Christian Liberals & Progressive People of Faith

guillaumeb

(42,649 posts) Sat May 26, 2018, 08:41 PM May 2018

Leonard Cohen wrote: "There is a crack in everything....." (x-posted from religion)

Leonard Cohen wrote: "There is a crack in everything....."
From the Leonard Cohen song, Anthem:

There is a crack in everything (there is a crack in everything)
That's how the light gets in

What does this have to do with religion?

Consider the concept called “original sin”. Many Christians believe that humans are born with sin as a result of being descended from Adam. Jesus said nothing about this idea, nor is it directly spoken of in the Bible, but the idea is very popular and has been much discussed among theologians.

But if we consider the fact that humans are not perfect, and that nothing in creation is perfect, (“There is a crack in everything”), original sin can be seen as an acknowledgment of this inherent and inevitable human imperfection.

As to the second line, “That’s how the light gets in”, I see that light as the realization of the Creator’s existence, and the first step on the path of enlightenment. We must admit our imperfection, and we must work to perfect what is cracked.

Others may read the lines differently. Leonard Cohen himself was a Jew who also became a Buddhist monk, but speaking of his maternal religion, he said: "I’m not looking for a new religion. I’m quite happy with the old one, with Judaism".

3 replies

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Leonard Cohen wrote: "There is a crack in everything....." (x-posted from religion) (Original Post) guillaumeb May 2018 OP

Orginal sin is in the bible standingtall May 2018 #1

There's a divide between the denominations that split off from Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox... summer_in_TX Jun 2018 #2

Welcome to DU, and the conversation. guillaumeb Jun 2018 #3

standingtall

(2,954 posts)

1. Orginal sin is in the bible

Reply to guillaumeb (Original post)

Sun May 27, 2018, 04:29 AM

May 2018

Last edited Sun May 27, 2018, 05:00 AM - Edit history (1)

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

summer_in_TX

(3,206 posts)

2. There's a divide between the denominations that split off from Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox...

Reply to guillaumeb (Original post)

Fri Jun 15, 2018, 10:15 PM

Jun 2018

according to my Methodist church's former pastor, who had a doctorate in church history. Those denominations that descended directly from Catholicism have the idea that we are born utterly depraved and only by constant vigilance and repentance can one stave off that depraved nature. But those descended through the Eastern Orthodox inherited the belief that every human being is born with the divine spark. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, spent a lot of time studying with the Moravians who had that spiritual heritage from the Eastern Orthodox Christians. My former pastor attributed the difference in Methodists' approach to sin to the influence from the Moravians.

That split in how they see the nature of human beings from birth. It's not that Methodists don't believe that we all have a sinful nature, it's that they believe we also have a divine spark at the same time.

That line is from one of my favorite Leonard Cohen songs. Strikes me as profoundly true. If we didn't have those cracks, we wouldn't need or receive grace. What a loss that would be in my life!

guillaumeb

(42,649 posts)

3. Welcome to DU, and the conversation.

Reply to summer_in_TX (Reply #2)

Sat Jun 16, 2018, 07:34 PM

Jun 2018

I like and agree with the concept of the divine spark, an idea that I first read in writing by an American Friend. The Creator in us as we are a part of the creation and the Creator.

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