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dustydahlin · 4 years ago

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Women in God's Economy - James 1:27

Subject: A look at the special role of women in God's economy.

Women, in God's economy, are highly esteemed. Throughout history, God has utilized women in some of the most profound and significant ways! God had ordained that it would be through the loving care and concern of a woman that Moses would be rescued – resulting in the deliverance of the Hebrews from their Egyptian captivity (Ex. 2:5-6). It was a strong woman (Deborah) whom God would anoint with the Holy Spirit as a prophetess and judge to shepherd and lead Israel in a time of crisis (Judges 4:4-5). It was through the heartfelt prayers of a woman (Hannah) that God gave Israel one of their most significant prophets (Samuel) (1 Sam. 1:9-17). It was through a prophetess (Isaiah 8:3) that the Lord would give one of the greatest messianic signs in the entire Bible (Isaiah 7:14; 8:3, 18; 9:6-7). It was through a woman of great faith (Mary) that the Lord would give birth to Jesus Christ – The most significant moment in God's redemptive plan (second only to the resurrection of Jesus) (Luke 1:26-38). It was through an incredibly devote woman and prophetess named Anna that God would issue one of the earliest declarations of Jesus' messiahship (Luke 2:36-38). It was through a wealthy businesswoman named Lydia that God would choose to plant and shepherd the first church in Philippi - the first church outside Asia Minor (Acts 16:13-15, 40).

But it does not stop there! Within God's kingdom, God ordained that both men and women bare the image of God – the imago Dei. Genesis 1:26-28 declares:

"Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'

So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it'" (NIV).

This little passage holds incredible significance. It not only demonstrates God's desire for his image-bearers to fill the earth with his image and likeness with the intent of bringing glory to God across the earth. But it also shows the unified effort of the community in bearing the image of God.

It is no coincidence that God's image and likeness are born in both "male and female." The Genesis account makes clear that the completeness of God's image is found in both male and female. It is the totality of God's community – the confluence of men and women – which shows the glorious entirety of God's image and likeness. The combination of attributes that make men and women unique are the elements that holistically comprise the image and likeness of God. In other words, the natural qualities of men (the drive to conquer, dominate, earn respect, etc...) and the natural qualities of women (the drive to care, nurture, maternally raise, etc...) together grant the whole picture of God's image and likeness. Neither men by themselves, nor women by themselves can represent the entirety of God's image and likeness. It is only through community that God's greatness can be fully seen.

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That being said, God created women to represent the more beautiful attributes of himself. Everything that represents God's care, maternal concern, gentleness, and undying love is present in women. Without you, the full majesty and beauty of God would not be seen on earth nor represented to the unbelieving world. It was all within God's grand design to create "mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Within God's economy, women are highly esteemed and greatly valued. If this wasn't the case, he never would have created you in his image and likeness to bear his beauty on earth!

Guess what! It doesn't stop there! I want to highlight one more detail of significance regarding women within the economy of God.

True Religion (James 1:27)

In James 1:27, we are given an inspired description of what true, or pure, religion is. James states, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." In this incredible passage, God is setting up a picture of what is true religion. This picture of pure religion is set in a remarkable and challenging contrast.

Beginning in verse 22, James begins to paint the picture of what is pure religion. Of course, he starts by stating what it is not; he states how it is not found in hearing only. He illustrates how investigating, scanning, or searching scripture that leads only to hearing God's Word is useless.

God then goes on to shows us how hearing the Word of God is useless unless it produces action. We need to be both hearers and doers of God's Word. This is true, God-honoring religion. All-day long we can investigate Scripture, but, if we do no act upon what is written therein, our religion is useless and we deceive ourselves into thinking we participate in something that honor's God.

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"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing" (1:22-25).

This picture of pure religion, then, comes to its final portrait in verse 27 where we are instructed to "visit" the orphan and the widow. James sets up the comparison in his usage of the word visit (ἐπισκέπτεσθαι - episkeptomai). Fascinatingly, this Greek work holds two implications: 1) it maintains the idea of investigating, looking upon, examining with the eyes, and to look with intent upon something (much like the image of the man looking intently into the mirror in verse 23-24). Secondly, 2) it is Hebraic terminology for "looking upon in order to help or to benefit, [and is] equivalent to look after, have a care for, provide for" (Thayer's Lexicon). This can be witnessed in the Septuagint's rendering of Gen. 21:1 and Exodus 4:31. And it is further reinforced in Psalm 10:14, where God is described as looking intently upon the needs of the widow and the orphan.

James thusly, in describing true religion, makes a comparison between examination and investigation which leads to action. The comparison is clearly set between the individual who intently examines and searches scripture and is moved to action WITH the individual who examines and searches out the needs of the afflicted so as to act on their behalf.

This ultimately offers the principle of caring for, and loving, those who are afflicted. We have given to us from this scripture that God-honoring religion is the one that seeks out, examines lives, and investigates one's immediate context to identify those who need tender care and loving action. This is the principle we see from James: we are to intently examine our surroundings to see those to whom we can care for and love. We are to actively love our neighbor, after diligently looking for an opportunity to act!

Moms – the picture of true religion!

The picture that is being painted here is this: true, Christ-honoring religion is like a mother scanning and examining her household to see how she can attend to the children who need her love and care! James paints the picture of Christianity as being one of action on behalf of the weak and needy. What could be a more appropriate picture of the greatest commandment in Christianity than the love of a mother for those in her home!

Moms you are a living parable! You are a visual demonstration of God's desire for the church. God chose to use the natural instincts and inherent maternal care for raising their children as one of the greatest pictures of what Christianity should look like. According to this, women, mothers specifically, are used by God as a kingdom of example for how Christians should live.

This concept is not only found here, in James. It is also demonstrated through the life of the Apostle Paul.

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1 Thess. 2:7-8, "But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us" (ESV).

Paul describes how he patterned his actions after the care of a mother for her children. Paul, being obedient to Jesus' instruction to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:39), followed this kingdom principle of gentle self-giving, nurture, and maternal protection. Paul seemed to know how one of the greatest ways to raise the infant church in Thessalonica was to proverbially imitate the love of a mother.

Jesus also demonstrated this concept.

Following some of the hardest words to ever leave his lips, Jesus stated, "How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing" (Matt. 23:37). Jesus, revealing the heart of God, declares his desire for Jerusalem. His heart's cry was to gather Israel, like a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings. He came in the fullness of time to gather his people to himself, just a mother would gather her scattered children.

Jesus followed the principle of pure religion as found in James 1. He knew what it meant to carefully scan your household and seek out those who needed loving care and nurturing. He, like a mother hen, examined the lost house of Israel. He, in his omniscience, found those who needed his love, and so he came to restore and heal the spiritually broken.

Conclusion:

Mothers: Every diaper you have changed. Every tear you have daubed. Every boo-boo you have kissed. Every sleepless night spent attending to a sick child. Every time you have scanned and examined your house to meet the needs of those in your care. You have painted a glorious and beautiful picture of how God's people are to love and care for their own.

You are a beautiful image bearer!

You have a place in God's redemptive plan for mankind.

You are a living example of the true religion that God intended for Christianity.

#Women #christianwomen #women in the church #women in the bible #mothership

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demospectator · 4 years ago

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“7377 Chinese Primary School, three classes. 916 Clay St. Miss Rose Thayer, Principal. 1895. Photograph by Isaiah West Taber (from the collections of the California State Library and the Bancroft Library, Roy D. Graves pictorial collection San Francisco Views prior to 1906).

Separate But Hardly Equal

San Francisco segregated its Chinese school children from 1859 until 1871, when the city refused to fund any more classes for them. (In 1870, the California Political Code was rewritten to drop the requirement to provide any education for Chinese children, limiting the segregated separate but equal schools to “children of African descent, and Indian children.” San Francisco Superintendent Denman cut funding from the Chinese School, which closed on March 1, 1871.)

“Excluded entirely from access to California’s system of public education, the Chinese watched from the racial margins as black Californians fought their battle over the Broadway school. The decision in Ward v. Flood clearly held out the promise of access to public education for black Californians, and so too, perhaps, for Chinese. When, in 1875, San Francisco opened its schools to black children, the Chinese may have had reason to hope for similar treatment. But first the state laws that blocked their access would have to be challenged.

“As a first step, California’s Chinese relied on the traditional method of petition. In 1877, thirteen hundred Chinese residents, including many of the “principle Chinese Merchants of San Francisco, Sacramento &c.,” sent a petition to the State Legislature asking for ‘the establishment of separate schools for Chinese children.’ …

“In their petition, the Chinese presented themselves as honest, hardworking members of California society whose labors contributed a great deal to the wealth of the state. They complained that while they had contributed more than $42,000 in taxes specifically for the support of public schools, they had received no benefit in return. ‘This money,’ they wrote, ‘has been used for the support of Schools for the education of the children of negroes and white people, many of the latter being foreigners from European countries, while our youth have been excluded from any participation in the benefit. This we hold to be unjust.’ They asked that the school law be changed to allow the three thousand Chinese children between the ages of five and seventeen then in California the same opportunities as ‘the children of other foreigners.’ … ”

From: Bottoms, D. Michael (2013). “3 ‘The Most Satanic Hate’: Racial Segregation and Reconstruction in California Schools". An Aristocracy of Color: Race and Reconstruction in California and the West, 1850–1890. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-4335-4.

In 1879, the new California constitution allowed local governments to either force Chinese people out or designate specific zones for them (a rule that would be overturned in 1890). Chinese San Franciscans avoided the exclusion of their children from public school in the landmark decision of Tape v. Hurley 66 Cal. 473 (1885) by the California Supreme Court. In the aftermath of the partial legal victory by the Tape family, San Francisco Superintendent of Schools, Andrew J. Moulder, urged the California state assembly to pass new state legislation and enable the establishment of segregated schools under the separate but equal doctrine.

Joseph, Emily, Mamie, Frank & Mary Tape, c. 1884–85. Photographer unknown. In response to the denial of Mamie Tape’s admission to Spring Valley School due to her ancestry in 1885, Joseph Tape filed a lawsuit on behalf of his daughter to force the San Francisco Board of Education to allow his daughter to attend the public school near the family’s home.

The court’s decision, however, failed to prohibit the state from establishing "separate schools for children of Mongolian or Chinese descent, which occurred in March of 1885 with the passage of AB 268. The legislation gave the San Francisco school board the authority to establish the Chinese Primary School in San Francisco.

“Chinese Primary Public School, San Francisco, California” no date. Photographer unknown, publisher Edward M. Mitchell, San Francisco (from the collection of Wong Yuen-Ming).

