Forgive me for bringing YET another discussion thread of dubious usefulness to GFY.
I trust you will let me know if/when you don't care to read them anymore and that I should stop.
Your comments are sincerely very useful, as I consider and decide some of the things of importance in my own head.
So, thank you!
Lately I've been thinking a lot about the ways in which "opposing" Things are held in balance, as in the question of "
"Religion vs. Science"", and also about the ways the lines between "separate" Things can sometimes get blurry, or even erased, as in
"The Essence of Judaism: Spirit or Blood".
Tonight I want to discuss a balance of "separate AND opposing" forces that I think we will all recognize in our own lives, but that I would guess seldom figures among our conscious and deliberate thoughts.
Fortunately, we DO have the works of a few great writers, who came upon this very question themselves, and have dramatized and dimensionalized it for us in literature.
One such is Milton, who wrote Paradise Lost.
Though there are sooo many ways to talk about Paradise Lost, for purposes of this discussion, I want to focus on the question: Who is the Hero of the Story?
Our options are Satan and Adam.
Without having to read PL, all that you need to know about Satan, Adam and the question of their respective claims to "Heroism" in PL you already know from Popular Culture/Religious Dogma:
1. Satan said "Fuck you, God -- ban me to Hell, I'll make it a place in my own Image"
2. Adam, seemingly the product of a God made smarter for his prior scuffle with Lucipher, was given but 1/1000th the power of the Dark Lord, has to live ALWAYS with the question: "Does God exist?" (and therefore always falling in and out of FAITH), and, most cripplingly, is FULLY subject to the will of God (though in the odd guise of free will).
Though God had enough power over Satan to ban him to Hell, he could NOT control his actions THERE, or stem his INFLUENCE over a world full of Adams.
My theorem and my Question relate to the existence of a "balance of opposing forces" in EACH of us, that correlates (allegorically) to the literary/biblical figures Satan and Adam.
1. Satan is Rebellion and Exile.
2. Adam is Compliance and Trusted Servitude.
3. BOTH are present in EACH of us, at times, and for JUST a time, in balance, but ultimately, we ALL go one way or the other.
(Here's the catch you never hear much about
: God felt less lonely when the Devil was in Heaven. You know, every now and then, even as he sent his Angels to Propagandize against him on Earth, God looooonged for a Brewski and Cigar with his own old Numbah One.)
In our philosophically enlightened 20th century lives, the role of "God" is sometimes played by a boss or a wife.
In each case, we may love them, we may trust them, we may believe in (and struggle towards) the Ideals they define for us.
In each case, we may occasionally rise up in brief opposition -- if only to discover and know ourselves a little better, but then bow down again.
But, there comes a time in each of our lives when we must dare to consider a more fundamental and irrevocable BREAK from the forces that have nurtured and instructed us -- because we believe then (and only in those deliriously glowing moments of our Lonely Greatness) that we MUST DEFY GOD and GO IT ALONE to be
RIGHT.
There is also a solid argument to be made for the benefits of remaining a Loyal Dog to God, but I can't quite summon it to memory right now...
So, my question to you: Would YOU rather Serve In Heaven or Reign in Hell?
j-