Fotografía de autor
69+ Obras 1,253 Miembros 10 Reseñas

Sobre El Autor

Robert Van de Weyer lectured in Economics for twenty years at Cambridge University, England.

Series

Obras de Robert van de Weyer

Celtic Prayers (1997) 79 copias
The Little Gidding Way (1988) 15 copias
A World Religions Bible (2003) 15 copias
The shepherd's son (1992) 7 copias
The Call to Heresy (1989) 6 copias
ISLAND VISION (1988) 4 copias
The Fount book of prayer (1993) 4 copias
Guru Jesus (1975) 2 copias
Feasts & Fasts, Volume I (1995) 2 copias
The spiritual kiss (1989) 1 copia
Moudrost starého Irska (2001) 1 copia

Obras relacionadas

Etiquetado

Conocimiento común

Nombre canónico
van de Weyer, Robert
Fecha de nacimiento
20th Century
Género
male

Miembros

Reseñas

Not a great or terrible book, but there were only a few words on each page, less than average I think, and only a moderate number of pages, so it wasn’t an awful investment of time; that was good. This book is basically about Celtic Christian folklore, kinda a much-less pagan-romantic version of Arthurian times, the dual-faith period. Of course, I’ve never really experienced Celtic Christianity, none of us have, even contemporary Irish Christians, whether Catholic or anything else. It was suppressed, so that we’d all be the same, and, not having experienced all possible worlds, I cannot know if this one is the best. However, it is possible that if Christians hadn’t been so throughly Romanized for hundreds and hundreds of years, and possibly until today, sometimes even for Protestants, (even evangelicals!), maybe then I’d either be or have a closer relationship with the Christian church, or at least feel in relation to them something more like affection, rather than an impulse to feel charity, rather than something else. Of course, maybe Celtic Christians were or would have descended into real-man leftism or liberalism, like Matthew Fox often does, from whom I think I received this name. There obviously isn’t any way to tell…. It seems to me now that for the Christians Brigit’s Fire is for cooking meat, you know: they don’t always keep the house ~completely cold, but it tends to be more about duty than inspiration. People tend not to go to the Christian priest, or even abbess or whatever, for wisdom about when to take risks in life, you know. “Risks? Risks, my boy? I say…. I always thought life was about safely observing!” They say that Plato was the first Christian, you know. Well, I say that.

But there isn’t really any way to know what Celtic Christianity was, at least not from the fire-light of inspiration turned way down low like this, right.

…. (poor peasant) Oh Saint Monk, Saint Monk, help us, help us, my family is starving!
(Saint Monk) Oh, bless you, children, bless you—you remind me that life is an endless treadmill of suffering and pain; you have made me wise bless you! (nods, beat) Oh, right. Well, these are all I eat. (gives the family a 70 calorie snack bar) Bless you, children! (wanders off)
“Should we divide it up and eat the whole thing?…. He said we’re blessed more because our life is an endless treadmill of suffering and pain; let’s see, maybe we could take part of it, and….”

Lol.

I remember when I was a leftist Christian, and I was irritable that these aggressive Christians want comfort for themselves and suffering for everyone else, and call that being tough, right—‘shouldn’t we try to be as miserable as possible, so that others’ blah blah blah.

And, in more ways than one, I think it’s better both for me, and for other people, that I’m not like that anymore. I’m becoming less cranky; I value my own well-being more…. And ~that is the kind of person who can bless others, on top of that!

And on top of everything, you get to talk to Aine (Awnya), “In the midst of ecstasy, we are in death”, lol. ~(frumpy) “In the midst of Sunday school, we are in death.” ~That too.

…. Although I would be remiss not to hint at the peace I feel now; I feel a greater confidence about the other thing than at any earlier period in my life: don’t have sex, son! Fulfill the prophecy! Yours is to be the last generation of sexuality, impurity, and sun!/FU dad; I’m finally a teenager now that I’m not 19 anymore, and I think I’ll go get hurt even more now!/In Theravada religion the teaching of a Buddha very clear. Sex, very very bad teaching. Non-dualism—a better teaching!/What is sex, anyway? Is it something great, that we should feel shame? What is it? Is it something great?…./And now, I just feel like Aphs will keep me safe, you know.

And I know to the stereotypical rapper it’s like, Censored, you putting one over on me; and to Fox News Religion, I’m scarcely human at all, although I guess it’s practically always been like for me, except for when I’ve been an unidentifiable white youth, you know: but anything that’s ME is sub-human…. And I know that I’m “supposed to” take traditional USA values and make them something plausible, right, even if that fills me with hatred and fear and gets me into a place where I don’t have the peace to go against the other thing, right…. Or maybe I should lead some improbable Marxist agitation, like in a cartoon, or like in journalism…. But really, I just think that Aphs will keep me safe. She’ll keep me safe from the girls. And having the gold coin is different from having the brass one, or swearing off money, you know.

(shrugs) So yeah.

…. I mean, I was in the parking lot today doing carts at work, and I picked up one of those fear-tracts, you know: God Might Be Pissed At You, Punk, Ever Not Think of That? ~ And inside a Bible verse, “When dealing with strangers and people you have no relationship with—everyone, or almost everyone, you talk to, right—just assume God is angry with them, and put up your dukes, your shield of resentment. Protect yourself, guys. Ian 3:16 (Christians worship two gods, Christ and Ian: thus, Christ-Ian’s. Christ is certainly a god, but Ian has a much more checkered history, you know….) And it’s like, I threw it out, and it was fine. I actually didn’t feel bad at all; I felt so good, grateful, I guess, that I don’t own shares in that company anymore. When I was a Christian, seeing things like that—and they’re quite common, in many areas—would just make me shudder with rage, and I would be like, Rage; why rage…. Why is this happening….

But now it’s fine. And I could certainly change my attitude towards them later, but I’m not terribly interested in alternative Christianities, either. I can almost respect them more now, in a way, because I don’t feel loyalty-bound to grin painfully and try to get everyone to play buddy with everyone else. “Now now, none of us are supposed to be happy, whether we’re….” But I’m also less interested, because (first millennium) Celtic Christianity seems to bear many of the essential marks and scars of Catholic/orthodox Christianity, you know; it’s a long way from a full bill of health. I mean, perfection is kinda rare, but people get so stiff like they don’t have to change…. And some of those people are Christians. I certainly don’t think they’re idiots in the formal sense; they certainly have their own brand of book, after all. But who really cares, in the end? You end up happy, or you end up resentful, basically. As tyrannical as Rome is, the Roman bureaucracy wasn’t the only force for resentment. They were brothers—brothers in resentment. (shrugs) (chuckles) Aaaaaaaah!!!! (runs into wall) Ow, aaaaooowww…. Mommy…. Mommy—I hurt myself….

…. I mean, they advertise Saint Little Boy or whoever as being gentle and good, and then it instantly becomes: “Oh, brothers: this little boy is so good, I feel SHAME. What glorious disrespect I feel for myself!” Is that what goodness is, then, spreading shame? Girls are whores and soccer should be illegal, but oh, little boys who are good! I’d set the world on fire for them! Literally….

…. Although the thing I should say about the saints—I mean, I know this will come across as patronizing, or whatever, but it’s not just a matter of beating people with sticks, you know: you don’t so much get this here in the “The Sun Always Shines on TV”, you know, the oscillation between thinking you’re irretrievably shit, and God’s little pony who as a point of honor doesn’t do shadow work, although you can even get it in this book—eg the saints refuse to eat because there are poor people out there, and then the monks compete with each other to see who can die of starvation first, because Joey started it, you know, well—but again, it’s not so much that the saints necessarily beat people with sticks: in fact, I would say that the saints are the primary victims of the church, although they kinda spread it around, since they’re respected by people, you know. But sure, the idea’s out there about guilt and becoming ill because the world is such a sad grey den of sin, and then the saints just gobble that up, and then what do you think happens to them? And then of course, the “best” people think that they’re just sad grey guilt-receptacles, you know—so think of what the rest of us are like! We’d better stop being happy right away, so that we can live the good life!

…. And sex energy is like the tides, even when there are patterns, but the thing is, you be the monk/medieval Christian/real man Buddha-style, it’s like you win, or else you’re a lying dirtbag, whereas if you cultivate Aphs as a friend and say you won’t do something because you think she deserves it, and then you wake her up out of curiosity and slobber all over her—I mean, you look back, you are less needy with her over time, you weren’t trying to ‘beat’ her, you get the sense that she’s okay…. As opposed to, “The LORD God told the man in the garden, Thou shalt not beat the flesh stick of thy legs: No. Matter. What…. ~you know. I mean, you have to try to be the best and live your best, but you don’t have to get supercilious with the enfleshed and promise things that would’ve made you a monster, and which, you know—I mean, it’s improbable, to never feel the moon and old patterns, even if you don’t want the bitch to embarrass herself because you’re so sex-head-y, right.

…. “And the moth was the most pure of all the insects the LORD God had made, because it had the smallest genitals.”

…. Although it is true what Dion Fortune wrote, (good) Christian monks have a thing for Mary. So if having a thing for Mary takes you closer to holiness, don’t let me take that away from you, right…. I only wish people had had more choices, not less. Even Celtic Christianity was pretty conformist, and then it got steamrolled by Rome; I think that Rome conquered Christianity, far more than people assume….

But if that Juno-like lady Mary is what you like, nobody can make you like the Morrigan, or Aine, and so on, right.

…. Tony Robbins: (trying to keep a straight face so he sounds medieval) Surely when you were rich, you and I were friends, such excellent friends. But now, you are poor, so I turn my face away from thee—(giggles)
Angus the Loser: Oh, woe is me! I am a sinner! All men unrightfully despise me!
Tony Robbins: (bursts out laughing) (slaps Angus on the back and knocks him over) Just kidding, bro! Man, people, is this fucking guy gullible or what? Let’s get your fucking money back man! Alright!

…. Ah, the first millennium, when men were men, women were women, and small furry animals, made fun of people in Gaelic…. I mean, I hate to rag on people, right. But I remember reading Starhawk (not pleasant, especially at the time) and having her be like, “just tell people you like European folk customs so they won’t beat your skinny ass”, and it just sounded like such a bad perspective to have at the time, and now, yeah, pretty much, right. It’s just not enough that they (sparingly) use that funny Gaelic font as decoration, right…. I mean, I hate to say, I don’t know, (Maddie Rooney) That’s a big fat no, bam what? ~to all Irish Christians or Christian mythology, but if it’s all-Christian, then probs I’ll pass…. Of course, again, I liked Matthew Fox at the time…. It’s the sado-masochism, I swear: you need somebody to tell you that your desire steals bread out of the mouth of the thirty-something we’re busy writing a funereal Mass for, right, (Because of capitalism, Eve fell in the Garden…. And that’s why, you know, at the age of thirty-two— “He’s not dead yet”— Oh yes, I’ll put a little ______ there….), you know, it’s just like…. Anything but happiness. And then people decide they’re romantic, they just sorta smile at the insult and decide that life is a Celtic rabbit with an abiding fear of the next life, right…. It’s like….

There’s just not a lot to recommend it. It was different, to read once, and I’m not going to play the Ramones or whatever next time someone piously does Patrick the poor palatable one, you know, but…. It certainly satiated my curiosity. It wasn’t a book that needed a bibliography, you know. “Oh but I compiled a bibliography.” Yes…. ‘Lives of the Pious and Defeated Good Village Folk’, 14 volumes; yes, I’ll have to….

I mean, the old village, pious and defeated and shaming, doesn’t want to change, you know. The truth is there’s never one perfect set of rituals that’ll never have to choose between changing and dying. Village Christianity doesn’t need a punk rock bomb set off in its face if it wants to retire to its room to die quietly, but, I don’t know, did you ever hear the phrase, “throwing good money after bad”? If the whole point is to defy nature and reality, then you don’t need to throw away a lifetime or two, trying to win the approval of Grandfather Death, you know. “There is no warmth to be found, among those afraid of losing their ground.” Although that same siege mentality was, almost incredibly, also present in the village church’s great age of earthly expansion, too, you know.

Some people are polite, of course; not everybody is trembling at the devil of the next breath, of continued existence outside of the hell we all so deserve, you know. But…. I mean, to be a Celt, is nothing. Stereotypes aside, many perhaps most forms of Christianity are very folkish; witchy belief often less so. I suppose people are allowed to be with their own, it’s just…. I don’t know; it’s scaring the children, you know. And then handing them a flower and saying some kind rubbish so that they’ll roll over and take it.

…. Gnomic poem:
So many years have been lost in thinking days and nights are evil
A monk must say one thing and believe another

…. Maybe it should be called ‘cold fire’, the better to make it supernatural, right.

…. Not that there’s any perfect politics for the Ireland of 1990, on either—well, on any the four, really, sides—but to just lie to people, like, Children, the one thing to do is to reject money and comfort and fight for the recovery of Poverty God’s children, the poor, and (beat) Christ damn it! I’m trying to take my family on vacation, and I don’t want there to be a ruckus. I forsook thousands of dollars of wealth, so I deserve—I deserve—I’m living a thousand years ago, dammit!

What do you do with these people, you know? I’d call them Grecian, but it’s hard to believe that they come from the same stream of being as Hermes, you know. It’s like they’re not living in the same world as the little people; like they’re too good for the rest of us, God bless them, the humble little things!

…. It’s so culturally normative, even all these years later, and I have to say, you guys: that’s what makes it so effing cray.
… (más)
 
Denunciada
goosecap | Sep 21, 2023 |
I remember reading (or trying to read) Kierkegaard's writings many years ago and came away thinking that there must be something wrong with me because I didn't really "get it". Now that I have re-visited his writings in this "Nutshell" book, I'm convinced that the issue really is with Kierkegaard ...not with me.
His writing/teaching is really just religion. I don't see it as philosophy. And it veers into mysticism. I've always found it interesting how somebody can start from an idea about God; that god is omnipotent, for example....and then draw all sorts of remarkable conclusions from this. For example, Kierkegaard says that "God recalls accurately what your memory has distorted, because to him the past is the present". ...I guess one could make up any kind of magical abilities for god if you start from the assumption of omnipotence. And this is exactly what Kierkegaard does.
Most of the extracts in this book seem to be more or less personal meditations ....and there is a dose of stoical thought there too. I wonder if he suffered from depression? Certainly, his rather strange upbringing...with an overly strict father would seem to offer a possible trigger for problems with depression and his writing about despair indicates some familiarity with the "black dog".
I'm glad that I had the opportunity for this nutshell refresher on Kierkegaard.....but it has convinced me that I don't need to wast any further time trying to unravel his thoughts. He seems to me to be very much a product of his times and upbringing ...and overwhelmed and surrounded by (protestant) Christian thought. He doesn't accept the dogma that has been delivered up to him but, nor can he escape it. Hence the straying into mysticism and the confusion of mystic thought...eg. "There is only One whom people....can claim to love better than themselves; God." Frankly, I find all slightly tiresome. Hence my rating of only two stars.
… (más)
 
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booktsunami | otra reseña | Nov 17, 2019 |
Socrates in a Nutshell, is one of those small books which aims to give one a snapshot of some of the great thinkers. Clearly, reading a few extracts from Plato's works is not quite the same as wading through the "Euthyphro". But it is probably better than not having read any of Plato's works. A short biography of Socrates is included and a reasonable contextual introduction. The passages chosen to illustrate Socrates ideas are a bit of a mixed bag. There are the ideas about love and the concept of the perfect forms which underlines Plato's thinking. (I guess we must assume that this is Socrate's thinking also). The sections that are easiest to understand are the latter sections about Justice and death and also the piece about the death of Socrates. I have read most of the books of Plato so this book was really a refresher. And of course, I had forgotten most of what I had read, so it was good to have the refresher. I think the book is great for what it purports to do. But just don't expect to be an expert on Socratic thought after just reading this book.… (más)
 
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booktsunami | otra reseña | Sep 4, 2019 |
These short "Nutshell" books do not pretend to be comprehensive but to give you some of the really essential information about various key figures. I thought they did a reasonable job on Pascal. I must have read some of his Pensees before but I can't remember where or when. I do remember a school friend talking about "Pascal's pyramid"...and I was terribly impressed because I knew nothing about Pascal then nor about his pyramid. (I still don't totally recall his pyramid...I think it kind of works like a number filter). The current book has a useful biography at the start and it does emphasise the inherent contradiction between this deeply religious person and his secular pursuits of science and mathematics.
There is a fair balance here between his religious writing and his thoughts in general about life and philosophy.
I'm not convinced about his wager however. It relies on christian doctrine (about the afterlife) and a particular interpretation of Christian doctrine. It also assumes that we can actually change our beliefs.....So, all our evidence and intellect might be saying that Jesus Christ was just a man (not God) and when we die that's it...dust to dust. But somehow we are supposed to convince our own brains that we actually believe some other story about salvation. I'm not convinced that our beliefs are all that plastic that we can change them at will. We might SAY that but do we truly believe it? And what good is the wager to, say, a buddhist? It really relies on Pascal's catholic doctrines being right. (And maybe he was really on stronger ground with his mathematics).
I didn't realise that he never really got around to editing his Pensees properly...and what we have is a series of broad sheets with a lot of bon mots and thoughts of the moment jotted down. What we have was put together by some of his friends after his death. One can take issue with just about any of his bot mots...such as p39: "Many things that are certain are contradicted. many things that are false pass without contradiction. Contradiction is no more an indication of falsehoods, than a lack of it is an indication of truth". My take on this is that if something is certain and contradictory example can be found ("all swans are white" kind of certainty.....then it is no longer certain ...in fact it is false. And so on.
But he clearly was a gifted mathematician.
Interesting that he tried to be both a religious savant and an mathematician. (Many people thought he did both well. I don't).
… (más)
 
Denunciada
booktsunami | Aug 30, 2019 |

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Miembros
1,253
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Valoración
½ 3.6
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