I have had a bit of an epiphany this week.
Being a good person is difficult. But it's not difficult for the reasons I used to think it was difficult.
I think I used to think being good was difficult because I felt like I was a lighthouse being battered during a storm...I was in a waking nightmare of 'bad.' And it took restraint to remain good. It was a case of break versus win...and to win was only to weather a storm, not to win.
The reason it is so hard to be good, I think, is because being bad, acting badly, does not feel bad. We judge ourselves good, always. Even when we curse ourselves, we still think ourselves better than other people. But if we are truly being good, it is nearly untenable. It is a storm to be weathered.
We have eyes made for the dark, not for the light. Good things, not unlike a painting, are more pleasant the farther we are away from them; it is the illusion of what good means to us from far away that contributes to being bad. The 'light' of good things is gentle when we are far from good.
To be good means to burn, to be bad means to bask pleasantly in the idea that we are good people; good people as we do terrible things to ourselves and to other people. As we break moral laws and codes, we still think we're good.
Being bad, most days, feels nice. Being good, however, is work.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Sunday, November 03, 2013
TOW: Possessed
Happy Halloween!
This week I'm thinking about possession. Not the kind that refers to people's property. But, rather; demonic possession.
Last week I attended a talk between several authors on possession, authors who had all written about the subject of inner demons. The talk was ok, but I became more interested in the topic of demonic possession that is common in myths from way back when.
Demonic possession is something that goes back to the first days of the Bible, both Old Testament and new (the demon tormenting Saul, Jesus and the possessed pigs.) and even before then, I suppose we would look Hindu texts.
Demonic possession became somewhat of a subject in the New Testament and Hellenic times, and since then, demonic possession has taken on its own kind of culture and mythology, separate from any one particular religion, though its modern origins in English-speaking culture are definitely from Catholicism, and exacerbated by Baptist thinking and the like. In other words, it began with the New Testament, and it took on a folk mythology within Christianity that developed its own legs. It's very creepy to look into old cases of demonic possession.
Another thing I have to say, before I get into a personal reflection, is that when I think about 'demons' in my own life; I'm going to speak about it in a religious way, but philosophically, I'm interested in the consequences (actions, ethics) as well as the religious experience (feelings, experiences).
I don't particularly want to recount the very stupid things I have done, but during those moments, I definitely felt like I was tempted, sorely tempted in the way that is described in the Christian tradition. And I was wondering today, in a very reflective manner, if perhaps I had been possessed by something during these very moments that I am most embarrassed by.
However, there have been times when I have felt 'possessed by goodness'. It's funny that in both cases, it's not just feelings that accompany the acts that follow it, but specific kinds of imagery in the mind, and certain kinds of desires, something unusual to my normal self.
And so, I wonder if someone can be possessed by God in the same way that demons are said to possess human beings. And I don't mean in the sort of speaking tongues tradition; I mean in the sense of grace. Do the saints that exist and have existed; were they possessed as well in a way?
Philosophically, I have a problem with the idea of doing good without freely choosing it, but religiously, I'm interested in the idea that God would take such a personal interest in us, as to 'possess us' with goodness. Does a saint 'possess' goodness because they are possessed by it? Is goodness a trait...or is it a result of actions? Is goodness a trait like blue or brown eyes, or is it more a result of the action and intentions of an individual? Is it metaphysics or is it ethics? Can it be both if we are possessed by good or evil forces? Could it anything but metaphysics?
I have to think about it.
This week I'm thinking about possession. Not the kind that refers to people's property. But, rather; demonic possession.
Last week I attended a talk between several authors on possession, authors who had all written about the subject of inner demons. The talk was ok, but I became more interested in the topic of demonic possession that is common in myths from way back when.
Demonic possession is something that goes back to the first days of the Bible, both Old Testament and new (the demon tormenting Saul, Jesus and the possessed pigs.) and even before then, I suppose we would look Hindu texts.
Demonic possession became somewhat of a subject in the New Testament and Hellenic times, and since then, demonic possession has taken on its own kind of culture and mythology, separate from any one particular religion, though its modern origins in English-speaking culture are definitely from Catholicism, and exacerbated by Baptist thinking and the like. In other words, it began with the New Testament, and it took on a folk mythology within Christianity that developed its own legs. It's very creepy to look into old cases of demonic possession.
Another thing I have to say, before I get into a personal reflection, is that when I think about 'demons' in my own life; I'm going to speak about it in a religious way, but philosophically, I'm interested in the consequences (actions, ethics) as well as the religious experience (feelings, experiences).
I don't particularly want to recount the very stupid things I have done, but during those moments, I definitely felt like I was tempted, sorely tempted in the way that is described in the Christian tradition. And I was wondering today, in a very reflective manner, if perhaps I had been possessed by something during these very moments that I am most embarrassed by.
However, there have been times when I have felt 'possessed by goodness'. It's funny that in both cases, it's not just feelings that accompany the acts that follow it, but specific kinds of imagery in the mind, and certain kinds of desires, something unusual to my normal self.
And so, I wonder if someone can be possessed by God in the same way that demons are said to possess human beings. And I don't mean in the sort of speaking tongues tradition; I mean in the sense of grace. Do the saints that exist and have existed; were they possessed as well in a way?
Philosophically, I have a problem with the idea of doing good without freely choosing it, but religiously, I'm interested in the idea that God would take such a personal interest in us, as to 'possess us' with goodness. Does a saint 'possess' goodness because they are possessed by it? Is goodness a trait...or is it a result of actions? Is goodness a trait like blue or brown eyes, or is it more a result of the action and intentions of an individual? Is it metaphysics or is it ethics? Can it be both if we are possessed by good or evil forces? Could it anything but metaphysics?
I have to think about it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)