March 4 Lesson 3--Who is Man? Part Two

In today's lesson and discussion, we considered the second half of The Truth Project Lesson # 3 on Anthropology: "Who is Man?" Going hand in hand with this question is another important question: "What is Evil?" We learned from Dr. Tackett's presentation that Man is both a spirit and flesh being and that Man was created innocent, but soon succumbed to the temptation of sin and consequently became a fallen being, in danger of the punishment of eternal separation from God in hell if he were to die in the fallen state. Fortunately for us all, God saw fit to provide another opportunity for fallen man, that of redemption through faith in Jesus Christ.

In our discussion today, we talked about the blame culture in which we all live. We considered the pervasive influence of commonly accepted educational and pedagogical principles such as Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs. Without any clinical evidence of validity, we have all been subject to the teachings and the beliefs of this critical psychological construct. Indeed, it continues to govern modern educational theory even today and, to my surprise, I found out from our discussion in class today, that it is also a dominant theory in nursing.

Even though many of the scientists and leading thinkers of our society have concluded that man is inherently "good" and that there is no evidence to suggest that man is inherently evil, we saw a two minute summary of events happening around the world which would refute the argument that man is inherently "good." We concluded that the Christian worldview easily shows the depravity of man and the fact that man is indeed a fallen spiritual and flesh being. We are indeed a fallen being and we are indeed in need of redemption.

Next week, we will begin Part I of the next topic: "Who is God?"

On March 18, we will be hosting the Waysons, Central Baptist Missionaries to China, for a update on their work in China. I know you will all join me in looking forward to welcoming the Waysons back to our class. I always enjoy hearing about the successes and challenges of our missionaries who have given so much.

See you all next week.