It is pleasant to use words as a pathway to wander through time.
And there are lots of words given, so a very pleasant journey can be had?
But it does seem to me that the exhortation is all external to the human.
It wanders in to the realms of theory too much?
It would be better to have an in depth discussion of how our instinctive behaviour operates?
An examination of how it all works.
And how we apply that to living together in a democracy.

I admire those who can write with ease, and produce reams of text for our perusal.
But it is best when they write about something practical?
I had a neighbour who read extensively on a great variety of subjects.
He had an excellent brain, and was very 'learned'.
His desk was always 'cluttered' with 'tomes' written by those of great mental acuity.
But his life was a bit of a muddle, and he contributed very little that I could see.
He had 'floated' through life, busily trying to breed wherever he could.
When he passed, there was barely a ripple on the surface of life around him.

Speaking of religion, culture and art, especially Sacred Art this essay provides a unique criticism of the dark awfulness of the times as inevitably communicated in the art created by Narcissus
http://www.adidafoundation.org/essays/the-eternal-war-between-orpheus-and-narcissus

On the always separative action of Narcissus
http://www.beezone.com/narcissus.html

Dear Ipso Fatso,

If our behavior is truly instinctive we cannot in general find out how it operates since we are unable to put the distance between ourselves and that behavior necessary for an objective examination.

Your neighbor sounds like an admirable fellow. He didn’t cause masses of people to attack other people. He didn’t persuade people to buy what they didn’t need. He pleasantly acquired information. I identify with him.

I have on my desk a book on the Riemann-zeta function. It tells of the work done in trying to prove the conjecture that the non-trivial solutions of that function lie on the line z = ½. As far as I know proving the conjecture has no practical application.

I have other books on my desk on matters which I enjoy. “The Ode less Travelled” by Stephen Fry tells of various poetical forms such as metre, rhyme and form. In the book are exercises one can do to become familiar with these techniques.

I have a history of Christianity by Diarmaid MacCulloch on my desk. In it is the following:

I still appreciate the seriousness which a religious mentality brings to the mystery and misery of human existence, and I appreciate the solemnity of religious liturgy as a way of confronting these problems. I live with the puzzle of wondering how something so apparently crazy can be so captivating to millions of other members of my species. P. 11

I don’t agree that it is best when one writes about something practical. We can’t always tell in advance when something is practical. If something is informative, entertaining and causes one to think and question it may also be practical. If not it is still of value. I will be 97 on the 31th of this month. My passing will cause my wife and 9 descendants to experience what I hope is a short period of grieving. Probably, nobody else will note my death with other than a ripple of momentary interest.

Well we've listed all the bad things that Christianity
has done. And having been raised as a Catholic I am well
aware of all the "sins of the fathers." But in all fairness,
should we mention the vast network of schools, hospitals,
health, employment and welfare agencies? Those of us who've
grown up as Catholics would have experienced the hard-line
views of the church on a variety of subjects - and the
attacks that used to take place against certain groups.

The sexual abuse scandals has shaken many of us to the core.
And may explain the decline in church membership. Especially
of young people - many of whom feel that their belief in
the institutions of the church have been severely shaken.

But it is strange that despite all that - I am still drawn
to the rituals provided by the church. To the community
spirit and fellowship the church provides. And I still pray
in times of need. Not sure what that says about me.

Old habits die hard?

I forgot to mention that a few decades ago I read
the book by Australian Catholic priest Paul Collins,
"Believers," on whether Catholicism had a
future in Australia. It ended on quite a positive note.

However it's interesting that in March 2001 - Paul
Collins resigned his role as a Catholic priest die to
a dispute with the Vatican's Congregation For The
Doctrine of the Faith over his book, "Papal Power."

Paul Collins has a Master's in Theology from Harvard
and a PhD in history from ANU.

There's a book titled - "Absolute Power," which was
published in 2018 that covers the last two centuries of
the papacy. It may be of interested to anyone
interested in the history of today's complex power
structures, as well as anyone interested in religious,
political, and social progress in the West.

Dear Foxy,

Matthew Arnold described the loss of faith in “On Dover Beach” published in 1867.

“The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.”

Arnold was fearful of what will follow the disappearance of the Sea of Faith.

“Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.”

I was once an ardent Zionist and thought Israel would be a ‘light unto the nations.’ Where a country is based on a religious or ethnic identity those citizens of the country who do not share the religious or ethnic identity on which the state is based almost certainly will become second-class citizens. Now I think a person’s ethnic or religious identity should be no business of any government. I don’t think Israel can be both a democracy and a Jewish state.

I still appreciate the beauty of the Jewish liturgy and music. I appreciate the respect for learning.

Say not: “When I have free time I shall study”, for you may perhaps never have any free time

Hillel the Elder

I enjoy the foods, the history and other aspects of Jewish culture, but I can no longer seriously consider God, keeping kosher or other religious concepts or injunctions.

I knew a Lutheran pastor. He had ideas similar to mine. He told me of the free-ranging discussions at St. Olaf’s seminary. I asked him if he brought those ideas to his congregation. He told me he would not want to disturb their simple faith. He is no longer a Lutheran.