Initially located in Chinatown at the corner of Jackson and Stone streets, increased student numbers compelled the school to be moved to 916 Clay Street between Stockton and Powell streets by the Fall of 1891, as indicated in a news report of that year about school board corruption:

“Chinese Public School Children -- about 1890.” Copy of a photograph “7300 Chinese Public School Children, San Francisco, Cal.” by Isaiah West Taber (from the collections of the California Historical Society and the Bancroft Library).

Complaints about overcrowding induced Andrew F. Hyde, the school board president, to propose relocating the school to the basement of the vacant Commercial High School building on Powell Street near Clay. (Commercial High School had been created in 1886 to prepare young people for future endeavors.)

By 1892, numerous repairs were made to Commercial High’s building, but the board deemed it unsafe. Teaching operations moved elsewhere while the building was still used for board meetings. During the same year, the board rejected a proposal to relocate the Chinese School to the building's basement. In 1894, Hyde reintroduced the proposal with the majority of the school board's support. However, and as Professor Joseph O. Jewell, recounted in his 2017 paper, Powell Street property owners protested for a month against the plan. During the protests, property owners, journalists, and opposing board members framed both “social and spatial mobility” among the Chinese as threats to the middle-class white community. The protesters argued that the Chinese school jeopardized property values causing financial losses and downgraded the neighborhood's class identity due to the visible presence of Chinese.

The land use controversy of 1894, and white resistance to the intrusion of Americanized and other upwardly mobile Chinese onto Powell Street adds poignancy to the appearance by the Chinese Primary student body for the Midwinter Fair of 1894 in Golden Gate Park, which was photographed by Isaiah West Taber.

“9605. Chinese Children, California Midwinter Exposition” 1894. Photograph by Isaiah West Taber. Students from the Chinese Public School prepare to march with some of their fathers during “Chinese Day” at the 1894 Midwinter fair in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Their participation in the fair’s festivities occurred against the backdrop of white neighbors’ resistance to the relocation of their school to Powell Street, one block up Nob Hill. The resistance would eerily replicate itself 80 years later when Nob Hill residents opposed the construction of the Mei Lun Yuen senior housing project at Sacramento and Stockton Streets.

“Chinese Day at Midwinter Fair 8484″ 1894. Photograph by Isaiah West Taber. The contingent from the Chinese Public School marched with other Chinese parade participants in Golden Gate Park for the exposition. Students from the Chinese Public School march during the 1894 Midwinter fair in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Some historians have viewed the deployment of native-born children and other initiatives by the Chinese community to participate in larger city events as part of a deliberate civic engagement strategy to reassure the public and alleviate concerns about the Chinese.

Thwarted in its attempt to move, the school remained at 916 Clay. By 1895, it had three classes with an enrollment of 90 students.

The building at 916 Clay was destroyed in the April 1906 earthquake and subsequent fire. In the aftermath of the disaster, the school board erected a temporary building at Joice and Clay streets to continue educational operations.

Oriental Public School building. Fairmont Hotel behind under reconstruction. Open rubble from earthquake, c. 1906. Photographer unknown (Marilyn Blaisdell Collection / courtesy of a private collector)

While the city lay in ruins in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake, the school board passed a policy on October 11 restricting children of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean ancestry to the “Oriental” School.” When, in the same year, the Board of Education decided against the Aoki family who protested the refusal by the principal of Redding Elementary School to enroll their 10 year-old child, the Japanese government lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Ambassador to Japan that this was a violation of the 1894 U.S.-Japan Treaty of Commerce and Navigation that established a non-discrimination policy for Japanese immigrants to the U.S.

The actions of San Francisco’s local bigots led to a diplomatic crisis in which President Theodore Roosevelt, summoned the San Francisco mayor and Board of Education to the White House, to urge officials to allow the integration of Japanese students into white schools; the resulting compromise was the 1907 “Gentlemen’s Agreement” in which Japan voluntarily imposed immigration restrictions and the San Francisco school board allowed children of Japanese ancestry to attend normal schools.

View south across Clay between Powell and Joice streets toward old buildings of the Oriental Public School [dpwbook13 dpw2617], October 7, 1915. Photograph by DPW Horace Chaffee (SF Department of Public Works/courtesy of a private collector)

Chinese boys and girls observe flag-raising at the Oriental Public School on the south side of Clay Street below Powell, pre-1915. Photographer unknown.

The view southeast to New Oriental School Washington bet Powell / Stockton [dpwbook13 dpw2618], October 7, 1915. Photograph by DPW Horace Chaffee (SF Department of Public Works/curtesy of a private collector).

The permanent site for the Oriental School would be completed across Clay Street in 1915 with an entrance on Washington, between Stockton and Powell Streets. It was renamed in 1924 to Commodore Stockton School (my father’s alma mater). Renamed again in 1998 for the first elected Chinese member of the Board of Supervisors, Gordon J. Lau Elementary School continues to serve the children of Chinatown.

[updated 2024-1-7]

#Chinese Primary School #Oriental Public School #Chinese Public School #Commodore Stockton School #Gordon J. Lau elementary #Tape v. Hurley

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ill-will-editions · 5 years ago

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SQUIRRELS ON THE LOOSE: ON THE CHILEAN STATE OF EXCEPTION Gerardo Muñoz

First published on the Swedish site Tillfällighetsskrivande [Occasional Writings].

The series of articles published by Giorgio Agamben in the wake of the COVID-19 have received an unsurprising reaction by the night watchmen of liberal democracy. The misunderstanding arises as a coping mechanism comprised of two distinct requests: first, the demand that we abandon the conditions informing Agamben’s archeological project (Homo sacer, 1995-2015); and, on the other hand, the desire to make an exception out of the current situation, as if, this time, “immunity” or a “democratic biopolitics” will effectively redeem Humanity [i] . The nature of this desperate reaction speaks to the fantasy of a grounded ‘good politics for the right time’, as if the business of resurrecting principles of legitimation were a credible enterprise during a time of civilizational decay for our species. By this point we are accustomed to the tone of the university discourse and its strategic deployment as a compensatory measure for its inferiority complex. In fact, it forms the spirit of our time.

It is not my intention to rehearse Agamben’s theses. These are well-known by all those who have encountered his work on “life”, the state of exception, and the consummation of the oikonomia at heart of Western politics. Rather, I would like to shift the discussion to the Chilean case, where I was surprised to see many intellectual voices tapping into Agamben’s premises, in particular in the aftermath of a recent letter by academics concerned with COVID-19 [ii]. For me it says a great deal about the Chilean experience and its current moment, which has been in a prolonged state of exception for over half a century. My thesis, then, is that the Chilean debate is in a better position to arrive at a mature understanding of the state of exception, not as an abstract formula, but as something latent within democracies. The dispensation of Western politics into security and exceptionality is not a conceptual horizon of what politics could be; it is what the ontology of the political represents once the internal limits of liberal principles crumble to pieces (and with it, any separation between consumers and citizens, state and market, jurisprudence and real subsumption).

Although President Sebastian Piñera has recently decreed a state of “exceptional catastrophe” in order to face the increasing threat of the COVID-19 in the country, his decision must be placed within the larger context of what we may call the long Chilean state of exception. There are at least three distinct historical segments of this exceptionalism. First, the criollo exceptionalism of the early republican period in which the relation between the state and the constituent power was unbalanced; second, the political dictatorial state of exception effectuated in the coup d'état against Salvador Allende’s Unidad Popular government in 1973; and finally, the so called “transition to democracy” of 1990, which served to juridically optimize what Tomás Moulian called the productivist-consumer matrix of society [iii]. One should not understand these temporal segments as a mere continuation of political instability or erratic juridical illegality, quite the contrary. The Chilean case brings to bear how the normalization of the state of exception could very well live under the veneer of effective legal borders of a subsidiary state that functions as the arbiter of accumulation and debt for societal dynamism. In a groundbreaking essay, “El golpe como consumación de la Vanguardia” (“The Coup as the consummation of the Avant-Garde”, 2003), the Chilean philosopher Willy Thayer argued that the Chilean coup of 1973 was the true avant-garde gesture, and thus, the ‘big-bang’ of globalization, since it blurred the inter-epochal passage from the dictatorship to that of the post-dictatorship. As Thayer argues in a decisive moment of his essay:

The repressed ground of the law – that is, what the law must repress in order to become itself – returns as a norm [in time of post-dictatorship]. The exception becomes the norm. The violence against the unlimited becomes violence against limitation. And if, before, the exception concerned the norms as exception from the norm; today, in the wake of globalization, what is understood as the exception has become the rule. The state of exception as factical proliferation of the norm is outside all generic norms: the market, the entrepreneurial freedom, the market’s anomie, or any specific norm, as well as any decision around what counts as a norm…Today, it is the Coup, more than artistic practices, that is outside of any frame and that destitutes not only the institution, the habits, and our presumptions about art; but that also alters the codes inherent to understanding. It is the Coup, and not the university, that brings about the reform of subjectivity and thought; it is the Coup that transforms art, the university, politics, and subjectivity itself. [iv]

The Coup introduces a new historical temporality, flattening its very nature as exceptional through the unlimited exchange of values between subjects and things. This takes place within a constitutional arrangement that blocks any ius reformandi and becomes preventively unwarranted. This was, after all, the ideal of legal theorist Jaime Guzmán, who tried to combine a Thomist conception of the state as “accident” with a hyper-personalism of the “persona” as a substance [v]. As if already prefiguring the demise of liberalism’s active social state, Guzmán incarnates the current drift of the nationalist right’s efforts to reconcile Aquinas with the market, corporativism with the U.S Constitution, and the ‘Common Good’ with the geopolitical battles against the rise of China [vi]. Of course, Guzmán was not a soothsayer, and he did not see this particular arrangement. However, he did see the normalization of the state of exception as a strategy to restrict any pull of ‘civil society’ against the structures of the subsidiary state. If Chile indicates one thing today, it is this: the problem of the political exception is not a problem of state form; it is a problem of the exhaustion of the boundaries between state and civil society, where autonomous social form is a zone of extraction for the exchange of value in the face of collective survival. The “tyranny of values” acquires a new meaning here: it is no longer a problem of moral discursivity, but rather an intensification of the war waged against life itself.

