Biblical Insights into Our Condition

The account in Genesis 3 of the fall of humans from their state of joyful peace in the garden of paradise has Eve tempted by the serpent who urges her to eat of the forbidden tree of knowledge - "You will be like gods, knowing good and evil". The drama asserts that "the core of sin is the attempt to replace God as the determiner of morality". The International Bible Commentary (1998) goes on: "Eve understood the command of God clearly enough. But both she and her husband desire to be like God, and agree to the sin. They are immediately aware of their lost innocence and the new strength of their sexual passions as they find themselves naked. Now they are indeed more knowledgeable..., but it is the 'practical' knowledge of sin's effects and its power in human actions".

This mysterious incident recognises that human nature is disfigured, but a person is not demeaned, and much of the Bible tells of individuals and the privileged nation being held to account for failure to uphold their responsibilities as humans. Also, they have retained an intimate relationship with their Maker. That is borne out in Psalm 130, the De profundis, used by Oscar Wilde and Charles Baudelaire, among others, because of  its vivid depiction of a life in the depths of an evil of the person's own making. The Commentary says here, "There is an interesting link established between [God's] forgiveness and fear: rather than the anger of the Lord it is divine goodness that should give rise in us a fear of offending God".

A third insight into the continued intimate relationship with our Maker is provided by Psalm 137, where the first line goes "Beside the streams of Babylon we sat and wept...", inspiring many artistic works, even into the 21st Century. The psalm focuses on the period of exile in Babylon. The Commentary offers this insight:

The ending of the psalm contains a famous and furious curse on the enemies of Israel. [Further,] a cruel beatitude is reserved for anyone who will avenge Israel by striking at Babylon and smashing its little ones against a rock. This embittered and rhetorical cry that ends the psalm is, however, an appeal to the divine judgment and should be interpreted in the light of the other 'imprecatory' psalms such as 58 and 109. It is a manifestation of the tragedy and despair of an oppressed people but also of the enfleshment of God's word in the emotions and historical experiences of humanity.

Wild Flowers

I enjoy looking at woodprints of wildlife because they draw the eye to every little detail of what the artist is focusing on. Recently I have taken delight in the work of the artist whose piece I have displayed here.

Yasuo Kuniyoshi (United States, born Japan, 1889-1953), Wild Flowers, 1922, pen and ink, ink and wash on paper, 17 5/8 x 12 inches. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of William E. Hill, 1959.17.
http://www.einspruch.com/journal/2010/08/16/the-lanes-whom-you-loved-is-not-here

   Another piece that attracted my interest is this, the source of which I have not been able to track down, but which expresses a clear Chinese spirit. Upon discovering the cricket, the heart gives a leap for joy.  

With every beat of the wing

Among the weeds at the side of small lake in Binh Duong province, Vietnam, colourful flowers stand out. And, yes, there's the equivalent of a bumble bee heading for the source of its own well-being. (My photo)

The Lotus Life Cycle

A copycat artist's rendering of an original Vietnamese work

The people of Vietnam regard the lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) as one of the four graceful flowers and plants, along with the pine, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. Known as the ‘flower of the dawn’, the lotus is found throughout the country at lakes and ponds. To the Vietnamese, the lotus is the symbol of purity, commitment and optimism for the future. The elegance of the lotus is often cited in  folk songs and poems.

Most Vietnamese observe some form of Buddhism, and in Buddhist symbolism  the lotus represents purity of body, speech, and mind, floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. The Buddha is often depicted sitting on a giant lotus leaf or blossom. According to legend, he was born with the ability to walk immediately and everywhere he stepped, lotus flowers bloomed.

Adapted from Southeast Asian Bloggers Network

The lotus and the lily, pictured here, have a major difference in that the lotus's leaves rise out of the water (below), and as described here - but see more on the family feud below. 

The lotus has a use even as it dies. Its seeds 

are collected and can be used as a food or beverage.
This depiction of the last days of a lotus

is part of a work by Ha Huynh My, whose

works are in private collections in many countries.

For a long time, there was confusion among taxonomists regarding the relationship of lotus (Nelumbo) and water- lily (Nymphaea). But using DNA evidence along with other taxonomic studies, researchers now agree that lotus and water-lily belong to two different families. In fact, studies have shown that whereas lotus is a member of the more evolved group of plants known as the 'Eudicots', water-lily is a member of a primitive group (Nympheales) that occurred as early as the cretaceous period. The lotus plant is more closely related to Platanus or the sycamore also known as the plane tree and the members of the family Proteaceae!! A closer look by botanists revealed many similar features in the floral and vegetative morphologies between the members of lotus, sycamore and proteas. (From Simple Expressions: The World of Flowers)

Nature's riches

Sunlight, oil on canvas, by Bich Nguyet, who presented this work at a 1999 exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City, her hometown. Her exhibits often featured textures that highlighted natural variations, and a colour wash, as with Sunlight, that spurred a fresh interest in the subject matter.

Our companions

Umbrella Bird 

 "Acrosoma arcuatum"

Date 1863 (publication of first edition)

Scanned from The Naturalist on the River Amazons by Henry Walter Bates, University of California Press version, published 1962.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons

These images are in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to Australia, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.The United States public domain tag indicates why this work is in the public domain in the United States. Note that a few countries have copyright terms longer than 70 years: Mexico has 100 years, Colombia has 80 years, and Guatemala and Samoa have 75 years. This image may not be in the public domain in these countries, which moreover do not implement the rule of the shorter term. Côte d'Ivoire has a general copyright term of 99 years and Honduras has 75 years, but they do implement the rule of the shorter term.

Picasso needed redemption, too

Picasso was a "control freak", and he loved the benefits of fame and wealth. He was a free spirit in his art and morality. However, his manner of behaving had its consequences in his personal life. As with his mistresses and the children from them, there was much tragedy and heartbreak among his wives and children, extending down to his grandchildren.

This element of the artist's life comes out in a discussion the BBC's Zeinab Badawi had with the artist's friend and biographer John Richardson, and grandson Bernard Ruiz Picasso. Richardson says Picasso was wonderful to his friends but very controlling within the family. "He liked his women to be submissive, and when he had finished with them he took it out on their children," a BBC trailer on the discussion reports.

It goes on: "Bernard tells Zeinab that although he was fond of his grandfather, he realises that Picasso sometimes had strange reactions to members of his family." The contradictions in the great artist's life come out also in the series uploaded on YouTube.

A free spirit, yes, but as a flawed man, a slave to his own whims and drives.