The Error of Despair & Misguided PC Terms

It’s not I, but my hero and champion of words, J.R.R. Tolkien who gave the concept to me. Despair is not so much a state of emotion, a theological conundrum, as it is a mistake, for who can see all ends?

Despair is the absence of hope, the annihilation of peace, located at the center of chaos. It is a primary weapon of our enemy, employed to dismantle christians of our faith in a loving God and non-believers of their trust in the goodness of humanity. It's a weapon in which the enemy measures success by death. I’ve known several wonderful people who have been ravaged by despair and sadly, some who have taken their life because of it.

Recognizing how this weapon is used is our first means of defense against it. We have power in the name of Jesus Christ in rebuking satan, power in prayer and fasting, in confession, reading His Word and the strength of the believing community, the church militant & triumphant. These are our weapons to engage in this spiritual warfare. I understand there is a place for helpful medication, for counseling, but very often the medical community overlooks the needs of the spirit.

I read the story of Tyler Clementi today, the New Jersey college student who took his life because of the despair he must have felt when his privacy was broadcast to anonymous millions via the internet. The weight of such humiliation too great to bear. I hope the student(s) responsible for this despicable plot receive the maximum penalty under the law, for they obviously have no idea what human dignity is.

In the AP article, referring to Rutgers University, known for ruthless behavior in other areas said this:

“...students, faculty and other employees have been encouraged to attend a series of lectures, presentations and discussions on civility, exploring such topics as how cell phones, iPods and other gadgets affect civility, and sportsmanship for athletes and fans.”

Presentations on civility. Did you catch that?!

This brings me round to my next point --I didn’t have to read far to learn that the Gay Rights Advocates have called this a “hate crime” and will, no doubt, use this as a call to action, to further their agenda. Wait a minute... “hate crime” ? do you have to belong to a special group to use this term? What about.. oh, I don’t know...

a crime against humanity?

Can we call a spade a spade and agree that destroying a person’s mind & spirit by invading their privacy and humiliating them in front of the world is an act of a person without conscience? No mercy and no conscience...

...it’s an indicator crime that affects us all as human beings created by God, no matter our feelings about homosexuality. It's an assault on human dignity, an evidence of barbarians in our "civilized" modern age.

Lord, have mercy, to make straight our crooked lines.

*Painting is "The Scream", by Edvard Munch

Eucatastrophe: Perfect Hope

I’m reading Thomas Merton’s No Man Is an Island, a collection of spiritual reflections for the Christian believer.  His chapter titled “Mercy” is singly worth the price of the book.  I could scarcely read past the first paragraph as it kept drawing me back, prompting a closer look, a longer consideration.  A few sentences there with nuggets of wisdom  prompted memories of something I’d learned about my hero,  J.R.R. Tolkien.

Merton wrote:

“We learn to know Him, now, not in the “presence” that is found in abstract consideration -- a presence in which we dress Him in our own finery -- but in the emptiness of a hope that may come close to despair.  For perfect hope is achieved on the brink of despair when, instead of falling over the edge, we find ourselves walking on the air.     ...So we learn to expect His mercy  most calmly when all is most dangerous, to seek Him quietly in the face of peril, certain that He cannot fail us though we may be upbraided by the just and rejected by those who claim to hold the evidence of His love”

That’s it.  “ we learn to expect His mercy most calmly when all is most dangerous...”  According to those closest to Tolkien, his friends and biographers, this idea was central to his writings.  He believed our English language was missing a word, which he coined “eucatastrophe”,  defined as the unexpected turn from bad to good.    When we teeter on the brink of despair, perfect hope is what enables us to go forward with our eyes fixed on Christ.

Maybe the fact that Tolkien had to coin the term speaks to our weak human condition.  How easy it is to fall prey to pessimism, doubt and despair, the downward spiral that shrouds our spirit in darkness.  And then to justify and define that outlook as ‘realism’ is the seal of Satan; how he enjoys manipulating mankind to believe his falsehoods.  Tolkien believed despair was not so much a weakness of man, a theological problem, as it was a mistake, for no one knows the future, no one can see all ends.  Eucatastrophes happen.

Perfect hope walks through the mists knowing the Creator provides the footing.  It’s the seed of all courage, ...the rock of Christian martyrs.

And so it is to Professor Tolkien that I owe my gratitude for growing my understanding of this spiritual truth through the weaving of his tales, the sharing of his heart.   As I take notice of all the mismatched threads and knots of my journey, my canvas,  God has used Tolkien to give me a glimpse of the tapestry on the other side.  

Here is a snippet of video (you can find anything on YouTube!) with thoughts from Brian Sibley, Tom Shippey and John Garth on the meaning of "eucatastrophe":