What is Sin? Can you control what you do? Lessons from Paul and Science

What is Sin? Can you control what you do? Lessons from Paul and Science

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2602688/fan_mail/new] Sin is a hard topic because it makes us feel ashamed. It makes us worried about being saved. But most of all it is confusing. In this fascinating episode, I talk about the science of sin. Do we have instincts like animals? Do animals sin? Must something be intentional to be sin? These are confusing questions, because we have been taught to fear sin. Paul tells us a lot about Sin in Romans 6 in a very interesting way. If you look closely, you can see that Paul invites us to not worry about sin, but to just be in Jesus. If Sin is a character in a play and Death comes from Sin, then Jesus is makes it so we don't have to be afraid, because when we are in Jesus we have already died and been raised in him in new Life! Paul makes these like characters so we can look at them without fear and that we can just live full lives without having to keep score about sin.  Romans 6 begins the heart of Paul's letter. Paul speaks in an imaginary dialogue in his arguments to the Romans. He asks a rhetorical question like "Should we continue in Sin in order that grace may abound?" and then says "By no means!" again and again. Sin is portrayed like a character and Christ is the alternative that defeats Sin. We don't have to be slaves to Sin anymore! In this episode, I talk about Sin expansively. What make destructive behavior in animals not sinful? Why is it sinful when humans do these things? Most people will say it is because animals have no choice and they operate out of instinct, but humans are far more instinctual than we realize. So there much be another explanation. Matthew Croasmun's book provides a fascinating discussion about the emergence of Sin in the Christian consciousness. I also reference my discussion with Mattie Mae Motl in Season 2, Episode 15 and her recent Substack article on Romans 6 & 7. Resource:  The Emergence of Sin: The Cosmic Tyrant in Romans by Matthew Croasmun, 2019

Humor of Paul’s Ranting in Romans. We are too serious.

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2602688/fan_mail/new] People take the Bible way too seriously. By reading it out loud and you can see the humor . Paul was a master at using exaggeration to shake up his audience. He often uses "vice lists" where he throws the kitchen sink. Romans 1:18-32 is the famous rant against pagan worship. While its audience is not clear, it purpose is. It sets up the rest of the letter. In this fun episode, I do a dramatic reading of two passages to highlight how it must have sounded to the listeners in Rome when Phoebe read it to them. I also give a few other examples of diatribe being used in the New Testament. I also make an endorsement for Eugene Peterson's The Message, which does such a good job of making Bible reading fun.  Romans 1:28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind and to do things that should not be done. 29 They were filled with every kind of injustice, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters,[g] insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die, yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them. Romans 3:9 What then? Are we any better off?[c] No, not at all, for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, 10 as it is written: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one; 11     there is no one who has understanding;         there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;     there is no one who shows kindness;         there is not even one.” 13 “Their throats are opened graves;     they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of vipers is under their lips.” 14     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16     ruin and misery are in their paths, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” This hodgepodge comes from a scattering of cherry picked verses. This is where I will take you down a rabbit hole for a moment. I promise, it is worth it. First is total depravity.  Paul cites a grab bag of verses in Old Testament, from Ecclesiastes 7:20, Psalms 5, 14, 53, and 140 and sprinkles in a little Proverbs 1 and Isaiah 59 for seasoning. That’s an awful lot for just 9 verses. Revelation 21:6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless,[f] the polluted, the murderers, the sexually immoral,[g] the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes,[c] so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral[d] and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Where is Home? Ezra and the Returning Exiles

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2602688/fan_mail/new] The conquering of Jerusalem by the Babylonians was the worst thing that ever happened to the ancient Israelite people. Some of the people were dragged off to Babylon and many of them were left behind. For 50 long years, they were separated. Then suddenly King Cyrus allowed the people who were taken away to go home, back to Jerusalem. Would the people be able to get along with the people who stayed behind. In this episode, I tell you about the troubles of the chief priest Ezra, what it was like to have people against him. It is the like the story of a teacher of mine, who moved to Korea. They felt in between. They weren't sure they felt American or whether they felt Korean. Many people who come from other countries feel like this. Perhaps you have felt confused about where you fit. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are all about finding a new sense of home.

Tower of Babel and the Many Languages of Pentecost

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2602688/fan_mail/new] The Bible is all about language. Many stories are about misunderstandings and whether people can understand each other. The Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11 is at once a very old story and a story we can understand. Who hasn't been confused when someone is speaking a different language than us? I tell the story of a Korean man that I know who said that the story is not a negative story like we think it is. Instead it is a story about diversity and how we are all human beings with a common origin without being exactly the same. The Tower of Babel is closely connected with the story of Pentecost in Acts 2.  Again the meaning is not so simple. The coming of the Holy Spirit meant that people could speak in each other's languages and understand each other. We don't know if that means that they miraculously spoke in each other's languages or that this was a symbol for having a common purpose and understanding in the Holy Spirit. Either way it is a vision of peace and unity that is possible when we understand each other.

Jesus and Eating Big Fish in John 21

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2602688/fan_mail/new] Jesus had a lot more in common with the civil rights leaders like John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr. than your typical pastor. This makes people uncomfortable, because they think there is no politics in the Bible. But they usually say this because they don't like what it says about it. Freeing poor people is what the gospel is all about. We really see this in the symbols of John 21. In this episode, I show how catching fish and eating them is an act of resistance. It's a much more meaningful and fun story than most people realize. If the gospel doesn’t make you an activist, then you aren't reading it.  Later, Jesus himself appeared again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. This is how it happened: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two other disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter told them, “I’m going fishing.” They said, “We’ll go with you.” They set out in a boat, but throughout the night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples didn’t realize it was Jesus. 5 Jesus called to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said, “Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” So they did, and there were so many fish that they couldn’t haul in the net. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he wrapped his coat around himself (for he was naked) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they weren’t far from shore, only about one hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire there, with fish on it, and some bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you’ve just caught.” 11 Simon Peter got up and pulled the net to shore. It was full of large fish, one hundred fifty-three of them. Yet the net hadn’t torn, even with so many fish. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples could bring themselves to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.