apocalypse through Jesus when he asks when this end time will be (Rev 2,8-9 ): Jesus answered: “Take heed that you are not deceived, because many will come in my name saying, ‘It is I!’ and again, ‘The time is at hand.’ Do not follow these people! When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be terrified. These things must happen first, but it will not be the end right away.”
Impossible clearer, but there is also something divine in the air, civil disruption has taken ethical and moral values together, even the strictest justice seems to slip through authoritarianism and tendentious arrogance, the religious also seem confused, the politicians even worse, pure radicalization blends in with authentic proposals and values of social change and appreciation for the most socially disadvantaged.
Thus, there is a picture of a civilizing crisis: market imbalances, great powers in economic, social conflicts and at war or close to it, absence of a study leader and international organizations that have confidence and credibility, everything is biased and polarized to the extreme.
In the religious field, more spiritual trends are becoming clear and others are merely political and earthly, in the Islamic world there is a lot of tension and the struggle for civil rights, in Iran there is a strong struggle for women’s rights, there are also tensions in the eastern world, in addition to the crisis in China and from North Korea, the ancestral and cultural values of the East are also in check, although the official discourse denies this, young people already question it.
In Brazil, the political polarization reaches the extreme, the elections are questioned and before taking office there are already problems in the new PT government that should start in January, new road blocks and a new wave of Covid 19 is a concern again, the perspective understanding the transition between radically opposed policies is difficult not only in the executive branch, but also in the legislative and legal branches.
To those who believe, God always acts in the extraordinary, that is, what men and earthly values do not reach, so something can be expected in the divine plan, but it is always totally different from human rationality, it is unpredictable and completely disconcerting for men, Who would have thought that Jesus was raised in a village called Nazareth, today it has 72 thousand inhabitants, in the time of Jesus less than 10 thousand.
For those who believe there is always a ray of hope, there is always a divine light feeding and clarifying human reality.
The zeal of the house consumes me
18
Nov
Any parent, boss or zealous administrator must take care of his
“home”, we can also think of the entire planet as our common home, thus not only the economy, cultures but also the environment.
This zeal should consume all of us, taking care only of personal interests is not just selfishness, it is also a form of ignorance, because personal interests depend on common ones, what do we do if there is a lack of rain and therefore a lack of water, what do we do if the environment does not help the plantations and the cost of food in a deteriorated environment, everything is a common interest influencing the individual.
It is not true that only some are responsible and others are not, so conferences like the COP27 that takes place in Egypt should be of interest to everyone, but here we want to remember a mystical body referred to in chapter 2 of the Gospel of John, where it reads (Jn 2,17): “his disciples remembered that it was written: “The zeal for your house will consume me” referring to the attitude of Jesus when he saw that the religion of his time had become a trade (similar to the present day) and Psalm 69, where verse 10 recalls this passage.
Chapter 2 of John recalls the wedding at Cana, a supernatural event, and Jesus’ fury upon seeing corruption around the temples, a natural event, so the zeal is supernatural and human at the same time.
More serious than this the problem of war, we remember in the previous post the passage in which Jesus cries when entering Jerusalem and seeing how far it is from a meeting of peoples and nations and prophesies that it would be totally divided and in permanent war, see the accuracy of this vision 2,000 years ago.
But the prophecy for our days is in the books of Revelation, although this is synonymous with catastrophes and the end of the world, the passages refer to both past and future times, the death of Jesus and his resurrection is an apocalyptic event because the great passion paschal updated the passage of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land, and anticipates the passage of humanity to a future full and fruitful life, all this before the end of time, which we do not know when it will come.
In the Easter event, when seeing Jesus on the cross suffering and watching his impotence, they mocked saying “it is not the Christ, save yourself” (Lk 23,39), the divine permission of such atrocious suffering may seem inexplicable, however, this it is the meaning of the “passage” from one state to another, in any natural or supernatural event, this occurs from a “rupture” of a change of context and some strong and catastrophic-looking event happens, so the current times are distressing , but also full of hope.
Although these are troubled times, God is not indifferent to history, and certainly this “passage” will also have his presence and interference.
The Civilization Crisis and Peace
17
Nov
The missile in Poland and the attack in Istanbul may not
be related at all, but if they are, it is the outbreak of a crisis that could lead to the third world war, because in Turkey a woman from the PKK, the Communist party Curso, was accused of planning the recent attack while the missile that fell in Poland, which is a NATO member country, may have come from a Russian base.
The process of world polarization has already been visible since the election of Trump in the United States, in 2017, the idea of America becoming great again, found a response from the current competitor China and more recently from Russia, which returns to dream of the great homeland soviet.
We posted several times about the danger of winter, because it is strategic for the war, the NATO countries and Ukraine that must resist the shortage and the high price of oil and gas, and Russia that destabilized the plants and energy sources in Ukraine to weaken it during the winter, which also affects Europe.
The desire for peace remains among men of good will, religious people of true faith, which does not exclude Eastern and Muslim religions, but the picture is increasingly worrisome and war does not only need weapons, it mainly needs fuel on the fire of current polarization that hides the true economic interests that finance even well-intentioned meetings on the planet, but with the hidden desire to divide and rule, there are great economic and market interests at stake.
Thus, peace must start from a daily attitude of hope, tolerance and fraternity, which in a climate of war becomes ever greater, more declared and involving a greater number of people.
The fruits of war and polarization for the weakest population are evident and there is no doubt that the highest price of belligerent attitudes will fall on the poorest and most vulnerable.
The arrogance, intolerance and greed for power of the greediest go beyond the limits of civility and challenge even sincere pacifists, they want to make conflict inevitable and take advantage of it.
The biblical passage where Jesus said about his desire for peace in Jerusalem (see map), symbolic until today for concentrating great conflicts, is also significant for today (Lk 19,42-44):
“If you also understood today what can bring you peace! Now, however, it is hidden from your eyes! Days will come when enemies will make trenches against you and surround you on all sides. They will crush you and your children. And they will not leave a stone upon a stone in you. Because you did not recognize the time when you were visited”.
There is no religion in belligerent desires, they are not worthy and cannot be confused with faith and true hope.
A good tree bears good fruit
16
Nov
The idea that it is necessary to disorganize to obtain a new order,
is neither revolutionary nor democratic, it is a reflection of bad doctrine and bad theories, it is necessary to maintain a serene and peaceful path so that the fruits of a healthy and balanced society can be produced.
We are far from this, but the rupture can mean an even greater evil and we know that it is not just a matter of national values, but international ones, different names are given to this: the great reset, a new world order, crisis of capitalism or socialism (both have problems) and deep down it is a process of civilizing crisis.
What is this crisis, the one that several theorists and politicians pointed out in the past, the result of totalitarian and perverse theories of power, of the fragmentation of knowledge that does not see man as a whole, but in specific aspects and [and of course of unhealthy minds that lead society down tortuous paths.
Two wars, totalitarian regimes (not forgetting the dictatorships of Franco in Spain, De Gaule in France, Mussolini and Salazar), socialist revolutions, capital crises, sacrifices of the African colonies and Islamic radicalism in the Arab world.
The scenario can prepare the greatest of decoys if we do not pay attention to the fruits of those leaders who, even proposing peace, social harmony and the defense of the environment, prepare hidden and unconfessable interests behind the scenes.
The biblical parable of the servants who are left with values to administer the goods of the owner who travels far away serves to identify the true good administrators through their fruits, says the passage after the owner praises the good administrators who have borne good fruits for the administration, says to the one who did nothing with what he was given to manage (Lk 19:22-23):
“ ‘You wicked servant, I judge you by your own mouth. You knew that I am a severe man, that I receive what I didn’t give and reap what I didn’t sow. So why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? Upon arrival, I would withdraw it with interest”, it is not difficult to identify these bad administrators.
Of course, the biblical passage speaks of the spiritual life, but the lesson of material goods is still important, bad administrators lead to impoverishment and the loss of social gains.
Apostasy, Heresies and the Future
11
Nov
Whenever an earthly power is in check, it is common to claim a
divine power that would be above the human to justify heretical or apostate attitudes.
Human beliefs are also not excluded from this analysis, believing that there are magic formulas to solve historical and cultural problems of a people is a form of heresy, as social and economic studies are not limited to this topic, there is always a dose of empiricism. .
It is even joked among economists that economics is not an exact science, but entirely empirical, it is an adventure that can lead to great misunderstandings, it is not by chance that Karl Marx studied Adam Smith and David Ricardo, the greatest economists of his time and who were conservatives and thus what does not undergo studies are nothing more than social and human beliefs and heresies.
Apostasy goes to the empirical field of religions, where there are pre-established dogmas and doctrines and in order to modernize them false religions are created and which almost always, in rare cases, fall into social and human values that have nothing or little relationship with faith.
In this week’s posts, we point out three apostasies, the human power that is confused with that of God, the financial values that are confused with the values of the one who wants to domesticate God in a specific locus, a temple or place, without considering his presence among men. , especially, those who are not in apostasies or heresies.
There is a last one related to power, common in our time, which is that of prophecies, which is a type of apostasy, Jesus when questioned said: “You do not know the hour or the day” (Mt 24:36), and even more so in a passage soon forward the parable that says that if the owner of the house went up what time the thief would come, Mt 24:43-44.
It is a fact that there are many false prophets, most of them, and there are rare and in fact authentic revelations, but we will only know at an “unexpected” hour, also in the time of Jesus, many called themselves the prophet, and John the Baptist who is the last and greatest of the prophets, said it was not him.
These are dark times and great changes, opportunists abound, but there is a true faith and hope in those who are in the true “locus” of the presence of Love among us.
