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Not the Way It's Supposed to Be : A Breviary of Sin

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Dr. Cornelius Plantinga provides a theology of sin that is insightful, delightful and provoking, at the same time. I think not many readers will be able to complete this book without awakening both a desire and a renewed acuteness in their conscience.

Plantinga starts off painting a (very attractive!) picture of what life might look like apart from sin; the point of the book is for us not to simply avoid sinning, but to move to positively create that life. He uses a couple vocabula with special significance, "shalom" to mean a general rightness in the world and society, and "spiritual hygiene" to a rightness in an individual. It may be distracting to get into Hebrew etymology and be concerned with that vocabulary itself -- it seems to have been adopted by the Christian community that specialises in such things, so I'll adapt.

The majority of the book addresses various dimensions in which this sinless state isn't what we observe in the current state of our universe. Representatives of the dimensions Plantinga addresses include:
* The traditional "deadly sins" -- things like envy and immorality -- and the modernly perceived absolute evils such as sexism, racism, and lack of tolerance. While I don't necessarily agree on all of the details of what's really wrong in the modern evils, the bigger point is that a right society would be free of contamination by both sorts of evil, the ones that "the good old days" would have objected to and the ones to which it would have been oblivious.
* Religiosity. He urges believers to make sure it's the God who is there that we worship when we're being religious, rather creating a different god the way we want him to be and then attacking anyone who questions our religiosity.

Generally, he looks at how we err or fail to take responsibility. It is written within the context of God's grace being the solution to this problem, but doesn't spend much space on grace; part of the reason the book was written to offset the imbalance of how much is being spoken and written on grace without materially addressing sin - why grace matters.

Some of the focus of this book fits especially well in a post-modern western context, but the work is clearly applicable to the whole of human experience. When appalled by some of the examples, those of us who don't belong in the setting whence they were drawn will do well to think of our own parallels rather than to set about casting stones at "the west" / neoliberals / the US / New Yorkers / etc. There is much in this work to remind each of us, to make each of us conscious, of our guilt and responsibility -- not only for things of which we have always felt secretly guilty, but for things that likely never crossed our minds. Certainly my conscience has been piqued!

Plantinga points out how we live in a world where the evil people do may be 'caused' be evil they have suffered. He lightly broaches the subject of non-exclusivity between being cause and result -- how sin can be a result of one's conditions, and how one's conditions can be a result of sin. To explore the theological and logical relationship between these two more fully, I recommend two books by D A Carson:
* An academic "Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: Biblical Perspective in Tension" for an in-depth study of the relationship between the two, or
* The more popular "How Long O Lord" for a broader study on evil that includes the summary conclusions of that work, and complements Plantinga's study on sin.

Plantinga's book is a nice complement to a book like "The Ten Commandments: Manual for the Chrisitan Life" by J. Douma, who works out pragmatic implications of the positive side of Ten Commandments in modern life, answering the question of what we should be doing in a parallel dimension.

We can never agree on everything, of course. While I enthusiastically embrace most of the conclusions that Plantinga presents in this book, his underlying epistemology fails to qualitatively distinguish between the
* eternal truth of scripture -- open to fallible interpretation no doubt, but objective since it is given by Special Revelation
* the current "knowledge" of science which, since it is inductively learned, may reflect the objective truth of nature with increasing approximation but never with certainty and always subject to change; and
* the current mores posited by sociology, where something seems wrong because society rejects it rather than because it contradicts God's revealed objective demands.
Let us not blithely ignore what current society believes to be true and false, right and wrong, but let us not put those beliefs on the same footing as what God has objectively revealed. To (slightly mis)quote Professor Kirke in Plantinga's admired C.S.Lewis, "Don't they read Plato or Bishop Berkeley or Pierre Duhem anymore? I wonder what they do teach them at these schools."

This book was ranked as Christianity Today's Book of the Year for 1996, and it is well deserving of the honor. Plantinga has done a remarkable job of describing sin in all its various forms as well as its myriad of subtle dynamics and seductions.

His general thesis is that sin is a disruption of the shalom of God - anything that detracts from the way things are supposed to be. So the Christian task in counteracting the forces of sin in the world is to do whatever possible to restore shalom.

Sin may not seem like a cheery topic, but this book is truly edifying. Highly recommended.

