tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post3137116814839498973..comments2024-03-28T17:53:43.541-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: A Symbol Between Heaven and EarthDarwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-61310939979846296012019-04-18T17:43:47.126-04:002019-04-18T17:43:47.126-04:00I enthusiastically agree with all of this. Our art...I enthusiastically agree with all of this. Our art — religious art, obviously, but sometimes even what is secular in origin — can point to something beyond ourselves. It is the peculiar function of signs of all sorts that, while they may be mere artifacts, they can reach into and help shape the lives of others, both those we know and those we do not. Some may perceive the idea that we can accomplish anything that will outlive us as a species of pride, but I think, viewed properly, it entails the greater humility. This church building is only an example of a more general and profound truth. The fact that it took longer than any one person's lifetime to build in and of itself suggests that the truth it proclaims — even if imperfectly understood or realized — will continue to have significance after the builders themselves are gone. It's a gesture of hope that someone will perceive that truth even after we're around to press the case.<br /><br />We spend our lives, long or short as they may be, chiefly doing things that do not, as you note, possess the divine spark of a soul — but if we didn't do so, would those lives have been better spent? The fact that our artifacts are intrinsically lesser things than we ourselves are should keep us humble, but there is also some consolation in the fact that they may have echoes far beyond what we originally had in mind.Bruce A. McMenomyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01122206034572185693noreply@blogger.com