Quote:
Originally Posted by Original Position
American Christians don't talk about Original Sin nearly as much anymore - it just doesn't fit well into the moral assumptions of most people, Christian or not. Instead, religion is more commonly sold as a lifestyle choice: join a church, meet some cool people, self-actualize, feel good about yourself, and so on. A sermon like Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" could today only be offered with a certain amount of irony or in the most segregated religious communities.
There is a lot to say on this topic. There are two conflicting values that have to be held simultaneously. One is acceptance/tolerance/inclusion (feminine) and the other is judgment/discernment/discrimination (masculine). The stronger we hold each of those values simultaneously, our morality will improve, which means our well being will improve.
The problem is the stronger that we hold one of those values, holding the other value becomes more difficult. It takes a lot more effort. This often causes a demonization of one side from the other, seeing the project as zero sum between the two sides. In the West, we have placed increasing emphasis on ethics, which has lead to pulling more from the feminine end and, at the very least, devaluing the masculine side.
When the feminine side is dominating the culture, then there will be more of a general sense of assumed salvation and less focus on sin (or deficiency) as you mentioned. When the illusion gets disrupted by reality, then the masculine will surface in uncontrolled outbursts both individually and collectively. That looks like tantrums, outrage, and other destructive impulses that we are seeing more and more of in the political domain especially.
We are well aware of what it looks like when we pull too much on the masculine end and neglect the feminine, and those fears seem to be contributing to why we are imbalanced in the other direction. It may not seem like this is all related but it is.
The masculine (combined with wisdom) allows us to move forward and progress toward the ideal, and the feminine (combined with wisdom) allows us to do it ethically and at scale.
Last edited by craig1120; 12-03-2018 at 07:07 PM.