Atonement:
in Christianity atonement is the traditional virtue of forgiveness of a sin, it's seen as the ultimate act of Jesus as he died for our for sins, most specifically the original sin that caused our fall from Eden. I've never really understood this, why there must be suffering before forgiveness is bestowed and if we were created in original innocence - shouldn't this always remain as our true nature?
I'm no longer a Christian, in fact, I don't think I ever truly was as it was an inherited belief system that I was not allowed to really question. Or at least in the school that I attended. There was a much more relaxed atmosphere at home and I was encouraged to read freely on all that interested me. So at a fairly early age I dropped my loosely held beliefs of Christianity and explored other options, mostly eastern, although mystics of all traditions fascinated me.
then in my early thirties I discovered A Course in Miracles.
and struggled with the language.
being very Christian in it's terms.
yet now, decades later, I find myself loving how some traditional thoughts are redefined, offered as a means of my own transformation and not as a belief system that doesn't seem to truly heal. So now, once more, I come to the word atonement and I find myself falling in love with the promise that it holds. Here, I'm asked to find within my own inherent innocence and look past perceived sins of others and see their innocence as well.
it feels like a true forgiveness.
the promise is that through forgiveness we undo the world our thoughts have created. We see through the past and no longer project fear upon the future. Indeed, the atonement is at hand, right now and every moment that we're able to forgive ourselves and others.
and as the Course says...
herein lies the peace of God.
it's nowhere else but here.
~
Peace, Eric