In Adam's Fall A Meditation on the Christian Doctrine of Original Sin

by McFarland , Ian A.

• ISBN13: 9781405183659
• ISBN10: 1405183659
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-10-18
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This engaging and scholarly book offers refreshingly original insights into the contemporary relevance of the Christian doctrine of original sin - one that has inspired fierce debate for the last two millennia.Challenges the many prevailing opinions about the Christian doctrine of original sin, arguing that it is not only theological defensible, but stimulating and productive for a life of faithShows how it is possible to affirm the universality of sin without losing sight of the distinct ways in which individuals both participate in and suffer the consequences of sinful behaviorBalances historic and contemporary criticism with original theological arguments; combining the substance of a traditional Augustinian doctrine of sin with the pastoral and social concerns of contemporary contextual theologiesProvides a depth and range of engagement with contemporary criticism of traditional doctrine that is lacking in other recent treatments of the topic

Author Biography

Ian A. McFarland is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. McFarland studied theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and Yale University. He is the author ofDifference and Identity: A Theological Anthropology (2001) and The Divine Image: Envisioning the Invisible God (2005).

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Setting the Stage: The Problem of Original Sin

Creation Gone Wrong: Thinking about Sin

A Doctrine Grown Strange

Biblical Configurations of Sin

Contemporary Attempts to Reclaim Sin-Talk

Original Sin and Actual Sin

Original Sin as Christian Doctrine: Origins, Permutations, Problems

The Emergence of the Doctrine

The Augustinian Turn

Augustinian Revisions

Assessment

Reconfiguring the Debate: Sin, Nature, and the Will

Augustine of Hippo: Willing and the Ambiguity of Desire

Augustine's Views in Outline

Concupiscence: Humanity Internally Divided

The Fall: Humanity Temporally Divided

Assessing Augustine's Doctrine of the Will

Maximus the Confessor: Willing Is Not Choosing

Maximus' Christology in Context

Dyothelite Christology in Outline

Maximus' Analysis of the Will

Maximus' Interpretation of Christ's Willing

Anthropological Implications

Conclusion

The Status of Christ's Will: Fallen or Unfallen?

The Question in the Tradition

Preliminary Assessment

The Problem of Christ's Will

Theological Implications

Reconstructing the Doctrine: Original Sin in Christian Practice

Original Sin and Human Nature: Solidarity in Sin

Original Sin and the Damaged Will

The Problem of the Origin of Original Sin

Reconceiving the Ontology of Original Sin

Original Sin and the Individual: Being a Sinner

The Scope of Sin

Sin and Agency

From Actual Sin to Original Sin

Original Sin and the Christian Life: Confronting Sin

From Original Sin to Actual Sin

Original Sin as Unbelief

Vocation and the Defeat of Sin

Conclusion

References

Index

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