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Crime and (arbitrary) punishment modality – prescriptive law
vs.
Truth or (natural) consequences – descriptive law (or natural law)
Forgiveness has very different meanings and implications depending on which modality you are using. In fact, many words take on a different meaning depending on which model is being used.
Repentance has very different meanings.
Confession has very different meanings.
Discipline has very different meanings.
Salvation has very different meanings.
Heaven has very different meanings.
Gospel has very different meanings.
Power has very different meanings.
Truth has very different meanings.
Hell has very different meanings.
Sin has very different meanings.
| Crime and Punishment This rule-based system is oriented around a hierarchy model of authority and control like a kingdom or artificial government. The goal is forced conformity to prescriptive laws with arbitrary punishments determined for each infraction. The primary motivation is fear of punishment or selfish desire for rewards. | Truth or Consequences This relationship-based system is bound together in family ties of community where everyone is of equal value but differing stages of maturity. The tools for growth are education of natural cause and effect relationships inherent in the universal created model and learning how to become more and more satisfied and connected with others. The primary motivation is increasing joy and enjoyment of living abundantly from our hearts in union with others. |
| Righteousness – means keeping the law to the letter with a focus on detailed regulations, fear of infractions and fear of enforcers. Motivation is to avoid fines and arbitrary punishments meted out with force by those in authority. | Righteousness – means living naturally from the heart according to the way the heart was originally designed to live, openly, passionately, expressively and with joy. Being in synchronization with all of creation filled with love, praise and gratitude. |
| Sin – means committing an infraction against the rules by disobeying orders – anything short of absolute perfect conformity to every law and requirement. | Sin – resistance to the natural design of creation; attempting to live without drawing life from the only Source of life but looking to anything else to depend on for life. Choosing to follow my own cravings in place of God's revealed desires for me. |
| Truth – cognitive facts that are provable from documents produced by recognized and approved authorities. No credence is given to emotions, feelings and little to social surroundings. Truth is emphatically objective. | Truth – all that is realized and useful through the various forms of communication received from God our Designer. Truth is always in agreement with itself but may at times not seem to be. There are degrees of importance given to the various methods of understanding truth so that everything can be synchronized beautifully by the Spirit of God. |
| Discipline – various shades of threats or punishment employed to produce fear of pain combined with various forms of rewards employed to induce people to conform to established rules of conformity. | Discipline – the relationship of being a disciple whereby a less mature person is mentored by association with more mature persons thereby learning how to respond in all sorts of situations in a life-giving way by observation of the actions and spirit demonstrated. |
| Power – the ability to wield force over others by whatever means are available to coerce them into agreement or conformity. | Power – the natural strength that occurs when many minds and hearts are in agreement and harmony with each other through bonds of love producing a life-giving environment in which to thrive. |
| Confession – forced admittance of guilt for lawbreaking with expectations of accompanying emotions of self-despisement, groveling for mercy etc. | Confession – agreeing with the assessment of our real condition (not identity) by the revelation to our minds and hearts through the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit Who shows us the truth about reality, both inside ourselves and outside. |
| Repentance – generally a self-forced decision to quit fighting the system and try harder to conform to the rules and guidelines imposed on us. | Repentance – the gift of a new perspective and new desires received and embraced in the heart as a result of our amazement at the kindness, patience and tolerance of God. |
| Forgiveness – foregoing and releasing us from the arbitrary punishments designated for us to suffer from breaking the law. | Forgiveness – taking upon one's self the responsibility for all of the inward pain and suffering caused by the offenses against them by another person without holding any desire for revenge or retaliation of any kind. This releases to the offending party the opportunity to be free themselves of the pain and feelings of guilt if and when they accept the forgiveness. |
| Salvation – the formula that God somehow put together whereby “the elect” or “saved” are allowed to go to heaven and live forever there. If one can figure out how to get into the formula correctly they can be saved. | Salvation – the interactive experience with God whereby the Spirit of God works from inside the heart outward in a person's life to restore them to their original design and potential, bonding them to others with love to create what is called the family of God or body of Christ. |
| Heaven – a physical place somewhere up in the sky where nothing will hurt us, we can do anything we want and will always be happy and free from troubles and annoyances, and temptations. A place where we will live wealthy in very extravagant mansions and do lots of fun things. | Heaven – primarily a condition of the spirit of a person that has a vital, ongoing, growing connection with the heart of God that creates peace and joy in the soul. Secondarily a place in the universe where God lives and longs for us to be with Him there to enjoy abundant life with Him and with all His other created beings. |
| Hell – a physical place where people who reject the Atonement of Jesus are forced to remain and be tortured by an angry God in flames of fire for not believing in Jesus or obeying and loving God. | Hell – the most excruciating emotional experience possible that will spill over into every other dimension of our being caused by the full exposure of unhealed hearts to the overwhelming love, kindness, beauty and passion of God for us without the ability to respond with love in return. |
| Gospel – has very different meanings for different people. Sometimes subtly thought of as a list of doctrines that must be accepted intellectually in order to be saved. Usually the story of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins but without much real comprehension of how that really relates to us personally. The formula whereby Jesus died to get us off the hook with God so we could get to heaven. | Gospel – the wonderful truth of all the above and that it really isn't all of the other column. The truth that God is crazy in love with all of us and wants more than anything to spend eternity as our closest friend, companion and lover in perfect joy and satisfaction together. That God is not angry with us but is passionate to restore us into closeness and intimacy with Him. |
You can begin to see, based on the discrepancies between the two columns, that a discussion between two people who are on different sides of these paradigms face pretty much insurmountable obstacles to understanding each other due to the dramatic differences in the meanings behind the common words they are using. Even when they try to explain what they mean and go to great lengths to prove their definitions, because of the underlying assumptions that run throughout all the religious terms on each side they will still cling to their own definitions and become confused and frustrated as to why the other person can't see what to them is so very obvious.
A great amount of confusion is also experienced when a person is in transition from one paradigm to the other and is mixing terms from both sides in their thinking and reasoning. Nothing seems to really make sense, and rightly so because the two paradigms are incompatible. The great news is that even in our confusion and learning and growing God is always patient, kind and tolerant which is the very things that attract us to Him and lead us into the truth.