"Not the Way It's Supposed to Be" is an insightful, thoughtful, and engaging book. I, and no doubt millions of other Christians love Jesus because of his grace and never-ending love. How easy it would be to so focus on these aspects of God and to lose sight of why He is truly so great. Plantinga's book reminds us of the monumental problem that Jesus has saved us from--Sin. Sin is a loaded word. Many people have and still abuse it. Plantinga does not. Plantinga eloquently terms it "Vandalism of God's Shalom"--God's perfect created order. This metaphor shocked me at first, but then opened my eyes. This is a book that will challenge any reader. It is a classic.

One of my favorites of all time. Very engaging and insightful although I have been more critical of behavoirs, motives, thoughts since reading it. I took a long time to read it and made extensive notes. Even years later I refer to them regaining important insight into my particular situation. Excellent book!!!

Professor Plantinga's work is an eye opening and refreshing treatment of the problem of sin. He is successful in offering the Church effective ways of speaking of an age old subject in contemporary terms without sacrificing the essence of the issue. While his treatment is in no ways comprehensive, any thoughtful reader will come away with much food for thought and a multitude of helpful hints for exposing the reality and pervasivness of sin in our preaching and counseling. His discussion of the social diminsions of iniquity was incredibly penetrating and really meets the needs of the present hour. It is a short read that handsomely repays the time spent.

Pastor Reddit Andrews, III
Soaring Oaks Church
Elk Grove, CA

Cornelius Plantinga provides, in this book, an accessible entry into the discusion of sin. Using a rich collection of modern examples and illustrations, he traces sin as a driving reality in the modern context, even though the subject is largely marginalized in society and in the Church.

Plantiga's approach reflects a Reformed tradition of theology which treats sin as a violation of the law of God. However, rather than using the language of covenant promise, he uses the term 'Shalom' as the backdrop. This is a very helpful term as it is biblically rich as well as encompasing not only of the individual experience but also the corporate experience. Pit against 'shalom' is sin. In this way, Plantinga makes an important recovery from the view which treats sin only as a matter of an individual's deed. Sin, then, is treated both on individual and corporate levels.

Tracing the affects of sin and the characteristics of it, Plantinga provides an overview of the traditional doctrine of sin and presents it in terms which are understandable to the average reader. While adopting the historical view which states sin as privation, he also emphasizes that sin does take on form as it feeds off of reality (in a parasitic way). The metaphor of a parasite is a graphic yet appropriate picture of sin.

In the end this book is a good entry into a topic this is often ignored. It is the case, however, that Plantinga does not delve deeply into the debates over the origins of sin and the effects that it has with regards to salvation. In otherwords, this is not a full treatment of the issues. But in Plantinga's defense, this book does not purport itself to be a complete study on the doctrine of sin. So, the Plantinga succedes insofar as the book accomplishes what it is meant for.

Cornelius Plantinga has given us such an important understanding of sin for the 21st century. Defining it as the "vandelism" of God's shalom communicates sin's pervasive destructiveness. Whether it be in personal relationships, business dealings, use of the environment, or other aspects of life, the selfish explotation of the other damages it's integrity. People ulimately get hurt and suffer in real life, not in some theological construct that so many Christians can get focused on. God's shalom is the peace, the well-being, that He intends for all aspects of creation. It is based on His love for that same creation. I know that the world would be a better place if more people understood the violence that we do to our world and to each other by looking out for number one, and that love covers a multitude of sins.

I read this book every couple of years, and some particular, personally relevant chapters I read more often than that. I highly recommend it as a devotional aid in understanding our great Problem in its various dimensions, and in gaining a clearer picture of the depth of God's love to offer a way of deliverance from sin. This book, by centering the reader on sin, indirectly leads the reader to the Cross. There are not a lot of books from seminary that I regularly recommend to friends and church members, but this is certainly one of them.

A great overview of many topics related to sin. His introduction and his chapters on sin as attack and sin as flight are great. Plantinga, Alvin's Brother, presents the thesis that sin is essentially any disturbance of Shalom where shalom is not merely peace but full flourishing of all creation. I totally agree.

