What does it mean to be human? This question has been asked by different people throughout history. The Psalmist rightly frames the question within the context of God’s order. He asks, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:4). Because humanity draws its significance from God, humanity finds significance within God’s narrative.
Continuing in Psalm 8, David marvels that man has been given dominion over the earth: “You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:5-6). We see, therefore, that what it means to be truly human is to be unified with God and his purposes. In this blog, let us first examine sinless man in the Garden of Eden, then turn our attention to original sin. From there we shall look to modern philosophical treatments of original sin. Finally, the conclusion: man’s true humanity is restored by being sacramentally united to Christ, for Christ is the true human.
Mankind in the Garden of Eden
Original man was created in the image of God (imago dei, Gen 1:26). Adam, who peacefully enjoyed unity with God, could not truly image the communion God shares with himself without becoming a communion as well. God exists as communion in Trinity; therefore, humanity must also move toward a communion of persons if it is to properly image its creator. God said, “It is not good for man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18); therefore, he made Eve from Adam’s rib. Without Eve, Adam would never have been complete; with Eve, Adam discovers the fullness of humanity as imago dei. From this, two characteristics of pre-fallen man become clear. First, humanity, being the image of God, was created to be in unity with God. Second, humanity was created to be in unity with itself (male and female). Mankind must display both of these characteristics in order to be the true imago dei and become truly human.
But death entered the world
As a result of man’s disobedience, death entered the world. Man sinned against God and was driven out of the Garden of Eden. The communion mankind shared with God and the community mankind shared with each other was lost in the fall. As a result of sin, man finds himself in a broken relationship with God and in a broken relationship with others. This broken state gives way to death. Indeed, man is born in a state of death, that is, separation from God. This death manifests itself in a peculiar way. Man is not born with the presence of something other; rather, he is born with the absence of something. This absence of something is called original sin. Original sin manifests as the absence of God’s grace which is necessary for man to be directed outward to God and neighbor instead of inward to himself. Original sin is that which makes the turn to self inevitable.
Is there hope for humanity to restore itself? Can original sin be overcome? In his book I See Satan Fall Like Lightning, the Christian anthropologist Rene Girard suggests that sinful desires (original sin) leads to violence within a community. This violence manifests itself as mimetic desire: because of humanity’s inherent covetousness, people unknowingly mimic and borrow the desires of others. Desire is good, but left undisciplined, it may lead to sin. This situation creates competition with others, a competition of desire. As mimetic desire finally comes to a breaking point, violence must occur within a community against one of its members. This poor, innocent person who will receive the brunt of the community's violence is called a scapegoat. Girard concludes that society and culture are built on a foundation of violence, not social contracts. Laws are enacted in order to bind the natural violence of man.
Sigmund Freud, operating outside a Christian framework, offers a similar critique. Rejecting the biblical narrative, Freud proposed a different view of man surmised after years of psychoanalysis. At its most primal level, mankind is instinctual and finds happiness by means of the pleasure-principle, which Freud defines as that which "in its most narrowest sense comes from the satisfaction—most often instantaneous—of pent-up needs which have reached great intensity" (Freud, Civilization and its Discontents), namely, sexual gratification.
Both of these thinkers offer an understanding of original sin (though Freud would never call it that). Their conclusion about humanity is clear: humanity, at his core, is a violent creature who desires to satisfy his own erotic pleasures. This means that left to himself, man cannot overcome his own sinful desires.
Both Girard’s and Freud’s conclusions demonstrate a significant shift in the understanding of human nature from the Enlightenment understanding. The Enlightenment proposed a narrative of man that was completely divorced from God. By pushing God to the fringes (later, by outright rejecting his existence) Enlightenment thinkers thought that man could find God within himself, discover his true humanity, and progress toward perfection. The problem with this thinking is that when God, the divine storyteller, is removed from the storyline, then the storyline ceases to exist. Original sin cannot be bound by simply looking inside oneself. The atrocities of World Wars I and II proved this point—without a divine storyteller to create a narrative, man will destroy himself. The Enlightenment ideal of progress is no longer viable. This leaves humanity in the current climate of postmodern existentialism. The failure of the Enlightenment project demonstrates God must come from outside humanity rather than within humanity. Man cannot be his own savior. Because there is no interaction with the divine, the Enlightenment god only enables man to strive toward advancement in his own strength, not to live a converted life.
