I read this last night and I thought I'd share it. It presupposes the argument that we all sin and therefore are equally guilty in God's eyes...
"Ironically, whenever societies recognize the human capacity for evil, evil is restrained and goodness is exalted. Yet whenever people view themselves as basically good, the greatest evils take place. Denying the doctrine of inherited sin leads to elitism and oppression. Why? Partly because people who view themselves as good place no restrictions upon those in power. But apart from checks and balances as well as moral accountability (implemented only when human sin is recognized), leaders inevitably become corrupt. Communism under Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot provide classic examples."
I'll have more thoughts on this in the future. Very interesting text. And somehow, reading about evil on 9/11 seems very appropriate.
Randy Alcorn
"If God Is Good... Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil."
Multnomah Press
2 comments:
Mr. Alcorn is spot-on.
I read something similar the other day. Specifically, some people feel the world's ills are due to the fact that people have the concepts of "right" and "wrong" and that conflict occurs because of the disagreement over whether an activity or behavior should be categorized as one or the other. Thus, they tend to try to break down those definition; blur distinctions; eliminate absolutes. Doing so, of course, allows evil to flourish as no one wants to be accused/though of as "judgmental."
Cheers.
This observation may be true, but it is an examaple of a kind of unsupported reasoning from a conclusion instead of reasoning from evidence that drives me crazy. I see a lot of this in current political and social arguments. Presumably, Mr. Alcorn provides evicence elsewhere.
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