Tag Archives: Sin
The Inevitable Spiral of Violence
Nonviolence The Inevitable Spiral of Violence Tuesday, September 19, 2017 Dom Hélder Câmara (1909-1999) was a Brazilian archbishop and brilliant nonviolent activist who offered a model for understanding how structural injustice leads to greater violence. [1] I overlay Dom Hélder’s teaching on the “spiral of violence” with traditional Catholic moral teaching which saw the three Read More »
Two Kinds of Darkness
Hope in the Darkness Two Kinds of Darkness Tuesday, September 5, 2017 Darkness is a good and necessary teacher. It is not to be avoided, denied, run from, or explained away. First, like Ezekiel the prophet, we must eat the scroll that is “lamentation, wailing, and moaning” in our belly, and only eventually becomes sweet Read More »
Admitting Our Wrongdoing
Forgiveness Admitting Our Wrongdoing Tuesday, August 29, 2017 Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. —Step 5 of the Twelve Steps When we human beings “admit” to one another “the exact nature of our wrongs,” we invariably have a human and humanizing encounter that deeply enriches Read More »
Sin: Symptom of Separation: Weekly Summary
Sin: Symptom of Separation Summary: Sunday, August 20-Friday, August 25, 2017 The great illusion that we must all overcome is that of separateness. Religion’s primary task is to communicate union, to reconnect people to their original identity “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). (Sunday) It is not that if I am moral, then I Read More »
Love and Mercy
Sin: Symptom of Separation Love and Mercy Friday, August 25, 2017 The law was given to multiply our opportunities for falling. —Romans 5:20 The pattern of necessary falling or the “myth of transgression” made less and less sense to Western Christianity as it came to think that religion’s purpose was to teach and maintain social Read More »
The Myth of Transgression
Sin: Symptom of Separation The Myth of Transgression Thursday, August 24, 2017 First the fall, and then the recovery from the fall, and both are the mercy of God. —Julian of Norwich (c. 1343–c. 1416) [1] It is in falling down that we learn almost everything that matters spiritually. As many of the parables seem Read More »
Leaving the Garden
Sin: Symptom of Separation Leaving the Garden Wednesday, August 23, 2017 Now let’s look at “The Fall,” as we usually refer to the pivotal event described in Genesis 3. The Fall is not simply something that happened in one historical moment to one archetypal couple, Adam and Eve. It happens in all moments and lives. Read More »
Mixed Blessings
Sin: Symptom of Separation Mixed Blessings Tuesday, August 22, 2017 The humiliation that you and I carry and that most people refuse to accept is that we humans are a mass of contradictions. We are first of all a blessing, but everyone knows we are also a mixed blessing. Some called this quality of human Read More »
Being Your True Self
Sin: Symptom of Separation Being Your True Self Monday, August 21, 2017 It would be absurd to suggest that someone go into a room she is already in! —Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) [1] “Sin” primarily describes a state of living outside of union, when the part poses as the Whole. It’s the loss of any Read More »
Hidden with Christ in God
Sin: Symptom of Separation Hidden with Christ in God Sunday, August 20, 2017 The Judeo-Christian creation story says that we were created in the very “image and likeness” of God: “Let us create humanity in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves” (Genesis 1:26). The true human identity must build on this foundational goodness, Read More »
