The Dignity of Man

The truth is, rationality is the same in all intelligent beings. reason is the same thing in God, in Angels, and in Men. As men therefore bear the image of God, in point of Rationality; so they possess all the rational powers and faculties, which bear any analogy to the divine intelligence; or, which can be communicated to created beings. Accordingly Angels are superior to men in the same sense, and perhaps nearly in the same degree, that Newton was superior to most of his own species. As Newton had no rational power or faculty peculiar to himself; so Angels have no rational powers or faculties which are not common to all intelligent creatures. Every man therefore is capable of learning all that any man, or any intelligent creature has learned, or can learn. Hence the only natural and necessary distinction between Angels and men, and between one man and another is this; that Angels are capable of acquiring knowledge more easily, and more swiftly than men; and some men are capable of acquiring knowledge more easily and more swiftly than others. And this difference between Angels and men, and between man and man, to whatever cause it may be owing, will probably continue forever; and forever keep up a distinction in their knowledge and improvements for the time being.

— Nathanael Emmons “The Dignity of Man”, Franklin Massachuesetts, March 1, 1787 (from American Sermons; Library of America, 1999; page 501)

I’m not sure I agree with this.

Actually, I’m not sure why I’m commenting on this except for the fact that I read this while on the eliptical at the gym this morning and felt my eyebrows arch higher and my head tilt to the side. I’ll admit I haven’t finished reading Nathanael Emmons’ sermon and I think I get the point of his sermon. The preface describes that occasion for the preaching of this sermon to be because someone donated a large amount of books to the parish library. In that context, a sermon on Rationality and the Dignity of humanity makes sense. Nathanael, from my reading, liked knowledge. He saw God as its source and based on his theology, that lead him to the statement above that, if I’m reading right, is making knowledge a product of God and not a product of man. That, I can agree with. But it’s the bit about Angels that I don’t get.

Really? That’s the difference between men and Angels, that they can learn faster than we can? You think that a creature that could fly, could actually revolt in an armed conflict against God, and could help lead Armageddon, would be a tad different from humans than just being able to learn faster. If I was an angel, I’d want a little more than just being able to learn faster. I wouldn’t need a new car or cash or anything. I’d just want to be able to rock out on the harp. As a being who’s entire existence is the worship of God, you think that would be the minimum thing I’d get. And I bet I’d be pretty fantastic at it too.

It’s interesting how, throughout Christian history, angels matter. There’s even been tv shows about them. It’s not hard to look at the Old Testament, see what I consider to be a low amount of angelogy, and then pick up 1st century CE primary sources and discover that the NT was written in an era where angels were big business. The folks at Qurum had entire lists of angels, their names, and stuff that they do. Besides talking to Mary, they run errands. If the Dead Sea scrolls were written in the modern era, I bet all the angels would have fake facebook accounts.

I don’t think I currently hear many references to angels in my mainline Lutheran church. In our prayers, we mention them. There’s a part in our ceremony where we sing in praise as we believe angels do (and the fact that I forget the name of this part of the service is annoying me). But beyond that, we don’t say much about them. We believe they’re there but they’re not in vogue right now. When another pieist movement starts, they’ll come back and maybe then I’ll have a better context to look at Emmon’s sermon and get why talking about Angels in rationality matters. And then we’ll get more Touched by an Angel shows on tv, Archangel Michael iPhone covers, and then Kevin Smith can bring back his buddy Christ one more time.

My roommate came back from Tales of the Cocktail and now I want my own swag room.

My roommate writes the best booze and bar blog when it comes to New York City. She’s actually paid to write about what most of us just pretend to know something about. She’s been to the hot bar before the rest of us. She knows who the hot bartender of the moment is and is friends with her. And you know how some guys will, when they’re on a date, try to pretend that they actually know the ins and outs of mixology? She can totally see through them. She knows things man. KNOWS things.

