Why do Eastern religions seem to have a monopoly on the elimination of desire? The Christian faith may have a better alternative to nirvana, but we do not talk much about eliminating desire - “putting to death the sinful nature,” as scripture puts it (See Col 3). I’m not saying the elimination of all desire is a good goal, but we tolerate and allow ourselves to be ruled by a lot of desire that needs to be extinguished.
But it is our passion that drives us, our desire for life and experiences and pleasure and wisdom that enables us to make something of our lives. So it’s a two-way street: We can’t live without desire, but we can’t live under its thumb, either.
I've emboldened what I think is most important in it. The /a key difference, in my opinion between Buddhism and Christian faith lies in the way desire is construed. In Buddhism desire is the main problem in the human condition as it leads us into setting our hearts on and fastening our existence to the things of this world and so leads to suffering as we become enmeshed in this fleeting and changing existence and our desires pull us constantly into situations of suffering and indeed back into earthly existence. The solution therefore is the elimination of desire so that we can be freed from the otherwise ceaseless round of suffering.
I actually think that there is a great deal to commend this analysis. Where I differ as a Christian is agreeing with Justin that desire is constituent of human being. In fact, I think that it is part of imaging God who desires in love. God has will and therefore there is desire. Buddhists tend to see the origin and continuing of the cosmos in impersonal terms [gods are just big but still contingent beings], so desiring cannot really be at the Heart of Being. In the Christian analysis, I think, the problem is not desire per se, but the desiring of what is not ultimately rooted in or healthfully related to God. Desire constitutes who we are, and who we are cannot be eternal if it is not based in what is eternal [which is God alone]. In Christianity the solution to desire is not its elimination [and with it the human subject] but its right directing.
That's as far as I had got hitherto, in thinking about this [hey I'm a MBTI 'E', so I need to think out loud to make progress]. But, I'm beginning just now to think that there is more to outline here in relation to atonement...
work in progress I think. But it should help in the 'Culture Jamming Worship' project.
� Desire � Radical Congruency
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