4-PART-ARTICLE SERIES, RE: HUMANITY, SIN, & the DIVINE 1) My stab @ "If God is good, why all the

bad?"

The doctrine of a providential God has traditionally maintained that God creates, provides, takes care of, supervises, enables, all things. If it has been understood that God is wholly good, and that He claimed His creation to be good, there is then conflict with the evil activity that is present in the world. This sin is experienced in two forms: natural evil, and malice. Natural evil refers to injury, suffering caused by diseases, accidents, earthquakes, tornados, fires, and floods, etc. Earthquakes and tornado are not in themselves evil, but when a person and tornado share identical location harm will result. Malice refers to evils preformed out of intentional or desired evil that involve moral or ethical judgments. Moral evil is a possible result when humans exercise their free will. If a person does not choose good, they choose against God; they choose evil. Assuredly, there is a knowing and decided evil at work. Nevertheless, God reigns and evil is firmly under God s control. Traditional theology has approached this quandary by several methods. *Many even choose to not attempt to explain how God can remain sovereign and good while the world is filled with evil. These, rest in the incomprehensibility of God; that all is a part of His providential plan, and that we should simply trust that God is good. *Others have supposed that evil exist as the substance of divine punishment. This would include that both natural evil and malice are allowed, or even ordained by God, to punish the wickedness of mankind s separation from the Creator. This concept would allow that humans today suffer both for the sins of Adam, as well as for their own individual sin. The reality of evil is the result of the freedom with which God endowed men. By giving mankind the freedom to choose him, God gave mankind the freedom to not choose him. God has said he is The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity (Isaiah 45:7). It is still difficult for us to comprehend what is God s place, and there may be many variations of explanation of how the Justice of God works

out amidst the world s sin. What is true is that through our struggle between good and evil, God is growing and shaping us to submit to Him more and trust Him more. In the Bible, Jacob found himself stuck between possible danger with his in-laws and possible dangerous revenge from his own family. In his place of desperation and anxiety, he wrestled with God, begging for blessing (Genesis 31:1-33:11). In this experience he was faced with the realities of good and evil, and he would settle for nothing less than the good blessing of God. The key to Jacob s experience is to be faithful to God even when it might appear that God may not provide; and part of a faithful response to God is to protest evil. This requires on our part, a full engagement of our physical, emotional, logical selves to our spiritual selves as we trust God, grow closer to Him relationally, and conform to His image. In this way we can begin to reach our full potential in Christ. The Bottom Line In Our quest for coherence, however, [we] must resist the temptation to build a system of ideas that pretends to know more than we do and thereby loses touch with both faith and lived reality. While we can have confidence in the truth of God revealed to us in Christ, our knowledge of God is not exhaustive (Daniel Migliore). And so in some regard, I must simply trust that God is in control of all things, and that His goodness will be provided through the end of time. As well, I must engage myself in imitation and reflection of God s good ways by being aware of evil and choosing to ask God for his provision of blessings, and by working against worldly evils as He give me strength. Through these efforts, I believe too, that God is working to conform me to His good image.

2) adam and eve(n) me

I was once romanced by the concept of the symbolic fall account (that the Genesis 3 story was a myth to symbolize the sinful experience of humanity), but I still struggled to connect my own original experience with Adam s. You see, his story began in an unspoiled paradise, while I was born into a world of sin. If the fall was merely symbolism of every human experience, then somehow I missed my opportunity to try out a sinless culture. I believe that the story of Adam and Eve's fall is both actual and symbolic . The Garden of Eden and the fall should be taken as historical and literal, and as the symbol and enablement of a sinful human tradition. Through choosing to disobey God, Adam and Eve s eyes were opened to the difference between good and evil. This created a break in the harmony in which they existed; which had been characterized by: fellowship with God, community with each other, and living in accord with all other created things. As consequence, the first two of humanity introduced enmity that separates humankind from their Creator and from the rest of creation. This separation has culturally and spiritually been handed down since the fall. It has been taught by words and ideology, and by experiences, in such a way that we are essentially torn between the possibility of good and evil; and we continue to allow it to divide us. If God intended us to exist in the unity of His image, the fall disfigured the human ability to live in such innocent harmony. Stanley Grenz suggests the possibility that in their innocence Adam and Eve had not had the opportunity to choose good (and God) over evil, and so they did not yet fully participate in the human destiny as designed by God. In this manner of reasoning, their sin has a two-fold effect; in that they both opened the door to discord, and to the opportunity to choose live in the harmonic image of God. I do not believe that we are punished by the actual event of Adam s fall. Rather, his sin created the potential and inevitable future for us to imitate his sin; and we are punished

for our participation in the break of God s image. In this way, Adam s fall represents all of humankind s sin and guilt.

