Light On Dark Water

The Intellect Cannot Cope

The intellect cannot cope with such paradoxes, though it somehow senses the reality beyond all reality, the truth beyond all truth. Precisely here lies the danger. The mind must never allow itself to be misled into seeming 'comprehension,' into facile sensations or phrases with nothing solid behind them. The whole problem is a mystery, the sacred mystery of the relationship of the triune God to his incarnate Son. We can never penetrate it, and knowledge of this incapacity must dominate our every thought and statement concerning Jesus' life.

–Romano Guardini, The Lord

I think this basic idea is itself almost a commonplace now, so much so that it can become another means of evasion, of "seeming 'comprehension'".  So that stern "must dominate" is still needed, and always will be. 

Maclin Horton
,

13 responses to “The Intellect Cannot Cope”

  1. Marianne

    I think another danger is that the “knowledge of this incapacity” can edge us close to being overwhelmed by doubt.

    Reply
  2. Mac

    It doesn’t work on me that way but I can see how it could. In fact I think the need or effort to comprehend might be more likely to undermine my faith.

    Reply
  3. Mac

    By the way are you near Christchurch? This atrocity must be really disturbing. I think of NZ as a pretty quiet and peaceful place.

    Reply
  4. Marianne

    I’m in Dunedin, a little over 200 miles south of Christchurch. The massacre at the two mosques is truly disturbing. I was watching local TV last night and the news presenters were practically shaking and kept repeating how this is not what New Zealanders are like, how could it happen here.

    Reply
  5. Mac

    From the “what does this say about us?” standpoint, I guess it could be slightly reassuring that it wasn’t a New Zealander. I haven’t seen any explanation for why he did it there and not in his own country.

    Reply
  6. Marianne

    This AP story says he wrote in his “manifesto” that he “chose New Zealand to show that even the most remote parts of the world are not free of ‘mass immigration’.”
    Maybe he didn’t choose Australia because they’ve got much stricter gun laws than New Zealand and he couldn’t acquire guns there:
    “New Zealand does not ban semi-automatic firearms, unlike Australia and the U.K. (Norway will follow suit in 2021.) And while New Zealand gun owners are required to obtain a license and complete a gun safety course, they do not have to register their guns, with some exceptions, making it impossible for police to know the exact number of firearms in the country.”

    Reply
  7. Mac

    Sounds plausible.

    Reply
  8. Paul

    The last I read, the killer, although Australian, had been living in Dunedin.

    Reply
  9. Marianne

    Yes, he’s been living in Dunedin for a couple of years, and apparently had originally intended to do his killing at the mosque here rather than in Christchurch.

    Reply
  10. Stu

    A gun loving friend of mine was telling me last night that the New Zealand atrocity may be faked my multiple news outlets. You all will be proud that I did not get upset with him, just listened in a bemused state. He of course has plenty of internet support that agrees with this way of thinking. They are trying to take our guns, and this is what they do to support that.

    Reply
  11. Mac

    I congratulate you on your restraint. Funny how you seem to know more right-wing nuts than I do.

    Reply
  12. Stu

    He is a very good friend of mine. Played guitar at my wedding. Plans on coming up here to visit in July. I have learned through the years that if I do not argue the conversation ends much faster, and we can get back to sanity.

    Reply
  13. Mac

    I’m getting better at not arguing. I’m working on being civil in the process. “That’s too stupid to argue with” is not really the best tactic.

    Reply

Leave a reply to Marianne Cancel reply

Instagram / TikTok / X

Designed with WordPress