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the way of heaven: cease blame and forgive your own condemnation

originally titled: “to heaven from… blame”

I question the presumption that there is anything wrong with the world, or any need to save it from anything. I borrow that idea from a fellow named Jesus, who is translated to have said: “I come not to judge the world, but to bring forgiveness to the world.” I am paraphrasing actually, but the verbatim saying is “not to judge the world, but to take away the sin of the world.”

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In churches, I was taught that Jesus takes away the sins of the world. He said sin, though, not sins (at least that is how it is translated in the actual printed Bibles even if multitudes of Christians misquote the translation written on the pages of their Bibles). Also, Jesus was not talking about sin the way that others were- like the pharisees who wished to stone a woman to death who was accused of being a criminal (prostitution was a capital crime) and so on.

Jesus did not judge her or even direct her to “do penance” to compensate and earn her way back to heaven. He simply did not accuse her and invited her accusers to repent, which they did. He took away the accusation of the world. He saved the world from… accusations!

Jesus also did not direct her accusers to do penance either. He had no judgment against them from the beginning. He just said things like “well, alas, they do not even know what they are doing” and “remove the barrier from your own sight, not from the sight of another.”

Sin is not just partly “in the eye of the beholder.” Sin is a way of looking. Sin is ONLY in the eye of the beholder. Looking out and seeing sin, that is sin. (Looking in and seeing sin is guilt, but heaven is the way of being in which there is simply no blame, no accusation, no judgment against evil or for good, no need to forgive for there is no condemnation.)

Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986)

Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I invite you to consider a distinction to which I was introduced by Jiddu Krishnamurti: religion itself is not the problem. Religions, however- or at least certain human operations that go by the names of religions- sometimes seem to have a distinct absence of religion in their religions.

“…there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

Shakespeare (spoken by the character Hamlet).

“Good and evil of this world of duality are unreal,
are spoken of by words, and exist only in the mind.”
– Bhagavatam, XI, ch. XXII.

John 8:15 “You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one.” (Jesus speaking to the orthodox religious leaders)

The one who judges other seeks to glorify (vindicate) himself. (See John 8:50)

http://niv.scripturetext.com/john/8.htm

First Published on: Dec 6, 2009

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This entry was posted on March 23, 2012 at 10:19 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “the way of heaven: cease blame and forgive your own condemnation”

  1. ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ « Inspirations Says:
    March 24, 2012 at 1:17 am | Reply

    […] the way of heaven: cease blame and forgive your own condemnation (jrfibonacci.wordpress.com) […]

  2. hiwaychristian Says:
    March 24, 2012 at 2:45 am | Reply

    You added a post of mine to your “related articles”. You should have read it. The post about blame is not what you think it is. In fact it denounces the very proposition of your post. I know the title is a bit misleading. But that is by design. ‘

    I stopped adding related articles to my post because I found it took far too much time to actually read them to make sure they supported what I was posting. There was a time when I included related articles simply to get traffic to my blog. It is a far more honest approach to discontinue using them unless I have actually read what they had to say.

    I don’t comment about this to put you to shame. But to allow you the oportunity to rectify a possible embarassment.

    Good day.

    By His Grace.

    • jrfibonacci Says:
      March 24, 2012 at 3:11 am | Reply

      What embarassment are you talking about? Is it the embarassment that you imagine you would feel if someone denounced something you wrote?

      You can denounce my playful rebuke of denouncing. It is only natural, after all, right? People across the centuries have formed mobs to crucify perceived heretical threats to their sacred idolatries, right?

      I was not writing in order to obtain your personal approval, by the way. You are welcome to disagree or question it or comment as you wish. You are… welcome.

      • hiwaychristian Says:
        March 24, 2012 at 2:52 pm

        I sense a deep hatred within your words. If I, a fellow man, can see it we can be sure that He who’s eyes roam the earth can see it too. This is not a judgment against you. It is a friendly note; as iron sharpens iron.

