04/6/15

Man and Sin by Piet Schoonenberg (1964) 1.7AI

[Some formulate thinkdivine as dogma.

Some are convinced that dogma must be, like our transcendent God, essential and unvarying. Dogma seems remote, without feelings or emotions.

Does God judge our situation from a distance according to a long list of criteria?

Thinkdivine cannot be reduced to dogmatic formula.

Dogma is a guide.

Thinkdivine is a way.]

04/3/15

Man and Sin by Piet Schoonenberg (1964) 1.7AH

Summary of text [comment] pages 50 and 51

[Thinkdivine is a receptacle of God’s relational power. It is one location where God’s immanence is manifest.

“God Recognizing Himself” is transcendent, immanent, and mysterious.

Sin, in its deepest nature, is a “no” to “God Recognizing Himself”.

The historic witness of God’s jealousy and anger encourages us to thinkdivine.

Feelings (realm of possibility) and emotions (realm of actuality) are natural to us. They both cloud and clarify judgment (realm of normal context).]

04/2/15

Man and Sin by Piet Schoonenberg (1964) 1.7AG

Summary of text [comment] pages 50 and 51

[The mathematical notation of exponentials or powers, where the base – think – is raised to the power of divine, provides a metaphor.

God’s transcendence is essential and unvarying.

However, our expressions of thinkdivine cannot be as essential and unvarying, because they exist to make sense of our actions and thoughts. We try to put the situation into context by cobbling perspectives together.]

04/1/15

Man and Sin by Piet Schoonenberg (1964) 1.7AF

Summary of text [comment] pages 50 and 51

God is not one cause among others.

God’s activity coincides with the transcendent and the immanent causalities of creating.

In His salvic activity, individual persons are called into dialogue.

Sin, in its deepest nature, is a “no” to this dialogue. Here, sin affects God in his relations to humans. Sin effects the relation from Person to person.

Holy Scripture describes God’s jealousy, anger, and sorrow. These are necessary for our understanding of God’s supernatural activity in his covenant.

03/31/15

Man and Sin by Piet Schoonenberg (1964) 1.7AE

Summary of text [comment] pages 49 and 50

[Another beauty to the notation thinkdivine and thinkgroup is the base of the exponent: think.

Think.

What a beautiful word.

You cannot see or hear it.

You cannot touch it.

You cannot smell or taste it.

What is an object of thought?

The answer must be “an object that brings us into relation or organization”.

An object of thought attracts us.

Althusser called the attraction: “interpellation”.]

03/30/15

Man and Sin by Piet Schoonenberg (1964) 1.7AD

[Thinkdivine includes the capacity to say “I will not be one with the mob”.

Jung called it “individuation”.

Here, “the presence underlying the word ‘religion'” comes into play. Religion relates to sovereign power as infra (similar to thinkgroup) and supra (similar to thinkdivine).

The transcendence and immanence of God comes to mind. God is transcendent above sovereign and disciplinary powers. God is immanent below sovereign and disciplinary powers.

God is “the object that brings us all into relation”.

God inspires the righteousness that underlies “the objects that bring us into organization”.]

03/26/15

Man and Sin by Piet Schoonenberg (1964) 1.7AB

Summary of text [comment] pages 49 and 50

[Let me recall the mystery. God’s immanence suffers. God’s transcendence does not.

Thinkgroup often leads to prosperity. It often leads to sorrow. The ocean of regrets and the fantasyland of pro-objects came from thinkgroups.

Thinkdivine contains a registry of that suffering, yet it remains unmoved on the rock of truth.

Hmmm.]

03/25/15

Man and Sin by Piet Schoonenberg (1964) 1.7AA

[To the degree that our thoughts align with thinkdivine, we encourage human flourishing .

The power of divine is infinite, creative and life-giving.

Does this not sound like grace?

“To the degree that our thought aligns with thinkdivine” is “the degree that each one of us realizes our mindfulness, sanity and integrity”.]

03/24/15

Man and Sin by Piet Schoonenberg (1964) 1.7Z

[Back to the message underlying the word “religion”.

Thinkdivine equals “think multiplied by all people, living and dead”.

Among all those people is God Himself.

Is that not weird?

Imagine every thinkgroup and thinkpro-object compiled. The compilation alone would be a revelation. It would be so huge. It would be filled with mindboggling immorality and stupidity. It would be unbelievable. It would be like a gigantic fantasyland on the other side of the sea.

In retrospect, could anything in this compilation be called “think” at all? Or would that be an injustice to the word “think”?

Now take an imaginary step back, and picture another compilation listing all the regrets associated with every thinkgroup and thinkpro-object. It would be less mind boggling, less insane, more believable. Also, it would be significantly larger than the first compilation. It would be like the ocean that one must sail to fantasyland.

If we keep going backwards, we step onto the solidity of thinkdivine.

Without thinkdivine, think is an ocean of regrets and a fantasyland of fixations.

Do you want proof?

Consider any historic emanation of the postreligionist (enlightenment) godhead.]