OrEd-T-23.3-The Laws of Chaos.2
26. There can be no release and no escape. Atonement becomes a myth, and vengeance, not forgiveness, is the Will of God. From where all this begins, there is no sight of help that can succeed. Only destruction can be the outcome. And God Himself seems to be siding with it to overcome His Son. The ego will not enable me to find escape from what it wants. That is the function of this course, which does not value what the ego cherishes.
27. The ego values only what it takes. (4) This leads to the fourth law of chaos, which, if the others are accepted, must be true. This seeming law is the belief I have what I have taken. By this, another's loss becomes my gain, and thus it fails to recognize that I can never take away save from myself. Yet all the other laws must lead to this. For enemies do not willingly give to one another, nor would they seek to share the things they value. And what my enemies would keep from me must be worth having, just because they keep it hidden from my sight.
28. All of the mechanisms of madness are seen emerging here: the "enemy", made strong by keeping hidden the valuable inheritance which should be mine; my justified position and attack for what has been withheld; and the inevitable loss the enemy must suffer to save myself. Thus do the guilty ones protest their "innocence". Were they not forced into this foul attack by the unscrupulous behavior of the enemy, they would respond only with kindness. But in a savage world, the kind cannot survive, so they must take or else be taken from.
29. And now there is a vague unanswered question, not yet "explained". What is this precious thing, this priceless pearl, this hidden secret treasure, to be wrested in righteous wrath from this most treacherous and cunning enemy? It must be what I want but never found. And now I "understand" the reason why I did not find it. For it was taken from me by this enemy and hidden where I would not think to look. He hid it in his body, making the body the cover for his guilt, the hiding place for what belongs to me. Now his body must be destroyed and sacrificed that I may have that which belongs to me. His treachery demands his death that I may live. And I attack only in defense.
30. But what is it I want that needs his death? Unless I know what it is for, can I be sure my murderous attack is justified? (5) And here a final principle of chaos comes to the rescue. It holds there is a substitute for love. This is the "magic" that will cure all of my pain, the missing factor in my madness that makes it "sane". This is the reason why I must attack. Here is what makes my vengeance justified. Behold, unveiled, the ego's secret gift, torn from my brother's body, hidden there in malice and in hatred for the one to whom the gift belongs. He would deprive me of the secret ingredient which would give meaning to my life. The substitute for love, born of our enmity to one another, must be salvation. It has no substitute, and there is only one. And the purpose of all my relationships is to grab this gift and make it my own.
31. But my possession is never complete. My brother will never stop attacking me for what I stole. And God in His madness must have this substitute for love and kill us both. I, who believe I walk in sanity, with feet on solid ground, and through a world where meaning can be found, must consider this: These are the laws on which my "sanity" appears to rest. These are the principles which make the ground beneath my feet seem solid. And it is here I look for meaning. These are the laws I made for my salvation. They hold in place the substitute for Heaven, which I prefer. They were made for this. This is their purpose. There is no point in asking what they mean, for it is apparent that the means of madness must be insane. However, I may not realize that the goal is madness.
32. No one wants madness, and no one clings to his madness if he sees what it is. The function of insanity is to take the place of truth. The belief that madness is true is what protects it. To be believed, madness must be seen as truth. And if madness is the truth, then truth must be madness now. This reversal serves the goal of the laws of chaos. Meanings are completely turned around. Madness is seen as sanity, illusions become true, attack is a kindness, with a benediction of hatred and murder. These are the means by which the laws of God appear to be reversed. Here the laws of sin appear to hold love captive, and let sin go freely.
