Thursday, July 25, 2013
The Hopelessness And Absurdity Of It All
Imagine being forced to chose between either marrying a person of the same sex, or otherwise giving up on marriage and romantic fulfillment altogether. The excruciating misery and emptiness of such an abnormal existence would be utterly unbearable to the human mind. And yet, this is precisely the equivalent of what is being asked of homosexuals by an otherwise reasonable God, quite capable of understanding human weakness and suffering (Matthew 19:10-12).
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What the person in question would discover, were he or she allowed to carry out this desire to marry, is the same thing that heterosexuals discover in marriage: all life is a farce and there is no beautiful state of existence which provides for human happiness. Neither singles nor married people will find peace. The homosexual is being deprived of nothing more than another false hope in temporal solutions to loneliness.
I did initially want to include some sort of snarky side-note at the end of the second sentence; something like with the possible exception of recently-divorced disgruntled Catholics going by the name of Rob, but I just wasn't in the mood when I wrote this.
there is no beautiful state of existence which provides for human happiness
Of course there is: it's called engodment, and I wrote about it last Lent. It provides for the infinite joy and happiness of any sentient being, human or otherwise.
And this engodment has nothing to do with your married or unmarried state of existence. As He says, we will not be married after the Resurrection. Each of us faces God alone. Homosexuals are not in any special category of suffering. They are just as alone as the rest of us.
It is a state of mind. A way of looking at things. I can't say that it's completely unrelated to the concept, since in that state all cravings, including sexuality, disappear altogether without any trace, and the mind becomes purer than that of a child. Even the blameless passions, such as music, intellectual curiosity, and the instinct of self-preservation are annihilated in that state. The mind makes an absurd decision, to love all things without reason, just as our (grand)parents loved us when we were little, just as we ourselves loved everything around us when we were children, crying even for broken toys as if they were human beings. We all desire to be loved this way, but are not really willing or even capable of giving it to others. We've lost this child-like perception during puberty, when our minds began to engage in thoughts that are its exact contrary, and we started to look upon other human beings as objects of desire. But when love becomes groundless again, it grows to no end, since there is nothing, no reason, to impede its growth anymore, since it is not dependent upon the worthiness of the other person any longer, but upon our own self-giving. And since our positive feelings for others are not conditioned upon their human worthiness any longer, neither can our hearts be stirred towards negative emotions for them by that person's un-worthiness. When this happens, love becomes infinite, growing unrestrained, with no end in sight. This unlimited growth begets then a state of unspeakable inner fulfillment, which, in its wake, engenders dispassion, since that which is completely fulfilled is in need and lack of nothing. Then, in its turn, and by its very nature, this state of dispassion further strengthens the love which gave birth to it in the first place. This kind of love, knowing neither end nor foundation (or, better said, it knows no end precisely because it has no foundation: except of course for the soul's own self-giving), is called in Greek agape. This is even higher than parental love, since even the love of parents for their children knows at least one motive: belonging; but this love is utterly devoid of any reasons altogether. Just as a sane parent could never desire or hate his own children, so does this love render the soul at once incapable of both lust and hatred. The mind then becomes completely child-like and Christ-like, perceiving all beings and objects as God Himself also does. God's inner state of mind becomes the creatures own state of mind, which now sees all things and beings through the eyes of the Creator Himself. Man's mind is completely united to God's mind, relating to everyone & everything exactly as He Himself also does. That's why this state is called engodment and Kingdom of Heaven.
Man ! When I write like that, I almost believe it myself ! :D Now... if I could only follow my own advice... :D
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