Let's examine the components of a "sadistic carnie," and it might be better to do this
backwards. A "carnie" refers to someone in the carnival, more specifically in the case to the
stars of the showcases (Hairy woman, one-eyed man, strongest man in the world, etc.). Carnies
hold super- or sub-human traits that, though they are classified as being human, throw them into
a category as random acts of nature; circumstance made them freaks. The word "sadistic" gives
them purpose. Those of sadistic nature usually like to cause people pain or just watch people ill,
hurt or just all around fail, which no one wants to do. Putting the phrase together, a "sadistic
carnie" can be best described as any random act of circumstance with the purpose of throwing
people off the desired path.
You're walking through the woods and you see bear tracks in the mud. One assumes that
a bear had been there. In all probability there was a bear there. But there's still that lingering
doubt about whether the bear was there or not even though the bear track evidence is staring you
in the face. That doubt stems from sadistic carnies. What if a sadistic carnie was making bear
tracks in the mud with two bear claws on sticks? How do I know if a bear had been through
here? How do I even know there are any bears at all?
Sadistic carnies are probably the scapegoats that children use when something comes up
wrong and they "didn't do it." When the birthday cake comes up missing and is found on the
head of a younger sibling, the older sibling, who has frosting on his arms, immediately calls for
his innocence. Sadistic carnies.
So in both senses the sadistic carnie is another reason to the event of things happening,
acting as both an antithesis to the common logic formed and a scapegoat. The sadistic carnie is
also not bounded by the limitations of regular mortals. In the case of the bear tracks, how would
the sadistic carnie keep from making footprints? The answer to this is obvious: the carnie is a
tight-rope walker and has incredible balance so, with feet in the air and head towards the ground
the carnie is able to walk about using the bear claws on posts. In the birthday cake scenario, the
carnie is the Shortest Man in the World! and can easily slip under a tablecloth or behind the
curtains until his sadistic escapades are finished and it is time for the carnie to make a break for
it.
Paul speaks of many things in his letter to the Corinthians. This nice Greek/Roman town
on the isthmus provided good times for the Apostle for a couple years and he proudly brought
the word of God to the people. He began the church there and then wrote a letter about it, citing
all the problems and listing the solutions. Of all the things that he says in the letter, though, the
most striking is his reference to the usefulness of wisdom.
All throughout the history of the world there have been people trying to solve the world's
problems with thought, from early traditions and culture through today's diplomats and great
thinkers. World peace, the nature of things, even the existence of God Himself has been thrown
into the pot of questions among mankind throughout the centuries and millennia. It has been the
quest for the wise to find out answers to the big questions of nature. Why do we do the things
we do? Why do we feel the things we feel? Why were we created this way? It has been the
place of learned scientists and philosophers alike to find the answers to these questions.
Corinth was originally a Greek town and held, even to the days of Paul, the principles and
reverence to the major philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Those who
questioned, those who thought and debated about issues and about life were still heard in the
town squares and plazas. Paul shook his head at this; Paul was a devout Christian after all.
At the time, many people believed different orators and philosophers. People were
subscribing to these ideas of these philosophers and were living their lives according to what
they said. Not only people in Corinth were subject to this, though; people all over ancient
Greece were Pythagorean mutes, Pyrrhoian skeptics, Platonic Academics, or subscribing to any
other of the number of moral and social philosophers in their known world. When Paul came
and tried to wrap everyone up in the warm, pillowy Blanket of Christianity, people were coming
from all different kinds of ideals, origins, creeds, and traditions that conflicted with other
members. A whole lot of division within the Corinth church was going on. Paul was not pleased
with this.
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will thwart the cleverness of the
intelligent," Paul recalled from the words of God and cited in his letter. It was a very hurtful
saying indeed to the philosophers who were also Christians. But Paul would only get more
injurious to those believed to be and believed themselves to be wise. "The world by its wisdom
did not know God." According to Paul, everything that philosophers have been doing since the
dawn of thinking has been in vain. Paul condemned using a person and his ideals to model
behavior, and he shamed those that listened to the speakers and didn't live their lives solely
through God and his Word. Even those who only lived their life through Christ was feeling bad
(though not as bad as those who believed in the teachings of the Academy).
Most importantly, though, Paul seemed to think that philosophers were administering a
dogma that was not the Word of God. It wasn't about people worshipping these men instead of
worshipping God (although there was a temple to Aphrodite that was a little like a holy
burlesque house, 10,000 employees strong); even Paul knew that the people's subscription to
these men was not about religion. Paul believed that the philosophers and orators of the old
Greece did not address the issues in the way God would want them addressed. Paul believed that
the only way to solve the huge problems of the world was through the power of God and the
Spirit, not from some old guy that sits around and thinks all day. He thought the only way for
humanity to change was not through accepting a list of rules and doctrines given by some
philosopher that thinks he knows it all but by accepting God and feeling the Spirit, letting the
Spirit guide you because it is God. Philosophers were just throwing people off the desired path.
So what does that make philosophers? Sadistic carnies.
What Paul wanted to say was that these philosophers were just entertaining people in
their little carnival, showing people all the flashy things that they though was going to make
them better people and solve the problems of the world when people themselves can't solve the
problems of the world just through thought and application. It was all about going through God
and being guided by the Spirit in order to achieve what they wanted. In a city rampant with
"sexual immoralities," it was most important for God to have his Word spread to the people of
Corinth to save them from doing something they'd regret later. Paul called for the debaters to
come and represent Christianity ("Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic
law? Where is the debater of this age?"), to have a gospel singer among the carnival folk.
(some help on the history was provided by World Wide Study Bible at "http://ccel.wheaton.edu/wwsb/".)
"sadistic carnies" and this essay copyright © 2000 nick campbell
|
