Happiness and Joy

"Christianity without the tears- that's what soma is."
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley

Sometimes people can portray Christianity as this magic formula for happiness. Complete and utter revelry will come about when someone will join the faith. This is not entirely true. There will be joy and abundance of it, but happiness won't exactly be there in force. Happiness comes about through circumstances. Making that red light, nailing a three point shot or gazing at a magnificent sunrise are all pretenses of happiness. Joy, on the other hand, is like a deep river or a sturdy Oak tree. It is the foundation and an complete realization that God is with you. Joy is a strong foundation, happiness is like seasonal rain, refreshing but fickle.

Soma is a drug created in "Brave New World" that altered humanity's senses and gave them a mental vacation. Whenever a person was stressed or agitated, take some soma and things will be better. Dull the senses and release all anxiety!

Christ outlined the fact that the road unto heaven is decidedly perilous and narrow. Jagged rocks will be there to greet the most ambitious adventurer. "Take up your cross and follow me." If Christianity is the guaranteed happiness maker, than people need to look into further. People are beaten, mocked, scorned and harassed by evil constantly. The enemy seeks to crush the Christian, that is why the "armor of God" is needed. It is a brutal war, an epic that has been playing out for millenniums. The tale will end one day, where sheer joy and happiness will not be temporal. Evil will be bound and a new saga will begin- a saga of goodness.

Christianity is exceedingly tough. In a world full of bitter pain and hatred, we pilgrims must travel on, leading others unto the light. Like all great epics, there are rewards for the faithful. Peace will prevail. All of our hearts yearnings and desires will be met and exceeded. But until that day, that day when the destroyer will be crushed, we will have to journey and be mindful of the burdens of faith. That burden (by God's good graces) is light and will be bearable through Christ's death.

If you're looking for a quick fix, try soma. If you are looking for fulfillment, try the bread of life.

Moral Clarity (part 2)

Dennis Prager discussed on his show about moral clarity. America Leftists have the great potential to lack moral clarity.

When Ahmadinejad came to Columbia University to speak for a packed auditorium, the president scoured him. Ahmadinejad was given the respect to discuss his hateful language in a free context with little disruption. When Jim Gilchrist of the Minutemen came to speak at Columbia, he was violently harassed. Gilchrist is worse than Ahmadinejad in many eyes. Hatred for someone who wants to enforce our borders, respect for someone who wants to wipe a country off of the map.

The term "Axis of Evil" was condemned. "Evil Empire" was scoffed. In Britain, there is talks that the term Islamic Terrorism will be change to "Anti-Islamic Activity." Orwellian Doublespeak has truly begun to creep into everyday conversation. Can Western Society have the moral courage and understanding to call evil what it is- evil.

Many Leftists are willing and more than able to condemn evil that is done by Israel and the United States, yet when it comes to Islamic Jihadists, evil will be the last thing in a description. Islamic Fascism is evil and must be eradicated, evil on the par of Nazism and Japanese Imperialism. Yes, America has done evil things in the past, present and future. Moral Clarity is extremely important in this clash between civilizations. Sawing off heads is more evil though than not giving universal healthcare.

Where true freedom begins and ends

Can anyone ever be truly free? The analogy of the cave helped frame this thought in Plato's Republic. The man was chained amongst the other captives deep within the crater. He saw shadows against the walls, sensing there was some sort of light he broke free. He saw the light, saw the figures making shadows and beheld his captive brethren. This scene should show how a person could profit from freedom. They are able to leave the cave into light, or descend into darkness upon a change in their mood.

We are chained to freedom, whether politically or socially. A person can never truly escape their noble notions of liberty. Enlightenment ideas are the very foundation for Western freedom. This ideal is heavily based upon the notion of scientific measures, which give someone the sole logical choice of accepting it, because they are testable. The thinkers gave people social law based upon reason; they were enslaved to their own logical deductions.

Is slavery necessarily a bad thing? Yes and no. Whether from the times of Ancient Rome to the modern day slave trade, people were never free in those shackles. The slave owners were always reliant upon those people who were enslaved. Some people are enslaved with the very notion of approval from people. Now can slavery ever be termed a good thing? We are enslaved to food consumption and love. Some people are enslaved to fighting for social justice and for noble ideals. Freedom is a loaded term that is both highly subjective and very idealistic.
Ultimately, I think that people's religions also confirm slavery over true liberty. Christianity says that the Truth will set you free; yet, paradoxically Paul also says that we are bondservants. Generally speaking, Far Eastern religions believe that people grow in knowledge and realize freedom through a variety of avenues. Islam proclaims that Muslims must submit to Allah. Judaism declares that people follow the Torah and God's Law. People's faith (whether you embrace or reject them) verifies the fact that ultimate freedom rests in humanity's willingness to submit.

Coming back to the analogy of the cave in "The Republic," I believe that it is incredibly fair to say that that man was given a choice- stumbling in the sunshine, or getting back into the chains of his captivity. Either way, he would have been guided by a deep desire for either life. Mankind can never be truly free. Even as a Lockean Liberal, I am bound to the philosophy of personal freedom. This belief drives me to follow those ideals, for better or for worse. We are all ensnared in our ideologies, and only change into some other concept that drives us to walk in that newfound belief.

Ultimate freedom comes through bondage.

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