i might start using this as a writing forum

i wrote this in response to the question: can i redeem myself?

Following Judeo-Christian doctrine, I am redeemed by God. Left on earth to wander fruitlessly about, I receive salvation by God’s grace and by his divine intervention in my behalf. This concept of Christian redemption describes a partnership. While I am helpless alone, God delivers me. While this belief contains truth, it barely scratches the surface of understanding or defining redemption. In a social context, what is redemption without God? Do I need someone else for redemption? Can I save myself?

Devoid of religion, redemption becomes a hopeful process of self-individuation. In this case, I am made whole as I overcome trials and free myself of guilt and debt. Separating myself from negative ties to others, I obtain redemption in the form of self-discovery. This process of redemption parallel’s my own process of awakening or coming of age. Still I wonder if this is a solitary process, or if outside forces are necessary to open my eyes and force me to find myself. With or without God, I believe redemption requires help beyond that which an individual can provide for him or herself.

In Plato’s allegory of the cave, Plato describes man’s vision as illusory and short-sighted. Freed from bonds and allowed to turn around, man discovers that his conception of life has been misguided. Stepping into the sunshine, he falters at life’s reality. In this example, man gains redemption through knowledge. Still, this knowledge must come at the hands of another. Without urging or assistance, man would have remained in the dark cave, content that life was nothing more than shadows. In our own lives, what deliverance can we have except at the hands of others? Regardless of our individual trials or oppressions, the process of redemption begins in reaction to some outside catalyst.

Beyond simply being pushed into motion by another individual, the process of redemption sometimes requires complete outside help. In Lauryn Hill’s song “To Zion,” a woman gains redemption through a pregnancy, and eventually through the birth of her son. Whatever her past problems or mistakes, she is made clean and given new opportunities vicariously through the life of her child. Wanting to shelter and protect this new life, the woman finds herself by losing herself in the service of another. In this instance, the process of redemption is completely and wholly pushed forward by other individuals. The child’s life was created in partnership, and the end product, the redeeming child himself, is a distinct new life and personality. Hill’s analogy of redemption through birth is particularly poignant in a religious context, as salvation through a child parallels the virgin birth of Christ.

Interestingly, the process of redemption is further personalized as it is fit to the specific individual. In these examples, redemption seems to involve both innocence, and a loss of innocence. In Plato’s allegory of the cave, the man is redeemed through a loss of innocence as his mind grasps the reality of life. In Lauryn Hill’s song, “To Zion,” the woman is redeemed vicariously through innocence, as she renews her own innocence in the birth of her child. In each instance, man and woman alike receive salvation or awakening at the hands of another individual. While redemption is an individual process, man and woman are not saved by self alone. Redemption comes in response to or because of outside influence.