Original Sin

For some people, every day is already a painful reminder that they are made of dust. For these people, sin is not so much about pride, but rather the failure to have a healthy sense of self-esteem and love for oneself.

Since the days of Darwin, there have been theologians who have also embraced evolution in some form or another. But Evangelicals tend to be the least likely to do this, and here's why.

Organisms evolved from simple forms by natural selection. This includes humans. We are the end result of a long, slow, natural process of development. Moreover, there never was an original pair.

What if Adam and Eve never existed? What happens to the whole doctrine of original sin?

It is a sad day indeed when a faculty member of one of the leading Christian colleges in the nation is threatened with the sack by his president for trying to stay true to the faith of his parents and to the demands of reason and evidence.

There are many different religions in the world, and they make contradictory claims. They cannot all be true. Why therefore should we think any of them true? Is it not just a matter of chance what we believe?

In modern biology there is much of real value for the thinking Christian, and in Christian thought there is much worth pondering by the biologist.

According to Christian theology, God reveals Godself most fully in the person of Jesus Christ. As such, it follows that sin is the closet, or the resistance to revealing ourselves fully to God and to others.

Expelled from the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve reflect on their new circumstances, find joy in koalas and the naming of sand, and happily agree that Eve can't be blamed. Too bad posterity forgot.

In its original context, sin is not a personal weakness but a necessary stumble in the road toward whom we are meant to become. Looking at it this way may deepen our experience of life.

If they claim to follow the "narrow path" that evangelicalism seeks to represent, they may want to stand up more boldly for what is singular within their faith tradition. It'll take courage.