I am post-Catholic, but some of that Original Sin talk sort of resonates with me all these many years later. You know, if you think of Original Sin as a poetic metaphor; the little burbling babies, the tiny Human Beings in their swaddling clothes, stained with a dark mark on their souls at birth, it all sort of rings true. Just look at the daily headlines.
Funny, you would think it would be an easy leap to go from a literal reading of the Bible and all the Catholic teachings to a Poetic and Psychological reading of the key texts, but you know, it took lots of time, first fighting the literal indoctrination, then to a full-out rejection of all of my Catholic upbringing, finally to a peaceful coexistence where I am free to discover and uncover any wisdom from pretty much any source, including all the major religions, and you know, even Pop Culture and the minor cults?
What are Human Beings capable of? Great Beauty & Great Horror. Maybe we have to overcome our nature, our biases, our biology? Maybe we have to learn to discipline ourselves, to not be totally selfish, egomaniacal assholes. We don't need God or Jesus, or the fear of Hell to get our shit together, we can do this on our own, looking for examples in the Human Herd.
We are biological entities, basically animals, "smart, tricky monkeys" with big aspirations and huge blind-spots. Often it seems Humans will lie, steal, cheat, rape, murder, pillage, we do pretty much anything as long as we think they can get away with it.
Human Beings will often do what they can, not what they should. But at the same time, don't we all have a sense of Goodness, Kindness, Grace and Well-Being? We don't need a God to know The Good.
Of course, there are the "Better Angels," those examples of Human Beings who do the right thing, who suffer the slings and arrows and emerge more compassionate, more empathetic, more willing to Love and do Good. You know, "Do-Gooders."
We turn our lonely eyes to the Do-Gooders, knowing that those folks are just flawed Human Beings too. We have to take everything with a grain of salt. Hope for the Best, knowing that we are all Sinners too.
