Scuola di Atene
In the Stanza della Segnatura Raphael painted four walls science, theology, poetry, and justice four areas of human knowledge. The science and theology walls are on opposite ends of the room.
In the Scuola di Atene the wall for science it is divided down the middle into two ways of thinking. The sides are divided by the leaders of those schools of thought. The left side is Plato talking to the right side's Aristotle.
Plato was a philosopher of the theoretical that which cannot be seen. On his side of science there is among the crowd Pythagoras the mathematician focusing on theoretical math. Also on the left is Heraclides who believed all things were always in flux thinking by himself at the bottom of the steps writing on a block of marble. Heraclides is painted to look like Michelangelo. Rachael paid homage to Michelangelo who was painting the Sistine Chapel a couple rooms away at the time.
Aristotle who was a philosopher of the observable, the physical has his team on the right side. Euclid was the father of geometry a very tangible type of math. Diogenes one of the founders of Cynic philosophy. Astronomers Ptolemy and Zoroaster one theorized about the moment of the planets and the other holding the celestial orb.
Even in the science area of human knowledge it is divided by the seen and unseen. None of these men were Christians yet here they are inside the Stanza della Segnatura. On the opposite side of the room there is La disputa del sacramento. This painting isn't separated side to side but top and bottom.
On the top there's God the Father, Jesus, Mary, John The Baptist, Holy Spirit Dove among the four gospels, Prophets and Saints surround the trinity.
On the bottom there is Fathers of religion, Priests, Popes, people like Dante. But the awesome thing about this wall is what is in the middle connecting the top and the bottom.
the Bread of the Eucharist the body of Christ is the link between the bottom and top. the bottom group is coming to understand the divine knowledge through the bread the link, the body of Christ. It is through this meal this communion that we are able to understand to reach to connect with God. The gap is bridged by Jesus. His body his blood.
In this time Science and theology lived in the same room. That room was in the Vatican of all places. Where the leaders of Christianity lived on the walls of that place were men who did not claim to be Christian. Today we separate our thinking. It is either science or theology. We cannot stand the contradiction. Yet in the past the two sat opposite each other but still in the same room. God and science together in man as we wrestle question and seek.
All truth is God's truth. Why are we today so afraid to seek? Why are we uncomfortable with the tension between the two? What happened to Christianity that thinking isn't valued instead only faith? Why can't both exist in my mind? Why can't science and theology balance like the struggles of my head and my heart.
Life should never be lived in black and white. Grey is where life and truth live. Right and wrong exist but they can take many forms and different in many situations. Strict law must always be balanced with loving mercy. Grace must always be tethered to truth.
We as humans are stuck in the middle of this room.
Not completely of nature and simply the physical realm.
Yet not completely spirit and of the heavenly.
We are in the middle. We are wrestling with decided to stand with the physical or the spiritual not knowing that the answer has always been both.
It is good to be physical. It is good to be spiritual. It is good to be human.
That is exactly what I am,
Human
Image of God
Soil
Adam.
La disputa del sacramento
Little Boxes - Walk off the Earth
In the Stanza della Segnatura Raphael painted four walls science, theology, poetry, and justice four areas of human knowledge. The science and theology walls are on opposite ends of the room.
In the Scuola di Atene the wall for science it is divided down the middle into two ways of thinking. The sides are divided by the leaders of those schools of thought. The left side is Plato talking to the right side's Aristotle.
Plato was a philosopher of the theoretical that which cannot be seen. On his side of science there is among the crowd Pythagoras the mathematician focusing on theoretical math. Also on the left is Heraclides who believed all things were always in flux thinking by himself at the bottom of the steps writing on a block of marble. Heraclides is painted to look like Michelangelo. Rachael paid homage to Michelangelo who was painting the Sistine Chapel a couple rooms away at the time.
Aristotle who was a philosopher of the observable, the physical has his team on the right side. Euclid was the father of geometry a very tangible type of math. Diogenes one of the founders of Cynic philosophy. Astronomers Ptolemy and Zoroaster one theorized about the moment of the planets and the other holding the celestial orb.
Even in the science area of human knowledge it is divided by the seen and unseen. None of these men were Christians yet here they are inside the Stanza della Segnatura. On the opposite side of the room there is La disputa del sacramento. This painting isn't separated side to side but top and bottom.
On the top there's God the Father, Jesus, Mary, John The Baptist, Holy Spirit Dove among the four gospels, Prophets and Saints surround the trinity.
On the bottom there is Fathers of religion, Priests, Popes, people like Dante. But the awesome thing about this wall is what is in the middle connecting the top and the bottom.
the Bread of the Eucharist the body of Christ is the link between the bottom and top. the bottom group is coming to understand the divine knowledge through the bread the link, the body of Christ. It is through this meal this communion that we are able to understand to reach to connect with God. The gap is bridged by Jesus. His body his blood.
In this time Science and theology lived in the same room. That room was in the Vatican of all places. Where the leaders of Christianity lived on the walls of that place were men who did not claim to be Christian. Today we separate our thinking. It is either science or theology. We cannot stand the contradiction. Yet in the past the two sat opposite each other but still in the same room. God and science together in man as we wrestle question and seek.
All truth is God's truth. Why are we today so afraid to seek? Why are we uncomfortable with the tension between the two? What happened to Christianity that thinking isn't valued instead only faith? Why can't both exist in my mind? Why can't science and theology balance like the struggles of my head and my heart.
Life should never be lived in black and white. Grey is where life and truth live. Right and wrong exist but they can take many forms and different in many situations. Strict law must always be balanced with loving mercy. Grace must always be tethered to truth.
We as humans are stuck in the middle of this room.
Not completely of nature and simply the physical realm.
Yet not completely spirit and of the heavenly.
We are in the middle. We are wrestling with decided to stand with the physical or the spiritual not knowing that the answer has always been both.
It is good to be physical. It is good to be spiritual. It is good to be human.
That is exactly what I am,
Human
Image of God
Soil
Adam.
La disputa del sacramento
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Little Boxes - Walk off the Earth