How to Recognize the Fallacy of Death Centric Western Christian Models
Understand that "Original Sin" and "fall/redemption" were very minor even to Augustine's theology., See that these concepts were seized upon for political reasons., Know that Christ died for your sins., Embrace the Biblical concept of Original...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Understand that "Original Sin" and "fall/redemption" were very minor even to Augustine's theology.
This can be verified on the web, since the following quote from Original Blessing is a bit unclear without some study aids.
These were postulated based on what is now widely viewed as misinterpretation by him. "In Paul's Letter to the Romans he says, 'Therefore, as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all men sinned.' And using a faulty Latin translation which left out the word "death" he translates as follows: 'Through one man sin entered into the world and through sin, death, and thus spread to all men, in whom all have sinned.' (Contra Julianum)" Matthew Fox, Original Blessing It should be clear from this that John did not mean what Augustine said.
You are a sinner when you sin, and not before.
It is well known that the Council of Trent insisted on the doctrine of Original Sin; yet the doctrine of Original Blessing is a far more ancient and Biblical doctrine.
The Council did not deny this (nor could it); nor did they ever say what Original Sin even means.
Understand how this doctrine disagrees with so much of the rest of the Bible; the 'age of accountability'
etc., and see that you are responsible for your sins, and that it isn't possible for a baby to sin.
What does God say? "...the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth." Genesis 8:21 Which may sound like a condemnation to someone unfamiliar with God's condemnation; but the important part of this verse for us at the moment is the from his youth part.
You are not "born a sinner" in the sense that Western Christianity teaches; and it doesn't matter if you are an atheist or have never been in a church, this founding premise has become baked into your assumptions. -
Step 2: See that these concepts were seized upon for political reasons.
An exaggerated doctrine of Original Sin, as used for a starting point for spirituality, plays kindly into the hands of empire builders, slave-masters, etc.
It divides (and therefore conquers), pitting your thoughts against your feelings, your body against your spirit, and your country against the world. "The harm that has been done to souls during the centuries of Christianity, first by the literal interpretation of the story of Adam, and then by the confusion of this myth, treated as history, with later speculations, principally Augustinian, about Original Sin, will never be adequately told."Paul Ricoeur, The Symbolism of Evil This is "dualism"
recognized by sages from Eckhart to Daly as "the sin behind all sin." Separation.
Subject/object relationships. "Pleasure" becomes "sin" with this model.
Leave it to an Accuser to turn pleasure into sin.
An actual (Catholic) test for sin is "did you enjoy it?" The U.S. is currently (still) the dominant world power; the professed theology of the U.S. is Christianity, of the Western stripe.
The 'center' of this theology is 'Original Sin' and 'fall/redemption,' and you may witness the fruit of Western Christian theology simply by turning on the news.
Understand that your 'Christian' leaders are the world's largest arms dealers.
Fall/redemption centricity describes our fascination with skulls.
It's why we like to wear black, v "~always wearing white~" "When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him." Proverbs 16:7 Does this sound like a proper characterization of the U.S.? "Throughout Christian history the conviction that man's birthright is sin has encouraged an unrealistic acceptance of remediable social evils, or even a callousness about human suffering.
It helps to explain the easy acceptance of slavery and serfdom, and a record of religious atrocity unmatched by any other religion."Professor Herbert J.
Muller "A spirituality that preaches resignation under official brutalities, servile acquiescence in frustration and sterility, and total submission to organized injustice is one which has lost interest in holiness and remains concerned only with a spurious notion of 'order.'"Thomas Merton Bystander , This article doesn't seek to negate this, but to restore a proper balance between "Have life more abundantly" and this.
See that virtually every time you have heard a Christian message in the West it was "Christ died Christ died for your Christ died Christ died Christ died for your" well guess what that only took three days.
You should run screaming from this distortion.
Christ rose, and lives.
There is Life after Salvation. "The fall/redemption spiritual tradition is not nearly as ancient as is the creation~centered one.
The former goes back principally to St.
Augustine (354-430 AD); to Thomas a' Kempis, who said, 'Every time I go into creation I withdraw from God' (?); to Cardinal Bossuet; Cotton Mather; and Father Tanquerry.
The creation~centered tradition traces its roots to the 9th century BC, with the very first author of the Bible, the Yahwist or J source, to the Psalms, to Wisdom Books of the Bible, to much of the Prophets, to Jesus and much of the New Testament, and to the very first Christian theologian in the west, St.
Irenaeus (c. 130-200 AD). ...Luther says, drawing on ancient tradition, that there are three articles of faith: 1)Creation; 2)Redemption; 3)Sanctification.
Yet if we skip over creation--which Protestant and Catholic theology has been doing for four centuries--then is not redemption distorted? And sanctification as well?"Original Blessing, Matthew Fox Ever been quoted to from "Song of Songs"? Why not, we wonder? Trust that God delights in your unique way of producing fruit. , God is our Creator, and we are "to be like gods" (Eph 4:24 et al) Imagine a creating god asking you if you brushed for the full 3 minutes...or pointing out that you shouldn't _____; or condemning you for being _____.
