God--He's a Keeper -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 21:51:13 04/09/08 Wed
Author: CS Holden
Subject: God--He's a Keeper

Our discussion today made me suddenly aware of the blatant message of the Bible that for some reason never jumps to the front of my mind: LOVE ONE ANOTHER. That's what it comes down to.

It's the language of being a "brother's keeper" that hits me. It makes me think of Camus in "The Fall," because the narrator is constantly plagued by the laughter of the dead woman that he can't escape. It's the obligation to another human being that haunts him, the only thing that prevents him from attaining blissful autonomy. Is autonomy really that closely linked to self-idolatry and selfishness? I guess I never thought about it that way before, which says something about the unconscious nature of the autonomy mechanism (if I can call it that).

Abel's blood cries up from the soil, and so will Cain's if he is killed in reciprocation. The God of the victim could easily let humanity--all of us potential victims of getting what we deserve--to devolve into chaos. He could leave humans to their own devices, but those devices are faulty to begin with. He has to provide a way out.

So here's my question: Is it impossible to love in this way, to forgive and avoid violence, without it first coming from God? Christians like to say that one cannot love unless one is connected to the Source of Love. If God is indeed love, is he then an abstraction that boils down to "the ideal way in which man keeps his fellow man?" Obviously not, but then why does it not seem so obvious sometimes?

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Replies:

Re: God--He's a Keeper -- Katelyn R., 18:09:27 04/13/08 Sun