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Tangentials and the Christian concept of Providence | AIM Zine #48


David Bell's profile picture
Posts: 65

28 May 2023, 15:25

Hello everyone. 

It's been a busy few months for AIM Publishing & Proofed Words. Taking the artist books like tangentials and turning them into theological zines and occasional posters and flyers for various church groups is a complex process. There are always unexpected twists and turns. Anyway thanks to the fine editing processes of Jill from Proofed Words, we are very close to the next study zine #48,

Tangentials and the Christian Concept of Providence, Seven harder pieces through the lens of practical theology

We've just posted to Facebook: —

Just finished the introduction to a very small essay (a sequence of seven short studies for congregations/church study groups) on whether there is any justification for the Christian concept of Providence. The full set of studies will be available on our website along with all the artwork for this zine

Introduction
We live in a world of branding. Brands are everywhere, and we have come to accept branding as inevitable. Obviously, it’s associated with food, consumer goods, entertainment, politics, and, even in our Christian denominations and theology. 

Yet, as John Polkinghorne noted, ‘We do not expect the universe to be full of objects stamped, “Made by God”.’ Even less do we want to identify certain events as “done by God” to us.

A small, counter-intuitive thought, however. What if we are indeed made by God? What if what we do is indeed then done by us to God? The concept of branding unexpectedly takes us to the heart of all Christian doctrine, the interlocking concepts of Creation, Providence, and Resurrection. 

These seven reflections... see more

Stuart Manins's profile picture
Posts: 8

24 June 2023, 18:31

We also live in a world of confusion. Ideas and words mean different things to people in different contexts. I like the way these reflections attempt to relate to living in a universe governed by the Providence of God.

With the consideration of terms such as Providence, Love, Grace; a Creation to be explored, Truths to be felt, and a Resurrection to be experienced; I also appreciate the recognition of the paradox of a loving God seemingly ultimately in charge of human inhumanity to man.

Imagination in Art, film, literature. Music, dance, and poetry are shown to be the vehicles for the powerful theology of the creative impulse.

Questions such as “Are you saved?” “Do we inhabit habitats of grace or blind chance?” “What is the spiritual power of matter?” “Why are we here?” are raised and treated with elegant insight.

I wish to add to this interesting list: “What is truth?” “What is love?” “What is peace?” “What is hope?”  Is there any end to this enquiry?

King Herod famously set the Sisyphean ball rolling again when he asked of Jesus, “What is truth?”

King Charles III as Prince of Wales surprised both Princess Diana and us with his ”whatever love is.”

Successions of Caesars would have differed with St. Paul over the meaning of peace in pax Romanus. 

What is truth?

‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.’ 

John Keats,                 Ode On a Grecian Urn.

So many kinds of truth! False truth. Historical truth. Literal truth. Mathematical truth. Metaphorical truth. Objective truth. Normative truth. Subjective truth. Complex truth. Perceived truth. Description which is not literally true, but true to human nature or some other yardstick.

When we claim to speak the truth we need to identify which particular brand we are implying and show that we understand its nature – strengths and weaknesses.

David Bell's profile picture
Posts: 65

28 June 2023, 11:16

Stuart likes Pilate's question, "What is truth?" We know it, of course, as powerful rhetoric in the trial of Jesus.

It also has a philosophical side, a very deep and important one at that. But not in the way Stuart seems to want.

He writes, "When we claim to speak the truth we need to identify which particular brand we are implying and show that we understand its nature – strengths and weaknesses."

That's like getting stuck on the question, 'Where is the song before it is sung?'

The world wouldn't have any singing at all, not one sung song, if we insisted on getting an answer to the question before we had the song.

 

Stuart Manins's profile picture
Posts: 8

31 July 2023, 15:07

David writes that I don't seem to want to see philosophical things about truth in the way he does because I insist on getting an answer "to the question before we had the song".
 
On the contrary, I expect the final solution to remain open until the end of composition; what I would request is that the composer understand the nature of the kind of song in question, the musical ability of the performers, the literary merit of the text, the characteristics of any accompaniment and the listeners involved.
 
That's what I had in mind when matching the particular brand of truth (literal/metaphorical) to suit the particular occasion (data/parable).
David Bell's profile picture
Posts: 65

04 August 2023, 18:18

The composer writes his song. He sings it. The one who listens seeks to understand what he has heard, feel how it has affected him or her.  The only thing that is certain is that each will interpret the communication differently.  Sender, receiver and the referent (the communication event itself) are independent. Degrees of truth and commonality can only be established after a communication event, can only be achieved in and through dialogue. This is how communication works. It is how science proceeds: it is evidence based.

 

 

 
Philip Garside's profile picture
Posts: 1

05 August 2023, 0:36

Hi folks

From time to time I write songs and short sung prayer responses, which we have sung in worship services. I often find that the words and/or the melody will come to me quickly. When this happens I feel that the music is coming through me from somewhere or something else, rather than from inside me. It's a gift from the spirit, from God.

At other times I have an initial idea but don't make much progress and drop the project.

Our congregation has come up with a vision statement, "Living God's love, acting for the common good." I created a melody to fit the words - see attached. Heather suggested the falling run at the end to make the tune more interesting. The minor key is reflective.

I have used this as a congregational sung response between stanzas of intercessory prayers a couple of times in church, and once during our closing 'hymn and a prayer' at the end of a Festival Singer's rehearsal. It works OK.

Unless we capture a song or piece of music by recording it, once we have performed it, it is gone. Or is it? 

As a singer, if I have been engaged by a choral work, learned it well and enjoyed performing it, then years later when the choir is preparing to sing it again it is easy to sing because of what I call a muscle memory of having performed it before. My body absorbed the music in the past and has carried it through the years in a deep place ready to be drawn on again when the time comes. For me the choral piece Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord by Mendelssohn is an example. The hymn O for a Thousand Tongues is another.

A joy for me in the past year has been singing to our grandson Maxwell. He moves to the music. It's a connection point between us.

 

  • Living-God's-Love-cropped.pdf
  • Living-God's-Love-melody.mid
David Bell's profile picture
Posts: 65

19 August 2023, 14:17

Philip I found this on my subscription to NDR Klassic...it reminded me of your post, doing and performing with enjoyment. The video won't show on the email, but login and if you've got a spare 90 minutes...pure bliss.

 

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