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%REPENT ALIENATIVE VALUES EVIL SIN+790711
%MISTAKE FORBID PERMISSION LEGAL 790711
Often people regard repentance as quitting the
intentional doing of wrong, evil, bad, illegal, immoral,
etc. deeds. Repentance is viewed as turning from doing
evil deeds to doing good deeds---and evil is presumed to
be defined legalistically. Few people volunteer for such
repentance because few people view themselves as being
engaged in intentionally doing wrong. Virtually every
human action is done for "good" reasons. (The exceptions
include those actions which are accidental, based upon
unavoidable ignorance, and being caught in double binds.)
How can people repent if they have been engaged in doing
everything they do for good reasons repent? Given the
usual definition of what repentance is---very few people
can honestly repent. This makes ostensible repentances
suspect, and the motives of the "repentant" are often in
doubt.
The traditional view of repentance flows from the
traditional view of the nature of evil and of sin, a view
which has been dominated by legalists' perspectives. Evil
is regarded by legalists as the power which causes people
to do what has been legally forbidden. Sins are the
forbidden acts, and sinners are the people who commit the
forbidden acts. With such a conceptual foundation is is
natural to define repentance as ceasing to do what is
forbidden and beginning a pattern of dong only what is
approved. Thus repentant persons are expected to conform
to legalists' definitions of approved behavior. People
must get permission of legalists to act, if they are to
remain faithful repentant persons.
Repentance is different if sin is regarded as the
state of alienation, and evil behavior is behavior which
inhibits dialogue, i.e., promotes alienation. Then
repentance involves shifting from one set of positive
values to another set of positive values. Repentance
involves shifting from positive values which lead to the
inhibition of dialogue, to positive values which promote
dialogue. Repentance has to do with promoting dialogue,
rather than inhibiting dialogue. To repent is to turn
away from positive values which tend to lead to alienative
behavior which inhibits dialogue. Usually it is the
unqualified promotion of positive values which inhibits
dialogue. Repentance is turning away from unqualified
promotion of those positive values.
(c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in
www.essayz.com Search for Integrity and Honesty
(On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)
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