By: James Swenson

James Swenson — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:52:28 +0000

Paul agonizes over this in Romans 7:15-24, which is (to me) one of the most moving passages in Scripture. It begins with “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” and reaches its climax with “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” [ESV]

Neuroscience is new, but the root issue is not. Paul doesn’t diminish his personal responsibility for his sin, but simultaneously recognizes his inability to free himself from sin. The problem isn’t that we’re bipolar; it’s that we’re human.

By: Fred Prudek

Fred Prudek — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:57:52 +0000

Dear Tim,
I would agree with the overall trajectory of your article. I would add this that our culture today seems overbalanced to want to explain away cruel, unjust and unacceptable behavior, i.e. the recent Ft. Hood murders, not as willful and sinful acts, but rather due to external environmental factors or some chemical imbalance. As a community, I believe we have a hard time confessing that one of our own could be so jaded. Certainly, this is why so many have tried to explain away the evils of the holocaust. To try to determine how much guilt lies with the individual culprit, e.g. Nadal Hasan or Michael Henchard, and how much is not their personal responsibility, makes me thankful for St. Paul’s wise words, “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. … It is the Lord who judges me.” 1Cor. 4:3-4.

Comments on: Moral Tragedy or Chemical Imbalance?

By: James Swenson

By: Fred Prudek