Sunday, February 23, 2020

Honor

3.1.20

Ali Larter

Honor
Likeness
荣誉形象
Róngyù xíngxiàng
名誉の肖像 
Meiyo no shōzō
ps35
Instar honoris

God took man and put him in the garden of Eden.
He was put there to care for his providence in freedom.

He was told that he could eat from every tree in the garden but one.
Fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would end his run.
The consequence for the experience of evil could not be undone. 

Transgression came into the world through the sin of one man.
Death came through misdeed through the experience that contrasted the plan.

The consequence for death spread to all through the participation in error.
Immorality was in the world prior to expiation for offense through the sacrifice bearer.

Error for immorality was not counted prior to the institution of law for sovereignty.
Adam was the type for the one who was yet to come for moral constancy.

Death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses
even for those whose transgression was not like the original opus. 

If the many died through the one man's trespass
so much more would grace through Christ in another allow for advance.

The judgment following one trespass brought condemnation.
The free gift of grace by faith despite error brought justification.

If death exercised dominion because of the first man's vice
more will surely receive the gift of rightness through Jesus Christ.

Just as the one trespass led to condemnation for all with the fall
so did the sacrifice of the Son lead to justification for those who answer the call. 



What is the relationship between leap year and time?
It is the likeness between the planets in the sun's crime.

Union with the One was the goal for the ascetic. 
Communion with the Father became the object for the peripatetic.

Jesus was led by the Spirit to fast and pray in the wilderness
at the start of his ministry to avoid vigorous rigor in bitterness.



The devil showed him the kingdoms of the world as his.
Jesus said the great "I AM" has the authority that truly is.

The devil left and angels came to wait on him.
The Son felt the love of the Father and it wasn't grim.

Communion with the Father by the power of the Spirit 
for the body of Christ was opened to those who would draw near it.

The balance between power and authority is made with love
as that which radiates with warmth in the light that shines from above.

National sovereignty is defined by security and trade
for the celebration of the union that unity has made.

Please contend with those who contend against my existence.
Fight against those who work to deny me assistance.

Deliver me from my enemies.
Allow me the weapons drawn from the centuries.

Allow defense against attack
to defend against the crisis climaxed.

Let them be turned back who devise evil against my life.
Let them be confounded who seek to increase my strife.

Let them be driven like chaff before the wind
as the angel of justice seeks to drive them from sin.

Let their way be as dark and treacherous
as that which they had devised against me in their cleverness.

They hid their net for me without cause.
They set a trap for me that was against the law.

Let ruin fall on their plans and snares.
Let them fall into consequence for their error.

Then my soul will rejoice with faith
in deliverance as the promise saved.

All my bones will say in exclamation,
'Who is like the One who promised salvation?'

Malice had risen up in accusation
to demand that I accept their degradation.

They repaid evil for good
as though it were for their sainthood.

When they had been sick with illness
I prayed with my head bowed in stillness.

I asked that knowledge of good health
would be shared as a form of wealth.

I cut my cost with abstinence 
from the former consumption of accidents.

I grieved as for a brother or a friend.
I lamented like a mother to apprehend
a solution that would provide a dividend
to transcend adversity's end.

They gathered in glee
at my stumbling.

They gathered together like the friends of Job
to catalog the sins that drove the heat in the stove
that punished the will to serve as the core of the fire exposed. 

Antagonists whom I did not know
had attacked me as though
they would never cease to joke
or crow.

They mocked me more and more.
They bared their teeth at my front door.

Deny the lies that seek to ravage my soul like lions.
They tell stories like there is no tomorrow for oppositional defiance.

I will thank you in the greatness of the congregation.
The mighty throng will praise you in the consolidation 
of celebration as inspiration for the nation.

Do not let the treachery of my enemies prevail.
They are against you in the triumph over travails. 

They do not speak for peace. 
They conceive of deceit 
that won't cease
for those who seek ease
in redemption from conceit.

They said, 'Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it'
even though they just wanted others to believe their bit.

You have seen all this from the sky, Most High,
from those heights in heaven as the truth that doesn't lie.

Activate judgment for my defense
with expressions for truth that make sense.

Vindicate me according to your righteousness
with the mindfulness of your likeness.

Let me rejoice in the recognition
of the vision for your mission
to escape the shame of perdition. 

Let those who desire vindication
shout for joy in the benediction.

Great is the wonder of the Almighty
who delights in the value of the timely.

