This is the moment in the Bible that I wish we talked about more often. When Eve and Adam eat from the tree, and decay and despair begin to creep in, when they learn to hide from their own bodies, when they learn to hide from each other—no one ever told me the story of a God who kneels and makes clothes out of animal skin for them.

I remember many conversations about the doom and consequence imparted by God after humans ate from that tree. I learned of the curses, too, and could maybe even recite them. But no one ever told me of the tenderness of this moment. It makes me question the tone of everything that surrounds it.

In the garden, when shame had replaced Eve’s and Adam’s dignity, God became a seamstress. He took the skin off of his creation to make something that would allow humans to stand in the presence of their maker and one another again.

Isn’t it strange that God didn’t just tell Adam and Eve to come out of hiding and stop being silly, because he’s the one who made them and has seen every part of them? He doesn’t say that in the story, or at least we do not know if he did. But we do know that God went to great lengths to help them stand unashamed.

Sometimes you can’t talk someone into believing their dignity. You do what you can to make a person feel unashamed of themselves, and you hope in time they’ll believe in their beauty all on their own.

…

People say we are unworthy of salvation. I disagree. Perhaps we are very much worth saving. It seems to me that God is making miracles to free us from the shame that haunts us. Maybe the same hand that made garments for a trembling Adam and Eve is doing everything he can that we might come a little closer. I pray his stitches hold.

Our liberation begins with the irrevocable belief that we are worthy to be liberated, that we are worthy of a life that does not degrade us but honors our whole selves. When you believe in your dignity, or at least someone else does, it becomes more difficult to remain content with the bondage with which you have become so acquainted. You begin to wonder what you were meant for.

Hey there!

For anyone reading this who isn’t sure what Original Sin is, it’s the belief held by many Christian traditions that after Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, all humans after them have been corrupted with sin – you might think of it as sinfulness being passed down in our DNA, so that even newborns are tainted by sin.

This concept was first proposed by Saint Augustine, who developed it from Paul’s statement that “Therefore just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned…” (Romans 5:12). 

I’m with you on pondering whether the traditional concept of original sin is quite right – I still have not discerned for sure what I think on the subject, but I can say that the concept of Original Blessing strikes a much richer chord in my spirit.

“Original blessing reminds us that we are in a relationship with God, and God started it, and God is sticking with it.” The above article is sort of long, so see this post for my favorite quotes from it if you don’t have time for the whole thing. 

I am torn when it comes to this idea of original sin because on the one hand, it is true that all human beings do some or many bad things in their lives – no one but Jesus (and if you believe as I and Catholics do, Mary) has ever lived a sinless life, perfectly in line with God’s will.But on the other hand, do our sins mean we are evil at the core? or are we good at the heart of ourselves, underneath whatever sins we’ve committed (or, says original sin, we are born with)? 

Original sin implies that humans are bad at their core (look up the concept of “total depravity” or “inherent evil”) – but one of God’s first descriptions of human beings was to call us (and all Creation) “very good” (Genesis 1:31). It is as the above article on original blessing says – how can we dare to consider that any human action, such as Adam and Eve eating the fruit, could “undo what God has ordained”? 

Rabbi Avner Zarmi agrees (as Judaism rejects the concept of original sin): “At every stage of the world’s creation, G-d pronounced it tov [good] before proceeding to the next stage. On the creation of mankind, He pronounced it tov me’od (‘very good’), and there is no indication thereafter that He changed his mind.”

Moreover, Genesis does not have any point where it explicitly states that Adam and Eve brought sin into the world with their actions (it does not even say that before “the Fall” they were incapable of sinning, though I do think “then their eyes were opened” in 3:7 can be interpreted as implying that).  

In the end, whether or not original sin is a real thing does not change what God has called us to do: to love God and neighbor, to act with justice and love mercy, to glorify God with our lives. So I think it’s okay to be unsure on the matter – to keep pondering it but not to become too anxious about the answer. We can have faith that whether or not original sin is real, God is with us, God calls us good, God liberates us from sin. 

I also have found for myself that it is better to think of human beings as capable of good, rather than to think of them as inherently evil. When I focus on the former, I am inspired to do good, and I am able to see the good others have done; when I focus on the latter, I tend to become cynical and bitter towards myself and my fellow human beings.

I do believe that all goodness comes from God and so we rely on God for any goodness we can do; but as we are in God’s image, and as God has declared us good, that goodness is inside us, at the heart of us – not evil.

Original Blessing: Putting Sin in its Rightful Place

New Post has been published on https://www.crownofcompassion.org/2020/01/01/original-blessing-original-sin/

Original blessing - original sin

“Before original sin, there was original blessing.  And so life is!  That first blessing sets the tone, sets the table. . . .  It also reveals God’s most ancient instinct.  Blessing is God’s default setting — His first and foremost reflex.  If you don’t believe that, you’ll doubt the goodness of God.”- Mark Batterson

God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply.  Fill the earth and govern it.  Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”- Genesis 1:28 (NLT)

In his Preface (“Ariadne’s Thread”) to Double Blessing, Mark Batterson compares life to a labyrinth.  Thus, we find life full of relational twists and occupational turns we failed to foresee.  Consequently, like Theseus in Greek mythology, we all run into some Minotaurs along the way.

Furthermore, Pastor Batterson observes, just like escaping an ancient labyrinth, we sometimes feel hopeless as we weave our way through difficult seasons of life.  But, just like Theseus using Ariadne’s ball of thread, there’s a way out.  However, to find it, we must backtrack all the way to Genesis – the beginning of human history.  Mark explains:

“God wants to bless you beyond your ability to ask or imagine.  There.  I said it.  And I believe it.  The question is, do you?  The blessing of God is  Ariadne’s thread, and we’ll thread that needle from Genesis to Revelation.  What happened at the very beginning has more to do with your future than you might imagine. . . .  But the blessing of God is more than a mystery to solve.  It’s a decision to make, a habit to form, a mindset to establish.”

Today’s question:  Do you believe, with Pastor Batterson, that God’s original blessing to Adam and Eve sets the tone for your life?  Please share.

It takes special light to make these rocks look so amazing; to show off their true nature, the content of their character, or maybe the character of their contents.

It takes special light to see beyond the surface and the everyday facade presented to all eyes everyday

What special light would it take for us to see each other in the fullness of our unique beauty our unique calling our unique personalities and yet identify our common source?

What special light would let us see past the surface which we so routinely dismiss to recognize depths of joy pain sadness anger or ecstasy  similar to our own; depths of experience similar to our own; woundedness and healing similar to our own... What special light would it take for us to recognize that the same light that illumines our own souls shines on their souls, too; calls us both Beloved; highlights our different gifts; and declares it all good?

Light of the World let us see and be seen with  the Light that was and is life to all living things.