Sociology: Exploring Human Nature, Sin, and Redemption in the Bible

This sociology discussion post examines human nature through a biblical lens, focusing on concepts of sin, redemption, and the role of the church. It references the work of R.J. Grunewald, particularly his analysis of Luther and the Romans, to explore how the Bible describes human nature as inherently flawed due to sin, referencing the fall of Genesis 3. The post highlights the importance of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection for human salvation, and how the church serves as a gift from God to guide believers. The discussion covers Grunewald's views on sanctification and the need to escape sin, emphasizing the transformative power of the relationship with God. The author concludes that sin separates humans from God's will, and that transformation relies on a strong connection with God and acceptance of Jesus Christ as the savior.

Sociology
Bible 3
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Sociology
Discussion of the thread
Different sources have described the concept of human nature in different perspectives
(Mercadante, 2018). The work of R.J Grunewald focuses on Luther's work and the Romans who
were in frontline advocating for the word of GOD. The thread analyses human nature as
described by the splash used for reference in the study. The concept of human nature relies on
the issue of corrupt which is based on the fall of Genesis 3 as described by the Bible. Grunewald
explains that "The Law exposes the sinner, the Gospel exposes the Savior who comes for
sinners". From the two issues, the author tries to explain on how human beings have been under
control of sin which in the Bible is described as anything that is against the Ten Commandments
outlined in the Bible (Eberhart, 2014).The word law as used in the thread shows the level of the
sin while on another hand the concept of gospel outlines the remedy or solution to the sins
committed by individuals in the society. The Bible proves the importance of death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible proves that Jesus died in order to save human beings from
sin. Jesus was mistreated and crucified then died on the cross and buried then rose from the
deaths on the third day. Through the blood and death of Jesus Christ human being became
righteous and holly as described in the New Testament. The Bible shows only the righteous
individuals will enter the Kingdom of God.
From the work of Grunewald, the term righteousness is the state of being just and following the
commandments of Jesus Christ. This shows doing what is good and obeying the laws included in
the word of God. Jesus suffered to save human beings from the pools of sin as indicated in the
Bible. In his letters, Grunewald describes the issue of sanctification as the ability of Gods words
to model an individual thus helping in realizing the mighty work of Jesus Christ. On the issue of
the gift, God shows how the church helps in modeling human beings thus growing and believing

Sociology
in the mighty work of Jesus Christ. The church is a gift that was given to Romans as described in
Paul's letters. Both Paul and Luther shows how the church builds a new nation that obeys and
respects the word of God (Bird, 2017).
Summary of the work
From the thread described above, the issue of sin is the only thing that separates human beings
from the will of God (Funkenstein, 2018). Grunewald indicates how sin has separated man from
the Kingdom of God. Grunewald goes on and said "sin is not simply something we choose to do
or not do; sin is our nature. We aren't sinners because we sin. The issue of gift shows how God is
kind to human and he gave us the church as a gift so that we can emulate and adhere to his
teachings. From the word concupiscence and work of Luther, it's clear that human transformation
is based on the overall relationship with God. At the end of chapter one Grunewald clearly
explains the concept of hiding. "We've become experts at hiding….."This proves how Christians
need to escape from sins and rely on Jesus Christ the only King who provides everything needed
by a human.

Sociology
Reference
Bird, P. A. (2017). Theological anthropology in the Hebrew Bible. The Blackwell Companion to
the Hebrew Bible,5(56), 258-275.
Eberhart, C. A. (2014). A neglected feature of sacrifice in the Hebrew bible: Remarks on the
burning rite on the altar. Harvard Theological Review, 97(4), 485-493.
Funkenstein, A. (2018). Theology and the scientific imagination: from the middle ages to the
seventeenth century 6th edition. Princeton University Press.
Mercadante, L. (2018). Belief without borders: Inside the minds of the spiritual but not religious.
In Being Spiritual but Not Religious,5(89), (pp. 122-139).