Tag Archives: original sin

I Am A Survivor

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Last week I celebrated my birthday.  This was a BIG one… the big 6-0.  Seems huge.  I have told several people—60 just seems old.  When you are in your 50’s you can convince yourself that you are still at the upper reaches of middle age.  But 60?  That’s old.  Bordering on elderly.  Within sight of ancient.  (One friend reminded me that biblically I only have 10 more years left to live, cf. Psalm 90:10.)

But, it is not the demise of my fading youth that is on my mind this morning.  Actually, what I am thinking of is the difference between everyday life in the 21st century and what life was like when I was growing up.  My, what differences there are! Continue reading →

Fetus? Person? Baby?

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Just recently controversy was raging in Congress regarding Planned Parenthood and whether this organization should continue to receive funds from the government.  Obviously abortion continues to be a hot political issue.  Sometimes it seems to be overly politicized.  Partisans on both sides of the issue say and do things that make you scratch your head in wonder.  However, in the midst of this ongoing debate we must not lose sight that beyond being a political and partisan issue it is even more fundamentally a moral issue.  And the morality of it all boils down to one basic question:  Is the unborn fetus a human being?  If not, then what’s the beef with Planned Parenthood, with abortion itself?  But if the unborn organism in a mother’s uterus is indeed a human being—then without a doubt it is a moral issue of the highest priority. Continue reading →

What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men

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I am thinking this afternoon about the nature of evil. Possibly a rather strange subject to be contemplating on a Friday afternoon. Maybe it’s all the bizarre crimes that we hear about these days. Or maybe it’s the violence raging its way through the Middle East right now. Or perhaps it’s simply the clouds and gloom that I see outside my office window. Whatever the reason, the matter of evil keeps coming to mind. Continue reading →

How Could The Devil Fall?

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Question: “If God created all things perfect, and without sin, then how could the Devil have possibly fallen?” (From S. in Roanoke)

My Answer: This question was posed to me at a small group meeting in Roanoke, Va. In clarifying the question, the issue was this: If everything was good, without evil at all, then how could it happen that a perfect, sinless being would possibly sin in the first place. Good question. Continue reading →

Where do babies go when they die?

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Question: What happens to babies when they die? Do they go to heaven or hell?

My Answer: The Bible is very explicit in its condemnation of sin and its explanation of sin’s consequence. When Adam sinned, he not only sinned personally, but he sinned as the “head” of the human race. So in Adam, all have sinned, and all are condemned. The universal sinfulness of all men, including infants, is plainly taught in Romans 5:12, 19. That condemnation has come to all men is evident in Romans 5:16, 18. The Bible plainly teaches that we are born with sinful natures (see Psalm 51:5, Ephesians 2:1-3). This is the doctrine of Original Sin. And it applies to all human beings—not just adults but infants and young children also.

So, if infants are by nature sinful and condemned, what happens to them when they die? Do they go to heaven? Do they go to hell? Or is there another answer?
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