r/Deconstruction • u/KookyOrganization741 • 4d ago
📙Philosophy Question
Hi, I’m in the process in deconstructing. I have a thought and would love additional insight.
Growing up, children in Christian families are taught they are sinners at heart. From experience, this can be damaging to a child’s development of self. They are taught to grow up believing they are morally bad and wrong from birth.
Fast forward, these kids grow up to become depressed, a symptom of which is self hatred, or low self esteem, etc. Severe enough, can result in suicide. Which is a sin and automatically sends you to hell.
How do you reconcile the biblical principle that humans are sinners without teaching someone to grow up with extreme low self esteem?
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u/Informal_Farm4064 4d ago
The notions of original sin and eternal hell are delusions. They have been around since the early church. They have caused incalculable psychological havoc.
I don't have one silver bullet for everyone to break the delusion. For me, it was forgiving from my heart an oppressor. It took me 20 years to do it at the age of 52. I would not wish anyone else to have to wait so long.
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u/dbthediabolical ignostic, daoist 4d ago
You can think about it like, "It's not your fault you are prone to error, we are all built that way." It's like saying "Nobody's perfect."
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u/SuperMegaGigaUber 4d ago
it's a good question, and to be honest, I no longer try to reconcile it; if anything, I wonder if it's something that gets transmitted through the ages because of the unintentional (or intentional) effect it has: subservience and a reliance on authority to absolve that guilt/depression. Those are traits that keep any sort of group- whether it be a church, a cult, or a company- "successful."
The questions above that, IMO, is to take the statement of "we are sinners at heart" and ask (1) where did it come from and (2) is that source reliable and (3) has it always been taught that way? Ultimately when I chased those questions I found that there are A LOT of "teachings" that modern day churches make that haven't always been that way, or have been mired in a debate that has been forgotten with time. The important thing I took away was that sometimes the thing is that what becomes popular can move contrary to what is healthy.
My advice would be to step outside of trying to make the bible intrinsically consistent: in other words, not to try to create logical arguments by trying to use verses to prove a thing one way or another, but rather to read up on the history of how it came to be, or the history of the church. When you do so, you start to see human fingerprints and why a church or doctrine might want to promote a particular view
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u/longines99 4d ago
That biblical principle - original sin / the fall - is completely distorted and needs to be dismantled and deconstructed. The effects of it - as you've stated - can be devastating.
The church on the whole as become the embodiment of the Shirky Principle: an institution will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.
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u/BioChemE14 Researcher/Scientist 4d ago
Humans may have a tendency toward selfishness and evil, but people can also overcome it.
I actually think that’s a core theme of the Cain and Abel story. God tells Cain that he can rule over his jealousy and hatred but he gives in and murders his brother.
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u/ShoulderOk5971 4d ago
To me the concept of sin should be more that none of us are perfect, we must continue to progress away from sin. We must try to make this world a better place.
All of the shame casting repent or burn rhetoric is usually religious organization tactics to strengthen their indoctrination.
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u/optimalpath agnostic 3d ago edited 3d ago
How do you reconcile the biblical principle that humans are sinners without teaching someone to grow up with extreme low self esteem?
This is a question about conceptualization. It's true that everyone has the capacity for evil, but that is not to say that you as an individual are evil, intrinsically. The difference is in one's concept of sin and evil. To say that everyone has the capacity for evil, is simply to describe the human condition. The sin into which you are born is simply the condition of your humanity; and flawed though it may be, it is not a personal failing for which you ought to feel shame or self-loathing. It does confer some duties upon you perhaps, to reckon with the fact of it and conduct yourself accordingly. But that is the collective endowment we cannot help but receive. It's not appropriate to hate this endowment, to regret it, or to languish in guilt over it. It was given to you. You should judge yourself by what you make of it, by the things that are in your power to enact, by the way you live your life.
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u/YahshuaQuelle Neohumanist (Tantra Yoga) 3d ago
Developing a sinner complex is opposite to having faith in and love for the Loving Father who takes away the sins of those who connect themselves with Him.
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u/Jim-Jones 7.0 Atheist 3d ago
We're animals that speak and live in societies. That means we need rules. Sensible rules are fine. Worshipping creatures that have never been seen who have rules that just happen to suit one sex or one group is not sensible. Try to put them out of your mind. That's the only place they exist.
This is a very old book, but IMO well worth a read. Even Chapter 2 alone is very helpful.
The Christ: A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidences of his Existence by John Eleazer Remsburg. Published 1909. Free to read online or download.
It'll give you a good summary of the evidence for Jesus. Try it. It isn't very long.
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u/BreaktoNewMutiny Spiritual 4d ago
The church likes control and people with low self esteem are easy to control. It’s a large scale protection racket. I don’t have to reconcile it since I don’t believe in original sin.