Original Blessing
Apr. 7th, 2003 09:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liralenHee.
Jet got to be part of our pastor's sermon on original blessing on Sunday, and it was really funny, afterwards, talking with all the other mothers of young kids. Jet did fantastic. He just marched right on up there, and when Michael asked him if he could pick him up, Jet just looked at him. And when Michael did pick him up, he just calmly looked out over the congregation as Michael's talking about seeing the Original Blessing in every child he's ever picked up and looked in the eye.
I'm glad Jet didn't kick him, start crying, or all the other things he has done to men that have tried to pick him up. Whew.
The other mothers were like, "The moment I heard Michael ask, "Can I pick you up?" I thought... well here we go..." *giggles*
Turns out that the doctrine of Original Sin was started by St. Augustine in the third century, and on top of of that doctrine was built most of the patriarchal and hierarchical views of God, the Church, and spirituality. It is often called the fall/redemption tradition. The fundamental baseline assuming that all people are stained with the original sin of Adam has made it possible for quite a few Western religions leaders to make everyone feel guilty enough, unworthy enough, and bad enough to rule it over them. It's antagonistic towards science in that the study of nature has nothing to do with path towards redemption. It is antagonistic towards women as the cause of the original sin/fall. Best of all, none of it was ever espoused by Jesus himself.
Turns out, that since about ninth century BC, there's a creation-centered tradition within the whole Judeo-Christian religious history, that is pretty much how I think of "my private Christianity". It's so odd to have it come out as an established tradition, with a history, and supporting texts from old and new testament, with a large body of work that's been supported and kept by artists, writers, and women's groups. It has God among and beyond us, not above us, that we are a part of nature and nature is good and should be studied, learned from, and taken care of. That there's is this huge tradition, not of wallowing ones sins, but in celebrating ones blessings and going out and DOING good or at least doing ones best to make everything for everyone better, not just looking for redemption for oneself.
The latter tradition was nearly obliterated. It's only recently that it's been brought more to light, and is being celebrated by more and more churches in the world.
And I thought that it was 'just me'... that felt that the whole Church felt skizoid. That there was this huge break between all the churches I feared (fundamentalists and all) and the churches that I've been in that I loved. It was like getting hit by lightening to find out that there really IS this fundamental break. That, yes, my understandings of the teachings of that carpenter really *do* lean more towards the creation-centered tradition for a reason. He'd never even heard of the fall/redemption model.
There's a book called "Original Blessing" by Matthew Fox that has this whole thing in there. Along with all the supporting texts for the Creation tradition.
Jet got to be part of our pastor's sermon on original blessing on Sunday, and it was really funny, afterwards, talking with all the other mothers of young kids. Jet did fantastic. He just marched right on up there, and when Michael asked him if he could pick him up, Jet just looked at him. And when Michael did pick him up, he just calmly looked out over the congregation as Michael's talking about seeing the Original Blessing in every child he's ever picked up and looked in the eye.
I'm glad Jet didn't kick him, start crying, or all the other things he has done to men that have tried to pick him up. Whew.
The other mothers were like, "The moment I heard Michael ask, "Can I pick you up?" I thought... well here we go..." *giggles*
Turns out that the doctrine of Original Sin was started by St. Augustine in the third century, and on top of of that doctrine was built most of the patriarchal and hierarchical views of God, the Church, and spirituality. It is often called the fall/redemption tradition. The fundamental baseline assuming that all people are stained with the original sin of Adam has made it possible for quite a few Western religions leaders to make everyone feel guilty enough, unworthy enough, and bad enough to rule it over them. It's antagonistic towards science in that the study of nature has nothing to do with path towards redemption. It is antagonistic towards women as the cause of the original sin/fall. Best of all, none of it was ever espoused by Jesus himself.
Turns out, that since about ninth century BC, there's a creation-centered tradition within the whole Judeo-Christian religious history, that is pretty much how I think of "my private Christianity". It's so odd to have it come out as an established tradition, with a history, and supporting texts from old and new testament, with a large body of work that's been supported and kept by artists, writers, and women's groups. It has God among and beyond us, not above us, that we are a part of nature and nature is good and should be studied, learned from, and taken care of. That there's is this huge tradition, not of wallowing ones sins, but in celebrating ones blessings and going out and DOING good or at least doing ones best to make everything for everyone better, not just looking for redemption for oneself.
The latter tradition was nearly obliterated. It's only recently that it's been brought more to light, and is being celebrated by more and more churches in the world.
And I thought that it was 'just me'... that felt that the whole Church felt skizoid. That there was this huge break between all the churches I feared (fundamentalists and all) and the churches that I've been in that I loved. It was like getting hit by lightening to find out that there really IS this fundamental break. That, yes, my understandings of the teachings of that carpenter really *do* lean more towards the creation-centered tradition for a reason. He'd never even heard of the fall/redemption model.
There's a book called "Original Blessing" by Matthew Fox that has this whole thing in there. Along with all the supporting texts for the Creation tradition.
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no subject
Date: 2003-04-07 11:31 am (UTC)He'd also be crucified by the Religious Right as a left leaning liberal nutcase. Which I find greatly ironic.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-07 07:43 pm (UTC)Theodore Sturgeon wrote this book called _Godbody_, which is a 'modern day' interpretation of the whole Christ story. I love the book, as much because all seven voices are distinct as much as for the stories themselves, and, yeah, the institutions kill him off in their own way.
It really crystalized my dislike of the *institutions* of religion, though the original ideas behind the religion really called to me. But I also realize that it's probably also that way with Buddhism, Taoism, and Islam as well. The basic ideas have wisdom in them, it's what people do with them that confuse me.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-08 09:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-07 02:53 pm (UTC)And yay Jet for keeping his cool in public performance!
no subject
Date: 2003-04-07 07:39 pm (UTC)Yay, Jet! It was very cool that Jet wasn't scared, at all. Yay!
no subject
Date: 2003-04-08 04:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-11 04:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-10 11:18 pm (UTC)The biggest thing about the fall and redemption idea is that it makes *everything* about *one* thing... this redemption, however it comes about. And that doctrine of original sin, that points everything towards the need for a very specific redemption, and not a more generalized one.
So, conversion becomes the primary, and only, good, in a lot of churches, and everything else is secondary.
Anyway... I think I may have to look up that "original blessing". It definitely sounds like good stuff.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-11 04:26 pm (UTC)