Comments for Idle and Rambling Speculations on Original Sin at http://www.thecatholicthing.org , comment 1 to 2 out of 2 comments http://www.thecatholicthing.org Wed, 22 May 2013 07:59:59 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2011/idle-and-rambling-speculations-on-original-sin.html#comment-7877 Even more idle thoughts from an even more lay person - The first sin came out of choice. There can't be love without choice. There can't be individuals without choice. God must remain just out of sight or there could be no choice and no love. At the dawn of consciousness and before the first sin (this could a day, some years or twenty minutes) there was no guilt, no remorse, no alienation, no fear - in a word it was an emotional and spiritual paradise. Then someone chose not love, but its opposite (not hate by the way, something closer to selfishness). Now the other side of the equation became instantly visible, the implications of not love appeared immediately in the world. Now came moral fear, guilt and all the rest. The key passage is "Who told you you were naked?" It is a question we ponder too little. That's why the first sin was called eating of the tree of knowledge. We all share in the sin because we all share in the choice. We are born free to choose, but before children acquire the knowledge of good and evil, their choices can not condemn them. We are told to approach Jesus in that manner, not as cynics, judges and scribes might, but in simple belief in goodness. - Other Joe Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:38:18 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2011/idle-and-rambling-speculations-on-original-sin.html#comment-7876 Mr.Wood: I like your speculating a lot.It makes me wish I were a kid again,like my grandchildren,so that I could see things as they are and not have to "parse" everything I say by how it will affect others. Being a Christian is a tough calling, although it is a lot easier when looked at through the lens of love. From watching and listening to Pope Benedict at WYD Madrid, my heart told me that here is a man of God, a "simple" man who loves Christ more than life and is determined to go to his grave proclaiming Him. I think of the admonition of Our Lord to be as wise as serpents and as simple as doves. This is a man who takes Him seriously. Thank you for this. I am printing it out. Is deeper than I can handle right now on my lunch hour. - Naomi Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:11:30 +0100