Page 126 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 8

Foundational Discussions in Christian Psychology

fer to sin (Ellens 1989:60-61; Günter 1978:573- sness), then life becomes meaningless and
587): therefore ugly: you are branded as being merely
a fool (spiritual ugliness). If one adheres to the
Hatta’t: a failure to achieve exactly what was ex- will of God, as explained in the Torah (in Jewish
pected – a missing; thinking the source or fountain of life), life is
Pesa: a failure to conform to the standard – a good (purposeful and meaningful). One should
rebellion and transgression; obey the commandments and, thus, start to
‘Awon: a distortion or corruption of that for beautify life (spiritual aesthetics).
which one was intended - a perversion;
Ra’: a nastiness of disposition – evil; In a theological assessment of life and the un-
Resa’: an insensitivity to that which would be derstanding of the divine destiny of the cosmos,
appropriate to a child of God living before the it is indeed a fundamental question in theologi-
face of God – impiety. cal theory formation whether we should start
The New Testament words for sin have a similar with the fall in a hermeneutical approach to a
character and content. They include: Christian anthropology, or rather with the ex-
Hamartia: a failure to achieve exactly what was clamation mark of God the creator: it was very
expected – missing the mark or target; good! (Divine aesthetics).
Parabasis: a failure to do things just the way
they were required – a transgression; The latter intriguing question presupposes a
Adikia: a failure to conform to the standard and paradigm shift, namely, instead of merely ethi-
thus a falling into behaviour that is not affirmed cal and morality thinking (good –bad; right –
and approved – unrighteousness; wrong), to aesthetic and creative thinking. The
Asebeia: an insensitivity to that which would be primary point of departure in anthropology is
appropriate to a child of God living before the the aesthetic question: What is meant by ‘good’
face of God – impiety; within the framework of a covenantal and foun-
Anomia: a failure to adhere to prescriptions – dational understanding of hope?
lawlessness;
Poneria: an inability to do right and good – de- From merely ethics (question mark?) to aes-
pravity; thetics (exclamation mark!): Divine delight
Epithymia: a longing to do differently from The aesthetics of hope includes art and the
what is appropriate and prescribed – evil desire. beautification of life. Creation and nature are
pieces of divine art; the whole of the cosmos is
From the previous outline, we can conclude that in this sense ‘iconic’ – signals of transcendence.
sin is not an ontological element of our creatu- The questions where to and wherefore point to
reliness. “Nature” is not a predestined condition what the sociologist Peter Berger (1992:121)
of sinfulness. Sin rather points to irresponsib- calls: the quest for “signals of transcendence.”
le behaviour (transgression); a kind of attitude We each have a desire, or need, for something
and life style that does not take God and his will greater than ourselves; some bigger purpose or
serious in the making of decisions. The result is meaning in life. “In openness to the signals of
disobedience and a foolish lifestyle robbed from transcendence the true proportions of our ex-
meaning. The Bible does not project a pessimi- perience are rediscovered. This is the comic re-
stic view of life (merely doomed sinners), nor lief of redemption; it makes it possible for us to
does it promote a kind of optimistic view of life laugh and to play with a new fullness.” Signals
(everything is fine and humans are angels). of transcendence create spiritual spaces for pro-
cesses of hoping when life seems to be merely
The life view of the Bible is realistic: if you the tragedy of a cul de sac.
transgress the borders set by wisdom, and make In fact, the whole of creation could be viewed as
irresponsible decisions (disobedience), if you a cosmic signal of transcendence.
do not reckon with the will of God (the Torah) Cosmic beauty is both an ontological and ethi-
and you abuse and hate your neighbour (lawles- cal quality. In his most remarkable book, On

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