Enduring Beauty

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  “Beauty is the quality which makes to endure. In a house that I know, I have noticed a block of spermaceti lying about closets and mantel-pieces, for twenty years together, simply because the tallow-man gave it the form of a rabbit; and, I suppose, it may continue to be lugged about unchanged for a century. Let an artist scrawl a few lines or figures on the back of a letter, and that scrap of paper is rescued from danger, is put in portfolio, is framed and glazed, and, in proportion to the beauty of the lines drawn, will be kept for centuries. Burns writes a copy of verses, and sends them to a newspaper, and the human race take charge of them that they shall not perish.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson. (1803–1882).   Essays and English Traits.

How to Create a Debationist.

  1. Let Hedonism be your guide. Try anything once and do the fun things twice—just don’t hurt anyone in the process;
  2. Stand up for your rights. Nobody has the right to tell you what to do—and be loud about it. Stay away from intolerant people;
  3. Follow your heart, your feelings. Soothe the conscience by referring to Step 1;
  4. Discover your hidden potential;
  5. Truth is what you make it, so do what seems right to you. Believe in yourself;
  6. Whatever you desire, go for it. Let nothing get in your way. Give yourself permission to get whatever you want even though people are not going to simply give it to you. The world is there for the taking—after all, you deserve it. The sooner you get it, the better. ("Send me $95 and I’ll show you how!")

    “Quarrels are a part of life. We grow up understanding them, we are competitive, we are even taught to be competitive. Little children fight. The kids fight over the toys, they go to school and they fight over the games in the playground, they go to high school and they fight over the girls, they go to college and they fight over campus policies, they grow up and fight over their business dealings, they become politicians and fight over policies of a government. That’s war, and James says it’s because you have strong desires and those strong desires are generated by yourself. Man, because he is depraved, is selfish and egotistic; and that problem finds its way into the church, so we have fights in the church.” (John MacArthur, Sermon on 1 Cor. 1:10-17, “Splits and Quarrels in the Church.”)

    What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: 'He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us'? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, 'God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'” (James 4:1-6)


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