We know the discourse around the ‘withering of civil society’ has been around for quite some time [vii]. But this withering once meant that a “political subject” could emerge to organize a new transformation. One might ask: is this, then, what happened during the October uprisings? Not really, I would argue. Unlike the previous protests of 2003 and 2011, October of 2019 was driven by what has elsewhere been called an ‘experiential politics’, in which the de-articulation between people and representation no longer attempted to translate its discomfort into ‘demands’, as is typical in populist moments [viii]. The Chilean October was a “parabasis” on the social stage, a movement against representation and ideal types, a form of errancy that cannot be equated with the modern pursuit of “freedom”. If freedom has always been hermeneutically grounded in an analogical relation to action, then the call for “evasion” in the Chilean October demonstrated clearly that human praxis is irreducible to human activity, and that there exists a form of life beyond biopolitical security. This is why today, any attempt at a ‘spiritualist’ defense of ‘this life’ is already fallen to biopolitical machination, and to the reproduction of a subjective vitalism in which survival is guaranteed only as an abstract, non-existential ‘Good’. This is the other side of Thomism. However, as Agamben reminds us,

“Whoever has a character always has the same experience, because he can only re-live and never live. Etymologically, ēthos (’character’) and ethos (‘habit’, ‘way of life’) are the same word...and thus both mean ‘selfhood’. Selfhood, being-a-self, is expressed in a character or a habit. In each case, there lies an impossibility of living” [ix].

The new Chilean state of exception is an attempt to combat this truth through a full deployment of the police, the market, the university, the intelligentsia, and the rule of law itself.

The destituent moment against the Chilean exception is waged against the reduction of existence to “life”. As Ivan Illich knew well, “there is something apocalyptic in searching for Life under a microscope” [x]. Obviously, this resonates clearly with Agamben’s concern about the political strategies’ concern with the “living” and the security of “life”. It is no surprise, on the other hand, how the intelligentsia of the Chilean status quo have refracted this assault on the vital fabric of human existence by developing new strategies of “order” to counteract what they have called the “party of violence” that seeks to destitute its reduction to the vitalist apparatus [xi]. Other more refined attempts in the restructuring of the Chilean political right, such as Hugo Herrera’s programmatic Octubre en Chile (2019), calls for a popular republicanism, which renews the mediation between society and state through a Schmittian conception of the political as both telluric and contingent. Inverting the terms (politics having primacy over the economy) drags into the open the dual machine of governance, where bipolar forces of relative weakness and optimal strength are woven together into an interface for social conservation [xii]. This strategy confronts the epochal crisis by mobilizing a fear of fragmentation and the general contention of the species. The same goes for the modernist proposals based on the supremacy of constituent power, with its ideal engineering of the “social” that accords a force of transformation to “passive devices” such as deliberative assemblies and communicative action (of which Chile has a long tradition, under the form of cabildos) that could canvas the true colors of democratic separation of powers and cohesiveness of a new social contract. Unfortunately, endless gatherings and assemblies are powerless against the contemporary mechanisms of power, which today consist in the management of flows, infrastructure, and the general system of extraction [xiii]. We can talk amongst ourselves all we want, but it does not get us anywhere. The call for an implicit “communicative unity” of the body polity runs in a circle, with life, production and value remaining intact.

Agamben is correct to observe how unsurprising it is to see citizens today be willing to accept a reduction of their form of life to bare life in the name of security, since “crisis” is the way in which governance administers the internal strife of this acephalous polity [xiv]. In a recent column, Hugo Herrera provides an image that captures this movement: the protestors in the streets are like ‘squirrels on the loose’ [xv]. The squirrels’ movements are a combination of rhythm and caprice; it is not clear where they are going, whom they are going to meet, nor what their destiny will be. Like Pulcinella, half human and half chicken, the scampering squirrel is what remains when the singular body enters in contact with another without any aspiration to create a self-destiny superseding [xvi]. There is something to be said of the encounter between animal and human that can potentially deprogram the metropolitan topoi, turning the exception into the gleaming transfiguration of another world. In the mere act of seeking, new possibilities emerge. And if the point is to create a different relation to the world, one in which all the “potentialities of the entire species can finally develop”, then every exception is a tool of domestication, a form of political atrophy [xvii]. The destituent possibility is not a realization; it is a questioning of the very disjointed presence of the Social as an ‘autonomous space’ for action. Here too, the Chilean exception offers us a mirror by which to flee the obstinacy of the present.

***

Gerardo Muñoz teaches at the Modern Language and Literatures department at Lehigh University. His most recent publications are Por una política posthegemónica (DobleA editores 2020), and the forthcoming edited volume La rivoluzione in esilio: Scritti su Mario Tronti (Quodlibet, 2020).

Notes

[i] For positions against Giorgio Agamben’s thesis, see Panagiotis Sotiris, "Against Agamben: Is a democratic biopolitics possible?": https://criticallegalthinking.com/2020/03/14/against-agamben-is-a-democratic-biopolitics-possible/ , and Roberto Esposito, “Curati a oltranza”, https://antinomie.it/index.php/2020/02/28/curati-a-oltranza/

[ii]The document of the letters of the Chilean academics about the COVID-19 can be found here: https://bit.ly/2IW7npd

[iii] Tomás Moulian, Chile Actual: Anatomía de un mito (LOM, 2002), p.81-119.

[iv] Willy Thayer, “El Golpe como consumación de la vanguardia”, El fragmento repetido: escritos en estado de excepción (ediciones metales pesados, 2006), p.24-25.

[v] See, Renato Cristi, El pensamiento político de Jaime Guzmán (LOM, 2011).

[vi] See in the latest issue of American Affairs (Vol. IV, Spring 2020), the articles “Common Good Capitalism: An interview with Marco Rubio”, and “Corporativism for the Twenty-First Century”, by Gladden Pappin. Also, on the reactivation of an economic Thomism, see Mary L. Hirschfield, Aquinas and the Market: Toward a Humane Economy (Harvard University Press, 2018).

[vii] Michael Hardt, “The withering of civil society”, Social Text, N.45, 1995.

[viii] See Michalis Lianos, "Une politique expérientielle": https://lundi.am/Une-politique-experientielle-IV-Entretien-avec-Michalis-Lianoswell. Also, the dossier on the Chilean uprising, "Los estados generales de la emergencia", Ficción de la razón, october 2019: https://ficciondelarazon.org/2019/10/29/vvaa-los-estados-generales-de-emergencia-dossier-en-movimiento-sobre-revueltas-y-crisis-neoliberal/

[ix] Giorgio Agamben, Pulcinella or, Entertainment for Kids (New York, 2018), p.104.

[x] Ivan Illich, “The Institutional Construction of a new fetish: Human Life”, In the Mirror of the Past: Lectures and Addresses, 1978-1990 (Marion Boysars, 1992), p.223.

[xi] José Joaquin Brunner, “Violencia: el desquiciamiento de la sociedad”, November 2019, El Libero: https://ellibero.cl/opinion/jose-joaquin-brunner-violencia-el-desquiciamiento-de-la-sociedad/.

[xii] Schmitt taught as early as in the twenties this state-market duality. See, “Strong State and Free Economy", in Carl Schmitt and Authoritarian Liberalism (University of Wales Press, 1998), ed. Renato Cristi. p.215.

[xiii] For the thesis on the control of social flows, see “Julien Coupat et Mathieu Burnel interrogés par Mediapart", Lundi Matin, 66, 2016: https://bit.ly/3bdRAOs . For the new form of power as extraction, see Alberto Moreiras, "Notes on the illegal condition in the state of extraction", RIAS, Vol.11, N.2, 2018, p.21-35.

[xiv] Giorgio Agamben, “Chiarimenti", March 17, 2020, Quodlibet: https://www.quodlibet.it/giorgio-agamben-chiarimenti. Denna text finns också på svenska här.

[xv] Hugo Herrera, “Crisis sobre Crisis”, March 17, 2020, La Segunda: https://bit.ly/2Wvc0i0.

[xvi] Giorgio Agamben, Pulcinella or, Entertainment for Kids (New York, 2018), p.117.

[xvii] Jacques Camatte, “The Wandering of Humanity”, in This World We Must Leave and Other Essays (Autonomedia, 1995), p.71.

#COVID19 #Coronavirus #Chile #revolt #Agamben #destituent power #insurrection

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bezoarcureforpoison · 6 years ago

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VANCOUVER—Canadian doctors and abortion care providers say a new anti-abortion film premiering in Canada on Friday misrepresents the facts about abortion.

Unplanned is based on a memoir by Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who became an anti-abortion advocate and now leads an organization that provides support for abortion care providers who want to “leave the abortion industry.”

Unplanned depicts a period in Johnson’s life when she personally accessed two abortions and rose up the ranks of Planned Parenthood, starting as a volunteer and eventually becoming the director of a clinic in Texas. The pivotal moment comes when she assists with an ultrasound-guided abortion and sees a fetus “twisting and fighting” away from the abortion instruments — a scene many health-care providers have condemned as unrealistic.

Several pro-choice organizations have spoken out about the potential dangers of the film.

The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada calls Unplanned “a dangerous piece of anti-abortion propaganda” containing “vicious falsehoods.” National Abortion Federation Canada Director Jill Doctoroff said she’s concerned that “it looks like a regular movie,” but “really it’s more propaganda.”

“It can be hard for people to distinguish between what’s really based on true facts and what’s been changed from reality,” Doctoroff said in an interview.

Johnson, however, maintains the film is accurate.

“While there may be a few abortion supporting doctors who state that the film is inaccurate, there are many other physicians who have publicly responded, stating that this is exactly what abortion looks like and that the film is entirely medically accurate,” Johnson said in a statement provided to Star Vancouver via email.

Read more: Anti-abortion movie ‘Unplanned’ set to screen in Canada amid protests, free speech arguments

Star Vancouver has viewed the film and fact-checked a few of its most questionable portrayals and claims about abortion, consulting with Abby Johnson and experts provided by the film’s PR team, as well as with prominent medical experts not affiliated with the film.

FACT CHECK:

The movie: In the first scene, an ultrasound is performed on a woman who is in the process of having an abortion. The 13-week fetus is depicted with a large head approximately 1/3 the length of its body, which has somewhat developed limbs and joints.

What the filmmakers say: Abby Johnson said this was normal growth and referred to a page on thebump.com, which stated a fetus would be “as big as a lemon.”

Fact check: Dr. Jen Gunter, a U.S.-based OBGYN with experience providing abortions, and author of the upcoming book The Vagina Bible, said that while it would be difficult to tell the age of the fetus by simply looking at an image, it was likely the fetus would be “more advanced” than 13 weeks.

“You’d have to know measurements ... in real life it’s really small, just a few centimetres,” she said.

The movie: The doctor insists on using an ultrasound as a guide while he performs an aspiration abortion. He pushes a catheter tube toward the fetus, and it squirms and flails away. The doctor says “They always move, that’s why I do it this way,” referring to the fetus attempting to evade the vacuum suction of the tube. The woman receiving the abortion appears to be in pain and is crying.

What the filmmakers say: The film’s team provided the Star Vancouver with a response from Dr. Kathi Aultman, a retired OB/Gyn and former abortion provider, who said that “such reactions by the fetus have been scientifically documented in numerous studies” and said the depiction of this abortion “was not sensationalized but very accurate for the gestational age and technique that was used.”

Aultman, a former abortion provider, is a devout Christian and anti-abortion advocate. In a November 2018 video interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Aultman compared abortion to murder, and said she is a “mass murderer” for having performed abortions. She said that she healed from her past wrongs with a counsellor who prayed with her and spoke in tongues.

Fact check: Gunter told Star Vancouver that this scene from the film was “100 per cent bullshit.”

“Fetuses are not capable of purposeful movement,” she said. “That’s not proven scientifically ... That’s just not a thing.”

She added that pain can vary depending on the patient, but that if someone was in a lot of pain during a procedure, doctors would stop and check in.

“Most people are not in a lot of pain with modern techniques,” Gunter said. “Some people might be more emotional, you can image how traumatic it might be for someone who has had a sexual assault, but we would stop if someone was in a lot of pain.”

The movie: Abby’s character in the film says she regrets her abortion. “Anger disappeared only to be faced with self loathing,” she says, and various depictions of women who had abortions throughout the film suggest that this is how people can expect to feel after having an abortion.

What the filmmakers say: “It’s one of the many feelings associated with having an abortion,” said Johnson in a statement.

Fact check: Women who have abortions have varying emotional responses, medical experts say. A 2017 peer-reviewed articlepublished in JAMA Psychiatry titled “Women’s Mental Health and Well-being 5 Years After Receiving or Being Denied an Abortion” studied 956 women over 5 years and concluded that while women who had abortions did present with adverse psychological outcomes, there was greater risk of those symptoms for women who were denied abortions.

These findings also do not support policies that restrict women’s access to abortion on the basis that abortion harms women’s mental health. Having worked in abortion care for ten years, Doctoroff said most clients are grateful for the professional and compassionate care they receive, a sentiment echoed by women who shared their abortion experiences with Star Vancouver.

The movie: In another scene, Abby takes the RU-486 pill, also known as the abortion pill. She is told that the cut off to take the pill is nine weeks.

Fact check: Gunter confirmed that nine or 10 weeks is the cut off for the abortion pill.

The movie: An hour after Abby takes the pill, she is shown screaming and stumbling for the bathroom, blood dripping from her legs while she vomits. She passes large clots and more blood into the tub. Abby says she spent “12 hours in agony” before the pain went away, and it was followed by “eight weeks of blood clots, eight weeks of excruciating cramps.”

What the filmmakers say: Johnson describes this experience as “very common.”

Fact check: Gunter said this depiction “wouldn’t be normal at all” for someone taking the abortion pill. While some bleeding does occur, Gunter said that “people aren’t sent home to bleed in the bathtub.”

However, she said pain levels can vary, and are usually dependent on how much pain a person has during their monthly period. “Some women have such painful periods that it’s worse than a heart attack ... Usually it’s like a really heavy, crampy period.”

The movie: In another scene, a clinic staff member tells Abby about the “products of conception,” or POC room, in which she says doctors keep the fetus parts from an abortion and must reassemble the baby parts to make sure “nothing is left in the patient.” She says there are usually 30 to 40 petri dishes of these fetus remains by the end of the day.

What the filmmakers say: Johnson says that abortion clinics must have a POC procedure. “The clinic staff needs to make sure that no parts of the fetus are left inside the woman because that can cause serious infection and other complications.”

Fact check: While she agreed that biological matter from abortions are referred to as “products of conception,” Gunter, who has performed abortions at U.S.-based hospitals, said this depiction wasn’t entirely accurate.

She said medical staff would examine the tissue to ensure it looked like “placental type tissue,” but it would never be done in another room — it would only be completed while the procedure was taking place. She said that the same would be done in any form of surgery to ensure that everything that needed to be removed from the patient was removed.

The movie: In a scene when Abby becomes a clinic director, she says “Part of my job was selling abortion and I was really good at it.” At an annual meeting, a Planned Parenthood manager says that “Each of your clinics are being assigned growth targets to double the number of elective procedures.” Later, the manager says “abortion pays your salary, it pays for everything.”

What the filmmakers say: Johnson refers to the story of Sue Thayer, a former Planned Parenthood staff member, who maintains there are quotas.

Fact check: “I would be surprised that anybody ever said we need to get abortion numbers up,” said Gunter.

The film depicts a U.S.-based Planned Parenthood clinic, so while abortion clinics may have different financial structures, experts say that the core principles would be the same.

“Aspiration abortions or medication abortions are part of out health care system — it’s not profitable in Canada. It’s something that we, as a tax base, invest in,” says Michelle Fortin, executive director of Options for Sexual Health.

She also said abortion is not profitable in the United States either.

Planned Parenthood in the U.S. is a non-profit organization. According to its 2017-2018 annual report 72 per cent of its operating budget comes from private donations, government health services reimbursements and grants.

The organization provides sex education and sexual and reproductive health care at clinics and lobbies governments for increased access to health care. Clinics also provide STI testing, birth control, cancer screening, abortions and more.

Cherise Seucharan is a Vancouver-based reporter covering crime and public safety. Follow her on Twitter: @CSeucharan

Tessa Vikander is a Vancouver-based reporter covering diversity, inequality and education. Follow her on Twitter: @tessavikander

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melodiacare · 3 years ago

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Music therapy in hospice

Music is an exceptionally powerful art form that has a long-standing role in many forms of healing and general well-being. Music, with its ability to transcend cultural, linguistic and social barriers, has the power to promote the well-being of the whole person. In hospice care, music is one of many therapeutic art forms used to promote the total well-being of patients, families, caregivers and bereaved.

History of Music Therapy

Music has long been used to promote spiritual well-being and has a long history as a therapeutic tool in healing practices. Dating from as far back as 500 BC., at the time of the old Greeks, the music is recognized for its therapeutic properties. Renowned philosophers of that time, such as Plato, Pythagoras, and Aristotle, recognized the powerful influence of music on an individual's overall well-being. Plato states: “Music is an art imbued with the power to penetrate to the depths of the soul.

By advancing music therapy as a modern medical profession, E. Thayer Gaston, considered the father of music therapy, helped make music therapy an officially recognized tool in the medical community. A strong advocate of the impact music has on the whole person, Gaston has established three basic principles for using music in a therapeutic setting.

Music therapy helps establish or restore interpersonal relationships

Music therapy promotes positive self-esteem through self-realization

Music therapy uses the unique potential of rhythm to energize patients, bringing order and calm.

Techniques Used in Hospice Music Therapy

Hospice music therapy is unique in that it can draw on the patient's culture, religious beliefs, and treasured memories to create a deeply personal and meaningful healing experience. In this, music therapy promotes an environment of healing and emotional restoration that is precisely tailored to the specific needs of the patient. Although all hospice music therapy programs vary to some degree, most end-of-life music therapy sessions incorporate many of the same therapeutic exercises and techniques.

Emotional, Spiritual, and Social Benefits of Hospice Music Therapy

Music is an art form that has the ability to cross races, creeds and cultures and have a deeply spiritual impact on humans. By utilizing these inherent characteristics of music, hospice music therapy emotionally, spiritually, and socially promotes:

Greater self-confidence As patients experience ongoing positive social interactions with the music therapist, learn new musical skills, and potentially regain lost motor skills, their self-perception improves dramatically. A positive self-image and self-esteem significantly improve the general well-being of patients and promote a more positive view of the end of life.

Greater social interaction Music allows patients to bond with those who share their love for a specific classical tune, timeless artist, or style of music. These social interactions, facilitated by connection through a shared interest in music, allow patients who do not normally seek social interaction to seek interaction and friendships with others.

Introspection and review of life. Music offers patients a safe space to explore their emotions and rejoice in the road ahead on their end-of-life journey. During these moments of self-reflection, patients begin the process of spiritual healing, allowing old spiritual wounds to heal and encouraging the rebuilding and healing of relationships with family, friends and loved ones.

Physical Benefits of Music Therapy in Hospice

Although music can be a powerful tool for emotional, spiritual, and social healing, music therapy also offers many physical benefits. For hospice patients, music therapy provides:

Improved relaxation Music therapy is a powerful tool to aid relaxation. Music, when combined with relaxation exercises, has been shown to promote a deeper level of restorative relaxation than exercises alone. Skilled music therapists, over time, can refine the types of music to which the patient responds best and can create the best environment for maximum relaxation.

Improved communication and speech. Speaking and singing share many of the same oral motor skills, such as breath control, vocal intensity, and articulation. Music therapy sessions that involve singing can help patients strengthen motor skills that may have been damaged due to their illness.

Improved motor coordination Instruments help promote precise physical movement, such as plucking the strings of a guitar or the position of the fingers on the keys of a piano. These precise physical actions, over time, can help patients regain lost muscle control and can increase overall hand-eye coordination.

Music Therapy and Bereavement Support

The art of music is accessible to everyone and provides a safe, non-verbal means of communication and emotional expression. The environment that music provides helps promote understanding, healing and growth in life for who they are. In the context of bereavement, music therapy helps survivor families and loved ones by:

Understanding and finding meaning in grief In the safe environment that music provides, you can explore and express yourself without fear of judgment. Through therapeutic exercises such as listening to music and analyzing lyrics, music therapy can help surviving family members understand and communicate the emotions they are feeling through the process of healing from grief. .

Honor the life and memory of the deceased Music is an art form that has long been used in the practice of memorializing a deceased loved one and honoring their legacy. By engaging in therapeutic songwriting, music therapists can create a personal and meaningful tribute to a deceased loved one.

Comfort for the Whole Person

Music therapy is a complex, personal, and deeply spiritual practice that helps anyone on the path to dying. It is a tool that combines memories and spirituality to create a unique and therapeutic restorative experience for each person. By harnessing the restorative nature of music, music therapy enables patients, families, caregivers, and bereaved to experience physical relaxation, heal emotional wounds, and rejuvenate spiritually.

#music #music therapy #hospice care #hospice music #hospice music therapy

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bibledictionary · 3 years ago

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Conscience

What exactly is a conscience? How did we get one? How does it operate? Why does the Bible place a great value upon protecting and maintaining one that is clean?

How can a conscience be changed? What does it take to defile or surpress it? What does the Apostle Paul mean when he warns that some people have "cauterized with a hot iron" (1Timothy 4:2, HBFV throughout) their conscience?

The English word "conscience" is used thirty-one times in the KJV New Testament. It comes from the Greek suneidesis (Strong's Concordance #G4893), which means "moral consciousness" (Strong's) or the moral voice in humans that helps us distinguish between what is good and bad and prompts us to do what is right and reject the wrong (Thayer's Greek Definitions).

A clean heart not only can guide us as it relates to something in the present, it can also convict us of something we did wrong in the past.

God has placed, in each human, a basic comprehension of what is fundamentally right and wrong. He has given it to us to guide, but not override, our actions. A conscience has the ability to lead people, even those who oppose the Gospel, to do what is right (John 8:3 - 9).

The Apostle Paul confirms the fact that humans who never directly received God's commandments, like the Gentiles, still possess a basic intrinsic moral code or law that judges what they do (Romans 2:14 - 15).

The conscience each of us possesses is not static. It can be changed by altering the rules (beliefs and principles) under which it operates. We have the power to defile it (1Corinthians 8:7, Titus 1:15), suppress it or even get rid of it entirely (1Timothy 4:2).

Christians can have a conscience that is strong or weak based upon their understanding of God's truth (1Corinthians 8:4, 7, 9 - 12). Those who have one which is weak can have it educated and strengthened to more fully reflect the Father's will (Philippians 3:15).

Paul considered a clean conscience, even among those new in the faith, to be an essential part of being a Christian. He admonishes those who have a greater understanding of the truth to be concerned, out of love, about how some of their actions might adversely affect "weaker" believers. The apostle emphatically states that it is a sin to lead others to defile theirs (meaning to go against it and bring guilt), as well as going against the one we have (see 1Corinthians 8, 10:27 - 32).

Maintaining a good conscience is important to all believers, especially to those who are active in God's work (1Timothy 1:18 - 19). This is why Christians are commanded to obey (as long as it is not against God's will) the civil authorities they live under (Romans 13:1 - 5). Those who do good with a clean heart, yet are unjustly persecuted and accused of evil, receive praise from the Father (1Peter 2:19 - 21, 3:16 - 17).

It should be noted that one of the primary differences between the Old and New Covenants is that the Old could not make a person's heart clean before the Eternal. It is only under the New Covenant, made possible by Christ's shed blood, that our hearts can be purged of guilt (Hebrews 9:9, 14, 10:4, 11, 22).

Those who apostatize from the faith and begin to spread lies can do so because their consciences have been "cauterized (burned or seared) with a hot iron" (1Timothy 4:2). Clearly, a person can defile and work against their innermost belief system to such an extent that it no longer functions as a gauge of right and wrong.

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experienceexhilarating · 4 years ago

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Week 1

Class 1

Group Discussion regarding "Exhilarating"

Synonymous with HMsEx

Horror vs Positive exhilarating

Rollercoaster, mixed with VR

Start of an arena tour, or even just a sports match, focused attention

Adrenaline rush

How do arena shows nail that exhilarating feeling?

4 on the floor, flickering visual, quite high energy, moment of silence, mellows out after drop yet is somehow the most exhilarating

Other notes from class discussions

Use covid as subject matter because we won’t get another chance to experience this historic thing

More scientific, aiming to achieve an outcome rather than expressing a personal idea. Construct an environment that manipulates a persons emotions, rather than expressing the emotion individually

Be ambitious, think about a project that has potential to be scaled up, or down

Examples of HMsEx: VR, sensory deprivation tank, arena tour, focused attention, dramatic scene changes, rollercoasters

· More is not always more, don’t throw more things at it in a sensory way, be intentional

Aims of subject

Emotions, fine grained, point 3 sec between notes can be the difference between an audience crying or not. Exploring what works

Understanding the mechanics of emotion, how to best manipulate it

After understanding emotion, learn how to best apply in practice

Class 2

Thayer’s model of stress

Energy/Stress

I will use this model to articulate the emotional response I aim to evoke in my audience, and use this as a guide to my research

Emotional valence describes the extent to which an emotion is positive or negative, whereas arousal refers to its intensity

Oasis beauty rating

a study where people rated images on the above model

I will use this study to begin experimenting with manipulating images to provoke levels of energy and stress

Shaun’s PP

Visuals: induce a reaction beyond the frame, structured through a combination of five foundations: light, colour, movement, time, disruption

If you don’t have movement you don’t have agency. Philosophically, if you walk through an environment you will have ‘place’ the experience get when you walk through

Be mindful not all individuals experience things the same way, accessibility is important

Visual philosophy structure: spatialising of experience through the image, structural -> phenomenological -> practice, subjective –> subjectively objective

Key terms:

Subjective: relates to individual experience

Objective: relational to subjective, it is what it is, it’s not a version of it

Phenomenology: study of what could be based on what is,

Structural: ordering of ideas, concepts, and principles

Conceptual: subjective structural order of concepts, have an opinion with that structure

Affect (philosophy): an embodied experience, what is not known

Affect (psychology): experience of emotions. Patterns, and observations, limited to fact and scientific method, what is known

No Space World

A universe with no physical space, just notes and tones, but concludes can’t have space with no space, sound is spatialised

Kino Eye

Soviet cinema

Not based on story, based on what’s around us, reality and truth

Closer to art, later used as basis for interactive installations and projection mapping

#classnotes

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claudinei-de-jesus · 4 years ago

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The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

1. General nature of gifts.

The gifts of the Spirit must be distinguished from the gift of the Spirit. The former describe the supernatural capacities bestowed by the Spirit for special ministries; the second refers to the giving of the Spirit to believers as it is ministered by the glorified Christ. (Acts 2:33.) Paul speaks of the gifts of the Spirit ("spiritual" in the original Greek) in a threefold aspect. They are: "charismata", or a variety of gifts given by the same Spirit (1Cor. 12: 4,7); "diakonai", or variety of services rendered in the cause of the same Lord; and "energemata", or varieties of power from the same God who works everything in everyone.

It refers to all these aspects as "the manifestation of the Spirit", which is given to men for the benefit of all. What is the main purpose of the gifts of the Holy Spirit? They are spiritual capacities bestowed for the purpose of building up the church of God, through the instruction of believers and to win new converts (Ephesians 4: 7-13). In 1Cor. 12: 8-10, Paul lists nine of these gifts, which can be classified as follows:

1. Those who grant power to know supernaturally: the word of wisdom, the word of science, and of discernment.

2. Those who grant power to act supernaturally: faith, miracles, healings.

3. Those who grant power to pray supernaturally: prophecy, tongues, interpretation. These gifts are described as "the manifestation of the Spirit", "given to each one, for what is useful" (that is, for the benefit of the church). Here we have the biblical definition of a "manifestation" of the Spirit, namely, the operation of any of the nine gifts of the Spirit.

2. Variety of Gifts.

(a) The word of wisdom. This expression means the pronouncement or declaration of wisdom. What kind of wisdom? This will be best determined by noting the sense in which the word "wisdom" is used in the New Testament.

It is applied to the art of interpreting dreams and giving wise advice (Acts 7:10); the intelligence demonstrated in clarifying the meaning of some mysterious number or vision (Rev. 13:18; 17: 9); prudence in dealing with matters (Acts 6: 3); holy ability to deal with people outside the church (Col. 4: 5); skill and discretion in communicating Christian truths (Col. 1:28); the knowledge and practice of the requirements for a godly and pure life (Jas. 1: 5; 3:13, 17); the knowledge and skill necessary for an effective defense of the cause of Christ (Luke 21:15); a practical knowledge of divine things and human duties, combined with the power of exposition concerning those things and duties and of interpreting and applying the sacred Word (Matt. 13:54; Mar. 6: 2; Acts 6:10); the wisdom and instruction with which John the Baptist and Jesus taught men the plan of salvation. (Matt. 11:19.)

In Paul's writings "wisdom" applies to a knowledge of the divine plan, previously hidden, to provide men with salvation through the atonement of Christ (1 Cor. 1:30; Col. 2: 3); therefore, it is said that in Christ "all the treasures of wisdom and science are hidden" (Col. 2: 3); God's wisdom is manifested in the formation and execution of his counsel. (Rom. 11:33.) The word of wisdom, therefore, seems to mean a supernatural ability or ability to express knowledge in the aforementioned senses.

(b) The word of science is a statement or statement of facts, inspired in a supernatural way. On what subjects? A study of the use of the word "science" will give us the answer. The word denotes: the knowledge of God, as it is offered in the Gospels (2Cor. 2:14), especially in the exposition that Paul made (2Cor. 10: 5); the knowledge of the things that belong to God (Rom. 11:13); intelligence and understanding (Eph. 3:19); the knowledge of the Christian faith (Rom. 15:14; 1 Cor. 1: 5); the deepest, most perfect and widest knowledge of the Christian life, as it belongs to the most advanced (1Cor. 12: 8; 13: 2,8,14: 6; 2Cor. 6: 6; 8: 7; 11:16 ); the highest knowledge of the divine and Christian things on which false teachers boast (1 Tim. 6:20); moral wisdom as shown in a righteous life (2 Pet. 1: 5) and in relationships with others (1 Pet. 3: 7); knowledge concerning divine things and human duties (Rom. 2:20; Col. 2: 3).

What is the difference between wisdom and science? According to a scholar, science is the deep knowledge or understanding of divine things, and wisdom is the practical knowledge or skill that orders or regulates life according to its fundamental principles. Thayer's dictionary states that where "science" and "wisdom" are used together, the first seems to be the knowledge considered in itself; the other, the knowledge manifested in action.

(c) Faith (Weymouth translates: "special faith".) This must be distinguished from saving faith and trust in God, without which it is impossible to please Him (Heb. 11: 6). it is true that saving faith is described as a gift (Eph. 2: 8), but in this passage the word "gift" is used in opposition to "works", while in 1Cor. 12: 9 the word used means a special endowment of the Spirit's power.

What is the gift of faith? Donald Gee describes it as follows: ... a quality of faith, sometimes called by our ancient theologians, the "miraculous faith", seems to come upon some of God's servants in times of crisis and special opportunities in such a powerful way , which are elevated outside the realm of natural and common faith in God, so that they have a certainty in their souls that makes them triumph over everything ... possibly that same quality of faith is the thought of our Lord when he said in Mark 11:22: "Have the faith of God" (Figueiredo).

