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Word Gems
exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
A Course In Miracles
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The Course teaches that underlying existential guilt stems from the ego’s belief in separation from God.
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The subject of “Guilt” is featured as one of the topic-icons on the Word Gems homepage. An “Editor’s 1-Minute Essay: Guilt” discusses the difference between (1) specific-infraction guilt, and (2) a generalized existential guilt. I think you'll want to study that entire article, but allow me to present an excerpt:
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religious trauma syndrome (RTS): a church-inspired sense of pervasive guilt
On the "Guilt" main-page, you will find quotations from many who suffer from RTS; if you've not read these testimonies, I would encourage you to do so before proceeding here.
An internet search of this subject will bring up a great number of references to "Catholic guilt." The RCC is a big organization and a big target, and so we should not be surprised to find it mentioned in any RTS study. But this is unfair.
To suggest that RTS resides in the domain of one, single church-organization grossly distorts and trivializes the issue, one of pandemic proportion.
The testimonies refer to RTS sufferers from many churches, and, I venture to say, if we spoke long enough and invited enough participants, nearly every church in the country would be called to task.
- Oppressive church leadership and their cultish ways are everywhere -- anywhere there's opportunity for power-and-control you will find these Small-Ego led individuals merchandizing the fearful.
psychologists categorize 'guilt' in many ways but, for our RTS purposes, I see two primary forms of guilt
(1) specific-infraction guilt: We did something wrong; or, we thought about it and wished for the forbidden fruit. We broke a rule, stepped over the line, we're in the wrong; at least, we think so. Our internal guidance system flashes "warning, danger, trouble ahead." We feel guilty about the trespass. In time, we forgive ourselves, the internal guidance system sinks back into quietude, and we're done with it, but for the lesson, which becomes assimilated as an aspect of our wisdom.
(2) generalized existential guilt: We didn't do anything wrong, and we live a pretty decent life; but we're often told directly, or implicitly via anti-humanistic doctrines, that we're "worthless sinners, deserving of God's wrath." Every night before bed we mentally check ourselves for sin, but can't really come up with much; yes, ok, there was that incident in the parking lot recently when somebody nipped into the space we'd been waiting for, and we did lose our cool for a bit, but other than that, and similar small things, we try hard to live a good life. Even so, at church every Sunday we're reminded, in sermons or by the innuendo of official teaching, how rotten and depraved we are; how we "were conceived and born in sin"; how we're so bad that God couldn't just forgive us, like normal people do, but that a lot of blood had to be spilled by his son just to get us back to zero. In fact, we've been hearing this demoralizing gloom-and-doom message since we were old enough to remember anything at church. Little wonder then, we feel guilty, pretty much all the time; and when there's a quiet moment, we imagine ourselves falling below some standard somewhere, never quite making the grade, never measuring up, never altogether pleasing God -- no matter how hard we try. This generalized floating sense of guilt doesn't end. It's part of the air we breathe and the Cheerios we eat in the morning. It consumes our vitality, drains our spirit, and robs us of the joy of living. This is "existential guilt."
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Editor’s note: This non-specific existential guilt, the Course In Miracles suggests, we discover to be, as we peel back the layers of repressive dysfunction, a primary result of our - that is, the ego’s - separation from God. "We" did not do anything wrong, only the ego is guilty - but we are not the ego; our true selves ever remain inviolate.
The ego imagines God to be angry with us for what feels to be an attack on divinity. As such, the ego fears that punishment will yet come its way.
The ego is part of the mind that believes in division. How could part of God detach itself without believing it is attacking Him? We spoke before of the authority problem as based on the concept of usurping God’s power. The ego believes that this is what you did because it believes that it is you. If you identify with the ego, you must perceive yourself as guilty. Whenever you respond to your ego, you will experience guilt … and fear punishment.
The continuing decision to remain separated [from God] is the only possible reason for continuing guilt feelings.
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