The human body, mind and soul are all deeply interconnected. Every change of one affects the other in some way, often not immediately perceptible, but crucial nonetheless. When we make decisions, experience events in life, come to a deeper spiritual connection to God, and all the other intricacies of human life, an imprint is left on all three of these attributes of the human person and affect us for the rest of our lives, even if we do not necessarily see it.
Humans also have the capacity to commit sins, that is, to "miss the mark". This means that when people make decisions and choices in their lives, they sometimes do not make the best choice or the one they should have; this is a sin. This morality is deeply rooted in the human soul and is intuitively known in the minds of all people, even those who philosophically deny it, or disagree on its specific cause or meaning.
Throughout our lives, we commit sins of varying degrees, and though we may be forgiven for them (by God, each other, and ourselves), this does not immediately, necessarily, remove the psychological effect of that sin on our mind. Many believe the idea of sin, or right and wrong in any mdoel, to be improper or even damaging to the human psyche, seen as a cold, mechanical judgementalism used by humans for tyranny and abuse on each other and ourselves. And yet, they still live by some type of moral standard; if nothing else, they view the right and wrong system itself as wrong.
Sin is not what many believe it to be, as I have described. It is not merely an objective moral standard, though it certainly is that; it is in essence a deeply-rooted part of human nature that we cannot ignore, and by attempting to, we only further damage ourselves. How does sin damage us, other than the "tyrannical dogmas" of salvation and damnation? It injures our mind, our psyche.
Sin is addictive; it is like a drug. In life we experience stresses of many different kinds, and we are offered sin as a means of alleviating this stress - as a Catholic, I believe this alternative option is offered by Satan, and we have a weakness to submit to his temptations because of our damaged flesh nature. This model also applies to drugs, as anyone familiar with them knows: drugs are used as a temporary perceived alleviation of stress. And at first, the addict does not see any kind of harm the drugs give, or even that he is gradually becoming addicted to them.
But as the high wears off - from sin and drugs alike - the user feels more stresses, and desires that original pleasure to alleviate it. But no future sinful action is as potent as the first, so bigger and more powerful sins - like drugs - are pursued, and we are led to do so by Satan. Over time, this addiction to sin takes its toll on our mind. This applies to all sins, but I will provide a couple examples:
When someone commits the sin of pre-marital sex, or fornication, it slightly diminishes the person's view of the dignity and individuality of the opposite gender, and sex itself. Slowly, subtly, they become nothing more than objects of pleasure for the sinner. This applies to all sexual sins, and one often leads to another: masturbation diminishes the individual's view of the value and dignity of sexuality and their own body, which then leads them to view sex with someone else and their bodies as nothing more than sources of pleasure, as he/she already views his/her own body. This can lead further, to things like pornography, alternative sexual practices, and even more violent sins like rape or even murder (which is itself often a psychologically-sexual act).
This model applies to all sins, not just sexual sins. For example, when someone hates another person, they slowly begin subjectifying that person - viewing them as nothing more than how one feels about them. They are no longer human; they have no inherent value, dignity or rights to life or personal responibility for their actions. They are simply a personal offender and deserve hatred. This evolves into other sins of many kinds, and can even lead to theft, rape, or murder.
Unfortunately, many do not see the connection between sin and the human mind - even many highly-intelligent psychologists often miss it, whether intentionally or not. Some do it for good intentions, viewing good and bad as harmful to the human mind as a philosophy. But truth must come before all, and while some moral models (or lack thereof, which is itself a moral model) may appear more ethical or compassionate, they are in fact harmful and incomplete forms of true Catholic morality. And while people follow those incomplete moral philosophies, their minds will be harmed. Their practitioners, and the victims of all psychological sin disorders, deserve deep prayer and love, as do all.
God bless.
No comments:
Post a Comment