There is evidence of not only Biblical illiteracy in the Church but also an inability to give an apologetic for why the Bible is God’ Word. The Apostle John is not ambiguous in the least:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was at the beginning with God. All things were made through
him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was
life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his
glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and
truth. (John 1:1–4, 14 ESV).
Dull or Dazzling? J.M.W. Turner in the Service of Geometry (and the Search for Fun and Form in Theological Studies)
Some things appear dull until we draw closer. Then, upon closer
examination, the dull becomes dazzling.
Geometry was like that for me. Geometry is a relatively small god on the
pantheon of mathematical deities. However, I was not too fond of the
very thought of it. My seventh-grade geometry teacher perceived that I
was indifferent or disinterested in what she felt was ”the wonderful
world” of geometry. A fantastic educator (and an effective evangelist
for her subject), Mrs. Engle* wanted every student to be as excited
about geometry as she was. I was apparently easy to read in my subdued
enthusiasm for vectors and triangles. She took me aside to talk about
it. I agreed to her plan, though it sounded far-fetched. Only now do I
see her wisdom and thank God for her commitment to education. She and
Mr. Engle* picked me up from our rural isolated home, and drove an hour,
on a Saturday morning trip, to an art museum. My teacher even arranged a
time to study representative works of J.M.W. Turner carefully, John
Constable, Vincent van Gogh, and Claude Monet (”my favorite artists,” I
had informed her earlier). She directed my attention to the points,
planes, and polygons in Monet’s Water ”Lilies” (1916), Turner’s ”The
Fighting Temeraire” (1839), and Constable’s ”Study of Clouds” (1822). I
became appreciative of the undeniable presence of form and shape in
paintings. As an artist, I continue to paint by thinking of geometric
bodies within the drawing. Geometry came alive and stayed with me. As a theologian I respond to research questions and scholarly inquiry (as well as the praxis of pastoral ministry and pastoral theology) with the lessons from my geometry class. Locate the vectors, note the connecting lines, and consider the shape of things.
By the way, my
irresponsible grade of “D” became a relatively respectable “B-.“ Not great. Under the circumstance, not that bad! However, the undoubtedly transformative take-away for this cleric and educator remains: locate the dimension points of the intellectual challenge, and having discovered a form, observe the space between the vectors. What and where are the invisible lines crossing and criss-crossing the vector field. What is created at the nexus of the vector lines? All of the concepts may be applied to fine art—and theology.
And that is when the dull
became dazzling.
The River of Doubt
Candice Millard is at the top of my favorite authors. I do appreciate a fine work of literature in which the author locates (and svectors of relevancy in the respective, vector lines of.