The Trinity has been and will continue to be a difficult concept to grasp, for it cannot be physically studied. Dorothy Sayers relates it to what she calls “The creative trinity”. Although some Christians believe that nothing in creation resembles the Trinity, the creative trinity on earth resembles the Heavenly one because it was created by the Heavenly Trinity and contains characteristics of it. One example of their likeness is that both are threefold (Mind of the Maker 37). However, before one attempts to discuss whether the creative trinity and the Holy Trinity relate, he should first understand a bit, of what the two are separately.
The creative trinity is made up of three parts. The first part is the “Idea” (Mind of the Maker 37). The Idea, in the writer’s sense, is an idea for a story that has not yet been thought of by the writer. It is unacknowledged and not subject to form, process, or time. As one reads any story, he shall discover the mutual components shared amongst them. To be more precise, every idea holds, at least, goodness, truth, and beauty in common. Although one might claim that the relation of goodness, truth, and beauty to a story about mountain climbing, or rivaling countries is vague, mountains themselves are beautiful, and when God created them, He “saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:10). This story involves the goodness and beauty that God inlaid into the mountains and will most likely continue about how to better view its beauty. The rivaling countries are, just as the mountains, each beautifully made by God, and the conflict between them is a battle for good no matter how it may end. From here, one might recognize that if goodness, truth, and beauty are attributes of God, the idea, in turn, must resemble God.
The second part of the creative trinity is the “Energy” (Mind of the Maker 37). Through this Energy, the Idea is made known to man. When a writer thinks of an Idea or writes it down on paper, this is the Energy at work. Without Energy, the Idea remains unacknowledged. Dorothy Sayers says that Energy is concerned with that which has to do with, “consciousness”, “form”, “time”, or “process” (Mind of the Maker38). Upon hearing the distinction between the two, one might propose that there is no Idea, but only Energy. This is a welcome and important point, but when one writes a story and says that a certain part does not fit his book as a whole, he implies that there is an overruling authority governing how the story should be. The Energy points to a standard that the writer attempts to achieve. Energy cannot rule itself, but it is the Idea, which guides the writer to determine how his story should be.
Lastly, within the creative trinity is the “Power” (Mind of the Maker 38-39). Power interprets what the Energy represents by conveying the meaning of the story to the reader. It provides understanding of what the characters, words, plot, and physical pages of the book are trying to convey. Power is vital to the creative trinity, for without it, man would have no understanding of the Idea and the book would be a purposeless book on a shelf. All three parts of the creative trinity must be present in order to create a book, for without the Idea, there is nothing to represent or interpret, without Energy, the Idea is unacknowledged, and without Power comes ignorance. Through the Energy, Power is able to make the Idea understood. The creative trinity, in these ways, resembles the Heavenly one.
Like the creative trinity, the Holy Trinity is threefold. C. S. Lewis, a popular theist in the twentieth century, calls the trinity a “three-personal being” (Mere Christianity 162). He says that just as a three-dimensional cube is made up of six two-dimensional squares, the one being Trinity is made up of three persons (Mere Christianity 162). These three persons are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God the Father, which the Idea symbolizes in the creative trinity, is incomprehensible, and not subject to form, process, or time by himself. As the Idea is composed of goodness, truth, and beauty so is God, for the Bible says that God is “good”, “true”, and “beautiful” (Luke 18:19; 1 John 5:20; Psalms 27:4). Just how all that is created by the creative trinity reflects the idea, and is made physical Energy, all of creation reflects the Father and by the Son, it is brought into existence.
The Son is the second person of the Holy Trinity. He represents God the Father and makes Him tangible to man. He is the physical and mental form of God who deals with consciousness, form, time, and process. Without the Son, God the Father would remain incomprehensible to man. One might consider it incorrect to say that without the Son, the Father would be incomprehensible to man, since before the manifestation of Christ, man knew of God and talked with him. This is true, but what one must remember is that the Son is not only the physical form of God, but the mental form as well and before His birth, he still existed. For the Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2). The Son is the mental form that allows man to acknowledge the existence of God, for the Bible says, “no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27). This is the same to any accusations against the creative trinity as well, for just how the Son was not created at His manifestation, the Energy is not created at the manifestation of a story, but exists before it.
