Thanks for putting that link up again. It is one of the best articles I have read in ages. I was raised pagan. I was a practicing witch and an ordained priestess until I was 35. A good lot of the things listed are considered "required studies" in my old circles. Many of the things are now "mainstream" a normal, accepted part of modern society.
One thing that was not mentioned, that I believe is a huge contributor to the evils in our society is feminism. Submission to ones husband, pastor, and especially a male deity is completely unacceptable in our country. Girls are taught a very young age about the power within them. Feminism has brought about the the breakdown of the family, promiscuity and abortion, and has let men off the hook for their responsibility to provide for and protect us. There are now thousands of modern, liberal churches who only teach the parts of the Bible that are in line with their thinking. Goddess worship is very popular, either overtly in neo-paganism (and some Catholicism) , or covertly in environmentalism/ mother earth worship. I am not saying that women aren't good and valuable. God made man
and women in His image, and said that it was very good. But when out of their proper place and role, everything becomes quite less than good.
I'll put my soapbox away now, and get back on topic. I have a theory about the original sin. It is strictly my idea, and you can't pick specific passages out of the Bible in a word-for-word manner to back it.
People say the original sin was disobedience. I say it was covetousness. She wanted to be like God. She wanted what He had (knowledge). She had to disobey to get it, but that was incidental.
Remember in "Silence of the Lambs" when Hannibal was explaining Buffalo Bill to Clarice? He said "What does he do?" Clarice replied "He kills women." Hannibal said, "No - that is incidental. What is his nature? His nature is to covet." Buffalo Bill wanted what the women had, so he had to kill them to get it. (Yes, I just quoted a fictional serial killer in a theological discussion. LOL)
Covetousness is at the very base of human nature and the driving force of all sin - psychological disorders like kleptomania and sociopathy aside. We steal because we covet the thing we are stealing. We lie to look good, or make someone else look not as good as us. We fornicate because we desire the pleasure that we hear others talk about having. We lash out at others because we desire the peace and quiet that are not ours to have at that moment (that is my number one sin) We cheat to get something that is not rightfully ours. We look to other religions because we think there is more benefit for us with less sacrifice on our parts. We disobey those in authority because we desire our own power and rule.
So I believe coveting is the original sin because it came first. It comes first in all other sins we commit. Eve was lied to. She was tricked. Satan caused her to forget that that she was God's daughter and that everything God has is her inheritance. As Christians, we need to always remember there is nothing we can desire that is not ours by bir
thright. We need to trust God in this, and be patient because he will give it to us at the proper time.
~A
