Has anyone read:

[SALLY123]

How Good Do We Have to Be? A New Understanding of Guilt and Forgiveness - a book by Kushner, Harold S.


I thought this was a good book, it helped me understand myself and others better.

 

[scottisimo]

Well, I just read the chapter on the Garden of Eden, and I have a very different opinion than Kushner on Genesis 3. I think people of all religions are turned off by the word sin or original sin that to even offer it as an explanation of human behavior is an offense. Kushner seems to be downplaying sin as well, not wanting to call it what it is.

The NT letters of Paul (Romans 5, especially) do not paint Genesis 3 in the same light as Kushner. Jesus is the very Adam that Adam wasn't. And among other things, Jesus came to show us how to be the human creatures we were created to be: dependent on God the Father. Kushner, on the other hand, interprets Gen 3 as moral human evolution, or a God-intentioned growing up and becoming independent. Also, he attributes many pleasureable human experiences as results of Gen 3, making Adam and Eve's choice a necessary contingent. He's almost saying, Adam and Eve didn't become fully human until they disobeyed God.

I encourage you to read Romans 5 (and why not the whole book?) to get Paul's view of Gen 3. Also, consider this: Kushner fails to mention God's promise of a Redeemer in Gen 3:15. Jesus was God's answer to sin, and no other word that makes us feel better or more forgiven can compare to the Word.

Scott