Sin

Question:

All have sinned. [All are] born of sin. Scripturally, we are not born good and loving. Look at any baby for evidence. How did this change in your belief?

Comment:

I emphatically do not believe in “original sin.” I do indeed look at babies, especially when I have the honor of christening one. I see a being of spiritual purity, newly arrived from Source. “Sin” is what happens, inevitably, as we become denser and more involved in a human experience. We begin to inherit the very mixed bag of information and belief that other humans have accrued. We begin to forget our Oneness with Source. We begin to make judgments and choices that are fear-based human beliefs rather than love-centered spiritual truths. It sounds tragic, perhaps, but it’s really the essence of our spiritual purpose—to make the choices that will bring our spiritual consciousness into new expression here on this tangible plane. 

The term “sin” comes from a Greek root meaning “missing the mark.” Think of an archer aiming an arrow at a target. He makes a choice about where to aim that he believes will accomplish his goal of hitting the bull’s-eye. He shoots—and misses. Sin is like that. We want to hit the target, we want to experience good in our lives. But our aim is off, and what we “hit” instead of the good is a temporary sensation that leaves us feeling more lost than ever. 

The problem, clearly, is in consciousness. We make choices in life based on error thoughts in mind. We believe in lack and limitation, which leads to the error thought that we have to cheat or steal to achieve good in our lives. That error thought leads to an error choice—an error action—and a negative consequence. If we continue to “shoot our arrow” based on that initial false belief, we will continue to fail. Alternatively, we may be forced—by fear of punishment, perhaps—to make a different choice. But that’s nothing more than a temporary fix. So long as the initial false belief is prevalent in our mind, we will continue to experience its negative energy in our lives.

The answer is to allow the Christ Mind within us to dissolve the false beliefs, so that our choices are based on spiritual truth rather than mortal illusions. Thus “sin” can serve an important spiritual purpose: it can alert us to the need to surrender to Christ Mind so that the results of our choices can be as loving and positive as they are meant to be. This is what we mean when we say that we’re not punished for our sins, we’re punished by our sins—and we always have the right to make new choices.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed