..in the musky, golden light of childhood, my sins remained as wisps of clouds that passed by me, sins I know I will not be judged for, sins that I know God lets pass by as clouds and nothing more..
loved your piece. I often think of the serpent as the instigator of sin, in the context of Adam and Eve. Of course, Eve is a charged entity (or identity if you will), but how is that--Sin that is--the beginning of all human life as we know it? For if a world exists it does so in terms of the expulsion of Eden, and so on. I often wonder if the idea of sin is nothing but the the knot (or crux) of salvation.
PS. I loved the Magdalenas, btw. They're really something to meditate on--and you posted great paintings.
Thank you so much for your thoughts! I’m glad to hear that some of it resonated with you / that you enjoyed the read. And exactly! It’s worrying to think that the first monumental thing we humans did is sin - if you’re taking the Christian approach. It never really sat right with me, but I think it should be called into question how much of the story was used in the past as propaganda for a larger economic regime that benefitted from people’s fear of sin and their willingness to spend as much money to be rid of it as possible.
I thank you for writing it--it's such a generative piece, and it can go in so many ways. I commend you because I, myself, have wanted to write a piece about sin (from the snake's perspective) but have putting it off because it's a lot of work (which you clearly did:) And I see it no so much as the propaganda--I think of it as a mode of inquiry and reflection--what is sin after all?
Sin, as a word comes down to us as a loaded term. Where in the Bible it used to mean a blur, a mistake, something a slip. Much as when we make a mistake in our writing and we get to fix it. Though--there's a warning that some mistakes aren't reversible--and because of this reason they are to be carefully observed--like not to put your hand on the fire, kind of a thing. Of course, throughout the ages this concept has changed, and it was used as a tool for fear (as you mentioned). There's so much to say, but I'll stop here. Still, you did a great job at bringing up Mary Magdalene as an entity of transcendence and a doorway to salvation. Yet, fyi, I see the idea of sin as a myth that has mirror implications for life that without this concept we'd be missing a moral compass (for the Catholic west at least)--though that morality is being quickly lost in our new world. OMG, there's so much to say here, too. So I'll stop again!
I never actually knew that about the word sin ! We have a lot of words for it in Arabic - ranging from a mistake to disobedience/bad intentions. We even have a specific word for a forgiven sin. As always the limits of your world are the limits of your language and if in the English speaking world we narrow it down to simply “sin” then of course it’ll be loaded and something to fear (and propaganda). But yeah, I could go on forever
This was so beautifully written!! I love that your muslims aswell and dwelling into this topic, as a muslim writer, i find that i tend to disassociate from my religion when writing topics such as the philosophy of sin or any topic in general and see it from a broad aspect obviously leaning to Christian povs that makes me wonder if Im writing as me. I truly believe this is bcs the books I consume. Being the topics that interest me specifically that talk of sin are all from Christianity diction and not from muslim or even ex-muslim povs. This was the first work I read by a muslim that talks of the topics that deranges my sanity, and consumes my thoughts, and truly feels so much more thoughtful reading it from someone sharing the same religion. I hope you continue writing as such, as it does feel like an understanding i've never felt till I read your work!!
this is honestly so great to hear, im so glad it resonated with you <3 i completely agree, i'd have the same predicament in my philosophy class! its such an unspoken thing in our muslim communities but it really does shape me and how i view myself or just the world in general, and i find that its so easy to lean into other (cultural or otherwise) ideologies and get a little bogged down without realising that our own religion is built on forgiveness :) also so happy to see another muslim writer on here!
loved your piece. I often think of the serpent as the instigator of sin, in the context of Adam and Eve. Of course, Eve is a charged entity (or identity if you will), but how is that--Sin that is--the beginning of all human life as we know it? For if a world exists it does so in terms of the expulsion of Eden, and so on. I often wonder if the idea of sin is nothing but the the knot (or crux) of salvation.
PS. I loved the Magdalenas, btw. They're really something to meditate on--and you posted great paintings.
Thank you so much for your thoughts! I’m glad to hear that some of it resonated with you / that you enjoyed the read. And exactly! It’s worrying to think that the first monumental thing we humans did is sin - if you’re taking the Christian approach. It never really sat right with me, but I think it should be called into question how much of the story was used in the past as propaganda for a larger economic regime that benefitted from people’s fear of sin and their willingness to spend as much money to be rid of it as possible.
I thank you for writing it--it's such a generative piece, and it can go in so many ways. I commend you because I, myself, have wanted to write a piece about sin (from the snake's perspective) but have putting it off because it's a lot of work (which you clearly did:) And I see it no so much as the propaganda--I think of it as a mode of inquiry and reflection--what is sin after all?
Sin, as a word comes down to us as a loaded term. Where in the Bible it used to mean a blur, a mistake, something a slip. Much as when we make a mistake in our writing and we get to fix it. Though--there's a warning that some mistakes aren't reversible--and because of this reason they are to be carefully observed--like not to put your hand on the fire, kind of a thing. Of course, throughout the ages this concept has changed, and it was used as a tool for fear (as you mentioned). There's so much to say, but I'll stop here. Still, you did a great job at bringing up Mary Magdalene as an entity of transcendence and a doorway to salvation. Yet, fyi, I see the idea of sin as a myth that has mirror implications for life that without this concept we'd be missing a moral compass (for the Catholic west at least)--though that morality is being quickly lost in our new world. OMG, there's so much to say here, too. So I'll stop again!
I never actually knew that about the word sin ! We have a lot of words for it in Arabic - ranging from a mistake to disobedience/bad intentions. We even have a specific word for a forgiven sin. As always the limits of your world are the limits of your language and if in the English speaking world we narrow it down to simply “sin” then of course it’ll be loaded and something to fear (and propaganda). But yeah, I could go on forever
This was so beautifully written!! I love that your muslims aswell and dwelling into this topic, as a muslim writer, i find that i tend to disassociate from my religion when writing topics such as the philosophy of sin or any topic in general and see it from a broad aspect obviously leaning to Christian povs that makes me wonder if Im writing as me. I truly believe this is bcs the books I consume. Being the topics that interest me specifically that talk of sin are all from Christianity diction and not from muslim or even ex-muslim povs. This was the first work I read by a muslim that talks of the topics that deranges my sanity, and consumes my thoughts, and truly feels so much more thoughtful reading it from someone sharing the same religion. I hope you continue writing as such, as it does feel like an understanding i've never felt till I read your work!!
this is honestly so great to hear, im so glad it resonated with you <3 i completely agree, i'd have the same predicament in my philosophy class! its such an unspoken thing in our muslim communities but it really does shape me and how i view myself or just the world in general, and i find that its so easy to lean into other (cultural or otherwise) ideologies and get a little bogged down without realising that our own religion is built on forgiveness :) also so happy to see another muslim writer on here!