Reprise: Question Is the Answer

It was hardly original of me to say questioning is itself the answer, but I have made it a recurring theme here. It remains a fundamental element in commitment to truth, one of my three pillars of mysticism. Because some things can’t be described in clinical language, but are absorbed by pattern and symbolism, it bears repeating that paradox on a regular basis. To the degree you fail to question what is presented to you, truth is not your commitment.

For example, today I bumped into an article on Immanuel Velikovsky. I was too young to care when his book first hit the public notice, and I admit I’ve not read any of his stuff since then. But his name and his ideas aren’t hard to find, since he is almost universally excoriated by authorities. That’s the whole point, as the linked article notes. Don’t buy his authority any more than anyone else’s authority. Just so, I’d be the last person to insist you have to take my word for anything.

Were I to give it a name, the one thing which I believe drives me hardest from the very core of my convictions is a burning desire to set everyone free from bondage. If you consider your fetters jewelry, then by all means, wear them and be happy. If you simply don’t know where to start, I can make some useful suggestions, I believe. Learn about mind control, become a sweet-tempered cynic and skeptic, and only embrace what you cannot escape from within your own character.

I’ll be glad to explain what I can about my own convictions, but only as an example for you in exploring yours. What I consider the bedrock of my existence may be useless clutter for you. It’s not a question of who is right between us, but something far less easy to declare. Again, that would be a part of the whole point — it can’t be packaged, so don’t expect me to hand you a package which fits you.

I have a friend who loves to talk to me. I admit I don’t like talking to him; it’s very frustrating. He clings to things I would never accept, but he keeps coming back and asking more questions. So I keep trying to serve his personal growth because my commitment to his freedom is much stronger than my annoyance at his weaknesses. My very broken human self would rather shut him out, but my spiritual side realizes it won’t much matter what we discuss because that’s not what draws him. What draws him is my spirit breathes on him a taste of something beyond what either of our minds can grasp. I can stifle the simple repulsion of my mind in order to let him experience the power of mysticism, even as he questions the very assertions I make about it.

What really frightens me is someone who fawns over my every word, treating me like some demigod. That’s utterly repulsive. I’ve run into it often enough to fear it. It’s got a clinical name — cathexis — and is the single greatest source of sorrow among humans. It’s a part of the human tendency to grab hold of any one thing as your sole source of authority, a short cut to the path of refusing to think and evaluate on your own. It amounts to denying your responsibilities, passing the buck. I’m not going to accept your bucks. I’m not trying to avoid human intimacy, that desperate need we all have for connectedness, but I’m not willing to take control of your choices, when I don’t particularly trust myself.

The greatest crime of humanity is seeking to take authority over anyone else. No one worthy of following desires to lead, and anyone seeking to rule is morally disqualified by seeking it. As a Christian Mystic who is quite evangelistic, I know the single best way to offer you Christ is to show you how to reject Him. That is, I will be first in line to offer advice on bypassing religious traditions and teachings, because if you are going to come to Christ, it will be a miracle which defies all logic and human power. I’m the atheist’s best ally, as I am with anyone else who questions my Christian faith on any grounds you like. Not only can I not justify faith on human grounds, but it’s the worst betrayal I could offer my Savior.

If you are going to come up with any answers worth having, they won’t come from any authority structure rooted on this earth.