Sunday, June 08, 2014

Error, Sin and Forgiveness

From the Lord's Prayer we read:
"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us".
Sin is often put in the place of trespass. Blake had no use for the Lord's
Prayer either way; he didn't believe in sin.

A Blake Dictionary on Page 373:
"Sin, so called, is usually some infraction of the artificial code of Morality
we don't find anywhere that Satan us accused of Sin; he's only accused 
of Unbelief and thereby of drawing Man into Sin that he may accuse him...
eventually came to consider Sin a spiritual disease, cured by the Great
Healers Forgiveness of Sins"

In Plate V of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Blake wrote:
  "The history of this is written in Paradise Lost. & the Governor
or Reason is call'd Messiah.
And the original Archangel or possessor of the command of the
heavenly host, is calld the Devil or Satan and his children are
call'd Sin & Death"

So we see that for Blake there's no such thing as sin, only error.

In Visions of the Last Judgment on page 557 of Erdman 
we find the nitty gritty of this post:
"............................................The Spectator may suppose them
Clergymen in the Pulpit Scourging Sin instead of Forgiving it"
Blake was no clergyman and had no use for 'sin' in any form.


"What are all the Gifts of the Spirit but Mental Gifts whenever any Individual Rejects Error & 
Embraces Truth a Last Judgment passes upon that Individual"

On Page 563:
"These represent those who tho willing were
too weak to Reject Error without the Assistance & Countenance of
those Already in the Truth for a Man Can only Reject Error by the
Advice of a Friend or by the Immediate Inspiration of God"

'Error is usually placed where "sin" might.'

In a letter to Butts Blake wrote:
" I now Send Two Pictures & hope you will approve of them I
have inclosed the Account of Money recievd & 
Work done which I ought long ago to have sent you pray forgive 
Errors in omissions of this kind."

No comments: