Anti-Climacus

JOLLYBLOGGER, CALVIN AND ARISTOTLE: Jollyblogger offers the following thoughts (among others) on sin:

"The typical evangelical view of sin is that it is a behavior. Those who have a stronger view of sin would call it an attitude that underlies behavior. This may be where Warren is coming from and if that is the case, then he is certainly no worse, and maybe even better, than many evangelicals in their preaching on sin and repentance.

However, Calvin gets at something we have lost in our day - sin is not a matter of habits (either attitudinal or behavioral) it is a matter of nature. Therefore, true Biblical repentance involves a change of nature, not just a change of mind, behavior, attitude, or habits.

Therein lies the rub - we can't change our nature any more than the leopard can change his spots. A change of nature can only come through the supernatural work of regeneration. Seen in this way, repentance is a gift of grace, not a mere decision to change your mind/attitude/behavior/habits."

I always liked grafting in Aristotle's explanation of the habituation of virtue in this context. I'd say (and I think Kierkegaard would too) that the nature of man when it comes to a discussion of sin is sort of irrelevant: what matters is what people do, and we know at least two things are true: 1. the general existential fact is that people don't do good things and 2. people are capable in some instances of doing good things.

One need not find this to be a conundrum caused by an uncertainty over whether people should be viewed as inherently sinful or inherently good: it's the case, as Aristotle says, that no one is, by choice of their actions, naturally virtuous, but that doesn't prevent people from doing virtuous acts. It's not merely enough to do what a Christian would do (to switch gears): you have to act as they would act for the reasons they would act and in the way they would act. Some of this can be habituated in, and generally is (there may be a model on this that appears later).

For Aristotle, when discussing the habituation of virtue, there's sort of an unanswered question of how or why it is that a person makes the transition from one who does virtuous acts to one who acts virtuously. For the Christian discussing habituation away from sin or into Christianity, it seems like that transition can be assured through the action of the Holy Spirit.

Just a quick thought, anyway. Comments welcome, as always.