Is there a time and place for that, from a god? Arguably.
Is it a primary place? See that God is not your Accuser.
Is this the Christianity that you are comfortable with? You should be compelled to follow God because you have seen "Life, more abundantly" demonstrated to you.
There are many creation-centered churches that understand "Life, more abundantly," or you can start one yourself or with like minded people.
You'll know "Life, more abundantly" as soon as you see it, if you have been in a death-centric church unawares.
Hence to Dabhar, the Word of God.
We are going to assume for brevity's sake that you would be comfortable with "Word of God" (Hebrew Dabhar) being translated "Creative Energy of God"
even if you are a Western Christian; God's word "does not return to (Him) void," meaning that when God says it, it is going to happen; His word (and yours!) is literally "creative energy." Let's take a look at John 1 through this much more meaningful lens: "In the beginning was the Creative Energy:
The Creative Energy was with God and the Creative Energy was God.
It was with God in the beginning.
Through it all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through it.
All that came to be had life in it and that life was the light of persons, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower...
The Creative Energy was the true light that enlightens all people; and it was coming into the world.
It was in the world that had its being through it, and the world did not know it...
But to all who did accept it it gave power to become children of God...
The Creative Energy was made flesh, it pitched its tent among us, and we saw its glory, the glory that is its as the only Child of the Creator, full of grace and full of truth."John 1:1-5,9,10,12,14 Kinda takes on a whole new meaning, doesn't it? When you can accept this as a Christian Manifesto, where is fall/redemption in this model? "And the world did not know it," that one line, about 3/4 of the way through, and the next, "but to all who did accept it..." This is only a partial illumination of the Hebrew word Dabhar; in Hebrew, the word is also used for law and commandments, so a slightly more complete meaning might be Creative Energy, with Law and Commandments; and then you should probably read several books on it, or none, to begin to grasp Dabhar.Dabhar is where it all happens.
When you are busy Dabharing (which includes quite a bit of work, actually, of the joyful kind...when you get really committed, you're prepared to die), and creatively, joyfully playing in God's creation for you, fall/redemption will assume its proper, undistorted place.
Add Proverbs 8:22-31 "ever at play in His Presence..." Psalms 104:33 "...I mean to play for my God as long as I live." Psalms 47:7 "God is King of the whole world; play your best in His honor!" Even though these might technically refer to the playing of an instrument, they should also be read as alliteration. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." Rom 8:2 All good deeds that are prompted by hope of happiness in the next world cease to be moral." Mahatma Gandhi (We would have preferred a pithy quote from a Western Christian mystic, but they are all quoting Gandhi)Creation is continuous, and never stops -
Step 3: Know that Christ died for your sins.
-
Step 4: Embrace the Biblical concept of Original Blessing.
Detailed Guide
This can be verified on the web, since the following quote from Original Blessing is a bit unclear without some study aids.
These were postulated based on what is now widely viewed as misinterpretation by him. "In Paul's Letter to the Romans he says, 'Therefore, as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all men sinned.' And using a faulty Latin translation which left out the word "death" he translates as follows: 'Through one man sin entered into the world and through sin, death, and thus spread to all men, in whom all have sinned.' (Contra Julianum)" Matthew Fox, Original Blessing It should be clear from this that John did not mean what Augustine said.
You are a sinner when you sin, and not before.
It is well known that the Council of Trent insisted on the doctrine of Original Sin; yet the doctrine of Original Blessing is a far more ancient and Biblical doctrine.
The Council did not deny this (nor could it); nor did they ever say what Original Sin even means.
Understand how this doctrine disagrees with so much of the rest of the Bible; the 'age of accountability'
etc., and see that you are responsible for your sins, and that it isn't possible for a baby to sin.
What does God say? "...the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth." Genesis 8:21 Which may sound like a condemnation to someone unfamiliar with God's condemnation; but the important part of this verse for us at the moment is the from his youth part.
You are not "born a sinner" in the sense that Western Christianity teaches; and it doesn't matter if you are an atheist or have never been in a church, this founding premise has become baked into your assumptions.
An exaggerated doctrine of Original Sin, as used for a starting point for spirituality, plays kindly into the hands of empire builders, slave-masters, etc.
It divides (and therefore conquers), pitting your thoughts against your feelings, your body against your spirit, and your country against the world. "The harm that has been done to souls during the centuries of Christianity, first by the literal interpretation of the story of Adam, and then by the confusion of this myth, treated as history, with later speculations, principally Augustinian, about Original Sin, will never be adequately told."Paul Ricoeur, The Symbolism of Evil This is "dualism"
recognized by sages from Eckhart to Daly as "the sin behind all sin." Separation.
Subject/object relationships. "Pleasure" becomes "sin" with this model.
Leave it to an Accuser to turn pleasure into sin.
An actual (Catholic) test for sin is "did you enjoy it?" The U.S. is currently (still) the dominant world power; the professed theology of the U.S. is Christianity, of the Western stripe.
The 'center' of this theology is 'Original Sin' and 'fall/redemption,' and you may witness the fruit of Western Christian theology simply by turning on the news.