The basic premise of the book is that the shalom of God has been vandalized. The peace that is God's design for creation and redemption has been unkept. Sin is defined as "a culpable and personal affront to a personal God," a God who "hates sin not just because it violates his law," but "because it violates shalom, because it breaks the peace, because it interferes with the way things are supposed to be" (13-4). Sin is something beyond just a breach of law, but a "breaking of the covenant with one's savior," an act more deeply at odds with God, with all of creation, and with one's very being (12). Building on this theological standpoint, the rest of the book is a depiction and analysis of the different manifestations of sin, the effects of sin in the human life-on an individual and global scale-and the ways humanity tries to evade sin.

Plantinga poignantly explains the idea of sin in relation to corruption, thereby unveiling a truth about God's design of creation. "God orders things into place by separating and sorting them. At the same time God binds things together" (29). The pattern for life consists of "distinction and union and distinction-within-union that would give creation strength and beauty" (29). The inherent strength and beauty of the universe was weakened and trashed at the fall. Union was severed. Distinctions were smudged. During this discussion, Plantinga shares a story about a Rabbi who was made to preach naked to German soldiers to illustrate how mockery tries to despoil human dignity (32). This is one of many deft portraits of sinfulness that Plantinga paints.

However, a hearty portion of his examples come across as shock-value tactics to win ethos with his readers at the expense of digression or irrelevancy. For instance, in the chapter on the progress of corruption, Plantinga is begging the question of character within a culture that is progressively pursuing corruption: "If rap stars publish albums filled with unlyrical desires to bust vaginal walls, to break women's backbones, and to force fellatio on "bitches" until they "puke," what wreckage might such grunted depravity leave in its wake?" (71). This question is posed after already addressing cycles of sin through a depiction of gang rape, described as, "to rape a young girl and then to stand on her neck to assure she is dead" (65).

Granted, these are truthful, modern-day instances that display the depraved corruption of American culture. Within the context of the passage, these seem to be more a pandering to the emotions of the reader in an effort to draw them in than a methodical and measured illustration to help the reader gain a greater understanding of the idea Plantinga is communicating. When describing a perfect world, or a person who practices spiritual hygiene, he wanders away from the concrete to the ambiguous, leaving the reader with only the ambience of his words being applicable to the topic (35). Yet, in part, it is for this very reason that Plantinga comes across so provocative and intriguing.. His use of the shocking, mingled with eloquence and ornate wording, weaving the practical and the theological together in an almost poetic fashion, creates an atmosphere for the reader to indulge in what is written. The theological medicine is saturated with spoonfuls of sugary words. At best, this provokes thought; at worst it could be a cheap attempt to buy the reader's attention.

Plantinga follows his point on corruption by delineating different ways in which sin kills, and how they lead to one another. First is perversion. Perversion is when a thing has been twisted for a different use than the one for which is was designed. This leads to the sullying of a thing-making it unclean. This defiling happens through an addition of something-like the third person of an adulterous relationship added to a marriage-or through the division of something-like the division of loyalties between all of those involved in a marriage with an adulterous partner (45-7). Eventually, all disintegrates. Even within this death and dissolving, corruption and sin is fruitful, and multiplies. This all ties in with the vandalism of Shalom; a reproducing extension of the bond-rupturing and wrongly-unifying act of rebellion against God's design and peace. Addiction, resentment, pride, and destruction are also explored and traced to the breaking of God's peace.

Though the book is a total one hundred and ninety-nine pages dedicated to sin, it is still titled a "breviary" in the sense that it stays with sin as seen in relation to God's peace, and only details different types and aspects of sin. It does not penetrate into the origin of sin, consequences of sin before Christ verus after, or how sin affects salvation. Still, Plantinga's book is very helpful because it brings the reader back to a look at sin. Plantinga writes in the preface that today the word "sin" is only used as a joke or a description on a dessert menu (ix,x). This encouragement to remember the meaning of "sin" and its reality is needed.

Even more, Plantinga admonishes the reader not to turn a cold shoulder to the vandalism of shalom, but to have a lifestyle that works to repair it (196). By starting with the peace of God and thus reminding the world of the disgusting depravity of sin and its grip on humanity, the reader is lead to the excellence of God's grace. This is one of the most important contributions the book makes. Plantinga started with the intent to "renew the knowledge of a persistent reality that used to evoke in us fear, hatred, and grief," and to renew the "integrity of creation" and to lead the reader to "the beauty of grace" (xiii). He does so artfully and with due cause, "For the sober truth is that without full disclosure on sin, the gospel of grace becomes impertinent, unnecessary, and finally uninteresting" (199)