Excessive squealing by Stars at the Australian Open reminded me that we need to say more to each other to help us deal with our bad behaviour. If adults don't stand up and say what's wrong , OR if adults( and the audience )themselves aren't very clear about what sin is ,offensive behaviour gets past the keeper. I could use the term "bad behaviour" here, but as i trust you will see, "bad behaviour" doesn't carry enough weight or clarity to be effective any more( part of the confusion ) ; I am suggesting that the older and clearer term SIN provides the clarity required.
Sin spoils and the image here is of a beautiful thing spoilt. The spoiling concept contrasts with the false and all too easy charge of fully corrupt ( some heretical views of original sin suggest men have nothing good inside them )Sin is about personal choice. The problem is not wholly personal but partly personal and therefore care and clarity are require to avoid confusion . The sin need not be there - by choice ( that's the traditional definition of sin-- that it is not so much bad habit or bad behaviour , but more bad choice and bad attitude)
I feel sad for the young people involved because in many ways Sharapova and Azaranka are not alone amongst generation Y in bearing this unexpected shame ( One of the stars said she "didn't even know that what she as doing, was a problem " .
I have met far too many young people for whom their behaviour/ attitude /sin is not clear to them until they are roundly condemned for showing it - as they did here . In a society which calls itself Christian, this lack of clarity is totally out of order ; The idea is Prechristian in reality and history. Our heritage says a peron is NOT GUILTY if they don't KNOW ( haven't been told ) they are doing the wrong thing.
So how do they KNOW. In a really good game like cricket( excuse me, a little prejudice)where you have a tight sense of order , you still need 2 umpires and 2 recorders to keep some order ( still some questions) In real life we
have neither umpires or policemen. But we do have observers.
Awareness of this truth about our need for honest feedback about sin is still around us ( maybe that's why the star says "noone told me"argument? She could, as most of us know, be just saying that - its hard to believe that her mother wouldn't have told her - but did she listen ? ( we've all been there ! Confusion without clear questioning.
The point is there is real heat ( even anger) confusion and no resolution.
The reason we have confusion and no resolution (real heat is normal and OK if its resolved)is because we have made "sin" a "no talk" word . We know its the subject of substance ( cause WE will get it dumped , whatever it is, heavily on us )Even if we don't believe the preacher we should know from our psychologists that to deny it is to not let it resolve itself.
This spoilt things is ( long term ) ---my reason for trying to provide a very specific ontology here !
Is the superficial problem of annoyance just theirs or our problem as well? Does the traditional view of sin help here ? Yes One can sin by being silent . Its not more police we need but more people prepared to speak up .
When children scream, what logic has caused us post moderns, to stop screaming back.
The idea that kept bad behaviour at bay went like this .
People in Authority used to be allowed to get angry when "the wrong thing" kept on being done .On ontology : The rot seemed to start when God himself/ herself was not allowed to get angry at attitude arrogance about one's behaviour ; Authority came from God and then down to men. Say what you like, such perception set an order for authority when God was powerful and seen as a Creator.
The sinner was not condemned by this old approach,( because the component focus was clear) but the sin. Today a small wiff of "sin" seems to make the sinner feel condemned.
T so it should be as we sin every day so ideally ( to deal with it) we might hear about it/ deal with it everyday .But what if you don't hear about ? You might not deal with it and it can become habitual
Thus, instead of being specific and daily, sins now have seemed to have broad labels like intolerance and uncaring ( words that are totally inadequate as real targets for sin )
Without God or the concept of God , there is a real risk that competition for authority and "what exactly is sinful" about uncaring and intolerance etc ,will lead to great controversy and no clear authority on the subject.No westerner would dare write the book of rules for life (power ,money size, popularity ,,noise, standover can take over preventing,in particular, a proper personal discussion of bad personal behaviour )
In pre modern days, complaints and excuses (even the loud ones )for wrong behaviour were listened to, but rulings made about relevance.( might take days in court but that's how seriously we used to take the evaluation and the specifics) Noise was met with more and bigger noise( where necessary) DIRECTED at shutting down and getting SPECIFIC .Call a holt was the idea - let's get this clear !
Even the excuse of escalation was ignored by firm action on the part of leadership to get down to the finite facts . As we know deep down , giving in to bad behaviour and escalation by noise doesn't work.
None of us "get on with things" and "move on" until we are clear about the specifics about sin . Generalized guilt brings down the sinner ( very poor personal and cultural outcome )and justifies careless treatment of sin -- example of war where people are the targets rather tha the real problem .Things that shouldn't - get past the keeper .
We long for leadership to make a noise when it is fair and right to do so."Sorry STOP lets check that and get to the bottom of that ". Child sinners are not and should not be condemned by the sin - provided it is dealt with and accepted as inconsiderate and wrong.
Sinners should not be condemned by a sin , but they are clearly feeling condemned by the post modern science of morality silence ( we don't want to tell people what they don't want to hear ) . Teenagers/young adults who wake up , as in a silence daze , to realise their behaviour is really offensive to everyone ( not just their parents ) are very prone to giving up on life. This sad reality is my reason for posting this here .
I hope one of the noisy players does the courageuos thing and stops making a noise - then all the children and parents will be reminded that condemnation is avoidable by clearly identifying both the sin and the choices.
How much we all need each others honesty to see and celebrate that we are constrained and potentially condemned by our settled choices.
How much we all need each others honesty to avoid being condemned by our bad choices to making better ones . I truly hope a choice for the better is made by someone this weekend.
Better to be even more noisy if it stops the bad behaviour noise. Questions welcomed posted 8pm 27th January 2012. Modified 30th January
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