As promised, here are even more words that a wise person would not ask for . It does relieve my frustration, though, to write these wordy explanations !
The FIRST CITATION OR VERSE is always the Original Gospel Text of the Third Chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, New International Version .
The SECOND CITATION OR VERSE is always the text of the animation –
HESUS JOY CHRIST / Matthew's Three Fold , written by R David Foster .
Verse 6
6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan river.
Verse 6
6 Professing their sins, they were acknowledged by her in her church.
Verse 6 Discussion
Confession – what's that all about? When one sins, and acknowledges their being incorrect in their action or omission, the very act of acknowledging a sin implies that they do not want to sin again. This feels like a new beginning and is a new opportunity to act within the law. The unspoken truth is that they have experienced forgiveness in that their incorrectness was not fatal. But why did one sin in the first place? What would drive one to act incorrectly, if they have been created as good, as a loving infinity would have created one, and all. Again, the law is limited and only a means to see infinite perfection.
Stepping back, our awareness as finite beings is limited by our limited nature. No one can be aware of everything, at least on their own. For example, a pilot has instruments to make him more aware of his immediate environment of flight. A compass can guide one by extending their awareness to include their orientation in a magnetic field. This limited awareness will not change, but can be expanded through the use of inventions, or conventions. A society is a group that shares conventions. There are many societies, and I dare say every convention in every society, has an opposite convention in an opposite society. The point is not that one convention is better than another, but that within one society one convention is correct. Many societies have the convention that they drive on the left side of the road, which is no different from the convention of driving on the right side of the road, but stick with the convention or risk a head on collision. A set of laws is a convention. A set of laws is a convention of a society that keeps individuals from running into one another. A set of laws provides a level of awareness to the individuals who can maintain the convention of the set of laws of their society. The point is that the law will increase the awareness of the individuals. Once one had become aware through the maintenance of the convention that they find themselves in, the awareness continues beyond the limits of the law or society's convention. The law has served its' purpose.
This is not such a radical idea – the law having a limit to its' usefulness. Western society has at least two branches of the legal system – the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. Where the legislative branch ends, the judicial branch begins. If the law has failed, in a specific instance where one has apparently contravened the law, the judicial branch takes over to make a judgment in the specific case. The intent of the law is considered with respect to the specific circumstances of the specific case and the consequences are determined. In an infinite environment under an infinite law, who is qualified to judge? Many say Jesus is the one who judges, and others say Peter is the one, since he holds the keys to heaven. Let's go with Jesus being the judge. I prefer Jesus being the judge, as he is the one who has 'died for our sins'. This is a rather complicated discussion beyond the scope of this writing, but may be addressed here and there throughout these writings. Let's just say that Jesus is the victim of our sins and he is also the judge of our case, not to mention our defender in our trial. This is a truly wonderful situation when you consider it. The same person is the judge, the defender of the accused and the victim of the offense. This is the judicial side of infinite law.
Returning to the question of why one who was created as good would do something bad, it would be our awareness by means of the law, both in their limited nature, that judges an act as good or bad, as correct or incorrect. The awareness that makes such a judgment is flawed by being limited and that is why anything appears to be bad or incorrect before the law. The flaw is with the awareness and not the act. A society is determined by the individuals that work together. Individuals acting solely in their own interest does not look much like a society, but as is the nature of infinity, there is an obvious example of individuals seeking solely their own individual interests constituting their own society – free enterprise ! It would not take much, however, to analyze and find individuals acting in the common interest in societies that promote free enterprise. An obvious example is the idea of an employee, not to mention a corporation. Nevertheless, the limitations of a law begin with the limitations of the individuals awareness.
Once again, the way to deal with lawlessness is to forgive, the same way as how one would deal with sin. Furthermore, in a closed system with a determined outcome, the only way to improve or grow is to take apart the system and recreate it. This would be seen as a destructive act, this dismantling to recreate. Sin is the same thing. It is a destructive act that moves the system toward a better, more aware system. It is the limitations of our awareness, as manifested in the law or conventions of our society, that call a sin a sin, and fail to see a sin as a manifestation of further infinity that is not considered in our awareness, convention and law. That is how a being created as good appears to act or omit badly.
If confession is one thing, profession is another. When one confesses, it is considered differently from when one professes. I believe this is more a convention of language rather than a considered choice of words, although I deliberately changed “confessing” to “professing”.
“Confess” means to admit or acknowledge a fault, crime, belief or other. “Profess” means to declare openly or affirm. So if a sin is something committed by someone who is trying to dismantle in order to recreate, as a good person would, than why wouldn't one want to profess it? Sin is real and forgiveness is how to deal with it. An endless battle attempting to eliminate another or at least another's behaviour only limits further the infinite world we live in.
Let's try a few examples. Men are men and women are women. Some like their gender and others may not. That is a choice and one proceeds to choose their behaviour. One's behaviour influences what one will become. As a man I like being a man, more than I like to be a woman. But the best for me is when I am a man being a man with a woman. Experience influences our decisions. I find it quite conceivable, in my experience with woman, that I might prefer to be a man being a man with another man or men, and this is not uncommon. If I spend too much time with women I begin to look forward to time spent with men, and vice versa. What would be accomplished if I were to limit myself to certain associations and behaviour. Ideals would still be ideals and I would still hold up my ideals whether I am working towards them or taking a break. Society is the same. If one chooses to partner with the same sex, that may be a limitation of sorts, but the convention of our society is to allow people to choose their challenges. No one would deny that a heterosexual partnership has its' limitations. A sin is a sin, and forgiveness is the way to deal with it. There are many opportunities to sin whether one is in a heterosexual relationship or a homosexual relationship. All relationships require an environment of forgiveness. I do personally and idealistically believe a heterosexual relationship is potentially more rewarding, and certainly more challenging than any other relationship.
