We live in a world shot through with evil. The twentieth century has witnessed suffering and human cruelty on a scale never before imagined. Yet, paradoxically, in recent years the doctrine of original sin has suffered neglect and ridicule. In this philosophically sophisticated treatment of the biblical evidence for original sin, Henri Blocher offers a robust response. Interacting with the best theological thinking on the subject, he shows that while the nature of original sin is a mystery--even a riddle--only belief in it makes sense of evil and wrongdoing. After a general survey of the biblical evidence, Blocher moves on to discuss the two key texts. First, he considers the relation of the Eden story of Genesis 2 and 3 to modern scientific, literary and theological thinking. Then, he offers a new and groundbreaking interpretation of Romans 5, where Paul discusses Christ and Adam. From this exegetical foundation, he goes on to show how the doctrine of original sin makes sense of the paradoxes of human existence. In the final chapter, he discusses the intellectual difficulties that some feel remain with the doctrine itself.

About the Contributor(s): Antoine Fritz (MTh, PhD) has been Office Manager of the Paris branch of Jews for Jesus and is currently International Trainer at Training Leaders International, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Reformed churches of the sixteenth century affirmed the need to be semper reformanda--always reforming. But in the ensuing centuries, some have taken this conviction as a mandate to abandon the departure from received orthodoxy, while others have progressed toward a rigid confessionalism that cements the Reformation itself as a final codification of truth. Between these extremes is the ongoing need of the church to be always reforming--subjecting its beliefs and practices to the renewed scrutiny of Holy Scripture and restating the truth of Scriptures in ways that faithfully communicate the gospel, advance the mission of the church and empower the people of God. This collection of essays by senior theologians and edited by A. T. B. McGowan practices what it preaches, mining the whole terrain of systematic theology to refresh, renew and yes, even reform the church for its next season. Contributions by Gerald Bray, Henri Blocher, Stephen Williams, Kevin J. Vanhoozer and others.

"He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." As part of the last of four great poems known as the "Servant Songs," these familiar words were first uttered by a lonely prophet to Jewish exiles in mighty Babylon: to folk who were convinced that their tiny, storm-tossed nation had been forgotten by its God. To them Isaiah brings a message of hope, telling of a mysterious "Servant of the Lord" who suffers beyond human endurance for sins which he did not commit, yet who lives again to witness the deliverance of those for whom he died. What were these people to make of this strange figure? Who was Isaiah speaking about? And, centuries later, who gave the New Testament writers the idea that these prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ? Henri Blocher is Knoedler Professor of Systematic Theology at Wheaton College, Illinois, and Professor of Systematic Theology at the Faculte Libre de Theologie Evangelique in Vaux-sur-Seine, France. His other books include In the Beginning, Songs of the Servant and Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle.

We live in a world shot through with evil. The twentieth century has witnessed suffering and human cruelty on a scale never before imagined. Yet, paradoxically, in recent years the doctrine of original sin has suffered neglect and ridicule. In this philosophically sophisticated treatment of the biblical evidence for original sin, Henri Blocher offers a robust response. Interacting with the best theological thinking on the subject, this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume shows that while the nature of original sin is a mystery--even a riddle--only belief in it makes sense of evil and wrongdoing. After a general survey of the biblical evidence, Blocher moves on to discuss the two key texts. First, he considers the relation of the Eden story of Genesis 2 and 3 to modern scientific, literary and theological thinking. Then, he offers a new and groundbreaking interpretation of Romans 5, where Paul discusses Christ and Adam. From this exegetical foundation, he goes on to show how the doctrine of original sin makes sense of the paradoxes of human existence. In the final chapter, he discusses the intellectual difficulties that some feel remain with the doctrine itself. Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead

"Curiosity about our beginning continues to haunt the human race. It will not call off the Quest for its origins." The opening chapters of Genesis -- important at any time -- have been the focal point of controversy for more than a century. Few topics have been so hotly debated by theologians, philosophers and scientists alike. Henri Blocher argues that our primary task is to discover what these key chapters of the Bible originally meant. Only then will we be able to unravel the knotty issues surrounding human origins. Taking into account a vast array of scholarship, Blocher provides a detailed study of creation week, the image of God, the significance of male and female, the garden covenant, the Fall, the curse and the promise of redemption. He also offers significanct theological insights into the creation-evolution debate.

A world renowned author and scholar grapples with the problem of evil in a world supposedly ruled by a God who is all-loving and all-powerful.