The third and last person of the Holy Trinity is the Holy Spirit. He interprets what Jesus taught. Through Jesus the Holy Spirit able to give man understanding about the Father. The Holy Spirit guides and teaches man about the word of Christ, for Christ Himself said, “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14). The Holy Spirit is a part of the Trinity and the Bible speaks of those who will and have “received” Him (Acts 8:17). It is by the Holy Spirit that communion with God has been restored to man.
Although a man may suggest that one can separate the trinity in order to understand it, the three parts of the trinity are inseparable. Man can never begin to comprehend an incomprehensible God without all its parts. It is impossible to separate the trinity in order to look at one part, but through two, a man may distinguish one. It is by the Son and the Holy Spirit that mankind learns of the Father. One might question this seeing that the Israelites knew God before Christ. This is an important point, because it may bring clarification and validity to the previous statement. Before Christ was manifested, not all were able to know God personally. Although the Israelites were God’s chosen people, only the holiest of Priests were allowed in God’s presence and He chose certain people to reveal Himself to. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, every man is allowed in the presence of God and may converse with Him through prayer. The Bible says that Christians have been “buried” in “baptism” and “raised with him in faith” (Col. 2:12).
One might declare the creative trinity irrelevant to the Holy Trinity because multiple kinds of stories exist. This would mean that multiple Energies manifest the Idea each in its own way and implies multiples Sons of God. This acts against Christian doctrine, for there is only one Christ. This is true, but the fact that different stories are made does not mean that there is more than one Idea, Energy, or Power. Since the Idea is composed of three parts, it is represented in different ways. The idea contains goodness, truth, and beauty. From these, Energy is able to manifest different stories such as Hamlet, The Lord of the Rings, The Republic, and etcetera. Every story must contain the goodness, truth, and beauty of God. A story missing one of the three is like a book missing a chapter. The characters, plot, words, and pages would be representing an incomplete idea.
When man creates, he uses the creative trinity that reflects the Heavenly one. When a man looks upon creation and has learned to see the goodness, truth, and beauty of God that is incorporated within, he catches a glimpse of the master at work. Through the creative trinity, one can see the fingerprints of God upon all of creation. As a story must be in alignment with goodness, truth, and beauty as its Idea in order for it to be the true story that the writer intended, man must be in alignment with God in order to live as God intends them to. May God guide man in his seeking to learn of the trinity, for when he does, he shall receive a better understanding of who God is. When one sees the complexity and beauty in creation through the creative trinity at work, he shall receive joy from learning a bit more of His God.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Monday, December 18, 2006
The Excellent Beauty!
Such a lovely topic. Can beauty be defined? I believe yes, to an extent. I spent most of the day last Monday thinking about this question. Before asking if beauty can or cannot be defined, I asked, "What is a definition? How does one go about defining anything?". I came up with this, and tell me what you think.
In order for man to acknowledge and remember his experience with beauty, he must retain in his mind all emotions, images, and words that it provokes. When he stores in his psyche that which accurately conveys his relation and experience with beauty, he may remember it. Man can have memory of his experience with beauty in one of two means. He may remember beauty in the physical as well as the spiritual realm. For example, a man may remember the beauty in his wife as well as the beauty in his love for Christ. Man will not attribute all to the spiritual realm that he does to the physical. He will remember the beauty in the spiritual realm by attributing only words and emotions to it, for except by Christ he has, by no means, perceived the spiritual in human form. He will attribute the same for the physical realm save for one additional property. Along with words and emotions, a man will attach in his mind, a mental image of the physical properties of an entity. A man will remember the nightstand in his bedroom by the mentioning of its name, which then rouses the mental image and his emotion towards it and vice versa. All emotions, pictures, and words are accumulated into the memory so that one may recall an experience of an object or the divine at another point in time. If a man were not competent in doing so, he would never be aware of what he encounters, and would have no knowledge of it. He may see another man, yet when he turns his eyes away, he will have no recognition of ever having seen him. God has bestowed upon man the gift of memory and definition in order that man may behold Him in His divine sublimity and beauty as well as in that which he has created. Beauty must, at least to some degree, be able to be defined; otherwise, man would have no knowledge of it. Though a man may accurately define beauty, he may not completely define it. It is for the same reason why one cannot fully define his neighbor; though he may know a great deal about him, he has not experienced the life of his neighbor from within. He is neither beauty nor its creator. When one realizes his inability to fully and completely define beauty, he attains an idea of how vast and great the splendor of God is upon the human understanding. He has a far greater chance to contain the earth into a one-foot square container then to fully define and comprehend God. God does not define beauty, beauty defines God; it shines upon man a dim reflection of His absolute, undeniable, and righteous perfection.
