That sin exists is obvious. Assigning it cosmic origins seems less so today. Theologians have traded in references to our “First Parents” because modern science has abandoned Adam and Eve as historic possibilities. We have also drawn the wrong lesson from the Genesis parable as it relates to Jesus and His teachings. The Genesis myth was about blame, not sin. Forgiveness is the answer to that, starting with the example of the Cross, which was a vision quest where Christ meets us in our pain rather than a cosmic blood sacrifice to God the Ogre. If we understood that, this would be progress.
Oh, there is nothing liberating about making sex a sin, especially for women, who seem to come out the worse for the deal.
As for the city of God built by the Holy, I prefer the kingdom of God as outlined by Jesus, which is a bit less respectful of civil and Church authority than Augustine could ever be comfortable with. The kingdom will never be perfectly ordered, indeed, the Catholic Middle Ages with the equally Christian Tartars to the east were hardly the City that Augustine spoke of. Winthrop got it wrong too. The kingdom of God is more a protest against power in any age, not an urge to exercise it.
Does this make Augustine less of a giant? Hardly. Just need a tune up. He was a product of his time in the Church and he did his best to define and consolidate what was in need of consolidation – but we still do not have to end there. Teaching for our time is as worthy a gesture for all of us saints, who celebrate this feast with Augustine.
No comments:
Post a Comment