“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.”
Luke 13:2-3
Dear members and friends,
What troubled me the most with the Christian theology of Original Sin and eternal damnation was that God did not even give Adam and Eve a single chance to repent. According to the story in Genesis, Adam and Eve made one bad choice and consequently brought eternal damnation to the entire humanity including themselves. What is troublesome about this story is that God did not seem to think that they could do better if given a second chance. This, in my understanding, arose from a mistaken interpretation of the story, which was heavily influenced by human greed and the necessity of an angry God. However, what we read in the Old Testament is that God always gives the people a chance to repent and correct their mistakes by the rituals of atonement. In the New Testament, Jesus strongly emphasizes the importance of repentance and union with God afterwards.
A different way to understand the story of the Fall, therefore, is that it describes an inevitable path for human growth by making wrong choices or mistakes. However, making a wrong choice or a mistake inevitably causes a heavy feeling in human hearts either from regret, remorse, or just distress. Consequently, these negative feelings cause unavoidable pain, suffering, and moodiness, which brings consequential troubles in human lives. In a way, our life is all about acknowledging and accepting our mistakes and wrong choices, processing those feelings, and then doing our best to live differently. Thus leading us to a life of freedom and joyfulness.
My brothers and sisters in God, let us take a moment and enter into a deep prayer. Let us invite God who neither judges nor punishes. Then, ask God to help us to be free from burdens of guilty feelings and regrets, and thus to choose a way to repent.
Blessings,
Rev. Junchol Lee