Calvin's Christ: A Dogmatic Matrix for Discussion of Christ's Human Nature

Abstract:  Discussion regarding the type of human nature assumed by the second person of the Trinity has intensified recently. Judgements regarding dogmatic coherence have not been as forthcoming. John Calvin's Christology is presented here as a helpful context within which the fallenness position may be advanced. Calvin's doctrine of original sin allows for fallen nature to be considered distinct from guilt. Calvin's doctrine of the communicatio idiomatum also allows for the predication of fallenness to Christ's human nature without necessitating the contamination of the divine nature.     

On Original Sin

This article sets out a constructive account of original sin that attempts to take seriously the Christian tradition (particularly, the Reformed tradition), and that avoids the serious theological drawback of the doctrine of original guilt. I dub this account the moderate Reformed doctrine of original sin. I also argue that an adequate understanding of original sin must be open‐textured enough to accommodate some version of the story of evolutionary human development. Although I do not offer an account of how original sin is consistent with evolutionary human development, the doctrine set out here is commensurate with several live options on this controversial theological topic, which I take to be a strength, rather than a weakness, of the view.     

Nature,corruption, and freedom: Stoic ethics in Kant's Religion

Kant's account of “the radical evil in human nature” in the 1793 Religion within the Bounds of Reason Alone is typically interpreted as a reworking of the Augustinian doctrine of original sin. But Kant does not talk about Augustine explicitly there, and if he is rehabilitating the doctrine of original sin, the result is not obviously Augustinian. Instead, Kant talks about Stoic ethics in a pair of passages on either end of his account of radical evil and leaves other clues that his argument is a reworking of an old Stoic problem. “Radical evil” refers to the idea that our moral condition is—by default and yet by our own deed—bad or corrupt; and that this corruption is the root (radix) of human badness in all its variety, ubiquity, and sheer ordinariness. Kant takes as his premise a version of the Stoic idea that nature gives us “uncorrupted starting points” (Diogenes Laertius 7.89). What sense can be made of the origin of human badness, given such a premise? Kant's account of radical evil is an answer to this old Stoic problem, which requires a conception of freedom that is not available in his Stoic sources.     

Non-Penal Substitution

Abstract:  McLeod Campbell is synonymous with the doctrine of atonement known as vicarious penitence, according to which Christ atones for human sin by repenting on behalf of fallen human beings. This understanding of Christ's work has been very influential, but not always clearly understood. In this article I set out a version of this doctrine, called non-penal substitution, drawing on the work of Jonathan Edwards, the original inspiration for Campbell's work. This version of non-penal substitution is able to overcome several difficulties for the Campbellian version of the doctrine and offers an intriguing and original way of conceiving the work of Christ that, unlike Campbell's account, does not require revisions to the doctrine of God.     

'Willing Is Not Choosing': Some Anthropological Implications of Dyothelite Christology

Abstract:  The dyothelite Christology of Maximus the Confessor provides a basis for countering modern worry that an Augustinian doctrine of the bondage of the will undermines human integrity. Modern discomfort with Augustine presupposes an anthropology that equates genuine agency with freedom of choice. In defending the principle that Christ has a fully human will, Maximus challenges this presupposition by denying that a human agent's willing is to be identified with choosing. Thus, while Maximus does not share Augustine's doctrine of original sin, he offers a framework within which to explore possible convergence between Eastern and Western understandings of the will.     

The Problem of Propagation: Original Sin as Inherited Discourse

As Modernist doctrines emphasizing the unity and agency of the educated self are increasingly set up as the straw men of contemporary educational discourses, premodern and Medieval theories of selfhood tend to disappear from the horizon of educational thought altogether. In this essay, in order to subvert this overcoming of our intellectual past, I examine Thomas Aquinas’ reading of the doctrine of original sin. Relying on Graham McAleer’s claim that Aquinas’ metaphysical theory sanctifies the body, I argue that Aquinas’ understanding of original sin relies on a discursive, pedagogical model to account for human finitude.     

