Lisa Laird, 719 words
Lisa's Lair
By Lisa Laird
IPS Features
“Blessed Are We”
It’s probably the
religious aspect of my upbringing that partially accounts for my behavior at
times; a somewhat skeptical and marginally bitter attitude I behold, that is.
Throughout my life, I was programmed to
fear the wrath of God and strived to become as close to perfect as possible so
that I would remain in His good graces.
I spent much time in the chapel asking for the Lord’s forgiveness in regard to every little trivial micro-sin I could possibly think of to cleanse myself of human impurities. No matter how commendable a life I tried to lead, the religious clergy constantly preached the concept of ongoing redemption and how we must all constantly redeem ourselves in order to be granted eternal salvation.
A few years ago, I realized that I needed
salvation, all right. I needed
salvation from the plaguing guilt that followed me as a result of the influence
of Roman Catholicism. I heard the
popular lecture about being born with Original Sin one time too many.
That was it for me. So, I
stopped going to church. A place
that formerly gave me solace, inspiration, and most of all, forgiveness, lost
its reverence. Though, I never lost
faith in God. Just in the church.
Upon reflection and close examination, I
became resentful of the way the religious institution I once respected riddled
me with fear and guilt. They
controlled and forced their teachings upon me, as they do to countless others. Questioned, they were not; as we are taught to mindlessly
follow the beliefs and traditions of our ancestors.
I find it ludicrous that in the year
2001, while we are encouraged to make our own individual decisions in just about
every facet of life, from which college and career to choose that will enhance
our lives and shape our futures, to what color automobiles we buy, the subject
of religion remains hands-off, non-negotiable.
Time to negotiate.
I was listening to the radio last Sunday morning and tuned in to a few
stations of diverse denominations giving religious homilies.
I often like to hear what’s being preached and how far the scare
tactics are pushed on the faithful crowd. Nothing
usually surprises me. This day was
different.
I heard the
last twenty or so minutes of a particular reverend’s sermon; he caught my
attention to the fullest. The
subject he was speaking about was something called Original Blessing, as opposed
to Original Sin. He discussed how
traditional theology emphasizes the concept of Original Sin all the time;
however, hardly any of us are made aware of Original Blessing.
In all the years of catechism throughout my education and attending
weekly Mass, I know that the term Original Blessing was never mentioned. Never.
The reverend
proceeded to describe what the term referred to.
In order to make a short story shorter, here’s a quick summary of
Original Blessing: People were
created in the image of God. We are
important entities of a beautiful, wondrous world, each of us unique and
extremely special. We are not
perfect, but inherently good, nonetheless.
There, you have
it, a simple and sensible definition. I
wish the subject were approached on a regular basis to counteract the professed
evilness of the Original Sin concept.
(Did you know,
according to a statistic I heard, 73% of people polled believe there’s an
actual Hell? Up until recently, I
was one of them. Although, only 6%
actually believe they’ll be going. I
wasn’t one of them.)
The program I
was listening to, I later discovered, was that of the Community Church of New
York, and the gentleman’s name was Bruce Southworth.
I understand
that all religions attempt to carry out their teachings as they see proper,
appropriate, and true to God. They
each have reasons for what they say and how they say it.
But I find it sad and unnecessary for an eight year-old child to be
forced to confess his or her self-perceived sins to a priest.
It was torturing enough when carried out anonymously in a confessional
booth; now, I’m told, it’s face to face.
I haven’t gone since I was twelve years old; my memory is one of
intimidation and humiliation.
Scaring and
scarring blessed parishioners, this sounds more like an original sin to me.
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