Week 5 and 6- Original Sin and Theodicy (p.101-117)
Here's a great article on Original Sin.
“The only Christian doctrine for which there is empirical evidence is that of original sin.”
-G.K. Chesterton
"Doubtless there is nothing more shocking to our reason than to say that the sin of the first man has rendered guilty those who, being so removed from its source, seem incapable of participating in it. Certainly nothing offends us more rudely than this doctrine, and yet without this mystery, the most incomprehensible of all, we are incomprehensible to ourselves."
-Blaise Pascal
"The truth is that, absurd as the classical Pauline doctrine of original sin may seem to be at first blush, its prestige as a part of the Christian truth is preserved, and perennially reestablished, against the attacks of rationalists and simple moralists by its ability to throw light upon complex factors in human behavior which constantly escape the moralists."
-Reinhold Niebuhr
“The possible disastrous effects of the concept of original sin on our psychological condition and on our cultural life are undeniable [because of its use to keep people "in their place" and not alter unjust social structures]; and so are the disastrous effects of the opposing doctrine, with its implication that our perfectibility is limitless, and that our predictions of ultimate synthesis or total reconciliation can be realized. However, the fact that both affirmation and rejection of the concept of original sin have emerged as powerful destructive forces in our history is one of many that testify in favor of the reality of original sin. In other words, we face a peculiar situation in which the disastrous consequences of assenting to either of two incompatible theories confirm one of them and testify against its rival.”
-Leszek Kolakowski
“it [original sin] is a sin 'contracted' and not 'committed' - a state and not an act."
-Catechism (p.114 point 404)
Theodicy
The classic definition of Theodicy comes from John Milton, "To justify the Ways of God to man."
“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: ‘Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you declare to me.’”
-Job 41:6-7
“Jesus wept.” -John 11:35
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned… For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification….Therefore, just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all… Where sin increased grace abounded all the more.”
-St. Paul (Romans 5:12,15, 18-19, 20)
From the old Latin mass for Holy Saturday: “O felix culpa quae talem et tantum meruit habere redemptorum.” "O blessed sin [literally, happy fault] which received as its reward so great and so good a redeemer.
Michaelangelo's Expulsion from the Garden
“The only Christian doctrine for which there is empirical evidence is that of original sin.”
-G.K. Chesterton
"Doubtless there is nothing more shocking to our reason than to say that the sin of the first man has rendered guilty those who, being so removed from its source, seem incapable of participating in it. Certainly nothing offends us more rudely than this doctrine, and yet without this mystery, the most incomprehensible of all, we are incomprehensible to ourselves."
-Blaise Pascal
"The truth is that, absurd as the classical Pauline doctrine of original sin may seem to be at first blush, its prestige as a part of the Christian truth is preserved, and perennially reestablished, against the attacks of rationalists and simple moralists by its ability to throw light upon complex factors in human behavior which constantly escape the moralists."
-Reinhold Niebuhr
“The possible disastrous effects of the concept of original sin on our psychological condition and on our cultural life are undeniable [because of its use to keep people "in their place" and not alter unjust social structures]; and so are the disastrous effects of the opposing doctrine, with its implication that our perfectibility is limitless, and that our predictions of ultimate synthesis or total reconciliation can be realized. However, the fact that both affirmation and rejection of the concept of original sin have emerged as powerful destructive forces in our history is one of many that testify in favor of the reality of original sin. In other words, we face a peculiar situation in which the disastrous consequences of assenting to either of two incompatible theories confirm one of them and testify against its rival.”
-Leszek Kolakowski
“it [original sin] is a sin 'contracted' and not 'committed' - a state and not an act."
-Catechism (p.114 point 404)
Theodicy
The classic definition of Theodicy comes from John Milton, "To justify the Ways of God to man."
“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: ‘Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you declare to me.’”
-Job 41:6-7
“Jesus wept.” -John 11:35
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned… For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification….Therefore, just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all… Where sin increased grace abounded all the more.”
-St. Paul (Romans 5:12,15, 18-19, 20)
From the old Latin mass for Holy Saturday: “O felix culpa quae talem et tantum meruit habere redemptorum.” "O blessed sin [literally, happy fault] which received as its reward so great and so good a redeemer.
Michaelangelo's Expulsion from the Garden
# posted by Matt 
<< Home
