Always in a state of reflecting on my self and my journey, this novel is about seeing our relationship with God differently from the way I was raised as an Anglican. Today I see my life in partnership with God, not waiting for God to initiate actions but rather knowing that I have been given, by God, the power to act and create. This concept was argued by Pelagius against the teachings of Saint Augustine of Hippo; a similar belief was celebrated by the Muslim poet Rumi.
Unfortunately, Pelagius was condemned in the Fourth Century as a heretic and banished to Africa. Today I realize that I’m a Pelagian: hence a heretic. And I’m happy about this. I intend to put excerpts from my book on my Facebook page and I am sure it will create some chatter in the recovery community.
Here is an excerpt:
Life is a series of choices, intelligent or ignorant, and the result determines happiness or disaster. An alternative position championed by Saint Augustine, is that God’s grace alone is influencing the good choices we make, and therefore we cannot and should not take credit. Pelagius agrees that God’s grace abounds but that does not change the fact that human beings have been given the freedom to act; if they are to be condemned for the evil actions that they create then they should be praised for their virtuous behaviors.
I’m not waiting for God to stop bad things happening to me. I’m initiating, by my choice, a life of bliss by my partnership with God. I’m not sinful, I’m blessed. And yes, I’m the Happy Heretic.
No comments:
Post a Comment