Genesis: A Glorious Ruin
- Dr. Tom Ricks
- Apr 13, 2009
Listen to our sermon series on Genesis: A Glorious Ruin
What can we possibly learn from a manuscript that is over 3500 years old about the origins of our planet and the beginnings of history and mankind? Wouldn't our time be better spent watching a few hours of The Discovery Channel or the phenomenal series Planet Earth? (You really should watch Planet Earth especially if you have a high def TV.)
C.S. Lewis called humanity a "glorious ruin," referring to the contradiction within the beauty and ugliness of humanity. How can we reach such amazing accomplishments as Michelangelo's painting of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, the discovery and use of penicillin and the infield fly rule, while at the same time stand in the shadow of Auschwitz or the handiwork of the 9/11 bombers?
Man is capable of horrendous greed and great acts of selfless sacrifice. One man jumps on a hand grenade in a foxhole and saves his buddies while another murders over 30 of his college classmates without a whim of remorse. We are simultaneously "fearfully and wonderfully made" and also completely depraved. How does one synthesize such opposite and contradictory behavior out of humanity?
You may be even more surprised to learn that from the very beginning God saw our brokenness and put into motion an eternal plan of redemption!