I Taunt You a Second Time

There are several books which have had a profound impact upon my life, that in one sense or another were life changing. Some are genuinely profound (The Bible, St Augustine's Confessions, Pilgrim's Progress, All Quiet on the Western Front, Cyrano de Bergerac and Plato's Dialogues), others were more superficial (Atlas Shrugged, Stranger in A Strange Land, Lord of The Rings, and The Machine Stops). But those are all famous to one degree or another. There are two books that have influenced me profoundly that very few people have even heard of, much less read. The first is Propaganda by Jacques Ellul and the second is Psychological Warfare by Paul M A Linebarger. Both books are considered to be modern classics. They are both well written and quite deep. They were both written by intellectuals who were also men of action (M. Ellul was prominent in the Resistance in WWII, Prof. Linebarger was also a colonel in the U S Army who was in active service in both WWII and Korea). They were also both Christians and devout ones at that.

Propaganda is about just that, the unbridled advocacy of a position in disregard of the truth. Something with which attorneys are intimately familiar. Propoaganda can be factual. The best propaganda usually is. It can also be false, in part or completely. What it is is information presented for advocacy, that is to promote a position of some sort. M. Ellul strips away all of obfuscations that surround propaganda in its many forms and shows how dangerous it is to leave unchallenged. I think he would be dismayed and delighted at how the blogosphere has turned out in that regard. It's an important book. One more people should read. And I own it. I have owned it for over twenty five years.
(Taunt number one)

Psychological Warfare is a textbook written on the subject described by its title by one of the world's foremost practitioners of the art. In it he describes how to turn men's minds away from the cause for which they are fighting and over to ceasing to fight. Lest you think I'm indulging in hyperbole, Col. Linebarger came up with a method for persuading Chinese soldiers to surrender during the Korean War that produced more prisoners of war than any other cause. He was that good at his trade. The techniques he describes have been adopted by just about everyone currently in the business of altering and forming opinions. It is well worth reading if you want to know why a candidate or an advertising campaign or what have you has adopted a certian methodology. And I own it. I have owned it for over ten years.
(Taunt number two)

These are books well worth reading before you let your mind get shaped by the current thinking, the buzz, the trendy websites, shows or publications. They are well worth reading by everyone.

Despair

One of the tenets of the Catholic faith is that suicide is a mortal sin. It typically comes from a feeling of despair, a loss of hope. It is also preceded by a feeling of isolation and unconnectedness. I personally think it can be the act of a selfish coward. There are exceptions. I would find it very hard to condemn someone who took their own life due to the ceaseless pain of a terminal illness. I still think that would be wrong, but I understand and empathize.

Pride is considered by Dante to be the worst of sins, but I have always found despair the most dangerous. All of the actions I truly regret, the ones I still wince at even today, were brought about by despair.

I think John Bunyan well knew the soul destroying qualities of despair. The most engaging portion of "Pilgrims Progress" is when Christian is in the castle of the Giant Despair. The image of Christian locked in the dungeon has rung true for me since I first read it more than three decades ago. What also hits very powerfully home is that the entire time that he is in the vile cell, he has the key to his release. He is just so distracted by his plight that he forgets about it.

Most of us get locked in the downward spiral of depression and despair from time to time. Some of us it hits worse than others. But unless your life is one of endless sunshine and twittering birds, you have been depressed.

Some people have predispositions to the state. Others grow depressed due to external circumstances. True love leaves, your business fails, a parent dies, or any number of other reasons. Depression's companions are usually failure, exhaustion and isolation. It can be very hard to fight it off. It is always hard when depressed or despairing to think that one will get out of it. I have learned never to try to cheer up a sad friend with "Things will get better". They won't necessarily get better. Oddly enough the single best remedy I know is a Monty Python song. Laughter can truly be the best medicine. Music, especially the blues or country music, can be a genuine Godsend.

But even deeper, as Christians, we must have faith. Life can truly suck. There is a good chance that our lives will, in fact, never get better. Life is often a slow, long, painful trek to the grave. But that is not the end of it for us as Christians. That is the hope that we must cling to. Our life is a gift, not only to ourselves, but also to those we come into contact with. That is why the sense of isolation that accompanies depression is so lethal. We forget our duties and responsibilities to others and grow self centered.

Society is prone to telling us that we can do it all, we can have it all, we do not need anyone. There are any number of books available on the subject at any given time. Reality knocks a good bit of that nonsense out of us relatively early. We need each other. As Christians we are called to model the good life, the life lived well for the rest of fallen humanity. That is why it is vitally important that we not treat the gift of life lightly.

It is not in being jolly and perky that we win souls to Christ. It is in enduring through pain, in remaining hopeful against horrible odds that the love of God shines through. We often fail at that. I know that I do. But our fellowship with other redeemed sinners can literally be the difference between life and death.

Being a Christian does not mean that you will not be cast into the dungeon of Despair. It does mean that you have the key to leaving, assuming that you remember it. Sometimes we need to remind each other of that.

/rambling

The Downside to Politics

Daron Westbrooke is a Ron Paul supporter. Sultan Knish has collected a series of his posts at a Ron Paul site. They show the pain that a true-believer in a candidate feels when his idol is shown to have clay feet. They also show how difficult it is to evaluate facts when you've committed to a person, heart and soul.

Mr. Westbrooke is not alone. It can be very hard to keep an open mind and to evaluate evidence fairly.

Addendum: I've been thinking about this since I posted it. One further point: Us moderns don't like to think we're prejudiced. But we are. If you have an emotional reaction to facts that contradict something you believe (Ron Paul is the best candidate, Bush was a draft dodger, Britney Spears is a good mother), it may be time to take a step back, take a few deep breaths and ask yourself why the reaction?

For me, the biggest part of being an adult is acknowledging and taking responsibility for errors. We do not like to admit that we make mistakes. But we all do, on a regular basis. Show me someone who doesn't make mistakes and I'll show you someone who is delusional. Admitting that you are in error is the first step to correcting the error and then to getting back in touch with reality.

/sermon

Guilt

Top Ten Reasons to be an Episcopalian

10. No snake handling.
9. You can believe in dinosaurs.
8. Male and female God created them; male and female we ordain them.
7. You don’t have to check your brains at the door.
6. Pew aerobics.
5. Church year is color-coded.
4. Free wine on Sunday.
3. All of the pageantry—none of the guilt.
2. You don’t have to know how to swim to get baptized.
And the Number One Reason to be an Episcopalian:
1. No matter what you believe, there’s bound to be at least one other Episcopalian who agrees with you.

Many people have seen the list. Many, including myself, have laughed at it. But when I was re-reading #3, something struck me. If the Episcopal Church is guilt-free, then it must be missing something else as well. As my readers know, I've been pondering Martha Stout's book for quite a while.

All mature humans are riddled with guilt. If you do not feel the heavy load of guilt from time to time, then you have what is known as sociopathy. Only sociopaths are truly guilt free. Being guilt free often sounds lovely to me, but there is a very high cost paid for that freedom. Sociopaths can not love. They can feel love for others or feel that they are being loved. They have an inability to stay on mission and tend to flit from one activity to another, mostly because of tedium and boredom. For humans, we can not be freed from guilt without being freed from love. For most of us, that is a bargain we gladly accept.

Institutionally though, if being an Episcopalian means being freed from guilt, doesn't that disconnect us from love as well? And doesn't being a guiltless church mean it is also loveless?

I know many good Episcopalians. I'm related to quite a few. But a Church with a guilt-free mindset is a Church in trouble. More on that to follow.