Beloved courage stood on the hill with a dove
to proclaim the gospel of love.  

Human nature doesn't see justification on the sea of life without grace.
The design of creation speaks to the will of the Creator's case
for the human race.

I will speak about the rightness
of life in your image and likeness.

------------------------

Psalm 35
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
Of David.

1 Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
    fight against those who fight against me!
2 Take hold of shield and buckler,
    and rise up to help me!
3 Draw the spear and javelin
    against my pursuers;
say to my soul,
    “I am your salvation.”
4 Let them be put to shame and dishonor
    who seek after my life.
Let them be turned back and confounded
    who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be like chaff before the wind,
    with the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
    with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 For without cause they hid their net for me;
    without cause they dug a pit for my life.
8 Let ruin come on them unawares.
And let the net that they hid ensnare them;
    let them fall in it—to their ruin.
9 Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord,
    exulting in his deliverance.
10 All my bones shall say,
    “O Lord, who is like you?
You deliver the weak
    from those too strong for them,
    the weak and needy from those who despoil them.”
11 Malicious witnesses rise up;
    they ask me about things I do not know.
12 They repay me evil for good;
    my soul is forlorn.
13 But as for me, when they were sick,
    I wore sackcloth;
    I afflicted myself with fasting.
I prayed with head bowed on my bosom,
14     as though I grieved for a friend or a brother;
I went about as one who laments for a mother,
    bowed down and in mourning.
15 But at my stumbling they gathered in glee,
    they gathered together against me;
ruffians whom I did not know
    tore at me without ceasing;
16 they impiously mocked more and more,
    gnashing at me with their teeth.
17 How long, O Lord, will you look on?
    Rescue me from their ravages,
    my life from the lions!
18 Then I will thank you in the great congregation;
    in the mighty throng I will praise you.
19 Do not let my treacherous enemies rejoice over me,
    or those who hate me without cause wink the eye.
20 For they do not speak peace,
    but they conceive deceitful words
    against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They open wide their mouths against me;
    they say, “Aha, Aha,
    our eyes have seen it.”
22 You have seen, O Lord; do not be silent!
    O Lord, do not be far from me!
23 Wake up! Bestir yourself for my defense,
    for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,
    according to your righteousness,
    and do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say to themselves,
    “Aha, we have our heart’s desire.”
Do not let them say, “We have swallowed you up.”
26 Let all those who rejoice at my calamity
    be put to shame and confusion;
let those who exalt themselves against me
    be clothed with shame and dishonor.
27 Let those who desire my vindication
    shout for joy and be glad,
    and say evermore,
“Great is the Lord,
    who delights in the welfare of his servant.”
28 Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness
    and of your praise all day long.

-------------------
==============
---------------------

What does leap year have to do with likeness to time?

Chn.  闰年与时间的相似性有什么关系?
          Rùnnián yǔ shíjiān de xiāngsì xìng yǒu shé me guānxì?
Jpn.  うるう年は、時間との類似性と何の関係がありますか?
          Urūdoshi wa, jikan to no ruiji-sei to nani no kankei ga arimasu ka?
Krn.   윤년은 시간의 유사성과 어떤 관계가 있습니까?
          Yunnyeon-eun sigan-ui yusaseong-gwa eotteon gwangyega issseubnikka?
Ltn.   Quid enim est necessitudo inter anno et tempore?
Itln.   Qual è la relazione tra l'anno bisestile e il tempo?
Spn.   ¿Cuál es la relación entre año bisiesto y tiempo?
Frn.   Quelle est la relation entre l'année bissextile et le temps?
Gmn. Wie ist das Verhältnis zwischen Schaltjahr und Zeit?
Dtch.  Wat is de relatie tussen schrikkeljaar en tijd?
Czch.  Jaký je vztah mezi přestupným rokem a časem?
Hng.   Mi a kapcsolat a szökőév és az idő között?
Grk.    Ποια είναι η σχέση μεταξύ έτους και χρόνου;
            Poia eínai i schési metaxý étous kai chrónou?
Trk.    Artık yıl ve zaman arasındaki ilişki nedir?
Rsn.   Какова взаимосвязь между високосным годом и временем?
           Kakova vzaimosvyaz' mezhdu visokosnym godom i vremenem?

What is the relationship between leap year and time?
It is the likeness between the movement of planets in the sun's crime.

-------------------------

Psalm 35
Defense from Attack


Psalm 35 is attributed to David. It is a prayer that asks for deliverance from enemies. It ends with the promise to celebrate defense.

The attribution to David makes it royal, but the text indicates that the request for deliverance was made prior to his ascension to the throne.

It is likely that the prayer is placed after David had achieved success as a military leader for the king and kingdom. It makes explicit reference to weapons for conflict.

He had not yet been anointed by Samuel to replace Saul for his appeal to divination from a polytheist.The psalmist did not claim to be the anointed.

He appealed to the honor of success by virtue of his prayer and fasting in behalf of others. No reference is made to the use of scripture. No reference is made to the use of instruments to sing the praise in a temple.

The psalmist promised to attribute his victory to the power of God with faith. He would sing his praises after he was granted success.

Sons of Korah
Psalm 35
Music Video

Commentary on Ps35 Christianity.com
BlueLetterBible.org
EnduringWord.com
----------------------

Plato on defense


Apology
wiki Plato's Apology
Text
Apology

-------------------

Genesis 2
The Garden of Eden


Genesis is the first book in the Bible. It is the first of the 5 books of the Torah or the law of Moses. It is called the Pentateuch in the Septuagint.

The book documents the Judaic view of the creation of the world and the origin of the Jewish people.  Chapters 1-11 express the primeval history. The work was composed in the late 7th or the 6th century BCE. Themes from Mesopotamain mythology were adapted for the Judaic faith in one God.

The creation narrative is common to Judaism and Christianity. The narrative is made up of two stories, roughly equivalent to the first two chapters of the book.

Elohim, the God of gods for Israel, created heaven and earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th in the first. The work was blessed and sanctified. Order and complexity in the world are shown as the template for time and action with respect for relations for sanctification in goodness.

Yahweh, the unspeakable name of God, created Adam, the first man from the dust of the earth in the next chapter. He was placed in the Garden of Eden where he was given dominion over the animals. Eve was created from Adam to help with the garden and to act as his companion.

Original sin and the fall are described. The themes of redemption by the promise of salvation and justification by faith are worked into the book in later chapters.

Gen. 2:15-17

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.  The LORD God commanded the man, 'You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. You shall die in the day that you eat of it.'

-----------------------

God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden.
He was put there to care for his providence in freedom.

He was told that he could eat from every tree in the garden but one.
The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would end his run.
The consequence for the experience of evil could not be undone.

=================

Romans 5:5
Hope


The epistle to the Romans comes 6th in the order of the Christian New Testament. It follows the 4 gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. It is the first of the apostolic letters.

Paul had promised the members of the church at Corinth that he would visit them again (2 Cor. 1:15-17). It was not long after sending his last letter that the opportunity came and he was able to spend several months with them. It was probably sometime in 57 CE.

The letter to the Romans was written prior to his second trial before Nero. Nero ruled as Caesar in Rome from 54 to 68 CE.

The second letter to Timothy alludes to a first trial (2 Tim. 4:16-17) from which he was delivered from the mouth of the lion.

The letter to the Romans was the longest of all the epistles. It presented a systematic account of the gospel to the Christian community in Rome. It was also the last  of the seven New Testament letters that scholars have attributed to Paul.

The first chapter served as the introduction. Dedication to the instruction of the Gentiles in the faith was declared as an objective. Gentiles had worshipped idols and disdained faith in one God. Jews had received the promise of salvation by the faith of Abraham, but the rite of circumcision wasn't necessary to receive the promise.

A case against the guilt of human nature in the world was built. Jews and Gentiles fell short of justification earned by perfection in observation of the law.

The reason for writing the letter to the Romans was to share the gospel and to teach that righteousness comes by faith in Jesus Christ.

The second chapter was written to admonish the belief that righteousness comes by circumcision as the rite of intiation into the law. It was the circumcision of the heart for faith that welcomed sanctification by the Holy Spirit.

The third chapter completed the charge that all were guilty of sin before God. Justification was a gift of grace that comes by forgiveness with faith. Salvation is offered as a promise with respect for redemption toward justification.

The fourth chapter stated that faith has always been the means to attain justification.

Gentiles were intended to receive the promise of salvation offered to the world through Abraham as the father of nations. He chose to believe the promise despit his circumstance. His faith was credited to him as righteousness.

Redemption from sin was extended back in time to the first man, Adam, as a symbol of the desire to believe. The Christian community was reconciled with God by Christ Jesus. The Son was not spared by the Father so the sacrifice could undo what had been done by Adam in the Garden of Eden.

