Community Class BLog

Author:  Jeff Prince

Editor:  Michael Hardin, my sweet husband

“Remember the only thing that separates you from God is the thought that you are separate from God!” (Universal Christ by Richard Rohr pg. 80, paperback version). I have read this several times. This cannot be true.  Or can it?  It blew my mind. I should have known something was up with a chapter titled “Original Goodness.”

The bible believing belief and later the evangelical tradition taught me to embrace and believe in original sin. You know that God is love and God wants the best for you in life. Yet, you are born a sinner who needs to be saved from eternal hell. (Hell is subject for another day). 

Original sin started with a talking snake; Adam and Eve eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  So, from then on someone had to pay for their sin.  Toss in a side of shame and fear from burning in hell forever and you have original sin doctrine.  Thank you, Augustine, John Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards.  (See pg. 82-83 Universal Christ for more details). 

I hope you have picked up that I’m not a fan of original sin doctrine.  I believe with all my being that I and we are created as beloved.  We already have what we need.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God; not even bad, shaming theology. 

In a recent conversation with my therapist I said, “It scares the s*** out of me that I am loved and beloved by God.” He calmly said, “you need a new narrator”. Perhaps the new narrator is the holy spirit, Jesus revealed in the incarnate Christ and a loving God.  This narrator has been around since the start of time.  (See John 1).   

Individually and collectively, we need to stop listening to the narrators that are shameful, hateful and, lack compassion.   “We must yes, must make a daily and even hourly choice to focus on the good, true and the beautiful.”  (Universal Christ by Richard Rohr, pg. 85).  Who is your narrator?