QuakerQuaker

Primitive Christianity Revived, Again

A World without Sin, a/k/a A World without personal responsibility

It’s a World without Sin, everyone is ok
No need for Grace, from what people say
There’s no Hell to go to, no need to repent
it’s a World without Sin, a world without lent.

It’s a World without sin, the devil’s retired
there’s no one to tempt us, his imps have been fired
There’s no one way to God, Oprah has said
In John 14:6 Jesus was simply misread

It’s a World without Sin, we’re all children of God
we love one another, though sometimes its hard
yet spouses are given no rent money to pay
in a world without sin where everyone is ok

People are starving, children abused
while some have more money than they can use
Greedy people lose fortunes and then they complain
that people they trusted stole their ill-gotten gains

No creator existed to write the Good Book
this well ordered universe it’s just a fluke
who evolved into a monkey or maybe an ape,
who learned to play chess and paint a landscape

It’s a World without Sin, we’re all equal on earth
Except some are more equal by virtue of birth
We all love each other, no harm would we do
if others would treat us as we would treat you

We’re all children of God, we love one another
treating each other like Sister or Brother
but people are starving all over this Earth
because all their leaders have put themselves first

You can keep your World without Sin, it’s truly a lie
by people who live in fear till the day that they die
Because they live a life as their own God
that will end when their bodies get laid in the sod.

I think a little sin would not be to bad
to admit we’re not perfect might make us sad
but we would finally be able to open our eyes
and see that our Saviour for our sins He did die

Lord Jesus I pray for us sinners today
who think that imperfection is really ok
who don’t understand, that the Grace from your cross
bought our Father’s forgiveness at your great cost.

The result of living in a World without sin is that we can blame personal failings on organizations, both business and governmental. Instead of seeing racism and other sins as systemic to the human condition we choose to see them as organizational problems. Jesus could just as well have been speaking of Government when he spoke of a field in Matthew 13.

Mat 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Let him who has ears to hear, hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church and him or her who is without sin toss the first stone.

2 members like this

Comment by Forrest Curo on 10th mo. 13, 2017 at 11:57am: Is Heck necessary to deter bad verse?

A person's gotta write what a person's gotta write -- but hey, there's a better lens available for seeing the problem you're talking about with this piece.

God really does love everybody, in that very practical sense Jesus talks about in the Sermon, about God's ongoing care for the Unjust as well as the 'Just'.

That is an accurate description of God's nature; and Jesus says quite explicitly for us to emulate it. Nothing said about God or us helping the Unjust while muttering curses under our breath; we're supposed to pray for them. Because God is like that.

Maybe you need the consolation of Hell to feel better about all those dreadful people who seem, for now, to be getting away with making everyone but themselves wretched...

but you know (Don't you?) that what they're "getting away with" is an affliction (aka "Sin") that won't allow for long-term happiness until it's healed.

Is invoking Judgement and Hellfire an example of hoping that evil means could achieve good ends? Hasn't worked, has it?

I don't agree that God is Love; but that's what God is like. That's what heals people, not accusations and threats. And that's what we're supposed to learn here, the hard way, so it really sinks in!

Not feeling loved -- that's a big obstacle; because being loved and cared for is normally people's first hint of what love is like. People feel and do crazy things when they don't quite get it. Just telling them "God loves you!" may not do the job -- especially when they think God has it in for them, would rather you wouldn't bring up those unpleasant subjects.

God uses a wide range of approaches, including many which would not have been the first things that would have occurred to us, to get through to people. We'll have to see how that works...

Comment by James C Schultz on 10th mo. 13, 2017 at 1:11pm: If you think the verse is bad, you should hear me sing it.:)

Comment by Forrest Curo on 10th mo. 13, 2017 at 2:35pm: Arrgh! (But don't stop writing! Or singing... )

It's a perfectly good example of what it is, if you like that sort of thing...

Look, we're probably quite agreed that human beings (except for us?) are a mess! But you aren't going to improve your poetry, or your singing, by trying to make it perfect. You've gone as far as you can in that direction...

but if you truly repent bad verse, bad singing, and conventional theology... ("repent" as in Marcus Borg's 'translation': "Go beyond the mind that you have!") then you could potentially do something else and like it better.

And maybe we could help human beings get better!

Not to deny that we-all put us-all through Hell. Or say that the resulting suffering doesn't serve a divine function. But the function isn't to make us stoke up the flames.

I've been led to this woman's writings lately, don't agree with her entirely, but find what she's got to say about prayer, love, and the harm done by perfectionism very helpful! http://books.upperroom.org/book-author/roberta-bondi/

Comment by Forrest Curo on 10th mo. 13, 2017 at 2:41pm: The old Quaker doctrine of Perfectionism (that human beings don't have to sin) is just fine. It's our ideas of what's perfect that have to go!

Comment by James C Schultz on 10th mo. 13, 2017 at 7:58pm: The first "Christian" bumper sticker I bought was "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven". Now I know it's not necessary for me to be perfect. I just hate the fact that I'm not.:)

Comment by Forrest Curo on 10th mo. 13, 2017 at 8:44pm: Sometimes I forget that I'm imperfect, but God finds ways to remind me. Not for me to dwell on, just helping me remember that it isn't about the glory of us!

Comment by James C Schultz on 10th mo. 14, 2017 at 11:16am: Perfection is the "unreachable star", the "Quest". It's not about reaching it or attaining it, it's all about the "Quest" or journey. We should all strive to attain perfection and not be satisfied with less than our best, even in verse and song. There should never be guilt in failing except in failing to try. Aron Judge set a record for strike outs in the divisional series but he showed up for the next one. He hasn't struck out for the last time but hopefully he will keep at it.

Comment by Forrest Curo on 10th mo. 14, 2017 at 5:01pm: God is teaching us something. It seems to have more to do with doing our assignments than with not making mistakes.

Comment by David McKay on 10th mo. 14, 2017 at 7:19pm: What if Hell were a prison with unlocked doors and the only thing keeping us in chains was our own fear of walking into the presence of God?

Comment by Forrest Curo on 10th mo. 15, 2017 at 10:24am: Jesus comes in and tells them that friends don't let friends lock themselves up; and they say, "Shut the door, dammit! Were you born in a barn, or what?"

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