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Thomas
Paine wrote in message <37af31f2.19440721@news.tfb.com>...>And
yet Christians believe that everyone is doomed to hell because of Original
Sin - >because of the actions of Adam and Eve. Billions of people are born
with this hereditary >affliction because of somethingthey never did. The
only way to escape this is to accept >that Jesus was sent to earth to die
for our sins. QBaal
replies: Millions
of Christians now regard the Fall of Adam and Eve as myth. As such,
the story of the Fall is not taken as literal historical or scientific
fact. Rather, it's religious truth which means "What does this
myth tell us about our relationship to God?"Looking
at the Fall positively, the ancient story teaches us what most religions
acknowledge: Humans, in general, are separated/estranged from the
Ground of Being (God). And even if these religions don't specifically
talk of God, they do talk about humanity FALLing short of fulfillment or
religious bliss/joy. The falling short is attribute to controlling
desire for life's illusionary goodies. Or failure to apprehend the
will of The Great Spirit and, certainly, to obey it. So the Fall of Adam
and Eve is myth. Myth which points to the universal "human condition"
i.e. it ain't what it should be. And who wants to argue with that.Yes,
the Fall is not historical yet in its naive, primitive way, it hits
on the truth re all individuals and all societies. We are miserable
sinners. Well, maybe not so miserable. And yet, our moral failures
do fill the world with physical AND emotional pain. (How can I walk
down the street today because my husband who is the treasurer of the local
council/church put his hand in the treasury and ripped off the good
folk of this community for $200,000. And those trips to Jamaica
were wonderful but.........). So, as the myth points
out - the innocent suffer for the sins of others and it seems, sometimes,
that the sin disease is genetic and the drive to evil is passed on from
generation to generation. Certainly, many grandchildren today suffer
grievously up to and including death because of the sins of the fathers.Now,
the myth of the fall is not 100% kosher. Actually, it is blasphemous
in suggesting the divine one punishes anyone, let alone the next generation,
for the sins "of the fathers." That don't make sense and diminishes
the honor of God. So put that idea in the garbage heap. Unfortunately,
too many modern preachers don't have the guts, or are caught up in a fundamentalist
(inerrant, take it literally) view of the Bible they can't point
out the outdated weak spots of the Fall myth.Contrary
to what Jesus said and did, the Church for most it's history has emphasized
sin and punishment too much. Read what Bishop John Spong (ret.) says about
the church'sover-emphasis
on sin through the centuries. (It was profitable in terms of power
and money). Thus, with this frame of mind, church leaders have
not looked critically enough at the doctrine of sin, or the Fall.
At least, not until recent times.I'm
not saying kick up your heels and sow lots of wild oats. For sin
does indeed destroy people and it consequences often live on to the third
and fourth generation. But it's hardly likely Adam and Eve are responsive
for all the natural and ethical evil in the world.Also,
humans, especially Christians since St. Augustine, have a difficult time
dealing with sex. St. Augustine interpreted the Fall to mean the
"sin disease" is passed on through sexual intercourse. (Another
reason for emphasizing, in the middle ages, that a Virgin Mary conceived
Jesus.) The fundamentalist and literalist can believe what they want.
And so can the liberals who are wisely discarding the whole myth of the
Fall or, better, reinterpreting it in the light of modern psychology, human
experience and common sense .To
me, the Fall, like Karma, boil down to a failed attempt to explain
why God can be so good and yet create a world with so much evil (suffering
and destruction) in it. Evolution and modern cosmology teach us
no Adam and Eve ever existed. And we are not in our mess because
of the sin of the ancestors so much as experiencing pain, loss and death
because that's the way God created the world.Yet
the myth of the Fall does graphically remind us "We all have sinned and
fallen short of the glory of God." And the wages of sin is
often death because we do have to live with the consequences of our sin.
And every sin we committ is connected to the sin of others
and even our own future sin or tendency toward it. And the mysterious
connection or web of sin in a community can even promote an explosion of
sin and we enter the area of the demonic. Demonic sin which no one understands
and forces us to use imagery of hell, and fiery detruction that seems to
go on and on.... Cross or no cross. God's love or no God's
love. As good old Henry Ford said "History is one damn thing
after another."So,
if the Fall does nothing else, it reminds us we all have a tremendous need
of God's grace. Literally. >So,
if we aren't responsible for what Adam and Eve did, then we carry no hereditary
>punishment for their actions (Original Sin.) If we aren't born with Original
Sin, why was >there any need for Jesus to die for our sins?
Thomas Paine Well,
some honest advanced theologians are telling us we don't need Jesus to
die for our sins? Uta Rank-Heinneman (raised Protestant but became
the first Roman Catholic teaching theologian about 10, 15 years back)
says Jesus did not die for our sins (to satisfy a cheezed off God).
Rather, he died for (BECAUSE OF) our sins. And ain't that the truth?
Historically Jesus died because he was perceived by the Roman authorities
(encouraged by the Jewish power elite, no doubt) as a rebel. Certainly
a vocal critic of Rome's high-handed exploitation of Palestine's
poor. Theologically, Jesus died simply because humans often betray
the good and opt for what appears as the snug and secure choice (security).
Etc., etc.So,
it seems the Fall myth still has lots of truth for AD 2000.
As long as you're prepared to understand it in the modern context. |
