This morning I was perusing my list of favorite websites and came across this article in Religion and Ethics News Weekly: Religious Realism and New Realities | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.
In his article Robert W. Lovin suggests that President Obama is a realist about what can and will be accomplished in the realm of internal politics and international relations and wars. Sorry, but I couldn't find any personal information about the author other than that he is the Cary M Maguire Professor of Ethics at Southern Methodist University. I won't comment on his views about Pres. Obama. It was his opening sentences that especially caught my attention:
"One important thing that religion brings to politics is a certain kind of realism about human nature and human possibilities.
"In private life, we all exaggerate our own virtues and expect too much from our own plans. Faith helps us to keep our pride in check, and we can depend on friends and family to do it if our faith falls short."
". . . a certain kind of realism about human nature and human possibilities." How very interesting and how very vague. All that leads me to question what the Bible says about human nature and human possibilities, because as a Lutheran believer I'm not optimistic about human nature. After all, the confession we usually make at the beginning of our worship services goes something like this: "We are by nature sinful and unclean." Whatever does that mean?
Here's a quote from the Lutheran Formula of Concord that I'm currently reading.
"Original sin is not a sin that a person commits; rather it is embedded in the human being's nature, substance, and essence. That means that even if no evil thought ever arose in the heart of the corrupted human being, no idle word were uttered, no evil deed done, nonetheless our nature is corrupted by original sin, which is implanted in us at birth in the sinful seed and which is a source of all other, actual sins, such as evil thoughts, words, and deeds, as it is written, "Out of the heart come evil intentions . . . (Matthew 15:19), and "The inclination of the human heart is evil from youth" (Genesis 8:21)" (Epitome, Article I:21).
Notice the emphasis: embedded, corrupted, implanted at birth, a source of all other sins. Our heart is inclined toward evil. Out of the heart come evil intentions.
Now that ought to make any of us realistic about what can be accomplished whether in politics or business or regular, down to earth daily living.
Of course that's not all there is to this topic. I'll try to add a bit more in future entries. For now, it seems best to temper this year's optimistic expectations with some realism even as we step into it with faith in our Lord's guiding hand.
