It was a long night. Already at the hospital, her labor pains were now about three minutes apart. The nurse was checking on her periodically, encouraging her to stay in motion: walk around the room, rock her body. He partner tried to comfort her, talking to her, breathing with her, and supporting her with his arm when the contractions occurred.
Soon though, the contractions were coming fast and furious, some less than a minute apart and lasting more than a minute. On top of the pain, the expectant mother was nauseous. She had chills, and then the sweats, and she was shaking. Both the nurse and her partner were reminding her to resist the urge to push.
Finally, she was fully dilated. Her contractions were lasting sixty to ninety seconds. At last, she was encouraged to push. It was only a few more moments until the baby’s head was visible to the medical team. With the help of the doctor, the baby soon made its way into the world.
The doctor cut the cord, cleaned the baby, and then wrapped it in a soft cloth. They placed the baby in its mother’s arms. As she looked into that precious face and held that fragile little body. The pain, nausea, constant bladder mishaps, wild mood-swings, and the rest of the nine months pregnancy became worth it.
Both mom and dad looked into the face of this beautiful new life, having just entered the world. Mom gently caressed the top of the head. Dad held those tiny fingers between his giant pointer finger and thumb. The baby stretched and yawned, looking up briefly before returning to sleep off its most difficult journey. Dad touched the nose, and caressed the cheek.
Then, both parents declared that this precious life, this innocent newborn, their newborn baby… was evil: already, even before it could know the difference. Right now, only a few minutes old… simply because it was human.
Because of sin, this baby’s little heart was already “deceitful and desperately corrupt.” This newborn was totally depraved, and wretched, and deserving of death. This baby, this “innocent,” was so pathetic and dismal that it already deserved the full force of God’s wrath and God had already condemned it to Hell—not because of anything it had done, but simply because it was born.
Of course none of this is true, but that is the message that will be drilled into the child’s head as it grows up: again and again. It will be told that it is a sinner saved only by grace, and that no matter how much good it does, that will never be enough.
We have to wonder if even God doesn’t find this message immoral and wanton.
While humans have flaws, we are far from evil. Our evolution as a species makes this scenario implausible. As we stand in the new understanding of medicine, psychology, and evolution, we stand awed at the many choices nature made to get us to where we are today.
So the real challenge is not about sin, it’s about discovery. We as humans are here to discover ourselves, to discover our potential, and to teach that to our children so that we continue evolving forward.
For the next seven years, the newborn child will go into a hypnogogic state where their subconscious mind will absorb everything coming at it, without filters and without judgment. The child’s mind will be a literal sponge, soaking up information. The child will begin to take on the beliefs and the ideals of the adults around it. What will affect that child and “determine” whether or not that child is a sinner, is not original sin, it’s the messages that it will get over and over again from those around it whom it trusts.
Imagine what this world would look like if every child heard that it was innocent, that it was a marvel of life, and a tiny but powerful expression of the Universe. That knowledge alone would empower our children to create Heaven on Earth.
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