tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7642623.post7887385286829455197..comments2023-07-19T06:45:28.313-05:00Comments on thegermanygirl:: book comments 33 and my book count for 2010thegermanygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03454653430071012654noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7642623.post-62658720211231212112011-11-22T06:46:23.559-06:002011-11-22T06:46:23.559-06:00Thank you for replying to my comment. What you say...Thank you for replying to my comment. What you say makes no sense at all to me: I always thought that original sin was a key element of Christianity. But then I suppose one can pick'n'mix to make a version that suits one. (Catholics can't, of course!)<br /><br />Anyway, what do I know? All religious faiths are a complete mystery to me.<br /><br />Every good wish.Tonyhttp://www.omf.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7642623.post-47123101684659821802011-11-21T12:10:24.298-06:002011-11-21T12:10:24.298-06:00Thanks for visiting my blog again, Tony. I appreci...Thanks for visiting my blog again, Tony. I appreciate that someone still checks in, even though I haven't posted anything here in nearly a year.<br /><br />You might think it strange enough, but I agree with Rousseau (whom I have, indeed, read). I've never belonged to that segment of the Christian population that believes in original sin; I have never believed that any of us is born tainted. We are truly born free in every sense of the word. We are born innocent, untainted, fresh, new.<br /><br />But I believe we put ourselves in chains as we carry on our lives and make our choices. We say and do things that cause each other pain, and each word or action that causes pain is just another chain we clamp around our own wrists. There is not a single one of us who has not caused harm to another.<br /><br />We are "everywhere in chains" because we lock ourselves away from each other and lock ourselves away from the one power in the universe that can break down all the doors and unlock all the chains. <br /><br />The sacrifice that Jesus made was not in vain, because the freedom he offers is available to anyone who wants it. The crux of the matter is that he can't give freedom to those who don't want it. He won't force his freedom on anyone. Each of us will spend eternity exactly the way we want to. And that's the most liberating part of the whole deal.thegermanygirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03454653430071012654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7642623.post-57894658320984159772011-11-21T06:10:05.196-06:002011-11-21T06:10:05.196-06:00Now that's what I call serious reading; if it ...Now that's what I call serious reading; if it was a typical year in your life then you must be a very well-read lady.<br /><br />But I see from your Profile that you believe that "Jesus sacrificed himself for the eternal freedom of humanity".<br /><br />Most people agree with Jean-Jacques Rousseau: "Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains": this must mean that the sacrifice was in vain. <br /><br />I guess you must have read him, so presumably your observation of the world differs from Rousseau's. Or perhaps two thousand years has not been enough, and we must wait longer for our eternal freedom.Tonyhttp://appsomf.blogspot.com/2004/03/notes-and-profile.htmlnoreply@blogger.com