I leave you open to annihilate my theory if you will. Do not hold back, for it is not by the preservation and praise of false claims that truth is found. 8)
In Christ, †††
-Brian
In order for man to acknowledge and remember his experience with beauty, he must retain in his mind all emotions, images, and words that it provokes. When he stores in his psyche that which accurately conveys his relation and experience with beauty, he may remember it. Man can have memory of his experience with beauty in one of two means. He may remember beauty in the physical as well as the spiritual realm. For example, a man may remember the beauty in his wife as well as the beauty in his love for Christ. Man will not attribute all to the spiritual realm that he does to the physical. He will remember the beauty in the spiritual realm by attributing only words and emotions to it, for except by Christ he has, by no means, perceived the spiritual in human form. He will attribute the same for the physical realm save for one additional property. Along with words and emotions, a man will attach in his mind, a mental image of the physical properties of an entity. A man will remember the nightstand in his bedroom by the mentioning of its name, which then rouses the mental image and his emotion towards it and vice versa. All emotions, pictures, and words are accumulated into the memory so that one may recall an experience of an object or the divine at another point in time. If a man were not competent in doing so, he would never be aware of what he encounters, and would have no knowledge of it. He may see another man, yet when he turns his eyes away, he will have no recognition of ever having seen him. God has bestowed upon man the gift of memory and definition in order that man may behold Him in His divine sublimity and beauty as well as in that which he has created. Beauty must, at least to some degree, be able to be defined; otherwise, man would have no knowledge of it. Though a man may accurately define beauty, he may not completely define it. It is for the same reason why one cannot fully define his neighbor; though he may know a great deal about him, he has not experienced the life of his neighbor from within. He is neither beauty nor its creator. When one realizes his inability to fully and completely define beauty, he attains an idea of how vast and great the splendor of God is upon the human understanding. He has a far greater chance to contain the earth into a one-foot square container then to fully define and comprehend God. God does not define beauty, beauty defines God; it shines upon man a dim reflection of His absolute, undeniable, and righteous perfection.
I leave you open to annihilate my theory if you will. Do not hold back, for it is not by the preservation and praise of false claims that truth is found. 8)
In Christ, †††
-Brian
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
On My Conviction
I accepted Christ when I was around five years of age. As I watched a movie about the Revelation with my parents, I asked them what was happening. They told me that the movie was about the future and proceeded to explain the rapture. They then told me about God and how He loves me. They told me, if I had faith that Christ came to earth to die on the cross for my sins, that I would spend eternity with Him (John 3:16). I attempted to understand as much as I could for a five year old. However, since I was five, I could only comprehend so much. I believed in Christ, but I did not understand how this knowledge would affect my life.
About ten years went by, and the ignorance of my faith continued to persist, until one day when my Youth Pastor mentioned how one’s faith should be real in his life. He said that I should not consider my faith as a religion, but as an intimate relationship with God. This had been told to me before and had always gone in one ear and then out the other, yet this time it stuck. I came to reality with my faith. I pondered this, and found it intriguing to think that God wishes to have a personal connection with me. The very same God that created everything; the universe, matter, thought, reason, and my very soul itself. He knows who I am and loves me in spite of the sin that corrupts my life. John 3:16 begins with, "For God so loved the world". The thought that God can love a corrupted human race that deserves death is amazing! I opened my Bible and began to read about salvation. I discovered that by God’s great love, I have been born again, and through this, my spirit has been made alive with Christ; I learned that it is by his grace, that I am saved (John 3:5-6; Ephesians 2:4-5). I then realized that all my life I was trying to live up to certain expectations in order to please God and yet continued to fail. I then lost hope, thinking that God would never be pleased with me. I then put on a facade, telling everyone that I was fine, even convincing myself. Yet, I remained in my despair. Grace, it is by His grace! If I were perfect, I would not need grace. God loves me despite my failure. With this new perspective on my life, I re-examined my faith.
