My Sunday Scripture 2009.12.6
In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar's reign, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the territories of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
and while the high-priesthood was held by Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah, in the desert.
He went through the whole Jordan area proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the sayings of Isaiah the prophet: A voice of one that cries in the desert: Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight!
Let every valley be filled in, every mountain and hill be levelled, winding ways be straightened and rough roads made smooth,
and all humanity will see the salvation of God.
Saint Luke 3:1-6
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My Reading Notes:
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I have been reading Al Gore's book recently. He said the Founders of America had put "faith" and "reason" in an opposite direction. He mentioned the idea from the founders of the States, that America is not a Chiristian country, nor it a Jewish or Mohamedan country. By putting the same importance to different sects, they had eliminated the religious power in the country. May be it is due to this idea, that the American people had given "reason" ultimate importance. They thought reason is the opposition of faith. However, we from the far east can see that, the balancing power of reason is spirit, not faith.
A country with high reasoning power, but lacking a spirit to balance it, is bound to have problem. This is the real problem of America, not terrorism.
What is a "spirit"? Is the "American Spirit" a spirit?
No. American Spirit is but the conclusion of some "reasoning power". It is a theory.
We can see that a spirit is coming from within, it is from the mind, it is life force, it is religious, but not necessary a religious doctrine.
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