THE HUMAN CONDITION Part 2

After two fantastic years as head basketball coach at the University of Alaska, I excepted a doctoral fellowship at the University of New Mexico.

One beautiful June morning in Coeur d’Alene Idaho the Crowell world was about to make a dramatic and life-changing turn.  The Crowell’s were invited to enjoy a three-week vacation at the fabulous Arrow Heads Springs resort home of a Christian organization.

The enticement was to Golf daily and help organize a new basketball team called Athletes in Action.  AIA was a new Postgrad basketball team. They would compete with the best university teams in America; North Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame, and many more.

Voluntarily Mrs. C and I attended The Institute of Biblical Studies, where my academic education shattered my assumptions of the good man theory.  The pivotal experience was an intellectually demanding class on the Book of Romans. The prof was Elmer Lappan a man crippled by rheumatoid arthritis. Wheelchair-bound Professor Elmer proved to be one of the best ever teacher in our lives.

Paul’s letter to the Romans is often considered among New Testament scholars to be the foundation of the Christ message.

It also became fact to me I was birthed not only with inherent physical and mental traits from my parents but with their evil nature as well.  Further, I came to believe the Biblical truth that my evil nature would pass on to my future generations.

Now, a definition of “evil” is in order.  If evil is spelled backward, we have the word “live.”  Evil is the absence of life.  This is dead people stumbling through life.  No greater tragedy!

The inherent-good crowd would not agree and call this a cruel philosophy.  Really?  It seems it is crueler to call bad “good.”  For example, place one eye drop of poison into a gallon of pure water.  Does the water remain pure?  Or does it become toxic?

The Creationist’s view of man makes perfect sense to me.  Originally, God created man with total purity, void of an evil sin nature.  One sin, one selfish act, polluted our purity.  Pouring in more water does not purify the water.  The solution is a new container and pure water.

With great risk, the Creator gave the gift of choice to humanity; God gave man the gift of free will.  This precious gift costs God, Abba Father, dearly.  This ultimate cost was His Son’s death on the cross.  The new container and pure water for the human condition is a gift of a new nature, not fixing our contaminated nature.

If John Dewey and his advocates are correct (saying the human condition is inherently good), then you will believe more and better education is the solution to the world problems.  You will look to humans for solutions.  I am sad to say I have little hope for those who trust in this human condition goodness.

As an adult, I have lived with 11 different presidents, and the end of WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq wars.  Yet for 76 years, I have hoped for a better world.  It appears tomorrow’s newspaper or TV news will not bring me more joy based on its negativity.

My hope, my good news, is in the blessed goodness of a loving God who gave His Son who gives us a new mind, heart, and soul.  My hope is in the resurrection transformation of one human at a time.

This Godly good news. Changes people’s lives. My delight is sharing hope with hundreds of thousands these past 52 years when He and only He gave me a new heart and mind.

The song, BECAUSE HE LIVES I CAN FACE TOMORROW is my mission and passion.

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