I thought I would pas along something I read in class tonight, let me know what you think.
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Because of Adam and Eve’s sin, all subsequent human beings have been born in depravity. We are all affected by what theologians call “original sin.”
All human beings are sinful beings. People by themselves, not only bring forth bad fruit; they are bad trees (See Matthew 7:18).
People are born in total depravity. This does not mean that all humans are as corrupt as possible, nor that all are equally sinful in all respects, but that . . .
· every part of a person’s being is affected by sin.
· people have problems at the very center of their being.
· people are unable, in themselves, to please God.
This is not good. Because we are in sin, we deserve God’s wrath (his righteous anger, his punishment).
Romans 1:18 states that “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of (people) who suppress the truth by their wickedness.”
What are your reactions to this thought?
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Here's another way to think of it: infant humans are born morally neutral - born with the obvious capacity to do evil and do good.
Based on observations, do you know of any evil babies? Or "good" babies?
I don't buy the argument that babies are proof of depravity because they cry when they don't get what they want. Jesus cried when he didn't get all the milk he wanted.
Here's the thing: infant humans are born to parents who are old enough to have been deeply affected by sin - they've been sinned against in profound ways, and they've also done some sinning themselves. With this kind of infection from sin - regardless of the work of the Spirit in them - they are bound to pass on their sins to their children. Sin gets passed on - not through being born, but by being raised by other sinners, in a community of sinners.
Adam and Eve were made and God said they were good. All humanity is good. People are made in the image of God, which means they have the obvious capacity for doing good. God made them to do good. Sin doesn't mean that humans can't do good. Sin means that they can't not do evil also. Our goodness was corrupted because we were first deceived. And that's how it works most of the time: we sin because we are first deceived in some way. When sin is presented as it really is - voila it loses it's power and we are no longer held in its grip. Which is what Christ came to do - release us from the power/grip of sin by teaching us what sin really looks like, teaching us about reality, about how to see the world and sin through his eyes.
At some point infants become children who can make choices that can be labeled good or evil. But even at that point, it is so clear that most of what has influenced their decision is a million other factors over which they had no control.
Okay - this is a very long post. But you asked for it! Let me know what you think.
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