“But don’t you believe that Jesus came to take on our sin? The original sin of Adam and Eve?” I was starting to feel badly about how exasperated these two guys were becoming; they were obviously faithful, devout, and moral young men. They, like so many before and now and in the future, have been indoctrinated with these beliefs. In spite of their opinions about some groups of people, I don’t think they will be judged harshly by God. What I do hope is that I was making some small dents in their theological armor, and that those dents would deepen into fissures that would lead them away from their harsh judgmentalism towards a love-centered practice of faith. I am, ultimately, an optimist; I believe that anyone can change.
“No”, I told them, “Original sin came about many centuries after Jesus lived. I have a difficult time believing that God would curse all of future humanity over their choice to eat food that would give them the knowledge of good and evil.” My theology has evolved over the years, and I think this has been for the better. Most of the stories in Scripture are not fact – they are faith. I can imagine a child asking why life is so hard. After witnessing the struggle the adults had with farming, or the pain mothers had in giving birth, a precocious child might wonder why these things happen. “Well, dear” their parents might answer, “God created humans to take care of the garden, but they disobeyed God, so they were kicked out of the beautiful place of their birth into a cold, cruel world.” Something like that.
I don’t believe that God is cruel. I don’t believe that God murders millions of people on purpose – that would make it hard to believe that God is pro-life, much less loving. I don’t believe that God agrees with governments who murder or take food away from children or persecute undocumented workers. I think that people love to secure their rightness by blaming God for their actions. I think that Jesus wept more than once, and that He continues to weep over our idiotic behavior. Original sin is a false theology. Jesus didn’t have to come to earth to wipe it out because it doesn’t exist. God’s love is bigger that our meager attempts to explain things we don’t understand. Let’s just stick to Jesus’ closing words in John; “I command you to love one another, just as I have loved you.” That should keep us busy enough so we don’t have to worry about the rest of it too much.
Prayer – Holy God, continue to teach us how to love. That’s should keep us busy. Amen.
Today’s art is “Adam and Eve” by Marlina Vera.