The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Make a wish

Your Fairy Godmother appears one night and offers you the choice of two wishes.

  1. You will have the power to read minds, plus the power to inflict heart attacks on anyone of your choosing from a distance of 1km. You will be able to rid the world of drug lords, pornographers, rapists, child abusers, corrupt officials, dodgy bankers etc. You will be like John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and Arnold Himself (on his better days.) Growing old, you can pass on your gift to another who is worthy.

  2. You will find yourself in a savage village where you will live a good life, but be misunderstood, vilified, abused and hounded. You will live there for the best part of your life. After some decades of suffering, you will be set upon by a crazed mob and lynched. But your good life will sow a seed in the mind of one villager. He will leave his evil past behind, become a Great Sage, and write a book that changes the world forever.

Seriously, what would you choose if this chance was given to you? What do you desire? To take the life of the wicked, or to give your life for the wicked? Are you, in your deepest soul, Christian or Pagan? Myself, I’d be sore tempted to choose the first. I’d rather wield the power than be crushed by it. I’d rather become a self-righteous mass-murderer than to be murdered myself.

Not a nice thought, really.

I admit option one is more appealing – I have plenty of growing up still to do before I will be able to say “I have the mind of Christ.”

Isa 55:8

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Sonia

In another thread, Sobornost said we must learn to live within our limits (somewhere between wisdom and folly), and that this is both humbling and liberating. Reminds me of that bit in Ecclesiastes:

“Do not be over-righteous, neither be over-wise— why destroy yourself?
Do not be over-wicked, and do not be a fool— why die before your time?
It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.”

I love this poem too.

*Donkey’s Delight *

Ten mortal months I courted
A girl with bright hair,
Unswerving in my service
As the old lovers were.
Almost she had learned to call me
Her dear love. But then,
One moment changed the omens,
She was cold again.
For carelessly, unfairly,
With one glance of his eyes,
A gay, light-hearted sailor
Bore away the prize,
Unbought, which I had sought with
Many gifts and sighs.

In stern disdain I turned to
The Muses’ service then,
To seek how the unspeakable
Could be fixed by a pen,
Not to flinch through the ink that
I must use, they said,
Was my dearest blood, nearest
My heart, the riches red.
I obeyed them, I made them
Many a costly lay,
Till carelessly, unfairly,
A boy passed that way
Who set ringing with his singing
All the fields and lanes;
They gave him their favor,
Lost were all my pains.

Then I passed to a Master
Who is higher in repute,
Trusting to find justice
At the world’s root.
With rigid fast and vigil,
Silence, and shirt of hair,
The narrow way to Paradise
I walked with care.
But carelessly, unfairly,
At the eleventh hour came,
Reckless and feckless,
Without a single claim,
A dare-devil, a ne’er-do-well
Who smelled of shag and gin;
Before me (and far warmer
Was his welcome) he went in.

I stood still in the chill
Of the Great Morning,
Aghast. Then at last
-Oh, I was late learning -
I repented, I entered
Into the excellent joke,
The absurdity. My burden
Rolled off as I broke
Into laughter; and soon after
I found my own level;
With Balam’s Ass daily
Out at grass I revel,
Now playing, now braying
Over the meadows of light,
Our soaring, creaking Gloria,
Our donkeys’ delight.

CSLewis

That’s a great poem by Jack Lewis Allan. I guess it’s about the joke of grace. We have to make an effort but the more effort we make the more confounded we become. In the end grace is there in middle of the ruin of our efforts - but we have to make the effort first to find it in the rions Jack Lewis Donkey efforts reminds of that other Donkey

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil’s walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.

I know the story of Death Note, so yeah I’ll take option 2. :slight_smile:

(In theory. I’m not sure I’m brave enough to choose option 2.)

That looks like an interesting story!

The temptation to power needn’t be so brutal.

Jason, old mate, I’ve perfected my forex trading algorithm. It’s fully automated, adapts to market conditions, makes 1% per day (compounding) at minimal risk. I’m sharing it with friends, on the strict understanding it goes no further. It will turn $1 into 10 billion, in less than 10 years. Think of all the good you could do with 10 billion…

But where does legitimate power end and evil power begin? Right now, I’m exercising power by using language augmented by technology. Is this a capitulation to temptation? Would Jesus be active on-line? How many FB friends would he have?

Can I hazard an answer Allan? - legitimate power ends when you stop sharing it. Evil power begins when you star to hoard it. Most of us probably participating in a heady/shoddy mix of both forms of power most of the time.