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%SIN AS DISOBEDIENCE COVERT EVIL ACCEPT+790728
%COMMUNICATE LEGALISTS SINS ADVANTAGE+790728
%DIALOGUE MUTUAL CONCENTRATE POWER CORRUPT 790728
It is to the advantage of legalists that they define
sin as disobedience, while keeping for themselves the
power to say what behavior is proper, conventional, legal,
expected. To behave the way so defined, is to obey. To
be unconventional relative to that way, is to disobey.
Permission must be granted to be unconventional, relative
to the defined way. Those who have the power to define
the proper way, have a great advantage over those who do
not have such power. Legalists volunteer to be of great
service to all by refining definitions of the proper way
to behave, and by refining procedures for dealing with
unconventional people. By their definitions
unconventional people are sinners.
Sinners are not permitted in heaven. Since admission
to heaven is supposed to be our ultimate aim in life, it
is important to earn the price of admission. Thus the
ultimate concern of conventional good people is to earn
the respect of legalists who define what is the proper
life style for admission to heaven. The price to be paid
to get into heaven--- is the surrender of one's own
individuality, desires, and personal integrity.
Conventional people in paying that price concentrate great
power in the hands of legalists. Such concentration of
power corrupts legalists in proportion to their
concentration of power. Since the power deals with the
ultimate concerns of life, the corruption is ultimate. In
this way legalists become the ultimate sinners as
excommunicators and as the excommunicated.
Sin is the condition of excommunication; the
condition of a break in communication---separation,
estrangement, alienation, suspicion, self-defense,
misunderstanding, being out of touch, loss of affection,
arrogance, self-righteousness, etc. When sin is defined
as disobedience---those who accept and operate in terms of
the definition become sinners---in terms of sin as the
condition of alienation. When sin is understood as the
condition of alienation it is possible to repent from the
knowledge of good and evil, and become lovers ultimately
concerned with mutual awareness and mutual understanding
through unconditional dialogue and mutual acceptance.
(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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