A Willy Wonka Utopia?

Previously I wrote about the latest bit of news with the lawsuits in court right now over the HHS mandate. I talked about how I really see it as a war of good v evil and not a case of the administration being blindsided by the church. If it is a battle of good v evil, the devil knows what he is doing, the devil knows who his opponents are and is very cunning and clever. This is why we need to not get a sense of arrogance or pride in the fact we filed lawsuits, but remain extra vigilant in the living out of our faith and the Gospel.

In thinking about this 'culture of death' that is just creeping in on every front, I really wrestle with putting myself in 'their' shoes and trying to find the attraction in all this. The architecture of such a society involves cold, white-washed, sterile and pre-fab materials that create something as beautiful and exquisite as an old Walmart. But, I don't think its the beauty - or lack thereof - but the perceived freedom of movement that many people believe they will achieve.

At one level, I can empathize with them in that "who wouldn't want to be free and enjoy all the pleasures the world has to offer?" "Who wouldn't want to live in a world where there were no consequences for our actions and that any appetite we had, it was okay to indulge it?" 

On one level, it can sound very attractive to create this utopia of sorts where life was as happy as Wonka's chocolate factory. But it is an illusion that leads to utter depravity and certain death. At one level, I can see abandoning beauty for pleasure, but that would get old and un-pleasurable real quick. 

It is this lack of the 'big picture' that is fueling this movement. The utter absence of rational thinking at even the most basic level is impeding individuals from thinking about the bigger questions of life, humanity and God. When we do this and subtract any 'higher-thininkg' from our mental landscape, the chocolate factory looks pretty darn attractive.

BUT 

We are made in the Image of God...We are made for relationship...We are made to give ourselves to an Other...We are made with spirit and flesh...We are in a state of fallen humanity in need of a savior...We NEED the Church and all She offers us by means of sacraments, worship, sound interpretaion of scripture and a means to touch the mysteries of God.

This 'Willy Wonka' utopia of free sex and play forces the individual to ignore all of the above. You cannot  create a culture where the human body is treated as a play thing, where we find it a right to murder unborn children, where governments are more sacred than the Church instituted by Christ AND maintain a biblical view of humanity wrapped in the mystery of God.

The false utopia will lead - there is no debate about it - to human despair and depravity because it denies us of our true identity and our most intrinsic needs: true relationships, love and God in all His transcendental qualities. When we starve ourselves of what we really need, the next logical step is death. Stone cold death and the risk of an eternity in the abyss of eternal hell. 

It's a real choice and the choice is ours.

The devil is no dummy and he is certainly real. Sin is an incredible seductive and powerful entity that is loose and roaming all around us. We need to remain in the Truth and the Church if we wish to ever come close to creating a culture that reflects just that.