Attachment and Spiritual Maturity 14
Although we are created in the image ofGod, human relationships have become extremely distorted and alienated through the effects of sin. Alienation of Relationship Through Sin
The main effect of sin is alienation from God and alienation from others. The
biblical account of the first act of sin depicts this alienation. The first sin in the universe
was an act of free will in which the holy relational character God created was corrupted.
Bonhoeffer's definition of sin describes this corruption as alienation from others.
Sin is the will to affirm in principle oneselfand not the other as a value, and to acknowledge the other only in relation to oneself (Bonhoeffer, 1963).
This definition, although not complete, denotes sin as having its origin in the individual's
will to claim its own interests over that of others. This makes the effects of sin both
social and individual.
This is in agreement with Berkouwer who describes sin as always distorting
relations to God (Berkouwer, 1971). Sin is personal and relational, it is not a defect or an
attribute not performed by man. Important then, is the completeness of how sin is
defined.
Ifwe understand sin basically as the rebellion against God' s goodness and the distortion of the relationship between the Creator and Creature, then the doctrine of"original sin" can only be properly understood when it is seen, not as a given state alone, but in terms of that relationship (Weber, 1981).
This definition was acted out and recorded in the Genesis story of the first man
and woman who enjoyed both security and freedom in a relationship with their Creator.
They were endowed with an ability to form mutually beneficial relationships with others.
They shared an intimate, communicative, and procreative relationship. Most important,
they had an intimate consultative relationship with their Creator (Heinrichs, 1982).
Heinrichs suggests that there was one restriction to their freedom. This was recognition of
their finiteness, limited knowledge, and need for security. This recognition was
particularly true in maintaining an ongoing consultive relationship in regards to their
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