"The higher powers and affections of
the soul are so blended and connected with the inferior passions, that the most
painful feelings are excited in the mind with the latter are crossed; thus in
the moral system, which we have planned for our conduct, as a ladder whereby to
mount to the summit of terrestrial glory and happiness, and from whence we
perhaps meditated our flight to heaven itself, at the very moment when we
vainly imagine ourselves to have attained its point, some unforeseen accident
intervenes, and surprises us." William
Bartram
Bartram, a
naturalist at the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th,
makes some interesting points in this statement: He notes the irreversible
connection between a man’s soul and his sinful, broken human nature. The result
of the two being contained within the same vessel is a constant, inescapable
crossing between the two. He stipulates
that, if the two are placed at odds, the result is a painful emotional
response. This response could be remorse,
anger, guilt, etc. For example, if a
person makes a mistake or wrongs another, his conscience or soul is at odds
with his sin nature.
According to the
passage, the general morality system to which mankind aligns its actions, is an
institution by which we try to reach a type of enlightenment or higher state of
being. Morals are, to a person in pain
from his sins, a way to escape his sins through being “good.” This code is often used with the goal of
attaining absolution and a “flight to heaven” after perfect compliance with
generic morality standards.
The conclusion of
this passage takes a darker tone. After
taking us to an emotional high with references to a correlation between heaven
and good deeds, Bertram takes us back down to reality. Man’s human nature is, after all, ever
dragging us down as said in the previous statements about “inferior
passions.” Due to our sin nature, a
perfect life is not attainable. A person
might get a temporary euphoria from doing a good deed and believe him/herself
to have attained perfection, but it is short-lived. Our human inclination is to sin, and
therefore it is impossible to achieve nirvana, good karma, absolution, or any
other type of morality-based salvation.
While Bartram held the naturalist worldview
that only the laws of nature govern the world and there is no supernatural
influence, this statement spans worldviews for its analysis of the connection
between a soul and sin actions. I leave
it to the reader to perceive the origin of true salvation but my conclusion is
that salvation is through the Judeo-Christian God who, when asked, forgives
your sins and accepts you into Heaven through faith in Jesus Christ). As far as Bartram’s beliefs, based on his
statements on the impossibility of attaining salvation through works consider
this:
Can you really be saved from yourself by yourself?