Jesus Christ, the true Imago Dei
What are we left to do, then? Can we become truly human again by entering back into a pre-fall Edenic state, a state of life? No, we have no power to do this ourselves. Because of the introduction of sin into the world, we are doomed to death. But, there is hope—though we cannot enter back into a right relationship with God, God comes to us. Athanasius writes that God became man so that man might become God. Athanasius is not suggesting that man can somehow become a demigod, but that man can become united with God through his son Jesus Christ. God entered into humanity and became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ. In the incarnation God took on the whole of human nature. Dietrich Bonhoeffer states this mystery best,
In the birth of Jesus Christ, God took manhood, and not just an individual man. But this taking happened corporeally, and that is the unique wonder of the incarnation. The body of Jesus Christ is our flesh. He bears our flesh (Bonhoeffer, Christmas Letter from 1939).
Jesus is the New Adam who conquered death by dying on a cross for the forgiveness of sins. As Paul proclaims, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Cor. 15:54-55). Though mankind died with Adam, he is raised to new life in Jesus Christ ( Rom 5-6). Because of the incarnation, the writer of Hebrews can reframe the question the Psalmist proposed: “What is man?” The writer of Hebrews answer is Jesus; Jesus is the true man (Heb. 2:5-9).
Bonhoeffer, understanding that we share our humanity with Christ, goes on to write, “Where Jesus Christ is, there we are.” Where is Jesus Christ now? Having conquered death, he has ascended into heaven and took his place at the right hand of the Father. That unbroken fellowship with God that was lost under Adam because of his sin has been restored in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who enjoys perfect fellowship with the Father. Therefore, to be conformed into the image of the incarnate Jesus Christ is to become truly human again.
That mankind has been restored to God means that the first obstacle has been overcome. But, we must also be restored back into original communion with each other so we can properly reflect the image of God. This takes place in the church, the body of Christ. Bonhoeffer writes in another place,
The necessity of the Church
If becoming human entails being united to the true human and being incorporated into his church, then how does this happen? We do this by entering into the sacramental life of the church. Through the sacraments of the church, we become one with Christ, bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. This happens first through baptism, and continues through our repentance. Jesus’ work of forgiveness is given in the Eucharist and received by faith. By this we are assured of God’s favor and goodness toward us because Christ’s blood was shed for us for the remission of sins. In the weekly fellowship of the Eucharist, Christ feeds us himself through bread and wine. Eating the forbidden fruit from a tree is what destroyed mankind; eating from the man who hung on a tree will restore mankind.
In the Eucharist, we not only consume Christ but are also taken up into the very body of Christ and incorporated into one loaf (1 Cor. 10:17). If we are incorporated into the body of Christ by partaking of the Eucharist, then the boundaries between individuals become relativized. We are no longer ‘the other’ to each other but are joined in community. We are made the very hands and feet of Jesus to the world. This is what it means to be human: to be incorporated into Christ’s body by faith through the sacramental life of the church, and to be reconciled to our neighbor. This restores humanity as the true imago dei.
Bonhoeffer, understanding that we share our humanity with Christ, goes on to write, “Where Jesus Christ is, there we are.” Where is Jesus Christ now? Having conquered death, he has ascended into heaven and took his place at the right hand of the Father. That unbroken fellowship with God that was lost under Adam because of his sin has been restored in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who enjoys perfect fellowship with the Father. Therefore, to be conformed into the image of the incarnate Jesus Christ is to become truly human again.
That mankind has been restored to God means that the first obstacle has been overcome. But, we must also be restored back into original communion with each other so we can properly reflect the image of God. This takes place in the church, the body of Christ. Bonhoeffer writes in another place,
The church is not a religious community of worshippers of Christ but is Christ himself who has taken form among people. The church can be called the body of Christ because in Christ’s body man is really taken up by him, and so too, therefore, are all humankind (Bonhoeffer, Ethics).Through Christ we have not only been restored back into fellowship with God, but we have also been reconciled to each other because we have been incorporated into the body of Christ, the church.
The necessity of the Church
If becoming human entails being united to the true human and being incorporated into his church, then how does this happen? We do this by entering into the sacramental life of the church. Through the sacraments of the church, we become one with Christ, bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. This happens first through baptism, and continues through our repentance. Jesus’ work of forgiveness is given in the Eucharist and received by faith. By this we are assured of God’s favor and goodness toward us because Christ’s blood was shed for us for the remission of sins. In the weekly fellowship of the Eucharist, Christ feeds us himself through bread and wine. Eating the forbidden fruit from a tree is what destroyed mankind; eating from the man who hung on a tree will restore mankind.
In the Eucharist, we not only consume Christ but are also taken up into the very body of Christ and incorporated into one loaf (1 Cor. 10:17). If we are incorporated into the body of Christ by partaking of the Eucharist, then the boundaries between individuals become relativized. We are no longer ‘the other’ to each other but are joined in community. We are made the very hands and feet of Jesus to the world. This is what it means to be human: to be incorporated into Christ’s body by faith through the sacramental life of the church, and to be reconciled to our neighbor. This restores humanity as the true imago dei.
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