Something that perplexes me and is continually fooling with my theology lately is the doctrine of the Fallen Nature of Man. Depending on your theological bent i.e. Arminianism or Calvanism, your definition of the fallen nature may vary. I myself am not sure what my exact definition is. I think I categorize myself as a Calminianist. I believe in the sovereignty of God and I also believe that we are creatures with wills and decision-making capabilities. But that’s a whole other B-L-O-G.
But I continually try to find real-life parallels to theology that I study so I can relate it to my intellect. I also try to do this so I can teach it properly and relevantly at the same time. Being the equivalent of Switzerland in my theology, I like to favor both sides. I applaud the efforts of the emergent church guys like Rob Bell and Dan Kimball in trying to define and redefine Christianity for this generation but I also believe in the immutable character of God and appreciate the rigid fundamentalists that went before us like Paris Reidhead and Jonathan Edwards. So, in my Swiss Calminiast theology, you could hear me quoting Rob Bell in one breath and Paul Washer in the next.
What I’m rolling in my mind recently is what I’ve already stated—the fallen nature of man. And being the not-so-bright aspiring theologian, I try to find instances of the fallen nature of man in my daily journeys around the city and in encounters with people. But before I begin, let me give you my definition of the fallen nature of man in the Brokedown Theologian terminology: man is born sinful and evil and not born pure and holy. Before we were born, because of the sin of Adam (Rom. 5:12,13), we have inherited the evil of sin in our lives. This inherited evil nature makes us want to sin and makes us not to want God. We can get rid of that stain of sin on our lives and learn how to live God-glorifying lives by putting our trust in Jesus’ regenerating work on the Cross. I hope that makes sense and I hope you can get a grasp on some of what I’m thinking about in my theology just from my stance on the fallen nature of man.
But back to practicality. As someone who’s not that smart, I need to find ways to understand theology in non-esoteric, un-lofty terms. I need to see it in a bowl of soup or in the eye of a child. And I have found my parallel for the fallen nature of man: driving and parking habits of Malaysian drivers. Now any Malaysians that read this will have one of two reactions if not both, 1) laughter of the reality of the observation or 2) offense at my callousness of judgment. Whatever your reaction, get over it and let’s read on : )
I have only one word that describes drivers in Malaysia: selfish. Now I’m not saying that I myself am not selfish, because I truly know that 95% of the time I am. But in Malaysia I see the pent-up selfishness come out on the highways. I have found Malaysians amazingly hospitable and kind and helpful as a foreigner in this land. I cannot count how many people have been kind to me or have helped me learn. I’ve had more than a handful of random strangers help me when I was in a sticky situation. I have encountered the selflessness of Malaysians so many times from the streets of KL to the kampungs of Sabah.
BUT when a Malaysian gets behind the steering wheel, something else switches on and all that aforementioned niceness and selflessness goes completely out the window. It’s like some sort of transformation. People will cut you off without a second thought. If you wait for more than 2 seconds after a traffic light turns green, you will have 4-5 horns blaring in your direction. There is not only double parking in places that parking is not allowed in the first place but Malaysia is the only place that I’ve seen triple parking. All of this brings unending frustration to my meager mind.
When I first received training on how to live cross-culturally, I heard the best advice I ever got from an older gentlemen that had live in Malaysia for a decade. He said, “If you can handle the food, the weather, and the traffic, you’ll have no problem living here or anywhere else in the world.”
I love Malaysian food. Although I haven’t gotten used to the heat, I’ve gotten used to sweating. But my last hurdle is the traffic. Unholy, fallen nature inspired traffic.
And that’s where I found the strength to jump the last hurdle. My theology became real. It isn’t the fact that Malaysian drivers are selfish, rude people. It’s not that Americans are war-mongers and insensitive. It’s our fallen nature showing itself tangibly. When a driver in KL double parks for an hour to have Bak Kut Teh and doesn’t even leave a note or budge from his bowl when he hears someone horning for him to move, he’s not that way because he’s Malaysian. It’s because of the inward me-centeredness that comes from the fallen nature of man. When someone goes around a LONG line of traffic and cuts in at the front so not to wait is not because Malaysians are lazy or impatient, it’s because of our Uncle Adam and what he gave to us.
Now this doesn’t mean that we don’t have consciences and we don’t have ideas of what’s right or wrong or even what’s socially acceptable. The fallen nature of man does not exempt a murderer from receiving judgment in the courtroom. We are all culpable of sin but we are all also creatures of conscience and can make proper decisions. But our fallen nature strongly influences that decision.
So as I’m driving and someone cuts me off or as I’m leaving a coffee shop and someone has blocked me in, I wont get as mad as I used to because I’ve learned how to properly apply theology. Who knew a proper theology of sin and the nature of man could be so therapeutic?
So, once again, your faithful servant, the Brokedown Theologian, the Swiss Calminiast, hopes that you’ve gained a little insight on how to humbly engage theology so you can humbly engage culture for Christ. So don’t get so mad in the parking lot this holiday season ; )
