Fluent Essays

In this assignment, you will analyze the implications of the fall of humanity, consider the impact of the fall on humanity, and reflect on the continuing consequences of the fall for people throughout human history.One of the central components of every worldview is the topic of human nature. The topic of human nature asks questions about human value, human flourishing, and human purpose. Within the Christian worldview, the issue of sin and the consequences of the fall factor prominently into the topic of human nature.Use the Fall of Humanity: Then and Now Worksheet to complete this assignment (attached).In this two-part assignment, you will explore the topic of human nature from the perspective of the Christian worldview. The first part of the assignment involves gathering research. The second part of the assignment addresses how the effects of the fall are still evident in the world today. the_mystery_of_original_sin.pdf fall_of_humanity.docx Unformatted Attachment Preview ‫ןי‬pp‫־‬ GlobalGospelProject The Mystery of Original Sin We dont know why ,God permitted the Fall but we know all too well the .evil and sin that still plague us By Marguerite Shuster e g e n d h a s i t t h a t G. K. Chesterton, asked by a newspaper repo rter w h at w as w ro n g w ith th e world, skipped over all the expected answers. H e said n o thing about co rru p t politicians o r ancient rivalries betw een w arrin g nations, or th e greed o fth e ric h a n d th e covetousness o f the poor. H e left aside street crim e and u njust laws and inadequate education. Environm ental degradation and population grow th overwhelming the earth’s carrying capacity w ere n o t on his radar. N either w ere th e structural evils th at burgeoned as w ickedness becam e engrained in society and its institutions in ever m ore complex ways. W hat’s w rong w ith the world? As the story goes, Chesterton responded w ith ju st tw o words: “I am.” His an sw er is unlikely to be p o pular w ith a g eneration schooled to cultivate self-esteem , to p u rsu e its passions and chase self-fulfillm ent first and foremost. After all, w e say, th ere are reasons for ou r failures and foibles. It’s not o ur fault th at w e did n ’t w in th e genetic lottery, o r th at ou r p arents fell sh o rt in th eir parenting, o r th at o u r third-grade teacher m ade us so asham ed o f o u r arithm etic erro rs th at w e gave u p pursuing a career in science. Besides, w e w e re n ’t any w o rse th an ou r friends, and T H E M Y S T E R Y OF O R I G I N A L going along with the gang made life a lot more comfortable. We have lots of excuses for why things go wrong, and—as with any lie worth its salt—most of them contain some truth. Still, by adulthood, most of us have an uneasy sense of self. Whatever we try to tell ourselves, something in us knows that we don’t measure up to our own standards, let alone anyone else’s. Even if we think we’ve done rather well, all things considered, there remains a looming conclusion to our lives we cannot escape. Death will bring an end to all achievements and all excuses. And who among us can face the reality of final judgment with the conviction that we are altogether blameless? Maybe there is something to Chesterton’s answer after all. In fact, theologian Reinhold Niebuhr was fond of saying that original sin—the idea that every one of us is born a sinner and will manifest that sinfulness in his or her life—is the only Christian doctrine that can be empirically verified. Everyone, whether a criminal or a saint, sins. Insofar as that dismal verdict is true, it’s hardly surprising that there is a great deal wrong with the world. SIN most honest part of us sees that we could have done differently in any particular case, but didn’t. The Genesis narrative does not tell us why the Fall continues to affect us all. Nor do we learn why the serpent—that tempter identified by the Christian tradition as Satan—turned away from God but was nonetheless allowed into the Garden of Eden. But it does give us profound insight into the nature of sin. Consider, for instance, the seemingly inconsequential object of temptation. A piece of fruit? As the source of the ruin of the world? In Paradise Lost, John Milton has Satan describe the event as worthy of the fallen angels’laughter. The corruption of humankind, so easily achieved! But is it not ever thus? The pregnant teenager may have only tried it once with her boyfriend, but her life will be forever altered. The AiDS-infected drug addict may have fallen just once for the sales pitch, “Try it; you’ll like it!” But having tried it, it doesn’t matter whether or not he liked it—the act generates its own consequences. A wonderful old sculpture shows Eve cupping her ear to listen to the serpent while her hand reaches out behind her, beyond her own sight, to grasp the fateful fruit. Sometimes we are determinedly ignorant of what we are doing; we refuse even to recognize that we are doing wrong. It is the small wrong step that is so easy, the small deviation from the path that we cannot imagine will lead us ever farther from our goal. Another reason we succumb to temptation is that we doubt God’s commands. We wonder, first, whether more is off limits than really is, which biases us against both the core of the command and the God who decreed it. Some Christians, rejecting empty legalisms that are no part of God’s purpose for his good law, end up neglectinghis actual commands. Eve herself is seduced into adding a prohibition against even touching the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which casts doubt upon the reasonableness of the original command not to eat of its fruit (Gen. 3:3). How often Christianity’s despisers depict it as an uptight, sour-faced religion of “thou shall nots,” keeping its followers from the innocent pleasures of a delightful world. God is presented as a cosmic spoilsport or, worse, a malevolent being dangling enjoyments in front of his creatures while simultaneously affixing them with the f o r b i d d e n label. In this way, “sinful” becomes code for something especially enticing, like the “sinful chocolate cake” on the dessert menu. Or, consider how Las Vegas flaunts its reputation as “Sin City.” Having doubted the boundaries of God’s commands, we go on to doubt whether the threatened consequences of disobedience will really come to pass. On the surface, this doubt is understandable, as there seems to have been some truth in the serpent’s contention that the primal couple would not die. Certainly they did not die right away, even if death had indeed entered in like a silent cancer. Unbelief hadn’t yet metastasized to soul-suffocating proportions. But a consequence delayed is not a consequence denied. We can abuse our bodies for a long time before we actually die of what our doctor says will prematurely kill us. We can abuse our spirits for a longtime, maybe even a lifetime, without seriously confronting the consequences of sin. But we will die in the end all the same, and meanwhile, unbelief leads us farther and farther away from God. How could sin invade the world that God madegood? To this great question, theBible gives no theoretical answer. It only narrates how it came about W H Y DO WE S I N ? But how could such a thing be? How could sin invade and pervade the world that God made good? To this great question, like the other great question of how it could be that Christ’s death saves us, the Bible gives no theoretical answer. Rather, it only narrates how it came about. The account comes in Genesis 2 and 3, the second Creation narrative. In the first Creation narrative, Genesis 1, God celebrates what he has made and gives humankind a position of honor and responsibility. The second narrative (probably written earlier than the first) provides an important counterpoint, given the broken world we experience. In Romans 5 and 1Corinthians 15, Paul takes up this second narrative to point the direction to the doctrine of the Fall. What happened in Eden, Paul implies, didn’t stay in Eden. What went wrong in the beginning marks everything that follows. Adam’s sin not only brings the judgment of death upon all who come after him, but also makes them sinners. (True, Eve gets blamed in 1Timothy 2 [see also 2 Cor. 11:3], but only Adam is named in Romans 5. Sin is an equal opportunity employer. In fact, the impulse to say, “I am not to blame, that other one is” flows from our primal disobedience.) Paul doesn’t explain the cause of this universality of sin and death. He doesn’t blame inheritance or bad example. Indeed, he doesn’t say how it comes about at all. He only points to it, and comments later, in Romans 11:32 (h c s b ), that “God has imprisoned all in disobedience” (with the crucial caveat that he ultimately plans to extend mercy to all). Somehow, God’s own decision extends the consequences of Adam’s sin to us all. Note, of course, that all people actually do disobey; it’s not as if we are counted sinners without actually being sinners (Rom. 5:12). Still, something within us is corrupt from the beginning, so that we do not love what is good with our whole hearts but are deeply inclined to evil. And once our excuses are stripped away, the reason we do evil remains as mysterious as the turning away of Adam and Eve. The 40 C H R I S T I A N I T Y TODAY | A p ril 2013 T h e other classic piece I of the temptation narrative I is its appeal to p rid e —its I stirring u p o f d o u b t as to I w heth er th e re o u ght to be any lim its o n h u m an exploration. An old carj to o n gets th e gist o f it: A Ϊ wom an, fascinated by an | Apple com puter in Eden, I hears th e serp en t declarI ing, “Of course he told you I not to touch it. T hen you’d I have all th e knowledge he I does ” As th e biblical serpen t pu t it, “You’ll be like God.” Could God have a good m otive for such a prohibition? Or only a petty, jealous one? Are there lines w e should not cross, even in our scientific I endeavors? Or is any such | th o u g h t en tertained only by oppressors w ith w icked, selfinterested motives? In any case, w e can presu m e from the Genesis story th at no such line will ever be m ade to hold. And if w e w a n t a c u rre n t exam ple o f pride taken to its height, consider those w ho (to th e dism ay of many serious scientists) d u b th e Higgs boson th e “God p article”: K now ledge, w e value to a high degree. W isdom, not so m uch. W e w an t to decide for ourselves, and nothing can stop us. A nother cartoon show s an angel, lightning b olt in hand, asking God if he should destroy th e earth. God stops him, saying its inhabitants are doing a p retty good job o f th at on their own. The w orld o f Genesis 3 is th e w o rld w e live in. Seemingly insignificant choices, unbelief, and pride are key aspects o f th e Genesis account, and of o u r ongoing struggle. They have a so rt o f universal c h aracter to th em . Y et th e q uestion rem ains: W h y did God allow such a state of affairs in th e first place? W hy any serp en t at all? W hy, as theologian Karl B arth asked, place a d o n o t e n t e r sign over an open door? W hy n o t ju st close th e door? B arth answ ered his ow n question by saying th at th e open door w ith th e attached prohibition represents the tru e state o f affairs w ith resp ect to ou r relationship to God. W e are asked freely to orien t ourselves to God’s will, freely to exercise th e obedience th at is our duty as creatures. W e are asked to believe, trust, and obey him even w h e n th ere is no t