Just a little while ago, I watched a movie/documentary (think March Of The Penguins, only 50 times more interesting and entertaining, and a billion times more important), called What The Bleep Do We Know?.  This is an awesome, amazing, brilliant, and wonderful movie.  Take a look at the website and view the trailer, but understand that any preconceptions you have develop are most likely applicable to only a small part of the whole, if applicable at all.

  I HIGHLY recommend seeing this movie.  You may be able to rent it.  I saw it on a Starz channel.  At least I think it was Starz.  I didn't may much mind to that.

  I learned some new things, but something I am particularly pleased about is that I saw further reinforcement of things that I'd already "discovered" for myself.  I am a person who looks at all things around me, all sources, as something from which to learn, and instead of picking just one idea and following it, I process everything together, and from that forms my beliefs.

  But don't let the word "beliefs" fool you: don't get the wrong impression.  I accept that what appears to be "true" may not be.  As I say, the unknown has the inherent potential to disprove any belief.  I am well open to the infinitely long process of learning.

  In looking at all I have and processing it together, I have, to whatever degree I have done so, noticed what various things have in common, how one thing ties into other things.  But I think one of the most important things I have noticed is just how much of what we look at as some form of truth is merely our own interpretation.

  While the movie may not word things in the way I would or have in the past, it still parallels so many of my own ideas and realizations.  Admittedly, some stuff at the beginning of the movie was a little bit over my head, but it was some scientific stuff that I just hadn't learned yet, and was not fully explained.

  If any person was ever looking for any connection between the most general concept of god and science, then you must see this movie.  Personally, barring the information I never knew to begin with, it's like someone looked into my mind and explained my thoughts significantly more clearly that I could have ever managed.

  But there was one little thing that left me uneasy.  I'll get to that in just a moment.

  I have a post called "Hey, man. Who you callin' god?".  In it I address the issue of interpretation, specifically that of  The Bible.  There are so many different ways to interpret it and what is said in it by specific people, especially Jesus.  One thing I have noticed, over my time of having discussions about it, and not about it, is that "one" of those interpretations basically follows the suit with the relevant parts of the movie, What The Bleep Do We Know?.

  Just keep in mind that The Bible that is known to the general public is an incomplete book.  Many pages are lost forever, but some are merely kept hidden by the Vatican.  There are, however, a few that have managed to be made public, although not accepted as doctrine, or whatever you call it, by the Catholic church.

  Here are some Gospel Of Thomas resources.  There is also a Gospel Of Judas.  There may be others available of which I am unaware.  If you know of any, I'd like to be told about them.

  If you read these, and if you look at The Bible, or any religious text, I recommend that you put away any preconceived ideas about them.  put away any past emotional experiences you may have about them.  Do not look at them as "true" or "false".  You are not omniscient.  Just look at it as information.  Even if people had a complete Bible, and none of it was "false", it could still be interpreted falsely.

  Compare it to all other things you have learned in your lifetime, and be open to unconventional interpretations.

  Now, to the thing that left me uneasy.  One of the interviewed individuals addressed the subject of sin, and by my understanding, was condemning it in every regard.

  It has been said that only the Bible talks about sin.  I've heard a number of condemnations of the concept of sin.  The thing that bothers me, is that it is pretty much only one concept of sin that anyone has ever talked about.  I've heard only one interpretation ever made.  I've seen the very concept of sin being considered some horrible thing.  I'm saddened that I've never seen any sign of sin being looked at from more than one point of view, in a manner of speaking.

  So I want to offer another idea of what sin is.  An idea that follows with a number of other religions and with the movie.  I think people put to much focus on the word, "sin", and it is like a bad word to anyone who does not "believe" the Bible.

  I'm reminded of the third Matrix movie, where Neo is talking to the guy in the subway.  The guy says, to paraphrase, "What is love?  Love is a word.  It is the connection that is important."  (That may actually be verbatim.  I'm not sure.)  The point is, don't look at the word, "sin", and don't stop with a literal, Bible, interpretation of it.

  If I slap you on the face, don't look only at the fact of it or give much thought to the word, "slap".  Go deeper into the physics if the physical action, the physical sensations, the psychology of both me and you.  Just because a person slaps another person, it does not always mean something bad happened.

  God is commonly humanized: given a gender and possessing emotions and human faults like jealously.  God is viewed very literally as someone dictating specific rules, and if you disobey them, you will be punished, like a child being spanked is punished for lying to a parent.

  Try looking beyond the surface and closer at the network of cause and effect.  Many people say much of the Bible is metaphorical, but how much of it so they really view as metaphor?  Instead of seeing something like, "If you play with matches, I'm going to be angry and bust your but", try seeing something more like, "It's not wise to play with matches because you could start a fire that could hurt or kill you and other people."

  Every person can be better than what they are.  Humans can learn, discover, and realize things that that are beneficial to humanity in ways beyond what is seen by the eye or felt by the skin.  Humanity can grow wiser and become more enlightened as a whole, but this is achieved by every single individual's contribution.  Individual people becoming wiser and more enlightened.

  Perhaps sin is that which is not wise.  That which does not progress humanity forward.

  If you watch the movie, the same person talks about addiction, referring to behaviors and emotions.  By my interpretation, those addictions, as she calls them, ARE sins.  They are the things we do, the thought we have, that prevent us from reaching our fullest potential as individual humans and a collective humanity.

  I've seen a number of people who do not think very highly of the concept of people being born sinners or being inherently sinful, or never being without sin.  Why is this such a distasteful idea?  We are born ignorant.  We grow and desire things we do not need.  We are physical beings who are not omniscient and do not possess complete wisdom.  We DO constantly, in one way or another, and to some degree or another, sin.

  I don't want to get too deep into this, because it would take a while and be a significant topic switch, but I still want to at least mention it, because I never see it talked about, but if you're ever so inclined, take an alternate look at Jesus.  Put aside the common perspectives of Jesus being the "son" of God, in the familial sense.  There's debate about whether Mary really was a virgin.  What if it doesn't really matter?

  I've looked at a whole lot of what the Bible says Jesus said, and I see a very reasonable interpretation that does not put Jesus as a deity above the rest of humanity.  I see in the Bible an interpretation of God significantly parallels the "god" spoken of in the movie, which is about quantum physics, by the way.  And I see a Jesus who possessed much of that understanding outside of the "hard" science.

  Again, if you are able, I strongly recommend seeing the movie, What The Bleep Do We Know?.