The role of desire in the religious life – Monroe Evening News
Posted: September 7, 2020 at 3:51 am
Desire plays an important role in life. If it were not for desire, the human race would not propagate. God made humans in such a way that they need, and are capable of experiencing, desire.
Desire is also important in the religious life, though its role is seen in vastly different ways, depending on the religion espoused. In Buddhism, if I understand it correctly, desire (or longing) is regarded as the principal cause of suffering. Desire is the fetter that binds people and keeps them from reaching enlightenment.
The Christian view on desire is nuanced. The King James word for it is "lust," which frequently refers to inappropriate and destructive desires (like the desire to have another persons spouse), but occasionally refers to appropriate and healthy desires. Jesus, for example, "eagerly desired" the word regularly translated as "lusted" "to eat the Passover" meal with his disciples.
Buddhism approaches desire or longing as something to renounce and eventually eliminate by following the eight-fold path. There are many points of contact for Christians and Buddhists along the eight-fold path, though their underlying assumptions will be at odds and will inevitably lead them in different directions.
Christians are never asked to make a universal renunciation of desire. Such a renunciation would be counterproductive. Instead, they are told to "put to death evil desires" while cultivating healthy ones. While they know that desire can fetter a person to a life of lovelessness and suffering, they also believe that desire can be a springboard into a life full of love and contentment. They dont want to get rid of their desires, they want to transform them.
If it were possible to take an X-ray of all our desires to see them the way a radiologist sees fractures and growths we could pretty accurately diagnose our spiritual health and prognosticate our spiritual futures, apart from intervention. Fortunately, intervention by the one Christians call the Great Physician is always possible.
This intervention occurs at a level we cannot reach, rather as gene therapy operates on a level we cannot reach. Christians believe that God is able and willing to work at the origination point of desire, actually giving and shaping the desires of their hearts. The Christian then cooperates with these deep-level operations in practices that cultivate and bring to fruition these new desires.
These practices are sometimes referred to as spiritual disciplines. They fall into two principal categories: those that put to death "evil desires" and those that cultivate God-given desires. It is common to talk about these as the disciplines of "abstinence" and of "engagement." Both are important.
Among the disciplines of abstinence, which help people "put to death evil desires," are solitude, silence, secrecy (that is, not broadcasting our good or religious deeds in order to win admiration), and fasting. These practices enable a person to discern unhealthy desires. On a more fundamental level, they enable people to understand that they are more than their desires, something that is urgently needed in contemporary culture.
The disciplines of engagement, which aid in the cultivation of God-given desires, include worship, Bible reading, prayer, acts of humble service, and fellowship (or "soul friendship," as it has been called). The value of these disciplines resides, in part, in the way they increase the intensity and staying power of God-given desires.
But none of these spiritual practices, however performed, can create a desire. That is outside their scope and beyond our ability. For that to happen, people are dependent on outside intervention. They are dependent upon God.
When we understand the importance of desire and the role Gods intervention plays in it, we are ready to appreciate the insight of the psalmist who wrote, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."
The psalmist is not thinking of God giving us the new car weve been dreaming about. He is thinking of God giving us new desires, the kind that can be fulfilled without doing harm, the kind that can lead a person to deeper love and richer contentment. The role desires play in the spiritual life, and our part in curtailing or cultivating them, is absolutely critical.
Discover more from Shayne Looper at http://www.shaynelooper.com.
