Quote:
Originally Posted by mizpeh
I haven't read the article yet.
The Reclaiming the Mind site is probably my favorite site on the internet at the moment. I've gone through their Trinitarian, Theology, Hermeneutics and Bibliography classes and I'm finishing up with Humanity and Sin soon. But I became annoyed with their discussion on Transducianism and Creationist view of the origin of the soul and now they are getting into free will (they are Calvinists) so...I've taken a couple weeks off to go back with a fresh mind.
The blog on that site, Parchment and Pen, has some good stuff too. But you have to take the good and leave the bad.
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I've yet to see a Calvinist consider the Jewish concept of an innate yetzer hatov (good impulse) and yetzer hara (evil impulse).
You've mentioned earlier in this thread about man coming to a knowledge of good and evil. This approach makes the knowledge of good and evil something learned through experience and/or experiment. I believe there is something more to man's 'knowledge of good and evil' than that knowledge he is able to gather experimentally. I see evidence that it is an innate knowledge. I think there is something to be learned from the Jewish idea of yetzer hatov and yetzer hara.
The Jewish concept of yetzer hatov and yetzer hara says the good inclination (yetzer hatov) is an internal impulse toward observance of and/or obedience to the word of God, while the evil inclination (yetzer hara) is an internal rebellion antagonistic to (shall I even say 'at enmity against') the good word of God. The two factors exist in each of us from birth and are only brought to light as experience gives opportunity. Our condition of depravity (the inability to follow after that which is good) becomes more and more apparent as we are introduced to good (God's word) and evil (anything adversarial to God's word).
I think Paul refers to this struggle of inclinations when he mentions not being able to do that which he would and doing that which he would not in
Romans 7. While man is capable of recognizing good through intellect, reason and the yetzer hatov (I don't think a Calvinist would allow for this) there is no natural ability to follow after it as there is a natural ability to follow after evil. It is this natural ability to follow after evil I see as the 'sinful nature.' An unnatural ability to follow after that which is good, I believe, comes through a regenerative work of God.
Christ said there is none good but God (
Matthew 19:17;
Mark 10:18;
Luke 18:19). Since we are not God, we are not naturally good. We are naturally adversarial to God and his word, meaning we are naturally sinful and/or evil. The heart must be born again in order to do that which is good. The good God must come to dwell in our hearts in order to cause us to walk in his ways and to overcome the sinful nature (
Ezekiel 36:27).
Whether we accept the idea of an imputed sin of Adam or not there is an innate sinfulness within us which exists in constant rebellion against God. We need to be cleansed of this constant rebellion. Thus our justification deals not only with those sins we've personally committed but with this nature of rebellion as well.