The Theologian's Table

As a seminary student, I have been studying a lot about sin and how it effects people. One of the most interesting things for me has been learning how many different words there are for sin in the original languages the Bible was written in, Hebrew and Greek. For example, in the Old Testament there are at least 7 words that describe sin and in the New Testament there are at least 9 words that describe sin. There is another interesting thing about sin that my studies have revealed. The first sin the Bible records is when Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. They went against the expressed command of God, so sin put a separation between humanity and God, but pay attention to this verse, "The man said, 'The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate' (Genesis 3:12).”  Now, look at the second sin the Bible records, "And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, ...

No, this is not about a Lifetime Channel rom-com. It may not enter the minds of the general public, but seminary students often face a stigma in the church. Sometimes they are viewed as out-of-touch, or as intellectual snobs who think they know what’s best for everyone. I was very aware of this and wrote a memo to myself before I entered seminary so that I would stay down to earth. The people who run seminaries seem to be aware of the stereotypes surrounding them too. To prevent this they offer courses that help the spiritual formation of the student, which can encompass most parts of life, but to make sure that the student knows that they too need to progress spiritually, not just the average church goer. Even though I had written a memo to myself reminding me that there are real-world problems still happening in the midst of my studies there were and still are areas of my life that need to be addressed spiritually. Though there are more than I’d care to count, ...