Please join us this Lenten season for a book study where we read and discuss blessing, sin, and what our relationship with God means if we rethink the doctrine of original sin.

Tentative meeting dates: March 6, 12, 19, 26, April 2, 9, 6:00 p.m.

Book: Original Blessing by Danielle Shroyer.

This book is available on Amazon for $10.99. We will have a few copies available for sale at the church. Of the world’s major religions, only Christianity holds to a doctrine of original sin. Ideas are powerful, and they shape who we are and who we become. The fact that many Christians believe there is something in human nature that is, and will always be, contrary to God, is not just a problem but a tragedy.

• So why do the doctrines assumptions of human nature so infiltrate our pulpits, sermons, and theological bookshelves?

• How is it so misconstrued in times of grief, pastoral care, and personal shame?

• How did we fall so far from Gods original blessing in the garden to this pervasive belief in humanitys innate inability to do good?

In this book, Danielle Shroyer takes readers through an overview of the historical development of the doctrine, pointing out important missteps and overcalculations, and providing alternative ways to approach often-used Scriptures. Throughout, she brings the primary claims of original sin to their untenable (and unbiblical) conclusions.

In Original Blessing, she shows not only how we got this doctrine wrong, but how we can put sin back in its rightful place: in a broader context of redemption and the blessing of humanity’s creation in the image of God. --Amazon

Assignment for tonight: Please Read the Introduction, Blessing is Like Bulletproof Glass, Blessing is God’s Prerogative

Scripture for reflection: Isaiah 43:1, Genesis 1