It was a faith of this special quality of faith that he could say, that a grain of it could remove a mountain (Matt. 17:20). A little of that divine faith, which is an attribute of the Almighty, put in the soul of man - what miracles it can produce! See examples of the gift operation in 1 Kings 18: 33-35; Acts 3: 4.

(d) Gifts of healing. To say that a person has the gifts (note the plural, perhaps referring to a variety of healings) means that they are used by God in a supernatural way to give health to the sick through prayer. It seems to be a sign gift, of special value to the evangelist to attract the people to the Gospel. (Acts 8: 6,7; 28: 8-10.) It is not to be understood that whoever possesses this gift (or the person possessed by that gift) has the power to heal everyone; place must be given to the sovereignty of God and the attitude and spiritual condition of the sick. Christ himself was limited in his ability to work miracles because of people's unbelief (Matt. 13:58). The sick person does not depend entirely on who has the gift. All believers in general, and church elders in particular, are empowered to pray for the sick. (Mar. 16:18; Aunt. 5:14.)

(e) Operation of miracles, literally "works of power". The key is Power. (See John 14:12; Acts 1: 8.) The "special" miracles in Ephesus are an illustration of the gift's operation. (Acts 19:11, 12; 5: 12-15.)

(f) Prophecy. Prophecy, generally speaking, is a vocal expression inspired by the Spirit of God. Bible prophecy can be through revelation, in which the prophet proclaims a message previously received through a dream, a vision or by the Word of the Lord. It can also be ecstatic, an expression of inspiration of the moment. There are many biblical examples of both.

Ecstatic and inspired prophecy can take the form of exaltation and worship of Christ, exhortative admonition, or comfort and encouragement inspiring believers. - J. R. F. Prophecy differs from ordinary preaching in which, while the latter is usually the product of the study of existing revelation, prophecy is the result of spontaneous spiritual inspiration. It is not intended to supplant preaching or teaching, but to complete them with the touch of inspiration. The possession of the gift constituted the person "prophet". (See Acts 15:32; 21: 9; 1Cor. 14:29.) The purpose of the New Testament gift of prophecy is stated in 1Cor. 14: 3 - the prophet edifies, exhorts and comforts believers.

The inspiration manifested in the gift of prophecy is not on a par with the inspiration of Scripture. This is implied by the fact that believers are instructed to prove or judge prophetic messages. (See 1Cor. 14:29.) Why judge or prove them? One reason is the possibility for the human spirit (Jer. 23:16; Ezek. 13: 2, 3) to confuse its message with the divine, 1 Thess. 5: 19-20 deals with the operation of the gift of prophecy. Thessalonian conservatives went so far in their distrust of these gifts (v. 20), that they were in danger of extinguishing the Spirit (v. 19); but Paul told them to taste every message (v. 21) and to retain good (v. 21), and to abstain from what appeared to be evil (v. 22).

Should the prophecy or interpretation be given in the first person singular, for example: "It is I, the Lord, who am speaking to you, my people"? The question is very important, because the quality of certain messages has made many people doubt whether it was the Lord himself who spoke in this way. The answer depends on your idea of the mode of inspiration. Is it mechanical? That is, does God use the person as if he were a microphone, the person being entirely passive and simply becoming a spokesperson? Or, is it the dynamic method? That is, does God supernaturally enliven the spiritual nature (note: "my spirit prays", 1 Cor. 14:14), enabling the person to speak the divine message in terms beyond the natural reach of the mental faculties?

If God inspires according to the first method mentioned, the first singular person would, of course, be used; according to the second method the message would be given in the third person; for example: "the Lord wants his people to look up and cheer up, etc." Many experienced workers believe that interpretations and prophetic messages should be given in the third person singular. (See Luc. 1: 67-79; 1 Cor. 14:14, 15.)

(g) Discernment of spirits. We have seen that there may be a false inspiration, the work of deceitful spirits or the human spirit. How can you tell the difference? For the gift of discernment that gives the possessor the ability to determine whether the prophet is speaking or not by the Spirit of God. This gift enables the possessor to "see" all outward appearances and to know the true nature of an inspiration. The operation of the gift of discernment can be examined by two other tests: doctrinal (1 John 4: 1-6) and practice (Matt. 7: 15-23). The operation of this gift is illustrated in the following passages:

John 1: 47-50; 2:25; 3: 1-3; 2 Kings 5: 20-26; Acts 5: 3; 8:23; 16: 16-18. These references indicate that the gift enables someone to discern a person's spiritual character. This gift is distinguished from the natural perception of human nature, and especially from a critical spirit that seeks fault in others.

(h) Languages. "Variety of languages." "The gift of tongues is the power to speak supernaturally in a language never learned by the speaker, that language being made intelligible to listeners through the equally supernatural gift of interpretation." There appear to be two classes of messages in tongues: first, ecstatic praise addressed to God alone (1 Cor. 14: 2); second, a definite message to the church (1 Cor. 14: 5). A distinction is made between languages as a sign and languages as a gift. The first is for everyone (Acts 2: 4); the other is not for everyone (1Cor. 12:30).

(i) Interpretation of languages. Thus writes Donald Gee: The purpose of the gift of interpretation is to make intelligible the expressions of ecstasy inspired by the Spirit that were pronounced in a language unknown to the great majority present, repeating itself clearly in the common language, of the congregated people. It is a purely spiritual operation. The same Spirit that inspired speaking in other languages, by which the words spoken come from the spirit and not from the intellect, can also inspire its interpretation.

The interpretation is, therefore, inspired, ecstatic and spontaneous. Just as speaking in tongues is not conceived in the mind, in the same way, interpretation emanates from the spirit rather than from the intellect of man. It is noted that tongues in conjunction with interpretation take on the same prophecy value. (See 1 Cor. 14: 5.) Why, then, are we not content with prophecy? Because tongues are a "sign" for unbelievers (1 Cor. 14:22). Note: It has already been suggested that the ministries listed in Rom. 12: 6-8 and in 1Cor. 12:28, may also be included under the classification of "charismata" - thereby expanding the reach of spiritual gifts to include Spirit-inspired ministries.

3. Regulation of gifts.

The spark that splits trees, burns houses and kills people, is of the same nature as the electricity generated at the plant that so efficiently illuminates houses and powers factories. The difference is only in that the plant is controlled. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul revealed the great spiritual resources of power available to the church; in ch. 14 it shows how this power should be regulated, so that it builds, rather than destroys, the church. Instruction was necessary, as a reading of this chapter will demonstrate that disorder had reigned in some meetings, due to a lack of knowledge of spiritual manifestations. Chapter 14 sets out the following principles for that regulation:

(a) Proportional value. (Vs. 5-10.) The Corinthians had been too inclined to the gift of tongues, undoubtedly because of their spectacular nature. Paul reminds them that interpretation and prophecy were necessary so that the people could have an intelligent knowledge of what was being said.

(b) Building. The purpose of the gifts is to build the church, to encourage believers and convert unbelievers. But, says Paul, if an outsider enters the church and all he hears is to speak in tongues without interpretation, he will well conclude: these people are demented. (Vs. 12, 23.) The operation of this gift is illustrated in the following passages: John 1: 47-50; 2:25; 3: 1-3; 2 Kings 5: 20-26; Acts 5: 3; 8:23; 16: 16-18. These references indicate that the gift enables someone to discern a person's spiritual character. This gift is distinguished from the natural perception of human nature, and especially from a critical spirit that seeks fault in others.

(d) Self-control. (Vs. 32.) Some Corinthians could protest like this: "we cannot be silent; when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we are obliged to speak. But Paul would reply:" The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. "That is, the one who he has the gift of tongues, he can master his expansion and speak only to God, when such mastery is necessary.

(e) Order. (Vs. 40.) "But let everything be done decently and in order." The Holy Spirit, the great Architect of the universe with all its beauty, will not inspire that which is disorderly and shameful. When the Holy Spirit is operating with power, there will be a commotion and a movement, and those who have learned to surrender to him will not create scenes that they do not build.

(f) Teachable. It is inferred from verses 36 and 37 that some of the Corinthians had been offended by the constructive criticism of their leaders. Note 1. It is inferred, by chap. 14 of I Corinthians, that there is power to be governed. Therefore, the chapter would be meaningless for a church that does not experience the manifestations of the Spirit. it is quite certain that the Corinthians had derailed as to spiritual gifts. However, at least they had the tracks and a road! If Paul had acted like some modern critics, he would have removed even the road and the tracks!

Instead, he wisely put them back on the tracks to continue their journey! When the church of the second and third centuries reacted against certain extravagances, it leaned to the other extreme and left very little room for the operations of the Spirit. But this is only part of the explanation for the cooling of the church's enthusiasm and the general cessation of spiritual manifestations. Early in the history of the church, a centralizing process of its organization and the formation of dogmatic and inflexible creeds began. Although this was necessary as a defense against false sects, it tended to prevent the free movement of the Spirit and make Christianity a question of orthodoxy rather than spiritual vitality.

Thus writes Dr. T. Rees: In the first century, the Spirit was known for its manifestations, but from the second century onwards it was known for the rule of the church, and any spiritual phenomenon that did not conform to this rule was attributed to spirits. bad guys. The same causes in modern times have resulted in an oversight of the doctrine and work of the Holy Spirit, an oversight recognized and lamented by many religious leaders. Despite these facts, the power of the Holy Spirit never failed to break through all the impediments of indifferentism and formalism, and to operate with a life-giving force.

Note 2. We must differentiate between manifestations and reactions. Take the following illustration: the light from the electric lamp is a manifestation of electricity; it is the nature of electricity to manifest itself in the form of light. But when someone takes an electric shock and lets out a deafening scream, we cannot say that the scream is a manifestation of electricity, because it is not in the nature of electricity to manifest itself in an audible voice. What happened was the person's reaction to the electric current! Naturally the reaction will depend on the person's character and temperament. Some calm, "cold-blooded" people would just sigh, panting, without saying anything. Let us apply this rule to spiritual power. The operations of the gifts in 1Cor. 12: 7-10 are biblically described as manifestations of the Spirit. Many actions, however, in general called "manifestations", are really the person's reactions to the movement of the Spirit. We refer to such actions as shouting, crying, raising your hands and other scenes. What practical value is there in knowing this distinction?

1) Help us to honor and recognize the work of the Spirit without attributing to it everything that goes on in meetings. Critics, ignoring this distinction, incorrectly conclude that the lack of elegance or aesthetics in the manifestation of a certain person proves that he is not inspired by the Holy Spirit. Such critics could be compared to the individual who, when seeing the grotesque movements of someone who was taking a strong electric shock, exclaimed: "Electricity does not manifest itself like this"! The direct impact of the Holy Spirit is so moving that we can excuse the fragile human nature for not behaving as if it were under a more gentle influence.

