Aug 24, 2010
Imago Dei and The Fall
Posted by Joe Paravisini in Stories | Comments (2)
One puzzle that I find intriguing is the idea of good and evil within humanity. For many of us, we tend to spend most of our lives focusing more on the good within ourselves and our camps, and the evil of certain other camps. Questions such as "how could anyone do that" are a common response to atrocities seen and heard around the world.
A Real And Unrelenting Death
When faced with images of the child soldiers of Uganda, the world sex trade, genocide, rape, torture and exploitation, we are forced to come to terms with a real and present evil. The lists are too enormous to number. Every where we turn (if we pay attention) we are faced with new and twisted ways to hate and kill, to advance ourselves or our groups at the cost of others.
The evil is not a past problem that has been solved by better education, social programs, government, or science. It does not seem to have been "cured" by religion either, as we are so painfully reminded by extremist or fundamentalist sects who act out in violence and hatred, clergy charged with the molestation of countless helpless and forever scared children, fraud and general hypocrisy.
Evil does not seem to have a biological, regional, religious (or irreligious), or economic preference. I have yet to find the utopian society, however small, that is fully rid of this problem. It is a sickness that plauges our selves when we are truly honest.
A Mysterious And Hopeful Life
Yet, the human race is full of beauty. Countless stories of love, heroism, and sacrifice fill our history books, poems, novels and even sometimes, the news. We have brilliant scientists dedicating their lives to eradicating diseases; humanitarians putting themselves at risk for the impoverished masses that will never be able to thank them; foster parents willing to raise orphaned children as their own; teachers willing to spend their lives helping others succeed; ER doctors and nurses putting their time and energy completely in the hands of the injured and sick.
We have musicians, artists, poets and story tellers who exist to bring joy and life to those around them with their art. The unwavering love of a mother or father. The list is equally as innumerable.
A Story of Enigma
With such seemingly blatant contradiction in front of us, such a stark contrast between the good we strive for, and the evil that seems inevitable, what can we say? Can we ignore the beauty in humanity, and slip into a hyper-calvinistic despair, believing humanity to be 100% pure and worthless evil? That in itself feels (and is) evil. Can we ignore the cries of the innocent as their captives sell them into a life of prostitution at shockingly young ages, giving them virtually no hope of living even into adulthood, and state with naive confidence that we humans are a good and honest species?
One of my favorite quotes of all time is from C.S. Lewis in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Aslan states with simple eloquence that:
"You come from the lord Adam and the lady Eve, which is both honor enough to lift the head of the lowest beggar and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the highest emperor on earth."
Paradox is something that we westerners have a hard time with. We believe (and rightfully so) with Aristotle on the basics of reason, namely that something cannot both be and not be at the same time. A Paradox is something that is painfully close to a contradiction, but when examined closely is actually two simultaneous and uncontradictory truths.
The First Order: Imago Dei
As the Genesis 1 and 2 creation story accounts, Elohim, who is the definition of goodness and benevolence, created a beautiful and perfect world, followed by his chief work, man and woman themselves (it is interesting to note, that from the creation narrative, humanity was the first creation seen as "not good" by God, until he completed man with woman, changing it to the only creation he deemed "Very good"). God bestowed his very image into humanity (Imago Dei, lit. "image of God"). All of creation speaks of Gods glory and wonder, but only humanity was bestowed the immence honor of bearing the very image, reflection, or representation of it's Creator.
The Catastrophe of Evil: The Fall
But a tragedy was brought to stage. Shameless and perfect humanity was tempted to leave the perfection of paradise, and venture out of the protection of Creator's guiding love, and introduced evil and disorder into a once flawless creation. The first act of evil was done solely against the Creator himself. The following acts where against the Creator as well as our fellow creatures. Shortly after that a brother, out of jealousy, rose up against his own kin and shed innocent blood. The next chapters of the Genesis narrative are filled with a progressive and familiar evil infiltrating all aspects of humanity.This is the idea of "The Fall". A good and perfection creation that has been unmistakably and forever stained with a sickness.
The consequences where more then we had anticipated. Creation began with the stipulations of a Creator who maintains his goodness by perfect and unwavering justice. A justice incorruptible by even the basest evil. The dual fate of Humanity is not only a disease contagious on birth that slants us to harm our neighbor, but also left us as lawbreakers of a Creator who by definition owns us, and has now become our judge.
The Tension of Now
And this is the chapter of the story that we are left in. Every baby born can expect to grow up into the schizophrenia of life. Parents do not need to teach a child selfishness. Some will grow up and become a new Stalin. Others, will grow up and become a new Nicholas of Myra. Most of us will grow up somewhere in between, conscience of some striving to do good, while being ever reminded--like a stone in the shoe of a traveler--of our inherent selfish and conflicting desires. We feel the pain of evil done against us, and we feel the shame of evil done by us. We might even sense the apprehension of a Creator who has not forgotten, while we hope that the enormous evils of others shadow our own minor shortcomings. We are left in the valley of the shadow of death, where the story is left unresolved. We know that we long for justice, to see the world as it was intended, but can that even be imagined fully now? What philosophy, what scientific breakthrough, what government, what religion will bring the world as whole back to goodness?
And even more pressing, how are we to see our fellow humans? How can we withhold love from those who hurt us when we hurt others and desire love? How do we look at humanity as a whole when we see such pure and disturbing evil, yet such unprecedented love?
To Be Continued...
Posted by Joe Paravisini in Stories
