In one the many Andersonian Biblical quotations, Axor cites the theological virtues: faith, hope and charity. Obviously charity is a virtue but why are faith and hope? Is it virtuous to believe something? Are theists more virtuous than non-theists simply because they are theists? I think not. My nearest approach to faith is trust that the meditation process is moving in the right direction even when it does not seem to be. Hope is the opposite of despair which is regarded as a sin. A good motto is: "Pessimism of the intellect; optimism of the will," i.e., we understand how bad things are but there is always, or at least usually, something that can be done. Neil Gaiman's seven characters, the Endless, are anthropomorphic personifications of aspects of consciousness: Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delirium that was Delight. Destruction thinks that each of them defines his or her opposite, thus that Despair defines Hope.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
But I do believe faith is one of the theological virtues. But, note that word "theological," meaning something that had to be gained thru revelation rather than natural reasoning.
And, in the context of the story at that point, Fr. Axor was placing stress on "hope."
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment