Sin,Weakness,and Psychopathology

Abstract

This article is concerned with distinguishing the peculiar characteristics of the biblical themes of sin and weakness. In the Bible, and in Christian theology, sin is considered to be a power not created by God but by the sinner. Consequently, sin is something for which the sinner is held responsible. Contrariwise, weakness is a given limitation upon a normal or natural human ability or condition and therefore preeminently not something for which we are held responsible. Moral fault is that unique condition which is a combination of both sin and weakness and which partakes of both sets of characteristics simultaneously. The author concludes with a number of implications which these concepts have for a Christian view of psychopathology.