3) falling from, and towards God

Continuing this week's series RE: Humanity and Sin, I wonder if the first sin (adam and eve) caused humanity to fall both from, and towards God. In my last post, I wrote that in choosing to disobey God, Adam and Eve s eyes were opened to the difference between good and evil. This created a break in the harmony in which they existed; which had been characterized by fellowship with God, community with each other, and living in accord with all other created things. Consequently, the first two of humanity introduced enmity that separates humankind from their Creator and from the rest of creation. Daniel Migliore defines this as evil, which opposes the will of God and distorts the good creation. There could possibly be some spiritual-physiological aspect involved in the nature of human sin. Adam and Eve were created purely out of the power and creativity of God. Every human since then, has come about by an alternative experience. Without omitting God s power in the process of reproduction, we all have been conceived and born out of the physiological substance of sinful humans. The first humans were derived only from God s creativity and dust; since the fall, all others have come from cells. Though physiology may be only a theory, certainly, this break in community (sin) has culturally and spiritually been handed down since the fall. It has been taught by words and ideology, and by experiences, in such a way that we are essentially torn between the possibility of good and evil; and we continue to allow it to divide us. If God intended for us to exist in the unity of His image, the fall disfigured the human ability to live in such innocent harmony. I supposed in the last post, that we are not punished by the actual event of Adam s fall. Rather, his sin created the potential and inevitable future for us to imitate his sin; and we are punished for our participation in the break of God s image. In this way, Adam s fall represents all of humankind s sin and guilt.

What is for sure is that the ills we experience do not arise from divine carelessness or impotence, but from a free and sinful human act (Aquinas). Stanley Grenz suggests the possibility that in their innocence Adam and Eve had not had the opportunity to choose good (and God) over evil, and so they did not yet fully participate in the human destiny as designed by God. In this manner of reason, their sin has a two-fold effect; in that they both opened the door to discord, and to the opportunity to choose live in the harmonic image of God.

4) the image of God is...becoming more human?

To close out this little series on sin, and it's disruption in God's created image, namely humanity, I want to take a slightly different look at the image of God. I think that the image of God should be looked at in regards to the personhood of God. By this, I mean that we should focus on the spiritual qualities that rise above nature and physicality. We are both limited and enlightened by the human-situation, and so we have difficulty describing the specific identifying features of the image of God. I can only speak of God as He reveals Himself through His word and relates to my experience and comprehension. This is a good reason why we were, in fact, created in God s image; namely, so that we could have some understanding of who/what/how He is. I refer to the human-situation that limits our understanding, based on our dualistic nature. We had a perfect beginning, and a sinful fall; but we can have a perfect ending. This requires us to include in the image of God, the image of Christ. In a sense, Jesus was the first among men-in the image of God (not to take away that He was in-fact, God), in that He was finite (created physical being) and infinite (limitless resource, power, holiness). We then are in Jesus image as our actual meets our potential. By this, creation in the image of God is tied to redemption. This puts us in a place situated transcendence. What I mean by this is that by being simultaneously on-earth, and intimately connected to God in heaven, Christians find themselves with the capacity for self transcendence that allows us some experience and understanding of God s structure, or character makeup, and His relationality. If humans were created in God s image, then, the image of God is, becoming more human? Okay, that seems confusing remember, we are not questioning 'what is God?' we are questioning 'what is the image of God?'.

In the Genesis 1 account, God said "Let 'Us' make man in 'Our' image...male and female...". From a perspective, this looks like God emphasizing unity...oneness...as Adam and Eve are created in the image of the Trinity. This means that human would refer to (or be defined as) "the image of God", rather than what seems more natural for us (to think of human as "bad"). And so, on a horizontal line, beginning with creation of mankind in the image of God, and continuing through the fall, and on to redemption by Christ, we have the ability to return to original human that God had created before the fall. Does that make any sense? Sin and evil draw us away from our original selves (the image of God). And the image of God is found in us becoming more-human more-original-human (and it only comes through the grace of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit). And Genesis 1 says that image is set to look something like the unity of the Trinity (for a start).