FREE FROM CONSTRAINT (Sonnet)
Anthony Etherin
I tried to start
again, and shed
the binding thread
that ruled my art.
I let my heart
control my head….
It only bled
and fell apart:
For talent's not
some mystic seed
the soul must find;
instead, its plot
alone is freed
by watchful minds….
One point that I think is important to clarify is the difference between constraint and oppression. Due to the ongoing legacy of the Culture Wars, there are some thinkers who use pretty bad-faith arguments to mock anyone who might imagine that rules or constraints are oppressive. I want to take this concern seriously, however, and draw a distinction between the two concepts.
Constraints
The main difference that I perceive between oppression and constraint is the concept of consenting or agreeing to constraints. I would put things like wearing seatbelts, eating nourishing foods, and resting from work into the category of constraints. These are things that may pose some difficulties, but that I have decided to do or consented to do because I believe that they have value. It is my understanding that limiting myself in these ways will lead to greater reward, greater flourishing, and greater freedom.
In my musical work, I truly find constraints to be a helpful way of tackling a new piece of music. Constraints have the advantage of limiting the number of musical possibilities from the infinite to some very select (and usually much more interesting) options. As I have mentionedFormal Constraint
Quick Definition
Mathematics
A formal constraint (what I consider to be analogous with [[Gödel, Escher, Bach- An Eternal Golden Braid|Hofstadter's]] "rule of production" or "rule of inference") is a method for transforming one result of a formal system into another result. In mathematics, we can use mathematical induction to derive a theorem from an axiom or from another theorem. Because we trust that our rules of induction will preserve the truth of our mathematical statements, following t..., following a constraint leads me to write more organicallyOrganicism
The concept of organicism is wily and potentially problematic – it has a history of being a useful aesthetic descriptor, but it can also be attached to a variety of oppressive ideologies. The most salient discussions for my thinking have surrounded organicism in music.
Heinrich Schenker devised influential theories for describing and analyzing works of Western classical music from the "common practice period."[[This time period is from roughly 1650 to 1900.::rsn-transclude]] These theories w... unified pieces of music and often leads to surprising artistic results that I would never encounter otherwise.
Finally, I want to stress again that constraints are really something that is self-imposed. I decide to limit my musical material. I decide to eat healthy food. I decide to follow a particular sexual ethic. Ultimately, I don't consider something to be a constraint if it's being imposed upon me from the outside without my consent. I may not enjoy my constraints in every moment or situation, but I have decided that they are worth pursuing.
This experience of having a desire that is both paradoxically abnegated and more deeply fulfilled (both now and in eternity) is captured in the lyrics of the chorus of Final Streak by Kinnship:
Like a longing for the first of spring
I am waiting, I am aching
Like a painting, wholly incomplete
I’m despairing
For that final streak
I know you will not leave me there
Quenched but thirsty
Keep me coming back to your nourishing love
‘Cause I’m full but hungry for more
Oppression
To be very clear, I want to draw a sharp distinction between the sorts of self-imposed constraints that I described above ("this is difficult but I'm going to do it and push through to something better") and the kinds of oppression that we see side B and LGBTQ+ people encounter every day. While it is a difficult calling to be a queer Christian (of whatever theological persuasion), it should not be and the church has failed in its role every day that it continues to perpetuate homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, classism, and the countless ways that we reject, harm, and other our siblings in Christ and our neighbors.
If there are difficulties in following the example of Christ (as we are promised there are), I wish for them to be the ones that all Christians face together. I want to see the body of Christ supporting all of its members and neighbors in times of difficulty and rejecting so many of its urges to harm those who bear God's image. I want to strive towards the day that "in His name all oppression shall cease" Adam, Adolphe. Cantique du Noël (O Holy Night). Paris: Léon Grus, 1847.
– a day when I can joyfully and wholeheartedly choose the difficulties and constraints that Christ calls me to for my good and His glory. (For further reading on this topic, I recommend Heavy Burdens by Bridget Eileen Rivera).
A Dialogue from The Bible Project
Dr. Timothy Mackie and Jon Collins from The Bible Project discuss the paradoxical liberation of such constraints. The following is an excerpt from the episode How To Read the Bible • Law E5: Jesus Fulfills the Law.
Tim: And so the idea is honoring the tree of knowing good and evil is the gateway to the tree of life. In the same way, in the book of Proverbs, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowing. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. It's Proverbs 1:7. This is good.
This from Proverbs 3. "How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. She is wisdom, is a tree of life for those who take hold of her; happier are those who hold her fast. So think the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowing. So that means finding wisdom means access to the tree of life.
Jon: The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a gate.
Tim: It's a gate.
Jon: It's you walk past it. And by walking past it without taking it, another way to think about that is fearing the Lord. That there's something that's more important to you than what looks good in that moment.
Tim: That's right.
Jon: That you could pass under something that is desirable in your own understanding.
Tim: It's desirable. I want it, but I'm not going to take it.
Jon: But because of a greater fear, respect our understanding of something much bigger, you can gracefully walk underneath of it, past it.
Tim: That is called the fear of the Lord, and it's also called wisdom. And when you live by the fear of the Lord and have wisdom, you grab the tree of life. You get the tree that you are supposed to grab.
Jon: Which does give you knowledge.
Tim: Yeah, exactly.
Jon: And the man who gains understanding is the one…you gain understanding?
Tim: You get real knowledge.
Jon: Real knowledge.
Tim: The real knowledge is the gift of God's own life and love.
Jon: The point of the tree of knowledge of good and evil isn't like, "Hey, I don't want you to know good and evil." It's "I want you to know it in this relational way."
Tim: By my wisdom.
Jon: By my wisdom. And you will get it.
Tim: You'll get it. That's right. You'll get what you really want precisely by not taking what you want. That's the paradox. This is a big theme in CS Lewis writings, is we are too easily satisfied in taking from the tree - What's that line we like? We're sitting in the presence of a table full of pies and we're down in the mud making mud pies.
Jon: "These mud pies look good."
Tim: "These are great." The book of Proverbs presents all the divine command in terms of Garden of Eden imagery.
Final Thought: Et incarnatus est
I think the most transcendent and potent example of purposeful self-constraint is in the act of Christ taking on flesh, redeeming creation, restoring relationship between God and His image-bearers, and overcoming death.
Last modified on 01-28-2022.