Romans 5:12-19

Just as sin came into the world through one man, death came through sin. Death spread to all because all had sinned.

Sin was in the world before the law, but it is not counted where there is no law. Death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sin was not like the transgression of Adam, the type of the one who was yet to come.

The free gift is not like the trespass. If the many died through one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.

The free gift is not like the effect of the one man's sin. The judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.

If death exercised dominion because of the one man's sin, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. Just as many were made sinners by disobedience, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

-----------------------

Transgression came into the world through the sin of one man.
Death came through misdeed through the experience that contrasted the plan.

The consequence for death spread to all through the participation in error.
Immorality was in the world prior to expiation for offense through the sacrifice bearer.

Error for immorality was not counted prior to the institution of law for sovereignty.
Adam was the type for the one who was yet to come for moral constancy.

Death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses
even for those whose transgression was not like the original opus.

If the many died through the one man's trespass
so much more would grace through another allow for advance.

The judgment following one trespass brought condemnation.
The free gift of grace by faith despite error brought justification.

If death exercised dominion because of the first man's vice
more will surely receive the gift of rightness through Jesus Christ.

Just as the one trespass led to condemnation for all with the fall
so did the sacrifice of the Son lead to justification for those who answer the call.

=================

The completion of the third missionary journey is dated to 57 CE. Paul arrived in Jerusalem for his fifth and final visit with a collection of money for the local community.

Some "Jews from Asia"  accused him of defiling the temple by bringing gentiles after he had been in Jerusalem for 7 days. He was dragged out of the temple by an angry mob.

He narrowly escaped death by surrendering to a group of Roman centurions. They arrested him to take him into custody. He was put in chains and taken to the tribune (Acts 21:27-36).

He was transported by night to Caesarea Maritima. He was held as a prisoner there for two years by Marcus Antonius Felix, until a new governor, Porcius Festus, reopened his case in 59.

Paul exercised his right as a Roman citizen to "appeal unto Caesar". Finally, Paul and his companions sailed for Rome where Paul was to stand trial for his alleged crimes.

He arrived in Rome around 60 where he spent another two years under house arrest. The narrative of Acts ends with Paul preaching in Rome for two years from his rented home while awaiting trial [Acts 28:30–31].

The account offered by the Acts of the Apostles extended to 62 CE.

The process for the transformation of the Roman empire from polytheistic to a monotheistic culture had reached its start in Rome from the humble beginning in Jerusalem. 

-------------------------

Service


If union with the One was the goal of the ascetic life, then Jesus made communion with the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit the objective for the Church as the body of Christ in the world.

He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to fast and pray at the beginning of his ministry. He faced wild beasts both real and imagined as he fasted for 40 days and nights in the desert. Satan was one of the 'wild beasts' whom Jesus encountered in his ascetic journey.

The desert had become a place where ascetics prayed, fasted and meditated on the meaning of scripture to taste the experience of natural law outside of civilized constructs. It was a  place to test thought in the reality of need for the basics of provision.

Those who could accept the reality of order in the wilderness returned to society with a better sense regarding the importance of economy in social relations. The relation between power and authority has had particular significance in personal and social dimensions.

Matthew 4:8-11

The devil took Jesus up to a mountain and showed him the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. He said, 'All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.'

Jesus said, 'Away with you, Satan! It is written,
"Worship the Lord your God
and serve him only."'

The devil left him and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

-----------------------

Union with the One was the goal for the ascetic.
Communion with the Father became the object for the peripatetic.

Jesus was led by the Spirit to fast and pray in the wilderness
at the start of his ministry to avoid vigorous rigor in bitterness.

The devil showed him the kingdoms of the world as his.
Jesus said the great "I AM" has the authority that truly is.

The devil left and angels came to wait on him.
The Son felt the love of the Father and it wasn't grim.

Communion with the Father by the power of the Spirit
for the body of Christ was opened to those who would draw near it.

The balance between power and authority is made with love
as that which shines with warmth in the light from above.

National sovereignty is defined by security and trade
for the celebration of the union that unity has made.

=================

Ps.16:11


You will show me the path of life.
There is fullness of joy in your presence.
There are pleasures forever near your essence.

Map of Wales



David of Wales
b. c. 500 Caerfai, Dyfed, Wales
d. 3.1.589  Mynyw, Dyfed

David was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century. He was a native of Wales. He has become the patron saint for the Welsh Christians.

