The young child knows that the world is created, and by a creator - the child spontaneously goes-along with this, unconsciously, without a choice...
Injustice is the violation of divine intent as manifested in creation - to be unjust is to reject the intent behind creation.
Then, often, the idea of the world as created comes to awareness - and is rejected (once known it can be rejected). The world is reconceptualised as accidental, something that just is...
This is an act of freedom, an ultimate and isolated act of freedom - the freedom to be existentially cut-off; so as not to be subject to creation and the intent of the creator.
The sense of justice is not eradicated - but justice lacks any basis. One it has been asserted that there is no reason to reality, there can be no justice...
Yet the demand for justice cannot be expunged - the cry of 'it's not fair' sounds throughout history, among people of all ages and cultures; and is as common (or more so) among those who reject the reality of creation and of God, and among those who oppose the purpose of creation.
The self just-is autonomous from the rest of reality, not wholly but to an inextinguishable degree. From this fortress Man asserts his inaleinable right to reject an alliance with creation - but Man does not enjoy being utterly alone, utterly cut-off from any possibility of meaning, purpose and relationship.
The autonomous self screams that It Is Not Fair - His cut-off freedom, and isolated Justice demand that the world be subordinated to himself; who did not create it, but who will not acknowledge either that it was created or will not agree with the purposes and meanings and relations made manifest by the creator.
He sets-up as a rival God, and tries to recruit followers who will acknowledge his own status - but an anti-God whose 'good news' consists in the fact that 'You-too (like me) can rejects creation and the creator; you-too (like me) can hold out against the deity that made everything Good.
The final act of Justice as it dwindles toward nothing, is to cry against the injustice of having-to be a part of pre-existent, other-made creation if we want real justice: rejection of that compulsion is that last and decisive act.
Freedom-in-autonomy asserted above and against everything else.
To become an anti-God of this sort (and in this kind of way) is not an exceptional nor unusual achievement achievement. It is not even rare - but perhaps mainstream in the modern West (at least apparently-so): This is a society of would-be anti-Gods, each aspiring to usurp creation under his own sovereignty, and ultimately and inevitably failing to do so because everybody wants to be his own anti-God and to reject the overlordship of all other anti-Gods.
Meanwhile, the anti-Gods form a loose and mutually-hostile alliance to make more anti-Gods, each of them presumably in hope of enlarging the pool of potential recruits for their own attempted takeover of creation.
Hence the insistent cry for justice, and the anger at injustice - anger at the base-injustice that autonomous freedom in a meaningless reality would, if achieved, be an eternity of meaninglessness.
The anti-Gods seeking followers don't really want to be responsible for their followers' choices, or even for their perfect obedience to the anti-God once the consequences come. Their plan is built upon lies and vanity.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the Savior takes upon himself the pains and suffering of others' disobedience to the Father, He does not resist taking responsibility for those who have disobeyed Him, even though He did everything He could, while maintaining agency, to help them not to choose so poorly .
The point I'd like to make here is that we seem to be fraught with self-defeating, vain desires. We say we want to have power and influence, but for the most part, as soon as our often ill-conceived and incoherent plans begin to bear the predictable fruit, we want out. Probably the most obvious manifestation of this is the way people want sexuality, but don't very much like the idea of producing children who need them, which really is the only meaningful reason for sexuality at all.
This is why I think rejecting God's plan for good sexuality is the basic way of going against Him, at least here on Earth. From my perspective, that seems to be the area of greatest import in the battle between those still committed to real freedom and those embracing incoherence. (I believe the battle over our affinity for freedom was had out in the premortal existence, which is why captivity on earth is often justified by increased 'freedom', either for the captors or a false idea of freedom for the captive.)
@Lucinda - "This is why I think rejecting God's plan for good sexuality is the basic way of going against Him, at least here on Earth. From my perspective, that seems to be the area of greatest import in the battle between those still committed to real freedom and those embracing incoherence. "
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good point!
“We” participate with God through fatherhood... When a child is conceived a new father is born and God the Father becomes a new kind of father just as the father becomes a new kind of father with his second child creating a new kind of God the Father...
ReplyDeleteI really like how you said to be unjust is to reject the intent behind creation. I've found that it is the understanding of the meaning of things that is one of the most rewarding things when God is followed, and the rejection of the intent behind creation leds to confusion and failure.
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