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Quote by Joshua Gibbs

“When progressives and Christians speak of “nature,” they are not referring to the same thing. Within the framework of Christian thought, nature can only be understood in its relationship with the supernatural... In cutting nature off from supernature, the Enlightenment inaugurated a long, slowly unfurling contempt for both nature and supernature which reaches new heights every year.”

Quote by Joshua Gibbs

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Love What Lasts: How to Save Your Soul from Mediocrity

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Joshua Gibbs

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“Whether a man is concerned with kings, paupers, plants, pandas, minerals, models, math, production, propulsion, or prostitutes, when he learns what usually happens— what usually works, what usually hurts, what is usually said, what is usually felt— a man has discovered something about that thing’s nature. When a man learns that holding very hot things is usually painful, he learns something about his fleshly nature. When a boy learns that lying to his mother usually leads to fear and remorse, he learns something about his spiritual nature. When we observe that dogs usually become ill after eating chocolate, we learn something about canine nature. Tendency and propensity invariably teach us about nature.”

“Apart from a belief in the supernatural, it has become very hard to distinguish the natural from the unnatural. Without Heaven, what is the difference between Hell and Earth? Without God, how can the human and the demonic be told apart? More than two hundred years after the French Revolution, the only people who attack a position or practice as “unnatural” are those who believe in God, as well, because the concept of nature only makes sense as an intermediary between the supernatural and the unnatural.”

“The problem with “special” things, though, is that they do not last. As a category of being, “special” cannot help being vampiric, and so “special” is really the opposite of “holy.” Holy things beget holy things. Because holiness shares in the boundless nature of God, there is always more holiness to go around. Holy water consecrates all that it touches as holy. Holy places confer their holiness on the activities that transpire therein. As a bishop consecrates a deacon to the position of priest, or a priest consecrates the romance of bride and groom, holy men may confer their holiness on others. Special things cannot confer their specialness on other things, though. One special thing is naturally at war with other special things. Holiness is an open system, which means a holy thing can make a common thing holy without losing its own holiness. Specialness is a closed system, though, for one thing cannot become special without devouring or absorbing the specialness of another. The goal of a new blockbuster is to make old blockbusters look dull by comparison. The goal of new clothing styles is to make old clothing styles look dowdy by comparison. The goal of a fashionable new church is to make old churches seem dull and conventional by comparison. The goal of new pornography is to make old pornography look chaste by comparison. The goal of the latest KFC sandwich is to make the last KFC sandwich seem flavorless by comparison.”

“Anyone looking to follow in the footsteps of Pollock, Rothko, or Mondrian is out of luck. Pollock was not interested in painting nature. He was not interested in the world or in reality itself. Rather, he painted himself, as all Modern artists must do. Imitation is a failure of self-expression. Imitation is treason, for every act of imitation looks to the past. Imitation also implies hierarchy, for a man must choose who to imitate. If he claims to imitate no one, though, he may claim success in all that he undertakes, for he has no standard outside himself by which his work can be judged.”

“Long term exposure to fake things makes real things seem overly dull, demanding, expensive, messy, complicated, and pretentious. Those raised on watermelon candy will find actual watermelon not sweet enough. Anyone raised on comic book movies will not find Hamlet or Paradise Lost sufficiently exciting. Anyone raised on Big Macs will find French onion soup too pungent, or else not sweet enough, not fatty enough, or not salty enough.”

“مادرم بعدها گفت:(( عشق یک عمل است؛ فقط حرف نیست و هرگز هم نبوده.)) چقدر این حرف درست است. او می گفت: (( همه ی ما با توانایی عشق ورزیدن به دنیا می آییم؛ با این حال، باید مثل هر ماهیچه ی دیگری آن را پرورش بدهیم.))”

“برای داشتن لب های زیبا، با مهربانی سخن بگو. برای داشتن چشم های دوست داشتنی، به دنبال خوبی در دیگران باش. برای داشتن اندام باریک، غذای خود را با گرسنه ها تقسیم کن. برای داشتن موهای زیبا، به کودکی اجازه بده انگشتانش را یک بار در روز لای موهایت بکشد. برای داشتن وقار، با دانستن اینکه هرگز تنها راه نخواهی رفت، راه برو. برایت سنتی آینده دار به جا می گذارم. مراقبت لطیفو محبت آمیز انسان ها هرگز منسوخ نخواهد شد. آدم ها حتی بیش از اشیا نیاز دارند تجدید شوند، دوباره زنده شوند، اصلاح شوند و آزاد شوند و ازاد شوند و آزاد شوند.”