Interest in God in this cultural environment

God is to man what a bicycle is to a fish. This quote, found in the article La
verit del desiderio by Giuseppe Brighina, captures the mindset of an agnostic
culture, which is simply not interested in religion. I found the article very
interesting, as it made sense both in how it described thoughts I find in my
friends and even my self. We tend to focus on the lower parts of our person
(which consists of the intellect, will, and affectivity) that is to say, on the
affectivity. And precisely the affectivity can offer a bridge to the knowledge of
God.

According to Brighina, (contemporary) young people care about three things:

Emotion, energy, and recognition. Emotion is the most important of these three, I
think. The great value ascribed to emotion is equated with consumerism: the
search for immediate sensory satisfaction, of things whose ability to please runs
out after a while. Energy is the label Brighina uses for the desire for self-
realization, which should be recognized by others: the search for glory. This desire
might be manifested in sports, but also in ones career. Everything which does
not fall under these categories, such as God, is simply not worth the effort. It is
easy to fall in the trap of thinking happiness consists in maximizing pleasure, as
pleasure has an immediate fullness. Nevertheless, one who has tasted pleasure
always longs for a more complete pleasure without boundaries: it should be
everlasting. The more one is focused on pleasure, the more intolerable and
senseless pain becomes. Ultimately, one is confronted with two alternatives: Or
man is an absurd being, incomprehensible, without meaning, or there must exist
another dimension of desire in which he can find the meaning, the fulfillment he
desires. (Brighina, p. 8). This desire is recognized in classical Aristotelian-
Thomistic philosophy. Juan Luis Lorda, in his Apuntos de antropologia, groups
these desires under the name spiritual innate tendencies, or longings (anhelos).
Because even our affectivity has a spiritual component. They can only be
perceived by the intelligence, which nevertheless instinctively feels them. He
categorizes four types of longings, which go beyond the simple desire of
happiness:

1. Those towards personal fulfillment and happiness. The desire of pleasure,

which can never fulfill, can be seen to point to the desire for ultimate happiness,
whereas the pursuit of energy can be seen to point to personal fulfillment.

2. Other longings point towards the transcendental goods: truth, beauty, good.
These are found among others trough art, which is connected more with the
eyesight and the hearing, that is, senses of distance, which Brighina says are
being overcrowded by the more accesible tactile pleasures.

3. The third type of longing is that of love and being loved. It is key for all
interpersonal relations

4. Lastly, the longing for salvation is mentioned by Lorda. The desire for peace
and justice is awakened by the experience of its opposites: the experience of evil.

I think the best way to interest our contemporaries in God is by arousing these
longings, and by pointing out their ultimate fulfillment: God, who is the summit
and source of all happiness, truth, beauty, good, love, and salvation. If they can
desire him, they can be good, because virtue is, as Saint Augustine said, the ordo
Amoris. According to Brighina, these four longings can be seen as steps on a
scale. By addressing a persons desire for pleasure, you can lead him to the
longing of happiness. The longing for happiness finds its first fulfillment in the
confrontation with beauty of the woman. This, however, can most perfectly be
pursued in a loving relation. The happiness from such a relation however, fades.
What one desires ultimately, is the perfect communion with the perfect person
(Brighina, p. 23). This person, of course, is God. He must exist, because, that
which one desires must exist, otherwise, it cannot be desired.

So, the best way to arouse mans desire for God nowadays is through the heart, I
believe, because everybodys heart contains a God-shaped hole, and everyone is
looking for an aspect of God.