GUILT

GUILT

“The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor the father share the guilt of the son .. .” (Ez. 18:20).

Pinocchio is a fictional puppet conceived by Italian writer Carlo Collodi. In the story he was carved by Geppetto in a Tuscan village. The narrative involves the supernatural for Pinocchio ceased being a puppet and became a real live boy. As a puppet Pinocchio was not responsible for his actions as someone else was pulling the strings. As a real boy, however, he could make decisions on his own.

The word "automaton" comes from the Greek word “aútóatov”. It means "acting of one's own will". This word was first used by Homer to describe automatic door opening. A cuckoo clock, for example, operates automatically. The cuckoo that pops out, however, really does not decide to do so in its own but is programmed to do so. It is not a person and is programed to do what it does.

The word “robot” comes from the Czech word “robota” which means “forced labor”. Today robots are constructed to do repetitive or dangerous tasks once performed by humans. A robot, however, cannot be found guilty in a court of law because it does not have a mind of its own. It can only do what someone else has programmed it to do.

Modern technology has even produced self driving cars. In case of an accident, however, the car cannot be taken to court for it can only do what it is programmed to do. It does not have a mind of it’s own. It cannot be found guilty. It can only do what someone has already programmed it to do.

Every parent comes to realize that little children are not robots or automatons. They have minds of their own. Paul said: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me” (1 Cor. 13:11). Children first learn to speak by mimicking someone else. Soon, however, they are not just saying “Ma, Ma” and “Da, Da” they are putting together whole sentences on their own. Quite frequently they embarrass parents by saying things on their own which no one ever dreamed they would say.

Science has no explanation for this ability to make decisions and reason separate and apart from external stimuli. It is called “consciousness” and is yet to be fully understood. It is this unique decision making ability in humans that makes us guilty of sin. That’s why the Bible teaches that the soul that sins will die. The sinner cannot blame parents or anyone else for his or her actions. God holds each of us accountable for our own actions. Occasionally someone will offer a defense of “diminished capacity”, but this only serves to prove the point. “Under the influence” means we are not in control of our decision making process. Under normal circumstances we make decisions on our own.

The evolutionists has no explanation for the gigantic leap from automaton to human. This is why Dr. Thomas Nagel placed as a subtitle to his book “Mind and Cosmos”, “Why the Materialist Neo- Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False”. Evolution has no explanation for “consciousness”. As in the story of Pinocchio, it seems that the transition from puppet to human involves the supernatural.

This, of course, is not a problem at all for those who believe the Bible. God does not have to have a reason for anything He does. He makes decisions on His own. Nobody tells God how many stars to make or how long He has to create the heavens and the earth. God is the ultimate expression of “consciousness”. The Bible makes it crystal clear that God has created man in His own image (Gen. 1:26). Like God, we too make decisions on our own! Adam tried to blame Eve for his sin, and Eve tried to blame the devil. Neither excuse was accepted by God. The soul that sins is the one who will die! We cannot blame anyone else for actions we have decided to make.

So “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). There is no doubt about it, we are guilty! The Good News is that “We are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

The question is: What are you going to do about it? This is a personal decision that no one can make for you. Even Jesus will not make it for you. He wanted to gather the people of Jerusalem to Himself like a hen gathers her chicks, but they wouldn’t (Lk. 13:34). The question is, will you?