(Visit: Matthew Herbst addresses what it means to be human from an ancient Christian perspective. This lecture is part of the “To Be Human” series presented by the Making of the Modern World program at Eleanor Roosevelt College at UC San Diego. Series: “To Be Human ” [4/2012] [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 23244]
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I was hoping this would be a historical discussion of Christianity and how it formulated its ideas around sin and temptation, but it turned out to just be preaching.
I'm familiar with the notion of the body and the spirit being in conflict, having heard it quite a lot going to church growing up. Frankly, I think it is a false dichotomy. What would be more interesting is to learn how this idea became so prominent, and how it has influenced civilization.
Great talk, thank you.
Disappointed, I am a Christian but I can not find any food from this "Lecture". As a ex-atheist I can not identify with any logical or rationality in the "Preaching". It is a pity that truth is spoken without logic, and as a Christian I believe that it is not the suffering that lead you to God, but Christ, who is God's single sided action. From Christ we can both suffer and rejoice, not the other way around. Human effort is a pity compared to God's work.
the historical emphasis on sex is actually detrimental and caricatures true Biblical Christianity where the word "lust" has a wider meaning closer to something like "evil desire" which can be sexual but also includes greed, bitterness, hatred, idolatry etc.