tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post256172629565702029..comments2024-03-28T10:26:20.408-04:00Comments on Ponderings on a Faith Journey: Niebuhr and the Human DilemmaRobert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-72201969639355226142017-06-21T08:37:44.038-04:002017-06-21T08:37:44.038-04:00Call it 'original sin' if you will but hum...Call it 'original sin' if you will but humanity possesses an innate 'capacity' for anti-social choices. And that capacity is allied with congenital trust issues. Add in emotional instability and, there you have it, Dylan Roof and Wayne LaPierre, Osama bin Laden, and even Donald Trump.<br /><br />I imagine that the whole issue is analogous to farming, a constant struggle to push back against the chaos of nature, year after year. The fields never plant, weed, or harvests themselves. Each generation needs to to work against the darkness and chaos which is found in the human heart. <br /><br />But I am not a pessimist. While the struggle is chronic, our faith and vigilance will continue to succeed in pushing the chaos back, and holding it at bay. Farmers never give up, and neither should we. They plant, fertilize, weed and harvest every year. And so must we. Where is God in all of this? God was the first to push back against Chaos. God showed the way forward, establishing laws and teaching through Jesus and the Prophets, and in virtually every religious tradition, that the principle weapon against chaos was love, and trust, love for the Divine, as well as for the neighbor, and trust in the Divine as well as in the neighbor. And God stands with us, individually and as communities of God's children, as we engage in the struggle, encouraging us, celebrating our daily victories, and weeping profoundly when the Chaos momentarily prevails.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06245470576919732592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-56575491610822319682017-06-14T19:56:17.999-04:002017-06-14T19:56:17.999-04:00The shooting was what prompted my conversation wit...The shooting was what prompted my conversation with my friend... I didn't keep my paper, but I vividly remember that my professor- who attended my church- stated that I could not be a Christian without believing in Original Sin! Pretty sure I didn't get an "A" on the paper!!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01668304507650857595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-34882719248356773962017-06-14T18:22:12.660-04:002017-06-14T18:22:12.660-04:00Mary, wouldn't it be nice if could have respec...Mary, wouldn't it be nice if could have respectful and truthful conversations. I had no idea when I originally posted this that a gunman would go to a baseball park and attempt to murder members of Congress. We must compare papers on original sin!!Robert Cornwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-38833108724723824552017-06-14T17:48:16.313-04:002017-06-14T17:48:16.313-04:00Very interesting, Bob! I just had a related conver...Very interesting, Bob! I just had a related conversation with another woman at the McCloud garden club meeting! We have lived more than six decades now and there have been trials in each decade... My main hope would be for a more respectful and truthful communication between all parties. There is such a lack of dignity and responsibility at this time. The sense of what is right and what is wrong is bafflingly missing. But, do we "blame" original sin?!? I, too, wrote a paper in a sociology class denying original sin in 1971!!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01668304507650857595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-3101883407889004042017-06-14T10:32:16.100-04:002017-06-14T10:32:16.100-04:00Thanks Keith -- I'll have to find it!Thanks Keith -- I'll have to find it!Robert Cornwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-62332870515038363932017-06-14T09:22:49.466-04:002017-06-14T09:22:49.466-04:00In a column several weeks ago, David Brooks noted ...In a column several weeks ago, David Brooks noted that original sin and unresolved guilt are prevalent in society today, although we use the term "privilege" to name this condition.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com