My own view of "Original Sin" is thoroughly heterodox, probably to the point that it's not really the same doctrine at all. But I do think there is at the very least a tendency to evil in the human soul, an ugliness which marks us out from our fellow animals as much as the use of tools. My current account of this is simple: we are never truly separate from God, because God sustains us; if we were to be separated from him, we would cease to exist. But we are seldom truly aware of our oneness with God. We are subject to the illusion of separation, and this illusion is the Original Sin that makes acts of evil possible.
There is something Taoist about this belief, and I'm okay with that. I don't think any one religion or philosophy has the complete picture of the nature of God or reality; the universe is too vast and complex for us to understand, and how much vaster and farther beyond us must be the mind of God?
Your post also raises, for me, the question: is it necessary to assent to all the professed beliefs of a church in order to be a member? I have been struggling with this. Many of the faithful of the Catholic Church believe that homosexual sex and the use of contraception are not sinful; many don't believe in Transubstantiation; many have technically unorthodox ideas about the Trinity; and yet they go to Mass and receive Communion on Sundays, and don't think themselves hypocrites for it. The Anglican church is notorious for harbouring people with vastly different beliefs about pretty fundamental aspects of Christianity -- I'm thinking of that episode of Yes, Prime Minister where Hacker has to select an archbishop, and the consensus is that it would be a plus if the candidate believed in God, but it's not strictly necessary.
There are so many aspects that go together to make a church: creeds and community and ethics and history and aesthetics (which might sound trivial by comparison, but if I'm worshipping God, I want to be moved by the beauty of my surroundings; if my surroundings are a concrete box, I'm just going to be depressed). If they don't come together in a way that nourishes and sustains me, I just feel alienated. So far, I haven't found a church in my city that I could attend whole-heartedly. I'd rather not be half-hearted about something as important as this, so I remain a solitary Christian.
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Date: 2008-07-15 12:02 pm (UTC)There is something Taoist about this belief, and I'm okay with that. I don't think any one religion or philosophy has the complete picture of the nature of God or reality; the universe is too vast and complex for us to understand, and how much vaster and farther beyond us must be the mind of God?
Your post also raises, for me, the question: is it necessary to assent to all the professed beliefs of a church in order to be a member? I have been struggling with this. Many of the faithful of the Catholic Church believe that homosexual sex and the use of contraception are not sinful; many don't believe in Transubstantiation; many have technically unorthodox ideas about the Trinity; and yet they go to Mass and receive Communion on Sundays, and don't think themselves hypocrites for it. The Anglican church is notorious for harbouring people with vastly different beliefs about pretty fundamental aspects of Christianity -- I'm thinking of that episode of Yes, Prime Minister where Hacker has to select an archbishop, and the consensus is that it would be a plus if the candidate believed in God, but it's not strictly necessary.
There are so many aspects that go together to make a church: creeds and community and ethics and history and aesthetics (which might sound trivial by comparison, but if I'm worshipping God, I want to be moved by the beauty of my surroundings; if my surroundings are a concrete box, I'm just going to be depressed). If they don't come together in a way that nourishes and sustains me, I just feel alienated. So far, I haven't found a church in my city that I could attend whole-heartedly. I'd rather not be half-hearted about something as important as this, so I remain a solitary Christian.