Sin

It’s striking that Christianity introduces itself to the world with a book written by someone despised by religious insiders, someone they considered beyond the reach of God. It’s as though the New Testament begins with an exclamation point of grace. We see this vividly in Jesus’ call to Matthew.

The life of David reveals that our greatest achievements are defined only by God’s victory and our greatest failures only by God’s forgiveness.

Created in God’s image, humanity was made to flourish in relationship with God, one another, and creation. Yet the story of Adam and Eve explains why our world—and our own hearts—are so deeply broken. These opening chapters of Genesis reveal our extraordinary inherent dignity, the tragic reality of the fall, as well as the first glimpse of God’s plan to restore what was lost.

Why are we the way we are? Why are we filled with potential, but also profoundly struggle? Why do we have a strong urge for freedom, but also find ourselves sometimes stuck? The famous story of Adam and Eve’s seduction in the garden is the place to go to discover answers to these questions and find hope.

In his novel, East of Eden, John Steinbeck wrote about the grizzly story of Cain and Abel that it is important because it is a chart of the human soul. It It helps us make sense of our inner world and gives us clues to help us grow into more healthy versions of ourselves.

How do we change? What do we do with competing desires within us? Here we’ll consider different paradigms for spiritual growth and what a healthy and hopeful way forward might be.