Man is not Evil..........

From: Billy Graham's digital exhibit - Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God (1949) / Jonathan Edwards' 1739 Sermon


"Sin is the Ruin and Misery of the Soul; it is destructive in its Nature; and if God should leave it without Restraint, there would need nothing else to make the Soul perfectly miserable."


During the time I was listening to the digital exhibit of the rendition of Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God by Billy Graham, I had recalled memories of my childhood.  Ones that did not come with happy memories.  I did not like going to church.  I always felt degraded, put down, never measuring up to their standards, their beliefs.  I felt outcasted.  I felt that I could never belong.  I longed for that sense of belonging, being accepted.  That never came.  I was yelled at, pulled around, and made to say prayer over and over....for my sins.  


Why was I  a sinner, a mere babe.  What could I have done not to be loved at such a tender age?  Was it because I was born?  Was it because who I was born to; the life I was born into?  How did they know me?  I did not even know me...yet.  


I was baptized, then received first holy communion, then confirmed.....Catholic


Later on in life, I married in an Episcopal Church....


The Catholic church did not want to marry us....or at least in my eyes made it difficult for us to get married in a Catholic church....


Father Don on the other hand, welcomed us in -- he knew what it was like to be married .. to have children .. to have stresses of life, taking care of a family, etc.  The Catholic priests did not... how could they guide me through my marriage, be supportive and tell me how to be ... when they can not practice what they preach.


I always felt pressure from the Catholic church.... and if I did not attend on Sunday... I was again on the "naughty list."


Father Don knew what it was like to be human, to need to take care of others and that things pop up and things have to be attended to... thats life.  He understood life.


Although my marriage did not last long...my friendship with Father Don still endures these 17 years later.... and when I see him in the street, he always has a hug to acknowledge his love for me as a caring and loving person.


I feel that religion today should not be viewed so rigidly.  I feel that the internal uniqueness of that person: their actions, their energy, their life, their love, their caring ways, their openness, their ability to listen, their belief, in others, in the Earth and the world everyone lives in ... is what gives that person their "Spirit."  That "Spirit" is then given to others in hopes that they too can give their fullest to others and the world.  


I feel "sin" is a negative action -- "negativity" is the destructor which causes ruin and misery -- pain and sadness -- depression and isolation -- truly destructive in its Nature.  


Being positive, loving, caring and living in harmony as one is the "spiritual" actions of humans or at least we should all strive to be that way.... that philosophy should be carried out through our actions, our praise and writings - our Legacy .... then the world (Earth) will not be a place for Evil (anger, destruction, hate).  


Evil should not survive ... it should not live simultaneously with Good!!


I feel the world today should be mindfully positive as a community-oriented faith and with that notion, all will encounter growth, safety, and well-being for all beings as a goal.


Blessed Be!