Continuing on to discuss verse 8 of the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter Three, and the animation Matthew's Three Fold .
Verse 8
The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter Three, New International Version
8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Verse 8
Animation Text by R David Foster, 2009
8 Produce fruit in keeping with rebirth.
Verse 8 Discussion
This one verse is pretty simple. We've already covered the relationship between repentance and rebirth. Repentance is turning from sin or incorrectness and trying again. Rebirth is suffering, condemnation, death, and rebirth to new life in a wider world. Either way, as Jesus taught, one will know whether a tree is good or bad by whether it bears good or bad fruit. Only a good tree can bear good fruit, and a bad tree will bear bad fruit. A body of knowledge, or a religion, or legislation is like a tree – it has roots and branches – it reaches from the depths to the sky, and it will be known by what it produces. Communism was good for Russia for a while but failed to continue to produce and was replaced in the 1990's. Communism is producing fruit, or at lease seems to be providing a growing economy in China, and so China at least nominally, retains communism, albeit with a healthy dose of enterprise and capital.
Can you follow this – that last paragraph was loaded. John wants real repentance that is productive. Joan wants true rebirth that is productive. Either way there will be a falling back and regaining ground. To admit that one has violated the law, make reparations, and begin again may seem like two steps back for one step forward, but the point that is being pressed is that there will be many more steps forward than there would be possible if one continues on the current path – their will be greater production, although there will be an initial loss. This is true for both repentance and rebirth, although rebirth has greater potential than repentance.
This is the test of all this animation of religious marriage ideas – DO THEY BEAR FRUIT ! That is your test, if one needs a test. Just looking around in one's own life and experiences should provide many examples of the joys and productive nature of marriage, or variations of marriage, and any form of balance of whole and part. Marriage is by no means a new idea, but as a primary resource there seems to be little outright teaching giving sufficient prominence to marriage. Many will acknowledge the challenges of marriage, and the failings of relationships and individuals engaged in marriages, and this appears to have dulled the enthusiasm of society to promote strong marriages, out of fear of prolonging suffering. This is like not leading the horse to water because he cannot be made to drink ! This animation is leading the audience to marriage, and allowing it to consider the resource it may find there. The trick is to show the audience how far this resource can take humanity, so that it will drink deeply of marriage, for the wonderful journey that awaits.
Critical thought – that's a wonderful parlour trick ! I believe it was Albert Einstein who said something like no matter how many times a hypothesis is not proved wrong by a testing experiment, it only takes one experiment to prove it wrong. In the novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance it is proposed that everything can be proven to not exist, and that is the point at which I stopped reading it. I do believe that anything and everything can be proven to not exist, but what is the point ? The truth of such a proof is that proof is inconclusive ! So be careful with your testing. Keep an eye on the big picture and watch the world open up as each finite model of your infinite world fails !
And now, with the space available this week for this verse, I would like to elaborate as to how far marriage could take a society that freely and fully commits to marriage.
Religions, states and laws exist for the good of human kind, and not the other way around. At least these three institutions serve to provide an awareness of the bigger picture in the myriad of specific situations individuals may find themselves in. They are finite representations of the world beyond and within the individuals. The are also created by within and beyond the individuals. When a person acts wholistically, another may respond partially, and this two step is a dialogue that never ceases. This dialogue is infinite, from the infinite sources within and beyond the individuals. A person acting wholistically balances the person responding partially, and vice versa. This is the key – this constant dialogue and balance between acting partially and wholistically. This is the purpose of religion, states, laws, and lets add knowledge.
If this is the purpose – balancing whole and part – than could this be done more efficiently ? I propose that the environment of marriage is a more efficient means of balancing whole and part. This is a powerful idea – it is the basis of all awareness, let alone society's institutions.
If a bolt needs to be a certain size and strength in a certain place on a skyscraper this is determined today by previous experience and testing, current knowledge, various building codes, engineering, trades, manufacturing and distribution, etc. All this is generally considered too much for one person to know let alone be responsible for, by the natural limitations of one's awareness. But if one could be sufficiently aware, how much labour and testing could be superseded by common sense ? Imagine if every steelwalker could have the experience of 30 years in the business and the knowledge of the designer who drew up the 300 sheets or more of plans ? How could this be possible ? How is it possible to build a skyscraper today ? Many people have sufficient resources to gain the knowledge and experience that when combined create the skyscraper, but marriage is at the heart of all these resources, and if more fully cultivated could allow even more productivity.
Another example is language. If language can be learned, how many languages can be spoken by one person fluently? This is only limited by one persons awareness, which could be expanded by thoroughly making use of the balance of whole and part in a society where marriage is an ultimate resource. There is an example, albeit somewhat dubious to the non-believer, in the book of Acts in the Bible, where at Pentecost the people gathered spoke in foreign languages that they were not trained in.
So if all these institutions of society are solely to balance whole and part, than marriage will only serve to better these institutions, if not entirely replace them. Perhaps marriage will become an awareness compass, where the state of the relationship dictates the next step in the relationship. The possibilities seem endless to anyone with an imagination.
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EASTER Sunday, April 24th, 2011
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