Human or Sinner?

A Catholic friend once told me, "Jews invented guilt but the Catholics perfected it." Yes it is funny, I personally am not Jewish or Catholic but the rituals I have learned about these since becoming an adult has made me wonder, "Why would anyone want so many rules about everything you say, do, or think?" Not me. Another thing I have heard is the only way to get anyone into these religions is to to be born and raised in it, no free thinker would choose these religions.

As an adult I believe if any of us were brought up to believe in the goodness of who we are in connection to the universe which operates in order, we all would not choose any group or religion. I once asked my brother, "Why do people cling to Christian beliefs so tightly when they could forgive themselves, learn from their mistakes and move on?"  To date he gave the most logical answer, "Most people are so hard on themselves in their own judgment of mistakes they have made, that they need an outside savior to pay a price for them in order for them to move on." (Wow that is tough) I like myself too much to go there.

Being human is not easy.  We cannot even in the best of loving homes grow up knowing how to handle every situation we find ourselves in when we leave home and venture out into the world. It is this fear of the outside world that makes some parents want to protect their children and keep them close to home, I get it.  But to be human and make mistakes is human, that's all, not a sin, just a learning curve till we get it right.

How do we know we finally got it right? By the results we see in our lives. Are we feeling more confidence doing the right thing or do we feel more afraid every day because we are afraid someone will find out our dark secret? So is self judgment good? Yes!  Inside everyone of us we do know when we are doing something that would hurt someone else if they knew. What is the answer? Stop doing it, ask the person for forgiveness if needed, and move on doing better because you now know better.

So to me, to be human is to make mistakes, stop, think about how to do things better and move on with wisdom.  If not "Life lessons will be repeated until learned."  The Bible and other spiritual books have great wisdom if you study however, just being human is a lesson in life as well.

If we can get sin consciousness out of our psyche and keep in mind two things, "Do no harm to self or others," this is a simple place to begin again as needed.

Am I atheist? No, but I do believe there is a powerful force that is positive and helps us do good every day, if I want to call it reality or God, it makes no difference to me. I believe this powerful goodness lives inside of us all.  Some know it and can access its goodness easily, others do not believe it exists in the world or themselves so they pray endlessly, daily.  I do not believe life on this planet is that much work. Life is wonderful.