2) The knowledge of this distinction, of course, will stimulate us to react to the movement of the Spirit in a way that always glorifies God. It is certainly as unfair to criticize the extravagances of a new convert as to criticize the falls and stumbles of the little child who learns to walk. But at the same time, guided by 1Cor. ?, it is clear that God wants his people to react to the Spirit in an intelligent, uplifting and disciplined way. "Try to abound in them, for the edification of the church" (1Cor.?: 12). .. Os Dons do Espírito Santo

1. Natureza geral dos dons.

Os dons do Espírito devem distinguir-se do dom do Espírito. Os primeiros descreverem como recursos sobrenaturais concedidas pelo Espírito para ministérios especiais; o segundo referência-se à concessão do Espírito aos crentes conforme é ministrado por Cristo glorificado. (Atos 2:33.) Paulo fala dos dons do Espírito num aspecto tríplice. São eles: "charismata", ou uma variedade de dons concedidos pelo mesmo Espírito (1Cor. 12: 4,7); "diakonai", ou variedade de serviços prestados na causa do mesmo Senhor; e "energemata", ou variedades de poder do mesmo Deus que opera tudo em todos.

Refere-se a todos esses aspectos como "a manifestação do Espírito", que é dado aos homens para proveito de todos. Qual é o propósito principal dos dons do Espírito Santo? São recursos espirituais concedidas com o propósito de edificar a igreja de Deus, por meio da instrução dos crentes e para ganhar novos convertidos (Efés 4: 7-13). Em 1Cor. 12: 8-10, Paulo enumera nove deusas, que podem ser classificados da seguinte maneira:

1. Aqueles que concedem poder para sabre sobrenaturalmente: a palavra de sabedoria, a palavra de ciência, e de discernimento.

2. Aqueles que concedem poder para agir sobrenaturalmente: fé, milagres, curas.

3. Aqueles que concedem poder para orar sobrenaturalmente: profecia, línguas, interpretação. Esses dons são bons como "a manifestação do Espírito", "dada a cada um, para o que para útil" (isto é, para o beneficio da igreja). Aqui temos a definição bíblica duma "manifestação" do Espírito, um sabre, uma operação de qualquer um dos nove dons do Espírito.

2. Variedade de Dons.

(a) Uma palavra de sabedoria. Por essa expressão entende-se o pronunciamento ou uma declaração de sabedoria. Que tipo de sabedoria? Isso se determinará melhor notando em quais sentidos se usa a palavra "sabedoria" no Novo Testamento.

É aplicada à arte de interpretar sonhos e dar conselhos sábios (Atos 7:10); à inteligência demonstrada no esclarecer o significado de algum número ou visão misteriosos (Apo. 13:18; 17: 9); prudência em tratar assuntos (Atos 6: 3); habilidade santa no trato com pessoas de fora da igreja (Col. 4: 5); jeito e discrição em comunicar verdades cristãs (Col. 1:28); o conhecimento e prática dos requisitos para uma vida piedosa e pura (Tia. 1: 5; 3:13, 17); o conhecimento e habilidade para uma defesa da causa de Cristo (Luc. 21:15); um conhecimento prático das coisas divinas e dos deveres humanos, unido ao poder de exposição concernente a essas coisas e deveres e de interpretar e aplicar a Palavra sagrada (Mat. 13:54; Mar. 6: 2; Atos 6:10); a sabedoria e a instrução com que João Batista e Jesus ensinaram aos homens o plano de salvação. (Mat. 11:19.)

Nos escritos de Paulo "a sabedoria" aplica-se a um conhecimento do plano divino, previamente escondido, de prover aos homens a salvação por meio da expiação de Cristo (1Cor. 1:30; Colossenses 2: 3); por conseguinte, afirma-se que em Cristo "estão escondidos todos os tesouros da sabedoria e da ciência" (Col. 2: 3); a sabedoria de Deus é manifestada na formação e execução de seus conselhos. (Rom. 11:33.) A palavra de sabedoria, pois, parece significar habilidade ou capacidade sobrenatural para expressar conhecimento nos sentidos supramencionados.

(b) A palavra de ciência é um pronunciamento ou declaração de fatos, inspirado dum modo sobrenatural. Em quais assuntos? Um estudo do uso da palavra "ciência" nos fornece a resposta. A palavra denota: o conhecimento de Deus, tal como é oferecido nos Evangelhos (2Cor. 2:14), especialmente na exposição que Paulo fez (2Cor. 10: 5); o conhecimento das coisas que pertencem a Deus (Rom. 11:13); inteligência e entendimento (Efés. 3:19); o conhecimento da fé cristã (Rom. 15:14; 1Cor. 1: 5); o conhecimento mais profundo, mais perfeito e mais amplo da vida cristã, tal como pertence aos mais avançados (1Cor. 12: 8; 13: 2,8,14: 6; 2Cor. 6: 6; 8: 7; 11,16 ); o conhecimento mais elevado das coisas divinas e cristãs das quais os falsos mestres se jactam (1 Tim. 6:20); sabedoria moral como se demonstra numa vida reta (2 Ped. 1: 5) e nas relações com os demais (1 Ped. 3: 7); o conhecimento concernente às coisas divinas e aos deveres humanos (Rom. 2:20; Col. 2: 3).

Qual a diferença entre sabedoria e ciência? Segundo um erudito, ciência é o conhecimento profundo ou a compreensão das coisas divinas, e sabedoria é o conhecimento prático ou habilidade que ordena ou regula a vida de acordo com seus princípios fundamentais. O dicionário de Thayer declara que onde "ciência" e "sabedoria" se usam juntas, a primeira parece ser o conhecimento considerado em si mesmo; a outra, o conhecimento manifestado em ação.

(c) Fé (Weymouth traduz: "fé especial".) Esta deve distinguir-se da fé salvadora e da confiança em Deus, sem a qual é impossível agradar-lhe (Heb. 11: 6). é certo que a fé salvadora é executada como um dom (Efés. 2: 8), mas nesta passagem a palavra "dom" é usada em nomeados como "obras", enquanto em 1Cor. 12: 9 a palavra usada significa uma dotação especial do poder do Espírito.

Que é o dom de fé? Donald Gee Resulte-o da seguinte maneira: ... uma qualidade de fé, às vezes chamada por nossos teólogos antigos, a "fé miraculosa", parece vir sobre alguns dos servos de Deus em tempos de crise e oportunidades especiais duma maneira tão poderosa , que são elevados para o reino da fé natural e comum em Deus, de forma que tem uma certeza posta em seus almas que faz triunfar sobre tudo ... possivelmente essa mesma qualidade de fé é o pensamento de nosso Senhor quando disse em Marcos 11h22: “Tende a fé de Deus” (Figueiredo).

Era uma fé desta qualidade especial de fé que ele podia dizer, que um grão dela podia remover uma montanha (Mat. 17:20). Um pouco dessa fé divina, que é um atributo de Todo-poderoso, posto na alma do homem - que milagres pode produzir! Vide exemplos da operação do dom em 1Reis 18: 33-35; Atos 3: 4.

(d) Dons de curar. Dizer que uma pessoa tenha os dons (note-se o plural, talvez referindo-se a uma variedade de curas) significa que são usados por Deus duma maneira sobrenatural para dar saúde aos enfermos por meio da oração. Parece ser um dom-sinal, de valor especial ao evangelista para atrair o povo ao Evangelho. (Atos 8: 6,7; 28: 8-10.) Não se deve entender que quem possui esse dom (ou uma pessoa possuída por esse dom) tenha o poder de curar a todos; deve dar-se lugar à sobriedade de Deus e à atitude e condição espiritual do enfermo. O próprio Cristo foi limitado em sua capacidade de operar milagres por causa da incredulidade de povo (Mat. 13:58). A pessoa enferma não depende inteiramente de quem possua o dom. Todos os crentes em geral, e os anciãos da igreja em particular, estão dotados de poder para orar pelos enfermos. (16:18 de março; Tia. 5:14.)

(e) Operação de milagres, literalmente "obras de poder". A chave é Poder. (Vide João 14:12; Atos 1: 8.) Os milagres "especiais" em Éfeso são uma operação da operação do dom. (Atos 19:11, 12; 5: 12-15.)

(f) Profecia. A profecia, geralmente falando, é expressão vocal inspirada pelo Espírito de Deus. A profecia bíblica pode ser por revelação, na qual o profeta proclama uma mensagem previamente recebida por meio dum sonho, uma visão ou pela Palavra do Senhor. Pode ser também extática, uma expressão de inspiração do momento. Há muitos exemplos bíblicos de ambas as formas.

A profecia extática e inspirada pode tomar a forma de exaltação e adoração a Cristo, admoestação exortativa, ou de conforto e encorajamento inspirando os crentes. - J. R. F. A profecia se distingue da pregação comum em que, enquanto a última geralmente é o produto do estudo de revelação existente, a profecia é o resultado da inspiração espiritual espontânea. Não se tenciona suplantar a pregação ou o ensino, senão completá-los com o toque da inspiração. A possessão do dom constituía uma pessoa "profeta". (Vide Atos 15:32; 21: 9; 1Cor. 14:29.) O propósito do dom de profecia do Novo Testamento é declarado em 1Cor. 14: 3 - o profeta edifica, exorta e consola os crentes.

A inspiração manifestada no dom de profecia não está no mesmo nível da inspiração das Escrituras. Isso está implícito pelo fato de que os crentes são instruídos a provar ou julgar como mensagens proféticas. (Vídeo 1Cor. 14:29.) Por que julgá-las ou prová-las? Uma razão é a possibilidade do espírito humano (Jr 23:16; Ezeq. 13: 2, 3) confundir sua mensagem com a divina, 1Tess. 5: 19-20 trata da operação do dom de profecia. Os conservadores tessalonicenses foram tão longe em sua desconfiança quanto a esses dons (v. 20), que estava em perigo de extinção do Espírito (v. 19); mas Paulo lhes disse que provassem cada mensagem (v. 21) e que retivessem o bem (v. 21), e que se abstivessem daquilo que tinha aparência do mal (v. 22).

