Monthly Archives: July 2013

The Joys of Doubt

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I had a visit from Pastor Ted recently.  We have quite a congenial relationship so long as we avoid speaking of religion or politics, which is why my ire was elevated a bit when he mentioned he read in one of my posts, that I referred to myself as a skeptical seeker.  That must mean, he surmised, that I was open and susceptible to salvation; a viable candidate for recruitment to his army of the saved.

I truly hate to be drawn into a discussion of this sort since it’s become clear that neither of us has any idea what the other understands to be true in the realm of the spiritual.  I tried to explain once again that for me doubt is the most uplifting of intellectual positions I can imagine; that doubt is the only philosophical option that allows complete freedom of investigation; that doubt is a most joyous state.

Alas, I fear Pastor Ted is so convinced his beliefs are the absolute truth and that anyone who is willing can commit to his beliefs, that he is unable to accept any alternative.

Pastor Ted is an honestly good person and a good friend but I guess, as Dorothy Parker so aptly put it, you can’t teach an old dogma new tricks.

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Sacred Images

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While reading about Byzantine Icons the other day I was amazed to learn that the painter, before he is able to paint one of these Holy Images, has to transcend earthly existence and enter the heavenly realm.  Apparently such a trip will instill the painter with the knowledge necessary to render a truly sacred image.

The resulting object is, only then, understood to be a Holy Relic and a living icon.  The holy personage thus rendered is seen as emanating the light of truth.  As I viewed some of these objects many did seem to have an inner glow.

Well, I had a friend do a painting of me in the style of the icon painters.  I don’t think his work was preceded by any voyage to the Great Beyond so I suppose the resulting icon is disqualified from the realm of ‘living relic.’

As I look at the finished product I can’t quite tell if my image expresses benevolence or self-importance-maybe a bit of each.  I suppose that might very well be consistent with the attitudes of the early church patriarchs who achieved sainthood. The painting does seem to emanate a sort of inner glow.  That may be because my plastic body is a bit translucent.

I showed the painting to the Barbies and they agreed unanimously it did nothing for me whatsoever.

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Psychoanalyzing Sigmund

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Dr. Freud determined the libido controls man’s nature.  He thought the male child was engaged in a constant struggle to overcome his father in order to claim his mother and demonstrate his power in the world.  He said he figured this out because of his own attraction to his mother and jealousy of his father and if it was the case for him it must be the case for everybody.

The female child, meanwhile, was in envy of male potency as symbolized by the male genitalia. I guess he was saying we are all controlled by our physical bodies and our minds simply respond to our animal natures.

Dr. Freud must have thought about sex quite a bit; he ended up having six children.

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Intelligent Design

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LeonardD the artist doll just completed a series of artwork using only objects and materials he was able to find around the house.  He came by the other day to tell me about the work.  He said that he felt confident he could make art out of anything.  Well, I thought that was pretty interesting, so to challenge him I asked what art he could create if he were locked in a windowless room with nothing in it.  He said that he believed he could come up with something.

We talked about it awhile and decided that the artwork would need to be a tangible object that he could bring out with him when he left the room; we ruled out performance or conceptual art like John Cage’s 4’ 33” (a pianist sits at a piano in front of an audience for four minutes and thirty-three seconds without touching the keys) and the zen idea used by various artists in which blank white walls inspire a meditative immersion.

My friend said that to make something tangible from nothing sounded like something only God could do but decided to give it a try nonetheless.

I locked him in one of the empty rooms in my doll house.  He was in there quite some time.  When he emerged he held in his hand a small object of indescribable material that glowed as if lit from within.  The object clearly exhibited the creative intelligence I know my friend to have.

I was blown away.  LeonardD was uncharacteristically reticent about what occurred in the room, where the material came from and how he produced what he did.  After he left and I thought about it for a while there was only one conclusion I could draw: my friend is God.

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