Atonement and Repentance
I am writing on Sunday and have just listened a couple of times to Krista Tippett’s On Being interview with Louis Newman, the Jewish scholar, ethicist, and professor.
Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement, beginning on September 23, 2015 and, thus, this was a very timely interview. For me personally, it was timely in the sense that I heard it following and not prior my finishing writing my blogs on the 12 steps of spiritual growth for all of us. Dr. Newman is also in a 12-step recovery program and talks about the intersection of the 12-step recovery program and his understanding of the concepts of atonement and repentance. In fact he has written an entire book on the subject entitled, The Meaning and Practice of Teshuvah. “Teshuvah” is the Jewish word for atonement – turning back to God. In the Jewishvirtuallibrary.org one is reminded that there are many expressions used in the Bible – “"incline the heart to the Lord" (Josh. 24:23), "make oneself a new heart" (Ezek. 18:31), "circumcise the heart" (Jer. 4:4), "wash the heart" (Jer. 4:14), and "break one's fallow ground" (Hos. 10:12). Teshuvah incorporates all of these images and actions. For like the 12 steps of recovery as conceived and written by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob, the reconnection or the turning back to God is an action requirement in which on first get honest with self about going against one’s basic “goodness” which allows me to connect with the God of my understanding and then to go on to atone or make amends.
Dr. Newman goes on to remind all of us that the benefit of turning back is freedom. When we act in a way which is inconsistent with our basic goodness, we are disconnected from our true self and, thus, in a lot of discomfort/pain. We humans tend to think that running from the pain will give us freedom from it. The irony is, of course, that, as all spiritual teachers remind us, it is only by going toward or facing the pain head on that we can make the first step toward freedom from the pain. The pain then is not just the remorse from the deed. The pain is the separation from self, the God of our understanding, and all the rest of creation. It is a place of abject loneliness. It is the place of feeling forsaken that Job so vividly describes.
Again, listening to Dr. Newman I find no mention of punishment. There is nothing of the angry, vengeful God which some claim as the justification for violent behavior towards self and others. In the Jewish tradition, as Dr. Newman and other scholars remind us, the Talmud says that God created repentance before He created the physical universe. I must admit that in all my theological studies I had never “heard” this. Perhaps I had read without the significance of it registering in my mind. In my mind this makes a huge difference. Already God knows that He is going to create humans who will want to do things “their way;” who often react rather than acting with thoughtfulness and mindfulness; who will convince themselves that they are indestructible or that they can keep secrets from themselves and from the God of their understanding; who will turn away from their basic goodness by finding shortcuts to self-worth by attaching themselves to things, persons, substances, concepts, and behaviors. Somehow, even those of us who have a strong desire to be the best we can be wander off or turn away from that which is best for and in us. Since we will be turning away, we will have to have a practice of turning back. We will have to repent and then atone. (Oxforddictionary.com, as well as other sources, list reparation as the first definition of atonement.) As I mentioned the 12-step program for recovery from addiction will label this as “making amends.” Regardless of what we call it -- if we are ready/have the courage or the faith to admit that “our way” is not working we will need a GPS for finding our way home. For folks such as Dr. Newman, Yon Kippur and the 12-step program both offer opportunities for turning toward freedom. For some, the Buddhist philosophy is the best or most effective GPS. There are many such models of GPS devices. I personally am not convinced that the God of my understanding cares which system one uses but, as I have suggested in “The 12 steps of spiritual recovery for all of us” we all need a system which includes all the steps for diagnosing the problems/issues which keep us from connecting with our basic goodness which then allows us to connect with the God of our understanding and with the rest of creation.
Although I have not read Dr. Newman’s books, I will do so. So far, however, not surprisingly, I have found no mention of the concept of punishment. One does find a mention of the concept of remorse. Remorse is not about shame. When I think of remorse I think of the pain of separation from ourselves and others. We often punish ourselves. We do not realize that we do not need to be shameful or to punish ourselves. No matter how hard we are running, every time we stop, even for a second, we experience the disconnect – the emptiness, the loneliness, and the grief of the futility of thinking we can run fast enough to avoid ourselves. There is no reason for other humans or the God of our understanding to punish us. We do this to ourselves by keeping ourselves separate. It is true that our judicial system continues to believe that if we treat people badly enough they will feel bad/shameful will be forced to connect with their basic goodness. This never works. Despite all the evidence which states that punishment/shame does not work, rather than designing a system which patiently invites those who harm others to reconnect with their basic goodness, we label and treat them as criminals, bad people, worthless, etc. All the evidence points to the fact that punishment does not work. Whether it is all the different nations, religious and cultural groups, or the judicial systems, we continue to act as if treating each other as badly as possible will help us connect to our basic goodness. In my 75 years of life, I have come to believe that we are basically good. When we let go of shame, accept the love that is offered with healthy others we are free and can delight in our own goodness and the basic goodness of all others. I am not suggesting I know how to make it safe enough for everyone to practice repentance and atonement. I know what does not work for any of us.
I do know that it is my experience and the experience of many that I admire that when we let go of the same and the remorse we are able to go on to atone/make amends. We are then able to experience a profound sense of Shalom – peace.
