For Oliver

My son, fruit of my loin.
God, your parts He did join.
You squawk and squeal,
Jerk and reel.
Myriad is your price in coin.

For Matt Shockey

Old Red, my goodly peer,
Guzzles down frothy beer,
He smokes the pipe,
When the tobacco is ripe,
And, is full of mirth and cheer.

The Great Emptiness

The other day I found myself engaged with a group of young men discussing the nature of love. Not romantic love, as such, but the concept in general - Platonic love specifically.

During the conversation I noted the saying from Pascal, "there is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God [...]". I then expanded, of all the desires that I have, even when they are satisfied, I still find myself unsatisfied. I abstract from normal human experience, there must be something that will satisfy this desire, and that it is immaterial, or supernatural.

To this one of the gentlemen responded, "I don't mean to be a buzz-kill, but I think that it is important to acknowledge where our desires come from - evolution. Biological needs have been "programmed" into us, since the individuals that continually sought to satisfy their desires prospered".

In the moment, I confess, I was quite speechless. Furthermore, when I asked for an example only more confusion was added. Upon reflection, I think we miss understood each other. At the time his explanation seemed empty to me. If there is any desire - evolution is it's cause. That is fallacious in the same way as the God-of-the-gaps theory; it explains everything and nothing all at once.

So, what did I mean? Certainly I would agree that I have physical desires (food, water, shelter, sex, etc.) and I acknowledge that those desires can be satisfied. Once satisfied, it is only a matter of time before the desire is found in me once again unsatisfied. I think this was the cycle my friend was referring to, however, my point was different. Even when all of these physical desires are satisfied, there is still a desire in me that is unsatisfied. This desire is therefore unique from the other physical desires.

Occasionally this supernatural desire can be mistaken for one of the physical desires, but it is easily found out which category it belongs to. The point that I wanted to make in the conversation was, sometime I mistake this supernatural desire for mere physical desires. I try to satisfy it with physical means, and though a physical desire may be satisfied in that instance, the supernatural desire goes unsatisfied, and leaves a sense of emptiness. However, I have found, when the supernatural desire is recognized as such, it can be satisfied in God.

The Unsung Story

A golden beam, passes through the golden sheen,

to land on the crippled hands.

A disfigured face, by which is too hard to trace,

the unsung story and tale.

Whether his mind or heart, he went looking at the start,

it brought about his ruin.

Now at his death, he murmurs through his breath,

"I can't return empty handed."

The Mind

The mind of some is quick and strong - like a leopard leaping to and fro, from thought to thought.

However, my mind is slow and dull; ideas must be nurtured until fully formed - like the walking of a great elephant who moves one foot at a time in a slow, sure march.

A Deep Depression

If God does not exist and there is no after life, then there is at least one strong conclusion that can be drawn: this life is all you have to live. There will be no reconciliation of rights and wrongs. No eternal rewards or punishments. No healing of things long since broken. Death ends all. There is no ultimate purpose. There is no ultimate design. There is no ultimate meaning. Eat, drink, and make marry; for when it is over, it is all over - you cease to exist...... I hope you are happy with your life.

On Morality

To show that the existence of God is necessary for ethics, I have heard a Christian say, "if God does not exist, then I have no reason to live morally - I might as well lie, murder, rape, and pillage."

In response I have heard the atheist say, "I am sorry that you are so weak of mind that you require a belief in God to act rightly."

Notice, however, an important distinction. The Christian is saying that if God does not exist there is no morality, i.e., since there is morality (it is apparent to all) then God exists. He is not saying that his belief in God makes him moral, but that the existence of God defines morality in the world as we experience it.