jueves, 18 de enero de 2007
DSL (Divine and Supernatural Light)
I was very close to be converted to Christianity reading this treatise. I was not aware that the source of human knowledge is all divine inspiration, close in nature to the sort of revelation that I thought was reserved to some priviledged chosen few like Abraham, Jesus, Buddha and Mohammed. But according to Jonathan Edwards, all human knowledge is accomplished through the Divine and Supernatural Light that transmits godly wisdom to the flesh and blood of the mere mortals. I was shocked to be informed that there actually is a deeper level of knowledge formation in human psychi as established by John Locke's treatise, namely by forming impression and imagination. Edwards blatantly dismisses the case: "[b]ut spiritual light is not that impression upon the imagination, but an exceeding different thing from it." He presses that knowledge is not a product of mere reasoning faculty, but the intuitive grasp of the "sense of glory," which is metapholically like knowing the taste of honey without licking it. With the aid of inspiration, one may know the divinity of Christ (or the precise taste of honey). This is only possible through the supernatural light that carries mortals beyond the limit of their rational faculty and "immediately convince[s] of the truth." Luckily, this is a built-in ability for all of us who do not necessarily measure up to the spiritual calibre of the famous profets. We know beauty by heart. That seems to be the core message of Christianity á la Edwards and I discovered that maybe I am indeed a Christian by heart without knowing it. But then I thought I heard a timeless echo of similar doctrine... "There is something money can't buy" (MasterCard ad). I thought it odd, but the importance of transcendant knowledge is unmistakably pressed here, too. Coincidence? Perhaps. Sense of glory lives on, my final thought.
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1 comentario:
Sosei,
It's great that you responded so strongly to the text. You provide a summary of the main points of the sermon and your reaction to them. For your next post, focus on analyzing the language of the text rather than summarizing. For example, you emphasize the analogy Edwards makes between having a sense of the divine and a sense the sweetness of honey. Why do you think Edwards chose that particular analogy--why honey, that is?
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