Defying Your Biology

Awhile back, the relentless Matt Walsh wrote a blog post in response to a reader who emailed him, insisting that marriage was primitive, outdated, and unnatural. Matt proceeded to outline that, yes, monogamy is against a man's nature, and that is part of its beauty. This struck a chord with me, because our culture has recently found solace in what's natural, while losing all bearings of sound logic in the process.

If I had to explain the themes of Christianity (and countless other faiths, for that matter), one of the key components would be this: defying your biology. So often, we hear opponents of the faith proclaim that something shouldn't be considered immoral because, after all, it's natural. I was born this way, as Lady Gaga would say. Well here's a tip -- if you're looking at the female version of Marilyn Manson as your moral compass, you are in deep trouble.

Now that's what I call a poker face.

Whether something appeals to our flesh has no bearing on whether it is morally acceptable. Men are naturally aggressive, but that does not make reckless violence palatable. Many people desire promiscuity naturally, but this primal urge does not justify indulgence. If anything, your flesh should be considered one of the least trustworthy sources of divine and ethical truth. Defying your biology is a crucial part of rising above the beasts that roam the untamed wild.  It is what separates us from the rest of the natural world.

If you want to be natural, embrace your animal nature. Deny yourself nothing, do as you please, and live as a mindless and clueless beast. As humans, we are at a strange crossroads between the divine and the earthly. We are somewhere between angels and animals (Thanks, Oh Sleeper.) This is the tug we feel, and this is the source of our great moral battle within. We face a war between our biology and a higher calling, a desire for enlightened thinking and living.

So yes, I agree with Matt Walsh. Monogamy may be against the nature of man, but the nature of a man's instinctual desires is nothing worth honoring. We must rise above our own genetic make up. We must defy our biology.