Meiosis (mei-o’-sis): Reference to something with a name disproportionately lesser than its nature (a kind of litotes). This term is equivalent to tapinosis.
“God is mud.” Most people would believe I’m belittling God. But what I’m doing is reminding them that God is ubiquitous—that God’s infused in the sum of His creation. It is blasphemous to think otherwise. This is hard for most people grasp, but I am an “Evertrhinganarian.” We are a sect that was established in Rhode Island in 1699. The founding fathers were disgusted with the prevailing religion’s separation of Being into Godly and Ungodly, as if anything in the created universe could not be God’s doing. How foolish they were. How biased they were.
Things earned the title “Ungodly” pretty much randomly so they could be boycotted and fall into disuse. For example, prostitution was designated as ungodly as if whoring wasn’t invented by God.
You can see how the “Everythinganarian” stand may put some people on edge. But, there’s no way around it—God is everywhere. Our task is to find a way of understanding prostitution that aligns it with God’s will. “Impossible!” you say, especially as it may abet adultery. Well, adultery is God’s creation too! Adultery is usually one of the first steps toward getting out of a failed relationship, here, the failed relationship and turning to a whore is a godsend, prompting you to find a new life—perhaps a husband or a wife, by the grace of God, by divorce’s blessing.
Morality is like a hinge on a swinging door. No matter which way you’re going, it’s aways opening. In, or out, it doesn’t matter—“in” can be out and “out” can be in—it’s a portal of interpretation that allows it to open or close on anything you choose it to be, not in itself, but as it intersects your hopes and dreams. It can appear to be an exit or an entrance, but it is actually both—an “extrance.” Once we see its multiple likelihoods, we are ready to choose what it is by focusing on its end as its end intersects our desires. So, what is”good” is always a matter of interpretation. As Stanley Fish tells us, “One person’s hope is another person’s fear.” This goes for material objects as well: One person’s cherished artifact is another person’s pain in the ass.
So, as long as we’re going to be free range individuals, we must honor morality’s swinging door. I am not obliged find my place in your life along the path of your preferences. If I do, it’s solely my choice. So, shut up and accept me as one of God’s children.
Definitions courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
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