Biblomorphism Article 1 – Original Sin

Bible Verse – Romans 5:19
Species – Homosapien Toddler

While watching my twenty month old cousin play with her sixteen month old friend, I came to the startling realization that an examination of children this age can point to no other conclusion than a deprived human morality from birth.

Several theologians of today, particularly Dr. John Piper, contend that, “There has never been a profound thinker that believes mankind is good.” The opposite contention is the basic human condition to believe “I am innately good”, otherwise known as original pride.

A philosophical study should ensue to determine if iniquity is learned or an inherited trait.

My twenty month old cousin had her own toy, and was playing contently with it. Then her friend began playing zealously with a different toy. Instantly my cousin became enamored with the toy she did not have. Within seconds my cousin had stolen the toy, discarded the other toy, and began playing contently with her new toy. Her friend began to pout. In an effort to not have a crying baby on my hands, I intervened.

“Did you steal her toy?” I asked firmly of my cousin. “No” was the reply I received.

I suppose you could recreate this incident on any day in any day-care in any country of the world. We are confronted with the fact that my cousin had never been taught to covet, never been taught to steal, and even been encouraged to tell the truth, yet she still told a lie. Within the first twenty months of life a child is capable of these things.

In order to study wrongdoing and deception even closer to birth, lets consider a brand new baby, ten weeks old.

In the majority of instances, a baby cries for a good reason; hunger, discomfort, illness. But everyone that has been around babies knows that sometimes they’ll cry just so you give them attention. You put the baby in the crib and leave the room, almost instantly you hear crying from the bedroom; as you check on the baby, it stops crying. You leave the room again, the crying starts. Enter the room, crying ends.

The baby has learned, despite having no external teaching, that it can get the attention that it wants through deliberate deception.

On the other end of the spectrum, when you examine adults in terms of peccadillo, you find that no one will disagree with the statements, “No one is perfect”, “To Err is Human”, and “Everyone has a few skeletons in the closet.”

Ask yourself the question, “Have I ever told a deliberate lie with intent to deceive?”

This examination into the goodness of mankind leads that sin is innate; not learned nor simply a mistake in judgment.

In the first Biblomorphism session, the philosophy of deprived morality aligns with the theology of original sin.

Philosophy and Theology

Del Tackett, of Focus on the Family, has said many profound things, I hold him in the top 10 Theologians living today (I am a theologianist – a studier of theologians). To use his own words, he put me in a cocoon, or in other words, made me rethink my entire theology, when he spoke one of the truest extraBiblical phrases I’ve ever heard.

While he’s not the first to say it, he’s the first one I heard say it;

Dr. Tackett said,
“In the end, true philosophy (the study of wisdom) and true theology (the study of God) must align with one another.”

The platonist Marsilio Ficino wrote in 1482, “True philosophy and true religion are in harmony with one another. Good, love, humanity, and immortality form the universe a hierarchy of beings from God down to prime matter, with humankind, the microcosm, as the center and bond of the universe.”

If this is the case, as I believe it is, then we should be able to prove a Deity, Sin, and Atonement without mention of faith, God, or even the Bible. Ray Comfort expounds on this idea by saying that if you have a building, you know there is a builder, if you have a painting, you know there is a painter, and if you have a creation, you know there is a Creator.

It is my contention that through a series of studies on various species of animals, that I may be able to show the love, compassion, justice, and grace of our God through philosophy, rather than theology.

In order to complete this study, I feel it necessary to invent a new word. Anthropomorphism is the applying of human traits to non-human entities. Similarly, Theomorphism is God attributing His image and righteousness to our sake (Gen 1:27, Job 29:14, 2 Cor 5:21). This word I intend to create is Biblomorphism. It's definition is easy to guess; applying Biblical principles to philosophical issues.

While some may call this new word a synonym for eisegesis, I assure you I will make every effort to adequately exegete my examinations.