Here is the original post:
The role of desire in the religious life - Monroe Evening News
- A few words of enlightenment | Letters To The Editor | ncnewsonline.com - New Castle News - December 5th, 2020
- 'Finding the Heart Sutra': Alex Kerr finds humor at the heart of wisdom and enlightenment - The Japan Times - December 5th, 2020
- The enlightenment of Guru Nanak, and a glimpse into his global Udasis - The Indian Express - December 5th, 2020
- slowthai, punk prophet of Britain's austerity generation, is on a strange trip to enlightenment - Document Journal - December 5th, 2020
- How cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad mark a return to the propaganda of the Middle Ages - Middle East Eye - December 5th, 2020
- You Go Girl!: The Commercialisation of Feminism - Mediummagazine - December 5th, 2020
- Conservatism and Liberalism: Two Books on the Great Divide - The Wall Street Journal - December 5th, 2020
- Introduction to The New York Times' 1619 Project and the Racialist Falsification of History - WSWS - December 5th, 2020
- The Composting Costumier talks The Planet - A Lament with Garin Nugroho | Columns - Aussie Theatre - December 5th, 2020
- Why Is It Important to Remember What Came Before? > News > USC Dornsife - USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences - December 5th, 2020
- The Not So Negative Dialectics of Post-Secondary Education - The Bullet - Socialist Project - December 5th, 2020
- We say America is a 'Christian nation.' Here's what that would look like if we really meant it | Opinion - Pennsylvania Capital-Star - December 5th, 2020
- Ball: The garden at the end of the tunnel - Amarillo.com - December 5th, 2020
- Interview with Lisa Williams, founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association and creator of its Black History Walking Tours - bellacaledonia.org.uk - December 5th, 2020
- Off the Grid: Maladaptive coping and quarantine pie - The Spokesman-Review - November 27th, 2020
- Critical Care Products Market Enlightenment on Future Scenario by 2027 - The Market Feed - November 27th, 2020
- MY FAVOURITE THINGS: Amazed at the amount of home-grown talent in Sheffield - Sheffield Telegraph - November 27th, 2020
- New book about change and transformation follows woman's journey to find herself - GlobeNewswire - November 27th, 2020
- The Old Guy: Remembering a beloved Staten Island restaurant that did not survive 2020 - SILive.com - November 27th, 2020
- The Crown's learning disability storyline highlights painful lack of progress - The Guardian - November 27th, 2020
- Trump's war with America itself | Opinion | washtimesherald.com - Washington Times Herald - November 27th, 2020
- Many exalted western values rooted in Christian tradition - The Irish Times - November 27th, 2020
- Explore the Enlightenment with Ayn Rand Scholars - New Ideal - October 30th, 2020
- Time's Monster by Priya Satia review living in the past - The Guardian - October 30th, 2020
- How to Be a Luminary - Torah Insights - Parshah - Chabad.org - October 30th, 2020
- The politicisation of civilisations and ideologies: Macron, Charlie Hebdo and blasphemy in France - Middle East Monitor - October 30th, 2020
- Apollo 13: The Dark Side of the Moon review survival and enlightenment - The Guardian - October 14th, 2020
- Does the world still need the West? - Al Jazeera English - October 14th, 2020
- Jess Keiser explores the Enlightened psyche, "nervous fictions" in new book - Tufts Daily - October 14th, 2020
- Alejandro Jodorowsky Reflects on 'The Incal,' 40 Years Later - Hollywood Reporter - October 14th, 2020
- Ethnic studies teach Latino kids to hate the US. It is dangerous for Arizona - The Arizona Republic - October 14th, 2020
- 'Biden or Trump?' is a question that signifies the age of decay - GlobalComment.com - October 14th, 2020
- The New Enlightenment, and what it means for us - The Daily Princetonian - September 24th, 2020
- Tantra: Enlightenment to Revolution review, British Museum: this serious-minded show proves it's time we stopped tittering - Telegraph.co.uk - September 24th, 2020
- Car Buying is Changing and All It Took Was a Pandemic: The Enlightenment - Car and Driver - September 24th, 2020
- 'Electric Jesus' will take you on a metal-fueled journey towards enlightenment - Document Journal - September 24th, 2020
- Yom Kippur in recovery | The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle - thejewishchronicle.net - September 24th, 2020
- Phil Jackson Sent Lakers Governor Jeanie Buss A Photo Of Him In A Team Sweatshirt To Cheer Her Up - Sports Illustrated - September 24th, 2020
