Post by Theophilus on Sept 19, 2022 9:20:06 GMT -8
When most theologians and philosophers think about the relation of sin and the nature of man with respect to his ability to think and reason, the common way of framing it is through the category known as the noetic effects of sin. This make me think about our human ability to think rationally before and after we were plunged into sin by the fall of Adam.
What was lost in us at the fall?
Genesis 1:26 declares that God created man in His image. Being made in the "image" or "likeness" of God means that He made us to resemble Him in some, but not all, ways. We do not resemble God in the sense of God being flesh and blood as we are, because God is spirit (John 4:24) and He therefore exists without a flesh-and-blood body. One way in which Adam's body did mirror God's is that it was created in perfect health, sinless and not subject to death.
With the fall of mankind because of Adam and Eve's disobedience, that aspect of our likeness to God ended. Sin entered the world and along with it, sickness, disease and death. I believe this includes the decline of mental health.
We resemble God mentally in that man was created as a rational being with a certain amount of volition. We can reason and, within limits, we can choose, a reflection of God's intellect and freedom. We have the same creative impulses that God has, proclaiming our having been made in God's image anytime someone invents a new and better machine, writes a poem, creates a symphony, reasons through a problem, or performs any of millions of other mental calculations.
We know in this day and age there has been a great increase of knowledge. But what comes with that?
Ecclesiastes 1:16–18 I said to myself, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
18 For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
The good news is that The Mind of Christ counters the noetic effects of sin and replaces our formerly muddled thinking with crystal clarity.
Thankfully, God stands ready to rescue those whose minds have been ravaged by sin. By a simple act of faith, lost sinners can be redeemed and have The Mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
No longer befuddled by sin, we can live abundantly and victoriously by understanding God’s purpose and plans for our lives
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Unlike atheists who believe they are here by some random accident, we the followers of Jesus Christ know who we are, why we are here, what we are to do here, and where we are going.
What was lost in us at the fall?
Genesis 1:26 declares that God created man in His image. Being made in the "image" or "likeness" of God means that He made us to resemble Him in some, but not all, ways. We do not resemble God in the sense of God being flesh and blood as we are, because God is spirit (John 4:24) and He therefore exists without a flesh-and-blood body. One way in which Adam's body did mirror God's is that it was created in perfect health, sinless and not subject to death.
With the fall of mankind because of Adam and Eve's disobedience, that aspect of our likeness to God ended. Sin entered the world and along with it, sickness, disease and death. I believe this includes the decline of mental health.
We resemble God mentally in that man was created as a rational being with a certain amount of volition. We can reason and, within limits, we can choose, a reflection of God's intellect and freedom. We have the same creative impulses that God has, proclaiming our having been made in God's image anytime someone invents a new and better machine, writes a poem, creates a symphony, reasons through a problem, or performs any of millions of other mental calculations.
We know in this day and age there has been a great increase of knowledge. But what comes with that?
Ecclesiastes 1:16–18 I said to myself, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
18 For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
The good news is that The Mind of Christ counters the noetic effects of sin and replaces our formerly muddled thinking with crystal clarity.
Thankfully, God stands ready to rescue those whose minds have been ravaged by sin. By a simple act of faith, lost sinners can be redeemed and have The Mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
No longer befuddled by sin, we can live abundantly and victoriously by understanding God’s purpose and plans for our lives
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Unlike atheists who believe they are here by some random accident, we the followers of Jesus Christ know who we are, why we are here, what we are to do here, and where we are going.
