Sin and Guilt are not separate things; they are the same dynamic behavior separated in time. We do not view them at the same time, so we assume they are separate.
The Forbidden means nothing if there is no immediate sense of Retribution. Nothing is forbidden if there is no huge down-side when we are face-to-face with whatever the taboo item is. One of the uses of Myth is to teach us this, so that we do not have to transgress against the gods or the fate or the word of God unwittingly, and suffer the consequences of an act performed all innocently.
If this is so, and we feel Shame when we realize our Guilt, what is Shame, then? Shame is the Thwarting of the Rewards promised by the Attraction and Impulse that we felt back in the past: back when we sinned.
All taboos are the Forbidden Fruit of the Tree in Eden: no knowledge that is weak and impotent is forbidden Adam and Eve; only the fruit that is exceedingly powerful is forbidden: the fruit that would give them divine understanding.
Shame is the realization that the fruit was not ripe after all.
What if one truly sins and feels no Shame? What if one commits a hideous act, shamelessly?
Nothing is always filled; a vessel filled with power and knowledge must be replenished at times, something must be emptied in order to receive the new.
To sin without shame is to wither and die, like flowers in the vases of a funeral home where there is no longer any need to renew the water.
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Monday, February 14, 2011
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