(this is a 2-parter ... sorry, too tired to edit right now)
My approach to the Fall is that we have missed the point, and misunderstood the story,
entirely. I believe that as an
allegory, it
is meant to help us understand something about our origins, about our relationship with
God (or the Creator), and about how Humanity came to exist in its present form ... as
different or distinct from the original conditions of our being.
But to tack on the concept of
`original sin' - and thereby effectively "stamp" each of us as an individual with the burden of being
`fallen from grace' ... is where I think theology has commited a grave error and done us all a disservice. I'm not interested in pointing fingers, but I
do think it's worth getting the story straight.
I had started a post while ago that I've accidentally deleted, but I'll summarize by saying that I have both an
opinion on the matter about Satan - and
Liberal Christianity - as well as a
belief,
or an understanding, and these two happen to differ. Here's what I mean:
My
opinion is that we should be free to entertain the idea that Satan, as such,
does not exist ... and actually, this is basically true, as best I understand various Teachings. To externalize our own weaknesses, imperfections and vices, or what I've even seen some Christians call our
"sin nature," is where I think we go wrong. It's when we try to evade or shirk responsibility for our actions, and hang them on someone else's neck. This
scapegoating (funny how GOAT is even a part of that very word -
an interesting etymology, if one looks it up) is what leads to the confounding of evil with a Satan-figure, and allows us to
dissociate ourselves from the unsavory aspects
of our own being(s). And it is unfortunate, and wrong.
So as
Liberal Christians, I think it makes all the sense in the world, and is at least
closer to the truth of things, to take the approach that you have mentioned, Caimanson, and which you have seconded, Learner, in saying that
evil is our own self-centeredness, it is when
we put our OWN self first, before the good of others and of the group, or the whole. This returns us to the concept of
Responsibility for our own actions ... and I think this is as Christ would have it, for it is what He taught!
Certainly Christ
did not tell us that we could say a few Hail Marys, or enter into prayer, apologize, and
dump the burden of karma - or Responsibility - upon His, God's, or anyone else's shoulders,
simply because we feel guilty, or even because we
have come to know, understand and recognize at heart that what we have done is wrong. However, to realize the latter,
is to learn some of the very lessons for which we are here, and this is where, and when, I think karma is
adjusted accordingly ... but not because we have
groveled properly, or happened to recite the name of God-Jesus in a way that is soothing to His ears -
- but rather,
automatically. And that's just a wee bit difficult for some folks to consider, I'm afraid, because the idea of a God that can be
that far ahead of the game is just ... well,
foreign.
But anyway, I see all this as a good measure more enlightened than what we encounter on a day to day basis, and what, unfortunately, still seems to prevail in many circles. And yet, something I've just come to accept, as unsettling as it happens to be, is the idea that indeed, a rather advanced being of
Angelic nature, did descend from Heaven into lower realms of this planet. I understand this as something that came about
exactly as Humanity's
own descent did -
in direct response to, or compliance with, God's Plan, or instruction.
And the parallel, sadly, is that Humanity is not altogether
unlike Lucifer, in that both - having descended (and this was
NOT the sin, for this was God's command, and intent) - have not yet
Ascended, or returned to God. Now on the one hand, there is Humanity, and though we may have delayed our gradual ascent somewhat, erring here and stumbling there, we remain largely
innocent, or blameless, in terms of outright
evil, or intentional straying from the Path. This is because
we have never even attained to the Spiritual awareness and level of enlightenment of Lucifer (or similar beings - all lumped together with the label `
Angels' in Christianity).
And even Lucifer, although this presence
does now work in direct opposition to Christ and to God's Plan ... even Lucifer
cannot and should not be scapegoated with Humanity's negative karma. I hope there is not objection to the use of this word, since I'm not appealing to Eastern religions (although,
why not?), but simply pointing out that as a planet, and as
collective Humanity, just as individuals, we
do maintain the burden of Responsibility when it comes to our actions -
whether we know it or not, and
also whether or not we happen to believe it!
The same is true of Lucifer, and of those who collaborate in oposing God's Plan, and at present,
I personally believe that
incredible Powers for Peace, for Enlightnement and for Spiritual Good are cooperating to
"seal the door" against evil upon planet Earth. Christ is essentially the spearhead of this effort, being more outwardly active than at any time for 2000 years, and but a few short years from His
Return or Reappearance.
I know, I know, I'm rolling my
own eyes, but I have no interest in wearing a sandwich sign on the corner, I just think that soon enough we'll all be able to simply
nod, because this will be even
more obvious than it is, or
should be, NOW.
So even if we do acknowledge the lodge of the dark forces, or
those who openly oppose Christ and the Powers of Good, can we
blame them for all evil, for the origins of evil upon this planet, and/or for Humanity's own burden of karma? As to the latter,
absolutely not. As for
all evil, still, I don't think so - and
certainly not in terms of the origin of evil on a cosmic scale, or as a principle in Creation that actively opposes Good. In this, I am in total agreement with what's already been said. We need to consider looking at it a bit more as the Taoists do, and realize that
Good/Evil are the yin and yang of manifestation - they are just two sides of the same coin. And NO, you really
can't have one without the other.
But this doesn't eliminate ethics, or Responsibilty for all action. Not hardly. It just means that while we're
incarnate in the worlds of form, in human bodies, upon
this planet, there are certain
conditions which we cannot escape - because this is
just the nature of things, this is
how things are ...
in the world. And the Buddha pointed this out quite clearly in the Four Noble Truths. Should not a good
liberal Christian be open to the Wisdom found within this viewpoint, in the mindset of followers of Eastern religion, and in fact, within
all the world's other relgions?
