05-06-2020, 01:37 AM
Sometimes a text doesn't mean what a simple reading would think it means. Such is the case here. It is hyperbole to speak of things in this way.
Let's take an extreme example. We know that Hitler was probably the worst human being who existed. If you had a time machine, would you go back and kill baby Hitler? Do you think that he was evil when he was a baby? Had he done anything at 1 year old that would merit him being killed?
I don't think he had done anything at that age. I don't think there was any sin for him to give account of. However, we know what he would become – and killing the baby would have saved so many lives! It's as if he was guilty from the womb, though that is not technically the case. He was simply on a path from a young age that would lead to very bad consequences.
The same with a rapist, who becomes twisted when he is young. One does not wake up at 30 and decide that he wants to rape (in most cases). It is something that developed over time through negative encounters over a person's lifetime, and it's imperceptible to those who are not privy to that person's thoughts. We might say that he is wicked from his youth, but that doesn't mean that he was born with it in him (in most cases). It means that he went down a path that led him to do things that the rest of us would esteem unthinkable.
It is certainly hyperbole for the text to say that "the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth," since there are many good people in the world. It's just commenting on the fact that young people tend to learn how to be cruel and violent early on (and we see that in our own world). It doesn't mean that we should feel hopeless or that everyone is like that.
Not everyone is like that. Some people are good. Some people are righteous. Some people are psychologically healthy. The doctrine of "original sin" (as disgusting as it is) would have us believe that mankind is born with evil in him, not because of something he did or will do, but by virtue of his being a human being. It leads to the doctrine of "total depravity," which is a tenet of Reformed Theology (from Calvin). It's simply wrong and unworthy thinking.
Let's take an extreme example. We know that Hitler was probably the worst human being who existed. If you had a time machine, would you go back and kill baby Hitler? Do you think that he was evil when he was a baby? Had he done anything at 1 year old that would merit him being killed?
I don't think he had done anything at that age. I don't think there was any sin for him to give account of. However, we know what he would become – and killing the baby would have saved so many lives! It's as if he was guilty from the womb, though that is not technically the case. He was simply on a path from a young age that would lead to very bad consequences.
The same with a rapist, who becomes twisted when he is young. One does not wake up at 30 and decide that he wants to rape (in most cases). It is something that developed over time through negative encounters over a person's lifetime, and it's imperceptible to those who are not privy to that person's thoughts. We might say that he is wicked from his youth, but that doesn't mean that he was born with it in him (in most cases). It means that he went down a path that led him to do things that the rest of us would esteem unthinkable.
It is certainly hyperbole for the text to say that "the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth," since there are many good people in the world. It's just commenting on the fact that young people tend to learn how to be cruel and violent early on (and we see that in our own world). It doesn't mean that we should feel hopeless or that everyone is like that.
Not everyone is like that. Some people are good. Some people are righteous. Some people are psychologically healthy. The doctrine of "original sin" (as disgusting as it is) would have us believe that mankind is born with evil in him, not because of something he did or will do, but by virtue of his being a human being. It leads to the doctrine of "total depravity," which is a tenet of Reformed Theology (from Calvin). It's simply wrong and unworthy thinking.