Original Sin and the Fall: Five Views (Spectrum Multiview Books)
Overview
Throughout the church’s history, Christians have largely agreed that God’s good creation of humanity was marred by humanity’s sinful rebellion, resulting in our separation from God and requiring divine intervention in the saving work of Christ.
But Christians have disagreed over many particular questions surrounding humanity’s fall, including the extent of original sin, the nature of the fall, the question of guilt, how to interpret the narratives from Genesis, and how these questions relate to our understanding of human origins and modern science.
This Spectrum Multiview book presents five views on these questions: Augustinian, Reformed, Wesleyan, Eastern Orthodox, and a Reconceived view. Each contributor offers both an articulation of their own view and responses to the other views in question. The result is a robust reflection on one of the most central—and controversial—tenets of the faith.
- Offers an articulation of individual views and responses to the other views in question
- Examines how questions about original sin relate to our understanding of human origins and modern science
- Reflects on one of the most central tenets of the faith
Part One: Perspectives on Original Sin and the Fall
- An Augustinian View - Hans Madueme
- A Moderate Reformed View - Oliver D. Crisp
- A Wesleyan View - Joel B. Green
- An Eastern Orthodox View - Andrew Louth
- A Reconceived View - Tatha Wiley
Part Two: Responses
- An Augustinian Response - Hans Madueme
- A Moderate Reformed Response - Oliver D. Crisp
- A Wesleyan Response - Joel B. Green
- A Eastern Orthodox Response - Andrew Louth
- A Reconceived Response - Tatha Wiley
Top Highlights
“Second, Wesley moderated the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin, so that divine judgment was based on a person’s own involvement in sin rather than on his or her inheritance from Adam and Eve.” (Page 58)
“Wesley’s doctrine of original sin thus maintained emphases on the corrupt nature of humanity and the pervasiveness of sin, but he excluded the idea that the transfer of original sin included the transfer of guilt. No one will receive eternal damnation because of Adam’s guilt.” (Page 59)
“The ultimate origin of sin, then, is Satan’s fall, its proximate origin the fall of Adam.” (Page 14)
“The moderate Reformed doctrine of sin does not require an original pair, nor does it require monogenism (the notion that we are descended from an original pair). However, it does not deny that there was an original pair from which we are descended either.” (Page 37)
“In Roman Catholic tradition, during the Pelagian controversy, the Augustinian doctrine of original sin became official church dogma at the Councils of Carthage (411–418) and Orange (529); subsequent developments of the doctrine were only variations on Augustine.” (Page 12)
- Hans Madueme
- Oliver Crisp
- Joel B. Green
- Andrew Louth
- Tatha Wiley
- Title: Original Sin and the Fall: Five Views
- Authors: J. B. Stump, Chad V. Meister
- Series: Spectrum Multiview Books
- Publisher: IVP Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2020
- Logos Release Date: 2020
- Pages: 189
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Sin, Original; Fall of man
- ISBNs: 9780830853939, 9780830852871, 0830853936, 0830852875
- Resource ID: LLS:ORIGINALSINFALL
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:04:54Z
J. B. Stump (PhD, Boston University) is vice president at BioLogos, where he oversees the development of new content and hosts the Language of God podcast. He is the author of Science and Christianity: An Introduction to the Issues, coauthor of Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction, and coeditor of How I Changed My Mind About Evolution, and The Blackwell Companion to Science and Christianity.
Chad Meister (PhD, Marquette University) is professor of philosophy and theology and chair of the department of religion and philosophy at Bethel University in Mishawaka, Indiana. His publications include God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views, Evil: A Guide for the Perplexed, Contemporary Philosophical Theology, The Oxford Handbook of Religious Diversity, and the six-volume work The History of Evil.