Another example is murder. How could this be any act of a good person? How would forgiveness be the way to deal with this? There are many types of murder. Many people feel abortion is murder. Many people feel war is murder. Many people feel capitol punishment is murder. Let's look at horrific murder – Paul Bernardo – if that is how his name is spelled. Is this a case of horrific unjustifiable murder? Before the Crown – yes – this has been decided in court. But before infinity – this is worth discussing. Certainly Paul Bernardo's decisions have led to his being limited in his life – prison. It can be argued that he has separated himself from God, by his sins. Nevertheless if he asks the heavenly father for forgiveness he will be forgiven. Where is the good in this story? Paul has brought attention to the consequences of unrestricted lust. His lust led him to do worse than just fornicate. It is a path he chose and it has been shown where that path leads. His choices were his alone to make, but many feel such a case casts our society in a poor light, and consider their actions accordingly. Is Charlie Sheen's womanizing his own choice or a symptom of society's modern values. Likely both. Certainly the situation comedy called Two and a Half Men is presenting ideas that society wants to celebrate and profess, if only the ways that a divorced man and a womanizer are treated. And the actions of Paul Bernardo were to a certain extent celebrated through proliferation. Both Charlie Sheen and Paul Bernardo are professing rather than confessing, and their actions are the culmination of our actions if our actions were taken to the infinite extent, We all feel the pain of these situations because we feel partly responsible through commission or omission as members of our society. This awareness may be the only good from such a sad situation, along with the warning that evil is possible if we do not limit our behaviour to appropriate infinite ends.
Limiting our behaviour – that is what the law is all about. But life is infinite. The situation is like the scientific method – observation, hypothesis, testing, observation, hypothesis, testing, etc. The law is the hypothesis, and is constantly changing in the light of observation and testing. When one is fully aware of the world through the law, then the miraculous takes place in our awareness. It is only knowing that there is snow all around and the world is cold that reveals the miracle of a crocus emerging. The law exists for offenders and the behaved, but it shows the miracles to the behaved and the coincidences and luck to the offenders, if not forgiveness.
Finally, it is only in the world of incorrectness that a new creation will emerge. Jesus was a condemned criminal. Jesus was executed and went to hell. He accepted God's love for him and is crowned. That is why acknowledging those who profess their sins is so important. If there is a crime it is for a reason, and would not be a crime if a legitimate solution was available. Why is this so important? What if you found you were face to face with pure evil and had to forgive it? This is what it may feel like in a marriage. If your awareness is that partial is all and wholistic is evil, you will find yourself having to forgive the evil, to really live, and vice versa.
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Saturday, April 2nd, 2011
The law has been taking a bad rap in these discussions – let's set the record straight. There are many blessings for those who can find their way within the law. Miracles happen and benevolence abounds for those who obey the law – whether a finite law or an infinite law. If one is challenged by circumstances and is finding it hard to obey the law, a herculean effort is rewarded by those who witness the commitment of one trying desperately to obey. In most cases people will go above and beyond for someone who despite severe difficulty is making a supreme effort to obey the law. And this is by no means the greatest benefit of obeying the law, whether the finite law of man or the infinite law of God.
Miracles and blessings are witnessed by those who have the awareness to notice such events, and this awareness is provided by obeying the law. Otherwise such events are overlooked and dismissed as coincidences or just good luck on the part of the casual observer. Here is an example – taxes ! If one works under the table there is not an official record of the income. The individual may save twenty percent of their income but will have no record on which to get credit to expand, and will not have any opportunity to get the benefits of having worked, that are available to those who have a record of work. This is important when today's society so religiously values labour and free enterprise.
There is a lesser value to life on the wrong side of the law. Picking one's nose may suffice, but is considered wrong and is obviously not as good as a good blowing of one's nose. Lawlessness is the same – it may seem like a good idea in a specific situation but it pales by comparison to the benefits of obeying the law.
I will provide a free DVD of HESUS JOY CHRIST / Matthew's Three Fold , complete with this entire completed discussion, to anyone and everyone who can get correct word to me identifying what the members of the congregation are brandishing in this scene of the animation !! It illustrates what a shortcoming life on the wrong side of the law really is . . … . .
The two most important laws are, first, love God with all your heart, mind and soul; and secondly, love your neighbor as yourself. Note that both these laws are laws of love. This is infinite law. This is the full intent of finite law.
Nevertheless, when you oppose God or just your neighbor, you begin down the path of opposition, and Satan is the opposer. A contest between neighbors can serve as a test of which is the better way to proceed, but opposing one who is professing may never come to a good end. Separating yourself from God or your neighbor, limits your existence, and subsequently the extent of your real life is limited. On the other hand, considering God, or the infinite aspect of everything and everyone can be so full of life as to be overwhelmingly wonderful. At the very least it leaves all possibilities on the table.
And again, finally, where will this love of infinity, or God, and love of all our neighbors lead an individual, as a limited person? Where is this love to be directed – how will it be manifested? What law is there that fully respects this infinite love. I profess that marriage is the appropriate first place to direct this love, and will test the ability of the spouses to forgive, and is the appropriate infinite end of all our efforts, leading us to fullness of life, as Jesus promised to all who follow Him.
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Sunday, April 3rd, 2011
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