Re: You Are All Selfish & Sinful!
Submitted by Dannyboy on December 15 2000 15:18:31
In reply to You Are All Selfish & Sinful! submitted by Sprite on December 13 2000 02:31:18
|
Now there is an interesting, provocative post that raises all sorts of questions, which it was clearly designed to do, so it deserves a provocative answer. I must say the statement are we sinful and selfish sums up the examination of my own faith that I have been doing recently. I have come to a number of conclusions that fit in with this thread. Firstly lets look at selfish behavior, what is it? It is the traits exhibited by an individual that are innate responses, which have been pre-programmed by evolution to ensure survival of the self. In other words we are buy our very nature self centered and are made that way to look after our own needs. True we are also capable of putting a group or an individual first, but this is also part of our genetic makeup to ensure we can live together as a species. Therefore since selfish or egocentric behavior is innate, how can it be a sin? The problem with main stream Christianity is that it refuses to accept science and what we are starting to understand about the true make up of the human condition. We know for example that the universe started with a big bang and the process of Darwinian Evolution where are brains evolved from primates, who in turn evolved from even lower species. That still doesn't stop me from believing in God, but it gives me a greater insight into the true world and our true nature. Until a lot of Christians come to accept that human nature is what we are supposed to be, in other words we are what we are, then Christianity will continue to be seen as increasingly irrelevant to the educated Western World. It's no use sticking your head in a bucket and hoping that science will go away. I realize who important faith is, but any faith that ignores scientific understanding is doomed. We must seek to understand the faith not in the light of Adam, Eve, the Fall and the Devil, (these are the creations of a primitive people to attempt to explain the world around them) but in terms of evolution and genetics. Until we understand the true nature of consciousness and the human brain, debate will be based on conjecture. However the original question was is selfish behavior a sin? To commit a sin needs a completely free will to exercise choice. If that choice is influenced by genetics, environmental conditioning etc., it is not completely free will and therefore not a sin. My priest often says that people don't want to hear about sin anymore. Quite right we are starting to understand ourselves better. What we need to do is to adopt a more positive message. We should be saying we cannot help what we are, but we are going to try to become better people. Look how many TV evangelists and politicians have preached a holier that thow message, and have been up to goodness knows what behind the sciens. We're just not built that way. Now please don't come and start quoting chapter and verse from the Bible, to me your only quoting a collection of folk tales. If you want to look at an undisputed work of God look at the world around you and look at man. And no, not all the trouble in the world is caused by man, eg. earthquakes, disease, famine, fires, floods, insects, animals killing for food are all part of Gods world. Well I hope that was a provocative enough reply to your posting. I still regard myself as a Christian, I think? Regards Dannyboy |
Follow ups: