Like David, Americans do not want to acknowledge their sin...
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Like David, Americans do not want to acknowledge their sin. This is clear from a 2001 Barna Research Group poll that found 7 of 10 Americans believe we can get to heaven by doing works. In other words, 70% of us think we are basically good people who can and do please God by the lives we lead. We seem to echo the sentiments of British musician Elvis Costello: "There is no such thing as Original Sin."
If human beings sometimes misuse animals, Martin Luther tells us that we are a stable full of creatures who misuse people. And yet it is exactly the shameful creatures we are that get loved by God (What Luther Says, p. 821). Awareness and acknowledgment of our sinfulness puts us where we belong: back in the stable, where God can now ride us to more proper destinations.
If human beings sometimes misuse animals, Martin Luther tells us that we are a stable full of creatures who misuse people. And yet it is exactly the shameful creatures we are that get loved by God (What Luther Says, p. 821). Awareness and acknowledgment of our sinfulness puts us where we belong: back in the stable, where God can now ride us to more proper destinations.
