Lesson on Anthropology:Who is Man?

Two nights ago I was again blessed to attend the Truth Project. Lesson three was, "Anthropology: Who is man?" The instructor was right in beginning with when he said the problem of evil and who man is are inextricably linked. As we lay the foundation of anthropolgy (the study of man) we shall see the answer to the problem of evil.

Who is God? Who is man? America greatestest thinker, Johnathan Edwards, said, "Of all kinds of knowledge that we can ever obtain, the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves, are the most important." Quite. The answer to these two questions form the foundation of everyone's worldview. Today we will talk about who man is. What does the world say about man? What does God say about man?

As the instructor looked at man he focused on his essence, his moral state, and his need according to the biblical worldview. The Bible teaches man was created in the image of God. The original state of man was good and innocent. The state of man changed at the Fall- when man disobeyed God. Man's state was now fallen with a propensity for evil. The Bible says "Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (Rom. 5:12)."

How does the Bible describe fallen man?

• evil
• dead
• blind
• deaf
• lost
• rebellious
• without hope
• haters of God
• desperatelywicked
• children of the devil

As Charles Spurgeon so succinclty put it: "You cannot slander human nature; it is worse than human words can paint it."
So, man's moral state is fallen and he is is in rebellion against God. Only two things can happen here- either man will carry on in his fallen state, living in rebellion against God which will lead to separation from God for eternity in hell, or he will be redeemed. There are only two outcomes becuase of man's moral state. The only way for man's moral state to change is for him to be made alive by the Holy Spirit wherein he places his faith in Christ alone to save him from his sins. The Bible calls this redemtption and says it is what man needs above all else. We saw the Bible's description of fallen man above. Now lets look at what the Bible calls man who has been redeemed:

• saints
• priests
• called out ones
• the people of God
• a holy nation
• elect
• children of God
• Sons of God
• beloved
• born from above
• alive in Christ

So now all is great, right? Not so fast. The Bible says even though we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and made alive from our fallen and spiritually dead state we still carry our sinful nature. Man's essence is dualistic meaning he is both flesh and spirit rather than monistic which means purely material. A battle rages in the Christian between the flesh and the spirit. "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want (Gal. 5:16,17)." For further description of this battle see what Paul has to say in Rom. 7:15-25. God calls us to fight sin, in fact to kill it (though it cries to us for mercy!), and this is done with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives inside the new man.
The instructor contrasted the biblical worldview with the naturalistic worldview as follows: The Bible says that man is created in the image of God. The naturalistic worldview claims that man is a product of mindless, purposeless forces. The Bible teaches man, though created perfect, rebelled against God and is now fallen, his heart desperately wicked. The naturalistic worldview believes man is basically good. The Bible says man needs divine grace, regeneration and redemption. The naturalistic worldview says man must save himself through self-oriented pursuits.
The instructor went on to give interesting quotes from leading proponents of the naturalistic worldview. The beliefs are incredible and heartbreaking. Due to time and space I will focus on the quotes from the famous Abraham Maslow. Maslow is known for creating the hierarchy of needs where he claims that man's ultimate objective is self-actualization- following and doing your inner desires. This claim must be seen in light of Maslow's view of man:
"As far as I know we just don't have any intrinsic instincts for evil" -Maslow
"Since the inner nature is good or neutral rather than bad, it is best to bring it out and encourage it rather than to suppress it. If it is permitted to guide our life, we grow healthy, fruitful, and happy."- Maslow
"If you think in terms of basic needs; instincts, at least at their outset are all 'good'... careful study of them (instincts) will provide the value we need by which better societies can evolve." -Maslow
WOW! Is this the secret to life? Should I, as well as everyone else, follow the desires of my heart because after all, my inner nature is good or at least neutral! Will following my inner desires bring happiness, healthiness, fruitfulness and a better society? Most importantly where will this lead me in the end?
Two verses from Scripture come to mind in regard to my inner nature and where it will lead me:
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it" -Jer. 17:9
"For if you live according to the sinful nature you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live." Rom. 8:13
The condition of man and the problem of evil are inextricably intertwined. When someone tries to tell you man is basically good ask him, in what world? Not the one we are living in. One of the so called major problems of Christianity is the problem of evil. People holding to a non-biblical worldview think Christianity cannot answer the problem of evil. The truth of the matter is only the biblical worldview can give a coherent, consistent and truthful answer about the problem of evil because only the biblical worldview sees man as he is: a sinner with no hope outside of Christ.