As you know, I’ve decided to write a series on “Why I Come From A Christian Perspective.”
In this article, I’d like to share the first answer that comes to mind:
Biblical Christianity seems to accurately explain the nature of man.
For starters, the Bible says this in Genesis, the first book of the Bible:
Genesis 1:27
“So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:31
“Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!”
We gather from this that we humans are made in the image of God and that God viewed our creation as something “good.”
How often have you wondered, “Surely there’s a Being out there who made human beings? Look at the complexity and wonder with which we are made!”
How many of you actually value the human beings in your lives that you love, even the ones that annoy you the most? :) And ever thought about WHY something in you values them?
How often have you wondered at the capacity of human beings to also do tremendous good and display heroic acts of great virtue?
But while many religions and philosophies emphasize the goodness of humans, the Bible also has this to say about human beings:
Jeremiah 17:9:
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?”
This verse suggests that the human heart is quite capable of self-deception and evil.
Romans 3:23
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
This verse seems to imply that though we certainly have value as God’s creation, we are prone to mess up (what the Bible calls “sin”) and are morally imperfect and wayward creatures.
If you read this and find yourself offended, I’d urge you to consider these questions honestly:
How often have you justified bad or wrong behavior?
How often have you said or done things only to realize later that what you did was wrong?
How often have you seen wicked things humans do? (just turn on the news!)
How often have you kept trying to do the right thing, only to fail over and over again?
In conclusion, while I believe most of us intuit that human beings have value and that there is something precious about human beings, we can also quite clearly see imperfections in human beings –> even to the extreme of heinous, evil thoughts/behaviors.
And for me, as a Christian, the Bible provides an explanation for the nature of human beings that is remarkably consistent with my experience of human beings.
Which in turn provides a solid philosophical, metaphysical, and practical basis for how I view and work with human beings.
And that’s Reason #1 that I come from a Christian perspective.
Let’s thrive together!