Deve a profecia ou a interpretação ser dada na primeira pessoa do singular, como por exemplo: "Sou eu, o Senhor, que estou falando, povo meu"? A pergunta é muito importante, porque a qualidade de certas mensagens tem feito muita gente duvidar se foi o Senhor mesmo quem dessa falou maneira. A resposta depende da idéia que tenhamos do modo da inspiração. Será mecânica? Isto é, Deus usa a pessoa como se fosse um microfone, fonte a pessoa inteira passiva e tomando-se simplesmente um porta-voz? Ou será o método dinâmico? Isto é, Deus vivifica dum modo sobrenatural o natureza espiritual (nota: "meu espírito ora", 1 Cor. 14:14), capacitando a pessoa a falar a mensagem divina em termos fora do alcance natural das faculdades mentais?

Se Deus inspira segundo o primeiro método usado, uma primeira pessoa do singular, naturalmente, seria usada; de acordo com o segundo método a mensagem seria dada na terceira pessoa; por exemplo: "o Senhor deseja que seu povo olhe para cima e que se anime, etc." Muitos obreiros experientes crêem que as interpretações e mensagens proféticas devem ser dadas na terceira pessoa do singular. (Veja-se Luc. 1: 67-79; 1Cor. 14:14, 15.)

(g) Discernimento de espíritos. Vimos que pode haver uma inspiração falsa, a obra de espíritos enganadores ou do espírito humano. Como se pode perceber a diferença? Pelo dom de discernimento que dá capacidade ao possuidor para determinar se o profeta está falando ou não pelo Espírito de Deus. Esse dom capacita o possuidor para "enxergar" todas as aparências externas e conhecer a verdadeira natureza duma inspiração. Uma operação do dom de discernimento pode ser examinada por duas outras provas: a doutrinária (1João 4: 1-6) e a prática (Mat. 7: 15-23). A operação desse dom é ilustrada nas seguintes passagens:

João 1: 47-50; 2:25; 3: 1-3; 2Reis 5: 20-26; Atos 5: 3; 8:23; 16: 16-18. Essas referências indicam que o dom capacita a alguém a discernir o caráter espiritual duma pessoa. Distingue-se esse dom da percepção natural da natureza humana, e mui especialmente dum espírito crítico que procura faltas nos outros.

(h) Línguas. "Variedade de línguas." "O dom de línguas é o poder de falar sobrenaturalmente em uma língua nunca aprendida por quem fala, sendo essa língua feita inteligível aos ouvintes por meio do dom igualmente sobrenatural de interpretação." Parece haver duas classes de mensagens em línguas: primeira, louvor em êxtase dirigido a Deus somente (1 Cor. 14: 2); segunda, uma mensagem definida para a igreja (1Cor. 14: 5). Distingue-se entre as línguas como sinal e línguas como dom. A primeira é para todos (Atos 2: 4); a outra não é para todos (1 Co 12:30).

(i) Interpretação de línguas. Assim chamado Donald Gee: O propósito do dom de interpretação e tornar inteligíveis as expressões do êxtase inspiradas pelo Espírito que se pronunciar em uma língua desconhecida da grande maioria presente, repetindo-se claramente na língua comum, do povo congregado. É uma operação puramente espiritual. O mesmo Espírito que inspirou o falar em outras línguas, pelo qual as palavras pronunciadas procedem do espírito e não do intelecto, pode inspirar também a sua interpretação.

A interpretação é, portanto, inspirada, extática e espontânea. Assim como o falar em língua não é concebido na mente, da mesma, maneira a interpretação emana do espírito antes que do intelecto do homem. Nota-se que as línguas em conjunto com a interpretação tomam o mesmo valor de profecia. (Vide 1Cor. 14: 5.) Por que, então, não nos contentarmos com a profecia? Porque as línguas são um "sinal" para os incrédulos (1Cor. 14:22). Nota: Já se sugeriu que os ministérios enumerados em Rom. 12: 6-8 e em 1Cor. 12:28, também derem estar incluído sob a classificação "charismata" - ampliando-se dessa forma o alcance dos dons espirituais para incluir os ministérios inspirados pelo Espírito.

3. Regulamento dos dons.

A faísca que fende as árvores, queima casas e mata gente, é da mesma natureza da eletricidade gerada na usina que casas tão eficientemente ilumina como e aciona as fábricas. A diferença está apenas em que a da usina é controlada. Em 1Coríntios capítulo 12, Paulo revelou os grandiosos recursos espirituais de poder disponível para a igreja; sem tampa. 14 ele mostra como esse poder deve ser regulado, de modo que edifique, em lugar de destruir, a igreja. A instrução era necessária, pois uma leitura desse capítulo demonstrará que a desordem havia reinado em algumas reuniões, devido à falta de conhecimento das manifestações espirituais. O capítulo 14 expõe os princípios para esse regulamento:

(a) Valor proporcional. (Vs. 5-10.) Os coríntios iniciados-se inclinado demasiadamente para o dom de línguas, indubitavelmente por causa de sua natureza espetacular. Paulo lembra-lhes que a interpretação e a profecia eram necessárias para que o povo pudesse ter conhecimento inteligente do que se estava dizendo.

(b) Edificação. O propósito dos dons é a edificação da igreja, para encorajar os crentes e converter os descrentes. Mas, diz, Paulo, se um de fora entra na igreja e tudo que ouve é falar em línguas sem interpretação, bem concluirá: esse povo é demente. (Vs. 12, 23.) A operação desse dom é ilustrada nas seguintes passagens: João 1: 47-50; 2:25; 3: 1-3; 2 Reis 5: 20-26; Atos 5: 3; 8:23; 16: 16-18. Essas referências indicam que o dom capacita a alguém a discernir o caráter espiritual duma pessoa. Distingue-se esse dom da percepção natural da natureza humana, e mui especialmente dum espírito crítico que procura faltas nos outros.

(d) Autodomínio. (Vs. 32.) Alguns coríntios podem protestar assim: "não podemos silenciar; quando o Espírito Santo vem sobre nós, somos obrigados a falar. Mas Paulo respondeia:" Os espíritos dos profetas estão sujeitos aos profetas. "Isto é, aquele que possui o dom de línguas pode dominar sua expansão e falar unicamente a Deus, quando tal domínio seja necessário.

(e) Ordem. (Vs. 40.) "Mas faça-se tudo decentemente e com ordem." O Espírito Santo, o grande Arquiteto do universo com toda a sua beleza, não inspirará aquilo que seja desordenado e vergonhoso. Quando o Espírito Santo estiver operando com poder, haverá uma comoção e um movimento, e aqueles que aprenderem a renderizar a ele não criarão cenas que não edifiquem.

(f) Suscetível de ensino. Infere-se dos versos 36 e 37 que alguns dos coríntios iniciados ficado ofendidos pela crítica construtiva de seus dirigentes. Nota 1. Infere-se, pelo cap. 14 de I Coríntios, que existe poder para ser governado. Portanto, o capítulo seria sem nenhum significado para uma igreja que não experimenta as manifestações do Espírito. é muito certo que os coríntios pegados descarrilado quanto aos dons espirituais. Entretanto, ao menos tinha os trilhos e uma estrada! Se Paulo tivesse agido como alguns básicos modernos, teria adicionado até a estrada e os trilhos!

Em lugar disso, ele sabiamente os colocados de novo sobre os trilhos para prosseguirirem viagem! Quando a igreja do segundo e terceiro séculos reagiu contra certas extravagâncias, ela inclinou-se para o outro extremo e deixou muito pouco lugar para as operações do Espírito. Mas essa é apenas uma parte da explicação do arrefecimento do entusiasmo da igreja e a cessação geral das manifestações espirituais. Cedo na história da igreja começou um processo centralizador de sua organização e a formação de credos dogmáticos e inflexíveis. Ainda que isso fosse necessário como contra a defesa como falsas seitas, tinha a tendência de impedir o movimento livre do Espírito e fazer do Cristianismo uma questão de ortodoxia mais do que vitalidade espiritual.

Assim chamado o Dr. T. Rees: No primeiro século, o Espírito era conhecido por suas manifestações, mas do segundo século anterior era conhecido pela regra da igreja, e qualquer fenômeno espiritual que não estava em conformidade com essa regra era atribuída a espíritos maus. As mesmas causas, nos tempos modernos, têm resultado em descuido da doutrina e da obra do Espírito Santo, descuido reconhecido e lamentado por muitos dirigentes religiosos. Apesar de fatos, o poder do Espírito Santo nunca deixou de romper todos os impedimentos do indiferentismo e formalismo, e operar com força vivificadora.

Nota 2. Devemos diferenciar entre manifestações e reações. Tomemos a ilustração a seguir: a luz da lâmpada elétrica é uma manifestação da eletricidade; é da natureza da eletricidade manifestar-se na forma de luz. Mas quando alguém toma um choque elétrico e solta um grito ensurdecedor, não podemos dizer que o grito seja manifestação da eletricidade, porque não está na natureza da eletricidade manifestar-se em voz audível. O que aconteceu foi a reação da pessoa à corrente elétrica! Naturalmente a reação dependerá do caráter e temperamento da pessoa. Algumas pessoas calmas e de "sangue frio" apenas suspirariam, ofegantes, sem dizer nada. Apliquemos essa regra ao poder espiritual. As operações dos dons em 1Cor. 12: 7-10 são biblicamente comuns como manifestações do Espírito. Muitas ações porém em geral chamadas "manifestações", realmente são reações da pessoa ao movimento do Espírito. Referimo-nos a tais ações como gritar, chorar, levantar as mãos e outras cenas. Que valor prático há no conhecimento dessa distinção?

1) Ajudar-nos a honrar e reconhecer a obra do Espírito sem atribuir a ele tudo o que se passa nas reuniões. Os padrões, ignorando a base de dados, incorretamente concluem que a falta de elegância ou estética na manifestação de certa pessoa prova que ela não está inspirada pelo Espírito Santo. Tais tendências são comparados ao indivíduo que, ao ver os movimentos grotescos de quem está tomando forte choque elétrico, exclamasse: "A eletricidade não se manifesta assim"! O impacto direto do Espírito Santo é de tal forma comovente, que bem podemos desculpar a frágil natureza humana por não se comportar como se fosse uma influência mais gentil.

2) O conhecimento dessa distinção, naturalmente, estimular um reagir ao movimento do Espírito duma maneira que sempre glorifique a Deus. Certamente é tão injusto criticar as extravagâncias dum novo convertido como criticar as quedas e tropeços da criancinha que aprende a andar. Mas ao mesmo tempo, orientado por 1Cor. ?, é claro que Deus quer que seu povo reaja ao Espírito, duma maneira inteligente, edificante e disciplinada. "Procurai abundar neles, para edificação da igreja" (1Cor.?: 12).

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