Life Sciences Commons^™

Moral Awareness, Original Sin And The Atonement, Tanner Gregory

Dialogue & Nexus

I will explore how evolution impacts the Christian notion of The Fall of man, and, ultimately, the atonement. Various theories of atonement in the Christian tradition generally assume universal and individual sinfulness in humanity. In some cases, this sinfulness is thought to be the result of a distinct moment of rebellion against God, and is transmitted to all of the descendants of Adam. Here, atonement involves Christ’s sacrifice as the means liberate humanity from the bondage of our sinful nature. Evolution collides with these traditional models. Instead of a creation originally void of death and later corrupted by sin, evolution …