# Original Blessing > “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. — Genesis 1:1–2 The story of creation is familiar to us.  We heard it growing up, and continue to hear people arguing that it should be taken literally.  They are missing the point.  What is important about the story of creation is what was before creation, and what the nature of creation is. In the beginning the earth was formless, void and covered in darkness.  What happened next was the Spirit of God moving over the surface of the waters.  This is the first mystery, we are presented.  We see the God who is everything, the one "in whom we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17: 28)," on the verge of creation. There was nothingness, that which was formless, void, and covered in darkness; and there was being, the waters. > “Yesh (Being) is that manifestation of God, that appears to us as separate entities. — physical, psychological, and spiritual. Ayin (Emptiness) is the manifestation of God that reveals all separation to be illusory: everything is simply God in different forms. — Rabbi Shapiro, Minyan, page 27 So we might read Genesis 1 as saying, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  There was ayin and the spirit of God was moving over Yesh."  Or, "There was nothingness and the spirit of God was moving over being."  From this came all things.  "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good (Genesis 1:31)." In the beginning God created nothing and everything, and looking out over all of it, saw that it was good.  The universe was made good.  It was not a mistake, not an error, not something so fragile that a mere human could destroy it.  This is our Original Blessing. ## The No-thingness of God (Ayin) > “Then spoke Solomon, Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. > > — 1 Kings 8:12; cf 2 Chronicles 6:1 Many are surprised when they  dwell: Shakan,  thick darkness: araphel, cloud, heavy or dark cloud, darkness, gross darkness, thick darkness  > “He made darkness his hiding-place, his pavilion around him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. > > — Psalm 18:11 made: stationed, appointed, fixed darkness, obscurity, secret place hiding-place: covering, shelter, hiding place, secrecy  pavilion: thicket, covert, booth  > “Clouds and darkness are around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. > — Psalm 97:2 > “Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! > ”For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” > ”Or who has first given to him, And it will be repaid to him again?” > For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen. — Paul, Romans 11:33-36 --- ## The Being of God (Yesh) > “which in its own times he will show, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen. — Pseudo-Paul, 1 Timothy 6:15-16 > “Can any hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him? says Yahweh. Don’t I fill heaven and earth? says Yahweh. — Jeremiah 23:24 > “Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said, “You men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religious in all things. > For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I announce to you. > The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands, neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath, and all things. > He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. > ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ — Acts 17:22-28 > “He is before all things, and in him all things are held together. — Paul, Colossians 1:17 --- Some would say they were now almost at the point where the plot shifts, and a mere human eats a piece of fruit after being tempted by a talking snake, and the whole of the universe is corrupted. Have faith in God, my sisters and brothers, that the One who made the universe, and sustains it; who created the world in Original Blessing, continues to create the world that he knows to be good. So what about that business with the talking snake anyway. 1. Original Blessing  1. The universe is fundamentally a blessing. Our relationship with the universe fills us with awe. This principle is both a repudiation of the Augustinian idea of Original Sin as well as the bedrock of the entire tradition.  In the poetic story of Creation, God says repeatedly that this creation is good. The rest of the scriptural tradition continues from this starting point, never seeing the world itself as fallen or broken. It isn’t until we get to Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE) who proclaimed a broken, fallen, and sinful nature in a way that was so useful to the Roman Empire, they incorporated it into the Roman Catholic faith, but persecuted and drove out anyone who disagreed with this idea of Original Sin up to this day.  The problem is that we are not born intrinsically good or evil. Our universe isn’t broken and nature is not evil.  Whether or not we believe a Deity was involved, our universe flared forth 13.8 billion years ago. It has unfolded through various processes to get to the state it is in today. From this universe, Cosmos and Chaos emerged. Neither is capable of ethical or moral acts. The one thing we cannot deny is the awe born in use through the sheer scale and beauty of the universe. This awe is the foundation we will build upon. >“What I call ‘original blessing’ can also be named ‘original goodness’ (Aquinas), ‘original grace’ or ‘original wisdom’ (Hildegard).” > Fox, Matthew. Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality (Modern Spiritual Masters) (p. 83). Orbis Books. Kindle Edition. > “In Buddhism, our true nature has been called ‘Buddha nature,’ ‘original mind,’ and ‘luminous.’” > Fox, Matthew. Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality (Modern Spiritual Masters) (p. 83). Orbis Books. Kindle Edition. ## Original Blessing > "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters (Genesis 1:1–2)." The story of creation is familiar to us. We heard it growing up, and continue to hear people arguing that it should be taken literally. They are missing the point. What is important about the story of creation is what was before creation, and what the nature of creation is. In the beginning the earth was formless, void and covered in darkness. What happened next was the Spirit of God moving over the surface of the waters. This is the first mystery, we are presented. We see the God who is everything, the one "in whom we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17: 28)," on the verge of creation. There was nothingness, that which was formless, void, and covered in darkness; and there was being, the waters. > "Yesh (Being) is that manifestation of God, that appears to us as separate entities. — physical, psychological, and spiritual. Ayin (Emptiness) is the manifestation of God that reveals all separation to be illusory: everything is simply God in different forms (Rabbi Shapiro, Minyan, page 27)." So we might read Genesis 1 as saying, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. There was ayin and the spirit of God was moving over Yesh." Or, "There was nothingness and the spirit of God was moving over being." From this came all things. "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good (Genesis 1:31)." In the beginning God created nothing and everything, and looking out over all of it, saw that it was good. The universe was made good. It was not a mistake, not an error, not something so fragile that a mere human could destroy it. This is our Original Blessing. Some would say they were now almost at the point where the plot shifts, and a mere human eats a piece of fruit after being tempted by a talking snake, and the whole of the universe is corrupted. Have faith in God, my sisters and brothers, that the One who made the universe, and sustains it; who created the world in Original Blessing, continues to create the world that he knows to be good. So what about that business with the talking snake anyway. # Sin, Death, and Original Blessing If we truly were created in Original Blessing rather than Original Sin, and in the unity of our Inclination to Good (Yetzer ha–Tov) and our Inclination to Evil (Yetzer ha-Ra), how can we see Sin and Death as a natural event?  How can we say they are good? ## The Wages of Sin > “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. > > — Paul, Romans 6:23 The Apostle Paul says that wages of sin is death.  If death is what we earn through going astray, how is it natural or good? ## The Free Gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus > “For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die. > But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. > Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. > For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life. > Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. > Therefore, as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned. > For until the law, sin was in the world; but sin is not charged when there is no law. > Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those whose sins weren’t like Adam’s disobedience, who is a foreshadowing of him who was to come. > But the free gift isn’t like the trespass. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. > The gift is not as through one who sinned: for the judgment came by one to condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses to justification. > For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. > > — Paul, Romans 5:7-17 > “For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised. > If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. > Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. > If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable. > But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. > For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. > For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. > But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s, at his coming. > Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. > For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. > The last enemy that will be abolished is death. > > — Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:16-26