Knowing good and evil

Sin as choosing to decide for ourselves what is good and evil.

Love Never Behaves Inappropriately, a personal aside

To understand how to love people in each specific situation, I must ask God and listen to His answer. This is particularly important for me because of my condition. I can’t fake it.

El Amor Nunca Se Porta Indecorosamente, un aparte personal

Para entender cómo amar a las personas en cada situación específica, debo preguntarle a Dios y escuchar su respuesta. Esto es particularmente importante para mí debido a mi condición.. Yo no lo puedo fingir.

What Really Happened in the Garden

God created the first human, male and female, as a being like himself with whom he could share his life and his creation. But the disobedience of the first humans introduced shame, which drove them away from God and hindered them from agreeing with God about their sin and returning to him. This is always the effect of shame, which comes from us, not from God.

Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural)–Part 4–The Epistles of James and Peter

The Scriptures generally draw a qualitative distinction between “sin,” in the singular, and “sins,” in the plural. “Sin” is our inward attitude of rebellion against God. “Sins” are bad actions. This post gives a series of examples from James and First and Second Peter.

The “Curses” on Adam, Eve and the Serpent: Are Vexed Gender Relations, Meaningless Hard Work and Economic Oppression God’s Will?

God did not curse Adam and Eve when they sinned. He told them what the mostly natural evil consequences of their decision to live apart from him would be. In doing this, he did NOT decree any of these evil consequences as things as a part of his perfect will. Sexual and class inequalities are evil consequences of sin, not God’s will.

Adam and Eve–Idolatry in the Fall

When the first humans, who already knew all good, chose to disobey God and experience evil, they initiated every kind of idolatry known to later generations. This included worship of created things, of themselves, their own wisdom and their own desires, of their bodies, and, most importantly, of a false picture of the true God as miserly and hostile toward us.

From Early Christianity to Islam and Back — 1. The Earliest Christianity

This post is the first in a series of six outlining a broad view of how things in the Church and the world got to be as they are now, including contributions early Christianity and Islam made to each other. This post attempts to outline the basic positions of early Christianity. Comments are invited!

No Merit — The Golden Key to Freedom in Christ

He has shown us the way into a new life, a life beyond death, a life that is at peace with God. We must receive his life and follow him, living in the Spirit as he did. That is all. No “merit” is involved. God doesn’t look at our “merit.” Jesus doesn’t save us by giving us his “merit;” he saves us by giving us himself. This is the key to freedom.