The First Human Cultural Myth of Original Sin
Neale Donald Walsch: “Why? Why is it like this? Why have we made so little progress in conducting our own affairs these past many years? “
God: “Years? Try centuries.”
Neale Donald Walsch: “Okay, centuries.”
God: “It has to do with the First Human Cultural Myth, and with all the other myths which necessarily follow. Until they change, nothing else will change. For your cultural myths inform your ethics, and your ethics create your behaviors. Yet the problem is that your cultural myth is at variance with your basic instinct.”
Neale Donald Walsch: “What do You mean?”
God: ”Your First Cultural Myth is that human beings are inherently evil. This is the myth of original sin. The myth holds that not only is your basic nature evil, you were born that way.
The Second Cultural Myth, arising necessarily out of the first, is that it is the “fittest” who survive.
This second myth holds that some of you are strong and some of your are weak, and that to survive, you have to be one of the strong. You will do all that you can to help your fellow man, but if and when it comes down to your own survival, you will take care of yourself first. You will even let others die. Indeed, you will go further than that. If you think you have to, in order for you and yours to survive, you will actually kill others—presumably, the “weak”—thereby defining you as the “fittest.”
Some of you say that this is your basic instinct. It is called the “survival instinct,” and it is this cultural myth that has formed much of your societal ethic, creating many of your group behaviors.
Yet your “basic instinct” is not survival, but rather, fairness, oneness, and love. This is the basic instinct of all sentient beings everywhere. It is your cellular memory. It is your inherent nature. Thus is exploded your first cultural myth. You are not basically evil, you were not born in “original sin.”
If your “basic instinct” was “survival,” and if your basic nature was “evil,” you would never move instinctively to save a child from falling, a man from drowning, or anyone from anything. And yet, when you act on your basic instincts and display your basic nature, and don’t think about what you are doing, this is exactly how you behave, even at your own peril.
Thus, your “basic” instinct cannot be “survival,” and your basic nature is clearly not “evil.” Your instinct and your nature is to reflect the essence of Who You Are, which is fairness, oneness, and love.
Looking at the social implications of this, it is important to understand the difference between “fairness” and “equality.” It is not a basic instinct of all sentient beings to seek equality, or to be equal. Indeed, exactly the opposite is true.
The basic instinct of all living things is to express uniqueness, not sameness. Creating a society in which two beings are truly equal is not only impossible, but undesirable. Societal mechanisms seeking to produce true equality—in other words, economic, political, and social “sameness”—work against, not for, the grandest idea and the highest purpose—which is that each being will have the opportunity to produce the outcome of its grandest desire, and thus truly re-create itself anew.
Equality of opportunity is what is required for this, not equality in fact. This is called fairness. Equality in fact, produced by exterior forces and laws, would eliminate, not produce, fairness. It would eliminate the opportunity for true self-re-creation, which is the highest goal of enlightened beings everywhere.
And what would create freedom of opportunity? Systems that would allow society to meet the basic survival needs of every individual, freeing all beings to pursue self development and self-creation, rather than self-survival. In other words, systems that imitate the true system, called life, in which survival is guaranteed.
Now, because self-survival is not an issue in enlightened societies, these societies would never allow one of its members to suffer if there were enough for all. In these societies self-interest and mutual best interest are identical.”
No society created around a myth of “inherent evilness” or “survival of the fittest” could possibly achieve such understanding.”
- Conversations with God, Book 3
“Your experience of everything is based on your perceptions, and your perception is based on your understanding. And your understanding is based on your myths. That is, on what you have been told.
Now I tell you this: Your present cultural myths have not served you. They have not taken you where you say you want to go.
Either you are lying to yourself about where you say you want to go, or you are blind to the fact that you are not getting there. Not as an individual, not as a country, not as a species or a race.”
- Conversations with God, Book 3
“It is the truth that is eloquent. Truth has an elegance that startles the heart to its own reawakening.
That is what these Conversations with God have done. They have touched the heart of the human race, and reawakened it.
Now they lead you to a critical question. It is a question all of humanity must ask itself. Can, and will, you create a new cultural story? Can and will you devise a new First Cultural Myth, upon which all other myths are based?
Is the human race inherently good, or inherently evil?
This is the crossroads to which you have come. The future of the human race depends on which way you go.
If you and your society believe you are inherently good, you will make decisions and laws that are life affirming and constructive. If you and your society believe that you are inherently evil, you will make decisions and laws that are life denying and destructive.
Laws that are life affirming are laws that allow you to be, do, and have what you wish. Laws that are life denying are laws that stop you from being, doing, and having
what you wish.
Those who believe in Original Sin, and that the inherent nature of man is evil, claim that God has created laws which stop you from doing as you wish—and promote human laws (an endless number of them) that seek to do the same.
Those who believe in Original Blessing, and that the inherent nature of man is good, proclaim that God has created natural laws which allow you to do as you wish—and promote human laws that seek to do the same.
What is your viewpoint of the human race? What is your viewpoint of your Self? Left entirely to your own devices, do you see yourself as being able to be trusted? In everything? How about others? How do you view them? Until they reveal themselves to you, one way or the other, what is your basic assumption?
Now, answer this. Do your assumptions further your society in breaking down, or breaking through?”
- Conversations with God, Book 3
