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Re: Unconditional Self Acceptance » Miss Honeychurch

Posted by Dinah on September 4, 2004, at 10:18:53

In reply to Re: Unconditional Self Acceptance » Dinah, posted by Miss Honeychurch on September 4, 2004, at 9:53:49

I think that it's hard to think of the concept in regards to an unrepentent "sinner", but a lot easier to think of it in regards to a repentent one. The same probably applies though, it's just harder to conceive.

The example I always use when I'm trying to explain it to my son (or my husband - who believes that those who have done good all along should be way closer to "heaven" than those who repent and start over) is the author of "Amazing Grace". Now, I'm not sure how true this story is, because I have heard my pastor use untrue but popular stories before, preferring apocrypha that makes a point. But the story goes like this. The man who wrote Amazing Grace was every bit the wretch referred to in the song. A slave trader, a man who had done some truly horrible things in his life. And at some point, he realized that despite his prior actions that he was a valuable person who deserved the right to start over and become what he should have become the first time had he lived up to his potential for compassion. That his choices had determined the man he had been up to that point, but that there was more to him than his choices. And the something "more" meant that he had the ability at any point in his life to change who he is by making new choices. And in doing so to live up to the intrinsic worth that each of us has.

In religious terms, it would be prevenient grace, I suppose. The fact that every person is born with the ability to connect to God. In secular terms it would be the fact that every person has, on some level, intrinsic worth. I think I almost prefer secular, because I also believe that every bear, lion, dog, and cat has intrinsic worth. (Like I said, I'm still working on roaches, ants, and other seemingly virtueless critters.)

But I won't disagree that in some cases you have to dig way deeper through a whole lot of bad choices to find the intrinsic worth. And I got into a big fight with my Sunday School class (I think my last one before I stopped going) over the equality of sin. I think they had some idea that all of us were sinners and we shouldn't consider ourselves better than any others of us because we were all sinners. And I flatly refused to agree that my sins were on an even plane with Ted Bundy's, and thus we were both sinners and equal in the eyes of God. I wanted to separate the intrinsic worth from the later actions and assume that God gave me some credit for not killing scores of innocent people. (I think they all think I'm destined for h*ll anyway though.)

 

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