The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Philip H. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Research on the Nature of Man
Christopher Hitchens, an outspoken atheist, once said that the debate between atheism and Christianity is "the most important struggle in the world." Indeed, the collision of ideas that the two different worldviews represent is of eternal significance. One of the central questions in this debate concerns the nature of man. Is he fundamentally good or evil? Can he save himself or does he need a savior? Is he an accident or was he created? These questions must be answered, and Christians can find the truth about these questions in the Bible.
In the beginning, man was created by God in His image. God makes this fact clear in Genesis 1:27 when he declared, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (NIV) Wayne Grudem, a Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at the Phoenix Seminary and author of the book Systematic Theology, clarifies what it means to be made in the image of God by saying that, "[T]he nature of man is such that he is like God and represents God." Humans differ from other created beings because we, unlike animals, have been made to be like and represent God – who is perfect, holy, just, truthful, good, merciful, and loving. Because of the sinless state in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were able to have a face to face relationship with God. Therefore, as image bearers of God who were able to have a face to face relationship with God, it is clear that we were created good. Scripture affirms this in when it says in Genesis 1:31 "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good." (NASB)
In the same Garden, however, the nature of man was radically altered. Mankind, through Adam and Eve, succumbed to the temptation of desiring to be like God, and disobeyed by eating the fruit that they were commanded not to eat. While we still retain the image of God, it has been corrupted and our hearts are evil. It says Ecclesiastes 9:3, "This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead." (ESV) We are now born into a kingdom of death, slaves to darkness incapable of good and in desperate need of renewal. Romans 8:7-8 highlights our need for a savior by showing our own inability to please God or submit to His law, "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." Clearly, man is in need of someone who will be our savior.
Thankfully, that is not the end of the story. God, in His mercy, sent His Son to fulfill the law for us so that we can be considered pure in God's eyes. (Ephesians 2:4-6, ESV) Our sinful nature will be cleansed and we will return back to our perfect state where evil no longer reigns in the hearts of man. We, the imago dei of God, will be renewed.
