Dan Martins Comments on the Theology of the Fall [and the inane theology on the HOBD listserve]

from Stand Firm by Sarah Hey:

Father Martins is a priest in the diocese of Northern Indiana and all I have to say is "preach it, brother!"

From a T19 comment:

Some of you who follow HoB/D may have noticed a discussion of the theological notion of the Fall. Somebody mentioned Down’s Syndrome as an example of something that is a sign of the Fall (as a sort of rhetorical avatar of homosexual orientation, in response to the RC notion of “intrinsic disorder”). It sparked a bit of a firestorm… . I thought such theological muddle-headedness merited some response, which I share herewith:

I think we’re perhaps talking past each other through an imprecise definition of terms. Yes, humankind is created in the image of God, and all of creation was deemed by God as “very good.” This much we get from Genesis, and is, as far as I can tell uncontested. Yet, the witness of Holy Scripture (largely through texts attributed to St Paul, but not exclusively) and the tradition of Christian worship and theology (of which St Augustine is one of the primary explicators, but not the only one) is that sin, evil, and death entered “the world” (i.e. not just human nature, but the entire created order). The manner in which evil was introduced is shrouded in mythical narrative and symbol (of which Genesis 3 is the primary text, but there is also the narrative from Jewish mythology [picked up by early Christian writers] of “Lucifer’s” rebellion against God and that “fallen” angel then being the impetus behind the serpent in Genesis). But the upshot of it all is the notion that the “very good” creation is nonetheless distorted, bent, out of balance, off kilter. This distortion (which is well-described by Lewis both in Mere Christianity and in his “space trilogy”) affects every person, and makes us all both victims and perpetrators (in varying proportions in different people). This is what is meant by the “Fall.” Because of the Fall, children get leukemia. Because of the Fall, young women get raped and murdered while jogging in a park. Because of the Fall, tectonic plates shift and buildings collapse in Haiti. (Yes, geologists have another explanation, which is absolutely true, and not at all in opposition to the theological notion of the Fall.) It is never God’s will that a child get leukemia. It is never God’s will that a young woman get raped and murdered. It is never God’s will that natural disasters destroy human life and property. These things are all a result of the Fall and are what God means to redeem, and the instrumental means of that redemption is what we’re celebrating next week. To say that any element of human experience (such as Down’s Syndrome) is a sign of the Fall is in no way to judge or condemn persons who are touched by that experience. Quite the opposite, in fact: It is a witness to God’s redemptive purposes. The fact that Down’s Syndrome children are so often a fount of love is a testimony to God’s redemptive activity. God NEVER wills Down’s Syndrome. God did not invent Down’s Syndrome. God never “sends” a Down’s Syndrome child into a family. But God the Opportunist is eminently capable of piggy-backing on what is by any measure a tragedy, a sign of the Fall, and hijacking that tragedy to be a means of grace and a sign of redemption. That, in fact, IS the gospel. That is the distilled essence of the Good News, and sharing that news IS the mission of the Church, because it is God’s own mission.