Hardness of heart - the lack of spirituality among the religious. Die harde hart - die gebrek aan spiritualiteit onder godsdienstige mense

“It is a sad thing that so many of us do use to preach our hearers asleep; but it is sadder still if we have studied and preached ourselves asleep, and have talked so long against hardness of heart, till our own grow hardened, under the noise of our own reproofs. Though the head only have eyes, and ears, and smell, and taste, the heart should have life, and feeling, and motion, as well as the head.”

Richard Baxter, quoted in The Minister’s Prayer Book 290.

Dit val my op – hierdie hardheid wat in ons as geestelikes ontwikkel as ons eers ‘n tyd lank met ons vakgebied besig is. Die hardheid van mond – ons lasterlike praat oor God, ons skerp taal teen ander. “The noise of our own reproof:” Die geraas van ons groot verwyte en teregwysings, word dit dan. Ons woorde verloor lewe, gevoel, beweging. Dit is treurig, diep treurig dat die wreedste mense dikwels die mees godsdienstige mense is. Jesus is wreed gekruisig deur sy godsdienstige tydgenote.

It strikes me – the hardness that we develop once we have been studying our field for some time. The hardness of our language – the blasphemous talk about God, the sting in our language about others. “The noise of our own reproof:” The noise of our big accusations and judgments. Our words and thoughts lose life, feeling, motion. It is sad, deeply sad that the most cruel people are those who are the most religious. Jesus was cruelly crucified by his own religious peers.