It's only weirdly counter-cultural to be an unmarried virgin because we have forgotten that fornication, or sex between an unmarried man and woman, is a sin. Our culture does two things very well: 1. It denies truth, which ultimately comes from God, who is Truth; and 2. It twists truth, so that which was once true contextually (like the fact that God loves you, even if you sin) swallows the rest of the truth (that sin is bad, and it separates us from God).
It's not all wine and roses, trying to be obedient to God. But we do it, because we believe that friendship with God is our highest end. Any real Christian you meet could tell you of his sins, even knowing, willful ones. Forgiveness of sins is a huge part of the story. Depending on what part of it you're looking at, it's the defining part of the Christian story. "You are to name him 'Jesus', because he will save his people from their sins."
I think evangelical culture has done a weird thing, too: the way that we talk about conversion and salvation makes people think that they have to pretend that things of this world have no real appeal. Of course they do. I could say one word, or one name, and completely distract the lot of you, myself included. There is a goodness in almost everything. Even intrinsic evils tend to cloak themselves euphemistically in an apparent good. Catholics are better equipped (or ought to be) to realize this than others may be. Anyway, to say this is to acknowledge the goodness of creation, as such.
The reason Christian subculture is often so weird is that it lies. We attempt to convince others and ourselves that the spiritual life is not a war, that we are not in fact fighting against ourselves in the fight against sin and Satan.
Beware the cult of "authenticity," though. Those Christians who make a big fuss about being "real" are sort of hoping they can trick you into the fold before they have to tell you how hard it is. For all we know, he or she is hiding something really huge, which his own lack of trust and surrender to God has morphed a flaw into a giant pus-bomb of wickedness which will be someone else's problem when they are long gone. I digress.
Anyway, I'm holding my "V-Card" (let the reader understand) not because the alternative holds no appeal, but because I have enough experience chasing Satan's shadow-puppets to know it's a bad deal. Satan is like a guy who takes you out for steak on your birthday, and skips out when the check comes.
It's not all wine and roses, trying to be obedient to God. But we do it, because we believe that friendship with God is our highest end. Any real Christian you meet could tell you of his sins, even knowing, willful ones. Forgiveness of sins is a huge part of the story. Depending on what part of it you're looking at, it's the defining part of the Christian story. "You are to name him 'Jesus', because he will save his people from their sins."
I think evangelical culture has done a weird thing, too: the way that we talk about conversion and salvation makes people think that they have to pretend that things of this world have no real appeal. Of course they do. I could say one word, or one name, and completely distract the lot of you, myself included. There is a goodness in almost everything. Even intrinsic evils tend to cloak themselves euphemistically in an apparent good. Catholics are better equipped (or ought to be) to realize this than others may be. Anyway, to say this is to acknowledge the goodness of creation, as such.
The reason Christian subculture is often so weird is that it lies. We attempt to convince others and ourselves that the spiritual life is not a war, that we are not in fact fighting against ourselves in the fight against sin and Satan.
Beware the cult of "authenticity," though. Those Christians who make a big fuss about being "real" are sort of hoping they can trick you into the fold before they have to tell you how hard it is. For all we know, he or she is hiding something really huge, which his own lack of trust and surrender to God has morphed a flaw into a giant pus-bomb of wickedness which will be someone else's problem when they are long gone. I digress.
Anyway, I'm holding my "V-Card" (let the reader understand) not because the alternative holds no appeal, but because I have enough experience chasing Satan's shadow-puppets to know it's a bad deal. Satan is like a guy who takes you out for steak on your birthday, and skips out when the check comes.
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