I asked myself whether not my faith was indeed a real part of my life. As a Christian, was I behaving any differently than I had as a non-believer? If not, then not only was my faith not influencing my life, but I was atrophying spiritually. I decided to put a stop to this. I knew that I should desire to be different, for if I truly love Christ, I should have a passion to emulate him, not the world. At that moment, I rededicated my life to Christ. I would from then on seek God with all my heart and devote my life to Him. I prayed that God would continually increase my passion to fill even the minute capacity that I have for the knowledge of Him and that He would increase my capacity for it. I would seek after his divine goodness, truth, and beauty. I vowed to be wholly dependant upon Him and to allow Him to have absolute reign in my heart.
My attitude towards life was greatly influenced by 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So, run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified”. It showed me that I must live my life as if I were in a race and continue to discipline myself, so that I will not lose the eternity with God that I seek to obtain. I continually pray that God would guide me in my seeking of Him and that He would continue to give me the strength, wisdom, and guidance to enable my logic and reason to rule my desires and passions through the heart that I have submitted to Him.
-Brian
About ten years went by, and the ignorance of my faith continued to persist, until one day when my Youth Pastor mentioned how one’s faith should be real in his life. He said that I should not consider my faith as a religion, but as an intimate relationship with God. This had been told to me before and had always gone in one ear and then out the other, yet this time it stuck. I came to reality with my faith. I pondered this, and found it intriguing to think that God wishes to have a personal connection with me. The very same God that created everything; the universe, matter, thought, reason, and my very soul itself. He knows who I am and loves me in spite of the sin that corrupts my life. John 3:16 begins with, "For God so loved the world". The thought that God can love a corrupted human race that deserves death is amazing! I opened my Bible and began to read about salvation. I discovered that by God’s great love, I have been born again, and through this, my spirit has been made alive with Christ; I learned that it is by his grace, that I am saved (John 3:5-6; Ephesians 2:4-5). I then realized that all my life I was trying to live up to certain expectations in order to please God and yet continued to fail. I then lost hope, thinking that God would never be pleased with me. I then put on a facade, telling everyone that I was fine, even convincing myself. Yet, I remained in my despair. Grace, it is by His grace! If I were perfect, I would not need grace. God loves me despite my failure. With this new perspective on my life, I re-examined my faith.
I asked myself whether not my faith was indeed a real part of my life. As a Christian, was I behaving any differently than I had as a non-believer? If not, then not only was my faith not influencing my life, but I was atrophying spiritually. I decided to put a stop to this. I knew that I should desire to be different, for if I truly love Christ, I should have a passion to emulate him, not the world. At that moment, I rededicated my life to Christ. I would from then on seek God with all my heart and devote my life to Him. I prayed that God would continually increase my passion to fill even the minute capacity that I have for the knowledge of Him and that He would increase my capacity for it. I would seek after his divine goodness, truth, and beauty. I vowed to be wholly dependant upon Him and to allow Him to have absolute reign in my heart.
My attitude towards life was greatly influenced by 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So, run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified”. It showed me that I must live my life as if I were in a race and continue to discipline myself, so that I will not lose the eternity with God that I seek to obtain. I continually pray that God would guide me in my seeking of Him and that He would continue to give me the strength, wisdom, and guidance to enable my logic and reason to rule my desires and passions through the heart that I have submitted to Him.
-Brian
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
A Dying Art
A rolling of the eyes, a sigh of disgust, a disengagement of interest; these are a few responses that will often be received when the passion of his/her faith amongst his/her friends. When questions that entail deep thought are asked, quick and short answers are given so that the conversation may continue in a more "interesting" and "exciting" manner. A sad truth is that these are not given only by non-Christians, but they are far too often given by fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Too many Christians look down upon these men and women for attempting to hold an edifying and important conversation. They are regarded as, "annoying" and/or "boring".
