Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Pope on Original Sin today



“For Paul, this meant that we should never consider Adam’s and humanity’s sin separately, without understanding them within the horizon of justification in Christ,” said the Pope.
What is original sin? asked Benedict XVI. Does it exist or not? There is, he said, “an empirical, tangible aspect to it, and a mysteric one” with “an ontological foundation.”
“In effect, there is a contradiction in our being. We all know that we must do what is good and in our inner selves we want to do it. But also in our inners selves we feel another impulse, which is to follow of the path of selfishness and violence despite the knowledge that we are going against God and our fellow man.” Indeed man “has the capacity to feel what is good but not the capacity to realise it.”
“The inner contradiction of our being is not a theory. We all feel and see it around us, every day. Look at violence, injustice, dissipation.” Man bears a contradiction and “from this power of evil over our souls flows the foul river of evil which poisons human history.”
“In our day such a contradiction in our history gives rise to a desire for redemption in order that the world may be changed into one of justice, peace and goodness.” Even in “politics everyone talks about changing the world, creating a just world. This indicates a desire for redemption.”

3 comments:

Ches said...

Chesterton it was, I think, who said the only revealed doctrine with indubitable empirical evidence was original sin. The river of evil ...

Meanwhile, does anyone else feel that that thing behind the pope is an 'original' sin? I do!

Fr Ray Blake said...

Ches, I hear there is talk about having a go at it.
It is very dated but it will need a big skip.

Anonymous said...

The sooner they have a go at it the better. What on earth is it? It looks like something inspired by Hieronymous Bosch!

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