Punishing and atoning: a new critique of penal substitution

The doctrine of penal substitution claims that it was good (or required) for God to punish in response to human sin, and that Christ received this punishment in our stead. I argue that this doctrine’s central factual claim—that Christ was punished by God—is mistaken. In order to punish someone, one must at least believe the recipient is responsible for an offense. But God surely did not believe the innocent Christ was responsible for an offense, let alone the offense of human sin. So, the central factual claim is mistaken. In the final section, I show that this critique of penal substitution does not apply to the closely-related Anselmian satisfaction theory.     

New insight into Mencius’ theory of the original goodness in human nature

In Mencius’ theory of the original goodness in human nature, fate is the original source of xing (nature). Heart is the appearance of nature. There are two aspects to nature and heart: ti (form) and yong (function). From the perspective of form, nature is liangzhi (the goodness in conscience) and liangneng (the inborn ability to be good) in human beings and heart is human’s conscience and original heart. From the perspective of function, nature is the four things of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom, and heart consists in compassion, shame, respect, right and wrong. As the foundation for the theory of the original goodness in human nature, conscience and heart are a combination of human moral instinct, moral rationality and moral volition, whereas moral instinct gradually rises to moral volition and passes through moral rationality. Mencius’ theory of the original goodness in human nature is not a theory of future goodness, but a theory of original goodness.     

Retrieving a Mature Reformed Doctrine of Original Sin: A Conversation with Some Recent Proposals

A ‘broadly Augustinian’ doctrine of original sin continues to receive support in contemporary Catholic and Protestant theological discourse as the best account of human experience and biblical teaching. Notwithstanding this, substantial challenges arise in connection with this doctrine which Catholics and Protestants have classically sought to address in their own ways. With a contemporary Protestant audience in mind, I attempt to rehabilitate the theological viability of the oft‐criticized mature Reformed doctrine of original sin which entails the immediate imputation of Adamic guilt. In dialogue with some recent dogmatic contributions, I draw upon eloquent advocates of the Reformed doctrine, such as Petrus van Mastricht and Francis Turretin, to argue that the notion of immediate imputation continues to provide a coherent and biblically defensible explanation for the just imposition of inherited corruption. Faring somewhat better than other proposals, it deserves reconsideration in contemporary reconstructions of the doctrine, especially in those which might self‐consciously seek to identify with the Protestant confessional tradition.     

The Human Dark Side: Evolutionary Psychology and Original Sin

Human nature has a dark side, something important to religions. Evolutionary psychology has been used to illuminate the human shadow side, although as a discipline it has attracted criticism. This article seeks to examine the evolutionary psychology’s understanding of human nature and to propose an unexpected dialog with an enduring account of human evil known as original sin. Two cases are briefly considered: murder and rape. To further the exchange, numerous theoretical and methodological criticisms and replies of evolutionary psychology are explored jointly with original sin. Evolutionary psychology can partner with original sin since they share some theoretical likenesses and together they offer insights into the nature of what it means to be human.     

三品到九品 承前与启后——荀悦性三品论阐微

人性问题是荀悦整个思想体系的理论基石和核心问题之一,他是性三品论的坚定拥护者,更是一位承前启后、富有创见的理论家。荀悦提出了"兼取"的理论,认为在性与情的应合互动关系中,还存在一种"兼取"的状态;他还创造性地提出了"性之九品"的主张,把人之三品更细化为九品,将汉代的性三品论又向前推进了一步。荀悦的学说为后世学者提供了可资借鉴的思想素材和研究框架。     

Fallen or Unfallen? Christ's Human Nature and the Ontology of Human Sinfulness

Abstract: Because Christ's sinlessness is a matter of virtual consensus among Christians, debates over whether the human nature he assumed was fallen or unfallen turn on the ontological conditions of his being ‘without sin’ (Heb. 4:15). The claim that Christ assumed a fallen nature can be defended by distinguishing between fallenness and sinfulness as properties of nature and hypostasis, respectively. Moreover, by highlighting the peculiar place of the will in human nature, this christological analysis helps counter the charge that an Augustinian understanding of original sin entails a dualism inconsistent with belief in the goodness of creation and human moral accountability.     