Christians claim to be seeking God, and yet turn the other way when serious contemplation is involved. They believe that to seek God is easy or at least something that doesn't involve one's intellect. If "seeks God" by trying not to mess up as best as possible so he/she can get to Heaven, then he/she has the wrong perspective. If he has a sincere passion to be intimate with God, he will desire to emulate Christ in all he does. What does intimacy with God mean? Intimacy means to be close, dear or personal. When one is Intimate with God, he desires to know God by being personal, dear, and personal with Him. This is not an easy feat; for no one can fully understand God. If the anchient philosophers must wrestle with their knowledge of God and admit that they know a mere handful of who He is, then how can a generation that detests understanding ever hope to be Intimate with Him. Our culture is content to remain where it is.
One must understand that his passion to learn of God is born when he asks God to set his heart to seek after Him. With this passion, he will gradually see the joy in understanding; for with it, one may learn a bit of who God is. He is given a new perspective on creation, for he now sees it as a beautiful creation reflecting the majesty and loving care of our Heavenly Father.
May the Lord find favor in those who truly seek Him. May He set ablaze those who are no longer content to remain a tiny flicker of flame for His name. May the Lord turn these fading cinders into a raging fire to impact the world for Christ! Ah, as we continue our journey in this dying art of contemplation and the seeking of goodness, truth, and beauty, may the Lord make our desire to fill even our minute capacity for the understanding of God be truly passionate and may it ever increase. May the Lord inspire our desires of our stomach to develop the intelligence of our minds with a true heart to submit ourselves to the majesty of the true king of all things! Amen!
-Brian
Christians claim to be seeking God, and yet turn the other way when serious contemplation is involved. They believe that to seek God is easy or at least something that doesn't involve one's intellect. If "seeks God" by trying not to mess up as best as possible so he/she can get to Heaven, then he/she has the wrong perspective. If he has a sincere passion to be intimate with God, he will desire to emulate Christ in all he does. What does intimacy with God mean? Intimacy means to be close, dear or personal. When one is Intimate with God, he desires to know God by being personal, dear, and personal with Him. This is not an easy feat; for no one can fully understand God. If the anchient philosophers must wrestle with their knowledge of God and admit that they know a mere handful of who He is, then how can a generation that detests understanding ever hope to be Intimate with Him. Our culture is content to remain where it is.
One must understand that his passion to learn of God is born when he asks God to set his heart to seek after Him. With this passion, he will gradually see the joy in understanding; for with it, one may learn a bit of who God is. He is given a new perspective on creation, for he now sees it as a beautiful creation reflecting the majesty and loving care of our Heavenly Father.
May the Lord find favor in those who truly seek Him. May He set ablaze those who are no longer content to remain a tiny flicker of flame for His name. May the Lord turn these fading cinders into a raging fire to impact the world for Christ! Ah, as we continue our journey in this dying art of contemplation and the seeking of goodness, truth, and beauty, may the Lord make our desire to fill even our minute capacity for the understanding of God be truly passionate and may it ever increase. May the Lord inspire our desires of our stomach to develop the intelligence of our minds with a true heart to submit ourselves to the majesty of the true king of all things! Amen!
-Brian
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Failure
The word "fail" tends to bring a negative feeling to our thoughts. When we discover our failure, we cringe and try to make excuses for why we are not at fault. Why must we make believe that we are perfect? Our self-pride builds a defensive wall against the truth. Pride tries to induce us with a false illusion of our self-righteousness. One’s faults are considered a mere reaction to a society that has treated him badly. Our society excuses this attitude due to an outside factor. When God eliminates a man's self-pride, he is grateful to be made aware of his faults, for he is then able to bring them before God.
When one says, "I have failed", he is really saying that he has not met a certain standard that has been set over him. To fail is to be human, for it is man’s human nature to sin; yet this is not how God intended us to live. God made us to be in constant communion with Him, without sin. The sin of Adam and Eve caused the fall of man and the separation between God and his creation; yet, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, communion with God has been restored to those who believe in Him. We strive to be like Christ, and yet our sinful nature places our priorities out of order. We place our desires and aversions over our dependence and trust in God.
When one struggles with a sin, he tends to become a slave to it. He asks, “Why is it that when I try to seek God, I can’t fix my corruption?” this question almost answers itself. The answer is that we cannot fix our own corruption. Only God may has the power and righteousness to do this. When we try on our own, we will fail; for when we are apart from God, it is our nature to be corrupt. We must allow God to work though us to fix the problem.
