Fiction, as Charles Stross wisely said, consists of making up lies and telling stories for our amusement. As he said, if the horror he writes happened he would have difficulty living in this world: he would be wanting someone to put a poison in his veins rather than face the alien enslavement. Mainly because Chulthu is one of the nameless horrors that exist in his meld of Lovecroft with emacs.
He is far too wise to believe his own lies. But we can all too often. And here we see the lies of the Church, for they are the lies of the Pharisees: we have inherited a status, we are free, we are strong. We are without sin.
As if we are not encouraged into out addictions, be they food, alcohol, nicotine, gambling, or trashy TV by the corporations of this world, feeding us lies and cheap calories so we remain quiescent. The Opiate of the people is not religion, but sport and fast food.
When we are broken, sinful, powerless and enslaved. All too often the church becomes a cabal that does the work of Satan, before whom any fictional horror is nothing.
If one substitutes “We are the offspring of Abraham” with “we are Anglican” (or Presbyterian, Lutheran etc) then this passage becomes painful.
They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
(John 8:33-47 ESV)
The particular sin that we have to watch here is self-righteousness and pride. That leads to us wanting to string up those who offend the rules of society, who terrorize us, who cause horror.
Who the hell removed Sedition from our legal process. As so eloquently expressed in a ‘Python’ sketch, “damn fine word, sedition”.The utter bastard who is behind the 1080 threat suddenly has me whimsically considering Hanging, drawing and quartering as appropriate.
Forget the ramifications of trade and international confidence in our major export sector. I can still recall the almost paranoid concerns around our own children as defenceless infants from dangers that threatened their health and wellbeing. For young parents, mothers in particular to be faced with contaminated food sources is almost as bad as criminal actions could approach as a source of danger.
Clearly many bread slices short of a lunch the brainless halfwit obviously has little comprehension of the magnitude the poorly aimed and targeted actions instigated have as a potential to so many on the fringes. It is unlikely no-one else has knowledge of the imbecility driven actions, so lets hope someone comes forward and allows the law to deal its hand to make the perpetrator face the consequences of such appalling actions.
Now, the threats that our milk formula have been contaminated — which was not released by Fonterra in Novemebr, but instead the testing was increased and the government informed — and is now released by those who trade in terror just as we are having a by-election is enough to make one rage. Which is what the terrorists want. The blood of a few million will not count to them, if we they get what they want (in this case no poisoning of possums, and if that happens the loss of our native birds and forests). Most tourism groups in the south island trap possums and work with the conservation department who use poison bait, to control what has become a very unwanted and feral Australian import. In NZ, Possums are not cute, and have less value than rabbits.
But the tendency to see ourselves as righteous means we believe the father of lies, and in our rage justify destruction and evil. Here we need a clear mind. For evil exists, and it has to be fought, within us and without. A healthy hatred of evil is good.
But those pretty lies come from the pit.
