The Common Good
January 2011

Taking Sin Seriously

by Rev. Lawrence W. Althouse | January 2011

"The Theology of the Tea Party" (by Jim Wallis, November 2010) reminded me that when I was at Union Seminary, Reinhold Niebuhr said that the greatest flaw of the communist system was ignoring ...

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"The Theology of the Tea Party" (by Jim Wallis, November 2010) reminded me that when I was at Union Seminary, Reinhold Niebuhr said that the greatest flaw of the communist system was ignoring what Christians acknowledge as human sin. It is ironic that free-will devotees of "The Market" make the same essential mistake. The economic tragedy was the foreseeable consequence of avaricious economic policies and decisions. Libertarian-leaning Republicans, and some Democrats, fail to take seriously human sin, surrendering themselves to the Baal whose icon is the dollar sign.

Rev. Lawrence W. Althouse
Dallas, Texas

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