Perhaps a distinction needs to be made between sin in behavior and sin in the heart. We can work to control the sin in our behavior but the sin in our heart, I believe, is part of the human condition. To take the concept of sin out of religious terminology, I sometimes liken the concept of sin to the idea of brokenness. If you ask any recovering alcoholic to tell you about brokenness, he or she will readily admit to you that in the process of their recovery they discovered that there was a limit to their self-sufficiency. They will also tell you that it wasn't until they acknowledged their brokenness that they were able to grow. This has also been my experience in the many years that I've been doing therapy with other kinds of clients. Change usually doesn't occur until clients recognize their brokenness, or recognize how they are agents as well as victims, or recognize how they tend to sabotage their efforts to change, or recognize that there is part of them that doesn't want to change or love or reach out to others.
I'm sometimes asked if human beings are inherently good or inherently bad. My answer to that question is that human beings are both bad and good. We have a tremendous capacity for love and growth. On the other hand, we also have an equally tremendous capacity for self-centeredness and stubborn resistance to change. Christian psychologists wrongly criticize humanistic psychologists because of their assumption that humans are good at their core. I think humanists are partly correctly in that there is something good about humans, but there is also something ugly and self-centered that lurks in our heart. To put it in other words, if loving ourselves and loving others is our ultimate goal in life, then sin is the "force" in our hearts that pulls us in the opposite direction. I respect the views of my colleagues who have different opinions on this matter even though I may disagree with some of the underlying presuppositions of their arguments. If anyone is interested in an interesting discussion of sin, check out psychologist Larry Crabb's text entitled Inside Out. It's written from a Christian perspective, but offers an interesting understanding of sin that is radically different from the one that many people grew up with in the church. Please no flames on this post. I'm just offering up my two cents to the discussion. Rod Hetzel -----Original Message----- From: Beth Benoit Sent: Tue 2/19/2002 6:59 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences Cc: Subject: Re: rethinking sin Stephen is absolutely correct. (DARN! I KNEW I should have spent more time crafting my post.) What I should have said is that "from the standpoint of the idealist, who doesn't take into consideration how the Golden Rule can be twisted to justify an individual agenda, religion should be a good way to encourage the continuation of the human race." Without question, unconscionable abuse has taken place in the name of religion. The difference between ideals (Golden Rule) and reality (Real World) is too huge - and discouraging - to even contemplate. But I'm glad Stephen pointed out that discrepancy. Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire on 2/18/02 11:29 PM, Stephen Black at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > On Mon, 18 Feb 2002, Beth Benoit wrote: > >> So encouraging religious beliefs >> is, from a practical standpoint, a good way to encourage the continuation of >> the human race. > > Beg to differ. Encouraging religious beliefs is a good way to > discourage the continuance of the human race (or a subset of it). > Think the Crusades, the Inquisition, pogroms, Ireland, Israel, > India/Pakistan, Afghanistan, New York City, September 11. Or that > wearing a condom to prevent the spread of AIDS (e.g. in Africa) > is sinful. > > Perhaps a little less religion is what the human race really > needs if we want to encourage it to continue. > > -Stephen > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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