Yes, I think, while preferring the example of Christ Jesus, and
while still actively resisting evil (getting back to the point), and while laboring selflessly
and Joyously for the sake of GOOD. We can acknowledge and even oppose evil, yet go about doing Good
without having to maintain a heavy heart, or a troubled conscience (or consciousness). Unfortunatley, I'll have to admit that after learning various things, here & there, about
what we're up against, I've often lost hope, shed tears, and
sometimes felt a good bit like throwing in the towel.
But that's not owing to the efforts, much less to the successes, of the dark forces - at least not
fundamentally, or by & large. The largest burden of responsibility - the
cause - for us getting into the mess we're in,
is US. It's just ignorance, and at this point, a refusal to TAKE responsibility - for ourselves, our own actions, and for the well-being of each other & of the planet, speaking collectively. Lucifer might have found the chink in the armor, and
exploited our weakness, helping fuel the fires of hate and of self-destruction,
but he did not originate them, or
bring them from without.
My studies have suggested that evil, as we know it, came to the planet Earth during
Atlantean times, and this immediately makes it a difficult problem and one hard of study, since a lot of people still chuckle, and don't even acknowledge this period of our history. I think it's the ostrich-head-in-the-sand syndrome. Kind of like,
out of sight, out of mind.
But in short, we had a much closer-knit society about a million years ago (and prior), with a Priesthood which
KNEW our Divine Guides and Spiritual Instructors, since these walked OPENLY among us. The populace, as awhole, therefore
also knew them. But Humanity wasn't nearly as intellectually advanced, science as we know it,
did not exist. And the masses
did look to the priesthood for guidance, for the most part, because these were the only folks who were really prepared to receive the Spiritual Teachings in an advanced form. The story is a familiar one. It's about temptation and the abuse of power, the exaltation of the
lesser self above the Divine Principle - which is a failure to allow God (and the God within), to uplift and guide our outward actions (and thoughts, desires and motivations).
So a wedge was driven between the priesthood and the Teachers, while the former asserted their (lesser, material) power ... and a terrible abuse of all the forms and powers of Nature occurred. We began to openly exploit the gifts of our
Angelic Brethren who were at that time visible, and interacted with us directly. After the catastrophes, the door was sealed to further interaction, save in the spiritual worlds, and in cases of rare and exceptional purity. And so it has remained.
We all know the tales, of catastrophes occurring by means of
flood - this being Humanity's
own karma ... and no
wrath of an angry god. What a terrible, ugly perversion of the facts - to allow such distortion to color our understanding. `Angry god' - two words that have
NEVER belonged together, for the one immediately destroys and poisons the other ... yet seeing the powers of nature, and our inability to totally shield ourselves from them, can we blame a primitive people for the error? Perhaps not.
The floods must have been
horrible, frightening beyond all imagining, yet this was our doing,
not God's. And Plato gives the account of the
final sinking, in 9564BC, of the island of
Poseidonis - which was the REMNANT of this former state of Humanity. Evil, as we know it, by this time was
well-integrated into our body collective, and was by this point just a factor to be weighed, in the life of the individual.
Other accounts trace the inception of evil a bit further back, to the time when
giants (nephilim, gibburim) walked the earth - surely a prehistoric era, though one which contemporary science cannot yet fathom. Biblical accounts tell us
plainly that our stature was much, much larger, and that essentially we were animal-men, not
nearly in possession of the faculties we have today. So in greatest measure, it is understandable that we made a rather unfortunate mistake, and
"bred with huge, she-animals" - which gave rise to the anthropoid ape, or its ancestors. We basically let our sexual instinct,
bestiality in the truest sense ... take over. And this
did derail our spiritual - and material - evolution, temporarily. It can be said to be the origin of evil in one sense, though
nowhere nearly as blameworthy or culpable as the violations during Atlantis.
But
none of this really answers the deeper question, and I know that. We ask the question,
Why do bad things happen to good people, and this can be approached and answered in two ways. My belief is that one CAN walk the spiritual path of a Liberal Christian with an understanding of rebrith and of karma. Knowing that this is simply
God's Plan, and
how God has ordered the Heavens and the Earth (meaning EVERY planet, and every system within Cosmos) ... has perhaps been something that has cleared up more confusion, removed more doubt, and answered more questions - such as this one, and others - than anything else in my learning. But it doesn't address an even deeper, more philosophical question.
Why does evil, as such, even exist at all - to begin with? Or to phrase it in a more Christian format:
Why did God create Evil? And you see, it does not good to try and say,
ahh, but He didn't! That was Lucifer, and
the Fall - of the angels. This,
even if it were true, is a bit absurd, when we consider the notion of Deity as
all-knowing & all-wise, not to mention the teaching that Angels do
not have
`Free Will,' as such. How, if there was no free will, could a being
choose to rebel IN ANY FORM OR FASHION? You have obviously
not really considered this question deeply enough, if you can come up with an answer!
Logic alone is enough, here. In short,
ONLY if God has
at some level, and in some way, WILLED IT - could evil come about.
And so, I'm not sure if one can see things this way and still say, "I'm a liberal Christan" or not - so I'm curious to know if what I'm about to say tramples too much on our beliefs about God ... or if it's tenable. It's the Gospel Truth, as I understand and believe it - but that's beside the point.
Does it work for folks? That's what matters!
The only way that
evil could come into being, is if God willed it, and
therefore, God
has willed evil, in this world and in others, yet I would submit that it is not quite in the way you might think. To WILL something, on the level of a conscious, intentional choice - is not quite (or at all) what I mean. Rather, I'm saying that
God MADE THE CHOICE (and at least we're in the realm of the
possible here, folks) - to
descend to such a level ... that
the basic duality at hand - that between good & evil, yin & yang, positive & negative -
COULD come about.
(continued)
