The first of five basic principles of Unity states, “God is the source and creator of all. There is no other enduring power. God is good and present everywhere.” One of the often quoted statements of many within the movement is, “It’s all good.” This reflects the above principle. If God is good and present everywhere, then the likely deduction is to name everything good. However, that can certainly be a challenge if we ever turn on the evening news. Murder, war, mass destruction. Good? These certainty don’t seem to fit my personal concept of the word “good.”
After this past week’s discussions in Theology class, it is apparent that the concept of sin is one of religion’s main quandaries. Each has it’s own take on the nature of human kind, the nature of sin, the reason for apparent evil and injustice in the world. It would seem that the definition of the nature of sin is related to one’s beliefs about the nature of God. (Here we go back to the lenses thing again.) I’d like to present one possible perspective.
How can that which is not good exist within All Good? Eric Butterworth, a Unity minister and prolific Unity writer wrote, “Sin is when a man, a spiritual being and creative expression of Divine Mind, is unaware of his divinity and acts at the level of his humanity” (Discover the Power Within You. p. 147) An often quoted saying sums this seeming dichotomy up, “We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” In this definition of sin, sin or error, is at the level of humanity alone. Sin and suffering are only human experiences. They are not Divine experiences. In this context, God “All Good” is not these things, nor does God know of them, just as light can never know darkness. Where ever the light goes the darkness disappears.
Christians may perceive of the teachings of Jesus Christ as a light for humanity. Jesus taught agape, reconciling, forgiving love. Perhaps the Divine Light expressed through Jesus is one way to see through the darkness otherwise known as sin. Darkness has no reality once we recognize the Divine Light within ourselves. Perhaps the Beatles said it best, “All you need is love.”
October 31, 2013
Jen, this is a nice summary for a complicated matter, sin. I appreciate the reference to “apparent evil and injustice in the world.” Thank you for reminding us that appearances in the world are not the Truth of us.
November 2, 2013
I applaud you for tackling a tough topic. What is sin and the appearance of evil in the world, have been quandaries humanity has struggled with for ages. Each time we view humanity’s inhumane treatment of any sentient being it brings the question to mind. Where is God and why are the atrocities being allowed? There is some comfort in the understanding of sin being the absence of man’s awareness of the divinity within. Therefore, the acted out atrocities which seem to be evil are coming from a place of separation from God/good. It still hurts to see man’s descent from the Divine. Yet, we can each choose to be the light which reduces the darkness in the world.
November 2, 2013
Thanks for sharing Jen. Jesus told us, that with God, all things are possible. This means both good and bad. While God is Truth, Absolute, whole, all good, all love and can never change, It pretends it can. It empties itself willfully in order to pretend that it is separate and incarnates into this physical realm leaving behind all Its Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence. It leaves behind all but just a spark of memory in order to play this wonderful game we call life. At an appointed time, we each lay down this role we play and awaken again to the Truth that we are. We have never been separate. There has never been anything but the One and that One is Love.
November 2, 2013
Thank you all for your thoughtful and thought provoking comments. I appreciate the elaboration on a topic which is difficult to cover in a short blog post.
November 4, 2013
I like your gentle approach to the topic of sin. It’s too bad we have to grapple with what it means. Wouldn’t it be nice if we just didn’t have it at all. Unfortunately, that is not the case and we do have to grapple with the issue of sin. I believe it begins in our thoughts, when we feel separated from God or Source.