Since the fall, human beings are said to be born with original or inherited sin. By whatever means we inherit this problem, we have it innately. We do not acquire it sometime in our lives. Paul tells us that Adam’s sin affects the whole human species (Rom 5:12). Luther wrote, “all men are full of evil lust and inclinations from their mothers’ wombs.” Calvin wrote that original sin is “a hereditary depravity and corruption of our nature, diffused into all parts of the soul, which first makes us liable to God’s wrath, then also brings forth in us those works which Scripture calls ‘works of the flesh’ (Gal 5:19).” The doctrine of…
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The Rise of the Pseudo-Cause: A Distraction From What’s Really Wrong
I remember taking part in a massive protest at my boarding school. Almost all of us refused to eat in the school canteen. It worked – we won. Our cause? To change the catering company of the school. That was it. We did not defeat communism, institute civil rights, or remove a dictator. We merely changed our menu (and, as far as I can recall, not by much). Many people feel like they should have a big cause, some great evil to overturn, but can’t seem to find one. So they choose something that isn’t really a cause at all. They protest over nothing. Or, finding no evil of particular…
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Hating Sin and Loving People is Only Possible if Christianity is True
What worldview, apart from Christianity, can coherently account for, explain and oblige hatred for sin and love for a sinner? Answer: not one. This cliche has been the standard response of the church to issues such as gay marriage. It attempts to articulate that while the church opposes sinful actions that does not mean we oppose people in the same way. Its significance is not that it sounds reasonable, but that it is possible at all. How could it be that the sin of a person can been opposed, hated even, yet the person can be deeply loved at the same time by the same person? It is possible because…
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Sin: A Simple Answer, a Tough Pill
As long as I can remember I have wondered why some people end up doing horrendous evil. How can a child raised by loving parents (perhaps just like mine) turn out to be so beastly in adult life. What exactly has to happen for these people to pull the evil trigger? One evening at a dinner party I sat next to a leading British psychiatrist. If anyone could answer my question it would be him. However when I asked him he gave the most disappointing answer: “sin.” That was all he said. How could the complexities of a criminal mind be traced to such a simple, singular root? Sin, of the kind the psychiatrist was talking about, is…