"Inasmuch, as such an ancient concept from the planet's childhood as 'sin' might warrant even two or three short, annoyingly complicated breaths:
"Are there not some sins in which the preparation for the sin itself is the true and great--if disguised--joy? And isn't it strange that some sins are pleasurable and some sins are nothing more than self-inflicted pain? There seems to be no 'philosophy of gain' in sin. Rather, it seems the process of loss is the real seduction. Something is given away, some sort of moral defense, and that feeling, a childish joy of transgression, an inhuman feeling of lightness, a giddiness, is the real origin of the misery.The misery that follows pleasure and the misery that follows pain. In other words, the usual fun.
"We still don't know how to situate sin, such an ancient and complicated concept, anywhere near childhood. Although adult sinners may be seen as childlike in their destructive naivete, we don't feel a legitimate permission to exonerate the behavior by resorting to the model of some ideal childhood of which the committer of sin was deprived, so mitigating any ensuing or preceding evil wrought by his or her hands. Yet, in the real world, monsters sometimes beget monsters. So we feel the culpability snaking back through generations. We know the real culprit has sometimes lived his life out and died. And we are dealing with carnage created by a ghost of a human being walking around like an automaton doing the bidding of the vengeful muse of his volcanic, subconscious injuries."
"Are there not some sins in which the preparation for the sin itself is the true and great--if disguised--joy? And isn't it strange that some sins are pleasurable and some sins are nothing more than self-inflicted pain? There seems to be no 'philosophy of gain' in sin. Rather, it seems the process of loss is the real seduction. Something is given away, some sort of moral defense, and that feeling, a childish joy of transgression, an inhuman feeling of lightness, a giddiness, is the real origin of the misery.The misery that follows pleasure and the misery that follows pain. In other words, the usual fun.
"We still don't know how to situate sin, such an ancient and complicated concept, anywhere near childhood. Although adult sinners may be seen as childlike in their destructive naivete, we don't feel a legitimate permission to exonerate the behavior by resorting to the model of some ideal childhood of which the committer of sin was deprived, so mitigating any ensuing or preceding evil wrought by his or her hands. Yet, in the real world, monsters sometimes beget monsters. So we feel the culpability snaking back through generations. We know the real culprit has sometimes lived his life out and died. And we are dealing with carnage created by a ghost of a human being walking around like an automaton doing the bidding of the vengeful muse of his volcanic, subconscious injuries."
No comments:
Post a Comment