- PLU French professor receives a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities - The Suburban Times - September 24th, 2020
- Bodh Gayas Mahabodhi temple to reopen from September 21 with restrictions - Hindustan Times - September 24th, 2020
- CULTURE Autumn 2020 exhibitions at the Uffizi and Palazzo Pitti - The Florentine - September 24th, 2020
- Interview: I like to be reminded that literature has the power and mystery of a dragon, says Australian-Iranian... - Hindustan Times - September 13th, 2020
- Akwa Ibom to partner royal fathers on COVID-19 protocol enlightenment and enforcemen - Daily Sun - September 13th, 2020
- Karen Burnham Reviews Short Fiction: Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, and Tor.com - Locus Online - September 13th, 2020
- This isnt the time to forget Benjamin Franklin - Grand Island Independent - September 13th, 2020
- Joe Rogan's 'Inner Voice' Hack Could Be The Secret To True Workout Zen - DMARGE - September 13th, 2020
- Prop 13: Taxes and the Importance of an Open Mind - LA Progressive - September 13th, 2020
- Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for Shaoxing and soy braised tofu with pak choi - The Guardian - September 13th, 2020
- Pakistan sees its face in the mirror and doesnt like what it sees - The Indian Express - September 13th, 2020
- When Monuments Fall | by Kenan Malik - The New York Review of Books - September 13th, 2020
- 17-year-old junior hockey player hopes his coming out will inspire others - CBC.ca - September 13th, 2020
- In the beginning...the important things - The Hillsdale Daily News - September 13th, 2020
- FRSC partners Health Foundation on drivers certification The Sun Nigeria - Daily Sun - September 13th, 2020
- LIVING HISTORY: Keeper of the Books at library of the ages - The Courier - September 13th, 2020
- The Revolution Is Upon Us - Heritage.org - September 8th, 2020
- Author Introduces a New Age of Consciousness Through Reincarnation - Marketscreener.com - September 8th, 2020
- What Movies To Expect This Fall - NPR - September 8th, 2020
- Hajj 2020.. The ticket to board Hajj 2021 flight - The Nigerian Voice - September 8th, 2020
- Q&A: Jeff Okudah, on how reading sparked a 'Quest of Enlightenment' - The Athletic - September 7th, 2020
- Terence Corcoran: You are not you, and other truths of the new world - Financial Post - September 7th, 2020
- Hercules, Marvel Boy Bi-Sexual In Guardians of the Galaxy - Cosmic Book News - September 7th, 2020
- Forrest Hubbard Jr.'s newly released "Dreydens" is a riveting novel of a trio of curious individuals on a quest to unveil their world's... - September 7th, 2020
- Mathews: Meditating on Prop 13 with the Tibetan buddhists in Howard Jarvis' house - The Bakersfield Californian - September 7th, 2020
- Lilian Visinoni: Young And Ready to Save the Earth - THISDAY Newspapers - September 7th, 2020
- Islamic world at decisive point in history: Will it take the path of Emirates or Turkey? - Firstpost - September 7th, 2020
- Antiheroes and the 'American' Experience in Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man - Varsity Online - September 7th, 2020
- An Interview With Kosovo's Prime Minister and Other Top Weekend Reads - Foreign Policy - September 7th, 2020
- Guardians of the Galaxy #6 Review (2020) - Cosmic Book News - September 7th, 2020
- Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum Explores Footwear in the Age of Enlightenment in New 18th Century Exhibition - PRNewswire - August 16th, 2020
- Enlightenment and its discontents - Frontline - August 16th, 2020
- The Bata Shoe Museums Latest Exhibit Focuses on 18th Century Footwears Influence in the Age of Enlightenment - Footwear News - August 16th, 2020
- How This Technology Sales Leader Is Guiding Teachers Toward Instructional Enlightenment - Forbes - August 16th, 2020
- The 'woke' will lead us to enlightenment and more letters to the editors - Chattanooga Times Free Press - August 16th, 2020
- Freemasons: Behind the veil of secrecy - Livescience.com - August 16th, 2020
- 2 BR 0 2 B and the current situation of the world - newagebd.net - August 16th, 2020
- Nepal, India in war of words over Buddhas origins - The Hindu - August 16th, 2020
- Following and learning mumbo-jumbo - The News International - August 16th, 2020
- Top 10 books about the Grand Tour - The Guardian - August 16th, 2020
- Review: "Culture and the Death of God" - NBC2 News - August 16th, 2020
- Faust Announces September 4th Grand Opening of the Faust Haus - wineindustryadvisor.com - August 16th, 2020