Genesis III

Lessons From Genesis:

If we adhere to a reading of Scripture that maintains a focus on the narrative of Scripture and strays from arguments on historicity, and instead narrows our attention to the intent of the author and the lessons to be learned from the passage, what can we expect to find in Genesis?

Genesis clearly expounds the fall of man, and the consequences of that fall from perfect relationship with God. In essence we can all find our story wrapped up on the story of Adam. We have all strayed from God, and sought to live on our own power. We are all prone to wander off in our own direction, seeking a course that seems right in our own eyes. This is exactly what is presented to us in Genesis, the results of straying from the plan and purpose of God.

The result of that sin in the garden is two fold. First, as man is created in the image of God, straying causes that image to be marred. Talk of original sin [something not emphasized in the Genesis story, but rather imported there via Paul], too often misses the point of judgment in the creation story. We are what Scot McKnight calls cracked eikons. We were created to reflect the image of God, our sin causes cracks in that image.

The second result from the sin in the garden is seperation from community with God. Adam and Eve are no longer permitted to remain in the close companionship of their creator. As they move further from God, giving into their own desires and ways, their relationship is damaged. It is not the desire of God for us to live in seperation. Community and relationship are established from the very beginning of the narrative. However, judgment comes when we decide to live in our own way apart from relationship with God.

If we seriously read the first chapters of Genesis as indicative of what all humans go through, and a picture of the relationship that man has with God, it could radically change our view of judgment and the future. Instead of God banishing humans to eternal conscious torment, the loss of relationship, and marred image of humans more clearly represents a Biblical example of future divine punishment.

That punishment in no way diminishes the reality of judgment, but rather as C.S. Lewis so adequately said emphasizes the two paths one can choose: At the end of life, either you say to God: Your will be done. Or God says to you: Your will be done.

The Problem of Exclusivity

"There can be no doubt that certain types of evangelical theology have caused considerable anxiety in this respect by their apparent insistence that only those who respond to the explicit verbal proclamation of the gospel will be saved... But this is flawed theology, which limits God's modes of action, disclosure, and saving power."

--Alister McGrath

Most evangelicals consider themselves exclusivists, without ever realizing some of the pitfalls of their position. While conservatives will be willing to defend the hill of exclusivity till death, maybe a softening of the position is long overdue. Hard exclusivism teaches that only a direct response to the verbal proclamation of the gospel is effective in atoning for the sins of the hearer. But I agree with McGrath that this limits the breadth and scope of God's saving power. There are certainly Biblical examples of those outside the line of salvific history that are considered part of the family of God [Melchizedek, Abimelech, etc.]

This is not to say that pluralism should rule as king, or even inclusivism that views all paths as leading to salvation through Christ. We must begin to recognize the saving power of Christ that extends beyond our abilities. The eternal purposes of God will be established. Perhaps a better way forward is to begin to recognize the saving power of God, that can extend beyond an explicit elucidation of the gospel.

Does general revelation take the place of specific revelation? I don't think so personally, but what I do believe is that God will judge each individual on the basis of their knowledge and their personal response to God.

While I am personally not an inclusivist, I am also not a hard exclusivist. I recognize that the work of God is possible outside of my preconceived notions of how a person is to be saved. I do not believe that salvation lies in any religious path to the divine, but I do believe that God will judge all people individually, and he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy

Christians often times become obsessed with creating dividing lines of who is in and who is out. I believe our stance on that particular question should remain a stance of the agnostic. God alone will judge, our time on earth is better spent doing unto others as we would have them do to us, than on deciding who fits into the "in" category. Christians love to draw lines in the sand and defend their territory, but perhaps a better way forward is to first recognize our similarities, and our mutual need for the work of God in our lives.