a reason to do so th a t w e can w ra p o u r m inds around. W hy m ight th at be? an d evil, th e tre e w ith th e forb id d en fruit, sho u ld be p laced rig h t in th e ce n te r o f th e Garden o f Eden. T he reason, he concludes, is that this is w h e re God belongs in o u r lives. God is no t a b o u n d a ry a ro u n d th e edges o f o u r lives, a lim it to o u r abilities th at w e are always striving to surpass. Nor, w e m ight add, is h e th e k e e p er of a b o u n d a ry im posed by legalists w h o th in k w e can b e ch an g ed th ro u g h an §P$ ev er m ore en co m passing I se t o f rules. H e belongs : in th e cen ter. W e re God m erely an o u ter boundary, s w e w o u ld b e left w ith an in n e r b o undlessness, an I e m p tin ess a t th e h e a rt o f th in g s—left, th a t is, w ith o u t any tru e o rg anizing c e n te r for o u r lives. I t is only w h e n o u r relatio n sh ip o f glad o bedience to God governs ev ery th in g th a t w e will b e tru ly free. T h e n w e w ill find no need for a boundary at all. The m ore w e find ourselves n eeding to shore up boundaries, or feeling driven to escape th em , th e su re r w e m ay be th at so m ething is w ro n g at th e center. T he tree at th e ce n te r o f Eden, then, is n o t a m alicious tra p cleverly designed to sn are th e inn o cen t and naive. It tells us o f the God w ho m ade us, w h o invites us to relate to him as who he is (and not on o u r o w n term s). I t tells o f th e God w h o defines good an d evil according to his infinite w isdom , a w isdom m arked always by the grace and m ercy revealed in Je su s Christ. W e no longer have the freed o m fully and freely to obey, to live in a w o rld w ith n o th in g w ro n g w ith it, to be people w ith n o th in g w ro n g w ith us. W e are corrupt, an d creation suffers a cu rse on account o f Adam and Eve’s lapse—and o u r own. But if, in ou r un en d in g failures, w e keep retu rn in g to th e center, w e will find One w h o w ill save us, and th is capsizing w orld, from ourselves. As Rom ans 8 assures us, “T h e creatio n w aits in eager expectation for th e children o f God to be revealed. F o r th e creation w as subjected to frustration, no t by its ow n choice, b u t by th e will o f th e one w h o subjected it, in hope th a t the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and b ro u g h t into the freedom and glory o f th e ch ildren o f God.” W e aw ait th at day. β What happened in Eden didn’t stay in Eden. What went wrong in the beginning marks everything that follows. GOD DELONGS IN T H E C E N TER M a r g u e rit e Shuster is t he Harold John Ockenga Professor o f Preaching D ietrich Bonhoeffer, in his p rofound book Creation and Fall, adds to th is picture. H e asks w h y th e tre e o f th e know led g e o f good and Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. She is the author of The Fall and Sin: What We Have Become as Sinners (Eerdmans). 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Fall of Humanity: Then and Now Worksheet Name: Course: Date: Instructor: PART ONE: THE FALL - THEN Read the assigned readings in Topic 3 The Mystery of Original Sin article (attached), and Bible passages) and address the following questions with a total word count (including all questions and answers combined) of 500-900 words. Cite all of the resources used with in-text citations, using at least two sources from the Topic 3 readings. Include these in the reference list at the end of the assignment. Write your paragraph response directly below each question: 1. What is revealed about human nature (from Genesis 1-2)? 2. What are the consequences of the fall for human nature (from Genesis 3)? 3. What is revealed about human purpose from the readings? What does it mean for humans to flourish, in other words to achieve spiritual, emotional, and mental well-being? 4. How might these questions about human nature, purpose, and flourishing be answered by those holding a pantheistic or atheistic (choose one) worldview? PART TWO: THE FALL - NOW Consider how the fall and humanitys exposure to good and evil are seen in the way some people treat themselves and others in dehumanizing ways today (examples: abuse, addiction, bullying, domestic violence, eating disorders, human trafficking, pornography, poverty, racism, vandalism, etc.). Choose one act of dehumanization and write the script for a short TV public service announcement in 350-650 words. Use at least two different sources from the GCU Library cited in the text and listed below in the list of references. Include the following: • Highlight how the act of dehumanization is evident in the world today. • Provide solid ideas for prevention. © 2017. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. • Include statistics, causes, and impact on people (victim, perpetrator, others as appropriate). • Discuss how a God-centered worldview contributes to a solution. • Include notes within the script about the images and video that would be included when shooting the commercial. From the topic materials, view the two examples of a public service announcement: 1. Child Internet Safety PSA - Online Predators 2. Dangers of Sexting: What Teens Need to Know Write your paper below: REFERENCES List at least two references below for each part of the assignment above, for a minimum of four references. Prepare these references according to the guidelines found in the Student Success Center. Include the permalink for the GCU Library sources used. Example reference: Shuster, M. (2013). The mystery of original sin: We dont know why God permitted the fall, but we know all too well the evil and sin that still plague us. Christianity Today, 57(3), 3841. 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