[lit-ideas] Re: Do You Have an Urgency?
- From: "Phil Enns" <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 15:59:25 -0400
David Ritchie wrote:
"So there, in near-delerium, lay I wondering about a central tenet of
Christianity...was Eve's sin actually a fall or a lapse?"
According to the tradition, both. The specific sin was a lapse, one
that occurs regularly for most people. However, Eve and Adam, according
to the tradition, were types for all humanity and therefore, in a single
typological act, acted for all humanity. Hence, the fall. A single
act, which on its own is bad enough, comes to be magnified by virtue of
its consequences.
Think of some feverish student shooting a royal in some obscure land
starting a war that will leave tens of millions dead. The initial act
is bad on its own, but for obscure reasons the act also brings about
catastrophic consequences.
Tying this into another thread, the fact that the consequences of moral
actions matter was always a problem for Kant. He offered two
incompatible paths for resolving the problem, either ignore consequences
or hold that there is an Ultimate Lawgiver who ensures that it all works
out, but I don't think he found either satisfactory.
Sincerely,
Phil Enns
Toronto, ON
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