Re: [asa] The Fall (humanity source of suffering)

Hi Bernie,

Yes, but I think it goes much deeper than that. Only a subset of humanity is harmed by natural disaster, and for most of those, it is only one terrible moment in their life. In contrast, every person has been harmed by another person and most are harmed multiple times over our lives. For example, think of all the silent suffering that is going on just because of child abuse alone.

Death by a thousand cuts can be worse than a single stab in the gut.

- Mike Gene

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Dehler, Bernie
  To: asa@calvin.edu
  Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 11:23 AM
  Subject: RE: [asa] The Fall (humanity source of suffering)

  Nucacids said:
  "Human depravity. I think the greatest source of suffering and evil on this planet is humanity."

  You might have a point there, because even in great natural disasters, many more are killed when aid can't reach them. Sometimes (many/most times?) the aid is blocked because of politics and crime.

  .Bernie

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  From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On Behalf Of Nucacids
  Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 7:34 AM
  To: asa@calvin.edu
  Subject: [asa] The Fall

  Karl Giberson was interested in initiating a dialog about how evolutionary theory, a product of methodological naturalism, should cause us to rethink and reformulate (?) Christian theology. One change Karl advocates is as follows:

  "likewise the Fall must disappear from history as an event and become, instead, a partial insight into the morally ambiguous character with which evolution endowed our species."

  IMO, such a point has less to do with the history as it does with the *significance* of the Fall. Maybe I am wrong, but the sense I get from Karl's interpretation is that the Fall is only important in explaining our "morally ambiguous character" due to evolution. It almost seems trivial, as I am having a hard time envisioning how the evolution of human beings can be described as a "Fall."

  Regardless of whether the Fall is historic or symbolic of a deeper reality, it, as part of Christian theology, has long explained three fundamental aspects of our reality:

  1. Human depravity. I think the greatest source of suffering and evil on this planet is humanity.

  2. Natural evil. Others might think the greatest source of suffering and evil on this planet is Nature (for example, malaria is the number one cause of agony and death on this planet).

  3. The hidden-ness of God. Not only are human beings subjugated to all the evil in #1 and #2, God is so hidden that it is easy for millions of human beings to deny He exists and even more view God in all kinds of contradictory ways.

  If the Fall is simply "a partial insight into the morally ambiguous character with which evolution endowed our species," then does the Fall really explain these aspects of our reality?

  - Mike Gene

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Received on Wed Jun 18 13:48:34 2008