Original Sin in the Twenty-First Century

Richard J. Coleman

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781666704662, 9781666704679
• eBook ISBN: 9781666704686
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Theology

Original Sin in the 21st Century begins with a cold, hard fact: Christians, we have a problem! No one is listening to us when we talk about original sin. That will change as you follow an exploration of original sin as an enduring truth about human nature. This book is not another exposition of either the history or the doctrine of original sin. Rather, it opens up new avenues of consideration, such as original goodness as a counterweight to original sin, a contemporary interpretation of the Adam-Eve narrative, the new relevancy of Reinhold Niebuhr's recognition that we are not as good as our ideals, and a soul-searching inquiry into whether original sin is too dark or perhaps not dark enough. The twenty-first century is far more than a backdrop. This book invites us to rethink what sin looks like when the world warms, when AI is created in our own image, and when sin thrives on indifference and willful ignorance. The author will quickly convince you this century is both an opportunity and an imperative to rethink original sin for what lies ahead.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Chapter 1: Truths that Endure—Reframing the Issue
• Chapter 2: A Biblical (Revisionist) Understanding of the Adam and Eve Narrative
• Chapter 3: The Doctrine of Original Sin—What It Really Means
• Chapter 4: How Dark Is Dark Enough?
• Chapter 5: Original Goodness
• Chapter 6: Reinhold Niebuhr—Then and Now
• Chapter 7: The Challenge of the Twenty-First Century
• Bibliography