Yeah, so, yesterday's blog post was kinda vague. And ranty. Sorry about that. I couldn't find the right words I wanted to say. But after mulling it over for a little bit, I think I know what I want to say now.
You see, the way I was taught about original sin, it meant that, thanks to two naked people eating a bad apple, every single human being is 100% evil from the moment they were born. When Paul said, "There is no good thing in me," he means that all of mankind literally has absolutely no good thing inside of them. The world would be much better off if God wiped us off the face of the earth, but He chose not to so you better thank God for not throwing you into Hell where you belong.
Well, I don't think I believe in that anymore.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there's nothing wrong with mankind. As some one pointed out yesterday in the comment section, we live in a world where injustice is everywhere. Sometimes we even participate in injustice without even realizing it! We've tried to break this cycle of abuse and injustice, but we can't free ourselves from it. We are held captive to the cycle, and only Jesus can rescue us.
What I am saying, though, is that the more I observe human nature, the more I see it's way more complicated than a lot of Evangelicals make it out to be. We have these moments of selflessness in the midst of our selfishness. Some one who is generally thought of as a "nice person" can have a bad day and act like a dick. Likewise, I've seen people who usually act like dicks have this one moment of compassion and ask me, "Are you feeling okay?" People are way too complicated to be categorized as either "good people" or "bad people."
Yes, we are all held captive by sin in one form or another, and cannot free ourselves. But I don't buy into the whole idea that we are condemned to Hell from the time we are born.
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