Confessions of a "pessimystic"

And reading Romans 7 and 8 correctly

Recently I was chided online by someone of Panglossian disposition for citing the words of Jeremiah the Prophet. The offending text, which I had the poor taste to quote, reads as follows: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9) Jesus, also given to poor taste it seems, had much the same view of innate human tendencies: “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts… All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man” (Mk. 7:20 – 23; see Matt. 15:18 – 20). What prompted the online discussion was a posted quotation by a third party that lauded human reason above “faith” (or whatever the author meant by “faith” in this instance), and my short response was that one should exercise due caution when declaring the preeminence of reason, which I then followed up with that disreputable verse from Jeremiah. (The “heart” in biblical and classical language, it should be noted, is the organ – the “core” – of reason and the will, as well as emotion.) My interlocutor had the wit, at least, to respond by pegging me as “pessimystic.” Now, those familiar with this Substack will suspect rightly that the topic I’ll be broaching below is one I’ve addressed before. My only defense is that repetition is essential for acquiring depth of insight in any significant body of knowledge, and those who balk at repetition are probably those who need it most. I know that I’ve never grasped anything of genuine, lasting value that didn’t require repetition, in some cases countless times. For example, in Christian practice, the Liturgy is intentionally repetitive because it’s a continual anamnesis (“recollection” or “remembrance” – τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν; “This do in remembrance of me” – faithfully making present that which is not merely past, but truly perennial). But to return to my interlocutor’s objection that I am “pessimystic” where human reason and the human “heart” are concerned… well, I won’t debate the point. In fact, I will go further and embrace the term “pessimist” in this particular context rather than deny it. The “heart” – substantially good in its nature – is nonetheless the seat of the very worst human characteristics. Without exercising a healthy pessimism regarding how far we can trust our natural inclinations, powers, ideas, and goals before we land ourselves in real trouble, there will be no advance in the life of the spirit. As I’ve noted before, this is a point on which both Christ and Gautama would agree, not to mention the other great sages, saints, and founders of virtually every authentic spiritual and philosophical tradition (before Jean-Jacques Rousseau, that is). So, then, call me a “pessimystic” (to convert the adjective into a noun) – but not one who’s stuck in pessimism. As we will see below, Romans 7 is linked indissolubly to Romans 8.