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How does one account for the fact that from a psychological point of view we are born wholly and totally self-centered and need to be taught to share, to care about others? Wouldn't that very human inclination be considered a sin?
And doesn't that require an otherworldly influence to rise above our basic nature?
Your assumption is off-base. There is always another influence which may be catagorized as empathy and other elements of group cohesion. What you get is a conflict between selfish desires and group benefit. "Sin" then becomes exercising selfish desires in spite of deleterious consequences to the group.
Imputing sin where there is none is a false teaching.
At what point does the natural inclination to only be concerned with our own feeding and shelter become sin, then? The first time a child refuses to share? The second?
At what point does the natural inclination to only be concerned with our own feeding and shelter become sin, then? The first time a child refuses to share? The second?
Who makes the decision?
If you are prusing the oppressive thought, it isnt for me to remind you of forgiveness, nor the fruits of the spirit that are freely given.
What you may of not come to understand yet is the result of covetousness.
It was covetousness that we are warned of in the example of the nachash(serpent) beast]
It was its desire of the wife of adam that brought about the seal of judas iscariot.
The mother of all living was its failing moment in seeking the pride of life.
Then there is what our Lord spoke of with Wisdom. "Love your enemies"
do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,
though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
32 But a man who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself.
Your assumption is off-base. There is always another influence which may be categorized as empathy and other elements of group cohesion. What you get is a conflict between selfish desires and group benefit. "Sin" then becomes exercising selfish desires in spite of deleterious consequences to the group.
At what point does the natural inclination to only be concerned with our own feeding and shelter become sin, then? The first time a child refuses to share? The second?
Who makes the decision?
No one makes the decision. It is a maturation process that too many people fail to understand. When a parent tells little Johhny that IF he was a good boy he would WANT to share his candy, that just teaches little Johnny that he is NOT a good boy because little Johnny KNOWS he doesn't really want to share. The failure to acknowledge that we are ALL maturing and are NOT fully mature is probably the single biggest error in dealing with one another and what God seeks from us. We have to mature sufficiently to WANT to share or NOT harm or hurt others for selfish reasons. Trying to impose it through shame or fear or punishment retards maturation and is short-term motivation. If someone places a gun in your mouth and tells you to go home and get all your money to give to them, that motivation would dissipate once you left the assailant's presence. We are NOT built to retain fear or shame within us. It has seriously deleterious impact on our psychology and our physiology when prolonged.
Ezekekiel 13Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
My opinion is that mankind had a spiritual covering which made them immortal but that covering fell and left them naked without a covering, and then they tried to cover themselves in the wrong covering until God covered them.
It’s talking about the King of Tyre, not Satan...
Biblical Judaism has long since been replaced by Rabbinical Judaism
"Judaism, as it has developed over the centuries, is not solely or simply a derivative of the Hebrew Bible. It does take its cue from the Bible, of course, but in many respects only indirectly. To be more exact Judaism derives from the Bible as it is interpreted through the filter of Rabbinic perspectives: the perspective of the rabbis who lived in the early century of the common era and who determined how the Bible was to be understood, implemented, and applied to changing times, to new conditions and dimensions of life."-Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity: From the Pharisees to the rabbis authored by Michael Cook.
"About the time of the beginning of Christianity three main conceptions of sin struggled for recognition in Judaism. The first regarded corruption of the race as hereditary. The second vaguely asserted as connection between Adam’s sin and his posterity’s liability to punishment, without defining the exact nature of the connection. The third view considered all sin as the fruit of man’s own action."-Cohon, Samuel, Essays in Jewish Theology (Samuel Cohon was a Rabbi and Chair of Theology at Hebrew Union College
Modern Judaism shares a characteristic that also is found in mainstream modern Christian thinking and that is the Bible has been interpreted by x,y,and z. However, let Scripture interpret Scripture
It may be that because the followers of Jesus including the Apostles held that sin was a universal contaminant that rabbis began to argue against the concept as a means of differentiating Judaism further from the rise of Christianity. Certainly ancient Jews had a concept of sin as being passed from Adam to succeeding generations:
"Behold, with iniquity I was formed, and with sin my mother conceived me." Tehillim (Psalm) 51:7
"Look! I was born guilty of error,And my mother conceived me in sin" Psalm 51:5
"If they sin against You, for (there is) no man who does not sin
" -Melachim 1 (1 Kings) 8:46
"If they sin against you for there is no man who does not sin"-1 Kings 8:46
"For there is no righteous man on earth who does good and sins not."-Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 7:20
"For there is no righteous man on earth who always does good and never sins."-Ecclesiastes 7:20
I do however agree with you that if one desires to be a good person they can be. There's inherited sin that is passed on from Adam and, for a Christian, liberation from inherited sin is from YHWH through Jesus. There is also willful sin that leads to wicked acts that we can refrain from.
So you mean there is no difference between a Malia Obama and a commoner Lakesha Jones? After all both are of same color and babies born in Northern Chicago right??
How does one account for the fact that from a psychological point of view we are born wholly and totally self-centered and need to be taught to share, to care about others? Wouldn't that very human inclination be considered a sin?
And doesn't that require an otherworldly influence to rise above our basic nature?
No one makes the decision. It is a maturation process that too many people fail to understand. When a parent tells little Johhny that IF he was a good boy he would WANT to share his candy, that just teaches little Johnny that he is NOT a good boy because little Johnny KNOWS he doesn't really want to share. The failure to acknowledge that we are ALL maturing and are NOT fully mature is probably the single biggest error in dealing with one another and what God seeks from us. We have to mature sufficiently to WANT to share or NOT harm or hurt others for selfish reasons. Trying to impose it through shame or fear or punishment retards maturation and is short-term motivation. If someone places a gun in your mouth and tells you to go home and get all your money to give to them, that motivation would dissipate once you left the assailant's presence. We are NOT built to retain fear or shame within us. It has seriously deleterious impact on our psychology and our physiology when prolonged.
Remind me of the five men who face north
And the five men who face south sir.
Do you remember the two greatest commands to speak of concerning the mount olives?
While you regress, the patience and perseverance escapes your grasp. If only shechem were moved to give a blessing.
Then perhaps your heart would be healed.
When the time comes then you will be given permission to teach and walk with others.
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eg. lack of love for others.
