. Spinning .

Augustine tells us of the reasoning for when he (and as he suggests, others) come to dwell on the Bible and the word of God, as opposed to avoidance even when a basis for belief is acknowledged.

I therefore decided to give attention to the holy scriptures and to find out what they were like.  And this is what met me: something neither open to the proud nor laid bare to mere children; a text lowly to the beginner but, on further reading, of mountainous difficulty enveloped in mysteries.  I was not in any state to be able to enter that, or bow my head to climb its steps.  What I am now saying did not then enter my mind when I gave my attention to the scripture.  It seemed to me unworthy in comparison with the dignity of Cicero. (III.9)

Simple truth rendered without eloquence, or the status of the poets and philosophers then, and not appealing to the mind of one taken by earthly measures.

It is sometimes difficult, as if repelling to the unready mind, to read Augustine’s intimate reflections as they are told to–not the reader, but–God.  One’s own belief is brought into focus as if a religious God is in question, then the narrator of this, Augustine, is in question too as to credibility. 

There are faiths that are so strong and daily fed at both ends of the spectrum.  Most, however, fall into an area that is taken for granted, never strengthened nor ever questioned.  Doubt is spurred by some great impetus; the media play of evolution, by death or near-death of self or someone loved.  The question of a God has been reckoned against the theory of evolution when resolution to the under-learned would be taken as an end to life of spirit as well as body.  There are other ways, however, aside from mere religion that could be explored beyond the mortal.  And God is just a name.

Laughed aloud at this one:

My studies which were deemed respectable had the objective of leading me to distinction as an advocate in the lawcourts, where one’s reputation is high in proportion to one’s success in deceiving people.  The blindness of humanity is so great that people are actually proud of their blindness.  (III.6)

While I can certainly relate to the first sentence, it is not an uncommon belief, and in fact has become a joke about the legal profession.  But even I know that this is a generalization as well as an effect of the practice.

Augustine is guilty here of stereotyping; no worse, it would seem to me, than any other based on age, religion, ethnicity or gender.  Yet as I’ve always believed, there is a seed of truth within the exaggeration–and it should not be necessarily considered a bad thing if there is a logical reason of history behind it–in every statement that becomes a generalization.  I would think that the most important thing to remember is that maybe a majority, but certainly not all members of the group may have some trace of the tendency, trait, belief, etc. that the stereotyping targets.  Then too, as we merge and diversify our cultures, these may no longer hold true in any realistic acknowledgment.

The second sentence of Augustine’s statement, "The blindness of humanity is so great that people are actually proud of their blindness." reminds me, in these current times and affected by contemporary language and viewpoints, of political correctness, though I’m sure that this is not what Augustine is referring to, but rather a more mob mentality, ostrich-like behavior that excuses the reluctance to search for truth. 

Was there more honesty in Augustine’s time?  Likely so, and just as much deceit.

…the more they stay the same.  Barbara commented on the fact that some of what Augustine is writing about in his recollections of youth, such as peer pressure, exist as problems today. 

Here, in the beginning of Book III, I find more:

Why is it that a person should wish to experience suffering by watching grievous and tragic events which he himself would not wish to endure?  Nevertheless he wants to suffer the pain given by being a spectator of these sufferings, and the pain itself is his pleasure. (III:2)

CSI, Law  & Order, Adventure Games, Sporting events, Real life drama; they’re what get the ratings.  So man is still taken with the fascination of blood and guts, death.  I admit that I spent a good hour this morning checking out links on the suicide bridge–the Golden Gate–when I came across it on Michelle Redmond’s San Serif weblog.  There’s controversy, ongoing for decades it seems, on whether a suicide barrier is warranted.  1250 people have jumped and died to date.

As Augustine continues:

What is this but amazing folly? For the more anyone is moved by these scenes, the less free he is from similar passion.  Only, when he himself suffers, it is called misery; when he feels compassion for others, it is called mercy.  But what quality of mercy is it in fictitious and theatrical inventions?  A member of the audience is not excited to offer help, but invited only to grieve.  (III:2)

Interesting that while Augustine applies this line of thought to theatrical productions, therefore fiction, our contemporary tragedies are not only the fiction of theater, but the realties presented by the news media.  We know the difference between the two, and yet how different are our responses, how pure our intentions when we are not necessarily as helpless as in the case of theater?

And still, we watch.