孟子性善论新探

In Mencius’ theory of the original goodness in human nature, fate is the original source of xing (nature). Heart is the appearance of nature. There are two aspects to nature and heart: ti (form) and yong (function). From the perspective of form, nature is liangzhi (the goodness in conscience) and liangneng (the inborn ability to be good) in human beings and heart is human’s conscience and original heart. From the perspective of function, nature is the four things of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom, and heart consists in compassion, shame, respect, right and wrong. As the foundation for the theory of the original goodness in human nature, conscience and heart are a combination of human moral instinct, moral rationality and moral volition, whereas moral instinct gradually rises to moral volition and passes through moral rationality. Mencius’ theory of the original goodness in human nature is not a theory of future goodness, but a theory of original goodness. Translated by Wang Bei from Qilu Xuekan 齐鲁学刊(Journal of Qilu), 2006, (4): 16–20     

“Rabbi,Who Sinned?” Disability Theologies and Sin

Abstract : The historic doctrine of sin has been harmful for persons with disabilities. Disability theologies need to articulate new definitions of sin that expose ableism and exclusion as social sins, and develop models of sin that resist any association of sin with disability, physical differences, mental health, or intellectual abilities. I suggest that disability theologies consider the following models of sin: failure to accept limit, invisibilization, discourse, subject position, and subjection.     

A kinky doctrine of sin

ABSTRACT

Religious and secular groups alike have long marginalized those who practice “kinky sex.” These discourses of bodily control have been deconstructed and proven faulty. However, this proposal goes further than mere deconstruction and exposes the gaping hole under this new deconstruction: what does a doctrine of sin look like for kink practitioners? This gaping hole is lubed and ready to be filled. According to a kinky doctrine, sin is violating consent and obstructing escape, the failure to accept limits, and the external essentialism of identity. This kinky theology of sin will not only be useful for members of the kink community but also for individuals from a wide range of identities and practices.     

Herman Bavinck on the Image of God and Original Sin

The organic motif is Bavinck's preferred means to communicate creation's triune shape. An archetypal unity‐in‐diversity in the Godhead implies that creation displays an ectypal unity‐in‐diversity. This article argues that Bavinck's organic ontology provides him with a theological rationale for a doctrine of original sin in which the covenant headship of Adam reflects the organic character of humanity in unity and diversity. Thus, the transmission of original guilt on account of Adam's trespass is not a mere special ordinance by an inscrutable divine will, but an expression of humanity's organic shape. The article concludes by drawing some implications of Bavinck's construction for current discussion concerning original sin.     

Jonathan Edwards,Anselmic Satisfaction and God's Moral Government

Jonathan Edwards' doctrine of atonement has recently become a source of interest amongst some contemporary systematic theologians. This article sets out to redress two longstanding and historically strident claims regarding Edwards' doctrine of the nature of atonement: first, that Edwards espoused an Anselmic satisfaction theory of atonement; second, that Edwards also laid the theological foundation for the moral government theory of atonement, popularized in nineteenth‐century America by those of his intellectual tradition. In this article, I lay out the conceptual core of both Anselm's satisfaction theory and the moral government theory of atonement. I argue that the claims noted above lack the explanatory resources needed to account accurately for Edwards' understanding of the nature of the atonement.     

CHRISTIANITY AND EVOLUTIONARY ETHICS: SKETCH TOWARD A RECONCILIATION

Abstract. Evolutionary ethics posits the evolution of dispositions to love self, kin, and friend. Christianity claims that God's ethical demand is to love one's neighbor. I argue that the distance between these two positions can be interpreted theologically as original sin, the disposition to disobey God's command and practice self-love and nepotism rather than neighbor-love. Original sin requires Incarnation and Atonement to unite God and humanity. The ancient doctrine of the Atonement as educative does not invoke the Fall. Its revival may help reconcile Christianity and evolutionary ethics.