Stephen Jones — Antropologie
b1 — Creation’s Jubilee
Erfzonde en menselijke natuur: imputatie, niet infusie
Jones stelt de centrale vraag van de antropologie als volgt: “Did Adam’s sin cause us to have sinful souls or mortal souls?” (Hst. 9).
Zijn kernthese is dat mensen géén zondige natuur van Adam erven, maar sterfelijkheid:
“man did not inherit a sin nature from Adam. He merely inherited the liability for Adam’s sin.” — Hst. 9
“Sinful souls are not passed down from generation to generation by procreation. The only thing passed down is MORTALITY, or Death.” — Hst. 9
“We are not mortal because we sin. We sin because we are mortal.” — Hst. 9
De oorzaak-gevolgrelatie is omgekeerd ten opzichte van de Augustijnse traditie:
“DEATH spread to all men, ON WHICH we ourselves sin. Death is the cause; our personal sins are committed as the result of death in us. And so, the sequence of events is this: (1) Adam’s original sin gave us (2) death, and this mortality is our weakness and the cause of (3) our individual sins.” — Hst. 9
De sterfelijkheid werkt door in lichaam én ziel:
“Our liability for Adam’s sin simply makes us mortal in this age. And that mortality, death reigning over us in our souls and bodies, makes us morally sick or weak so that we are incapable of moral perfection.” — Hst. 9
Jones verwerpt de Augustijnse en Roomse ‘infusie’-leer expliciet:
“When Adam fell, his sin was imputed to us, NOT infused. To impute means, according to Romans 4:17, calling what is NOT as though it were. When Adam’s sin was imputed to us, God called us ALL sinners, as though we had all sinned.” — Hst. 9
“Those Church leaders, like Augustine and Jerome, who did not understand Paul’s statement in Romans 5:12, concluded that man received a sinful soul from Adam, rather than mortality. The theological term used by the Roman Church is that Adam’s sin was ‘infused’ or ‘transfused’ into all mankind, giving us sinful souls.” — Hst. 9
Interpretatie: Jones bouwt zijn antropologie op het onderscheid imputatie/infusie. Christus’ gerechtigheid wordt eveneens imputatief, niet infusief, aan de mens toegeschreven.
Twee soorten dood
Jones onderscheidt twee doden als sleutel voor zijn antropologie:
“There are two sins and two deaths spoken of in the Bible. The penalty for Adam’s sin is the first death; God’s judgment, lawful correction, and discipline for our own sins is the second death.” — Hst. 9
“The second death is distinct from the first death in two ways: (1) its purpose is to judge men for their own individual sins and to restore the lawful order; and (2) its timing is set for the age following the Tabernacles Age, when the unbelievers are thrown into the lake of fire.” — Hst. 9
Interpretatie: Sterfelijkheid (eerste dood) is universeel en afkomstig van Adams zonde; de tweede dood treft individuele zonden. Dit maakt universele verzoening coherent in Jones’ systeem.
Vrije wil als gedwongen wil
Jones stelt de vrije wil radicaal ter discussie:
“Men may have what they think is ‘free will,’ but in reality it is a coerced will.” — Hst. 11
Hij onderscheidt twee Griekse termen voor Gods wil:
“Man always resists God’s will (thelema), but Paul says that no man can resist God’s plan (boulema).” — Hst. 13
De oorsprong van het gedelegeerde gezag — en daarmee van de menselijke wil — ligt in Gen. 1:26:
“It all began in Genesis 1:26. Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ This is the beginning of all delegated authority on earth in its primal form.” — Hst. 11
Het verschil tussen soevereiniteit en autoriteit:
“Sovereignty is self-derived power; authority is authorized by a higher power and is therefore limited and subjected by that power. Man does not have sovereignty. Therefore, his authority is limited, and his liability for his actions are limited according to his level of authority. God disciplines men and judges them according to their level of authority.” — Hst. 11
Toch erkent Jones een praktische dimensie van de wil:
“In our daily lives we must act as if we have total free will.” — Hst. 11
Interpretatie: Jones combineert sterke predikinatie met beperkte menselijke aansprakelijkheid. Gods plan (boulema) is onweerstaanbaar; zijn wens (thelema) is weerstaanbaar. De mens is moreel verantwoordelijk binnen zijn niveau van autoriteit.
Morele verantwoordelijkheid
De aansprakelijkheid voor zonde is relatief aan het gezagsniveau:
“God holds Himself liable in the highest sense, because He alone is sovereign. As creator, He is ultimately responsible for His creation and its actions. It was therefore built into the plan of God from the beginning that Jesus Christ would come to die for the sins of the world.” — Hst. 11
“Our liability is limited by the limited nature of our authority. Only unlimited authority can be judged with unlimited liability. This is the justice and mercy of God.” — Hst. 11
De menselijke natuur en zonde: definitie
Jones definieert zonde via het Hebreeuwse khawtaw:
“The Hebrew word for ‘sin’ is khawtaw. It is translated ‘sin’ in over 400 Bible passages. Yet the word literally means ‘to miss the mark,’ or ‘to fail to reach a goal.‘” — Hst. 13
En hij koppelt zonde structureel aan sterfelijkheid:
“Man sins because he is mortal. He is mortal because God made him liable for the original sin of his father Adam. Therefore, God is the direct cause of man’s weak (mortal) condition and the indirect cause of his personal sins.” — Hst. 13
Lichaam, ziel en geest
Jones koppelt de ziel aan het bloed (Lev. 17:11) en onderscheidt een zielelijk en een geestelijk lichaam:
“The soul is in the blood.” (Lev. 17:11) — Hst. 5
“Men are ‘buried in a soulish state, but raised in a spiritual state.‘” — Hst. 5
Over het opstandingslichaam van Jezus:
“Jesus’ post-resurrection body had ‘flesh and bones’ but notably no blood, distinguishing the spiritual body from the natural soulish body that contains blood.” — Hst. 5
Interpretatie: Jones lijkt een dichotomisch model te hanteren waarbij de ziel aan het bloed/materiële dimensie gekoppeld is, maar bespreekt het onderscheid ziel/geest niet systematisch in termen van dichotomie of trichotomie.
Imago Dei
Jones behandelt het beeld van God primair als gedelegeerde heerschappij, niet als statisch beginpunt. Expliciet theologische uitwerking van imago Dei als eschatologisch doel ontbreekt in Creation’s Jubilee; de nadruk ligt op Gen. 1:26 als grondslag voor gezagsstructuren (zie sectie Vrije wil).
Herstel van de mens
Jones verbindt het herstel van de mensheid direct aan de parallellie Adams/Christus (Rom. 5:18):
“So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.” — Hst. 9
“Our understanding of the effects of Adam’s sin on our own nature will have a tremendous impact upon our lives. It will determine whether we have the peace of mind to know we are truly the children of God, or if we labor every day under a load of guilt.” — Hst. 9