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  I Was Born That Way

"I shouldn't be blamed for the way I am because I was born this way."

I've heard this argument for years, but what strikes me as odd is that when someone says this, Christians often reply, "No! You weren't born that way." (I'm thinking particulary of debates between homosexuals and Christians, but I don't limit it to this.)

While I agree that there is probably a high dose of questionable science supporting the born-this-way arguments, and while I have no objection to challenging pop science, in a very real sense the person saying "I was born that way" is right.

In fact, this person is simply re-stating what Christians have been saying for thousands of years. Human beings are born with a tendency to sin.

Instead of disagreeing, I think we should say, "Yes, we were all born with a tendency to sin, but pray to God and he will help you. Surrender your life to Jesus. With God strengthening you, you can fight against this and be free!"

The question, then, is not whether we are born with certain tendencies (we are), but rather, which of our tendencies are sinful? For those that are sinful, it doesn't matter in the slightest whether we picked them up before or after we were born.

In short, if people agree with our theology (or at least part of it), why argue them out of it?


© Copyright 2000 Brad Haugaard.