Sin and Christian Psychology: Sin as Pervasive

Posted on May 16, 2008

Mike McGuire
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

The saying “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” appears to apply not only to groups, but to individuals, for sin has been observed to be pervasive. To combine this with the idea of sin as pollution (see my last blog) is to realize that the corrupting influence of sin pervades all that we are individually and socially. Now, how might this pervasiveness of pollution provide potential insights for a Christian view of human dysfunction?
First, we might consider what we learn about humans from the Bible and think about what these aspects might be as they were fully functional in a pre-fallen state. If we observe humans as they are described in the Bible, we find they are physical, spiritual, moral, thinking, feeling, language using, sexual, familial, and social creatures, and we find they were placed in the perfect environment for such creatures to thrive. Thus each aspect functioned properly individually and one would reasonably expect that they functioned together in an integrated fashion. We also discover from the Bible that humans were created this way in order to exercise dominion over the earth and in order to fill the earth and subdue it for God.

Second, with this done, we might want to think through what it might mean for each of these aspects to be polluted by sin and thus for each aspect to dysfunction (assuming a pervasive sinfulness produces a pervasive dysfunction). Thus we humans become dysfunctional physically, spiritually, morally, cognitively, emotionally, linguistically, sexually, familially, and socially. Our God given ability to have dominion becomes dysfunctional. Sex and reproduction become dysfunctional. The integrity of the original humans becomes a bit disintegrated. Our thinking doesn’t quite line up with our feelings and our intentions don’t quite line up with our behaviors.

Now, if this brief analysis is correct, then sin is far more complex that we usually think of it. First, sin is not merely a moral fault: it pollutes that which was well designed, it corrupts it, and it causes it to dysfunction. Thus, moral reformation is thus not sufficient to cure all human dysfunction. Adding less pollution may prove helpful, but it doesn’t necessarily return the organism to a functional state. Second, this analysis describes the types of problems that people bring to counselors. Just reread the list and compare it to your counselees. Third, one does not have to be very creative to see the similarity of this list of dysfunctional aspects of humans and the history of counseling theories. Consider behavioral theories, developmental theories, cognitive theories, moral theories, cognitive-behavioral theories, family theories, postmodern (linguistic) theories, and biological theories. These theoreticians are not blind to the dysfunction; they are only blind to the divinely revealed, spiritual aspects of the dysfunction. They do not understand its ultimate cause and its true context. Fourth, the ultimate cleansing has been prepared, and we groan together with the creation waiting for that time. Fifth, until that time people need others who understand the cause and the context and who are willing to wade into the pollution found in this present world in order to help.

Sin and Christian Psychology: Sin as Pollution

Posted on May 9, 2008

[Guest blogger Dr. Michael McGuire of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary considers the topic of sin from the perspective of Christian Psychology in the first of two posts]

The media is permeated with the compelling image of pollution damaging some pristine ecosystem, an image that portends problem for all humanity. Allow me to use this powerful image to launch a brief consideration of sin and Christian psychology.

In the biblical meta-narrative, God created a universe that was good, harmonious, and at peace. It functioned as it was designed to function. He populated this creation with creatures (angels, humans, and beasts), and He placed humans in a garden where they could live, work, get to know Him, and raise a family. Yet, the humans disobeyed the one rule He had given. They sinned and God placed creation under a curse. We observe Adam and Eve hiding from one anther and then from God. We see them blame others. Work becomes difficult. There are thorns. One child kills the other. Within a few chapters we discover that God needs to destroy most of humanity in order to cleanse the earth from its moral pollution.

Thus sin can be seen as a type of pollution that damages, disrupts and corrupts God’s harmonious creation. Now, this is not a new insight merely following our society’s present focus on the environment, for as seen above, this image is biblical. In addition, this concept can be found in some systematic theologies (for example, “pollution” in Berkhof and “corruption” in Grudem, and “defilement” in Culver).

Before going further, let me make it clear that I am not suggesting this is the only way to think about sin, for the Bible is rich in descriptive words for sin. Sin is characterized as darkness, death, ignorance, wandering off the path, falling short of the mark, and alienation. Yet, each of these negative descriptions of sin corresponds to a positive description of God and what He offers. He offers light, knowledge, life, the path, the standard and reconciliation. Although many of these descriptions are relevant to human behavior and thus Christian psychology, I want us to think about conceptualizing sin as pollution. This way of thinking about sin strikes me as particularly germane to our interests.

How so? The biblical meta-narrative presents the original universe at rest, and it conceives of the final state in a very similar way. The problems that occur in between are then associated with the time of sin and curse. Or we might say that God created a functional creation, sin polluted creation causing dysfunction, and God will one day again make things functional. This is relevant to those interested in Christian psychology for we live in this “in between time,” this time of dysfunction. We see individuals, marriages, and families that are not functioning as God designed them to function. We can at times make out the beauty of the original design, but we also see pollution, some tracing its origin to the original pollution, some created by other humans, and some self-generated. Even those who have sought to avoid the corruption that is in the world find themselves vexed by the pollution around them. One must wonder what the incarnation might have been like for the second member of the Trinity. The pure One living in a morally polluted and dysfunctional world. Little wonder that He was predicted by Isaiah to be a “man of sorrows.”

Thus, conceptualizing sin as pollutions is particularly relevant to those interested in thinking Christianly about humans, including their functioning and dysfunctioning. This is an image that we should recapture, for the image likely draws its remarkable force from the original moral pollution, that destroyed the original pristine environment, and that portended untold problems for all humanity.

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