Father of Destruction

Gabriel has a great piece up about 'faith under will', the spiritual side of revolutionary thought:

If Voegelin is correct in his analysis, the “faith under will” of a Bakunin, or a Lenin, or a Hitler, can only come about through a violent opposition to reality. Any self-reflection or sensitivity will reveal the contradictions, though once one is caught in the grasp of this “faith under will” and the despicable dream of transforming reality, getting free—at least for those most intoxicated by it and, thus, the least prone to reopen their souls—is close to an impossibility.

Of course, Gabriel notices this is not merely historical:

Is it truly a manifestation of “will under faith”—the same “faith of Jesus Christ” which St. Paul speaks of in Galatians—or the “faith under will” which suspects all things are possible so long as strength and opportunity is given to shatter reality with the blunt side of one’s imagination? In a few months time, when messianic fervor becomes synonymous with political loyalties, we may have our answer.

The wages of sin are death, and in many cases the sinner doesn't just sin and hope to be absent when the wages are paid. No, often, the sinner wants the wage. The suicide seeks death, the 'transgendered' seek mutilation, the deviant seek out lifestyles incompatible with life. It's the same trick, a violent belief in unreality and a willingness to deconstruct one's very humanity in order to manifest that belief in the world.