Biblical Anthropology
The Biblical Doctrine about Man
The Origin of Man:
Creation or Evolution?
His Nature
His Fall
His Sin
The Consequences of the Fall and Sin
This brochure is partly based on lecture notes on dogmatic by Heinz Weber, a former lecturer of Systematic Theology at the Bible-School Brake (Germany).
The word anthropology denotes the doctrine of Man.
The Greek word anthrōpos means man, while lógos may be translated doctrine in this context. Anthropology then means the doctrine of man.
From a theological viewpoint, we think of the relationship between God and man, in a scientific sense it relates to the organism of man.
When studying the theme of Anthropology, it is in our estimation crucially significant to base this study on the entire of Holy Scripture.
The question "what is man?" has preoccupied mankind of all ages. Since antiquity philosophers and scholars have tried to find answers to this question. Man was (and still is) analysed down to the smallest possible detail but until today his own deepest secret has not really been discovered. Science is still trying to reconstruct the history and development of man, but has up to now not reached any reliable results. Much of what has been claimed is ultimately only speculation – hypotheses without proof. We believe that the Bible can supply us with answers to the following often posed questions:
"What is man?"
"Where does he come from?"
"Where is he going?"
"What is his significance?"
"What will be his goal and end?"
The Bible claims to answer these questions.
Table of contents
I. THE ORIGIN OF MAN
A. Different theories or hypotheses concerning the origin of man
B. The creation account
1. Creation in 6 days: 24-hour-days or "period-days"?
a.) Arguments held for a period-days-hypothesis
b.) Arguments for a creation in six 24-hour-days
2. A supernatural creation (supernaturalism)
C. The theory of evolution
D. The unity of the human race
E. The vocation of man
1. Called to fellowship
a.) First - fellowship with God
b.) Second - fellowship with man
2. Called to rule
3. Called to eternal life
II. THE NATURE OF MAN
A. The image of God and conscience
1. The significance of the image of God
a.) The image of God, which man bears, refers to his personality
b.) The image of God, which man bears, also refers to his conscience or his moral consciousness
2. Consequences of the image of God
a.) God protects human life
b.) The personality of man is indestructible
c.) Man should rule over the creatures below him
d.) Fellowship with God and fellowship among man
B. The immaterial nature of man
1. The relation between spirit and soul
2. The origin of the soul
a.) The theory of the pre-existence of the soul
b.) The theory of a direct creation of the soul (creatianism)
c.) Traducianism
3. The spirit
4. The soul
a.) Soul means life
b.) The soul is the seat of the personality
c.) The soul is the subject of sin and the object of salvation
5. The heart
a.) The heart is the centre, the core
b.) The heart represents the innermost being of man
c.) The heart is the origin, the source of the life of the soul
d.) The heart is the centre of the religious life
C. The physical/material nature of man
1. The body of man
a.) The natural body
b.) The body of the born again man
2. The flesh
a.) The flesh is in its first instance the material basis for the outer nature of man
b.) The flesh is the seat of human weakness
c.) Flesh is referring to the whole of the fallen body
D. The unity of the human personality
1. The unity of body and soul
a.) Through the body the soul is able to receive (import)
b.) Through the body the soul can express itself (export)
c.) Mutual relationship between soul and body
(1) The influence of the body upon the soul
(2) Influence of the soul upon the body
2. Soul and spirit
a.) Influence of the soul upon the spirit
b.) The influence of the spirit upon the soul
III. THE FALL OF MAN
A. The law of God
1. The meaning of the law of God
2. The purpose of the law of God
3. The relation of the believer to the law of God
B. The fall and the problems connected with it
1. Where does evil come from?
2. How could Adam, a holy creature, fall?
a.) Adam could not have sinned
b.) His sin was a free act of the will towards disobedience
3. Why did Satan sin?
4. Why did God cast Satan upon the earth?
5. Why did God allow the temptation of man
C. Temptation
1. The historicity of the account of the fall in Gen 3
2. What is temptation?
3. Temptation and the tactics of the devil
a.) Doubting the Word of God
b.) A no to God’s Word
c.) A word of Satan
IV. SIN
A. The fact of sin
1. God establishes sin as a fact
2. The Word of God reveals the existence of sin
3. Sin becomes evident through the law
4. The believer knows about his sin
5. Nature testifies to the fact of sin
B. Sin (original/hereditary sin)
1. Definition
2. The essence (character) of sin
a.) Anarchy
b.) Rebellion (insurrection) against God
c.) Sin is egocentricity (selfishness)
3. The total depravity of the human nature
4. The seat of sin
5. The activation of sin
a.) The law
b.) Temptation
6. Imputation of (hereditary) sin
a.) The Pelagian theory
b.) Semipelagianism
c.) The theory of indirect imputation
d.) The realistic theory
e.) The theory of substitution (representation)
f.) The corporate theory
g.) Evaluation of these theories
h.) Excursus: Predestination or free will
C. Sins
1. Scripture uses different expressions for sin
a.) Missing the goal (Gen 4:7)
b.) Transgression, sin, offence (Gen. 4:13)
c.) Evil, malice (Gen 6:5)
d.) Sin, the mistake
e.) Unrighteousness
f.) Lawlessness
g.) Unbelief or unfaithfulness
2. Differences between individual sins
a.) There are different kinds of sin
b.) Sins are committed against different "objects"
c.) Sins may be committed by different types of persons
d.) There are differences in degree between individual sins
V. CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALL AND OF SIN
A. Consequences of sin for Adam
1. Separation from God
2. Bondage to Satan
3. Death
a.) Spiritual (inner) death
b.) Physical (outer) death
c.) The eternal death
B. Consequences of the fall for mankind
1. To the spirit
2. To the soul
a.) Mind (reason)
b.) Emotion
c.) Will
3. To the conscience
4. To practical life
C. The consequences of the fall for nature/creation
D. The consequences of the fall for God
VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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