Christianity and business
09
Nov
A society embodies values in its form of organization, so a
market-based society might imagine that everything is a market, including religion and politics, but it is not.
Politics must take care of the common good and religion must emphasize the spiritual aspects, it does not mean that humans do not exist, but transforming it into a commerce is to change its essence.
It is not about any specific religion or belief, all those that are commercialized end up confusing their true values with those that modern society has incorporated, business, sale and exchange, in short, values that are not those that in fact make an asceticism.
All religions are subject to this, all can turn into business, but there is nothing divine about it, its essence is just business and the ways to justify it.
Christianity is no different, there were no signs of wealth in Jesus, it is also true that he did not live an austere life, as was the case of John the Baptist, his precursor, they even said that he was a glutton and a drinker, he liked good food and left his memorial on a table (eucharist).
A biblical passage recalls that Jesus was revolted when he saw the commerce in a temple (2Cor 6,16) and made a whip of ropes to drive out “along with the sheep and the oxen; scattered the coins and overturned the tables of the money changers”, it is not by chance that these are the ones who cling to earthly power.
The best example of a disciple of Jesus and who is venerated in many religions was Francis of Assisi, son of a fabric millionaire, he decided for a humble life and full of sacrifices, and even Francis was a lover of nature and is also remembered for this.
A song by this great Christian character also says that he was a man of peace, and in the song there is a passage that says: “where there is hate, let me take love”, the world needs love.
We are approaching the end of the year, strange because it is a year of the World Cup for those who like football, but also the end of the year, that we can find peace and love again.
Theocide II: what is Christianity
08
Nov
An uprising against more conservative Christian forces has been
part of it since the beginning of Modernity, not because of the reform that was a dispute between Christian conceptions of allying themselves with power and earthly values and forgetting the word.
Theocide is the idea that we killed God, not that God died, and uprising is this futile attempt.
The first great uprising was to consider divine things among human things, and among them power, already in the biblical time of the old testament men wanted to have kings (as other peoples said) and not judges who were responsible for the Hebrew communities, and God
At the beginning of the New Testament, whose maximal word is “I am going to give you a new commandment, that you love one another” (Jn 13:34), the good news is announced to all peoples, and all peoples are called to it.
In modernity, in the field of liberalism, Christian doctrine was also undermined, many were the anticlerical movements, today the “illuminati” are remembered, which is nothing more than the enlightenment in the face of “superstitious” Christianity, the idea of creating a rational religion and earthly, which gradually took hold of Western civilization.
Christian values thus became more linked to conservatism, the conception of morality, family and nationality that survived Christian values suffocated by rationalism and the conception of the “social contract” of the state: John Locke, Adam Smith and Robespierre represent the doctrine of modernity in different fields.
The current uprising consists of destroying what was left, a remnant of conservatism that resisted the attack on original Christian values: love, solidarity and peace, those who opportunistically allied themselves with certain forms of power are also part of the uprising.
What results from this is a house turned upside down, but it is also part of a tidying of the house, the apocalyptics only see the “end of times”, but the true Christian faith sees in everything the action of God and his power , unknown to humanity and part of Christianity, its power above human and earthly mishaps, human values and powers are temporal and not eternal.
The uprisings, which are actions in the spiritual field of values, shake humanity, but it is also submitted to the divine will, in the end it prevails.
Happiness and values
04
Nov
Humanism in modernity was based on the separation between
the subject and the objects, so all human subjectivity (it includes values such as humility, compassion and tolerance, among others) is relegated to a sentimental plane and objectivity refers only to the which is material.
We post about humility, the humus from which life springs, tolerance for error from which forgiveness and change of course spring and from which the experience of each moment springs as if it were the last.
Happiness does not depend only on material things and not only psychologists who say this, doctors and some sociologists also defend the joy of living, in them there is real wisdom of life, apparently contradictory things such as happiness of the humble, of those who suffer, of those who hungers and thirsts for justice and for those who are persecuted for their beliefs and values.
In the biblical text, explaining that religion is a practice of values that “reconnects” heaven and earth, so it is not from earth to heaven (a sublimation of values) nor from heaven to earth (as the spiritualists want), but of those who know and live the religious teachings, the greatest of them, Love.
This is what the biblical passage of the so-called “beatitudes” says (Mt 5:4-6): happy are the “afflicted, for they will be comforted, … the meek, for they will possess the earth.d those who hunger and thirst for justice, because will be satisfied” among other values such as: happy those who are persecuted those who desire peace because they will be called children of God.
There is no contradiction between heaven and earth, it exists between those who are attached only to heaven (everything is on the subjective plane) or only to the earth (everything is on the plane of materiality), and the complement of the two depends on love, but also on hope and faith.
The Proclamation of the last happiness is indeed a beatitude, because few really have faith, says the passage (Mt 5,11-12) “Blessed are you, when they revile you and persecute you, and lyingly say all kinds of things. evil against you for my sake, rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”
