Are there any natural desires?

Are there any natural desires? The, er, natural response is to say, well, of course there are. Duh! Hunger, thirst, and sex come to mind.

An essay in First Things argues that there are no such things, or, rather, that they are tamed and channeled. For example, as the author says, ". . . The desire to know and see God is a configuration we can nurture or oppose."

The essay does deal with other desires, including hunger, and the very notion that there might not be any natural desires has brought out a number of interesting comments, as would be expected.

Thanks for reading. Read the essay.

Coraline, by Neil Gaiman

I recently read Coraline, by Neil Gaiman. The book was aimed at older children, and is quite good. I won't give away the plot, which is rather scary. You can read about the plot in the Wikipedia article on the book. The book was made into a movie, which appeared recently. I have not seen the movie.

I do want to present one quotation from the book. That is this:

Coraline sighed. "You really don't understand, do you?" she said. "I don't want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted? Just like that, and it didn't mean anything. What then?" Neil Gaiman, Coraline, New York: HarperCollins, 2002, p. 120.

Coraline, perhaps a 5th grader, has been offered a number of treats. Her response is quite sensible, and insightful, in most circumstances. But there is an exception. What if we are really letting Christ live through us? In that case, our desires would not be for ourselves, and they would be good things, that ought to be fulfilled. As Paul put it:
2 Corinthians 4:8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (ESV)

Thanks for reading.