We hate to be told that man is a sinner. Nothing so insults man's pride. We have tried desperately to find other words like error or nature, absence of good, false concept of mind-to explain the sin of man. Turning to depth psychology, we attempt to dismiss sin as the result of inner conflicts, inhibitions, or a battle between the "id" and the "super ego". These concepts only serve to remind us that engulfing human nature is a tragic, threefold enstrangement by which man is seperated from himself, his neighbors and his God. There is a corruption in man's will.
When we lay our lives bare before the scrutiny of God, we admit that though we know the truth, yet we lie; we know how to be just, yet we are unjust; we know we should love, yet we hate; we stand at the juncture of the high road, yet we deliberately choose the low road. All we like sheep have gone astray. Man collectivized in the group, the tribe, the race, and the nation often sinks to levels of barbarity unthinkable even among animals. We see the tragic expression of an immoral society in the doctrine of the wealthy 1% which plunges millions into the abyss of exploitation. Man is a sinner in need of God's forgiving grace. This is not deadening pessimism; it is Christian realism.
Men and women convinced of the supremacy of Christ Jesus, continued to proclaim the gospel until even everyone in Caesar's household were convinced, until jailers dropped their keys, until kings trembled on their thrones. The early christians out-thought, out-lived and out-died everyone else. When they entered a town, the power structure became disturbed. Their new gospel brought the refreshing warmth of spring to people whose lives had been hardened by the long winter of traditionalism. They deemed it honorable and a privilege to die for Christ and in so doing, selflessly changed the world.
Written By Martin Luther King Jr.
From his book - Strength To Love
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