Sin is not a notion of God, it is a construction of the church. Eastern wisdom certainly does not have the same obsession with sin as the western church, and for good reason. Sin was a useful tool for the church to keep its adherents afraid and and therefore controllable. As we are becoming more able to accept broader understandings of reality and spirituality, beyond the narrow and self-serving interpretations of the church, we will see the idea of sin naturally disappear from social, philosophical and theological discourse.
The greatest flaw of our current system of sin and punishment is that it is ethically relativist. It is imposed unequally and unjustly according to one’s social, gender, financial and political status. Our traditional notions of sin and righteousness, right and wrong, are interpreted to mean different things for different people. An obvious example is the sin of premarital sex, which has always been far more stringently imposed on women whilst often allowing men to avoid both the social stigma and the social punishment of the same behavior.
The irony is that the system of sin and punishment does not work. History has proved that people can only be permanently controlled by external codes if the individual or group agrees to be so controlled. If we are not committed to the code, it is virtually useless. Thus, my father always used to joke how the firstborns in our family are for some inexplicable reason always born premature.
Once we are honest with ourselves and can acknowledge this at all levels from the personal to the political, the debate then shifts from what is moral or immoral, to what is practical and sustainable in the long term.
We need a system that has far greater philosophical, spiritual and social integrity if it is to be enduring and effective. I believe we will return to the ideas of the ancient Greek philosophers who believed we should give individuals the freedom to choose actions based on the desired consequences. Not only is such a system innately just, more ideologically sound, and far more effective in controlling the excesses of human behavior, it is empowering for all because it entails no guilt, shame or judgment.
Our world is gradually approaching an age where we will all be held responsible for our own actions, regardless of the external codes of law and morality. We are approaching a time when morality, as we currently define it, will be irrelevant. It will be replaced by an understanding of the Law of Cause and Effect and we will come to see that the only way we can experience love is to choose loving thoughts, words and actions. This is the ultimate morality.
