Eternity

"Eternity is another name of the presence of the present."

Jacques Derrida  "Ousia and Grammē" 

Another direction

Consciousness arose by itself

Awareness of the other was one of the consequences

The unity of the world was lost and the knowledge of death was gained

Our horizon exploded from the moment to eternity

And the search for our beginnings began

Making love was the only way to return to the way it was

Am I my others keeper?

Adoption
Medical trips to exotic locations, the more dangerous the better
Mission trips to that orphanage in Mexico or Ecuador
Keeping those missionaries on location, or funding those frequent forays to Japan
Family
Totally other—God?  It requires no keeping, and can’t be kept
Giving to one is withholding from another

Echos of a struggling species, eking out an existence hunting and gathering
Numbers so small, even the weak are valuable
Breaking the bones to get at the marrow
No books, not much language, knowledge carried by the old
Death by so many ways, including birthing that baby with too big a head
That big brain that sees the other as more than just an extension of I
An independent being that knows it has being
That brain that recognizes that the other is not just outside but inside
And the inside is outside
Consciousness knowing that it will die, that it's unique in the universe
Not one with the universe, the environment, the pack, or the flock—just one

Giving to one is withholding from another, how do we decide
Some we can help, others just die—never fully formed, sick, hurt, or just old
Do we nurture youth or knowledge, build strength, or just hold our numbers?
Is that annoying elder worth the trouble when they don't even forage
One time when we move they won’t keep up—problem solved
The young an obvious good investment, a future meal ticket if they turn out alright

How do I decide what gifts I give
What sort of an economy should I expect—besides the handwritten thank you card
Do we need more than 6 billion people to preserve our DNA?
Extinction more likely from an excess of neutrons than starvation, or a hard winter
Extinction—nature pruning unsuccessful choices,  paths gone wrong, niches no longer big enough

My thing—giving to those that cross my path
Those bold enough to look me in the eye and ask, sometimes silently
Or nudge me with their need

History

History in and of itself conveys the motif of a final repression of difference

--A slight re-configuration of Derrida's words from his essay: "Différance"

Stone Tablets

Does God reveal itself
in incremental ways?

Forbidden fruit, unpleasing sacrifices,
near global destruction, murderous commands?

Blood soaked rituals foreshadowing
a human sacrifice

Abraham prophesies on the way to kill his son:
"God will provide for himself the lamb"

Sacrifice our lives to achieve eternal rewards,
toe the line to preserve the status quo—
a stable community with mouths to feed and
a religious hierarchy to maintain

Someone to inform us of the rules and shame
our bad behavior

Is that God's plan?

This paradox-ridden mess called God's Word.
Inconsistent rules destabilizing our cultures and continually
mutating to serve someone's purpose.

In a fit of anger Moses throws and breaks God's handwritten notes
Astonishing it was such fragile stuff

Misplaced rage—or a metaphoric
breaking of chains too heavy to bear?

Is it time for us to throw down an idolized Bible
no longer able to bear the label of Truth?

Perhaps that is the plan...

Primacy of Grace?

"Justice is the red haired stepchild of Grace"

 Stan Ebel

Choices

Randomness or Synchronicity

Evolution or Destiny

Self or God  (ontological center)

Survival or Purpose

Absence or Invisible Presence

Brain Disturbances or Nudges

Coincidences or Miracles

Death or Resurrection

Culture or Justice

Rupture or Evil  (physical, cultural, developmental)

Faith or Faith

The center...

"Is not the center, the absence of play and difference, another name for death? "

"Ellipsis"  Derrida

Derrida on play

"There is nothing outside the text; all is textual play with no connection with original truth."


In another earlier text, Derrida defined play as "the absence of the transcendental signified as limitlessness of play, that is to say as the destruction of ontotheology and the metaphysics of presence."


Derrida also wrote, "The absence of the transcendental signified extends the domain and the play of signification infinitely


From: JACQUE DERRIDA, DECONSTRUCTIONISM & POSTMODERNISM

By Cky J. Carrigan, Ph. D. (April 1996)