Moralists today forbid what is desired without finding out the basic reasons for desire; they prohibit what is enjoyed without finding out the basic reasons for enjoyment. This is like trying to dam a river with your hands.In two brief paragraphs, the Chinese Masters have summed up my revulsion with religion, particularly Christianity.
Moralists cannot get people not to want, but they can forbid what people want; they cannot get people not to indulge, but they can prohibit what people indulge in.
~ a passage from The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~
Like so many other people, I grew up hearing all about the sins of the flesh. It always seemed illogical to me that a supreme being would create people with this flesh and yet would become highly pissed off each time one of his creations experienced the carnal sensations OF it. Why would a god give people the ability to desire IF he/she/it didn't want people to have desires? In many ways, it seems like the almighty is a first-class sadist!
Many of his followers fall into the same category. All brands of Christians -- particularly evangelicals -- have long lists of no-nos. A good deal of the items on these lists involve normal human functions.
Of course, these folks seem supremely preoccupied with sexual functions. In their warped sense of morality, if it feels good -- like masturbation or oral sex -- it must be v-e-r-y b-a-d. If two men or two women do it, it's worse than b-a-d.
On the other hand, if two mismatched and unhappy married heterosexuals go through the motions with little true intimacy or pleasure for years on end, that's g-o-o-d.
In reality, that ain't good. That's c-r-a-z-y!!
To read the introduction to this ongoing series, go here.
Bill Hicks on the same subject: "Pornography does not cause sexual thoughts. A dick causes sexual thoughts and so, pornography."
ReplyDeleteOr something like that, ending with something like:
"You're getting the cart before the horse here."
There is much more to this quote than just that though I do see why you raised this obvious one as an example.
Take drugs (as an example, not a direct order) they forbid drugs but don't ask why people take them, and many times it may be to escape the oppression. So the punishment induces the crime.
There is much more to this quote than just that...
ReplyDeleteIf truth be known, I was interrupted while writing this post and lost my train of thought. I had two other points I had planned to raise, but I couldn't seem to get them back. So, I stuck with this one.
What can I say? Shit happens.