The title refers to a feeling a typical person gets after having done something physical that they never meant to do. Sometimes it’s another’s fault; but often the action is voluntary. The words “guilt,” “dirty,” “shame,” and sometimes “violated,” are some of the words used most commonly to describe this type of feeling. Without wanting to step on anyone’s toes here, let me share my personal opinion: guilt and shame are not societally determined. They are an intrinsic function of every person’s conscience.
I may have just offended more than a few of you out there, but just think about it a second, OK? All societies, even the most wicked ones, have norms and taboos. This implies that it is natural to feel “wrong” about certain behavior, and though the norms differ from society to society, the feeling is quite consistent across cultural barriers.
Please don’t take me for a judgmental, self-righteous jerk. I’m not condemning anyone. I’m simply trying to explain that God made us wired to feel guilty. The fact that we were born in sin is not our own fault, but that’s why Jesus came, to die in our place as a “sacrificial lamb” and be raised to life again so that we could be forgiven.
What you do with this information is your own choice. I love you all.
You typed: "The fact that we were born in sin is not our own fault, but that’s why Jesus came..." This is precisely the opposite of what Scripture teaches. If we bore no fault for this, there would have been no need for Jesus to come. The denial of the doctrine of original sin (which you have affirmed here) was condemned as a heresy by the collective Church of Jesus Christ, a heresy known as "Pelagianism."
ReplyDeleteAmerican Christians often stumble at this teaching because they do not understand covenants, and the biblical notion of covenantal representation. The concept of covenants is the very heart of biblical theology. To misunderstand it, is to misunderstand the Bible itself, in the nature of the case.
God had appointed Adam and Eve as the representives of all mankind. "Adam" means "Man" or "humanity," and Eve got her name because she was "the mother of all." Just as a father and mother are the divinely-appointed representatives for their under-age children, so also with Adam and Eve. But in their case, that included everyone. When they sinned -- we ALL sinned (the whole human race collectively) in him (for all born thereafter are born "in Adam") and fell with him in the first transgression. This is what Romans 5 is all about. To be born "In Adam" is to bear the guilt of the sin of his family, which he earned. To be born "in Christ" (the second Adam) is to bear the righteousness which he earned. On your view, the parallel between the first and second Adam found in Rom. 5 (and 1st Corinthians) makes no sense, since there would be NO parallel.
Here is the Church's own answer to the question of original sin, form the Westminster Shorter Catechism:
Q. 16. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?
A. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression. (Rom. 5:12-22)
I beg you to re-read Romans 5 and 1 Cor. 15, and reconsider. For it seems to me that you are well-meaning and sincere. If you visit our blog (Church and State 101) you will find a link to the Westminster Standards if you wish to study further. The Heidelberg Catechism is great too, for providing a biblical hramework on most subjects.