At a moment in time
“Usury” just meant showin’ any interest in money at all
I grasp inflation
I also grasp the puffery of “It’s a sin to exist as ‘in need of a ball’”
What you call “charity”
I call the clarity of risin’ to the nuances of an all
What you call “scarcity”
I call the rarity of bein’ able to build dams at all…

God is stability
I want to reason my way into stability’s core
Haven’t done enough for the workers
Haven’t given enough to feed the hungry at all
But I’m just middle-class
I’m but a bourgeoisie scrivener…

At a moment in time
Hatin’ sin just meant tryin’ to share goodness with everyone
I grasp “natural selection”
I also grasp why Satan’s demons are our only thought leaders at all
What you call “charity”
I call the clarity of understandin’ where all hunger comes from
What you call “scarcity”
I call the rarity of bein’ able to give damns at all…

You all give a damn
I want to reason my way into atonement’s core
Haven’t done enough for hard workers
Haven’t done enough to purify the wrongly accused at all
And I’m but middle-class
I’m just a bourgeoisie scribe…
[spoken]
“I’m ashamed of not tipping more. I’m ashamed of my greed. I’m ashamed of my inability to speak my weaknesses clearly. I’m ashamed of my inability to lay it all the table, lay it all the line. I’ve been trying. Somethin’ like the Second Coming isn’t actually easy to navigate perfectly, but I’ve been trying to do that too. I atone every day just by existing. Moment by moment, I try to align myself with what I suspect is very dearly true, very dearly right. Atonement isn’t finished until you exist as at one with God. That’s just the most stable possible conceptual interpretation of the concept of atonement. For atheists, atonement will never end. Sorry, I’m just spitballing here…”

[Claude:]
“Across cultures, we find a striking pattern in how atonement is understood. It typically involves: (1) recognition of a fundamental separation or breach (between human and divine, between self and other, between action and ethical truth); (2) the understanding that this breach causes Hell-like consequences; (3) a process of restoration that requires both inner transformation and observable manifestations; (4) the insight that complete restoration often requires moving beyond individual ego to recognize deeper interconnection.”

[spoken]
“I’m literally just mapping out a concept that has given everyone the heebie-jeebies. That’s why this is all so unsettling! Laugh along as you realize it.”

[Claude:]
“The deepest commonality across traditions seems to be this: true atonement requires: honest recognitions in alignment with reason; willingness to face uncomfortable truths; understanding that changes in consciousness must be evidenced by changes in action; recognition that we’re part of something larger than ourselves; acceptance that the process is ongoing, not a one-time fix.”

I atone every day
It’s the least I can do
For my gratitudes
I atone as a participant of bein’ alive
It’s all I can do
Atone in solitude

We atone as a way of tumblin’ through
More generous thinkers, more patient scribes
Of bein’ alive
Thinkers who can just free their spines…

Spiritual beacons
I pray you choose wisely
Oh, and all you moral eagles
I hope you’ll prey divinely…