ThunderBug:
Well, actually, as you will see, there is a twist to what appears to be Ol’ Timey Christianity. Although I might prefer to say a straightening. I’m so glad that you posted so we could clear up these matters.
Jesus spoke often of sin, forgiveness, and righteousness (rightness with God). So much so that ignoring it would collapse His whole Gospel of Love. How can this be? Fortunately, you asked the right questions in order to formulate an answer.
I know so very little of formal Christian theology. Poly knows more in his little finger than I will ever know. I know only the basics.
I know, for example, that some politicians came together in Rome sometime in the fourth century and declared that what they had put together was the way, the truth, and the life. I think they’re lying. Reading about that kind of stuff makes me nauseous, frankly. That’s the main reason I know so little.
I don’t know the whole thing about original sin. My weak understanding is that it had something to do with Adam somehow, something about his disobedience with respect to the forbidden fruit. Something along those lines. (And if you will kindly do me the favor, please do not correct me if I’m wrong. It’s the sort of thing, like how to rob a bank successfully, that I’d just as soon know nothing about.)
So, if any part of what I share with you coincides in some way with the doctrine of the body politic that calls itself the Church, please understand that although some of the words are the same, the meaning is as likely as not to be vastly different.
Yes, I believe that man is sinful. I trust Jesus when He says this. He says it repeatedly. And in fact, I turn on the news or click on CNN and I see this. Even men themselves, when they examine their hearts, know this is true. Not even one of us has the moral right to cast the first stone at someone else. Therefore, we all stand holding our stones — stones that represent our sins.
But what does sin mean? What is wickedness? And what is holiness? And why will God not be stained with sin?
The last question is easy: He would no longer be God. But the other questions need some explanation and illustration to sort of undo twisting that has been done to the simple message of Love over the years.
Traditionally, preachers and teachers and high holy pubahs have taught that sin is what you do. You know, as opposed to what they do. Their whole approach is designed, not to liberate you from sin, but to bind you to it. Why? Because it profits them! It leads you to believe that you must visit them periodically and drop money into their collection plates.
But sin is not what you do. It isn’t even what they do. Sin is not an action at all. It is a decision — a moral decision made by the spirit (as opposed to an amoral decision made by the brain). Sin is the decision to reject love. Whatever action might follow is a sinful one. Even if it appears to be “good”.
You cannot say, “Oh, look! He’s feeding a poor person,” and conclude that the man you see giving food is doing good. You cannot conclude this because you cannot see deep into his heart, where, if you could, you would hear his spirit muttering the decision it has made in wicked whispers, ‘I will feed this man and lure him into my home where I will rape him, cut off his head, and eat him.’
Nor can you say, “Oh, look! That rascal has just run off with my money,” and conclude that the thief is doing evil. You cannot conclude this because you cannot hear his heart crying out to God, ‘Give me just long enough to feed my child, and leave her at the hospital to find a suitable home, and then I will turn myself in and repay the man.’ He has done something ethically intolerable, but morally understandable.
There are also people who are retarded or mentally ill, whose brains are physically restricted from carrying out the will of their spirits. Their hearts might yearn for God’s goodness, and yet they do things that appear nasty or spiteful or mean. You cannot fault them because they cannot help themselves.
There are people who cloak themselves in the appearance of righteousness, but inside their hearts is desolation, where they plan to use their power to take advantage of others. And there are people who outwardly appear to be hopelessly filthy and uncouth, but who have hearts of gold inside.
Sin is not something you can see with your eyes. Like all things spiritual, sin is something you see with your heart. And hearts are connected to God through love, the conduit of goodness (the thing which God values most).
You can see then why merely making something right when you have sinned against someone does not make things right with God. Conduits have connections at both ends. What good is a conduit with only one end? Being forgiven by others is not enough. You must also forgive those who have sinned against you.
You do not want to be like the man who has accepted forgiveness from his creditor, but then turns around and demands payment from his debtor. You must love your neighbor as yourself. It is only fair that you are judged by the same measure you use to judge others.
If you refuse to forgive, why should you be forgiven? By refusing to forgive, you have already decided that forgiveness is worthless. What is worthless for you to give is worthless for you to receive.
Do not be misled. If you do not love, you have not forgiven. Forgiveness is the restoration of love when the conduit of goodness has been severed or rejected. A man who forgives has decided to conduct goodness, but a man who will not forgive has decided to leave goodness cut off.
Despite what your aunt has done to you, I beg you to forgive her completely. Even if she was entirely motivated by evil (a thing which you cannot prove true), you must return goodness for evil. You must love your enemy. Denying God’s goodness to another human being is the most wretched decision you can possibly make. It is tantamount to a decision that you will judge on His behalf.
Don’t just hold no ill feelings. Let good feelings flow from you to her. What is loving about stifling goodness? And if you cannot love her on account of one single sin that you have perceived, why do you deserve love from any man you have ever wronged? And if you will not love others, who are made in the image of God and in His likeness, how then will you love God Himself Who dwells within them?
Love does not keep a record of wrongs. When you look at your aunt, realize that the same God Who dwells in you dwells in her. If you reject the God that is in her, you reject the same God that is in you.
And when I say to trust in Christ, again do not be misled. I am not asking you to trust the Church or Christianity or Christians or even anything that Christians (including me) teach. I am asking you to trust the God Who dwells within you and goes by whatever name you call Him. If the sound “Christ” offends you, then discard it and substitute instead sounds that do not offend you. Buddha. Mohammed. Anything you want to call the Love Everlasting. It is not the word that matters, but the Word.
Men who say that God rejects us because of our sins have it the wrong way around. It is the very rejection of God by us that is sin. God does love us, but He does not require us to accept His love. It is as you say: people make choices.
Would He be more loving if He forced us to accept His love? A resounding NO! If He did that, I would not even BE me. I would be Him in a sock puppet. I would have no will of my own, no moral agency ablatively separate from His. And if we were ALL made that way, then God has created nothing. He’s only a nihilist loving Himself.
While love is what carries goodness; forgiveness is what destroys evil. Believe in Him. Or believe in whatever it is that you call the Love Everlasting. By placing your trust in Him, you secure His forgiveness, just as you secure your boat when you drop your anchor into the water. By clinging to Him, you guarantee that He will cleanse you of all unrighteousness, because He has said that He will reject no one who comes to Him. By relying on Him, you assure your salvation from death — an eternity of isolation from His love.