If the solution to sin can be seen in its positive light, (which I attempted to descibe in my previous post on the subject) instead of leaving one feeling “I failed,” it could be rather “it’s okay, I can pick myself up, learn and move ahead.”

So why do we need a guilt-laden notion like “sin” to get to the “It’s okay, I’ll pick up the pieces” mentality? We can get to the same point with, for instance, the Buddhist idea of suffering. A helpful comparison might be sin and karma. With sin (in the Christian conception at least), when you do a misdeed, it is a finite wrong committed against an infinite God, and your infinite guilt therefore merits infinite punishment. With karma, a misdeed comes rebounding back to you in due proportion and you can rest easy knowing that it as least possible to even the score and settle the cosmic debt. There’s no such possibility in the traditional notion of sin, as near as I can tell.

You can have ethics without morals, IMO. In my understanding of those terms, a morality is a system of laws, imposed from without, to govern behavior; the individual reacts to those laws reflexively and often with tons of negative emotion. Ethics, on the other hand, to me means a philosophical perspective on values, and therefore offers the possibility of engaging creatively with those values and holding them under scrutiny. It seems like a much more mindful way to work with values in that it allows the possibility of negotiating a compromise (or not) between one’s core values and the values of the world.

[quote]It is possible to refuse something offered for the sake of something expected. [/quote]
http://lorenrosson.blogspot.com/2006/01/perelandra-i-ransom-and-lady.html

We might expect some future and make our decisions now based on that expectation, but this already makes the presumption that we are adequately prepared to make projections about the future to any reasonable degree at all. I take it as a principle (hard to enact!) that we cannot predict the future to a useful degree, which seems to correpsond to this conception of sin. We reject what is continually presented to us by Nature and attempt to turn her towards whatever other thing we envision.

This characterization is not incompatible with neoplatonic conceptions of sin, either, which are more ‘mystic’ or naturalistic, the wandering self becomes lost and diffused in the maze of sense.

There is a clear analogy to ‘post apocalypse’ scenario-eering, too, the question of whether it is ok to sacrifice lives now to save more in the future is an example of this same pattern of thinking. We (including experts) simply cannot be trusted to make that assessment.

What exactly are the “hearts’ desires” and animalistic impulses are we talking about here? (sex? erection taboos?) How is it an “insoluble cognitive dissonance” to reconcile an apparent spiritual/physical paradox? And is it only religious judeo-christian mores we are examining, or couldn’t we broaden the arguement and ascribe the equivalent concerns to the mundane concept of “law,” and law-abiding?

So it would seem that part of the solution of overcoming these things is to learn how to resurrect the paradoxes that underly our lives into the light of conscious awareness and untie ourselves from the knots which keep us inside of restriction social institutions.

Perhaps first it’s those social institutions which we need to set aside, and seek out where the concept originates. I guess it’s god.

The judaic 10 commandments are commonly & incorrectly seen as the “thou shalt nots” but really there are some please do’s in there. All meaning to preserve and build relationships from the Most High level, down to the family and society.

Jesus’s 2 positve commandments, simply to Love, is the revolutionary ideal. Never understood in such away prior, Love still has a hard time getting anywhere today. Even despite Hallmark’s bets intentions ….

If the solution to sin can be seen in its positive light, (which I attempted to descibe in my previous post on the subject) instead of leaving one feeling “I failed,” it could be rather “it’s okay, I can pick myself up, learn and move ahead.” Underlying this is having the freedom to choose and accepting a loving heavenly helping hand, removed from license or legal constriction.

If that doen’t make sense, then quibble away.