When theologian David H. Kelsey asked in 1993 what happened to the traditional doctrine of sin, his concern was not that it had disappeared. It was rather that it had migrated, moving from a frame of sickness and healing to one of estrangement and restoration. In the first version, we are sin-sick people, fated to die without intervention. In the second, we are far from God and need to be brought near.
Both views are biblical. But with this shift—from a sin-sick Christian to an estranged one—we’ve adopted a new view of what the human problem is and how to fix it. In the first view, we need a doctor who will prescribe a cure. In the second, we need a therapist—one who will help us modify our behavior. If we need a doctor, the problem is systemic; if we need a therapist, the problem is the ego. It’s also a difference in agency. The sick need a doctor (Mark 2:17), but those far from God might simply move closer. It affects our diagnoses, too: Is our nature truly impaired, or are we simply suffering the consequences of false beliefs about ourselves?
Read Full Article »