Understand that your 'Christian' leaders are the world's largest arms dealers.
Fall/redemption centricity describes our fascination with skulls.
It's why we like to wear black, v "~always wearing white~" "When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him." Proverbs 16:7 Does this sound like a proper characterization of the U.S.? "Throughout Christian history the conviction that man's birthright is sin has encouraged an unrealistic acceptance of remediable social evils, or even a callousness about human suffering.
It helps to explain the easy acceptance of slavery and serfdom, and a record of religious atrocity unmatched by any other religion."Professor Herbert J.
Muller "A spirituality that preaches resignation under official brutalities, servile acquiescence in frustration and sterility, and total submission to organized injustice is one which has lost interest in holiness and remains concerned only with a spurious notion of 'order.'"Thomas Merton Bystander , This article doesn't seek to negate this, but to restore a proper balance between "Have life more abundantly" and this.
See that virtually every time you have heard a Christian message in the West it was "Christ died Christ died for your Christ died Christ died Christ died for your" well guess what that only took three days.
You should run screaming from this distortion.
Christ rose, and lives.
There is Life after Salvation. "The fall/redemption spiritual tradition is not nearly as ancient as is the creation~centered one.
The former goes back principally to St.
Augustine (354-430 AD); to Thomas a' Kempis, who said, 'Every time I go into creation I withdraw from God' (?); to Cardinal Bossuet; Cotton Mather; and Father Tanquerry.
The creation~centered tradition traces its roots to the 9th century BC, with the very first author of the Bible, the Yahwist or J source, to the Psalms, to Wisdom Books of the Bible, to much of the Prophets, to Jesus and much of the New Testament, and to the very first Christian theologian in the west, St.
Irenaeus (c. 130-200 AD). ...Luther says, drawing on ancient tradition, that there are three articles of faith: 1)Creation; 2)Redemption; 3)Sanctification.
Yet if we skip over creation--which Protestant and Catholic theology has been doing for four centuries--then is not redemption distorted? And sanctification as well?"Original Blessing, Matthew Fox Ever been quoted to from "Song of Songs"? Why not, we wonder? Trust that God delights in your unique way of producing fruit. , God is our Creator, and we are "to be like gods" (Eph 4:24 et al) Imagine a creating god asking you if you brushed for the full 3 minutes...or pointing out that you shouldn't _____; or condemning you for being _____.
Is there a time and place for that, from a god? Arguably.
Is it a primary place? See that God is not your Accuser.
Is this the Christianity that you are comfortable with? You should be compelled to follow God because you have seen "Life, more abundantly" demonstrated to you.
There are many creation-centered churches that understand "Life, more abundantly," or you can start one yourself or with like minded people.
You'll know "Life, more abundantly" as soon as you see it, if you have been in a death-centric church unawares.
Hence to Dabhar, the Word of God.
We are going to assume for brevity's sake that you would be comfortable with "Word of God" (Hebrew Dabhar) being translated "Creative Energy of God"
even if you are a Western Christian; God's word "does not return to (Him) void," meaning that when God says it, it is going to happen; His word (and yours!) is literally "creative energy." Let's take a look at John 1 through this much more meaningful lens: "In the beginning was the Creative Energy:
The Creative Energy was with God and the Creative Energy was God.
It was with God in the beginning.
Through it all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through it.
All that came to be had life in it and that life was the light of persons, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower...
The Creative Energy was the true light that enlightens all people; and it was coming into the world.
It was in the world that had its being through it, and the world did not know it...
But to all who did accept it it gave power to become children of God...
The Creative Energy was made flesh, it pitched its tent among us, and we saw its glory, the glory that is its as the only Child of the Creator, full of grace and full of truth."John 1:1-5,9,10,12,14 Kinda takes on a whole new meaning, doesn't it? When you can accept this as a Christian Manifesto, where is fall/redemption in this model? "And the world did not know it," that one line, about 3/4 of the way through, and the next, "but to all who did accept it..." This is only a partial illumination of the Hebrew word Dabhar; in Hebrew, the word is also used for law and commandments, so a slightly more complete meaning might be Creative Energy, with Law and Commandments; and then you should probably read several books on it, or none, to begin to grasp Dabhar.Dabhar is where it all happens.
When you are busy Dabharing (which includes quite a bit of work, actually, of the joyful kind...when you get really committed, you're prepared to die), and creatively, joyfully playing in God's creation for you, fall/redemption will assume its proper, undistorted place.
Add Proverbs 8:22-31 "ever at play in His Presence..." Psalms 104:33 "...I mean to play for my God as long as I live." Psalms 47:7 "God is King of the whole world; play your best in His honor!" Even though these might technically refer to the playing of an instrument, they should also be read as alliteration. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." Rom 8:2 All good deeds that are prompted by hope of happiness in the next world cease to be moral." Mahatma Gandhi (We would have preferred a pithy quote from a Western Christian mystic, but they are all quoting Gandhi)Creation is continuous, and never stops
About the Author
Janice Hart
Committed to making lifestyle accessible and understandable for everyone.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: