sin, judgment, punishment, and redemption

[schoolboi]

The concepts of sin, judgment, punishment, and redemption seem to keep coming up on various threads on the board. Often the discussion of these topics seems to take over the other treads original topic. I am creating this thread in hopes of focusing the conversation regarding these concepts on one thread. Please post away.

The following thread is one example:
Apocalyptophilia

[NathanATX]

These are some of my favorite topics!

Can't wait to dig into them with you all.
Nathan

[NathanATX]

I was at a Unity class last night and the topic of sin came up.

The teacher said that sin is "missing the mark." Which I agree with. It isn't a inherent evil, a "sin nature". It doesn't separate us from God. It's just missing the mark of being who God is calling us to be.

And then the topic of Grace came up. I grew up with the idea that Grace is "unmerited favor." Example: While I was yet a depraved sinner, Christ died for me... Or when miracles & blessings happen, it is the undeserved grace of God. I know I don't believe in "being" a sinner. And I don't have a solid handle on the meaning of seeming miracles & suprise blessings.

So I'm confused.

If we believe that we are inherently good and thus deserving & worthy of God's love... then how does Grace fit in the picture? You can't have "unmerited favor" if you do merit the favor. He brought up some examples of how he miraculously avoided tragedy in the Vietnam War, but the offset to that is... if that was God's Grace for you, where was God's Grace for the person who got killed? Where is God's Grace for the innocent?

That understanding of Grace seems to be VERY tied up in the limiting, negative view of Sin. And thus in the idea of God being a partial, favorites-playing, moody being in the sky... which I absolutely don't believe God is.

So what is this thing we call Grace? And how does it fit with who we see God to be?

[Zerbie]

Nathan,

Clarify, do you or do you not believe that you are a "sinner" by nature? Sounds like you believe human nature is not "sinful" but that errors get made. Is that it?

[NathanATX]

Originally Posted by Zerbie

Nathan,

Clarify, do you or do you not believe that you are a "sinner" by nature? Sounds like you believe human nature is not "sinful" but that errors get made. Is that it?

Have you heard of a concept called "Original Blessing" instead of "Original Sin?"

That kind of illustrates what I believe.

I believe sin exists in the world, but it's only "missing the mark." It's not a cause for judgement or punishment. It's not a "sin nature" that some churches teach we are all born with.

[Zerbie]

This from a completely non-Christian perspective (seeing as how I'm not christian, nor (well) educated about christianity). On the subject of grace, this is what I find so far.

That there are two graces operating in our lives. There is ever-present grace from the Lord always descending to us, infinite, never running out, and always there. And there is the grace of opening the Self to the Lord's grace, meaning the same grace which gives us determination when we need to survive and surmount dangers, especially psychological/spiritual ones. Without this inner grace operating, we cannot receive the Lord's grace, because it is like closing the door to it. And we can be variously more open or more closed to it, according to how that inner grace operates in us as that moment. In a being like Jesus, it is thoroughly activated, and completely open. We have to be determined to be with that spirit, yet we have to be determined "softly," because when we squeeze on it, we distort that energy with our minds, and that's when we become rigid in our ideas, how we live our lives. Then the rigidity starts closing us off to that inward grace.

And I also think that in terms of death, it is possible that there are certain times that are "meant to be" and others that are not. I do not know if it's possible to know which time is which, but I do believe there is a great deal of mystery surrounding death that *is* understandable to us, even here, if we are strongly attuned. That's just a theory, though. Ask me again in a few decades if I've found an answer!!