Re: Human Nature

In the comments of my post entitled Human Nature:

Anonymous said...

I respectfully disagree, and believe you are wrong. I am not, nor was I born evil. I am tolerant, and would appreciate that if you believe that humans are naturally evil you apply it only to yourself and not impose it on anyone else. That would be hypocritical.

Now I will be disrespectful and impose me beliefs on you. You believe man is naturally evil, therefore created evil. Yet you believe that your creator loves you though he created you evil. You also believe that heaven is reserved for the good, and hell for the evil. Good and evil, which you define as belief or non-belief in your religion. If that is so then why would your god create you as a low being yet make a way for you to be good? Would it not make more sense that you were created good, for the purpose of doing good in the world, and then have your reward when you die? Of course, you say. It works either way, you say. Except it doesnt. Christianity's basic premise is that Jesus is salvation, and what is he saving you from? Sin, your natural evil. But what tells you that you have sin? It is not imperfection. Imperfection alone does not imply evil, or sin. It is your own Bible that tells you. The Bible says you are evil, and that Jesus is good. One requires the other. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and therefore an artificiality.

Thus I submit to you, my convictions.

First, allow me to establish what I believe in regards to man being created. Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. They were created with knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. When God created man, He made a promise of life with them, on condition of perfect obedience. He forbade them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil upon the pain of death. Adam and Eve, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the perfect state that they were created in by sinning against God. The covenant that God made with them, was not only for them, but for all man kind descending from him by ordinary generation. Therefore, we sinned in him, and fell with him. All descendants of Adam are therefore born into sin.

So, God did not create man evil, He created them perfect. We fell short of His glory. All man kind, by that fall, lost communion with God. Man is under His wrath and curse, and therefore liable to all miseries in this life: to death, and to the pains of hell forever. But God, out of His good pleasure, did not leave us to die. He entered into a covenant of grace to deliver us out of our estate of sin and misery, and to bring us into an estate of salvation, by a redeemer. Our only redeemer is Jesus Christ, who being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was and continues to be, God and man, in two distinct natures, and one person forever.

Therefore, I submit that we were created good, but we gave it up to serve ourselves. All creation was created for one purpose, and one purpose alone: To bring God glory. When we left to bring glory to ourselves, we became evil. We are now born evil. Every day we sin, anyone who says that they do not sin is either a liar or insane. There is none righteous. Everyone has lied. Everyone has cheated. Everyone has had evil thoughts. Everyone has done evil in the sight of the Lord, even if they have not in the sight of man. I do not need the Bible to tell me that I do wrong. I know it in my heart. The Bible tells me how I can be saved from what I have done.