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The Natural Context of “Original Goodness” The
phrase “Original Goodness” has been used in different times and places
to describe the idea that existence itself begins positively — that life, at
its root, is not cursed or guilty, but fundamentally good. To understand its
deeper meaning, it helps to step outside theology alone and look at the
natural context in which this affirmation makes sense. 1. Emergence as the Ground of Being At its
simplest, life is a process of emergence. Energy and matter combine into new
forms; patterns stabilise; beings appear. To exist at all is already a kind
of success: ·
A seed sprouts. ·
A photon strikes. ·
A child is born. Every
emergent event is the triumph of actuality over nothingness. From this
perspective, to be is already to be good. 2. Goodness Beyond Morality When
“goodness” is used in this context, it does not mean moral perfection or
virtue. It means viability and realness: ·
The sprout is “good” because it emerged into
form. ·
The photon strike is “good” because it happened,
decisively, as fact. ·
The infant is “good” because its cry announces
the victory of existence. This is original
goodness in its most basic sense: every emergent is good by virtue of
existing. 3. Pelagius and the Early Christian Debate The
British monk Pelagius (c. 360–418 CE) defended a similar idea within
Christian language. He taught: ·
Humans are born innocent, not guilty. ·
Free will is intact; each person can choose good. ·
No one is forced by nature to do evil. For
Pelagius, creation was fundamentally trustworthy. Augustine of Hippo rejected
this, insisting instead on original sin: that humans are born corrupt,
enslaved, guilty. The Church chose Augustine’s version, and “original
goodness” was silenced. 4. The Modern Druid’s Affirmation The
modern druid mystic, Finn reformulates the same intuition in a naturalist,
monist frame: ·
Nature consists of discontinuous emergent events. ·
Each emergent that arises is already a winner
in the lottery of existence. ·
Therefore, “Everyone is born a winner.” This is
the natural context of original goodness: not a theological dogma but
a recognition of life’s baseline fact. To exist at all is to have prevailed
against non-existence. 5. Freedom in the Natural Frame Because
every emergent is good by virtue of being, each is also free to unfold
according to its own form. “Original goodness” implies: ·
Maximum freedom: no
inherited guilt, no cosmic debt. ·
Responsibility: each emergent must
self-regulate within its environment. ·
Equality of being: all emergents share the same basic condition of goodness. This
contrasts sharply with Augustine’s doctrine, which imposed subjection and
dependence on ecclesiastical power. 6. Why the Context Matters To frame
“original goodness” in natural terms means: ·
It is not a moral claim about perfect behavior. ·
It is not a sentimental optimism. ·
It is a procedural fact of existence:
emergence is good per se. From this
follows a very different anthropology: humans are not born broken but born
capable, free, and self-sustaining. Conclusion The
natural context of “original goodness” is simply emergence itself. Every
being that appears, from photon to human, carries within it the mark of
success: it has come into actuality. This makes life fundamentally positive
at its root. Pelagius
glimpsed this within Christianity, Finn states it as a druidic minim, and
nature itself demonstrates it continuously: ·
To be is to be good. ·
To emerge is to have already won. ·
Everyone is born a winner. That is
the natural ground of original goodness. |