waterworks
in the luminous darkness
- Jan 31, 2024
- 104
Imagine there were an afterlife. In that afterlife not too far away, where doubt dissolves in the certainty of facing the foundation of reality, the source of all. You come there full of scars and wounds from a life that got the better of you; or maybe of one that came short of the spark needed to ignite your desire for it. In this aura of belonging and peace, the only thing this source has to say to you is "begone from here you sinner".
Okay, religion is cancer. I've been thinking about the devil. How none of the narrative I've had shoved down my throat even remotely seems rational, and is full of obvious bias. What makes the devil? I think in one word, ignorance. In 2019 the movie "Joker" came out and when it did, oh boy, the media frenzy it sparked was like the first time violent video games became mainstream. The vocal critics called it a glorification of violence. I think at the root of it, is the fear of the realization that the devil, if there is one, may be more relatable that any other mythological figure. No one knows what it's like to "live like christ" and they delude themselves into believing this perfection is attainable, until they tire of combining a million words into spicy new prayers each night and create repetitive mantras. All in the quest to feel like they aren't all that bad.
I've been thinking about this because I suppose it is possible my journey for peace will lead me to one of the million hells that innumerable religions have taught about. The more I look into this the more I realize the devil represents the dejected things. Beyond the mindless atrocities that are attributed to it, it ultimately stands as a representation of the human psyche. They are the embodiment of a reality that is outside the determined narrative, yet fights so desperately to be heard.
The Joker captures this by showing that "evil" is born from an oppressive "good"; a good that becomes so self absorbed that it cannot understand what doesn't fall into its patterns. Why do we never hear the devil talk? Because we do, only we call it common sense more often than not. It's realizing that torturing a living being in unspeakable horror is not an expression of love; that's common sense, but it's also to some, the devil's work. Maybe that work is what's worth evangelizing.
Would I become a satanist? Not even close, that's just more blind ritualism masquerading as intellect.
Okay, religion is cancer. I've been thinking about the devil. How none of the narrative I've had shoved down my throat even remotely seems rational, and is full of obvious bias. What makes the devil? I think in one word, ignorance. In 2019 the movie "Joker" came out and when it did, oh boy, the media frenzy it sparked was like the first time violent video games became mainstream. The vocal critics called it a glorification of violence. I think at the root of it, is the fear of the realization that the devil, if there is one, may be more relatable that any other mythological figure. No one knows what it's like to "live like christ" and they delude themselves into believing this perfection is attainable, until they tire of combining a million words into spicy new prayers each night and create repetitive mantras. All in the quest to feel like they aren't all that bad.
I've been thinking about this because I suppose it is possible my journey for peace will lead me to one of the million hells that innumerable religions have taught about. The more I look into this the more I realize the devil represents the dejected things. Beyond the mindless atrocities that are attributed to it, it ultimately stands as a representation of the human psyche. They are the embodiment of a reality that is outside the determined narrative, yet fights so desperately to be heard.
The Joker captures this by showing that "evil" is born from an oppressive "good"; a good that becomes so self absorbed that it cannot understand what doesn't fall into its patterns. Why do we never hear the devil talk? Because we do, only we call it common sense more often than not. It's realizing that torturing a living being in unspeakable horror is not an expression of love; that's common sense, but it's also to some, the devil's work. Maybe that work is what's worth evangelizing.
Would I become a satanist? Not even close, that's just more blind ritualism masquerading as intellect.