We must be in constant fellowship with God. When our focus and trust is turned to ourselves, we are hopeless to stand against sin. God must give us the power and strength to stand strong in Him against temptation.
May we set aside our pride and admit our faults. We must realize that it is futile to attempt to correct our corruption on our own. Know that all that is good comes from God. Allow Him to work in and through you.
My God, I pray that you would help us to seek you in all that we do. May we be in constant reminder of your awesomeness in all of creation. May we be fascinated even by the smallest of your creations, for in them we find such a complex and intricate design and become even more overwhelmed with the more majestic. Thank you for giving us eyes to see this earthly reflection of your perfect goodness, truth, and beauty. God navigate our minds as we think together. May you be praised in all that we do.
God bless you as you continue to be led by him. Seek his face! May you live your faith in the body of Christ and make it personal. Be real in all that you do and continue to remove the masks that hide your true self. You are fearfully and wonderfully made by the Lord God Almighty. Do all this with humility, for you may do nothing on your own. May all this be done in Christ and for his glory. God Bless!
-Brian
When one says, "I have failed", he is really saying that he has not met a certain standard that has been set over him. To fail is to be human, for it is man’s human nature to sin; yet this is not how God intended us to live. God made us to be in constant communion with Him, without sin. The sin of Adam and Eve caused the fall of man and the separation between God and his creation; yet, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, communion with God has been restored to those who believe in Him. We strive to be like Christ, and yet our sinful nature places our priorities out of order. We place our desires and aversions over our dependence and trust in God.
When one struggles with a sin, he tends to become a slave to it. He asks, “Why is it that when I try to seek God, I can’t fix my corruption?” this question almost answers itself. The answer is that we cannot fix our own corruption. Only God may has the power and righteousness to do this. When we try on our own, we will fail; for when we are apart from God, it is our nature to be corrupt. We must allow God to work though us to fix the problem.
We must be in constant fellowship with God. When our focus and trust is turned to ourselves, we are hopeless to stand against sin. God must give us the power and strength to stand strong in Him against temptation.
May we set aside our pride and admit our faults. We must realize that it is futile to attempt to correct our corruption on our own. Know that all that is good comes from God. Allow Him to work in and through you.
My God, I pray that you would help us to seek you in all that we do. May we be in constant reminder of your awesomeness in all of creation. May we be fascinated even by the smallest of your creations, for in them we find such a complex and intricate design and become even more overwhelmed with the more majestic. Thank you for giving us eyes to see this earthly reflection of your perfect goodness, truth, and beauty. God navigate our minds as we think together. May you be praised in all that we do.
God bless you as you continue to be led by him. Seek his face! May you live your faith in the body of Christ and make it personal. Be real in all that you do and continue to remove the masks that hide your true self. You are fearfully and wonderfully made by the Lord God Almighty. Do all this with humility, for you may do nothing on your own. May all this be done in Christ and for his glory. God Bless!
-Brian
The Confessions of Saint Augustine
Great art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is Thy power, and Thy wisdom infinite. And Thee would man praise; man, but a particle of Thy creation; man, that bears about him his mortality, the witness of his sin, the witness that Thou resistest the proud: yet would man praise Thee; he, but a particle of Thy creation. Thou awakest us to delight in Thy praise; for Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, until it repose in Thee. Grant me, Lord, to know and understand which is first, to call on Thee or to praise Thee? and, again, to know Thee or to call on Thee? for who can call on Thee, not knowing Thee? for he that knoweth Thee not, may call on Thee as other than Thou art. Or, is it rather, that we call on Thee that we may know Thee? but how shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? or how shall they believe without a preacher? and they that seek the Lord shall praise Him: for they that seek shall find Him, and they that find shall praise Him. I will seek Thee, Lord, by calling on Thee; and will call on Thee, believing in Thee; for to us hast Thou been preached. My faith, Lord, shall call on Thee, which Thou hast given me, wherewith Thou hast inspired me, through the Incarnation of Thy Son, through the ministry of the Preacher.
-Saint Augustine
-Saint Augustine
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