This is part of a quote I found today on Richard Hall’s blog Connexions.
“… That, after all, is what sin is. It isn’t some sort of high-drama Satanic defiance, shaking your fists at the lightning. It isn’t even exciting naughtiness. It’s just the condition of being seriously wrong about reality and living against the grain. The committed sinner is the equivalent of the person who is convinced that you can make trains run on black coffee and is determined to go on trying, however much the evidence stacks up in favour of the more usual options. Sin is therefore bound to be, in the long run, deeply frustrating and, objectively speaking, very boring indeed. And on this basis, if you think about the devil, don’t think of him as some heroic defender of moral liberty, but as being tragically and pathetically locked up in delusions.” – Rowan Williams
Just something to think about.
Hey,
I’m not sure how comfortable I am with this explanation, and it’s because the hero’s journey is so important to me. It’s such a fine line, if the last xx years have taught us anything, between being ‘seriously wrong about reality’ or just ‘living against the grain’ and being the next most celebrated innovator. I guess at the heart of it, yes being able to admit when I am wrong is a huge step towards progress.
But… (and I feel a little bad for bringing up the usual criticisms around religions, but) ‘however much the evidence stacks up’ against the held positions of creation, mythology, etc., some religionists seem bound and determined to stay locked up within their versions of truth.
The connexions blog cites Rowan Williamson and Joan Chittister. My parents have one of her books (Welcome to the Wisdom of the World) and are quite convinced I should read it. I’m looking forward to it, but I haven’t read anything else by her (and, I do have to wait until they are done with it…)