Quote:
Originally posted by NY Madman:
Rift....

Just because mankind is capable of sin, that doesn't mean mankind is inherently evil.

Sin and evil are not necessarily the same thing. Because someone may commit a sin, doesn't make them evil. There are different types of sins and degree of sin.

Maybe the reason why you "born again" Christians are looked upon as a bit zany by mainstream Christians and others is because you twist and bastardize Christianity.

Your bible quotes don't even back up and substantiate your arguments.

Mankind is NOT inherently evil. There is evil in the world and there are evil people, but the basic nature of mankind is not evil.

If you think the concept of man as evil is some construct of original sin passed down from the fall of man, I would have to say that is wrong as far as most mainstream Christians are concerned. Most believe man is born weakened and inclined to sin because of that inherited original sin, but not inherently evil.

The concept of Christ's sacrifice, dying for man's sins, and his resurrection is redemption.

To claim that the basic nature of mankind is inherently evil kind of seems, well, inherently evil.
The concept of Christ's sacrifice, dying for man's sins and His resurrection is not just redemption. It is salvation. Redemption happens through salvation. A person cannot receive redemption from God unless he accepts Jesus as His Lord and Savior. Savior. See that word? It's monumental. Yes, Jesus is called "Redeemer". But again, redemption happens as a result of salvation.

Luke 19:10
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

I'll reiterate. Evil is a fruit of sinfulness. If you have sin in you, you have evil in you. "Sin" means "to miss the mark". It is implies that we miss God's intended target for us in a given situation. Sometimes that's intentional, sometimes it's completely accidental. But our propensity as imperfect human beings to screw up again and again, day after day, often in the same screw-ups, is a direct result of the "fall of man" a.k.a Adam and Eve (see Genesis 3).

Before the fall, man had perfect communion with his Creator, literally walking with Him daily. As a result of the fall, we are separated from Him by our own choices. God loves us enough to allow us that distance. To do otherwise would be dictatorship. Even though God, the Creator, has absolute right to insist and force us to follow Him, out of the depths of His love and grace, He allows us to not.