Though Ayn Rand's advocacy of genuine, long-term self-interest and opposition to self-sacrifice...her most important insight for our times--that attempting to force the human good is "like an attempt to provide a man with a picture gallery at the price of cutting out his eyes." And:
To me, Rand's work translates to a message of freedom of self-determination without the infringement of egalitarianism (equal rights for all).
To me, Rand's work translates to a message of freedom of self-determination without the infringement of egalitarianism (equal rights for all).
- From the Wall Street Journal editorial page, Wednesday, March 18, 2009:
I'm reminded of the passage in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified," (I Corinthians 2:2), and in his second letter, "But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness," addressing the correction that these Corinthians believers needed ( 2 Corinthians
2:2). Self-determination is the undercurrent of freedom of the gospel, and the basis of all of our freedoms. Is to force the human good, even good? If God forced us to love Him, would that be love? No, of course it would not be love, it would be a sham and a tyranny of the strong over the weak, for who could resist the power of God.
My siblings and I visited Sweden, the birth country of our father, this past autumn. We connected with our first cousins way north in Skelleftea, just inland of the Baltic Sea, with a reception at their local, country church. This church was nice, and seemed to be used and comfortable, with wonderful dark wood and stained glass windows. We visited the church cemetery where father's family was buried, Einer, Anna-Lisa, Stina, Carl, Joseph, mother Esther, father Jonas. The grounds were beautifully kept with live flowers growing on every grave. I felt reprimanded as I thought of the grounds in Michigan where my brother and father are buried, when try as we do, the grass is sparse and the deer eat every shrub we cultivate.
As we traveled by car through rural Sweden, in every town there was a beautiful Lutheran church, freshly painted, with meticulously tended grounds, but as I subsequently found out, all are subsidized by the Swedish government.
The churches are empty, including on Sundays.
As we toured the church where my father was baptized and confirmed, sister Lois started singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy" to breath some life into the beautiful relic. Then cousin Roland took us to the small adjacent section of the churchyard where stood a village of two-story rooms, all connected in rows. It seems that by law the families of this district had to come to church at least once a month, so they built these six-by-six rooms for their family to sleep in as they traveled from far distances to be able to fulfil their church obligation. Our family has purchased one of these rooms and our two cousins had us all in and served a delicate sandwich cake, and lots of stove-boiled coffee.
The force of the human good over self-determination produced cold legalism which destroyed the soul and drained the natural response to God. No, give me our well used, baby crying, amening, church over that cold beauty.
"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (II Corinthians 3:18). "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" (Galatians 5:1).
I'm reminded of the passage in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified," (I Corinthians 2:2), and in his second letter, "But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness," addressing the correction that these Corinthians believers needed ( 2 Corinthians
2:2). Self-determination is the undercurrent of freedom of the gospel, and the basis of all of our freedoms. Is to force the human good, even good? If God forced us to love Him, would that be love? No, of course it would not be love, it would be a sham and a tyranny of the strong over the weak, for who could resist the power of God.
My siblings and I visited Sweden, the birth country of our father, this past autumn. We connected with our first cousins way north in Skelleftea, just inland of the Baltic Sea, with a reception at their local, country church. This church was nice, and seemed to be used and comfortable, with wonderful dark wood and stained glass windows. We visited the church cemetery where father's family was buried, Einer, Anna-Lisa, Stina, Carl, Joseph, mother Esther, father Jonas. The grounds were beautifully kept with live flowers growing on every grave. I felt reprimanded as I thought of the grounds in Michigan where my brother and father are buried, when try as we do, the grass is sparse and the deer eat every shrub we cultivate.
As we traveled by car through rural Sweden, in every town there was a beautiful Lutheran church, freshly painted, with meticulously tended grounds, but as I subsequently found out, all are subsidized by the Swedish government.
The churches are empty, including on Sundays.
As we toured the church where my father was baptized and confirmed, sister Lois started singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy" to breath some life into the beautiful relic. Then cousin Roland took us to the small adjacent section of the churchyard where stood a village of two-story rooms, all connected in rows. It seems that by law the families of this district had to come to church at least once a month, so they built these six-by-six rooms for their family to sleep in as they traveled from far distances to be able to fulfil their church obligation. Our family has purchased one of these rooms and our two cousins had us all in and served a delicate sandwich cake, and lots of stove-boiled coffee.
The force of the human good over self-determination produced cold legalism which destroyed the soul and drained the natural response to God. No, give me our well used, baby crying, amening, church over that cold beauty.
"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (II Corinthians 3:18). "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" (Galatians 5:1).
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