All Bad, All Good, Or What?

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Huntingdon Stabbing: On Saturday night there was news of a train in Huntingdon station, stabbing, emergency services… the details were unclear.

All Bad: This morning I read Romans chapter 3. I’m drawn to verse 23: ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ I learnt it as a teenager… that it’s part of the Christian doctrine of ‘original sin’… going back to the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, snake and fruit narrative. CS Lewis says we’re ‘Sons of Adam’ and ‘Daughters of Eve’; because we’re human we’re all bad.

Listening to the news ‘all bad’ surrounds us… War in Ukraine, Epstein files, ruthless gangs… murder, rape, violence… in our own hearts we see hatred, selfishness, guilt. We’re all bad.

All Good: My experience of life is somewhat different. When I was a teacher, in school I encountered many children. Some were naughty but all were basically good kids. Since I’ve retired I’ve met many grumpy old men – argumentative, prejudiced, set in their ways – but good, kind, considerate men.

In the Garden of Eden narrative… Before the snake and the fruit we read that man was made ‘in God’s image’. Theologians talk about ‘imago dei’. Made in God’s image we’re all good.

Huntingdon Stabbing: By yesterday, the details of the incident were clearer. They talked about the mass stabbing, multiple injuries, a man arrested and charged with attempted murder… but the emphasis was on the train staff, passengers and emergency services. Many ordinary, good people were praised for their heroic actions.

Returning to my Romans text. My teenage memory is out of context; it’s only part of a sentence that reads: ‘There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.’

And somehow, somewhere, in the mystery of God and humanity there is good and bad, rubbish and redemption, trouble and truth, sin and a Saviour.

7 thoughts on “All Bad, All Good, Or What?”

  2. I used to be a determinist whereby I felt everything we do is decided by social learning or genetically.  Therefore, the murderer, the rapist and even the abuser are the product of those two defining things.  I did not believe in free will.

    I now feel that, although someone’s upbringing and/or genetic makeup are the main decider in what they do, I feel that social learning is/must be an ongoing thing.

    Even someone on the bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Someone who hasn’t had their physiological or emotional needs met, if not mentally ill, must know they are doing wrong.

    However, I do believe that we are all born innocent and without sin.  Therefore, if someone commits the kind of horrendous acts we are made so more aware of now then they must surely be in need of some form of mental health treatment.

    One of my daughters heads a team of mental health workers who deal with quite severe cases.  I hadn’t realised that there are poor wretches who really do hear voices telling them to do things.

    Possibly we ought to be grateful that we do not have these compulsions.

    On the news yesterday they showed the police van carrying the perpetrator of the knife attacks and there was a man who threw something at the van as it went by.  And I thought “are we that far ahead of the Tyburn Tree mentality?”.  I suppose these demonstrations outside migrant hotels illustrate a similar mentality.

    I believe that these people, like most aggressive people, are often very insecure and feel let down by society.

    I do often wonder if animals, well other animals that is, have to deal with concepts such as “secrets and lies” or “psychopathy” or even inferiority complexes?

    Discuss

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    1. Thanks for your typically thoughtful reply, Alan. I’m of the view that although we are born innocent, we have an inbuilt propensity to do wrong. You don’t have to teach a young child to be ‘naughty’; throughout our lives we make constant decisions to do good or bad.

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      1. “Naughty” – I am of the belief that children before a certain age cannot be naughty. Everything they do is a form of investigating, experimenting or testing the boundaries.

        How Julie and I hate it when we see little kiddies running around in the supermarket hiding or just being kids. And, the mums are often really nasty to them. I have to tell Julie “Don’t get involved”

        I remember many years ago we got a day boat out from Wroxham. They do a larger boat with more seats and a kitchen. Everyone was enjoying it and a friend of ours told one of his young teenage daughters to “Sit tidily” What on earth does that mean?

        I could be strict as a teacher but have also had pupils say “Oh grow up MrB.” I actually thought that was a marvellous compliment.

        I remember telling a pupil off and afterwards another pupil said “Why were you smiling when you were telling xxxxxx off?” I said “They’re the one who’s meant to be miserable, not me”.

        Happy days eh Malcolm?

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