Episode 283 - Achilles Heel

About this Episode

It seems that human nature, or rather, one's understanding of human nature, is the Achilles Heel of theology -- and philosophy, too -- throughout the "Spin-Me-Round" (Dead or Alive, 1985) of cyclical human history and cyclical failed answers to the problem of being human.

If you have a high doctrine of human nature, and human potential, you'll generally opt for a low doctrine of God. (You don't need Him.) But if you have a low doctrine of human nature, and human failed expectations, you may well opt for a high doctrine of God. Or rather, you'll be more inclined to look for God outside yourself than to believe you've got intrinsically the answers.

Which is to say that the banana peel of Christian history seems to be a swelled inaccurate view of human agency and possibility. We slip, in other words, on the banana peel of exaggerated human potential.

My podcast reviews the doctrine of human nature, in broad terms, within the history of the American Episcopal Church. I see that doctrine as the key to understanding where we've been, where we are, and also where we could be. And I'm not without hope.

You'll also hear an AMAZING British hit from 1971, entitled "I Did What I Did for Maria". This odd, conflicted and brilliant song touches just about every raw nerve there is. (We LUV Tony Christie!)