He was born in Caerfai (ca-er-fi) in Dyfed (du-fed) Wales. It is on the coast of the Celtic Sea between England and Ireland.

Caerfai Cliffs near St. David's


Caerfai Bay in West Wales has cliffs of purple sandstone. The color comes from the Cambrian period. The Cambrian period was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era (more than 250 million years ago) in the Phanerozoic Eon. The Phanerozoic Eon started  when animals first developed hard shells. These shells have been preserved in the fossil record.

Plant life on land appeared in the early Phanerozoic eon. Tectonic forces caused the continents to move during this period. The plates collected into a single landmass known as Pangaea. This was the most recent supercontinent. When the land separated the plates moved into the current continental landmasses.

The majority of living organisms on the whole were small, unicellular and simple prior to the Cambrian period. It was not until this period that mineralized and currently fossilized organisms became common.

Diverse life forms prospered in the oceans, but the land is thought to have been comparatively barren. There was nothing more complex than a microbial soil crust and a few molluscs that emerged to browse on the microbial biofilm.

The Romans began their conquest of Britain in 43. They first campaigned in what is now northeast Wales in 48 against the Deceangli.

The Deceangli (de-cee-an-glee) lived in hill forts running in a chain through the Clwydian (cloy-dian) Range. The range  is a series of hills in the north east of the area.

Their tribal capital was Canovium. It was an important place to cross the  Conwy (con-yoy) River.
Celtic polytheism was druidic. The druids were literate, but their beliefs weren't documented.

Their pantheon consists of numerous recorded theonyms both from Greco-Roman ethnography and from epigraphy. Among the most prominent ones are Teutatis, Taranis and Lugus.

Toutatis was worshipped especially in Gaul and in Roman Britain. He was one of three Celtic gods mentioned by the Roman poet Lucan in the 1st century CE.

The name "Teutates" is derived from the stem teutā-, meaning "people" or "tribe". Victims sacrificed to the deity were killed by being plunged into a vat boiling with an unspecified liquid according to later commentators.

The druids were organized, but primitve tribes didn't operate with Judaic or Roman principles of jurisprudence. Having a god for the people was a step beyond the animism that feared unseen powers and told stories of animal or human spirits with superhuman power.

The reconstructed Proto-Celtic form of the name Taranis is *Torano- ("thunder"). Representations of a bearded god with a thunderbolt in one hand and a wheel in the other have been recovered from Gaul. The deity later came to be syncretised with Jupiter.

The chariot wheel with six or eight spokes was an important symbol in historical Celtic polytheism. The wheel-god came to be identified as the sky- sun- or thunder-god Taranis.

The Proto-Celtic root of the name, *lug-, is generally believed to have been derived from one of several different Proto-Indo-European roots, such as *leug- "black", *leuǵ- "to break" and *leugʰ- "to swear an oath".

The word is used in a number of place names. It may have been used by Latin authors to name locations with forests. Lucus means a sacred grove or forest in Latin.

The early Middle Ages started with the Roman departure from Wales. A number of kingdoms formed in the post-Roman period. The various British states were left to self-govern when the Roman garrison of Britain was withdrawn in 410.

An inscribed stone from Gwynedd (gwoi-ned) dated between the late 5th century and mid 6th century serves as evidence for a continuing Roman influence after the departure of the Roman legions.

The inscription commemorates a certain Cantiorix (can-tee-o-rix) who was described as a citizen of Gwynedd and a cousin of Maglos (ma-glos) the magistrate.

There was considerable Irish colonisation in Dyfed in south-west Wales. There are many stones with Ogham inscriptions in the area.

1 Thessalonians 2:1-2

You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain. Though we had already suffered and been shamefully maltreated at Philippi as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel in spite of great opposition.

---------------------

Wales had become Christian. The people spoke Welsh. The "age of the saints" (approximately 500–700) was marked by the establishment of monastic settlements throughout the country

The most powerful ruler was acknowledged as King of the Britons. The Britons were a tribal confederation that had formed with Roman influence. They spoke Britonic as a language for trade in England, Wales and southern Scotland.

Tywysog Cymru (te-we-sog cem-ray) later became the Leader or Prince of Wales. Some rulers extended their control over other Welsh territories and into western England, but none were able to unite Wales for long.

The heir apparent to the English monarch has borne the title "Prince of Wales" since the time when King Edward I of England had conquered the principality in 1282.