    • jrfibonacci Says:
      March 24, 2012 at 4:04 pm | Reply

      First, I notice that you did not respond to my question. Second, I notice a pattern in your words of a concern for the assessments or even recognition of some other perceiver.

      Your linguistic models presume a meaningful isolation between yourself and some other, such as “He whose eyes roam the earth,” which sounds like a model of a terrifying tyrant, such as the ruler of your Hell whom you think to try to impress or appease by conforming to the “right way.” Of course, that is a very popular patterning of language. I consider it an instance of the behavior of agonizing.

      Consider an alternative model: you are already perfect. Anything “negative” that you could notice in yourself or others, any hatred or blame or sin or shame, is already forgiven. However, if you insist on focusing on making accusations and condemnations, (and saving people from the sinful specks that you perceive to be blocking their sight) then you will not notice that you are already forgiven and that the so-called sin of the world has already been redeemed by grace.

      You could continue waiting for a heaven that you may call eternal but insist cannot have started yet. You may say that you are waiting for God, but perhaps God has been waiting for you.

  3. hiwaychristian Says:
    March 27, 2012 at 6:42 pm | Reply

    There is no need to answer your question. You’re working with your brain only. And it doesn’t take a doctorate to see that pride is beginning to slip into your writings. This was far more important than any thelogical discourse. Go back to the fundamentals and just hold on.

    There is sin. There is regret. There is repentance. There is a “working out of our salvation with fear and trembling.” Such things will not be taken out of the way by a simple circus trick in theology. Think about it before you answer. Because I’d bet you’re already firing up to attack what I just said. My question to you is why.

    • jrfibonacci Says:
      March 27, 2012 at 6:49 pm | Reply

      There are questions. There is language. There are patterns. There are identifications and labeling and accusing and defending against expected attacks. There is pride, curiosity, confusion and worry.

      I direct you to return to studying the popular translations of the words of Jesus. You are not ready yet to give up antagonism and argumentativeness and righteousness. That is perfectly okay for you to sustain them, but they are sin and there will be a cost for sustaining your sinning.

  4. hiwaychristian Says:
    March 27, 2012 at 6:59 pm | Reply

    I appreciate your rebuke. It proves what I’m saying.

    I have learned something about myself. What wickedness I see in others is there because that same wickedness lives in me. This is what I see you doing. If you knew me you would learn you are not able to speak those things about me. But I can’t prove that to you. You accuse before you learn. I know about someone who God says does that on a regular basis. And that “someone” is not part of my Lord.

    I won’t answer you any more. We will surely be locked in a futile exchange of words. Debating over such issues as my state of affairs before the Most High God is not a place for any man. I answer to Him and I know where I stand before Him. You do not know where I stand before Him, yet you accuse me.

    Father, I end this conversation with this man. Please release him of any sin of accusation against me. Thank you Lord. In the name of Jesus, as always, I pray. Amen.

    • jrfibonacci Says:
      March 27, 2012 at 7:19 pm | Reply

      Why so concerned about wickedness, though? Let’s imagine that you and I are two humans who each possess qualities that we agree to label wicked.

      Jesus is credited with saying: “Forgive sins and they are forgiven. Retain [focus on] them, and they are retained.” So, maybe you accuse me of accusing you, and I do not really care about any of that past: what I did or what you did in response. I do not retain it, though I could recall it. I do not resent it.

      As for what I am able to speak to you, if I spoke it, I was able to speak it. The truth may be much simpler than “your brain has allowed you to recognize so far.”

      I know who I am and I know where you stand before me. You reject me. You do not know me. You can give lip service to me all you like, but your spirit reveals who is your father (your model).

      That is not an accusation. That is just a rebuke. In a moment, you could repent and I would not even need to be informed about it. You do not need my permission or approval to repent of your animosity toward me.

      You invoke my name but know nothing of my spirit. However, that can change in an instant.

  5. David Schram Says:
    April 13, 2012 at 2:16 am | Reply

    Thank you for your visit and comment!

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