And because she knows things, she gets free swag. She recently went to Tales of the Cocktail 2009 in New Orleans. She just got back today, opened up her suitcase, and took out her swag. And by swag, I mean free little bottles of booze.

We’ve got bottles of Acai Black Currant syrup and Fernet-Branca Liqueur, which is only used in Argentina and San Francisco. Grand Marnier, Yamazaki 12 year old Single Malt Whiskey, and Saint Germain 60/40. Fentinman’s Ginger Beer and Tonic Water are everywhere and there’s big bottle of Agave Nectar, 100% Blue Agave too. We’ve got yellow and green Chartreuse (that’s right, there’s a yellow version too). In Tequilas, there’s Tequila Ocho and Partida reposado. And to round it out, we’ve got a large bottle of 360 Vodka ad another bottle of tequila, Tres Generaciones. If you didn’t know that Tequila is popular, now you do.

She’s a good roommate to have.

So far, she’s only written one entry on her blog about Tales but I can see her on the couch and she’s writing more stories. I also see that her employer ran a truncated article about gin on their website. And, boy, she’s telling me stories that I wish I could do justice to. She was the only person not to run into Danny Devito. The swag room supposedly had a “key” to get into, they gave it to her, but the actual room only had a curtain in front of it. Lots of delicious drink recipes are in her notebook and in the piles of papers she brought back. She got the new number for Milk and Honey. She’ll write more so keep an eye out on her blog. It’s worth reading.

And, to top everything off, my cat is currently trying to open the bottle of Ocho Tequila. That’s why she’s named Chula – she’s a sassy latina.

Quick Hits for July 11, 2009

I know, I know. I haven’t been updating. It’s weird but now that I’m unemployed, I feel like I’m working all the time. And with my church having an emergency web situation at the moment (which I really should be working on right now rather than writing this), my mind is totally distracted from wedding stuff. I’ll try to force myself to post something, anything, more often but, yeah, I keep saying that so no promises.

weddingbank

Forced Kissing

Manolo for Brides talks about the *clink clink MAKE OUT FOR US NOW! * part of weddings. I really don’t like that part of the wedding ceremony. In fact, I’ve privately considered only serving drinks in dixie cups and food on paper plates with plastic sporks just so this won’t happen. But if someone wants to go *clink clink*, they’ll find a way. I’m sure on the day of the wedding, I won’t mind. I’ll have so many hormones of euphoria running through my brain, I’d want any excuse to kiss my new wife. But later, when I’m thinking about it, it’ll probably wig me out. Which is weird cuz I LIKE pdas. Ah well.

Vintage Chalkboards

This post on bridal buzz about chalkboards actually got my brain working. I like chalkboards and the idea behind them. My fiancee painted an entire wall in her house to be a chalkboard. They’re useful to write notes and spread messages. I wouldn’t mind putting them up at the wedding. They would be a nice decorative touch. However, it’s hard to not also immediately wonder if that turns the reception area into a New York Deli.

Brides on Bikes

I don’t like Brides on Bikes and I can’t figure out why. Maybe it’s because of the fixed-gear hipsters that I see all over the place? Am I prejudices against cyclists? That’s possible.

Cake Wrecks

More and more reasons why I’m going to get a boring cake rather than ask a baker to make me something. I don’t trust people I guess.

New NYC Wedding Venue

Williamsburgh Savings Bank wants you to say “I Do” in their lobby.

Floating Chapel??

I love ridiculous wedding chapel ideas. I really want to visit the smallest church in America which is located in Maine. One of my favorite pictures of my fiancee and I is when we we’re standing in front of a little church on a children’s playground. So when my fiancee saw pictures of a wedding that included a floating chapel, I was all excited. And it’s not a small chapel – it’s pretty big. And it looks like every other Florida wedding chapel I’ve seen. I like it. Well, I don’t like it for my wedding – I need a real church with stone and huge arches – but I could see someone else wanting to float on their wedding day.