The pagan Anglo-Saxons invaded Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries. Many British Christians sought refuge in the hill country of Wales. They encountered a style of Christian life that was devoted to learning, asceticism and missionary fervor.

The monasteries were the centers of culture in a land where there were no cities. Most abbots also became bishops.

Mark 4:26-29

Jesus said, 'The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground. He would sleep and rise night and day. The seed would sprout and grow without his knowledge of how it was done. The earth produces of itself the stalk, the head, then the full grain in the head. When the grain is ripe, he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.

------------------

David of Wales


David is traditionally believed to be the son of Saint Non and the grandson of Ceredig ap Cunedda (ce-ray-dig ap cu-nay-da), king of Ceredigion (ce-re-di-gion).

Dewi (de-wee) was the founder, abbot and bishop of the monastery of Mynyw (me-new) in Pembrokeshire. He was responsible for much of the spread of Christianity in Wales.

His best-known miracle is said to have taken place when he was preaching in the middle of a large crowd at the Synod of Brefi.

The village of Llanddewi Brefi (lan-de-wee bray-fee) stands on the spot where the ground on which he stood is reputed to have risen up to form a small hill.  A white dove was seen to settle on his shoulder.

Hills near Llanddewi Brefi

He was said to have denounced Pelagianism during this incident. Pelagianians held the theological position that original sin did not taint human nature. Mortal will was capable of choosing between good or evil without divine intervention.

The theory was named after the British monk Pelagius (360 - 418). He taught that human will  was sufficient to live a sinless life. His doctrine was associated with the belief that human beings can earn salvation by their own efforts.

David was declared archbishop by popular acclaim after his renunciation of the error in Christian doctrine.

His monastery was sought out by many scholars from Ireland and elsewhere. He is commonly accounted the apostle of Wales

David Wales
S. 戴维·威尔士
T.  戴維·威爾士

戴 Dai   wore               戴  tai   crowned             Dei  でい   デイ           We  웨  wei       
维 wei  dimension       維  i       fiber                   bi      びっ     ビッ        il     일   work         
威 Wei  prestige           威  i       majesty             do     ど          ド           jeu   즈   zu                         
尔 er      er                    爾  ji      you                   Obu  おぶ   オブ           De   데   place     
士 shi    taxi                 士  shi   gentleman          Ue     うぇ-   ウェ-        i     이   this               
                                                                              ru      る        ル             bi    비   ratio           
                                                                              zu      ず        ズ             deu  드   de                               
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The bishop stood on the hill with a dove
to proclaim the gospel of love.

Human nature doesn't see justification without grace.
The design of creation speaks to the will of the Creator's case
for the human race.

=================

Bentham argued that the greatest happiness for the greatest number was a moral precept for legislation that is representative of government for the people. This principle helped the UK to negotiate treaties to outlaw slavery in the world.

The US outlawed slavery and amended the Constitution. Recognition of the right to vote for people of color and women were added to representation in the system of election.

The prohibition of slavery and the right to vote significantly altered the system of election that had been used by the Roman Republic. The system was modernized.

Republic was made into a modern entity that required education for literacy for responsible participation in the system. The representation of the majority of the population for the nation was a key component for this participation.

Unhappiness


J. S. Mill argued against some of the leading principles that had been used by Benthan to institute these major changes to the system of election. He argued against the happiness principle by stating that the greatest majority worked without it.

He proposed that prohibition was warranted by asceticism in religion. His arguement that individual rights were necessary to guard against conviction of criminal charge by majority bias was probably the only principle for utility that could have been considered to be in agreement with Bentham's utilitarian advocacy.

Mill's political philosophy presented the case for the anti-majority representation.

While he argued for women's rights to vote, he did it in a populist sort of way. It was to put women over representation by the system of election. The suffrage movement for the right to vote was closely linked to the push for the prohibition of alcohol.

The concept of individuality as represented by psychology and psychiatry was an important cultural tool in his politics. This presented a lever for the appeal to popular support that suggested respect for monarchy and continental Constitutionalism. Everyone could simply be who they were provided that there was disagreement with majority representation.

The individualism held an appeal to Buddhists as well as ascetics. The life of Tetsuro Watsuji provides an example of how a leading figure in Japanese philosophy started down the road to the anti-majority view, but pulled out of it.

