M
magdelaine
Guest
I believe I have found the answer to a question that has been haunting me for the better part of a year…I’m a convert to the faith 5 years this coming Easter and I began to ask myself this general question:
How is it that so many denominations have split away from the Church? Is it the work of the Devil? It was hard for me to accept that because I know many Protestants that are good, God-loving people. Although I can imagine the Devil being quite happy with so much division in the body of Christ, I couldn’t see Protestentism, and even other religions, as Demonic. The Holy Spirit works through those churches and people as assuridly as it works in the Church. So how is it that people can get it so wrong?
Then the other day I heard, I believe it was on Catholic Answers, a description of original sin that was like this: That the tree of the knowledge of good and evil didn’t represent the knowledge itself; Adam and Eve were imbued with that knowledge to begin with (This seemed pretty important to me; I had always imagined them as naive innocents). Rather, partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil meant that man, encouraged by Satan, took it upon himself to decide what is good and what is evil. (I guess in retrospect this seems obvious, but I never got that from reading the scripture.)
Then this morning it occured to me that, wow, if this interpretation is correct, original sin itself is responsible for all the different denominations, all the different individual pastors convinced that “he alone” has all the answers. It emphasized for me how very important and precious the authority of the Church is as we contend with a world where everyone willfully decides that what is “right” and “wrong”.
Does anyone know who it was I heard? Does this jive with your understanding of original sin?
How is it that so many denominations have split away from the Church? Is it the work of the Devil? It was hard for me to accept that because I know many Protestants that are good, God-loving people. Although I can imagine the Devil being quite happy with so much division in the body of Christ, I couldn’t see Protestentism, and even other religions, as Demonic. The Holy Spirit works through those churches and people as assuridly as it works in the Church. So how is it that people can get it so wrong?
Then the other day I heard, I believe it was on Catholic Answers, a description of original sin that was like this: That the tree of the knowledge of good and evil didn’t represent the knowledge itself; Adam and Eve were imbued with that knowledge to begin with (This seemed pretty important to me; I had always imagined them as naive innocents). Rather, partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil meant that man, encouraged by Satan, took it upon himself to decide what is good and what is evil. (I guess in retrospect this seems obvious, but I never got that from reading the scripture.)
Then this morning it occured to me that, wow, if this interpretation is correct, original sin itself is responsible for all the different denominations, all the different individual pastors convinced that “he alone” has all the answers. It emphasized for me how very important and precious the authority of the Church is as we contend with a world where everyone willfully decides that what is “right” and “wrong”.
Does anyone know who it was I heard? Does this jive with your understanding of original sin?
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