Posted by Philip St. Romain on September 15, 19100 at 07:00:27:
In Reply to: Re: Levels of consciousness posted by Diana on September 14, 19100 at 18:03:51:
: There's an entire chapter in Marion's book about the problem of good and evil with a lot of talk about the end of sin. It's bringing up a lot
: of questions for me.
I would be very suspicious of someone who claimed they could no longer sin. I believe that sin will always be a possibity for those who live on this earth. Its probability, however, decreases as one grows in divine union.
The early Church struggled much with this, as the quote by St. John suggests. It seemed that to accept Christ and the Spirit, one was now in another state of being, and should be able to live a perfect life. What they discovered was that something of the old nature persisted--even deadly sins, at times. Eventually, the found ways to reconcile sinners with the community, initially by public confession, then through what came to be the Sacrament of Penance in the Catholic Church.
What we now know is that coming to divine union is a process of transformation, not a singular event. It took the Church awhile to realize this.
Peace,
Phil