Watsuji Tetsuro
b. 3.1.1889 Himeji, Hyogo, Japan
d. 12.26.1960

Watsuji was born in 1889 in Himeji City in Hyogo Prefecture.. He was the second son of a physician.
He displayed a passion for literature, especially Western literature, as a student at Himeji Middle School. He even said that he wanted to become a poet like Byron.

He entered the prestigious First Higher School in Tokyo in 1906. He retained his dedication to the literary drama of Byron.

Nitobe Inazo was the headmaster for the school. He read Nitobe’s book on Bushidō, The Soul of Japan. It awakened an appreciation for eastern culture and ethics. His literay academic interest however stayed with his reading in Western Romanticism and Individualism.

He graduated in 1909. The school was later renamed Tokyo University. He entered Tokyo Imperial University later that same year. His specialization was philosophy in the Faculty of Literature.

He read the work of Natsume Soseki, a popular Japanese novelist. Soseki struggled with the human condition in the particularities of influence from the West on early modern Japan. Foreign influence presented a challenge to his cultural identity.

Sōseki was beginning to abandon his unqualified admiration of Western individualism. He had started on a critique of both individualism and the modern culture of the Western world.

Watsuji introduced the work of Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche to Japan in his early writing between 1913 and 1915. His studies of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche in 1912 and of Kierkegaard in 1915 provided ample evidence of his interest in and competence in Western philosophy.

He continued to study the Romantic poets, Byron, Shelley, Tennyson and Keats. He was torn between his literary and philosophical interests. His literary attempts were  failures, so he decided to give up literary invention. He devoted his exertion to the writing of critical essays and philosophical treatises,

He turned against this earlier position in 1918 when he began to compose a lengthy reminiscence of Soseki.

His reflections were published in 1918 (in his Gūzo saikō). They marked Watsuji’s own transformation from advocate of Western ways to critic of the West, turning toward a reconsideration of Japanese and Eastern cultural resources.

Sōseki had depicted the plight of the modern individual as one of painful loneliness and helplessness. Egoism was identified as the source of the malady. Social interconnections were presented as the remedy to the predicament of estrangement, loneliness and helplessness.

Individuality tempered with a strong social consciousness was still evident in Japanese society. This more balanced sense of self could be found in the earliest of Japanese cultural documents.

We inevitably come into the world in relationship with our language, culture, traditions and expectations as evident in our parents, caregivers and teachers. It is a myth of abstraction that we come into the world as isolated egos.

The difficulty with the elimination of the ego however is that it subjects the self to errors of socialism or communism.

Watsuji studied the roots of Japanese culture, including Japanese Buddhist art, and notably the work of the medieval Zen Buddhist Dōgen.

He  taught at Toyo, Hosei and Keio universities, and at Tsuda Eigaku-juku in the 1920's. Hermeneutics or the interpretation of the text became a major concern.

He became the professor of ethics at Kyoto University in 1925. He joined other leading Japanese philosophers,  Nishida Kitaro and Tanabe Hajime, there.

He published the first volume of Nihon seishinshi kenkyū (A Study of the History of the Japanese Spirit). The second volume was released in 1935. This study contained his investigation of Japanese Buddhism in Shamon Dōgen (The Monk Dōgen).

It can be said that it was Watsuji who single-handedly brought Dōgen’s work out of nearly total obscurity into the forefront of philosophical discussion.

He moved to the Tokyo Imperial University in 1934 and held the chair in ethics until 1949. His theories had provided support for Japanese nationalism during World War II. He expressed his regret for this influence after the war.

His three main works were his two-volume 1954 History of Japanese Ethical Thought, his three-volume Rinrigaku (Ethics), first published in 1937, 1942 and 1949, and his 1935 Fūdo.

The last of these develops his most distinctive thought. He argued for an essential relationship between environmental factors like climate and the nature of human cultures. He distinguished three types of culture: pastoral, desert, and monsoon.

He died at the age of 71.

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While Mill was never the subject for a book for Watsuji the criticism of individualism retains relevance.

Individual rights finds a major support in Constitutional consciousness with respect for due process in law. When someone can be convicted of crime in a court of law based on unsubstantiated allegations or lies, it is a threat to the success of justice in the legal system for the society.

The greatest happiness principle has achieved some of the most significant modification to the system of election in modern time.  It is within this sense of self that the modern world works. 

The anti-majority position is an offense against the greatest happiness principle and the success of justice in society.

SIEP Watsuji Tetsuo
wiki Watsuji Tetsuro

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