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Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Original Blessing

This morning I was pondering how the Original Blessing point of view got superseded by the original sin point of view. The turning point appears to be Augustine. Before him, there were not any references in Judaism or early Followers of the Way (later to be called Christians) of original sin. In fact, the Jewish scriptures begin with the grand story of creation, putting words into God's mouth that it was good each step of the unfolding cosmos.--and God said it was good...

Dependent on the ground out of which springs ones values, points of view, theology, philosophy of life -- we can see a huge different between these two soils -- blessing or sin.

The original sin point of view created all sorts of convoluted theologies. It seems to me that this point of view also calls into question the perfection attributed to the Deity. Was there a mistake made in the creation process, making God fallible? Was there ignorance of the cog missing in human creation, making God not Omniscient? Did this flaw sneak in, making God not all-seeing? Did God really create terribly flawed beings on purpose, for what purpose?

Or was Creation from the very beginning an Original Blessing? In almost all creation stories of a wide variety of people in many times and places, the Deity was named Good, Pure and Holy. Out of this Goodness, Purity and Holiness only like could come forth. There is no darkness in total Light.

We see a huge, vast amount of darkness perpetrated by humankind throughout history, and in this very day. On the other hand we see much more goodness, kindness and love, particularly in the "ordinary" billions upon billions of people who have inhabited this earth. Their stories are rarely known except for the occasional saint, shamen or great spiritual being. The stories tend to be told of the standout evil doers because they are in such an immense minority.

The situation, it seems to me, is that the mythic tree fruit that was eaten was from the tree of knowledge, and therein lies the clue. Humans have freewill and the ability to know the difference between darkness and Light. We can choose. We can experiment. We are not little puppets orchestrated from on High. Most people chose being a good person, a loyal friend, a loving parent, a good neighbor, etc. No one writes about those lives. Stories around campfires are rarely about them. We know more Hitler than Bonhoeffer, for example.

As for me, I know that my early life here was more rocky and I walked more shakily than I do now. It appears that I have learned the lessons of the difference between choosing with Wisdom or with folly. Hopefully, my remaining steps on earth will be Guided by Wisdom and led by Divine Love and Light. Hopefully my life will be/is a testament to Original Blessing by being a blessing.

My Beloved Father, thank You for the great and glorious blessings you have endowed upon this earth and its inhabitants. Open the eyes of those mired in the darkness, leading them to see clearly and be healed so that each may unleash the great blessings tucked inside. We celebrate You and the Goodness You have made. Thank you, dear God.

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