Forgiveness: What Is Sin? Post #5

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11422779.post-1125508245246032932005-08-31T12:35:00.000-04:002005-08-31T13:10:45.283-04:00Forgiveness: What Is Sin? Post #5The last two posts received a number of comments with ideas on what’s involved with the process of coming to forgive someone. People may want to read each others' comments for this. Although there are exceptions, and some of you have reservations, there was more agreement than I anticipated around the idea that wrongdoing may be more a matter of “not knowing what we do” than fully conscious choice. Illustration: A way in which not knowing what we do may be understood is illustrated by this exchange between Crystal and I: First, I suggested that it might be possible for a person to have rational clarity about the consequences of his or her actions, yet remain profoundly ignorant - of inner meanings, of spiritual consequences. Crystal responded by amplifying further on the passage from scripture: "Yes, I think I see what you mean. Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he said 'they know not what they do' ... they knew they were executing someone, maybe even felt it was murder. But they probably discounted any spiritual consequences of that act. " Explanation: This might fit nicely with Michael’s thought: "Going back to… this issue about sin, whether or not it is the 'conscious choice' or 'not knowing what we do…' {It could be} that sin isn't one or the other or even a mix of the two, but entirely both at the same time." So at the level of rational understanding, offenders may be said to know the consequences of their actions, and in that sense they choose them. But on a deeper level, their awareness and their feeling for the consequentiality of their actions, both to themselves and others, may be quite limited - or even, and I think here of sociopaths, entirely absent. If, for example, one entirely or mostly lacks the knowledge and experience of compassion, and then murders someone pleading for his or her life, it seems to me that the sense in which the action is chosen is limited. And to me, this point of view does make it easier to forgive. Sin and Institutional Religion: The Church, as far as I’ve experienced it, traditionally takes the view that sin is tantamount to turning away from God with full and deliberate consciousness. In fact, I was personally warned not long ago by a conservative Christian, in a manner that he imagined was subtle, that I am going to hell unless I “choose” to parrot his line, “I accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.” It was clear that he just wanted me to repeat the words - he wasn't interested at all in discussing their meaning. I’ve also known some Muslims to similarly hint that not “choosing” to acknowledge Mohammed as the Seal of the Prophets and the Koran as God’s final revelation will has dire consequences. And yet, “Forgive them Lord, for they know not what they do,” seems to me to offer us an alternative understanding of sin as deep ignorance, and one which is consistent at least with Christian scripture – I am less familiar with the Koran, so someone may be able to help us here. As for me, I don’t believe in parroting lines for anyone. Even if I repeated a line to make someone happy, which I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t really agree unless I knew exactly what was meant by each word of the statement. And it isn't because I'm the "free-thinker" that my conservative Christian accuser thinks I am. It's because truthfulness is basic to my approach to God. I obey that inclination. Call it part of my religion. As far as I know, I don’t choose this. It’s who I am. So if I’m wrong here, then I am deeply ignorant indeed.Paulnoreply@blogger.com