Monday

From the Notebooks

Christian Studies in Skepticism

Significant: "Living in history, we experience only the present, the immediate. This is as it should be; it simplifies decision and directs action (for in this world only ignorance give us the freedom necessary to act)." Romano Guardini, The Lord, p. 363. Emphasis added.

This passage has a ton in it:

-Skepticism, but also related ideas, like the importance of living in the Present, not only for holiness, but out of frank acknowledgment of our ignorance.

-It's realism at its highest, most potent.

-The role of simplicity, which is, I think, a close cousin of skepticism. The holy peasant, I like to think, is a skeptic. It fits the stereotype.

-Humility in skepticism: knowledge of our limitations gives us insight into others' innate limitations.