Written September 20, 2015
I am writing on Sunday and have just listened a couple of times to Krista Tippett’s On Being interview with Louis Newman, the Jewish scholar, ethicist, and professor.
Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement, beginning on September 23, 2015 and, thus, this was a very timely interview. For me personally, it was timely in the sense that I heard it following and not prior my finishing writing my blogs on the 12 steps of spiritual growth for all of us. Dr. Newman is also in a 12-step recovery program and talks about the intersection of the 12-step recovery program and his understanding of the concepts of atonement and repentance. In fact he has written an entire book on the subject entitled, The Meaning and Practice of Teshuvah. “Teshuvah” is the Jewish word for atonement – turning back to God. In the Jewishvirtuallibrary.org one is reminded that there are many expressions used in the Bible – “"incline the heart to the Lord" (Josh. 24:23), "make oneself a new heart" (Ezek. 18:31), "circumcise the heart" (Jer. 4:4), "wash the heart" (Jer. 4:14), and "break one's fallow ground" (Hos. 10:12). Teshuvah incorporates all of these images and actions. For like the 12 steps of recovery as conceived and written by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob, the reconnection or the turning back to God is an action requirement in which on first get honest with self about going against one’s basic “goodness” which allows me to connect with the God of my understanding and then to go on to atone or make amends.
Dr. Newman goes on to remind all of us that the benefit of turning back is freedom. When we act in a way which is inconsistent with our basic goodness, we are disconnected from our true self and, thus, in a lot of discomfort/pain. We humans tend to think that running from the pain will give us freedom from it. The irony is, of course, that, as all spiritual teachers remind us, it is only by going toward or facing the pain head on that we can make the first step toward freedom from the pain. The pain then is not just the remorse from the deed. The pain is the separation from self, the God of our understanding, and all the rest of creation. It is a place of abject loneliness. It is the place of feeling forsaken that Job so vividly describes.
Again, listening to Dr. Newman I find no mention of punishment. There is nothing of the angry, vengeful God which some claim as the justification for violent behavior towards self and others. In the Jewish tradition, as Dr. Newman and other scholars remind us, the Talmud says that God created repentance before He created the physical universe. I must admit that in all my theological studies I had never “heard” this. Perhaps I had read without the significance of it registering in my mind. In my mind this makes a huge difference. Already God knows that He is going to create humans who will want to do things “their way;” who often react rather than acting with thoughtfulness and mindfulness; who will convince themselves that they are indestructible or that they can keep secrets from themselves and from the God of their understanding; who will turn away from their basic goodness by finding shortcuts to self-worth by attaching themselves to things, persons, substances, concepts, and behaviors. Somehow, even those of us who have a strong desire to be the best we can be wander off or turn away from that which is best for and in us. Since we will be turning away, we will have to have a practice of turning back. We will have to repent and then atone. (Oxforddictionary.com, as well as other sources, list reparation as the first definition of atonement.) As I mentioned the 12-step program for recovery from addiction will label this as “making amends.” Regardless of what we call it -- if we are ready/have the courage or the faith to admit that “our way” is not working we will need a GPS for finding our way home. For folks such as Dr. Newman, Yon Kippur and the 12-step program both offer opportunities for turning toward freedom. For some, the Buddhist philosophy is the best or most effective GPS. There are many such models of GPS devices. I personally am not convinced that the God of my understanding cares which system one uses but, as I have suggested in “The 12 steps of spiritual recovery for all of us” we all need a system which includes all the steps for diagnosing the problems/issues which keep us from connecting with our basic goodness which then allows us to connect with the God of our understanding and with the rest of creation.
Although I have not read Dr. Newman’s books, I will do so. So far, however, not surprisingly, I have found no mention of the concept of punishment. One does find a mention of the concept of remorse. Remorse is not about shame. When I think of remorse I think of the pain of separation from ourselves and others. We often punish ourselves. We do not realize that we do not need to be shameful or to punish ourselves. No matter how hard we are running, every time we stop, even for a second, we experience the disconnect – the emptiness, the loneliness, and the grief of the futility of thinking we can run fast enough to avoid ourselves. There is no reason for other humans or the God of our understanding to punish us. We do this to ourselves by keeping ourselves separate. It is true that our judicial system continues to believe that if we treat people badly enough they will feel bad/shameful will be forced to connect with their basic goodness. This never works. Despite all the evidence which states that punishment/shame does not work, rather than designing a system which patiently invites those who harm others to reconnect with their basic goodness, we label and treat them as criminals, bad people, worthless, etc. All the evidence points to the fact that punishment does not work. Whether it is all the different nations, religious and cultural groups, or the judicial systems, we continue to act as if treating each other as badly as possible will help us connect to our basic goodness. In my 75 years of life, I have come to believe that we are basically good. When we let go of shame, accept the love that is offered with healthy others we are free and can delight in our own goodness and the basic goodness of all others. I am not suggesting I know how to make it safe enough for everyone to practice repentance and atonement. I know what does not work for any of us.
I do know that it is my experience and the experience of many that I admire that when we let go of the same and the remorse we are able to go on to atone/make amends. We are then able to experience a profound sense of Shalom – peace.
Written September 20, 2015
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