What is Wrong With Us?

The Christian story always seemed pretty straightforward to me. The storyline went something like this: Adam and Eve committed the first sin in the garden by eating fruit from the forbidden tree (Genesis 3). Their sin created a great chasm of separation between God and themselves. Even to this day when a person is born he or she enters this world as a sinner separated from God.

The early Calvinists (16th century) taught that a human being was born totally depraved—implying that there is no implicit good to be found in anyone. Only God can provide the remedy for this so-called “depraved” condition. The cure for this condition therefore is confession of sin and salvation.

In some traditions baptism is tacked on as a necessary requirement.

This condition was first labeled “Original Sin” in the 2nd century. It has become second nature for most Christians to accept this as the only explanation for what is wrong with the human condition.

Surprisingly though this is not how the original story in Genesis 3 is told. The storyline seems to point us in a much different direction and changes how we might understand the basic human condition.

Adam and Eve were ordered by God not to eat the fruit from the tree that contained knowledge of good and evil. They were told if they did they would surely die.

Well they disobeyed God and did eat the fruit from the forbidden tree. So what was the first thing that happened to our ancestral parents?

Well, for the very first time they experienced shame. The story does not indicate that they felt sinful or depraved. No, they felt shame, so they hid themselves from God. Shame alienates us from God. We want to get away from him so we do all we can to hide from his presence. Shame turns us against ourselves and against God. Alienation becomes our primary illness as it were.

But where is God as this drama unfolds? He is searching for them. He’s already there in their presence even though they think they are well hidden from him. He calls out to them. They answer.

They do not die right then and there. They are expelled from the garden but the story never indicates that they are now separated from God because of their disobedience. The story never implies that God is offended by their actions or that his honor had been somehow violated. They attempted to cover their shame on their own by sewing fig leaves together and covering their private parts since they realized for the first time that they were naked. But their efforts failed them. God ultimately had to cover their shame.

Pastor Stan Mitchell (GracePointe Church) asks us some intriguing questions about this story:

“What if the Diagnosis that sin is humanity's core illness is wrong? And what if the Prognosis that we are separated from God because of said sin is also wrong and, in sad irony, actually perpetuates our core illness? And what if the Prescription offered as cure only feeds a religious process, even industry, that sadly makes us sicker? What if?”

Yes, what if?

So Mitchell suggests that perhaps the core problem concerning the human condition is “shame and alienation” rather than “sin and separation.” I must admit that this is an intriguing way to read the story of Adam and Eve.

Mitchell then suggests that the cure for our condition is “healing and reconciliation” from and with God? How would such a scenario color the way we understand our Christian story now?

Can you see the implications of such a shift in the way we read the story of the fall? How might we now understand the meaning of the cross? How differently might we see ourselves in our relationship with God? If our biggest problem as humans is alienation from God rather than separation what does this imply regarding the solution to that problem?

It seems to me that this way of reading the story of redemption coincides much better with the notion that salvation is all about  healing.

I’m going to have to think about all this for sure. But that’s okay. Thinking critically about one's faith is not a sin. Asking questions that lead to new ways of understanding our story and the story of Redemption is what it means to grow. Asking hard questions is not the result of a weak and wavering faith but rather a sign of a healthy and risk-taking faith.

Mitchell, I must admit, has piqued my interest by asking some compelling questions as to the nature of our human condition. He’s got my attention. Have I got yours?

What do you think?

Note to reader: All the quotes from and questions asked by Stan Mitchell may be found on his Facebook timeline. Additionally this alternative view does not negate the reality of sin, but rather represents a shift in our understanding of the fundamental problem of our human condition.