Imitating Christ and God is good (not pagan gods because that will involve a culture of human or animal sacrifice which he is against because that's part of the scapegoat syndrome). A) Because there is no possibility of internal mediation and therefore antagonism with the model/mediator. B) Because only divine models truly deserve to be imitated. C) The imitation is overt and therefore not a symptom of human pride. D) Internal mediation, on the other hand is almost always suppressed from consciousness and leads to jealousy, hatred and resentment, and inevitable disillusionment. E)Without the imitation of God our desire for transcendence inevitably means the imitation of humans.
So is imitating consciously the way to avoid the vicious aspect of imitation?
Because if imitating is part of our nature, then we have no choice but to imitate each other. So there is nothing wrong with saying so-and-so is a great person, I want to be like him.
Conscious imitation involves humility and therefore avoids jealousy, hatred and resentment which are products of pride. It renounces the Romantic fantasy of originality. It makes explicit that we are not self-sufficient.
The best and safest imitation is the imitation of Christ. Hero-worshiping other people has multiple dangers. One, is that no one deserves unfettered adulation. In fact, the illusion that they do is a human propensity that has existed since the Enlightenment's death of God giving rise to our frustrated vertical transcendence.
It might be best to say I admire these aspects of someone, I want to imitate them.
I guess my tendency is for serial imitation, bearing in mind that the imitation will be temporary. If this imitation leads to disillusionment and the trashing of the one time model, then this is not fair and immature. You can't blame your fellow man for not being God; that's your idolatry, not his.
At the very least, you would probably want your imitation to be external and not to be someone you could actually clash/compete with.
If you keep a full awareness of what you are doing and don't divinize the admired person, then you're probably OK.
Imitating Christ and God is good (not pagan gods because that will involve a culture of human or animal sacrifice which he is against because that's part of the scapegoat syndrome). A) Because there is no possibility of internal mediation and therefore antagonism with the model/mediator. B) Because only divine models truly deserve to be imitated. C) The imitation is overt and therefore not a symptom of human pride. D) Internal mediation, on the other hand is almost always suppressed from consciousness and leads to jealousy, hatred and resentment, and inevitable disillusionment. E)Without the imitation of God our desire for transcendence inevitably means the imitation of humans.
ReplyDeleteSo is imitating consciously the way to avoid the vicious aspect of imitation?
ReplyDeleteBecause if imitating is part of our nature, then we have no choice but to imitate each other. So there is nothing wrong with saying so-and-so is a great person, I want to be like him.
Conscious imitation involves humility and therefore avoids jealousy, hatred and resentment which are products of pride. It renounces the Romantic fantasy of originality. It makes explicit that we are not self-sufficient.
ReplyDeleteThe best and safest imitation is the imitation of Christ. Hero-worshiping other people has multiple dangers. One, is that no one deserves unfettered adulation. In fact, the illusion that they do is a human propensity that has existed since the Enlightenment's death of God giving rise to our frustrated vertical transcendence.
It might be best to say I admire these aspects of someone, I want to imitate them.
I guess my tendency is for serial imitation, bearing in mind that the imitation will be temporary. If this imitation leads to disillusionment and the trashing of the one time model, then this is not fair and immature. You can't blame your fellow man for not being God; that's your idolatry, not his.
At the very least, you would probably want your imitation to be external and not to be someone you could actually clash/compete with.
If you keep a full awareness of what you are doing and don't divinize the admired person, then you're probably OK.