The Sin of Cynicism
,By agnosticator ~
The Greek word translated as “Sin” in the Bible is “hamartano”, literally meaning "to miss the mark." Just what is the mark that is missed? The New Testament says the first couple “missed the mark” and we all are blamed for it:
Romans 5:12:
Image by Secret Pilgrim via Flickr
Romans 5:18:
We can conclude from the first couple’s story that obedience was the mark they missed. Apparently, we are born missing the mark thanks to them.
Humanity is born disobedient and also evil. Evil means many things that are considered offensive to God in the Bible. In Mark 10:18, Jesus said no one is good—except God alone. Ephesians 2:3 also states we are by nature deserving of God's wrath. The concept of "Sin" is tied to our nature, because we are born evil and therefore also missed the mark. How can a newborn baby be considered evil and only capable of missing the mark, when it just has the capacity to learn a concept of self? The newborn is beginning to develop in every area of its being, and has yet to learn anything about where to aim!
This view of human nature omits the truth that humans are born with the capacity for both good and bad. The capacity for good is dismissed while the capacity for bad is blown out of proportion. This God of love's assessment of humans is cynicism at its worst! "Sin" and "evil" are religious terms created to convince us there is something inherently wrong with human nature. We have totally evil tendencies with no hope of any goodness. I find it hard to believe anyone has ever been totally bad in thought and deed. Sin, evil, and Salvation are overreactions to the dark side of humanity.
Sin is stronger than the love of God since a God-human sacrifice is necessary for Him to love humanity. Sin serves to make us feel bad about ourselves. Besides inheriting Sin, the authors of the New Testament allude to corrupt morals as being the sin and evil in people's lives. Since no one can be morally perfect, being a helpless sinner in need of Salvation can induce guilt where none is merited. Our evil thoughts and deeds count, while our good thoughts and deeds mean nothing!
Sin is stronger than the love of God since a God-human sacrifice is necessary for Him to love humanity. Neither is God's forgiveness stronger than Sin, because it was not possible for forgiveness without a sacrifice. Love and forgiveness become complete through action. It is what one does for another that fulfills them both. If God forgave humanity there would be no penalty, nor terms of acceptance of love and forgiveness. His all-powerful, all-loving nature, isn't.
Humanity's dark side can be held back by embracing our better half instead of demeaning it. If we aim for the good qualities like hope, love, and forgiveness, we can triumph in an imperfect world.
The Greek word translated as “Sin” in the Bible is “hamartano”, literally meaning "to miss the mark." Just what is the mark that is missed? The New Testament says the first couple “missed the mark” and we all are blamed for it:
Romans 5:12:
Image by Secret Pilgrim via Flickr"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
Romans 5:18:
Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people,..."
We can conclude from the first couple’s story that obedience was the mark they missed. Apparently, we are born missing the mark thanks to them.
Humanity is born disobedient and also evil. Evil means many things that are considered offensive to God in the Bible. In Mark 10:18, Jesus said no one is good—except God alone. Ephesians 2:3 also states we are by nature deserving of God's wrath. The concept of "Sin" is tied to our nature, because we are born evil and therefore also missed the mark. How can a newborn baby be considered evil and only capable of missing the mark, when it just has the capacity to learn a concept of self? The newborn is beginning to develop in every area of its being, and has yet to learn anything about where to aim!
This view of human nature omits the truth that humans are born with the capacity for both good and bad. The capacity for good is dismissed while the capacity for bad is blown out of proportion. This God of love's assessment of humans is cynicism at its worst! "Sin" and "evil" are religious terms created to convince us there is something inherently wrong with human nature. We have totally evil tendencies with no hope of any goodness. I find it hard to believe anyone has ever been totally bad in thought and deed. Sin, evil, and Salvation are overreactions to the dark side of humanity.
Sin is stronger than the love of God since a God-human sacrifice is necessary for Him to love humanity. Sin serves to make us feel bad about ourselves. Besides inheriting Sin, the authors of the New Testament allude to corrupt morals as being the sin and evil in people's lives. Since no one can be morally perfect, being a helpless sinner in need of Salvation can induce guilt where none is merited. Our evil thoughts and deeds count, while our good thoughts and deeds mean nothing!
Sin is stronger than the love of God since a God-human sacrifice is necessary for Him to love humanity. Neither is God's forgiveness stronger than Sin, because it was not possible for forgiveness without a sacrifice. Love and forgiveness become complete through action. It is what one does for another that fulfills them both. If God forgave humanity there would be no penalty, nor terms of acceptance of love and forgiveness. His all-powerful, all-loving nature, isn't.
Humanity's dark side can be held back by embracing our better half instead of demeaning it. If we aim for the good qualities like hope, love, and forgiveness, we can triumph in an imperfect world.
Comments
Post a Comment