by jimwalton » Tue May 14, 2019 11:11 am
I think it's your analogy (going to jail for someone else's murder) that is taking you in the wrong direction. Perhaps two different analogies will help. (I'll grant that all analogies fall short somewhere along the road and don't accurately portray every piece of the situation. They're analogies, not theologies. All analogies can be picked apart somewhere in their structure. The point is what the analogy is trying to express.)
Suppose your parents live in America and are fed up to the eyeballs with what they see happening here, so they choose to move to, oh, pick a place—Finland! They renounce their American citizenship, and from now on all children born to them are Finnish. The children aren't evil people, nor are they to blame for anything. This is no curse or punishment, but the reality of citizenship. The fact is they are born Finnish, not American. At any time, any of them are welcome to immigrate to America and become American citizens again. That is their choice.
Theologically speaking, when A&E sinned, they removed themselves from God's sovereign rule and set up their own "country." Any children born to them were now citizens of the world, not citizens of the kingdom of God. The children aren't evil, cursed, or punished, but they are born separated from God and his "country." At any time, any of them are welcome to immigrate into God's kingdom, and even be adopted into His family.
Analogy #2: Your father was a reckless financier and amassed $10 million in debt in his short life. The creditors are not able to write that off, and so the balance of the debt passes to the unfortunate heirs of his estate. His heirs aren't evil, they are not to blame, and they're not being punished, but this is the reality of debt and the mistake made.
Theologically speaking, sin is a debt, far too huge for anyone to pay off. A&E sank humanity into arrears. The shortfall can't be made up by good works (the debt is too great) or by religious ritual (which doesn't accomplish anything). Instead, God himself has offered to forgive the debt for any person who will come to be part of his family. He will forgive the sin and make them heirs, not debtors. But it's a choice each individual must make. If you choose to come into the family, you don't do it just to get out from under the debt, but also to become part of a loving family. If you're not going to do the love part, but don't get the debt-forgiveness part.
Maybe those help more than the jail analogy you painted, which I agree there is nothing fair about.
Last bumped by Anonymous on Tue May 14, 2019 11:11 am.