That should be
Christianity, in the title, and understand this was pitched for a secular market. A useful resource for leading the cynical.
This appears on the Eschatology page, but suddenly seems to have more relevance. Rediscovering
mythology in a spirit~filled way comes to mind. May this show you a deeper knowing of
Standing on the Rock.
How did we get from "I came that you might have life, and more abundantly" to "I can't wait to die, and 'go to heaven'?"
With a brief illumination of the
Dabhar of God
The concept of Original Sin and the fall/redemption model are primary in Western Christianity (born a sinner); yet they are unknown to Judaism and Eastern Christianity. This is strong language; to call a doctrine 'alien' that Christians believe they found in Jewish Scriptures. But today, Biblical scholars who are themselves Christian agree that original sin is not found in the Bible.
"The doctrine of original sin is not found in any of the writings of the Old Testament. It is certainly not in chapters one to three of Genesis." Herbert Haag, former president of the Catholic Bible Association of Germany, Is Original Sin in Scripture?; "Most Orthodox theologians reject the idea of 'original guilt'...Men automatically inherit Adam's corruption and mortality, but not his guilt." Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church (Middlesex, England 1963);
This was postulated by Augustine, who went on to become the first archbishop of Canterbury, by way of what is now recognized even by many Western Theologians as being fatally flawed, and the result of mis-interpretation; and elevated to dogma by the Council of Trent, despite being a minor in Augustine's theology.
This is responsible for Western Christianity's 'death-centered', rather than life-centered approach to salvation, and is where much if not all of the responsibility for our current situation can be laid. You were born into a flawed, sinful world, but your creation was a blessing.
Fall/redemption displaces your center in time--creation was twenty billion (or six thousand) years ago, redemption was a couple thousand years ago, along with Christ, who is "returning someday", Heaven is "someday"--we are encouraged to escape now in a thousand different ways; drugs, food, shopping, ipods.
Rapture. It sets up many dualities, chiefly that you are somehow separated from Heaven. Heaven, for most of us, is a magical place, somewhere else, that you'll get to someday, ignoring "the kingdom of Heaven among you." See what has been stolen from us! It even makes all of this religious, instead of spiritual.
If the world is 20 billion years old, then Original Creation precedes the concept of Original Sin by something like 19.996 billion years; yet it has been virtually absent in Western Christianity for at least the past 400 years.
We'll take a look at how this came about, and examine the Biblical concept of Divine Creation, which far outweighs the concept of fall/redemption in the Bible.
"The concept of original sin is alien to Jewish tradition." Elie Wiesel
Unfortunately for you, this theology now forms the bedrock of WChristian society, and, this is like an apology on the back page...
http://www.wikihow.com/Recognize-the...ristian-Models
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