Journal on the Human Condition


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Summary The Human Condition is one of pain suffering and aloneness. We are born into this world with the "fallen condition" of original sin. We live in a world where we have been disconnected from God's perfect love and where evil abounds because we choose to let it exist. Our Human Condition is our pain, anxiety and boredom with the world around us. Instead of searching for the answer to why we are living in this painful existence we accept the pain. We live with it and dont try to find the link to God that may cure our pain. We search for worldly happiness that will cure our pain for brief moments until we accept death because we think we've lived our lives to the fullest when some of us havent considered that they have only lived a part of their life and eternal happiness and life with God is waiting for us in heaven.

Three Important Ideas The three things about this section, that are most important to remember are that we allow evil to exist even though God doesnt want it, that we must always modify our maps to think of the world in the correct perspective, and that we must decrease our tendency towards lying.
Evil was brought about by the original sin of mankind. It was not created when the world began. Evil was brought about by man's pride,envy, and desire to be greater than just man. The first sinner was discontent with his own humanity; he wanted something greater. He wanted to gain the knowledge and power of God. He or she believed that they could get along in life without God.
Our lives are terribly misslead if we cannot stay on the correct path towards morality or happiness. When we are young we create our own "map" of how the world works and what we expect from the people around us. If we dont change our maps then we live a hampered life and we are in danger of losing ourselves in the great size of the world and that perspectives that it has to offer. A good analogy of this problem was the discovery of America. When Columbus landed in the East Indies he still believed that he had found China. After his first voyage he made three more and by his secon or third he had realized that he hadnt found China but a new land. What might have happened if he and the world had accepted the idea that it was China. Would they really have worried about settling the new territory or would they just continue to travel Westward on land until they found the rout to China. If they hadnt been open to change then there might not be an America as we know it.
In our Human Condition we tend towards lying because it keeps us safe. Lying protects us from the pain and suffering that are so commonplace in a world of evil. However, when we lie we only cause a deeper fall into the Human Condition. When we lie we hurt our relationships and connectons with others that are so important in society. If we dont have connections to others then we create a world wihout community. Civilization is what makes us human and it is what makes humanity beautiflu. With community we have what animals cannot have. Civilization seperates us from the beastial reality of what the world can really be.

Question
Should we see death as a gift?
Answer: When humanity committed its original sin it caused a break from the direct link with God. When we strayed from God we lost the happiness and perfection that the world provided and evil came into the world. If evil came into the world then we must have started feelng suffering and pain. Since God didnt want to bring evil and pain into the world, but humanity brought it on itself. God must have created death so that we cold leave behind the pain of this world and be restored in the erfection of Heaven.