It’s a subject that’s always been dear to my heart and confounding to my mind. Lawrence Raab, the New England poet about my age says it so well I’d like to dive into this ubiquitous subject with his words:
That was one idea my mother
always disliked. She preferred her god
to be reasonable, like Emerson or Thoreau
without their stranger moments.
Even the Old Testament God’s
sudden angers and twisted ways
of getting what he wanted she’d accept
as metaphors. But original sin
was different. Plus no one agreed
about whether it was personal, meaning
all Adam’s fault, or else some kind
of temporary absence of the holy,
which was Adam’s fault as well.
In any case, it made no sense
that we’d need to be saved before
we’d even had the chance
to be wrong. Yes, eventually everyone
falls into error, but when my sister and I
were babies she could see we were perfect,
as we opened our eyes and gazed up at her
with what she took for granted as love,
long before either of us knew the word
and what damage it could cause.
always disliked. She preferred her god
to be reasonable, like Emerson or Thoreau
without their stranger moments.
Even the Old Testament God’s
sudden angers and twisted ways
of getting what he wanted she’d accept
as metaphors. But original sin
was different. Plus no one agreed
about whether it was personal, meaning
all Adam’s fault, or else some kind
of temporary absence of the holy,
which was Adam’s fault as well.
In any case, it made no sense
that we’d need to be saved before
we’d even had the chance
to be wrong. Yes, eventually everyone
falls into error, but when my sister and I
were babies she could see we were perfect,
as we opened our eyes and gazed up at her
with what she took for granted as love,
long before either of us knew the word
and what damage it could cause.
During my many ages of innocence, I was often perplexed by how sin became so original from the outset of creation. When I was at some pre-cognizant stage of development, Mamaw, my dear grandmother, carefully taught me the Children’s Westminster Catechism. Even though you might have no earthly idea of being conscious of such questions, they seemed to be important to adults at the time for a kid like me to learn them “by heart”.
While the first group of questions came with nifty answers about the nature of God, Question 28 asks point blank What is sin? The answer, of course, was Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of the law of God. Question 35 wants to know What effect had the sin of Adam on all mankind? The less-than-obvious answer was All mankind are born in a state of sin and misery. [or as Adam exclaimed after eating the apple: I’ll be damned!] And for the bonus, this leads immediately to Question 36 What is the sinful nature which we inherit from Adam called? Original Sin.
Over my many miles as a pastoral pilgrim, this old notion had a hard time cutting muster with me. Even after studying the scriptures and enough books to become a resident theologian and minister, my experiences in life and work would not confirm any of this. Maybe it’s my naivete of believing with Ann Frank: I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.
This doctrine has led the downfall of many a good man, and I, O Lord, am just one who wonders why we have to start off in the red, like owing my soul to the company store [to quote Tennessee Ernie]. What if we were all born even and didn’t have to spend our time and energy getting out of disgrace? What if goodness rather than sin’s curse were a pre-existing condition? For these and many other questions with scant answers, stay tuned.
[To be continued]